1998 New York Times publishes an article "Fateful Error" by https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan https://www.nytimes.com/1997/02/05/opinion/a-fateful-error.html saying that expanding NATO "would be the most fateful error of American policy in the entire post-cold-war era." Such a decision may be expected to inflame the nationalistic, anti-Western and militaristic tendencies in Russia." Unfortunately, nobody listened to him. ~/html/radio/20220306_rvn_russia_china_relationship.mp3 at 23:00 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Kennan#Opposition_to_NATO_enlargement 20080403 The NATO summit in Bucharest declares: "NATO welcomes Ukraine's and Georgia's Euro Atlantic aspirations for membership in NATO. We agreed today that these countries will become members of NATO." Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister's response to the Bucharest Declaration: "Georgia's and Ukraine's membership in the alliance is a huge strategic mistake which will have most serious consequences for pan-European security." Putin commented: "Gerogia and Ukraine becoming part of NATO is a direct threat to Russia." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 at 15-16 min ~/video/politics/20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm 20080801 war in Georgia 20131121 Ukraine's president Yanukovich says "no" to a deal with the EU EU foreign ministers broker a new agreement in Ukraine; the old constitution will be restored, and Julia Timoshenko freed. But the "anti-government movement" (this is what the BBC called it!) is still on the streets, and one of its spokesmen is quoted calling for Pres. Yanukovic's death: "Either he goes to Africa, or we kill him!" 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm A deal is worked out for new elections in Ukraine, but the protesters refuse to accept the deal. 20131201 Ukraine decides not to sign some agreement with Brussels; big riots in western Ukraine destroy various government buildings, threaten the president's palace. or 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 at 18:30 ... Large demonstrations on the "Maidan", and protesters seize City Hall in Kiev. 20131217 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 Putin announces a $15 billion loan to Ukraine 20140122 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 The first two deaths in the Ukraine protests 20140126 Ukraine's opposition leaders say they will not drop their demands, after rejecting the president's offer to appoint them to top government posts. 20140220 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 Street clashes in Kiev lead to 40 deaths The truce (agreed yersterday) collapses; EU foreign ministers agree to impose sanctions on Ukrainian officials over violence in the capital Kiev. 20140221 EU foreign ministers broker a new agreement in Ukraine; the old constitution will be restored, and Julia Timoshenko freed. But the "anti-government movement" (this is what the BBC called it!) is still on the streets, and one of its spokesmen is quoted calling for Pres. Yanukovic's death: "Either he goes to Africa, or we kill him!" 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 A deal is worked out for new elections in Ukraine, but the protesters refuse to accept the deal. 20140222 The Kiev offices of Ukraine's President Viktor Yanukovych are unguarded and his whereabouts unknown, a day after a deal is signed to end unrest. Ukrainian Russian-language website Versii.com reports that President Yanukovych is planning to resign but is in Kharkiv with senior officials to discuss forming a separate government. The mob boos their "opposition leaders" for selling out. Janukovic boadcasts from E. Ukraine, probably Donetsk. He will not resign, but condemns what has happened as vandalism, banditry, and a coup reminiscent of the rise of the Nazi party in the 1930's. He says the "new parliament" acted illegaly in appointing a new speaker. The mob invades the abandoned government buildings. Julia Timoshenko is freed. 20150926_mearsheimer_ukraine_is_wests_fault.webm https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrMiSQAGOS4 President Yanukovich flees the country 20140224 Ukraine's new interim President Oleksandr Turchynov says Ukraine will focus on closer ties with Europe. Russia recalls its Ukranian ambassador for consultations 20140223 Parliament votes to repeal the minority-language laws 20140227 Russian untis begin siezing checkpoints in Crimea 20140228 Additional Russian forces begin moving into Crimea 20140306 The Crimean parliament votes to join Russia, and to hold a referendum on the matter 20140316 The referendum is held in Crimea 20140318 Russia incorporates Crimea 20220217 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/17/ukraine-rebels-accuse-govt-forces-of-mortar-attack-liveblog Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have accused Ukrainian forces of using mortars, grenade launchers and a machine gun in four separate incidents. 20220219 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/18/ottawa-police-begin-arresting-canada-truck-protesters At least 70 people arrested as officers clear a weeks-long occupation of Canada's capital. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/19/ukraine-separatists-military-mobilisation-russia-liveblog The leaders of the eastern Ukraine breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk have declared a full military mobilisation, moves that come amid a spike in violence in the war-torn region Russia has rejected US allegations that it was responsible for cyberattacks on Ukrainian banking and government websites as baseless. Zelenskyy has not changed his plans to personally attend the Munich Security Conference, his office said. Zelenskyy will meet with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US Vice President Kamala Harris. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, Zelenskyy calls for immediate sanctions against Russia, and for the reconquest of Crimea. 20220220 ABC RN at 07:25 The Belarussian "Cyber Partisans Initiative" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Partisans https://t.me/cpartisans based in New York, has brought down the Belarussian railway network using ranson-ware attacks, in order to impede russian troop movements. ABC RN interviewed spokesperson Juliana ??, speaking from New York. She had been recruited by a psychiatrist, Dmitri ?? guardian: Ukraine crisis / Foreign Office IT issues hampering UK's respones, say insiders https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/20/nepal-police-fire-tear-gas-to-disperse-protest-over-us-aid-grant The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) pact signed in 2017 faces opposition mainly from two of the Communist parties that are part of the Nepali coalition government. Critics of the pact claim the conditions in the grant agreement will prevail over Nepal's laws and threaten the country's sovereignty. They say it is part of Washington's Indo-Pacific strategy, which has military components that could bring American soldiers to Nepal. 20220221 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/highlights-of-russian-president-putins-speech If Ukraine was to join NATO it would serve as a direct threat to the security of Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/21/us-warns-of-possible-targeted-killings-by-russia-live-news Vladimir Putin has ordered Russian troops to "maintain peace" in two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine, hours after the Russian president recognised Donetsk and Luhansk as independent entities. In two official decrees, Putin on Monday instructed the country's defence ministry to assume "the function of maintaining peace" in the eastern regions. In an earlier televised address, Putin said he had deemed "it necessary to make a decision that should have been made a long time ago - to immediately recognise the independence and sovereignty of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic". The West has repeatedly warned Russia not to recognise the separatist regions in Donetsk and Luhansk. ~/photos/places/20220221_ukraine_with_donetsk_and_luhansk.jpg 20220222 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/22/un-meets-after-russia-sends-troops-to-eastern-ukraine-liveblog UN Security Council convene, calls for sanctions as Ukraine's president says international borders remain intact. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/22/germany-pauses-nord-stream-2-certification-process-over-ukraine German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says his government has taken steps to halt the approval process for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia over the crisis in Ukraine. Speaking to reporters in Berlin on Tuesday, Scholz said he had asked the economy ministry "to withdraw the report on security of supply with our federal networks agency", calling this "the first step to make sure the pipeline cannot be certified at this point". dw.com/en/ukraine-crisis-germany-halts-nord-stream-2-approval/a-60867443 German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said the gas pipeline project cannot go ahead now in these crisis circumstances. He said the approval process has been halted. 20220223 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/23/ukraine-declares-state-of-emergency-summons-citizens-home Ukraine imposes state of emergency, summons citizens home Ukrainian government announces compulsory military service for all men of fighting age, as Moscow evacuates its Kyiv embassy. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/23/ukraine-declares-state-of-emergency-amid-fears-of-invasion-liveblog Kremlin says Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine asked Moscow for help to repel Ukrainian aggression. France urges citizens to leave Ukraine 'without delay' Cuba, a close ally of Russia, has sharply criticised the United States for imposing "the progressive expansion of NATO towards the borders of the Russian Federation" and called for a diplomatic solution to preserve international peace. "The US government has been threatening Russia for weeks and manipulating the international community about the dangers of an 'imminent massive invasion' of Ukraine," a Cuban statement said. "It has supplied weapons and military technology, deployed troops to several countries in the region, applied unilateral and unjust sanctions, and threatened other reprisals." Putin says Russia will conduct a military operation in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region to defend separatists. "I have made the decision of a military operation," he said in a surprise statement on television shortly before 6 am (03:00 GMT). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/23/ukraine-declares-state-of-emergency-amid-fears-of-invasion-liveblog (04:34 GMT) Russia has launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine and is targeting cities with weapons strikes, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a tweet. Interfax Ukraine reported rocket attacks on military facilities throughout Ukraine and that Russian troops had landed in the southern port cities of Odessa and Mariupol. It also reported staff and passengers evacuating Kyiv's Boryspil airport. (PJB: I wasn't expecting this, just attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk ...) (04:44 GMT) UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Russia to end aggressions in Ukraine. "President Putin, in the name of humanity bring your troops back to Russia," the secretary-general said. "In the name of humanity do not allow to start in Europe what could be the worst war since the beginning of the century," he said, adding the conflict "must stop now". (04:52 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the UN has told an emergency Security Council meeting that Moscow's military operation against Ukraine was targeting "the junta" in power in Kiyv. "I wanted to say in conclusion that we aren't being aggressive against the Ukrainian people but against the junta that is in power in Kiyv," said Vassily Nebenzia. (05:25 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it was targeting Ukrainian military infrastructure with precision weapons. "Military infrastructure, air defense facilities, military airfields, and aviation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are being disabled with high-precision weapons." (05:48 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said that Ukrainian units, military control centres and airfields in the country's east are under intensive Russian shelling. (06:05 GMT) Russian troops attacked Ukraine from Belarus as well as Russia itself, with Belarusian support, at about 5 am local time (07:00 GMT), Ukraine's border guard service says. The agency said an attack had also been launched from Crimea, which Russia annexed from Crimea in 2014. (06:14 GMT) Al Jazeera Andrew Simmons, reporting from Kyiv, says air raid sirens have been blaring throughout the city. "It would appear that military installations have been the target - there have been missiles attacks and the number of casualties and level of damage is unclear at the moment," Simmons said. "But the whole sky was awash with red and orange when these missiles struck - some of which were apparently cruise missiles. And the main international airport did come under attack - it is not clear what the damage is there, but all air space is closed." https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/2/24/photos-russia-launches-full-scale-invasion-in-ukraine (06:35 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine, says several loud explosions rocked the city early this morning. "I think ... what has been targeted is the military base that is just on the edge of the city," Abdel-Hamid said. "The Russians are trying to diminish the capability of the Ukrainian army as much as possible." (07:35 GMT) Russia has suspended the movement of commercial vessels in the Azov sea until further notice. Ukraine and Russia both have ports on the Sea of Azov, including Ukraine's major port of Mariupol, while Russia controls the sea's mouth at the Kerch Strait. (08:41 GMT) Ukraine has asked Turkey to close the Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to Russian warships, Kyiv's ambassador to Ankara says. "We are calling for the air space, Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits to be closed. We have conveyed our relevant demand to the Turkish side. At the same time, we want sanctions imposed on the Russian side," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar told a news conference in the Turkish capital. The request puts NATO member Turkey, which shares a maritime border with Ukraine and Russia in the Black Sea and has good relations with both countries, in a difficult position. Under a 1936 pact, Ankara has control over the straits and can limit warship passages during wartime or if threatened. (11:13 GMT) Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has said Russia's decision to invade Ukraine is rooted in "provocative moves" by NATO. (11:42 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a "heavy blow" to regional peace. (13:47 GMT) `Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed 74 above-ground military infrastructure facilities in Ukraine on Thursday, including 11 aerodromes. (18:00 GMT) The Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been captured by Russian forces after a fierce battle for control of the now-defunct site (19:28) US to send 7,000 troops already on alert to Germany (19:07 GMT) Russia has "eliminated" Ukraine's air defences and now controls the skies over the country as it pursues its invasion, a senior Western intelligence official has said. "Essentially the Russians now have complete air superiority over Ukraine," the official said on condition of anonymity. (19:57 GMT) Ukraine's operational nuclear power plants are running safely and securely and there has been no "destruction" at the remaining waste and other facilities at Chernobyl, the UN nuclear watchdog has said, citing Ukraine's nuclear regulator. (20:07 GMT) French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has said that Putin, when making threats about using nuclear weapons, needs to understand that NATO, too, is a nuclear alliance. (20:18 GMT) Ukraine national police has said Russian forces have captured Ukraine's Zmiinyi Island located in the northwestern Black Sea. (21:13 GMT) Nancy Pelosi, speaker of the US House of Representatives, said the response by the US and its allies to Putin's decision to invade Ukraine "will be severe, ongoing and devastating for Russia, economically, diplomatically, and strategically". (22:15 GMT) US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said lawmakers want to provide Ukraine with $600m for "lethal defence weapons" to battle Russia's unfolding attack. 20220225 (00:45 GMT) Australia has imposed more sanctions against Russia targeting several of its elite citizens and lawmakers, and said it was "unacceptable" that China was easing trade restrictions with Moscow at this time. (03:08 GMT) Ukrainian forces downed an enemy aircraft over Kyiv, which then crashed into a residential building and set it on fire, Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, has said. It was unclear whether the aircraft was manned. Herashchenko wrote on Telegram that a nine-storey residential building was on fire. A series of explosions were heard in Kyiv earlier which Herashchenko said were the sounds of air defences firing at the aircraft. (03:41 GMT) A missile strike hit a Ukrainian border post in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhya, killing and wounding some guards, the border guard service has said. The region has no land border with Russia but is located on the coast of the Azov Sea which the neighbours share. (04:59 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba slammed the "horrific rocket strikes" that shook capital Kyiv. "Horrific Russian rocket strikes on Kyiv," Kuleba said on Twitter. "Last time our capital experienced anything like this was in 1941 when it was attacked by Nazi Germany". (05:25 GMT) Sirens go off in Lviv city in western Ukraine (06:09 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that continued Russian aggression against his country showed that sanctions imposed on Moscow by the West were not enough. Zelenskyy said the world was continuing to observe what was going on in Ukraine from afar. (06:30 GMT) International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan has expressed his concern over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and said his court may investigate possible war crimes in the country. "I remind all sides conducting hostilities on the territory of Ukraine that my office may exercise its jurisdiction and investigate any act of genocide, crime against humanity or war crime committed within Ukraine." (06:37 GMT) A senior Ukrainian defence official has warned that Russian forces would enter areas just outside Kyiv after officials said the city and other locations had been struck by Russian missiles in the early hours of the morning. Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine's interior minister, says his country expects a Russian tank attack on Kyiv, adding that defenders of the capital city were ready with anti-tank missiles supplied by foreign allies. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar has said Ukrainian army units were defending positions on four fronts despite being outnumbered. (07:34 GMT) Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from Kyiv, says the situation in city is "horrific and horrendous". "There was a litany of air raids overnight and one success for the Ukrainian defence in that they shot down one of Russia's fighter bombers, but that unfortunately crashed down into a civilian area, causing an unknown number of casualties, but it has left at least one person dead." "There have also been a large number of air raids since dawn, on three occasions the air raid sirens have gone off and a civilian area was struck by one of those raids," he added, noting the city's hospitals were "struggling with the number of casualties right now". Simmons said the number of civilian casualties was not clear, however. (09:38 GMT) Hungary will open a humanitarian corridor for citizens from third-party countries like Iran or India fleeing Ukraine, letting them in without visas and taking them to the nearest international airport, in Debrecen (10:24 GMT) Authorities in Kyiv have told residents in the city's NW Obolon district to stay off the streets as "active hostilities" are approaching. (11:19 GMT) The US is considering ways to train Ukrainian forces remotely if Russia takes control of the country, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has told officials from the House of Representatives. Austin reportedly added that the US will continue to support Zelenskyy's government for as long as it remained "viable". (11:42 GMT) Bashar Al-Assad has called Putin to express his support for Moscow's actions in Ukraine. "President Assad stressed that what is happening today is a correction of history and a restoration of balance in the global order after the fall of the Soviet Union," (12:37 GMT) Zelenskyy has made a desperate appeal to Ukraine's armed forces as Russia's forces continue to press ahead with their invasion. "I want to say to our troops - hold your ground, you are all that we have." His appeal came as the Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said the capital had entered into a "defensive phase. The city has gone into a defensive phase. Shots and explosions are ringing out in some neighbourhoods saboteurs have already entered Kyiv. The enemy wants to put the capital on its knees and destroy us," (13:06 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have captured the strategic Hostomel airfield, situated just seven kilometres northwest of Kyiv, and landed paratroopers in the area. The site has a long runway capable of accommodating heavy transport planes. Its seizure could allow Russia to airlift troops directly to Kyiv's outskirts. (13:22 GMT) Turkey cannot stop Russian warships accessing the Black Sea via its straits, as Ukraine has requested, due to a clause in an international pact that allows vessels to return to their home base, the Turkish foreign minister says. (13:55 GMT) Ukrainian military vehicles are entering the country's capital Kyiv to defend it against approaching Russian troops, Ukraine's interior ministry says. (14:57 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar has claimed that approximately 2,800 Russian troops have been killed in fighting so far. Ukrainian forces had also destroyed about 80 Russian tanks, 516 armoured combat vehicles, 10 aircraft and seven helicopters as of 3pm local time (13:00 GMT). (15:10 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Ukraine's military to seize power from Zelenskyy's government. "I once again appeal to the military personnel of the armed forces of Ukraine: do not allow neo-Nazis and Ukrainian radical nationalists to use your children, wives and elders as human shields. ake power into your own hands, it will be easier for us to reach agreement." (15:44 GMT) Ukraine's western city of Lviv has introduced a curfew, the Interfax news agency citing head of local military administration Maxim Kozitsky. "The curfew is introduced from 22:00 to 06:00. We will provide passes to residents of the region employed in critical infrastructure." (16:18 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said there is a "pause" in contact between Moscow and Kyiv over possible in-person talks between the two sides following a discussion over where any such meeting should take place. Peskov said Moscow had offered to hold the talks in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, but Kyiv had instead proposed Warsaw as a venue. He said the Ukrainians had then taken what he described as quite a long time-out. During that pause, he claimed Ukrainian "nationalists" had deployed missile systems in residential areas within the country's big cities. Peskov said it was a very dangerous development. (16:35 GMT) On the first day of Russia's invasion, in an EVANGELICAL church in Mariupol, people gathered for safety and to pray for Ukraine as fighting raged nearby. (21:32 GMT) "I'll be very clear here: We are going to provide additional security assistance for Ukraine. We will. How that is going to be done is still being worked out," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said during a news briefing, adding: "The airspace over Ukraine is contested." (22:48 GMT) Russia has vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that would have deplored Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, while China abstained from the vote - a move Western countries view as a win for demonstrating Russia's international isolation. The United Arab Emirates and India also abstained from the vote on the US-drafted text. 20220226 (00:11 GMT) Ukraine has said Russian warships shelled a Moldovan-flagged chemical tanker and a Panamanian-flagged cargo ship due to load grain near Odessa port in the Black Sea. A total of three non-military vessels have now been hit since the start of the invasion. On Thursday, the Turkish-owned Yasa Jupiter cargo ship was struck off Odessa. (04:37 GMT) Russian and Ukrainian forces have clashed on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, as authorities urged citizens to help defend the city from advancing Russian forces. (05:44 GMT) Areas near the cities of Sumy, Poltava and Mariupol were hit by air raids on Friday, with Russian Kalibr cruise missiles launched at Ukraine from the Black Sea. (06:00 GMT) 'Extraordinarily awful night' on Kyiv. Ukraine's capital witnessed relentless bombardment by Russia's Air Force, shuddering the city with ballistic missiles, Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons said. "Here in the capital, the force of the conflict has reached a seismic level," he said, speaking from Kyiv. "During the night, everyone has take some form of shelter, most of them below the ground, some of them in whatever form of handy shelter people could get. No one slept properly tonight." (06:49) The Russian army has targeted Ukraine's military infrastructure with air- and sea-based cruise missiles, defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in televised remarks. The ministry also said its troops have captured the Ukrainian city of Melitopol, in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region. (12:03 GMT) "I can tell you one thing this morning - it is that this war will last," Macrom told France's annual agriculture fair, a main fixtures on France's political calendar. "This crisis will last, this war will last and all the crises that come with it will have lasting consequences." (12:13 GMT) France seizes Russian cargo ship "Baltic Leader" in the English Channel (14:00 GMT) Zelenkskyy has thanked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan for Ankara's "military and humanitarian" support, saying a "ban on the passage of [Russian] warships to the Black Sea" was very important for his country. However, Turkey, which controls the Dardanelles and Bosphorus Straits that link the Mediterranean to the Black Sea, has not publicly announced any ban on Russian warships using the channels despite Kyiv's urgent requests that it take such a measure. (14:15 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region and an ally of Putin, says Chechen fighters have been deployed in Ukraine. (14:49 GMT) Russian forces are becoming increasingly frustrated by what the United States believes is "viable" Ukrainian resistance, a US defence official has said. "We know that they have not made the progress that they have wanted to make, particularly in the north. They have been frustrated by what they have seen is a very determined resistance," the official claimed, without providing evidence. "It has slowed them down." (16:45 GMT) Germany's government is in talks over approving the delivery of 400 rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs) to Ukraine via a third country but no final decision on whether to do so has been taken. (17:57 GMT) Germany is in favour of imposing "targeted and functional" restrictions on Russia's access to SWIFT, its foreign and economy ministers have said. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWIFT https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SWIFT#Competitors (18:15 GMT) The United States will provide an additional $350m worth of military aid to Ukraine, the country's secretary of state has announced. "This package will include further lethal defensive assistance to help Ukraine address the armoured, airborne, and other threats it is now facing," (18:26 GMT) Berlin will supply Kyiv with 1,000 anti-tank weapons and 500 Stinger surface-to-air missiles from its military's stocks. (18:50 GMT) Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the United Kingdom-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, says Moscow is "facing setbacks that it did not expect" but retains a "very significant" numerical advantage over Kyiv in military terms. "It is taking casualties and Ukraine is taking prisoners, including some quite senior, at least one, possibly two, brigade commanders," Gould-Davies told Al Jazeera from Washington. (19:03 GMT) The Dutch government will supply 50 Panzerfaust-3 anti-tank weapons and 400 rockets to Ukraine (19:12 GMT) Russian assault on the capital has stalled, and adviser to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych says as night falls in Kyiv (23:31 GMT) The United States and its allies are "disarming Fortress Russia" with new sanctions that cut off key banks from the SWIFT financial transactions network and target Russia's central bank, a senior Biden administration offial said. The actions are aimed at preventing Vladimir Putin from using $630bn in central bank foreign currency reserves in the invasion of Ukraine and to defend a plunging rouble. "Putin's government is getting kicked off the international financial system," the official said. 20220227 (02:03 GMT) Russian missiles have hit the Ukrainian town of Vasylkiv southwest of the capital, Kyiv, setting an oil terminal ablaze (02:48 GMT) Russian troops have blown up a natural gas pipeline in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. It was not immediately clear how important the pipeline was and whether the blast could disrupt gas shipments outside the city or the country. Despite the war, Ukraine continues to ship Russian natural gas to Europe. (10:44 GMT) Portugal will send "vests, helmets, night-vision goggles, grenades and ammunition" to Ukraine (10:55 GMT) Greece to send defence supplies to Ukraine (11:20 GMT) More European states bar Russian planes from their airspace (11:53 GMT) UN refugee agency UNHCR says more than 360,000 people have fled Ukraine (12:02 GMT) Russian tanks are stationed in middle of Bucha, a city 30km west of Kyiv (13:35 GMT) Putin has ordered his military command to put Russia's deterrence forces - a reference to units which include nuclear arms - on high alert, citing aggressive statements by NATO leaders and economic sanctions against Moscow. (15:36 GMT) The world's largest cargo plane, the Ukrainian-made Antonov-225 Mriya, was burnt during a Russian attack on a strategic airfield near Kyiv, according to Ukrainian state arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom. (16:23 GMT) Putin's decision to shift Russia's nuclear forces to a high alert footing amounts to "irresponsible" behavior, NATO's secretary-general says. "This is dangerous rhetoric. This is a behavior which is irresponsible," Jens Stoltenberg told CNN. (17:21 GMT) Sweden will send military aid to Ukraine, including anti-tank weapons, helmets and body armour, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson said. (17:40 GMT) EU expects more than 7 million displaced Ukrainians (19:27 GMT) Kosovo has asked the United States to establish a permanent military base in the country and speed up its integration into NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kosovo's 2008 independence is recognised by more than 110 countries, mainly Western nations, but not by Russia or Serbia. (19:54 GMT) BP is abandoning its 19.75% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft, which accounts for around half of BP's oil and gas reserves and a third of its production. Divesting the stake will result in charges of up to $25 billion, the British oil and gas giant said, without saying how it plans to extricate itself. Rosneft condemned BP's decision, saying 30 years of successful cooperation had been ruined. (20:26 GMT) The UN Security Council has voted to hold a rare emergency meeting of the General Assembly on Monday 20220228 (20:48 GMT) "US citizens should consider departing Russia immediately via commercial options still available," the US embassy in Moscow said. The French foreign ministry said "all French nationals should leave Russia immediately." (21:52 GMT) Russian airline Aeroflot has said that until further notice it would cancel all flights to European destinations 20220228 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/russia-ukraine-crisis-in-maps-and-charts-live-news-interactive (01:47 GMT) Jim Walsh, an expert in international security and a Research Associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Security Studies Program, said NATO and the US have to take Putin's announcement on placing Russia's nuclear forces on high alert "seriously". (02:01 GMT) Belarusians voted to allow the country to host nuclear weapons and Russian forces permanently, results have showed, part of a package of constitutional reforms that also extended the rule of leader Alexander Lukashenko. The agencies cited the Belarus central elections commission as saying 65.2 % of voted in favour, with 10.07 % against. (02:18 GMT) Blasts were heard in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and in the major city of Kharkiv (02:23 GMT) Australia will provide lethal military equipment to Ukraine (03:16 GMT) Joe Biden will host a call with allies and partners on Monday 16:15 GMT to discuss the latest developments regarding Russia's attack on Ukraine and to coordinate a united response, according to the White House. (03:42 GMT) The UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA said missiles have hit a radioactive waste disposal site in Kyiv, but there are no reports of damage to the buildings or indications of a release of radioactive material. (04:22 GMT) Belarus is preparing to send soldiers into Ukraine to support Russia's invasion in a deployment that could begin "within hours", the Kyiv Independent reported, citing unnamed sources. A US administration official also told the Washington Post that Belarus is joining Russia's to fight Ukrainian forces. (07:32 GMT) Russian forces' advance on Kyiv has been slowed by logistical failures and fierce Ukrainian resistance, the United Kingdom's defence ministry says. "The bulk of Putin's ground forces remain more than 30km to the north of Kyiv, their advance having been slowed by Ukrainian forces defending Hostomel airfield, a key Russian objective for day one of the conflict," the ministry said. "Logistical failures and staunch Ukrainian resistance continue to frustrate the Russian advance." Heavy fighting continues around Chernihiv, a city in northern Ukraine, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the defence ministry said in an intelligence update posted on Twitter. Both cities remain under krainian control (08:35 GMT) Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin has called for all sides to remain calm and avoid further escalation after Vladimir Putin put his country's nuclear deterrent on high alert Wang, speaking at a regular daily media briefing, also reiterated China's view that all countries' legitimate security concerns should be taken seriously. Beijing has previously called for Russia's concerns over the eastward expansion of the US-led NATO military alliance to be addressed. (08:49 GMT) Ukrainian officials have arrived for talks with Russia at the Ukraine-Belarus border, Zelenskyy's office said in a statement. The delegation from Kyiv includes Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak among others, the statement said. (09:12 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, says Moscow "has not given any hint or indication" that it intends to step back from its key demands ahead of the Russia-Ukraine talks. "These demands include the neutrality of Ukraine, guarantees that it will never join NATO and that Kyiv recognise the declared independence of breakaway regions in the east of the country," Hull said, citing the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). "And you can probably include in that recognition that Crimea is officially part of Russia after it was annexed [by Moscow] back in 2014, most of the world and certainly Ukraine does not recognise that," he added. "This Ukrainian delegation is certainly not going to accede to those demands and it seems highly unlikely that the Russians are suddenly going to withdraw their forces and therefore it is hard to see quite where these talks have to go." (09:24 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has appealed to Ukrainian civilians to leave the capital, Kyiv, as Moscow presses ahead with its offensive. "We are appealing to Kyiv's population to leave the city on a certain road that we can guarantee safe passage. I want to reiterate that Russian troops are only hitting military targets," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a televised address. (09:28 GMT) NATO member states are "stepping up" their support for Ukraine by providing Kyiv with air-defence missiles and anti-tank weapons, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says. (11:48 GMT) Zelenskyy says Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has agreed to provide Kyiv with $100m of aid, on top of existing financial support. (12:15 GMT) EU defence ministers are set to discuss plans later to jointly finance deliveries of weapons worth 500 million euros ($560m) to Ukraine, and these will include a range of defensive arms aimed at helping assist Kyiv's efforts to repel Russian forces, the bloc's foreign policy chief says. "Member states have to provide these arms, they have to coordinate with what they are doing ... with these resources," Borrell said in advance of the virtual meeting of the bloc's defence ministers. (12:25 GMT) The US has suspended operations at its embassy in the Belarusian capital, Minsk (13:18 GMT) Putin has denounced the West an "empire of lies" while discussing Russia's economy with Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and other top officials following the imposition of sweeping sanctions against Moscow (14:23 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, says reports of deadly Russian attacks in the eastern city of Kharkiv are "truly disturbing". "There are lots of pictures [on social media] showing explosions and suggestions that grad rocket fire has been used, others that bombs have been dropped by the air, and there are lots of [videos showing] flashes that indicate secondary explosions and the use of cluster munitions in amongst all of that." (14:57 GMT) Switzerland's president says his country, which is traditionally neutral, will adopt all of the sanctions imposed by the EU on Russia. "This is a big step for Switzerland," Ignazio Cassis told a news conference after the Alpine nation had for days hesitated over whether to join with Western powers and move to economically punish Moscow for its assault on Ukraine. (16:54 GMT) Journalist association warns of bias in Western coverage The Arab and Middle Eastern Journalists Association (AMEJA) has called on all news organisations to be mindful of implicit and explicit bias in their coverage of the war in Ukraine. The organisation said it tracked examples of racist news coverage that ascribes more importance to some victims of war over others. "This type of commentary reflects the pervasive mentality in Western journalism of normalising tragedy in parts of the world such as the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and Latin America," AMEJA said. (17:22 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has signed an application for Ukraine to join the European Union. Ukraine has been weakened by endemic corruption for many years, making the benchmarks of approval extremely hard to reach. (18:31 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has appealed to Russian soldiers, saying they will receive full amnesty and monetary compensation if they lay down their weapons. "Those of you who do not want to become a murderer and die can save yourselves," (18:42 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey will will use its authority over the Turkish Straits under the 1936 Montreux Convention to prevent the Russia-Ukraine "crisis" from further escalating. (###****????) Under the convention, Turkey can stop foreign warships from going through the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus during a war. (19:24 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said those supplying lethal weapons to Ukraine will bear responsibility should they be used during Russia's military campaign there. The ministry added that the steps the European Union has taken against Russia will not be left without a harsh response. A number of European countries including Norway, Italy and Finland have announced they will provide arms to Ukraine. (AND US etc) (19:39 GMT) The European Union agreed for the first time to jointly finance weapons deliveries to a third country to help Ukraine fend off the Russian invasion, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell said. (20:14 GMT) On the fifth day of fighting, Ukrainian forces claim Russian troops have slowed their advance but are still aiming for Kyiv, while Russia reported progress in the south. Naval battles were raging around the Black Sea port of Odessa as well as near Ochakiv and Chornomorsk. Russia was still trying to organise a naval landing at Mariupol on the shores of the southern Sea of Azov. Ukraine said it was still is holding Kharkiv, 500 kilometres east of Kyiv, despite Russian bombardments. The Ukrainian army said three Russian missiles targeted Kyiv. One was intercepted. Russia said it was besieging the cities of Kherson and Berdyansk close to Crimea. Ukraine confirmed Berdyansk has been occupied by Russian soldiers. (20:36 GMT) The US has ordered twelve members of Russia's mission to the United Nations to leave America for engaging in non-diplomatic activities.` 20220301 https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3001.html La milito en Ukrainio (01:04 GMT) The Russian military convoy descending on Ukraine's capital stretches for about 64 km, according to Maxar Technologies. The US satellite-imaging company said pictures taken on Monday shows the convoy "contains hundreds of armoured vehicles, tanks, towed artillery and logistics support vehicles". (02:46 GMT) World Taekwondo has stripped Putin of his honorary taekwondo black belt (05:04 GMT) A Ukrainian official says a Russian artillery attack on a military unit in Okhtyrka, a city between Kharkiv and Kyiv, killed at least 70 Ukrainian soldiers on Monday 20220228 (06:34 GMT) Russian troops have surrounded the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, and are is setting up checkpoints at the entrances of Kherson. Kherson has a population of around 280,000 and lies north of the Crimea peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. (07:52 GMT) Kharkiv official says Russian missiles have struck residential areas (08:42 GMT) Mariupol being 'pounded' by Russian attacks, mayor says (10:25 GMT) More than 660,000 people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine to neighbouring countries since Russia invaded, UNHCR says. (11:57 GMT) European capitals are looking to end their dependence on Moscow's gas supplies. African countries have some of the world's deepest gas reserves. but a lack of infrastructure, not capacity, could hurt their chances of filling the gaps. (12:04 GMT) Ex-president and top Russian security official Dmitry Medvedev has warned Western officials to "watch their tongues" after France's finance minister promised to wage an economic war against Russia. "Today, some French minister has said that they declared an economic war on Russia. Watch your tongue, gentlemen! And don't forget that in human history, economic wars quite often turned into real ones," Medvedev tweeted. (15:39 GMT) Russian forces have attacked a television tower in Kyiv, potentially disrupting its signal, The Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian English-language news outlet based in the capital, said Ukrainian TV channels had stopped broadcasting following the attack. (17:09 GMT) An attack by Russian forces on a television tower a couple of miles from central Kyiv has killed five people and wounded five others, Ukrainian emergency services have said in a statement. Officials said a TV control room and a power substation were hit, and at least some Ukrainian channels briefly stopped broadcasting. (19:18 GMT) Russian forces have entered the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, though Ukraine still controls the city administration building. (19:40 GMT) Russian steelmaker Severstal PJSC has suspended sales to Europe, its biggest export market, after billionaire owner Alexei Mordashov was sanctioned, along with other tycoons in the country. The company, which sells about 3 million tons of steel per year to Europe, was looking at new avenues for sales after being forced to suspend deliveries, a person familiar with situation told Bloomberg on condition of anonymity. (20:44 GMT) The Slovenian foreign ministry has said its consulate in Ukraine was destroyed in a military attack on the city of Kharkiv. No employees were injured in the attack. (20:47 GMT) The European Union has banned Russian state media outlets RT and Sputnik from broadcasting in the bloc while banning "certain" Russian banks from the SWIFT bank messaging system (20:52 GMT) Canada has shut its ports to Russian-owned ships, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said. (21:50 GMT) Americans' approval of Biden's response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine rose over the past week, with 43% saying they approve in a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Tuesday, up from 34% last week. A strong majority - 71% - of respondents said they believed the United States should provide Ukraine with weapons. Some 77% said the United States should impose additional sanctions on Russia as a result of its attacks in Ukraine. (22:27 GMT) United Airlines confirmed it has temporarily suspended flying over Russian airspace, joining other major US carriers. Delta Air Lines, American Airlines and United Parcel Service all confirmed this week they had halted flights over Russia as the White House considers following Canada and the European Union in banning overflights of US airspace by Russian carriers. (22:58 GMT) "Putin's war was premeditated and unprovoked," Biden said in prepared remarks released ahead of his annual State of the Union address. "He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn't respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home. Putin was wrong. We were ready." Biden will condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine as 'Putin's war' (PJB reminds me of Trump calling covid19 "the China disease") 20220302 (00:36 GMT) US oil giant ExxonMobil has announced that it will begin a phased withdrawal from the major oil field Sakhalin-1 it operates in Russia on behalf of a consortium including Russian, Indian and Japanese companies (00:39 GMT) The US government is set to announce a ban on Russian flights from American airspace following similar moves by the EU and Canada (01:04 GMT) Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs said 80,000 Ukrainians have returned home from abroad to join in the fight against Russia. (01:25 GMT) US payment card firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc have blocked multiple Russian financial institutions from their network (01:29 GMT) Danish shipping giant Maersk, Switzerland-based MSC and France's CMA CGM have announced that they would no longer take bookings for goods from Russia and were suspending most deliveries. (01:34 GMT) US airplane manufacturer Boeing Co has said it was suspending parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines (05:55 GMT) Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has said that she, Vice President William Lai and Premier Su Tseng-chang will each donate one month's salary to help with humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine. (06:45 GMT) Germany is prepared should Russia stop exporting gas to the country which is Europe's largest economy, Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said. (07:00 GMT) Russian residents are no longer allowed to leave the country with more than the equivalent of $10,000 as the Kremlin tries to keep capital inside the country gainst the backdrop of a rouble that is rapidly losing most of its value in light of the sanctions. (07:29 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says the country's armed forces have captured the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Local authorities deny Kherson has fallen, but say Russian troops have encircled the city. (08:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from the city of Lviv, in central Ukraine, says there are reports of "Russian soldiers being seen on the streets of Kherson". "This is a strategic city because it links the annexed-Crimean Peninsula to the mainland of Ukraine," Simmons said. He added Russian forces were now trying to take control of Mariupol, a key southeastern port city. "This is a much bigger city ... on the Sea of Azov," Simmons said. "There is a colossal fight going on there." (09:03 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from the city of Lviv, in western Ukraine, says there appears to be a "pattern of Russian attacks aimed at depriving Ukraine of access to its Black Sea coast". "The Russians are said to be in control of Kherson and are also encircling Mariupol, a much bigger port city down on the Black Sea coast between Crimea and the breakaway regions." (14:02 GMT) Russian state-controlled media outlets RT and Sputnik will be banned in the EU with immediate effect for promoting what the bloc says is systematic disinformation about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (14:28 GMT) Reports of 'heavy casualties' in Mariupol (15:10 GMT) One of Russia's best-known radio stations has gone silent. On Tuesday night, listeners who tuned in to Echo of Moscow, one of the handful of independent news outlets remaining in the country, heard nothing but the hissing noise of static. (15:37 GMT) The EU has imposed sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian military officers over what it said was Minsk's role in aiding the invasion. (16:31 GMT) Ukraine's deputy foreign minister has received a standing ovation at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva after calling for support for a draft resolution to set up a UN investigation into alleged crimes committed by Russia. More than 100 diplomats walked out during an address by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday. (16:35 GMT) US Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced the launch of a task force KleptoCapture to pursue "corrupt Russian oligarchs" and violators of sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. (18:50 GMT) Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Slovakia and Romania will quit two Soviet-era international banks the International Bank for Economic Cooperation (IBEC) and the International Investment Bank (IIB) which count Russia as their largest shareholder. (19:04 GMT) Russian businessman Roman Abramovich has said he will sell Chelsea Football Club (20:10 GMT) Ukrainian officials have reported a powerful explosion in Kyiv, between the Southern Railway station and the Ibis hotel, an area near Ukraine's Defense Ministry. (20:29 GMT) Four Russian fighter jets briefly entered Swedish territory over the Baltic Sea, the Swedish Armed Forces said, sparking a swift condemnation from Sweden's defence minister Peter Hultqvist. (20:33 GMT) Georgia will "immediately" apply for EU membership, the Black Sea nation's ruling party has said, a day after the European Parliament backed war-torn Ukraine's bid to apply for EU membership. (21:04 GMT) Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the Russian military's push towards Kyiv from the north "remains stalled". "They haven't - from our best estimates - have not made any appreciable progress geographically speaking, in the last 24 to 36 hours," Kirby told reporters. He said the Pentagon believes the advance has slowed down because Russian forces are deliberately regrouping while also facing unanticipated logistic challenges and experiencing resistance from Ukrainians. (21:08 GMT) "In an effort to demonstrate that we have no intention in engaging in any actions that can be misunderstood or misconstrued, the decretary of defense has directed that our Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile test launch scheduled for this week to be postponed," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. (21:35 GMT) The mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Igor Kolykhayev said Russian troops were in the streets and had forced their way into the city council building (22:13 GMT) The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has confirmed he would immediately open an investigation into possible war crimes committed in Ukraine, following a request to do so by 39 of the court's member states. (22:22 GMT) EU bars 7 Russian banks from SWIFT, but spares those in energy (23:53 GMT) At least five superyachts owned by Russian billionaires were anchored or cruising in Maldives, an Indian Ocean island nation that does not have an extradition treaty with the United States, ship tracking data have showed 20220303 (00:31 GMT) Toyota has said it would suspend operations at its only factory in St Petersburg, Russia and stop shipping vehicles to the country, citing "supply chain disruptions" (01:04 GMT) Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from Lviv, said residents in the southeastern town of Enerhodar have blocked the road to Europe's largest nuclear power station, in an apparent stand-off with Russian forces. (01:16 GMT) Ukraine is setting up a hotline for "African, Asian and other students" who want to leave the country, Ukrainian FM Dmytro Kuleba has said. "We are working intensively to ensure their safety & speed up their passage." (01:33 GMT) Japan's Pan Pacific International, formerly Don Quijote Holdings, said in a statement it will accept 100 Ukrainian families approved by the Japanese government to enter Japan as refugees, and provide financial support and job opportunities. (01:55 GMT) Credit rating agency Moody's said it has downgraded Russia's long-term issuer and senior unsecured debt ratings to B3 from Baa3 (03:58 GMT) Russia's government is throttling Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram (04:31 GMT) Sveral "massive explosions" have been heard in Kyiv, triggering air raid sirens amid fighting on the outskirts of the capital. (04:38 GMT) Vladimir Putin has held talks with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the urgent evacuation of Indian students trapped in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Putin said he had ordered Russian soldiers "to ensure the safe exit of Indian nationals from the armed conflict zone and their return to their homeland." (06:15 GMT) The Associated Press news agency, citing doctors and residents, said Russian soldiers wounded in fighting around Kyiv are being ferried to a Belarus hospital near the border with Ukraine. The agency said a string of seven bus-size Russian military ambulances - their windows blocked with gray shades - pulled up to the back entrance of the hospital in Belarus's Gomel region on Tuesday evening. (20220222) (06:42 GMT) Eduard Basurin, a pro-Russian separatist commander in Donetsk, 1is threatening to launch targeted strikes on the port city of Mariupol unless Ukrainian forces there surrender, according to the Interfax news agency. Russia and separatists say they have encircled the city of 430,000 located on the Azov Sea coast. (07:21 GMT) Hungary will not veto European Union sanctions against Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said, describing the unity of the 27-member bloc as paramount amid the war in Ukraine. In an interview with news website mandiner.hu, Orban said that Hungary's ties with Russia had been "balanced and fair" until the very recent past, but the conflict has created a new situation. He added that Budapest condemns the Kremlin's decision to invade unequivocally. However, he said there was no reason to cut energy ties with Moscow. (07:31 GMT) IPC bans Russian and Belarus athletes from Winter Paralympics (07:40 GMT) Echo of Moscow, one of a handful of independent news outlets remaining in Russia, has been dissolved by its board, according to its editor. (07:48 GMT) Several major blasts were heard in Kyiv in the early hours of this morning, with footage shared on social media showing the night sky lit up by explosions. It remains unclear what the targets were, or whether anyone was hurt or wounded amid the incidents. They came after an earlier explosion near Kyiv's central train station, which a Ukrainian official said was caused by falling wreckage from a Russian missile that was downed by the country's air defences. (07:55 GMT) The miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv remains more than 30km from the capital as a result of it having been delayed by "staunch Ukrainian resistance" and logistical issues, the UK's defence ministry says. "The column has made little discernible progress in over three days," the ministry said in an intelligence update. It added that the cities of Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain in Ukrainian control, despite intense Russian shelling. (10:18 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow's attack on Ukraine is aimed, among other things, at ensuring that its neighbour does not join the NATO transatlantic military alliance. PJB: as if that wasn't known ... (11:03 GMT) Ukrainian troops are launching counter-attacks against invading Russian forces even as they defend the country from Moscow's offensive, a military adviser to Zelenskyy has said. "Help to us is increasing every minute and the strength of the enemy is decreasing every minute. We're not only defending but also counter-attacking," he said in a televised briefing. (14:00 GMT) Berlin has pledged to "quickly and unbureaucratically" help Ukrainians fleeing war. More than 5,000 have already arrived in Germany, and preparations are being made to welcome tens of thousands more yet. (14:13 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has approved a bill to allow the seizure of assets or property in Ukraine owned by Russia or Russian citizens. Under the law, the government can suggest which assets to confiscate to the Security Council, which must then give its approval for their transfer to state ownership. (17:07 GMT) The Ukrainian military has said it believes Belarusian troops have received the order to cross the Ukrainian border. (17:55 GMT) Ukraine and Russia have agreed to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians in a second round of talks since Moscow invaded (19:11 GMT) "The Department of the Defense recently established a de-confliction line with the Russian ministry of defense on March 1 for the purposes of preventing miscalculation, military incidents, and escalation," a senior U.S. defense official said (20:07 GMT) Canada's transport minister has said a charter aircraft carrying Russian nationals is being held at Yellowknife airport in Northwest Territories. (20:28 GMT) A bipartisan group of US senators has introduced legislation that would ban all oil imports to the US from Russia. "Energy has been weaponised. We have the ability to counter that weapon," said Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who is part of a group calling on the Biden administration to boost US domestic oil production. The proposal, titled the "Ban Russian Energy Imports Act", also has the support of the top leader in the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi. But White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said at an earlier media briefing that White House officials opposed blocking Russian oil imports because it would raise fuel prices for Americans. (20:35 GMT) The United Nations' atomic watchdog says Ukraine has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that staff who have been kept at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant since Russian troops took control of the site a week ago are facing "psychological pressure and moral exhaustion". IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the staff must be allowed to rest and rotate so their crucial work can be carried out safely and securely. The IAEA said they "have limited opportunities to communicate, move and carry out full-fledged maintenance and repair work" (21:08 GMT) The mayor of the Ukrainian town of Energodar said a column of Russian troops was headed toward the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, late on Thursday. Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities reported that Russian troops were stepping up efforts to seize the plant in southeast Ukraine and had entered Energodar with tanks. (21:45 GMT) Senegal's foreign ministry has condemned as illegal a Facebook post by Ukraine's embassy that called for Senegalese volunteers to join its fight against Russia, Reuters reported. Recruitment of volunteers, mercenaries and other foreign fighters is illegal in Senegal and punishable by law, the ministry said in a statement on Thursday. Ukrainian ambassador Yurii Pyvovarov was summoned to the ministry to explain the post, it added. Ukrainian officials have made similar calls in other countries. (22:20 GMT) The Czech Republic will send an additional military aid package worth 17 million crowns ($730,900) to Ukraine. The package includes hundreds of machine guns or assault rifles and more than 100,0000 ammunition rounds from Czech weapons groups, such as CZG-Ceska Zbrojovka Group. (22:32 GMT) Two oil tankers owned and managed by Sovcomflot, the Russian maritime and freight shipping company that the United States blacklisted last week, are rerouting from their Canadian destinations, while another is returning to Russia after discharging, according to tracking data and marine sources. The two tankers are the first Russian-owned oil vessels to change course after Canada this week shut ports to Russian-owned ships and barred them from Canadian waters. "It's incredibly confusing for where these ships go, whether they will be received or not and if ports will accept them," said Dan Yergin, vice chairman of energy research and consultancy IHS Markit. 20220304 (00:02 GMT) The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the largest of its kind in Europe, was on fire after an attack by Russian troops, the mayor of the nearby town of Energodar has said. "As a result of continuous enemy shelling of buildings and units of the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant is on fire," Dmytro Orlov said. (or also: "Enerhodar" ...) (00:41 GMT) Firefighters have not started extinguishing a fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant due to ongoing Russian shelling, the town's mayor has said. It is also reported that there is a hit in the first power unit (00:49 GMT) Russian troops are "firing from all sides" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that is aflame, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. "If it blows up, it will be 10 times larger than Chornobyl!," he warned on Twitter, referring to the site of another plant where radioactivity is still leaking from history's worst nuclear disaster 36 years ago. He added: "Russians must IMMEDIATELY cease the fire, allow firefighters, establish a security zone!" It is reported that unit 1 was under maintenance, and not in operation; but it still contains fuel ... (02:00 GMT) the UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA said Ukraine's regulator reported "no change" in radiation levels at the plant site. (02:06 GMT) The IAEA urges Russian forces to stop attacking Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, warning of "severe danger" if the reactors were hit. (02:08 GMT) Joe Biden spoke with Zelenskyy about Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (02:17 GMT) "The director of the plant said that the nuclear safety is now guaranteed. According to those responsible for the plant, a training building and a laboratory were affected by the fire," Oleksandr Starukh, head of the military administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, said. The fire was "outside the perimeter" says the ABC (02:37 GMT) Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, said "we don't know much" about the details of the fire at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. But, these machines are "not meant to be exposed to missiles and high explosives - they're not designed for this," (02:55 GMT) "#Ukraine tells IAEA that fire at site of #Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has not affected 'essential' equipment, plant personnel taking mitigatory actions," the IAEA said (03:05 GMT) Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors being safely shut down (04:22 GMT) "As of 05:20 at the Zaporizhzhia NPP in Energodar, State Emergency Service units went to put out the fire in the training building," the Ukranian emergency services wrote on Facebook, noting that 40 people and 10 vehicles were involved in the operation. (04:50 GMT) "At 06:20 [04:20 GMT] the fire in the training building of Zaporizhzhia NPP in Energodar was extinguished. There are no victims," the emergency services said (06:59 GMT) A Russian air strike has destroyed the power plant in Okhtyrka, a city located between Kharkiv and Kyiv, leaving residents without heat or electricity, according to head of the region. "We are trying to figure out how to get people out of the city urgently, because in a day the apartment buildings will turn into a cold stone trap without water, light or electricity," Dmytro Zhyvytskyy said on Telegram. Okhtyrka is home to a key military base, where some 70 Ukrainian soldiers died last week in a Russian attack. (07:15 GMT) Russia curbs access to BBC, Deutsche Welle and other media (07:25 GMT) The key port city of Mariupol remains under Ukrainian control but has been encircled by Russian forces, according to the UK defence ministry. In its latest daily intelligence update, the ministry said the city's civilian infrastructure had been "subjected to intense Russian strikes".` (07:30 GMT) Russian troops have seized control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in southeastern Ukraine, according to local officials and the Ukrainian nuclear inspectorate. The inspectorate said staff at the facility, the largest of its kind in Europe, were continuing to operate the reactor and supply power according to normal safety rules. (08:06 GMT) China's foreign ministry has urged all sides to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities in Ukraine amid fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. "We will monitor the situation and call on all sides to exercise restraint, avoid escalation and ensure the safety of relevant nuclear facilities," ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a daily news briefing. Ukraine is heavily dependent on nuclear energy and is home to 15 reactors, which generate about half of the country's electricity, according to the World Nuclear Association. ~/photos/events/20220303_zaporizhzhia_nuclear_power_station.jpg (08:24 GMT) Calls for NATO to enforce a no-fly zone in Ukraine are irresponsible, Lithuania's prime minister has said, warning such a measure would risk dragging the United States-led transatlantic military alliance into direct conflict with Russia. "I believe that all encouragements for NATO to get involved into the military conflict now are irresponsible," Ingrida Simonyte told a news conference in Vilnius. (08:31 GMT) Russia's lower house of parliament has passed a law allowing authorities to imprison people for up to 15 years if they are convicted of spreading intentionally "fake" information about the country's armed forces. The law, which also makes calling for sanctions against Russia a criminal offence, comes as Moscow ramps up its efforts to control the domestic narrative over its war in Ukraine. "If the fakes lead to serious consequences then imprisonment of up to 15 years threatens," the lower house of parliament, known as the Duma in Russian, said in a statement. (09:12 GMT) France has activated the crisis cell of its Nuclear Safety Authority (ASN) watchdog after the fire at the Zaporizhzhia plant, the country's energy minister Barbara Pompili says. (09:45 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Lviv, in western Ukraine, says the miles-long Russian military convoy north of Kyiv "is essentially stalled". "According to satellite imagery and Western intelligence agencies ... it hasn't moved, barely an inch, in three days now." (09:58 GMT) IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said the Zaporizhzhia plant's operators and the Ukrainian regulator have warned the situation at the site "continues to be extremely tense and challenging". Of the plant's reactor units, Unit 1 is shut down for maintenance, Units 2 and 3 have undergone a controlled shut down, Unit 4 is operating at 60% power and Units 5 and 6 are being held "in reserve" in low power mode (10:18 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country's troops are not currently taking part in Russia's invasion of Ukraine and will not participate in the offensive in the future either. (10:39 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has blamed the attack at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Ukrainian saboteurs, calling it a "monstrous provocation". Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the facility was operating normally and that the area had been under Russian control since Monday. 20220228 "However, last night, on the territory adjacent to the power plant, an attempt was made by the Kyiv nationalist regime to carry out a monstrous provocation," Konashenkov said. "On March 4 at about 2 am during a patrol of guarded territory adjacent to the ... plant, a mobile patrol of the National Guard came under attack from a Ukrainian sabotage group," he added. "To provoke return fire on the building, heavy small arms fire was opened on Russian National Guard servicemen from the windows of several floors of a training complex located outside the power plant." Konashenkov said the Russian patrol returned fire to suppress the attack, and the "sabotage group" abandoned the training complex, setting fire to it as they left. (12:35 GMT) A majority of Swedes are now in favour of joining NATO following Russia's invasion, according to a new opinion poll, with Moscow's assault seemingly spurring a rapid shift in attitudes in a country long known for neutrality. (13:54 GMT) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has called on Russians to protest against the war in Ukraine in cities across Russia and the world on March 6. (16:11 GMT) British ad group WPP says it will leave Russia "WPP stands with Ukraine and the international community in condemning the Russian invasion, which has created a humanitarian crisis in the heart of Europe," the company, which employs nearly 1400 in Russia, said. (16:35 GMT) "Now it is time for a strong message. It is time for signaling that the Ukrainian people are one of the European peoples. We want them in as soon as possible," Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said after a meeting of EU Europe ministers in Arles in the south of France. (17:15 GMT) Ukraine will join the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE) as a "contributing participant", the NATO-accredited military research institution said in a statement. (18:06 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull speaking from western Ukraine said the port city of Mariupol was "completely surrounded" by Russian forces. "It is cut off from supplies ... heat, electricity, and also internet and mobile phone communication," he reported from Lviv. (18:19 GMT) Moscow's envoy to the United Nations, Vasily Nebenzya, has dismissed reports that Russian troops attacked the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as "lies" and "disinformation". "You're trying to present the situation in such a way as though the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was allegedly shelled by the Russian military as a result of which a fire broke out," Nebenzya told the UN Security Council. "These statements are simply untrue." Nebenzya said Ukrainian "saboteurs" fired at Russian forces from a training facility outside the power plant early on Friday. "The Russian patrol returned fire on the firing points of the Ukrainian saboteurs in the building of the training complex and suppressed their fire. As they were leaving the Ukrainian sabotage group set fire to the training facility," Nebenzya said. He stressed that Russian forces are not interfering with the work of the plant's operators but are trying to ensure the security of the facility. (18:22 GMT) The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said sanctions imposed by the war were not about seeking any regime change in Russia. (HaHaHa!) (19:07 GMT) Former US deputy assistant secretary of state Joel Rubin's comments came after NATO earlier rejected calls from Ukrainian leaders to enforce a no-fly zone amid Russia's continued attacks on the country. "It's not just a call for a no-fly zone and then aircraft cease. What this would mean is that NATO would be directly engaging Russian military aircraft, and if the aircraft were to fly, NATO would be obligated to shoot them down. So that's what we're talking about here. It's a horrible conundrum," Rubin told Al Jazeera. (20:01 GMT) Some thousand demonstrators have rallied in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in the Serbian capital Belgrade as they chanted anti-NATO slogans and showered praise on Putin. The demonstrators chanted "Serbs-Russians, brothers forever" as they marched through central Belgrade, lighting road flares and waving Russian flags. (20:12 GMT) Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor blocks access to Facebook (20:34 GMT) Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor has "restricted access" to Twitter (20:47 GMT) Pressure is mounting among member states for Russia to be expelled from the Council of Europe, after it was suspended amid the invasion of Ukraine, the pan-European rights group's secretary general has said. "Today, more and more voices are demanding that the next step is the expulsion of the Russian Federation," Marija Pejcinovic Buric told AFP news agency in an interview. (20:53 GMT) US leader Joe Biden and his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto agreed on Friday to deepen ties but stopped short of making public security guarantees or suggesting that Finland could join NATO after Russia's Ukraine invasion. (22:17) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has lashed NATO for ruling out a no-fly zone over his country saying the Western military alliance knew further Russian aggression was likely. "Knowing that new strikes and casualties are inevitable, NATO deliberately decided not to close the sky over Ukraine," he said in a video published by the presidency. "Today the leadership of the alliance gave the green light for further bombing of Ukrainian cities and villages, refusing to make a no-fly zone" 20220305 (02:28 GMT) Ukraine's strategic port city of Mariupol is under a "blockade" by the Russian army after days of "ruthless" attacks, its mayor has said, calling for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor. "For now, we are looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the blockade," said Vadim Boychenko in a message posted on Telegram. (05:55 GMT) SpaceX chief Elon Musk has said that its Starlink satellite broadband service has been told by some governments, not Ukraine, to block Russian news sources. "We will not do so unless at 'gunpoint', sorry to be a free speech absolutist", he said in a tweet. (06:29 GMT) Russian forces will stop firing at 10:00 Moscow time to allow humanitarian corridors out of the Ukrainian cities of Mariupol and Volnovakha, according to Russia's defence ministry. "Today, March 5, from 10am Moscow time, the Russian side declares a regime of silence and opens humanitarian corridors for the exit of civilians from Mariupol and Volnovakha," the ministry said. (06:32 GMT) Russian state gas company Gazprom was shipping natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in the same volume of 109.5 million cubic metres per day as on Friday, the state-owned RIA news agency has cited Ukraine's pipeline operator company as saying. (07:13 GMT) PayPal shuts down its services in Russia (07:49 GMT) Civilians will be allowed to leave Mariupol, Ukraine between 12:00-17:00 Moscow time on Saturday, Russia's RIA news agency has cited city authorities as saying. (08:06 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said that 66,224 Ukrainian men have returned from abroad to join the fight against Russia's invasion. "That's how many men returned from abroad at this moment to defend their country from the horde. These are 12 more combat and motivated brigades! Ukrainians, we are invincible." (08:37 GMT) EU suspends Russia and Belarus from Council of Baltic Sea States "The EU agrees with the other members of the CBSS (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland and Sweden) that the suspension of Russia and Belarus will remain in force until it is possible to resume cooperation based on respect for fundamental principles of international law." (09:13 GMT) Russian Nikita Mazepin will not race in Formula One this season after US-owned Haas has said it has terminated the driver's contract. The team also ended its title sponsorship deal with Russian potash producer Uralkali, owned by Mazepin's father. (09:49 GMT) Germany will deploy air defence capabilities to Lithuania and the US will send a troop battalion armed with tanks, Lithuania's defence minister has said. The deployments and exercises will increase the total number of foreign NATO troops in Lithuania to 4,000 by end-March from 3,000 now. (10:02 GMT) The "overall rate of Russian air and artillery strikes observed over the past 24 hours has been lower than in previous days," the ministry said on Twitter. Ukraine continues to hold Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol and there have been reports of street fighting in Sumy, it said. "It is highly likely that all four cities are encircled by Russian forces." (10:12 GMT) The Kremlin has said the West is behaving like bandits but that Russia was far too big to be isolated as the world is much larger than just the United States and Europe. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that if the US imposed sanctions on Russia's energy exports then it would roil energy markets. (11:27 GMT) The UK has urged its nationals to consider leaving Russia. (11:39 GMT) Speaking to Al Jazeera from Kyiv, Ukrainian MP Serhii Babak has thanked the countries that have provided humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine but reiterated a call for the establishment of a "no-fly zone". "I am a scientist, I am a doctor of engineering in science, but now I am sleeping with my machine gun and I am holding it every day. And I will defend as well as any other member of parliament and citizen of Ukraine - we will defend our country," he added. "Everybody is a soldier [now] in Ukraine." (12:06 GMT) Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot will stop all flights abroad with the exception of those to Belarus from March 8. (12:12 GMT) The UK will make it easier to sanction Russian oligarchs and align those sanctions with the EU and the US, the government has said. The UK has been criticised for not doing enough to clamp down on oligarchs' ill-gotten gains which are frequently invested in luxury real estate in London, a popular destination. (12:27 GMT) German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have said they were stopping their reporting from Russia after Moscow announced its new legislation. (12:48 GMT) Poland will not recognise any territorial changes brought about by "unprovoked, illegal aggression", Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau has said following talks with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. (13:34 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the side of the road about 30km south of Zaporizhzhia, said locals in the area reported Russian shelling only about 10km away. "Many of the villagers are absolutely terrified. They say the situation has deteriorated dramatically since that ceasefire failed," he said, referring to the partial ceasefire declared earlier in the day in Mariupol and Volnovakha. "There was heavy shelling this morning," he added, noting it was not possible to confirm whether "it was either incoming or outgoing. (14:17 GMT) President Putin has warned that any nation contemplating imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine would be considered by Moscow be participating in "armed conflict". "Any movement in this direction will be considered by us as participation in an armed conflict by that country," Putin said during a meeting with Aeroflot employees. He said a no-fly zone would have "colossal and catastrophic consequences not only for Europe but also the whole world". (14:30 GMT) Italy's public television channel RAI has announced an immediate suspension of its operations from Russia after Moscow passed a bill allowing jail terms on media outlets publishing "false information" about the military. (15:07 GMT) The Russian leader says there is nothing that warrants imposing martial law in Russia at this point. The Russian president said that "martial law is imposed in a country ... in the event of external aggression, including in specific areas of hostilities. But we don't have such a situation, and I hope we won't". (15:41 GMT) The Russian embassy in Berlin has revealed it received hundreds of complaints in the three days from Russians in Germany saying they had received threatening messages. (16:24 GMT) Military analyst Mason Clark, of the Institute for the Study of War, explains why Russia has not used its full military force against Ukraine."It's frankly miraculous that they have allowed the Ukrainian Air Force to remain operational ... when they should have theoretically had the capabilities to ground it very early on in operations," he told Al Jazeera. "So a lot of those higher-end Russian capabilities that we would expect, we haven't actually seen used yet. It doesn't, of course, mean that they won't ever be used, and we are beginning to see some indications of Russians using greater tactical airpower," he said. (16:36 GMT) Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday to discuss the Ukraine crisis (16:58 GMT) Russia's flagship carrier Aeroflot, has announced that it will halt all international flights except to Belarus starting March 8. (18:24 GMT) "Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is currently on his way from Moscow to Berlin, where he will meet with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz," (18:51 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy made a "desperate plea" to US senators to help his country get more planes to help the country fight the Russian invasion. Zelenskyy made the request on a call joined by more than 300 people, including senators, some House lawmakers and aides. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said in a statement that Zelenskyy made a "desperate plea for Eastern European countries to provide Russian-made planes to Ukraine." (18:59 GMT) Zelenskyy said the third nuclear power plant currently under threat is the Yuzhnoukrainsk plant, located 120 kilometers north of Mykolaiv. (19:20 GMT) New US sanctions imposed on Russia are not related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and should not have any impact on a potential revival of that agreement, a US State Department spokesperson said. "The new Russia-related sanctions are unrelated to the JCPOA and should not have any impact on its potential implementation," the spokesperson said, referring to the 2015 deal by its formal name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. "We continue to engage with Russia on a return to full implementation of the JCPOA. Russia shares a common interest in ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon. " (21:49 GMT) Russian forces have intensified shelling in the port city of Mariupol, including with the use of airplanes, the mayor has said. "The city is in a very, very difficult state of siege," Vadym Boychenko told Ukrainian TV. "Relentless shelling of residential blocks is ongoing, airplanes have been dropping bombs on residential areas." (22:05 GMT) Russia's war on Ukraine has created fears of a global food crisis. The two countries supply a third of the world's wheat and are major exporters of barley, corn and sunflower oil. (22:20 GMT) A senior official from Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that the humanitarian situation in the besieged southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol is "catastrophic" and it is vital that civilians be evacuated. "It is imperative that this humanitarian corridor, which could have been created today but which has not really been put in place following non-respect of the ceasefire, is put in place very quickly to allow the civilian population, women and children, to get out of this city," MSF's emergency coordinator in Ukraine, Laurent Ligozat, told the AFP news agency. He said a lack of drinking water, food, electricity and heating is becoming critical in the city. "The situation is catastrophic and getting worse day by day." (22:38 GMT) Canada told its citizens to leave Russia "while commercial means are still available," saying security conditions were unpredictable and could deteriorate without notice. (23:09 GMT) Mastercard and Visa are suspending their operations in Russia, the companies said, in the latest blow to the country's financial system after its invasion of Ukraine. Mastercard said cards issued by Russian banks will no longer be supported by its network and any card issued outside the country will not work at Russian stores or ATMs. (23:37 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has spoken to SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk and announced the country would receive more of its Starlink satellite internet terminals next week. Musk on Thursday said Starlink was the only non-Russian communications system still working in some parts of Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion. 20220306 (Sunday) (00:00 GMT) The US has condemned a new law in Russia that threatens jail terms of up to 15 years for spreading what the Kremlin calls "fake news" and urged continued action across sectors to promote human rights and fundamental freedoms. The new Russian law makes it illegal to report any event that could discredit the country's military. (00:27 GMT) Joe Biden has spoken with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says the White House, adding the call lasted for about 30 minutes. Zelenskyy also tweeted about it, saying he discussed security, financial support for Ukraine and continuation of sanctions against Russia with Biden. Joe Biden welcomed decisions by Visa and Mastercard to suspend their operations in Russia, says the White House. "President Biden noted his administration is surging security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine and is working closely with Congress to secure additional funding." (02:15 GMT) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has told US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that China opposes any moves that "add fuel to the flames" in Ukraine. Blinken says the world is watching to see which nations stand up for the principles of freedom and sovereignty. The two spoke by phone on Saturday, the Chinese foreign ministry said. Wang called for negotiations to resolve the immediate crisis, as well as talks on creating a balanced European security mechanism. Wang said the US and Europe should pay attention to the negative impact of NATO's eastward expansion on Russia's security. The US State Department says Blinken underscored that the world is acting in unison in response to Russian aggression and ensuring that Moscow will pay a high price. China has broken with the US, Europe and others that have imposed sanctions on Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. China says that the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all nations should be respected, but that sanctions create new issues and disrupt the process of political settlement. (03:19 GMT) The staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said Russia planned to seize the dam of the Kaniv hydroelectric power station, located some 150 km south of Kyiv on the Dnipro River. (03:57 GMT) Senior US officials have travelled to Venezuela to meet with President Nicolas Maduro's government, seeking to determine whether Caracas is prepared to back away from its close ties to Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. The trip is the highest-level US visit to Venezuela in years after the two countries broke diplomatic relations amid a campaign of US sanctions and diplomatic pressure aimed at ousting Maduro. (06:08 GMT) Vladimir Putin has warned Ukraine that its statehood is in jeopardy. "If they continue to do what they are doing... they are calling into question the future of Ukrainian statehood," he said on Saturday. "And if this happens, it will be entirely on their conscience," he added. (07:04 GMT) British military intelligence said Russian forces were targeting populated areas in Ukraine but the strength of resistance was slowing their advance. "The scale and strength of Ukrainian resistance continue to surprise Russia," British military intelligence said in an update. Moscow "has responded by targeting populated areas in multiple locations, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol." "Russia has previously used similar tactics in Chechnya in 1999 and Syria in 2016, employing both air and ground-based munitions," British military intelligence said. (07:27 GMT) The humanitarian situation in southeastern city of Mariupol is extremely "dire" with huge displacement of people, the International Committe of the Red Crocc (ICRC) warned, adding that many people are stranded in shelters without food, water or electricity. "I could describe the situation as catastrophic," Mirella Hodeib, ICRC Ukraine, told Al Jazeera. "The safe passage for civilians is a guarantee under international humanitarian law. The ICRC welcomes any initiative to offer respite to civilians fleeing the conflict," Hodeib said. "The parties in the conflict are in negotiation now. The ICRC is willing to facilitate the movement of civilians who wish to do so. We are ready once agreement based strictly on humanitarian terms is reached," (07:47 GMT) More than 11,000 Russian troops have been killed since Moscow launched an invasion into Ukraine on February 24, the Ukrainian armed forces' general staff said. A day earlier, the Ukrainian army put Russian casualties at over 10,000. Kyiv did not report Ukrainian casualties. (08:05 GMT) The World Health Organization has confirmed "several" attacks on health care centres in Ukraine and is investigating others. The attacks caused multiple deaths and injuries, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus added on Twitter. "Attacks on healthcare facilities or workers breach medical neutrality and are violations of international humanitarian law." Tedros did not mention the word "Russia" ... (08:24 GMT) The Ukraine port city of Mariupol, surrounded by Russian troops, said that from 1000 GMT it will begin efforts to evacuate its civilian population, after earlier efforts were scuppered by ceasefire violations. (08:44 GMT) "The Russia armed forces continue to strike the military infrastructure of Ukraine," Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. "On the morning of March 6, strikes were carried out by high-precision long-range weapons. The Ukrainian air force base near Starokostiantyniv was disabled." He said a Ukrainian-controlled S-300 missile system had also been destroyed by Russian rocket forces. He said Russia had downed 10 Ukrainian planes and helicopters over the past 24 hours. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starokostiantyniv (10:20 GMT) Putin warns Western powers against imposing a no-fly zone over Ukraine (11:31 GMT) Russia continues to deliver gas to Europe via Ukraine at normal levels, according to state-owned energy giant Gazprom. (11:54 GMT) Blinken has said Washington supports Moldova's formal application to join the European Union in a fast-track bid to bolster its ties with the West. Russia already has troops in the country of 2.6 million that are stationed in the disputed territory of Transnistria. Blinken, who is in Moldova to pledge US support to the small Western-leaning former Soviet republic which neighbours Ukraine, said it was vital to help Moldova achieve greater energy security to bolster its independence. (13:39 GMT) A second attempt to evacuate around 200,000 civilians from a southern city under siege along designated humanitarian corridors has failed, the International Committee of Red Cross has said. Evacuations from the port city of Mariupol were scheduled to begin at noon local time during a ceasefire, according to Ukrainian military authorities. (14:28 GMT) "I have just been informed about a missile strike on Vinnytsia. Eight rockets... The airport was completely destroyed," said Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy renewed his demand that Western powers enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine to prevent more Russian attacks. (15:59 GMT) Any country offering its air fields to Ukraine for attacks on Russia may be considered as having entered the conflict, a Russia defence ministry spokesman has said. "The use of the airfield networks of these countries to base Ukrainian military aircraft and their subsequent use against the Russian armed forces may be regarded as the involvement of these states in an armed conflict." (16:50 GMT) Zhytomyr, 150 kilometres west of Kyiv, is under heavy shelling. The town is a few hundreds meters away from a military base. (17:59 GMT) Russian and Ukrainian forces are locked in a long-range shelling war along the outskirts of the capital Kyiv, putting towns including Hostomel and Irpin in the line of fire. (18:15 GMT) American Express Co says it has suspended all operations in Russia and Belarus, following a similar move by fellow US payments firms Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc (18:40 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged America's support to Moldova as it deals with an influx of refugees from Ukraine. (19:42 GMT) Ukraine introduces export licences for wheat, corn, sunflower oil, poultry and eggs. Ukraine is among the world's leading producers and exporters of grain and vegetable oils. (19:47 GMT) TikTok suspends posting of new videos from Russia, in order to keep its employees safe and comply with Russia's new laws against reporting anything that could discredit the country's military. But its in-app messaging service will not be affected. (21:38 GMT) More than a million refugees have crossed the border from Ukraine into Poland since Russia launched its invasion, the Polish border guard says. (21:58 GMT) Tugan Sokhiev, the music director and principal conductor at Moscow's prestigious Bolshoi Theatre, has announced his resignation, saying he came under pressure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Russian said in a statement that he was resigning "with immediate effect" from his post at the Moscow theatre as well as his equivalent position at France's Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse. (22:07 GMT) Streaming giant Netflix has suspended its service in Russia. (22:13 GMT) The United States does not believe a Russian amphibious assault in or near the Ukrainian city of Odesa is imminent, a US defence official has said, amid growing concern about a potential attack on the city. (22:44 GMT) Zelenskyy has appealed to the West to strengthen sanctions on Russia. He criticised Western leaders for not responding to the Russian Defence Ministry's earlier announcement that it would attack Ukraine's military-industrial complex. (23:53 GMT) Russian forces have stepped up their shelling of Ukrainian cities in the centre, north and south of the country, Ukranian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovich says. He said the areas that came under heavy shelling include the outskirts of Kyiv, Chernihiv in the north, Mykolaiv in the south, and Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city. Arestovich described a "catastrophic" situation in the Kyiv suburbs of Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, where efforts to evacuate residents failed. Evacuations also failed in Mariupol in the south and Volnovakha in the east because of the shelling. 20220307 (00:33 GMT) Two of the so-called Big Four accounting firms - KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers - are pulling out of Russia. KPMG said it was also pulling out of Belarus. (01:48 GMT) US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the chamber is "exploring" legislation to ban import of Russian oil and that Congress intends to enact this week $10bn in aid for Ukraine in response to Russia's military invasion of its neighbour. (04:30 GMT) South Korea has decided to sever transactions with Russia's central bank (05:14 GMT) After Australia last week promised Ukraine $50m in missiles, ammunition and other military hardware to fight Russian invaders, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday said: "Our missiles are on the ground now." He also described Russia and China's closer relationship as opportunistic rather than strategic, labelling the alliance as an "arc of autocracy". He said Russia and China would prefer a new world order to the one that has been in place since World War II. Morrison criticised Beijing's failure to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine and China's expansion of trade in Russian wheat while other countries are imposing sanctions. (05:37 GMT) The Russian military will hold fire and open humanitarian corridors in several Ukrainian cities including the capital Kyiv at 1000 Moscow time (0700 GMT) on Monday, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying. The corridors, which will also be opened from the cities of Kharkiv, Mariupol and Sumy, are being set up at the personal request of French President Emmanuel Macron and in view of the current situation in those cities, it said. (06:19 GMT) Japan, which counts Russia as its fifth-biggest supplier of crude oil, is in discussion with the United States and European countries about possibly banning Russian oil imports, Kyodo News reported. (07:27 GMT) China's Red Cross will provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said, as he reiterated a call for talks to continue. (07:58 GMT) Ukraine has slammed as "completely immoral" Russia's stance on humanitarian corridors after Moscow suggested it would allow people to flee Ukrainian cities provided they exited to Belarus or Russia. (08:35 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Lviv, in western Ukraine, says there is "no independent verification whatsoever" that Russia is in fact observing a ceasefire to allow for civilian evacuations. (08:47 GMT) China's friendship with Russia is "rock solid" and the prospects for cooperation between Moscow and Beijing are very broad, the country's foreign minister Wang Yi has said. (09:46 GMT) Moscow has declined to send a delegation to the United Nations' top court for a hearing into Ukraine's request for its judges to order Russia to halt its invasion. (10:10 GMT) Russia's proposed humanitarian corridors are still not up and running, Ukraine's deputy prime minister has said. Iryna Vereshchuk said there were nearly 300,000 civilians requiring evacuation from the key southeastern port city of Mariupol. (10:24 GMT) Ukraine's president has asked Kyiv's allies to provide it with military aircraft and to boycott Russian oil as well as other exports. (10:31 GMT) ndian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged Putin to hold direct talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (11:24 GMT) Blinken has reasserted Washington's 'sacrosanct' commitment to NATO's Article 5 - the alliance's principle of collective defence. (12:13 GMT) Ukraine's infrastructure ministry says the country's Black Sea port of Olvia, which is under concession to Qatari seaport operator QTerminals, has been hit by a military "strike". Nobody was wounded. (12:30 GMT) Ukrainian forces have recaptured the regional airport in Mykolaiv, southern Ukraine, from Russian troops, according to the region's governor Vitaliy Kim. "The roads are open, we control the bridges, you can safely leave Mykolaiv [city] and other towns," (12:37 GMT) A senior official in Russia's defence ministry, Mikhail Mizintsev, has accused Kyiv of not complying with agreements to create humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians. "As of 1:00 pm, the Ukrainian side did not fulfill any conditions for the creation of humanitarian corridors." (12:57 GMT) Russia sustaining 'huge losses', according to Nikolay Mitrokhin, a Russia expert and researcher at Germany's Bremen University. "There is a general feeling that after 12 days of fighting both sides exhausted their resources." (13:15 GMT) European Union leaders will discuss Ukraine's application to join the 27-nation bloc in the coming days, EU Council President Charles Michel has said. (14:15 GMT) Latvia wants permanent US troops, foreign minister tells Blinken (14:25 GMT) Russian shelling is preventing the evacuation of civilians from Kyiv, Mariupol, Sumy, Kharkiv, Volnovakha and Mykolaiv, Ukraine's foreign ministry has said. (14:43 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford has entered Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, where he witnessed "scenes of utter devastation" in the centre of the city following shelling by Russian forces. "I am absolutely shocked by what we have seen ... this is what the power of Russian bombing can do to civilian areas." (15:21 GMT) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will impose new sanctions on 10 individuals close to Putin. "The names of these individuals come from a list compiled by jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny." (15:37 GMT) At least 13 civilians have been killed in an air raid on a bread factory in the town of Makariv, on the outskirts of Kyiv, according to local emergency services. (16:49 GMT) Boeing Co says it has suspended buying titanium from Russia, despite there being no sanctions on VSMPO-Avisma, the world's largest producer. (16:55 GMT) The leaders of Germany, Britain and the Netherlands have cautioned against abruptly banning Russian energy imports, saying there were no immediate alternative supplies. (17:40 GMT) EU nations have agreed to start examining membership bids submitted by Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova. (17:47 GMT) Road out of Mariupol mined: Red Cross (19:16 GMT) More than 1.7 million have fled Ukraine: UN (19:30 GMT) Biden has held a secure video call with the leaders of France, Germany and the UK, in which they reaffirmed their determination to "raise the costs on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine." (19:43 GMT) Swiss photojournalist Guillaume Briquet narrowly escaped bullets fired by Russian forces on Sunday as he travelled a road in southern Ukraine on a vehicle clearly marked as "press." Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said on Twitter that "the targeting of journalists is a war crime." (20:00 GMT) Russia could cut gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany, but it has not made such a decision yet, Deputy PM Alexander Novak said. (20:31 GMT) UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths stressed the need to guarantee safe passage for civilians and humanitarian aid in areas of active conflict in Ukraine. "Two weeks ago few people thought the scenario we find ourselves in today was thinkable," Griffiths said. He said civilians in places including Mariupol, Kharkiv and Melitopol are in desperate need of aid, especially life-saving medical supplies. (20:44 GMT) Boris Johnson has rejected calls for Britain to ease visa requirements for Ukrainian refugees fleeing conflict. "We are a very, very generous country. What we want though is control and we want to be able to check." (22:01 GMT) Russia will not use any conscript soldiers in Ukraine, Putin has said. (22:05 GMT) Bank of Portugal tells lenders to freeze accounts of Russian oligarchs (22:26 GMT) Czech President Milos Zeman, long sympathetic to Moscow, has said he would award the highest state honours to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for his bravery and courage in the face of Russia's invasion. (23:03 GMT) Russia is recruiting Syrians and other foreign fighters as it ramps up its assault on Ukraine, the Pentagon has said. 20220308 (00:38 GMT) The World Bank has said its executive board approved a $723m package of loans and grants for Ukraine, providing government budget support. (01:21 GMT) Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia has said his country will carry out a cease-fire on Tuesday morning at 10 am Moscow time and open humanitarian corridors to evacuate citizens from Kyiv, Chernigov, Sumy and Mariupol. "This proposal doesn't have any demands about the citizens being sent necessarily to Russia, into Russian territory." (01:55 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said when he meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Turkey on Thursday he will propose direct talks between the Ukrainian and Russian presidents. (02:13 GMT) Japan has frozen the assets of an additional 32 Russian and Belarusian officials and oligarchs, the Ministry of Finance has announced. Japan also is banning exports of Russia-bound oil refinery equipment. (02:56 GMT) Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, first deputy commander of Russia's 41st army, was killed on Monday near the besieged city of Kharkiv. He is the second general killed, following Andrei Sukhovetsky at end of February. (04:02 GMT) Germany to host G7 meeting over food security (05:28 GMT) More than 200,000 Ukrainians displaced from their homes are now in Lviv, filling up sport halls, schools, hospitals and church buildings. The historical city once popular with tourists had a population of 700,000 before the war. "We really need support," Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said. (06:58 GMT) Russian gas company Gazprom continues gas shipments via Ukraine at the same volume of 109.5 million cubic metres a day, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. Russia supplies about 40% of Europe's gas. (07:30 GMT) "Whatever ... happens, President Putin is a spent force in the world and he is done, his army is done ... and he needs to recognise that," British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told Times Radio. "The international community has united against him ... he is in a position where he is going to cause huge economic hardship to his people." (PJB: aha, so the campaign to unseat Putin becomes explicit) (07:43 GMT) Russian airlines are banned from European, American, Canadian airspace, leaving the country with leased aircraft it cannot use, and scuttling aerospace industry partnerships with the West. Even flights to friendly countries like China are in doubt due to the international community's ostracisation of the country's aviation sector. (08:10 GMT) Polish Border Guard says 1.2 million people have crossed from Ukraine (09:06 GMT) Ukrainian officials say they have begun evacuating civilians from the northeast city of Sumy and from the town of Irpin, near the capital Kyiv. (10:03 GMT) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi says two million people have now fled Ukraine in search of safety elsewhere. The number of people fleeing Russia's onslaught is expected to continue to climb quickly. (10:55 GMT) Ukraine says 12,000 Russian troops killed (11:12 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has described the situation in Ukraine as worrying and called for "maximum restraint", saying the priority should be preventing the situation there from spinning out of control. (11:22 GMT) The WHO has said that attacks on hospitals, ambulances and other healthcare facilities in Ukraine have increased "rapidly" in recent days and warned the country is now running short of vital medical supplies. It did not say who was responsible for the incidents. (11:36 GMT) Shell to stop buying Russian crude oil (12:18 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the United States-led transatlantic military alliance has a "responsibility" to ensure Russia's offensive "does not escalate and spread beyond Ukraine". (14:20 GMT) Joe Biden is set to announce later today that the United States will ban imports of Russian oil into the country. (14:28 GMT) About 20,000 people from more than 50 different countries have volunteered to serve in Ukraine's new international legion fighting force, according to Kyiv. (15:41 GMT) US director of national intelligence Avril Haines has said Russia is facing setbacks in its invasion of Ukraine. "We assess Moscow underestimated the strength of Ukraine's resistance and the degree of internal military challenges we are observing, which include an ill-constructed plan, morale issues and considerable logistical issues," She added that it remains unclear whether Russia will pursue a maximalist plan of capturing all of Ukraine, and if it does it will be "especially challenging" for Moscow to hold and control the country. (16:07 GMT) Putin's assumptions about Ukraine before the invasion turned out to be "profoundly flawed", CIA director William J. Burns has said, and that Putin is unlikely to be able to install puppet gov't in Kyiv (16:26 GMT) Joe Biden has announced a US ban on Russian oil and other energy imports. "This is a step we are taking to inflict further pain on Putin." (17:02 GMT) Britain will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced. (17:20 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy was given a standing ovation in a historic address to the UK parliament over video-link. (19:43 GMT) Systems monitoring nuclear material at the radioactive waste facilities at Chernobyl in Ukraine, which were taken over by Russian forces, have stopped transmitting data to the IAEA. Transmission systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant controlled by Russian troops have also been switched off. (20:19 GMT) Poland is ready to deploy all its MIG-29 jets to Ramstein Air Base in Germany and put them at the disposal of the United States, the Foreign Ministry said. Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki confirmed the ministry's statement during a joint news conference with his Norwegian counterpart in Oslo. "We are ready to give all of our fleet of jet fighters to Ramstein, but we are not ready to make any moves on our own because we are not party to this war," Morawiecki said. <== so US is ! (20:25 GMT) The first convoy of 22 buses carrying civilians from Sumy in northern Ukraine has arrived in the central city of Poltava (20:40 GMT) Evacuation from Mariupol fails again; "Ceasefire violated! Russian forces are now shelling the humanitarian corridor from Zaporizhzhia to Mariupol," the Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson, Oleg Nikolenko, wrote on Twitter. Hundreds of thousands of people in Mariupol have been sheltering under bombardment without water or power. (21:08 GMT) Poland said it would give all of its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US, agreeing to an arrangement that would allow them to be used by Ukraine's military. The Polish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Poland is ready to deliver the jets to the US Ramstein Air Base in Germany. "At the same time, Poland requests the United States to provide us with used aircraft with corresponding operational capabilities," it said. (21:35 GMT) Bumble, the dating platform, is discontinuing its service in Russia (21:48 GMT) Coca-Cola and Pepsi are suspending the sale of their drinks in Russia. (21:54 GMT) Poland's decision to put all its MIG-29 jets at the disposal of the US was not pre-consulted with Washington, State Department Undersecretary Victoria Nuland has said, even though the administration had been discussing Ukraine's broader request for Polish aircraft. "I look forward when this hearing is over to getting back to my desk and seeing how we will respond to this proposal of theirs to give the planes to us." (22:18 GMT) Universal Music Group suspends operations in Russia (23:37 GMT) A senior US official says the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline that was halted over Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "now dead". 20220309 (00:08 GMT) A Texas marketing executive Bret Starr is among several American donors shipping body armour to Ukrainians through relief groups in the US. (00:15 GMT) The Pentagon is appearing to dismiss Poland's offer to give its MiG-29 fighter jets to the US so they can be passed to Ukraine. Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement that the prospect of jets departing from a US/NATO base in Germany "to fly into airspace that is contested with Russia over Ukraine raises serious concerns for the entire NATO alliance." "We will continue to consult with Poland and our other NATO allies about this issue and the difficult logistical challenges it presents, but we do not believe Poland's proposal is a tenable one." (00:18 GMT) Airbnb users send $1.9m to Ukraine through reservations (00:28 GMT) Ratings agency Fitch has again downgraded Russia's sovereign debt rating further into junk territory from "B" to "C," saying the decision reflects the view that a default is "imminent". (01:10 GMT) Georgia's former Minister of Defence Irakly Okruashvili has arrived "in Ukraine alongside Georgian volunteers to help us fight against the racisist Russian occupying forces." (03:06 GMT) Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, has opposed a ban on Russian oil and gas, saying it "would represent a disproportionately large burden" for his country. "While we condemn Russia's armed offensive and we also condemn the war, we will not allow Hungarian families to be made to pay the price of the war; and so the sanctions must not be extended to the areas of oil and gas." (04:16 GMT) Purithai Produce, a Bangkok-based produce exporter, says getting Thai fresh fruit and vegetables onto Russian supermarket shelves has become an almost impossible task amid Western sanctions. "We've basically lost market access to Russia," said Peyton Enloe, managing director of Purithai Produce, which ships fresh and frozen produce to Europe, US and Russia. "My Russian customers told me people don't have money to even buy the basics, let alone 'exotic' produce like mangos, durians, rambutans." (04:52 GMT) International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi "indicated that remote data transmission from safeguards monitoring systems installed at the Chornobyl NPP had been lost", the agency said in a statement. The situation for the staff was also "worsening" at the site, the IAEA said, citing the Ukrainian nuclear regulator. (05:51 GMT) Air alert declared in Kyiv as fighting continues "Kyiv region - air alert. Threat of a missile attack. Everyone immediately to shelters," regional administration head Oleksiy Kuleba said on Telegram. (06:04 GMT) The UK has unveiled new aviation sanctions giving it the power to detain any Russian aircraft and banning exports of aviation or space-related goods to Russia. The UK will also strengthen its ban on Russian aircraft, making it a criminal offence for any to fly or land in the UK. (06:08 GMT) French technology company Dassault Systemes has said it has decided to suspend its new business in Russia and Belarus (06:17 GMT) "Ukrainian air defences appear to have enjoyed considerable success against Russia's modern combat aircraft, probably preventing them achieving any degree of control of the air," the UK Ministry of Defence intelligence update posted on Twitter said. The UK's assessment also said Russian forces had failed to make any significant breakthroughs in fighting northwest of Kyiv. (06:39 GMT) The Ukrainian Parliament majority Sluha Narodu Party has proposed to sign a new security guarantee agreement for Ukraine with the US, Turkey, and Russia instead of NATO membership, Ukrayinska Pravda news website has reported. "The alliance is not ready to admit Ukraine over the course of at least the next 15 years and has made this clear," the Sluha Narodu (Servant of the People) party announced. Therefore, it said, it was time to discuss concrete security guarantees with Russia. (07:03 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said it has obtained secret documents which prove that Ukraine planned a March attack on Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The ministry published six pages of documents it said showed Kyiv planned a military assault on the Russian-backed rebel regions in Donbass. Reuters was unable to independently verify the documents - written in Ukrainian - which appear to outline combat preparations for tactical military units. (07:05 GMT) Ukraine's government has banned exports of rye, barley, buckwheat, millet, sugar, salt, and meat until the end of this year, according to a cabinet resolution. (07:08 GMT) Congressional leaders have reached a bipartisan deal providing $13.6bn to help Ukraine and European allies plus billions more to battle the pandemic as part of an overdue $1.5 trillion measure financing federal agencies for the rest of this year. (07:28 GMT) Russia has warned the West that it is working on a broad response to sanctions that would be swift and felt in the West's most sensitive areas. "Russia's reaction will be swift, thoughtful and sensitive for those it addresses," Dmitry Birichevsky, the director of the foreign ministry's department for economic cooperation has said. (07:37 GMT) The mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar has said a temporary ceasefire was in force, allowing the evacuation of civilians to start through a "humanitarian corridor". He said civilians would be able to go to the nearby city of Zaporizhzhia. (08:04 GMT) The Chinese Red Cross will provide a batch of humanitarian assistance worth 5 million yuan ($791,540) to Ukraine, consisting of daily necessities, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has said. (08:50 GMT) Ukraine will try to evacuate civilians through six "humanitarian corridors", including from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk said in a video statement that Ukrainian armed forces had agreed to stop firing in those areas from 9am until 9pm local time (07:00-19:00 GMT) and urged Russian forces to fulfil their commitment to local ceasefires. Vereshchuk added the corridors that would open would go from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia; Enerhodar to Zaporizhzhia; Sumy to Poltava; Izyum to Lozova; Volnovakha to Pokrovsk; and from several towns around Kyiv which she identified as Vorzel, Borodyanka, Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel to the capital. (11:11 GMT) Ukraine's state-run nuclear company has warned that radioactive substances could be released from the Chernobyl plant because it cannot cool spent nuclear fuel after its power connection was severed. ~/photos/events/20220309_ukraine_nuclear_reactors.jpg (11:30 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said Moscow boycotted a hearing this week at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over a lawsuit brought by Ukraine because of the "absurdity" of the case. (11:45 GMT) Zelenskyy says the international community will be responsible for a mass "humanitarian catastrophe" if it does not agree to establish a no-fly zone to protect his country. (12:09 GMT) President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has held talks with Putin over the latest developments in Ukraine, according to the Egyptian leader's office. During their talks by phone, el-Sisi and Putin also discussed enhancing strategic cooperation frameworks between their countries through joint development projects confirming "historic ties" between them. (13:02 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has called on Russia to urgently observe a temporary ceasefire in order to allow work to take place to restore power to the Chernobyl nuclear plant, saying radiation could be leaked if an electricity outage at the site continues. "Reserve diesel generators have a 48-hour capacity to power the Chornobyl NPP. After that, cooling systems of the storage facility for spent nuclear fuel will stop, making radiation leaks imminent," Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. (13:15 GMT) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said it is not possible for the EU to immediately cut off Russian supplies of oil and gas to the bloc "because we need the supply and that is the uncomfortable truth. But we can do more to get the green agenda going, to decarbonise our economies." (13:25 GMT) EU adds 160 Russian oligarchs, lawmakers to sanctions blacklist (13:28 GMT) The loss of power at the Chernobyl plant does not have any critical impact on safety at the site, the UN's nuclear watchdog says. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) tweeted that the "heat load of spent fuel storage pool and volume of cooling water at Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant [are] sufficient for effective heat removal without [the] need for electrical supply". (14:00 GMT) Local authorities in Mariupol are burying their dead in a mass grave. (14:16 GMT) Germany’s Scholz rejects sending warplanes to Ukraine (14:30 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has acknowledged that some conscripts have participated in the war in Ukraine days after Putin denied that was the case. (15:13 GMT) Mariupol council says children's hospital destroyed by Russian bombing (15:37 GMT) Ukraine's president has accused Russian forces of carrying out a "direct strike" on a hospital complex in Mariupol that reportedly houses maternity and children's wards. "People, children are under the wreckage," Zelenskyy tweeted, calling the attack an "atrocity". "How much longer will the world be an accomplice ignoring terror? Close the sky right now! Stop the killings! You have power but you seem to be losing humanity," he added. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/3/9/photos-russian-bombing-destroys-hospital-in-ukraines-mariupol (17:31 GMT) The top diplomats from the UK and the United States have again ruled out establishing a no-fly zone over Ukraine, even a limited one to protect humanitarian corridors. "The reality is that setting up a no-fly zone would lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told reporters. (18:17 GMT) The WHO says it has verified 18 attacks on health care facilities and personnel in Ukraine, resulting in 10 deaths and 16 injuries. (18:19 GMT) The US has seen indications that Russia's military is using so-called dumb bombs that are unguided and greatly increase the risk of missing targets, a senior US defence official said. (18:25 GMT) Ukraine has asked central banks in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Vietnam, Turkey and Kyrgyzstan to suspend all transactions with cards of Russia's Mir payments system. (19:26 GMT) Moscow has rejected accusations that it is breaching an agreed ceasefire to allow the evacuation of civilians. The ceasefire has been strictly observed, Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev of the Russian Defence Ministry said. (20:30 GMT) Rafael Grossi, director-general of the UN nuclear watchdog group the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will fly on Thursday to the Turkish city of Antalya, where the foreign ministers of Russia and Ukraine plan to meet. Russia has seized a nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia and radioactive waste facilities near the defunct nuclear power plant at Chernobyl. Ukrainian staff are still operating both, but in conditions Grossi has said put the facilities' safety at risk. The monitoring systems in both sites have stopped transmitting data to IAEA headquarters (21:54 GMT) A total of 1,207 civilians have died during a nine-day siege by Russian forces of Ukraine's port city of Mariupol, its mayor has said. (22:02 GMT) UN humanitarian chief decries strike on hospital as 'deeply shocking' (22:16 GMT) Caterpillar suspends its manufacturing operations in Russia (22:21 GMT) Ukrainian parliament member Lesia Vasylenko says it is currently impossible for many Ukrainians to access clean water amid the fighting. "It's impossible to get food or water," "People are drinking contaminated water from the sewage system or children are forced to take snow or what remains of the snow just to stay hydrated." (22:32 GMT) The White House has said Russia's claims about alleged US involvement in biological weapons labs and chemical weapons development in Ukraine were false. (22:41 GMT) IMF approves $1.4bn emergency funding for Ukraine 20220310 (00:35 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, in a phone call, discussed additional security and humanitarian support for Ukraine, the State Department has said. (01:01 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he believes Vladimir Putin will eventually enter negotiations and end the invasion, after seeing Russian forces encounter fierce resistance from Ukrainians. When asked what his message to Putin would be, Zelenskyy said: "Stop the war. Begin to speak. That's it." (01:13 GMT) Soaring energy and food prices triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine could exacerbate existing food security concerns in the Middle East and Africa, and may fuel growing social unrest, World Bank chief economist Carmen Reinhart has said. "There will be important ramifications for the Middle East, for Africa, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa, in particular," which had already been experiencing food insecurity, Reinhart told Reuters news agency. (02:07 GMT) The US is rapidly processing requests from Americans to export firearms and ammunition to Ukraine, the US Commerce Department has said. (03:23 GMT) A majority of the US House of Representatives have voted to approve a $1.5 trillion bill that would provide $13.6bn in aid for Ukraine and fund the federal government through September 30. The vote was still under way. If approved by the House, the sweeping legislation would move on to the Senate. (04:20 GMT) A majority of the US House of Representatives have voted to impose a ban on imports of Russian oil and other energy products. With the vote still underway, the Democratic-controlled House was poised to pass the bill after Joe Biden used his executives powers to impose such a ban. (07:06 GMT) Russia has refuted a Ukrainian claim that it bombed the children's hospital in Mariupol as "fake news", saying the building was a former maternity hospital that had long been taken over by troops. "That's how fake news is born," Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's first deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, said on Twitter. Polyanskiy said Russia had warned on March 7 that the hospital had been turned into a military object from which Ukrainians were firing. (07:06 GMT) The UK's defence ministry has said the large Russian column northwest of Kyiv has made little progress in more than a week and is suffering continued losses. As casualties mount, Putin will be forced to draw from across Russian armed forces and other sources to replace the losses, the ministry said. There has also been a notable decrease in overall Russian air activity over Ukraine in recent days, it added. (07:51 GMT) Russian military commanders as well as people at the very top of the Russian government will be held to account for any war crimes in Ukraine, Britain's armed forces minister James Heappey said. (08:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba have begun talks, Russia's foreign ministry has said. The talks are brokered by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. (09:25 GMT) The UK's government says it has imposed asset freezes on seven Russian businessmen, including Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, after they were added to the country's sanctions list. (09:35 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has instructed specialists from his country to ensure that power is supplied to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine, state news agency Belta has reported. But the UN's nuclear watchdog said the outage would not have any "critical impact" on safety at the plant. (10:29 GMT) Lavrov has accused Western powers of behaving dangerously over Ukraine by supplying the country with weapons, warning the moves will affect the region's security for years to come. (10:36 GMT) As Russia presses ahead with its offensive in Ukraine, domestic defiance over the war appears to be on the rise. (12:38 GMT) Russia's government says it has banned the exports of telecom, medical, auto, agricultural and tech equipment, among other items, until the end of 2022, in retaliation for Western sanctions on Moscow. In total, over 200 items were included on the export suspension list, which also covered railway cars, containers, turbines and other goods. (12:57 GMT) Kyiv's mayor says nearly two million people have fled the Ukrainian capital in the two weeks since Russia launched its invasion on Feb 24. "From our information, one in two Kyiv residents has left the city," (13:07 GMT) US Vice President Kamala Harris has called for an investigation into Russia's conduct in Ukraine and condemned what she said were "atrocities of unimaginable proportions" carried out by Moscow's forces. (14:04 GMT) Russian forces have so far destroyed at least $100bn worth of infrastructure, buildings and other physical assets in Ukraine, the chief economic adviser to Ukraine's president, Oleg Ustenko, told an online event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Economics. (14:25 GMT) Goldman Sachs Group Inc has said it is closing its operations in Russia, becoming the first major Wall Street bank to exit the country over Moscow's invasion. (15:12 GMT) Russia's energy ministry says that Belarusian specialists have restored electricity supply to the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The plant was hit by a power outage on Wednesday amid fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces. (16:32 GMT) Russia has enough buyers for its oil and gas even as Western nations and their allies impose sanctions in response to the invasion of Ukraine, according to FM Sergei Lavrov ~/photos/events/20220310_importers_of_russian_oil.png (17:23 GMT) Russian forces encircle at least four major cities: Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv. ( Not to mention Mariupol ) (17:52 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said financial sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine are limiting China's ability to buy Russian oil. "My sense is that financial institutions in China that do business in $s and in euros are worried about the impact of sanctions." (18:36 GMT) The crisis in Ukraine and Russia, one of the world's main sources of grain, fertilisers and energy, presents new challenges in securing food supplies on top of a prolonged pandemic, according to Gabriel Ferrero de Loma-Osorio, head of the UN Committee on World Food Security. (18:59 GMT) Chelsea sale on hold due to sanctions on owner Abramovich (19:17 GMT) Ukrainian forces have destroyed part of a column of Russian armoured vehicles moving through Brovary, an eastern suburb. towards Kyiv. (19:53 GMT) Ukraine's embassy in Washington, DC is taking on an unexpected role as a recruitment centre for Americans who want to join the fight against Russia's invasion. Diplomats working out of the embassy, in a townhouse in the Georgetown section of the United States capital city, are fielding thousands of offers from volunteers seeking to fight for Ukraine, even as they work on the far more pressing matter of securing weapons. (20:02 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it agreed to allow a Ukrainian repair team to access power lines in the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power station. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi was in Turkey to meet Russia and Ukraine's foreign ministers separately. "I am quite encouraged on one important thing: Ukraine and the Russian Federation want to work with us" (21:16 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin held a phone call with his Romanian counterpart Vasile Dincu, and the two officials underscored "unwavering unity" among NATO members (22:05 GMT) Russian forces shelled the Institute of Physics and Technology in the city of Kharkiv that is home to an experimental nuclear reactor, and a neighboring hostel is on fire, the Ukrainian Parliament has said. (23:29 GMT) The United Nations Security Council will convene on Friday at Russia's request, diplomats have said, to discuss Moscow's claims, presented without evidence, of US biological activities in Ukraine. The United States has dismissed Russian claims as 'laughable,' warning Moscow may be preparing to use chemical or biological weapons. (23:54 GMT) Maria Moskaleno, who managed to get out of the besieged city of Mariupol last week, says her parents remain stuck there. "It's a total horror, it's a humanitarian catastrophe," Moskaleno told Al Jazeera. "They don't know, will they have food till the end of the blockade." "It's a disaster, it's really scary ... Russians are constantly bombing, ... constantly, rockets are flying around them, they're really scared, they just don't have hope of salvation." 20220311 (00:14 GMT) Ukraine's minister of education Serhiy Shkarlet has said more than 280 educational facilities have been damaged or destroyed by "bombing and shelling". "The enemy ruthlessly destroys kindergartens, schools, vocational schools, colleges, universities." (00:36 GMT) Satellite photos have shown that a massive Russian convoy that had been mired outside the Ukrainian capital since last week appeared to have dispersed. The convoy had massed outside the city early last week, but its advance appeared to have stalled amid reports of food and fuel shortages. US officials said Ukrainian troops also targeted the convoy with anti-tank missiles. (02:49 GMT) The World Health Organization advised Ukraine to destroy high-threat pathogens housed in the country's public health laboratories to prevent "any potential spills" that would spread disease among the population. (02:58 GMT) Chinese Premier Li has said the Ukraine situation was "disconcerting" and that it is important to support Russia and Ukraine in ceasefire talks (03:45 GMT) The US Congress has passed a huge omnibus 2022 spending bill including almost $14bn in humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. (03:48 GMT) Kazakhstan's flagship carrier, Air Astana, has suspended all flights to Russia and over Russian territory because such flights can no longer be insured, the company has said. (04:04 GMT) Russia's embassy in the United States has demanded that Washington stop the "extremist activities" of Facebook owner Meta Platforms, which has temporarily lifted a ban on calls for violence against the Russian military and leadership. (06:14 GMT) Russian-backed separatists have captured the Ukrainian city of Volnovakha north of the besieged Azov Sea port of Mariupol, Russia's defence ministry has said. Volnovakha is strategically important as the northern gateway to Mariupol. (06:17 GMT) About 222,000 people have been evacuated to Russia from Ukraine and its two Russian-backed rebel regions, the TASS news agency has said. (06:19 GMT) Russian troops have launched a high-precision, long-range attack on two military airfields in the Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk and have taken them out of action, the Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov has said. (06:30 GMT) US sends Patriot missile systems to Poland (06:49 GMT) Ukrainian state nuclear power firm Energoatom will no longer buy Russian nuclear fuel, the company has said. (06:54 GMT) The US, together with the Group of Seven nations and the EU, will move to revoke Russia's "most favoured nation" status, multiple people familiar with the situation told Reuters. Stripping Russia of its favoured nation status paves the way for the US and its allies to impose tariffs on a wide range of Russian goods. (07:50 GMT) Russia continued to send pipeline gas into Germany via Nord Stream 1 and Poland and into Slovakia via Ukraine at broadly unchanged levels. (08:51 GMT) Vladimir Putin has said Russia must allow volunteers who are willing to fight in Ukraine to take part in Moscow's offensive. Speaking to the Russian security council, Putin said he also supported giving arms captured in Ukraine to Russian-backed separatist fighters in the country's eastern Donbas region. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told the meeting there were 16,000 volunteers in the Middle East who were ready to head to Ukraine to fight alongside the rebel forces. (09:38 GMT) The EU's executive arm aims to double the bloc's military aid to Ukraine and has proposed earmarking another 500 million euros ($550m) for this purpose, Josep Borrell told reporters. (09:58 GMT) All of Ukraine's nuclear power stations are operating stably and radiation levels at the sites remain unchanged, the country's state operator has said. (11:28 GMT) The UK has imposed asset freezes and travel bans on 386 members of the Russian Duma who voted in favour of recognising the independence of two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine prior to Russia's invasion. (11:33 GMT) Finland, another country with a storied history and long border with Russia, mulls joining NATO as Russia wages war in Ukraine (11:47 GMT) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has called for anti-war protests in Russia's capital, Moscow, and other cities across the country on Sunday. "Mad maniac Putin will most quickly be stopped by the people of Russia now if they oppose the war," Navalny said in a message on Instagram. (13:24 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said he believes there are nearly two million people (out of 3.5 million)still left in the Ukrainian capital. (14:04 GMT) Ukraine's State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate says the electricity supply to the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant has not yet been restored, despite Russia's energy ministry claiming on Thursday that Belarusian specialists had fixed the issue. (15:55 GMT) Biden announces US ban on Russian vodka, diamonds, seafood (16:50 GMT) Turkey has evacuated its embassy in Kyiv, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Tanju Bilgic said staff at the mission would move to Chernivtsi near the Romanian border. (17:51 GMT) YouTube has announced blocking access around the world to channels associated with Russian state-funded media. (20:02 GMT) The US State Department has renewed warnings to Americans against travelling to Ukraine to fight against the Russian invasion, saying that the US government would not be able to evacuate them. (20:46 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will attend a meeting of NATO defence ministers in Brussels on March 16, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said. (21:39 GMT) Russians receiving money transfers from foreign banks will only be allowed to withdraw the cash in roubles, the central bank has said (22:16 GMT) Satellite images have shown that Russian military units were continuing to deploy closer to Kyiv and actively firing artillery toward residential areas, according to Maxar Technologies (23:14 GMT) Britain has said Russian air and missile forces had conducted strikes in the past 24 hours against western Ukrainian cities of Lutsk and Ivano-Frankivsk. Russian tactical aircraft supporting the advance of ground forces were primarily relying on unguided "dumb" munitions (01:35 GMT) The US has sanctioned board members at Novikombank and ABR Management, including Vice Gov. of St. Petersburg Vladimir Nikolaevich Knyaginin, over the Ukraine crisis, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. (04:23 GMT) Sirens were heard in the capital city, Kyiv, and in Lviv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Cherkasy, as well as in the Sumy region in the northeast of the country, Ukrainian media outlets reported. Russian forces appeared to be regrouping earlier for a possible assault on Kyiv, with satellite images showing them firing artillery as they closed in on the capital. (04:47 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy said via video from Kyiv that his country had "reached a strategic turning point." "It's impossible to say how many days we will still need to free our land, but it is possible to say that we will do it," "We are already moving towards our goal, our victory." (07:27 GMT) According to Dmitry Rogozin, the sanctions could disrupt the operation of Russian vessels servicing the ISS. As a result, the Russian segment of the station - which helps correct its orbit - could be affected, causing the 500-tonne structure to "fall down into the sea or into land". (08:08 GMT) Italian police have seized a superyacht from Russian billionaire Andrey Igorevich Melnichenko, a few days after the businessman was placed on an EU sanctions list. The 143-metre Sailing Yacht A, which has a price tag of 530 million euros ($578m), has been sequestered at the northern port of Trieste. Designed by Philippe Starck and built by Nobiskrug in Germany, the vessel is the world's biggest sailing yacht. Melnichenko owns major fertiliser producer EuroChem Group and coal company SUEK. (08:47 GMT) As part of a multi-front attack on the capital, the Russians' push from the northeast appeared to be advancing, a US defence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Combat units were moved up from the rear as the forces advanced to within 30km of Kyiv. (09:03 GMT) Russian rocket attacks have destroyed a Ukrainian airbase near the town of Vasylkiv in the Kyiv region. The rockets also hit an ammunition depot. In the capital's eastern suburb of Brovary, a Ukrainian military intelligence reconnaissance centre was taken out of action. (12:03 GMT) Zelenskyy: Russia sending new troops after heavy losses (12:30 GMT) Belarus has said it is deploying five combat units to its southern border to prevent "nationalist armed formations" from Ukraine from entering the country. "The troop movements are in no way related to any preparations, let alone to any participation of Belarusian soldiers in the special operation on the territory of Ukraine," said the deputy defence minister, Viktor Gulevich. (13:04 GMT) A Ukrainian official says that another Russian general has been killed in fighting. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior ministry, says Russian Major-General Andrei Kolesnikov was killed in action during fighting over Mariupol. He would be the third Russian general to die in the war, according to Ukrainian officials. (13:09 GMT) Ukraine's military says Russian forces have captured the eastern outskirts of the besieged city of Mariupol. (13:20 GMT) Russia's space agency has sent NASA and other international partners a letter demanding an end to sanctions, saying they could threaten the International Space Station (ISS). (15:14 GMT) Most Ukrainian businesses have stopped operating since Russia launched an invasion of Ukraine, said Zelenskyy. (15:18 GMT) Russia said its troops could target supplies of Western weapons in Ukraine, where the Russian army has been advancing. "We warned the United States that the orchestrated pumping of weapons from a number of countries is not just a dangerous move, it is a move that turns these convoys into legitimate targets," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state television. (15:42 GMT) "Around 1,300" Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since Russia's invasion started, Zelenskyy said. (16:11 GMT) Ukraine plans to start sowing spring grains in the coming days and has enough grain in stocks to ensure the population has enough bread, said deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy. (16:41 GMT) Biden authorises $200m in new weapons, military training for Ukraine (19:08 GMT) "Unfortunately, the humanitarian situation in Ukraine is continuing to deteriorate rapidly, and in some cities it has reached catastrophic proportions," the head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, Mikhail Mizintsev, said. (19:18 GMT) Immediate US military assistance for Ukraine, authorised by President Biden, will include anti-armour, anti-aircraft systems, and small arms, a senior administration official has said. (20:09 GMT) Satellite images show fires, severe damage in Mariupol (20:50 GMT) Croatian officials criticized NATO for what they said was its slow reaction to a military drone that apparently flew from the Ukrainian war zone through the airspace of three NATO member states, before crashing in the Croatian capital, AP reported. The Russian-made unmanned aircraft crossed Romania and Hungary before entering Croatia and slamming late Thursday into a field near a student dormitory. Some 40 parked cars were damaged but no one was injured after a loud blast. (21:02 GMT) Sweden's foreign minister has dismissed fresh warnings from Russia that the Nordic country's joining NATO would lead to retaliatory measures from Moscow. Foreign Minister Ann Linde told Swedish news agency TT "Russia has nothing to do with our independent decisions", referring to Stockholm's possible move to join NATO. Russia's Interfax agency on Saturday quoted a Russian Foreign Ministry official saying the possible accession of Sweden and neighbouring Finland to NATO would have serious military and political consequences. (21:12 GMT) The clergy of the Russian Orthodox Church in the Dutch city of Amsterdam has announced it will split from the Moscow church because of threats to them over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (22:16 GMT) Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram, could soon be banned in Russia as an "extremist organisation". The Russian move comes in response to Meta announcing a change in its hate speech policy, allowing violent posts in some instances. There is now a partial exception when the targets are Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Users are even allowed to call for Russian President Vladimir Putin's death. (22:34 GMT) The seven women and children who Ukraine says died when Russian forces attacked a convoy escaping a village in the Kyiv region on Saturday were not as previously stated in an agreed evacuation corridor, the defence ministry said. Ukraine's intelligence service initially said those who died outside Peremoha had been in a "green corridor" agreed with Russia. A defence ministry statement later said people had in fact tried to escape by themselves, "so they began evacuating without the 'green corridor' agreed by the parties". 20220313 (01:26 GMT) The new scheme called "Homes for Ukraine" will let refugees from the war come to Britain even if they do not have family ties, the UK government said. Britain will pay people 350 pounds ($456) a month if they can offer refugees a spare room or property for a minimum period of six months. (02:55 GMT) Russia is trying to create new "pseudo-republics" in Ukraine to break his country apart, Zelenskyy says in his nightly address to the nation. He called on Ukraine's regions, including Kherson, which was captured by Russian forces, not to repeat the experience of Donetsk and Luhansk. (04:18 GMT) "If they decide to carpet bomb and simply erase the history of this region ... and destroy all of us, then they will enter Kyiv. If that's their goal, let them come in, but they will have to live on this land by themselves," Zelenskyy said late on Saturday. (05:51 GMT) An air strike has been launched on a Ukrainian military base Yavoriv in the west of the country 25km from the Polish border, according to the Lviv regional military administration. "The occupiers launched an air strike on the International Center for Peacekeeping and Security. According to preliminary data, they fired eight missiles," The governor of Ukraine's Lviv region has said that nine people were killed and 57 others were wounded. Foreign military instructors worked at Yavoriv, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, but it was not clear if any were present at the time. (07:14 GMT) Russian forces are attempting to surround Ukrainian forces in the east of the country as they advance from the direction of Kharkiv in the north and Mariupol in the south, according to Britain's defence ministry. (07:35 GMT) Mariupol in eastern Ukraine has been cut off from the rest of the world for 12 days and no one is allowed in or out as fighting rages on inside, with vehicles full of aid waiting to outskirts of the city. Jason Straziuso of the ICRC told Al Jazeera that there are thousands of families are in dire conditions without water in Mariupol. (10:21 GMT) Russia'a Gazprom has said that it was continuing gas shipments via Ukraine, at 109.6 milliom cubic metres per day. (11:10 GMT) At least 35 people have been killed and 134 wounded in a Russian air strike on a large Ukrainian military training ground near the Polish border, according to the regional governor of the western Lviv region, Maksym Kozytskyy. The previous death toll announced was nine. More than 30 Russian cruise missiles were used. (13:03 GMT) A bus carrying about 50 Ukrainian refugees overturned on a major highway in northern Italy at dawn on Sunday, killing 1 person and injuring 5, Italian firefighters said. (13:16 GMT) Ukraine's human rights ombudswoman accused Russia of using banned phosphorus munitions in an overnight attack on the town of Popasna in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. The statement could not be verified. (14:19 GMT) An American journalist has been shot dead and another wounded in Irpin, a NW suburb of Kyiv. Papers found on the reporter's body identified him as 50-year-old video documentary shooter Brent Renaud, of New York. (14:25 GMT) Zelenskyy says nearly 125,000 civilians have been evacuated through safe-passage corridors in one day, while a convoy with humanitarian aid is on its way to the besieged city of Mariupol. (14:47 GMT) Russian troops have fired warning shots as thousands demonstrated in the southern city of Kherson, which was seized by the Russian army earlier this month, a local broadcaster reported. (15:23 GMT) US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has warned Beijing that it will "absolutely" face consequences if it helps Moscow evade sweeping sanctions over the war in Ukraine. "We are communicating directly, privately to Beijing, that there will absolutely be consequences," Sullivan said in an interview with CNN. "We will not allow that to go forward and allow there to be a lifeline to Russia from these economic sanctions from any country, anywhere in the world." (16:16 GMT) National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has warned that Russia will pay a "severe price" if it launches a chemical weapon attack on Ukraine. (16:40 GMT) Russia has said the strike on a Ukrainian base in Yavoriv, near the Polish border, killed "up to 180 foreign mercenaries" and destroyed a large amount of weapons supplied by outside nations. Zelenskyy said he had given Western leaders "clear warning" of the danger to the base. (17:20 GMT) Zelenskyy has stepped outside his residence for the first time since war erupted to visit wounded soldiers in hospital and award medals. (17:27 GMT) Power has been restored to the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, which means cooling systems can operate normally and not have to use a backup system, according to Ukraine's atomic energy ministry. (20:19 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry has begun using Clearview AI's facial recognition technology. After the US startup offered to uncover Russian assailants, combat misinformation and identify the dead, Ukraine is receiving free access to Clearview AI's powerful search engine for faces, letting authorities potentially vet people of interest at checkpoints, among other uses. Clearview, which had not offered the technology to Russia, said it had more than 2 billion images from the Russian social media VKontakte, out of a database of over 10 billion photos total. (20:53 GMT) China's priority is to prevent the tense situation in Ukraine from getting out of control, its embassy in the United States said, responding to media reports that Moscow had asked Beijing for military equipment. "The current situation in Ukraine is indeed disconcerting," spokesperson Liu Pengyu said in a statement. "The high priority now is to prevent the tense situation from escalating or even getting out of control." (21:41 GMT) Zelenskyy has called on US software firms Microsoft and Oracle and German business software group SAP to halt support for their products in Russia. (21:46 GMT) Russia may default on its debts in the wake of unprecedented sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, but that would not trigger a global financial crisis, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said. (22:21 GMT) Bermuda's aviation regulator has said it is suspending certification of all Russian-operated airplanes registered in the British overseas territory due to international sanctions over the war in Ukraine, in a move expected to affect more than 700 planes. The regulator said it was unable to confidently approve the planes as airworthy. Manufacturers are no longer providing parts to Russian airlines as part of the sanctions. (22:27 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region, has said that he travelled into Ukraine to meet Chechen troops attacking Kyiv. Chechen television channel Grozny posted a video on Telegram that showed Kadyrov in a darkened room discussing with Chechen troops a military operation they said took place 7 kilometres from the Ukrainian capital. 20220314 (00:35 GMT) US President Joe Biden and France's Emmanuel Macron have underscored in a telephone call their commitment to holding Russia accountable for the invasion of Ukraine, the White House said in a statement. (03:00 GMT) The US and China are sending top aides to meet in Rome on Monday amid mounting tensions between the two countries over the Russia-Ukraine war, with the US saying Russia has asked China for military equipment to help press its campaign. In advance of the talks, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan bluntly warned China to avoid helping Russia evade punishment from global sanctions that have hammered the Russian economy. "We will not allow that to go forward," he said. Russia's invasion of Ukraine has put China in a delicate spot with two of its biggest trading partners: the US and European Union. China needs access to those markets, yet it also has shown support for Moscow, joining with Russia in declaring a friendship with "no limits". (04:29 GMT) Russian authorities, facing potential economic calamity as Western sanctions take hold, have threatened foreign companies hoping to withdraw from the country with arrests and seizures of assets including intellectual property, the Wall Street Journal has reported. The companies include Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Procter & Gamble, IBM and Yum Brands, the parent company of KFC and Pizza Hut. (05:30 GMT) The war in Ukraine is a tragedy that must be stopped or there will be a global food crisis as fertilizer prices are already too high for many farmers, Russia's coal and fertiliser king Andrei Melnichenko said. "The events in Ukraine are truly tragic. We urgently need peace," Melnichenko, 50, is Russian but was born in Belarus and has a Ukrainian mother. (06:19 GMT) The deputy head of the annexed peninsula of Crimea claims that a land corridor now links the area with the separatist Donbass region in eastern Ukraine. Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Georgiy Muradov as saying that Russian forces had taken control of the road from Crimea to Mariupol (06:49 GMT) Russia's finance ministry says it had approved a temporary procedure for repaying foreign currency debt, but warned that payments would be made in roubles if sanctions prevent banks from honouring debts in the currency of issue. The finance ministry said that Russia has enough funds to meet its debt obligations, but criticised Western sanctions freezing the government and central bank's foreign currency accounts as a desire to organise an artificial default. (07:47 GMT) The UK says it is providing cancer treatment to 21 seriously ill Ukrainian children. The children and their immediate family members arrived from Poland on Sunday evening (08:26 GMT) The UK's business secretary Kwasi Kwarteng says his country will donate more than 500 mobile generators to help Ukraine and weaken Russia's attempts to cripple its power supply. The generators will be enough to power 20,000 buildings. (10:08 GMT) Ukrainian authorities say two people have died and seven were injured after Russian forces struck an Antonov aircraft factory in Kyiv. The company builds both cargo and passenger aircraft. (11:20 GMT) Andriy Biletsky, leader of Azov, a group of mostly ultra-nationalist war veterans in Ukraine, says if Chechen leader Ramza Kadyrov is in Kyiv region "it will be possible to shoot him dead." "This will be an unforgettable welcome for you, Don," Biletsky said in a tweet, referring to Kadyrov's nickname that mimics the title of Italian mafia leaders. (11:46 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia has not asked China for military assistance and has sufficient military clout to fulfil all of its aims in Ukraine in time and in full. (13:27 GMT) Seven hospitals have been destroyed completely and "can't be restored" and 97 more have been damaged by shelling and bombardment, health minister Viktor Lyashko wrote on Facebook. (13:45 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said 20 people have been killed and 28 wounded by a Ukrainian missile with a cluster charge in the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine denied launching the attack. (13:50 GMT) More than 160 cars exit Mariupol via and evacuation corridor (15:47 GMT) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said the UN will allocate a further $40 million from its central emergency response fund to ramp up humanitarian assistance for Ukraine. (15:59 GMT) Defence ministers from NATO member states will meet in Brussels on Wednesday for an extraordinary meeting to discuss the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (16:47 GMT) Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power station has once again lost its electricity supply, energy operator Ukrenergo has said. (16:51 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it is planning to attack Ukrainian arms factories in retaliation for what it said was a Ukrainian strike on the separatist-controlled city of Donetsk, and urged workers and local residents to stay away. (17:27 GMT) Nine people have died and another nine have been injured after Russian forces hit a television tower outside the western Ukrainian city of Rivne, local authorities said. (17:29 GMT) Mayor of Ukraine's Kharkiv says Russian forces firing at city non-stop (17:39 GMT) Vladimir Putin has discussed the conflict in Ukraine by telephone with Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, the Kremlin has said in a statement, adding that the call had been at Israel's request. (18:49 GMT) Russian forces have blocked an aid convoy trying to reach the besieged port city of Mariupol, Ukraine's Kyrylo Tymoshenko said, while a first column of cars was allowed to escape. (19:38 GMT) An anti-war protester has interrupted the main news programme on Russia's Channel One with a banner that called on viewers to "not believe the propaganda" and "stop the war" on Ukraine. The channel, which describes the Russian invasion as a "special operation" to "de-nazify" Ukraine, said it was undertaking an internal review into the incident. (19:52 GMT) World Bank approves $200m in additional funding for Ukraine (20:20 GMT) UNHCR hails record $200 million in private sector donations for Ukraine (20:24 GMT) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is adding a stop in Bulgaria to a Europe trip focused on bolstering NATO allies as war rages on in Ukraine. Austin will leave on Tuesday for Brussels, where he will attend a NATO meeting. Bulgaria, Moscow's closest ally during the Cold War, is now a European Union and NATO member state that has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (20:41 GMT) United States national security adviser Jake Sullivan has raised concerns about China's alignment with Russia in a seven-hour meeting with Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi. (21:56 GMT) Nations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) face food shortages as the conflict in Ukraine continues, Shaza Moghraby of the World Food Programme (WFP) has said. (22:41 GMT) US not currently discussing importing oil from Venezuela: White House "It's not an active conversation at this time," Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. (22:51 GMT) Spain's PM Pedro Sanchez has said that authorities in Barcelona "immobilised" an 85 metre superyacht valued at $153m (140 million euros) while links to Rostec defence firm chief Sergei Chemezov. (23:44 GMT) Brett Bruen, a former Obama administration official, says "China is in a tough spot at the moment ... China was fine to go along if this was going to be a quick and relatively easy invasion. The more complicated it gets, the more it complicates China's position. What the Americans are doing right now is to publicly put that pressure on Beijing to force them into making a decision. And I think the near unanimity in the international community on this makes it even more challenging for Beijing to be an outlier." (23:58 GMT) New Zealand's government says it will introduce a new policy that will enable about 4,000 family members of Ukrainian-New Zealanders to move to the country in the short-term. Ukrainian-born New Zealand citizens and residents will be able to sponsor a Ukrainian family member and their immediate family, Immigration Minster Kris Faafoi said in a statement. Those accepted will be granted a two-year work visa and their children will be able to attend school. 20220315 (01:25 GMT) Chechnya's regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov said Chechen fighters are spearheading a Russian offensive on Mariupol, that Chechen fighters went 1.5 km inside the city before pausing their attack when night fell. and close associate Adam Delimkhanov is leading the Chechens in Mariupol. (02:11 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia could possibly be planning to use chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine in a "false-flag operation". In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said "such an operation could take the form of a faked attack, a staged 'discovery' of agents or munitions or fabricated evidence of alleged Ukrainian planning to use such weapons". (02:15 GMT) Biden tweets: "We will make sure Ukraine has weapons to defend against the invading Russian force. We will send money and food and aid to save Ukrainian lives. We will welcome Ukrainian refugees with open arms." (02:26 GMT) The Financial Times says the US has told its allies that China has signalled a willingness to provide military assistance after Russia request equipment including surface-to-air missiles, drones, intelligence-related equipment, armoured vehicles and vehicles used for logistics and support. Russia denies making any such request. (02:45 GMT) An adviser to the Ukrainian president's chief of staff says the war in Ukraine is likely to be over by early May when Russia runs out of resources to attack its neighbour. (03:07 GMT) China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has called for talks between Europe and Russia so that the two sides may "find reasonable solutions to their security concerns" and "set up a balanced, effective and sustainable European security framework". "China is not a party to the crisis, still less wants to be affected by the sanctions," Wang Yi said. Wang's appeal came during a phone call with his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, on Monday 20220314. (03:51 GMT) Japan has decided to freeze the assets of an additional 17 Russians, including billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and family members of banker Yuri Kovalchuk, who is a close confidant of the Russian president. (04:54 GMT) Kyiv Independent, a local news outlet, says "heavy explosions" were heard in the city early in the morning, while a foreign journalist there said he woke up to "several huge explosions in central Kyiv". (05:50 GMT) "The U.S. has repeatedly spread malicious disinformation against China on the Ukraine issue," the Chinese embassy in London told Reuters in a statement. "China has been playing a constructive role in promoting peace talks," it added. (06:31 GMT) Russia has said there is no risk of a food shortage on the domestic market and cautioned consumers against rushing out to stock up on staples after the West slapped sanctions on Russia. (07:24 GMT) Russia says its forces have taken control of Kherson region Russian forces shot down six Bayraktar TB-2 drones in the last 24 hours, the Interfax news agency reported, citing Russia's defence ministry. (07:42 GMT) Prime ministers of the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovenia will travel to Kyiv on Tuesday to meet Zelenskyy as representatives of European Union leaders, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said on social networks. "The purpose of the visit is to confirm the unequivocal support of the entire European Union for the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine." (07:55 GMT) The G20 grouping of nations is not an appropriate forum to discuss the Ukraine issue, a spokesperson for China's foreign ministry has told a regular news conference in the Chinese capital. The G20 consists of 19 countries, including China and the EU. Its next summit is set for October on the Indonesian resort island of Bali. (08:38 GMT) Peter Szijjarto (FM) said it was important for the Hungarian government to maintain European unity on sanctions but "we have a red line which is the security of Hungarian energy supply". (09:08 GMT) Ukraine claims 'more than 13,500' Russian servicemen killed (09:16 GMT) A curfew will be imposed on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv from 8pm (18:00 GMT) on Tuesday to 7am (05:00 GMT) on Thursday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced. "It is prohibited to move around the city without special permission, except to go to bomb shelters," Klitschko said. (09:38 GMT) "During the night the enemy attacked the Dnipro airport. Two strikes. The runway was destroyed. The terminal is damaged. Massive destruction," Dnipro region governor Valentin Reznichenko said on Telegram. (10:48 GMT) The northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv issued a warning of countrywide air attacks, urging citizens to head to shelters. It was not immediately clear whether other regions had issued similar warnings of new air strikes by Russia. (11:10 GMT) Spanish authorities have detained a yacht called "Lady Anastasia" owned by Russian oligarch Alexander Mikheyev. The yacht cannot leave the marina of Port Adriano in Mallorca, where it is now moored. (11:13 GMT) Russia has no knowledge of the United States being ready to make contact about the conflict in Ukraine, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said. Ryabkov said Moscow and Washington had diametrically opposed approaches to the situation, in quotes reported Interfax. (11:57 GMT) The area sown with Ukraine's 2022 spring grain crops could fall 39 % to 4.7 million hectares due to Russia's military invasion, the APK-Inform agriculture consultancy has said. The country, which harvested a record 86 million tonnes of grain in 2021, sowed 7.7 million hectares of spring grains last year. (12:13 GMT) For years, Ukraine has aspired to join NATO, a move that would significantly boost its military in the face of Russian aggression, but the chances of membership remain slim even as the war devastates the former Soviet country. Russia refuses Western allegations that it wants to influence Ukraine, and claims its main desire is for Ukraine to be neutral, a buffer state, and out of NATO. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/15/ukraine-what-does-neutrality-mean-and-could-it-lead-to-peace (12:45 GMT) About 2,000 cars have been able to leave the besieged city of Mariupol and a further 2,000 are waiting to leave, the city council has said. (12:48 GMT) The UK's latest round of sanctions has included Russian elites with a net worth of 100 billion pounds ($130bn), and included Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov and foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, the foreign office has said. (14:39 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has accused US advisors in Ukraine of helping Kiev develop biological and nuclear weapons, according to reporting by Russia's RIA news agency. He said the presence of a large number of foreign consultants and advisors in Ukraine posed a threat to Russia's security. (15:34 GMT) Ukrainian journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova has died after her vehicle came under fire on Monday, according to a local media outlet, the Kyiv Independent, and Reporters Without Borders. Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski was also killed in the same incident, which took place in Horenka, in the outskirts of Kyiv. British journalist Benjamin Hall was injured in the attack and remains hospitalised. (16:54 GMT) Ovsyannikova, who protested Moscow's military action in Ukraine on state TV, was fined and released following a court hearing. A judge with Moscow's Ostankinsky district court ordered her to pay a fine of 30,000 rubles ($280, 247 euros) after she barged onto the set of Russia's most-watched evening news broadcast holding a poster reading "No War" and "They are lying to you here". (17:29 GMT) Russia has put a stop on exports of grain and white and raw cane sugar to four former Soviet countries to secure domestic supplies and avoid a spike in prices. The temporary ban affects countries of the Eurasian Economic Union, a Moscow-led trade club that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. (19:53 GMT) Biden has signed a bill providing $13.6 billion in additional military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine as part of a $1.5 trillion government spending measure. Roughly half the $13.6 billion will arm Ukraine and cover the Pentagon's costs for sending US troops to other Eastern European nations that might see the war spill past their borders. (20:23 GMT) US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has said the idea of arming Ukraine with warplanes transferred from Poland was still being considered. "Exactly how to do that is still under discussion." (20:51 GMT) Biden will meet NATO, European leaders at a summit in Brussels March 24. (21:32 GMT) "Ukraine's cohesion and resilience, flexibility and inventiveness have come as a surprise," James Sherr, n analyst at the Estonian Foreign Policy Institute, told Al Jazeera. Russians are now altering their war strategy in two ways, he said, by regrouping - particularly in the east in the country - and pummelling Ukrainian cities. "They are reducing Ukrainians to destitution," 20220316 (00:22 GMT) The US Senate has unanimously approved a resolution seeking investigations of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government for war crimes over the invasion of Ukraine. The measure does not carry the force of law, but encourages ICC investigations of Putin, his security council and military leaders. (00:50 GMT) Ukrainian forces have repelled an attack on Kharkiv by Russian troops, who tried to storm the city from their positions in Piatykhatky, a suburb 15 km to the north, according to the head of the Kharkiv region (01:02 GMT) Polish Prime Mateusz Morawiecki has said the war in Ukraine is a European issue that needs a collective response. "The European Union has to give very quickly candidate status and more than this," he said after meeting with Zelenskyy. "It has to invite Ukraine to the European Union. And [provide] all the defensive weapons to defend your homes. We will try to organize, orchestrate all over the world." (01:24 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia who traveled to the embattled capital of Kyiv for talks. (01:39 GMT) Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO, says the Western security alliance can do much more to help Ukraine even if it won't impose a no-fly zone. "There are additional air defence systems that Ukrainians need, more stingers but also higher altitude systems. They need shore to ship missiles to go after some of the Russian ships that are in the Black Sea firing cruise missiles at Ukrainian cities," he told Al Jazeera. "They need more Javelin anti-tank systems. The Poles have offered to provide MiG29 aircraft, which the Ukrainians know how to fly. That should happen soon. We should be accelerating our deliveries of humanitarian relief to the Ukrainian people and if that needs protection in order to do so safely, we should provide that protection. There are so many things on the ladder here that we can do that we are not doing." (02:28 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia is "increasingly seeking to generate additional troops to bolster and replace its personnel losses in Ukraine". "it is likely Russia is struggling to conduct offensive operations" (02:58 GMT) Ukraine says a 4th general, Russia's Major General Oleg Mityaev has been killed during the storming of Mariupol. (03:01 GMT) Beyond human suffering and historic refugee flows, the war is boosting prices for food and energy, fuelling inflation and eroding the value of incomes, while disrupting trade, supply chains and remittances in countries neighbouring Ukraine, the IMF said. It is also eroding business confidence and triggering uncertainty among investors that will depress asset prices, tighten financial conditions and could trigger capital outflows from emerging markets, it said. "The conflict is a major blow to the global economy that will hurt growth and raise prices," the IMF said. (03:06 GMT) Ukraine's president has said that his country should accept that it may not become a member of the US-led NATO military alliance, a key Russian concern that it used to justify its invasion. "Ukraine is not a member of NATO... We have heard for years that the doors were open, but we also heard that we could not join. It's a truth and it must be recognised," Zelensky told the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force on Tuesday. <==!!! (06:12 GMT) Russia's economy is in dire straits and on Wednesday it faces its first payment on US dollar bonds since it invaded Ukraine last month. Moscow is due to pay $117m in interest on two dollar-denominated sovereign bonds or risk defaulting on its debt. (08:00 GMT) NATO is set to tell its military commanders to draw up plans for new ways to deter Russia following Moscow's invasion, including more troops and missile defences in eastern Europe, according to officials and diplomats. (08:38 GMT) Ukrainian air forces have said that their air defence units shot down 3 Russian planes, one helicopter and 3 drones. Two of the planes were SU-34 bombers, the third one is yet to be identified, the Air Force's spokesman Yuri Ihnat said. The Defence Ministry said that 81 planes and 95 helicopters had been downed since the invasion began on February 24. (09:58 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov sees "some hope" for reaching a compromise in the negotiations between Moscow and Kiev to end the war. Lavrov said Ukraine's political and military neutrality in exchange for security guarantees from Moscow was now being "seriously discussed." (10:35 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces are conducting small-scale counterattacks on several fronts and Russian troops have not been able to gain ground because of a lack of resources, according to Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych. "The situation ... in the main hotspots has not changed, and has no chance of changing as Russia has used up its resources," he told a video briefing. (11:52 GMT) Ukraine claims Russia lost 13,800 servicemen, 430 tanks (12:01 GMT) Kremlin says neutral Ukraine, like Austria, is possible compromise Peskov was commenting on remarks from Vladimir Medinsky, Russia's chief negotiator, who earlier told state TV: "Ukraine is offering an Austrian or Swedish version of a neutral demilitarised state, but at the same time a state with its own army and navy." (14:00 GMT) The 47-nation committee of ministers said in statement that "the Russian Federation ceases to be a member of the Council of Europe as from today, after 26 years of membership." Russia has announced it was pulling out of the council, which means it will no longer be a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and its citizens will no longer be able to file applications to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). (14:13 GMT) Russia has said there are no obstacles to a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Zelenskyy, but that such a meeting would only take place to seal a specific agreement. (14:46 GMT) The electricity grids of Ukraine and Moldova have been fully synchronised with the continental European grid, ensuring their access to power during the Russian invasion. (14:58 GMT) Direct dialogue between Ukraine, Russia leaders needed to end war, says Mikhail Podolyak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office and top negotiator (15:11 GMT) The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has met met Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba during a visit to Ukraine and has held virtual meetings with Zelenskyy, his office said. (15:42 GMT) Ukraine, Russia make progress on 15-point peace plan The peace plan includes a ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops if Kyiv declares neutrality and accepts limits on its armed forces. The proposed deal, which negotiators discussed in full for the first time on Monday, would see Kyiv renouncing its ambitions to join NATO and pledging not to host foreign military bases or weaponry in exchange for protection from allies such as the US, UK and Turkey. Unresolved issues include the nature of western guarantees for Ukrainian security and the status of Ukrainian territories seized by Russia in 2014 (20:40 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called Biden's characterisation of Putin as a war criminal "unacceptable and unforgivable rhetoric". (21:36 GMT) Canada has banned TV service providers in the country from distributing Russian state-owned television channels RT and RT France, saying the programming was not consistent with Canadian standards. Major Canadian cable operators had already dropped RT from their channel lineup. (22:40 GMT) Ukraine has handed over nine captured Russian soldiers to secure the freedom of the mayor of the southeastern city of Melitopol, who was detained last week, the Interfax Ukraine news agency has reported. 20220317 (00:09 GMT) The new arms and equipment Biden announced for Ukraine earlier includes S-300 long-range missile defense systems that can strike fighter jets that are much further away, according to AFP. The US is also giving Ukraine 100 Switchblade drones, which are essentially camera-equipped, remote-controlled flying bombs that can be directed by an operator. Other arms include 800 Stingers, which are shoulder-mounted infrared anti-aircraft missiles and 2,000 Javelins, also shoulder-mounted weapons that have proved particularly effective at defeating Russian tanks' anti-missile defenses. (00:26 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia's failure to control Ukrainian airspace means it has probably expended far more stand-off air launched weapons than originally planned. "As a result, it is likely Russia is resorting to the use of older, less precise weapons, which are less militarily effective and more likely to result in civilian casualties." (03:34 GMT) Human Rights Watch says the Mariupol theater hit during an alleged Russian attack was sheltering at least 500 civilians. (04:12 GMT) Panama's Maritime Authority says three Panamanian-flagged ships have been hit by Russian missiles in the Black Sea since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. One ship sank, the maritime authority said in a statement, but there were no casualties reported. The two others remain afloat with damages. Combined they have about 150 crew members of various nationalities who have not been allowed to leave (04:49 GMT) Ukraine's Ministry of Culture has published a preliminary list of sites destroyed or damaged in the Russian invasion. It includes the Museum of Ukrainian Antiquities in Chernihiv, the Kharkiv National University, as well as the Church of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Zhytomyr. (05:02 GMT) US officials have told the New York Times that Russia's military has lost more than 7,000 soldiers in its three-week invasion of Ukraine. (07:03 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has largely stalled on all fronts, with Russian forces suffering heavy losses and making minimal progress on land, sea or air in recent days, British military intelligence said. "Ukrainian resistance remains staunch and well-coordinated," the Ministry of Defence said. "The vast majority of Ukrainian territory, including all major cities, remains in Ukrainian hands." (07:43 GMT) Russian government websites are facing unprecedented cyber attacks and efforts are being made to filter foreign web traffic, the TASS news agency cited the digital ministry as saying. Russian government entities and state-owned companies have been targeted, with websites of the Kremlin, flagship Aeroflot and major lender Sberbank among those to have seen outages or temporary access issues in recent weeks. (08:00 GMT) Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia's security council, said the United States had stoked "disgusting" Russophobia in an attempt to force Russia on its knees and then rip it apart. "It will not work - Russia has the might to put all of our brash enemies in their place," Medvedev said. (08:15 GMT) Ukraine's Air Force said it has shot down three Russian Su-30M bombers, one Su-34 bomber and one plane that yet has to be idenfieid. It also said that two helicopters and one drone were shot down, while air defense forces shot down one more Su-34 bomber and one more helicopter. (09:30 GMT) The United Arab Emirates is keen to cooperate with Russia on bolstering global energy security, UAE Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan said, and that he planned to discuss the crises in Ukraine, Syria, Yemen and Iran during his visit to Russia. (10:22 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said that many people in Russia were showing themselves to be traitors and pointed to those who were resigning from their jobs and leaving the country. (10:59 GMT) "We are going to deploy the Sky Sabre medium-range, anti-air missile system to Poland with about 100 personnel to make sure that we stand alongside Poland, protecting her airspace from any further aggression by Russia," UK defence minister Ben Wallace told a news conference. (11:14 GMT) Frank Ledwidge, senior lecturer in military capabilities and strategy at the University of Portsmouth, said Russia's attack "has, in military terms, culminated". "Essentially, that they've gone as far as they can with the logistics and weaponry they brought into the country - that doesn't necessarily mean it's stalled," he added. "What we're seeing now is what's called an operational pause as they start to get, in colloquial terms, their act together, which they have not had largely due to very poor planning assumptions in the early part of the campaign. "So they'd be working frantically to try to get weapons and get their planning sorted out and to understand where does it go next. And of course, Ukrainians have a say in that, which is why we are starting to see counterattacks by Ukrainian armed forces that seem to be having some effect." (14:01 GMT) Canada is imposing sanctions on 22 senior officials of Belarus's Department of Defence for supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (14:03 GMT) Russian-European ExoMars Mars mission suspended over Ukraine war: European Space Agency (ESA) (14:37 GMT) The war between Ukraine and Russia, 2 of the world's top crop producers, will likely lead to a food crisis in the next 12-18 months in Africa and the Middle East, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. (14:50 GMT) Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has said the Group of Seven advanced economies had agreed to step up support for Moldova and other countries near Ukraine, as they try to cope with an influx of refugees. (15:11 GMT) Moscow regrets suspension of the ExoMars Russian-European Mars mission (15:12 GMT) UK grants Ukrainian refugees free access to healthcare (15:54 GMT) Where is the Russia-Ukraine war heading? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/17/where-is-the-russia-ukraine-war-heading-five-scenarios Military quagmire Peace deal agreed Putin deposed Russian military success Conflict spreads (16:52 GMT) Influx of Ukrainians will be big, big challenge for Germany, Scholz says (18:21 GMT) Russia launched over 1,000 missiles since start of invasion, US defence official says (19:20 GMT) White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said China's failure to denounce Russia's actions "speaks volumes," and that the White House had "high concern" that China could provide Russia with military equipment. (19:47 GMT) WHO says it has 43 verified attacks on healthcare in Ukraine (20:44 GMT) US Congress moves to revoke Russia’s ‘most favoured nation’ trade status (22:36 GMT) A US-enforced no-fly zone over Ukraine would effectively be a "military operation" that risks escalating the conflict, Alyssa Demus, a senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation think-tank, has said. 20220318 (00:18 GMT) Authorities in besieged Mariupol say Russian forces are dropping 50-100 bombs on the city every day, causing "enormous destruction" and the situation in the city is "critical" and that preliminary estimates show about 80% of the city's residential buildings have been destroyed. (00:56 GMT) Russian shelling has caused a fire at Kharkiv's Barabashovo market, among the largest in Eastern Europe, according to Ukraine's public broadcaster, Suspilne. Within five hours, the fire "engulfed almost the entire area" and spread to private homes nearby. (01:30 GMT) Australia has placed sanctions on 11 additional Russian banks and government organisations, covering the majority of the country's banking assets along with all entities that handle Russia's sovereign debt. (01:46 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says logistical problems are continuing to beset Russia's "faltering invasion of Ukraine". "Reluctance to manoeuvre cross-country, lack of control of the air and limited bridging capabilities are preventing Russia from effectively resupplying their forward troops with even basic essentials such as food and fuel." "Incessant Ukrainian counterattacks are forcing Russia to divert large number of troops to defend their own supply lines. This is severely limiting Russia's offensive potential." (05:01 GMT) Ukraine's military says a Russian ground offensive on Kiev in the "near future" is "improbable", citing a lack of experienced commanders as well as heavy casualties and low morale among Russian forces. (06:22 GMT) The Ukrainian gas transmission system operator has seen Russian gas transit via Ukraine at maximum contractual volumes after two days of lower volumes, RIA news agency has reported. (06:27 GMT) Russia sets up no-fly zone over Donbas: Interfax (06:45 GMT) Several missiles have hit an aircraft repair plant in Lviv, destroying its building, Mayor Andriy Sadovy has said. The plant had been stopped and there were no casualties from the strike, he said. Ukraine's military has said the aircraft repair plant in Lviv was struck by three cruise missiles launched from the direction of the Black Sea. The type of the missile was likely Kh-555, the military said, which are launched from heavy strategic bombers. Similar missiles struck the Yavoriv military base in western Ukraine on Sunday. (08:23 GMT) Biden has called Putin a 'murderous dictator' and a 'pure thug'. (08:34 GMT) The UK has revoked the broadcasting license of Russian state-funded television channel RT. (08:40 GMT) Russia's RT says British media regulator is just a tool of the government (09:00 GMT) Russia has lost all illusions about relying on the West and Moscow will never accept a view of the world dominated by a United States that wants to act like a global sheriff, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. (10:22 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov criticised Biden's characterisations of Putin as "personal insults". He said Biden's comments were fuelled by irritation, fatigue and forgetfulness. (10:29 GMT) Poland will formally submit a proposal for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine at the next NATO summit, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. (10:34 GMT) A World Food Programme (WFP) official has said that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with a portion of infrastructure destroyed and many grocery stores and warehouses now empty. (10:36 GMT) Russia's finance ministry has said it has fully met its obligations on paying coupons on dollar-denominated eurobonds due in 2023 and 2043, and said payment agent Citibank had received the funds. Russia was due to pay $117m in coupon payments. (10:47 GMT) Bulgaria expels 10 Russian diplomats: TASS (11:05 GMT) Norway boosts military spending by $340m: Norwegian defence minister (11:15 GMT) The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other top world lenders have warned of "extensive" economic fallout from the Ukraine war and expressed "horror" at the "devastating human catastrophe". (11:55 GMT) Zelenskyy says he expects progress on EU membership bid within months (12:13 GMT) Ukraine will not give up EU bid as compromise to Russia, says deputy chief of staff Andrii Sybiha. (12:35 GMT) Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania expelled a total of 10 Russian diplomats. (14:45 GMT) Xi tells Biden Russia-Ukraine fighting is in ‘no one’s interest’ (15:34 GMT) Dutch, Germans to send 3 Patriot missile defence systems to Slovakia` (16:17 GMT) The US Department for Commerce will move to effectively ground 100 aeroplanes that have recently flown to Russia, including 99 Boeing aeroplanes operated by Russian passenger and cargo carriers including Aeroflot, AirBridge Cargo, Utair, Nordwind, Azur Air and Aviastar-TU - as well as Abramovich's Gulfstream G650 - and could further hinder Russian efforts to continue some international flights. (19:12 GMT) Moscow has yet to take over any of Ukraine's biggest cities despite attacks by land, sea and air. (19:21 GMT) Biden warns Xi of consequences if it offers material support to Russia (20:01 GMT) Russia calls Council of Europe a 'Russophobic' tool of the West (20:25 GMT) None of the weapons the United States is providing to Ukraine could be used to launch an attack on another country, the White House has said, stressing that those are intended for defensive purposes. (20:34 GMT) 'We cannot cope': Poland struggles to meet Ukraine refugees' needs (20:42 GMT) The White House has declined to share details about the "implications and consequences" that it said Biden warned Xi of if China comes to Russia's aid in Ukraine. "We feel it's the most constructive way to engage and have a constructive dialogue," White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said when asked about the US's unwillingness to reveal more specifics from the call. (21:15 GMT) "A huge number of shells and mines have been fired at Ukraine and a large part haven't exploded, they remain under the rubble and pose a real threat," interior minister Denys Monastyrsky said. "It will take years, not months, to defuse them." (21:44 GMT) "The 130 metric tons of essential aid includes medical supplies, bottled water, ready-to-eat meals and canned food that will directly help some 35,000 people. In addition to these items, the convoy brought equipment to repair water systems to help 50,000 people." (22:04 GMT) Jonathan McDowell, an astrophysicist at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, has said that despite continued cooperation at the International Space Station (ISS), the war in Ukraine has thrown the space industry "into turmoil". "Western satellites were meant to go up on Russian rockets; they're now stranded. And yet at the ISS, it's as if nothing had happened... But I don't see how that can be sustained in the long run," McDowell said. "And indeed, America has been trying to persuade Russia to extend the life of the station project until 2030, currently scheduled to end in 2024. I can't see how that's going to happen now." 20220319 (03:42 GMT) Al Jazeera's been talking to Beijing-based analyst Andy Mok about the call between Chinese President Xi Jinping and US President Joe Biden. Mok, who is a senior research fellow at the Center for China and Globalization, says China has been consistent in its stance on the conflict and that maintaining a neutral line was the most effective way to reach a peaceful resolution. "Let's not conflate condemning with abstaining. These are two very different things," he said. "If we look at even the other countries around the world: UAE, Saudi Arabia even Mexico have not joined the US in condemning Russia so I think the US actually runs the risk of being isolated (on Ukraine). This is the real story; that not as many countries are with the US as reported in the Western media." www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/3/unga-resolution-against-ukraine-invasion-full-text ( 141 in favour, 5 against, 35 abstained ) (04:41 GMT) "The occupiers have partially succeeded in the Donetsk operational district, temporarily depriving Ukraine of access to the Sea of Azov," Ukraine's defence ministry said in a statement late on Friday 20220318. The ministry did not say whether or when Ukraine's forces had regained access to the Sea of Azov. (05:56 GMT) The White House has said President Joe Biden will discuss China's moves to align with Russia when he travels to Europe next week. Biden will participate in meetings with allies in Brussels next Thursday. (07:41 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it has destroyed a large underground depot for missiles and aircraft ammunition in Ukraine's Ivano-Frankivsk region using hypersonic missiles. The ministry said it has also destroyed Ukrainian military radio and reconnaissance centres near the port city of Odessa using a coastal missile system, Interfax reported. Russia has used its newest Kinzhal hypersonic missiles for the first time in Ukraine on Friday to destroy a weapons storage site in the country's west, the defence ministry said. Moscow has never before admitted using the high-precision weapon in combat, and news agency RIA Novosti said it was the first use of the weapons during the conflict in Ukraine. "The Kinzhal aviation missile system with hypersonic aeroballistic missiles destroyed a large underground warehouse containing missiles and aviation ammunition. ~/photos/events/20220318_Mig31K_fighter_with_Kinzhal_cruise_missile.jpg (10:01 GMT) Lebanese group Hezbollah has denied sending fighters to Ukraine to support Russian troops. "I categorically deny anything of these claims," Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech late on Friday. "These claims are lies that are bare of truth." He added: "No one from Hezbollah, neither a fighter nor an expert, went to this battlefield." Kyiv had earlier claimed Moscow recruited about 1,000 fighters from Syria and Hezbollah to fight in Ukraine. (10:36 GMT) The US has agreed to provide a Stryker mechanized infantry company for Bulgaria's battlegroup under NATO's drive to bolster its eastern flank after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov said. (10:45 GMT) Bulgarian PM Kiril Petkov has ruled out providing military aid to Ukraine but says his country, will continue to provide humanitarian assistance. (10:52 GMT) Russia's war in Ukraine is driven by "devastating madness", and Switzerland is prepared to pay the price for defending freedom and democracy, Swiss President Ignazio Cassis says. (10:55 GMT) A US military plane taking part in NATO exercises has crashed in Norway, killing all four American troops on board. (11:40 GMT) Turkey is to trying find a peaceful end to the conflict in Ukraine, Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidential spokesman, told Al Jazeera. "President Putin thinks that his position, at the moment, on the key strategic issues of Donbas and Crimea are not close enough for him to meet President Zelenskyy. "The negotiation teams in Belarus are addressing technical issues. The very first political-level meeting took place in Antalya with the participation of our foreign minister. And now what we need is a strategic-level meeting between the two leaders. "As positions get closer on the four main issues of neutrality - that there is no NATO membership, demilitarisation according to the Austrian model, denazification which is kind of offensive of course to the Ukrainian leadership and then the protection of the Russian language. "If there is growing consensus, and there seems to be, then the last two strategic issues of the territorial and legal status of the Donbas and Crimea will be addressed." (11:46 GMT) Cooperation between Russia and China will only become stronger in the current circumstances, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as saying. "This cooperation will get stronger, because at a time when the West is blatantly undermining all the foundations on which the international system is based, of course we - as two great powers - need to think how to carry on in this world." (13:33 GMT) The West must not try to "normalise relations" with Russian President Vladimir Putin after his invasion of Ukraine, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said, calling the crisis a "turning point for the world". (16:26 GMT) Russia has warned that mines that Ukrainians had deployed in the Black Sea against its "military operation" could drift as far as the Straits of Bosphrous and the Mediterranean Sea. "After the start of the Russian special military operation, Ukrainian naval forces had deployed barriers of mines around the ports of Odessa, Ochakov, Chernomorsk and Yuzhny," the FSB security service said in a statement, adding that the mines were "dilapidated" and made in the first half of the 20th century. Storms have cut cables to some of those mines that are now floating freely in the western Black Sea, pushed along by wind and the currents. (18:10 GMT) Scores of people are feared dead following a Russian airstrike on Friday that hit an army barrack housing about 200 soldiers in the southern city of Mykolaiv (18:30 GMT) Boris Johnson has said Brexit showed British people loved freedom in the same way as Ukrainians fighting Russia's invasion, comments that have been branded tasteless by opposition lawmakers and commentators. With Ukraine's ambassador to Britain present, Johnson told a Conservative Party conference it was the instinct of British people, like Ukrainians, to choose freedom every time. "I can give you a couple of famous recent examples. When the British people voted for Brexit, in such large, large numbers, I don't believe it was because they were remotely hostile to foreigners. It's because they wanted to be free to do things differently and for this country to be able to run itself," Johnson said. Britons voted in June 2016 by a 52% to 48% margin to leave the European Union, which Ukraine made a formal request to join on February 28, four days after Russia sent its troops into the country. (18:47 GMT) Russian forces have pushed deeper into Ukraine's besieged and battered port city of Mariupol where heavy fighting shut down a major steel plant. The fall of Mariupol, the scene of some of the war's worst suffering, would mark a crucial battlefield advance for the Russians, who are largely bogged down outside key cities more than three weeks into the biggest land invasion in Europe since World War II. (19:19 GMT) Ukraine will receive a new shipment of US weapons within days, including Javelin and Stinger missiles, Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said in a televised interview. (20:31 GMT) A bipartisan delegation of United States legislators visiting Poland has said there is a very urgent need to equip and support Ukraine in every way possible. (20:52 GMT) Mykolaiv facing air raids (23:43 GMT) Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng has said that NATO should stick to what he claimed was a promise not to expand eastward. Echoing a Kremlin talking point, the diplomat said if NATO's "enlargement goes further, it would be approaching the 'outskirts of Moscow' where a missile could hit the Kremlin within seven or eight minutes." "Pushing a major country, especially a nuclear power, to the corner would entail repercussions too dreadful to contemplate," he said. He expressed an understanding for Russian President Vladimir Putin's oft-repeated position, saying that NATO should have disintegrated and "been consigned to history alongside the Warsaw Pact". <=== (23:59 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says "Russia has failed to gain control of the air and is largely relying on stand-off weapons launched from the relative safety of Russian airspace to strike targets within Ukraine," "Gaining control of the air was one of Russia's principal objectives for the opening days of the conflict and their continued failure to do so has significantly blunted their operational progress." 20220320 (01:04 GMT) In his speech to a conference of his Conservative Party in Blackpool, Johnson said it is the "instinct of the people of this country, like the people of Ukraine, to choose freedom," with the Brexit vote a "famous recent example". Former European Council President Donald Tusk said "I can still remember the enthusiasm of Putin and Trump after the referendum. Boris, your words offend Ukrainians, the British and common sense", while former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt said the comparison was "insane". (02:09 GMT) Australia has imposed an immediate ban on exports of alumina and aluminum ores, including bauxite, to Russia, as part of its sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. "Russia relies on Australia for nearly 20% of its alumina needs," the Australian government said in a statement, adding that the move will limit Russia's capacity to produce aluminium, which is a critical export for Russia. The government also said it will donate at least 70,000 tonnes of thermal COAL to Ukraine to meet its energy needs. (03:57 GMT) Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, has said that Kyiv "officially" has 562 Russian soldiers in its custody. (04:25 GMT) China stands on 'right side of history' on Ukraine war: Wang Yi :+1: (04:57 GMT) The New York Times, citing a senior Ukrainian military official, says more than 40 soldiers were killed in a Russian attack on marine base in Mykolaiv. The official told the Times that it was likely that the headquarters of the 36th Ukrainian Naval Infantry Brigade had been hit by a long-range weapon, like an Iskander-M ballistic missile. (06:31 GMT) Ukraine's president has ordered to suspend the activities of 11 political parties with links to Russia. The largest of them is the Opposition Platform for Life, which has 44 out of 450 seats in the country's parliament. The party is led by Viktor Medvedchuk, who has friendly ties with Putin, who is the godfather of Medvedchuk's daughter. Also on the list is the Nashi (Ours) party led by Yevheniy Murayev. (07:40 GMT) Ukrainian authorities in Mariupol said the Russian military has bombed an art school where about 400 people had taken refuge. There was no immediate word of casualties from the Saturday attack. Local authorities said the building was destroyed and people could remain under the rubble. (08:00 GMT) "Kinzhal aviation missile systems with hypersonic ballistic missiles destroyed a large storage site for fuels and lubricants of the Ukrainian armed forces near the settlement of Kostyantynivka in the Mykolaiv region," the Russian defence ministry said. The strike marked the second day in a row that Russia used the Kinzhal, a weapon capable of striking targets 2,000km away at a speed 10 times the speed of sound. ~/photos/events/20220318_Mig31K_fighter_with_Kinzhal_cruise_missile.jpg (08:45 GMT) Ukraine sees high risk of attack from Belarus on western Volyn region It was not immediately clear whether Ukraine saw the threat of an attack from Russian forces or the Belarusian military, which has so far not publicly committed troops to supporting Russia. (09:09 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom said it continues to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said the requests stood at 106.6 million cubic metres for March 20. (09:57 GMT) 10 million people forced from homes in Ukraine war: UNHCR (11:19 GMT) 'Constant bombardment' in Kharkiv According to the mayor, more than 600 buildings including schools and hospitals were destroyed. (14:39 GMT) "I'm ready for negotiations with him," Zelenskyy told CNN referring to Russia's Vladimir Putin. "If these attempts fail, that would mean that this is a third world war," he said.` (16:25 GMT) Ukraine's president has addressed Israeli lawmakers, saying both countries were confronted by the threat of "complete extermination of the people, the culture, the country and the state". Drawing a parallel with the Holocaust, Zelenskyy said Russia was adopting a "final solution" against Ukrainians. Zelenskyy added that Israel's military was well equipped and should be helping Ukraine. (16:33 GMT) Residents in Kherson have staged a protest opposing Russian occupation, which is now in its third week in the southern Ukrainian city. Chanting "go home" dozens of people marched towards a tank marked with the letter Z, Moscow's pro-war symbol. The tank turned around and left the area. (16:58 GMT) France has seized around 850 million euros ($940m) of Russian oligarchs' assets on its soil, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said. "We have immobilised ... 150 million euros in individual's accounts, credit lines in France and in French establishments," in addition to "539 million euros in real estate on French territory" (17:15 GMT) The US-made Patriot air defence system is on its way to Slovakia, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad has said, paving the way for Bratislava to deliver similar hardware to Ukraine. (19:37 GMT) Greece's consul general in Mariupol, the last European Union diplomat to evacuate the besieged Ukrainian port, has said it "will become part of a list of cities that were completely destroyed by war". "What I saw, I hope no one will ever see," Manolis Androulakis said as he arrived at Athens International Airport. (19:48 GMT) The Russian army has advanced a further 12km into eastern Ukraine and reached the border of the settlement of Nikolske near Mariupol. (20:16 GMT) Russia says Ukrainian forces should surrender in the eastern port city of Mariupol. "Lay down your arms," Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, the director of the Russian National Center for Defense Management, said in a briefing distributed by the defence ministry. "A terrible humanitarian catastrophe has developed," Mizintsev said. "All who lay down their arms are guaranteed safe passage out of Mariupol." (20:57 GMT) Management of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, site of the world's worst nuclear accident in 1986, has said that 50 staff members who had been on the job since the plant was seized by Russian forces on February 24 have been rotated out and replaced. Officials had repeatedly expressed alarm that the staff was suffering exhaustion after weeks of forced, unrelieved work and that this endangered the decommissioned plant's safety. 20220321 (00:10 GMT) Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, has rejected a Russian call for Ukrainian forces in the besieged city of Mariupol to lay down their arms, saying "there can be no question of any surrender". (00:31 GMT) China's ambassador to the US has defended his country's refusal to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, contending such a rebuke will do nothing to stop the violence. He said China wants "friendly, good neighborly relations with Russia" and will keep up "normal trade, economic, financial, energy cooperation with Russia" as it continues "to promote peace talks" and urge an immediate ceasefire from Russia through negotiation and diplomacy. (01:13 GMT) Maksym Marchenko, head of the Odesa Military Administration, says Russia has started "utilising unmanned aerial vehicles in urban areas of the region" but that the "current situation in the region is quiet". (03:06 GMT) An ammonia leak reported at chemicals plant in Sumy was reported at 04:30 local time (02:30 GMT) at the Sumykhimprom plant and that the area within a five-kilometre radius around the plant was hazardous. (03:24 GMT) New Zealand says it will provide Ukraine with a further 5 million NZ$ ($3.46m) in funds and non-lethal military assistance. Jacinda Ardern said the money would be primarily directed to a NATO Trust Fund that provides fuel, rations, communication equipment and first aid kits. (05:13 GMT) Zhyvytskyy, the head of Sumy Regional Military Administration, says "there is no threat" to the city of Sumy from an ammonia leak at a nearby chemical plant because the wind is blowing away from the city, but that the villages of Novoselytsya and Verkhnya Syrovatka are within the contaminated area. He said people within the affected area are recommended to take immediate shelter underground and if ammonia is detected, to breathe through gauze bandages soaked in citric acid. (06:25 GMT) Moscow's deadline for the Ukrainian forces in the southern city of Mariupol to surrender expired at 5am (02:00 GMT). (06:50 GMT) Gazprom has said it was continuing to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. (07:15 GMT) Slovenia is planning to send diplomats back to the Ukrainian capital this week, according to the country's prime minister. "We are working to make the EU do the same. Ukraine needs diplomatic support," Janez Jansa announced on Twitter as he added that the diplomats will return to Kyiv on a voluntary basis. (07:47 GMT) The war between Ukraine and Russia, two of the world's top crop producers, might lead to a food crisis "on the global" scale, according to French farming minister Julien Denormandie, who spoke ahead of a EU agriculture meeting. A World Food Programme official said on Friday that food supply chains in Ukraine were collapsing, with key infrastructure such as bridges and trains destroyed by bombs and many grocery stores and warehouses empty. (08:43 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its air forces have hit a Ukrainian military facility in the country's western Rivne region with cruise missiles. "High-precision air-launched cruise missiles have struck a training centre for foreign mercenaries and Ukrainian nationalist formations," ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. There was no immediate reaction to Moscow's claim from Kyiv. (08:58 GMT) Ukraine's deputy prime minister has described the situation in Mariupol as "very difficult" after Kyiv rejected a Russian ultimatum to surrender the city. "Of course we rejected these proposals," Iryna Vereshchuk said. "The situation there is very difficult." Moscow had offered to open humanitarian corridors for evacuations from Mariupol from 10am Moscow time (07:00 GMT) had the surrender proposal been accepted. (09:04 GMT) EU foreign ministers to discuss sanctions on Russian oil sector (09:14 GMT) Kremlin says Russian oil embargo would hurt Europe (10:35 GMT) Separatist leader says it will take more than a week to capture Mariupol. "I am not so optimistic that two or three days or even a week will close the issue. Unfortunately, no, the city is big," Interfax quoted Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), as saying. (11:27 GMT) 'No progress' between Moscow, Kyiv on key issues: AJE correspondent "From a Russian perspective, they want the Ukrainians to recognise Crimea as Russian and Luhansk and Donetsk as independent states," he said, citing the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014 and the two self-proclaimed separatist republics in eastern Ukraine. "Then they would like to move forward with the idea of the neutral status of Ukraine - something that Ukraine has indicated it is open to - giving strong guarantees to the Russians that Ukraine won't ever be contemplating the idea of joining NATO," he added. "The Russians say that the expansion of NATO eastwards has always been a major national security concern that was never addressed." (13:08 GMT) Ukraine says all of its ports remain closed to ship traffic (14:49 GMT) Biden said on March 16 that Putin was a "war criminal" for sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine. "Such statements by the American president, which are not worthy of a high-ranking statesman, have put Russian-American relations on the verge of rupture," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement announcing the summoning of US Ambassador John Sullivan. (17:16 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has responded to reports of a crowd of peaceful protesters being shot at in the seized southern city of Kherson by calling Russian servicemen "war criminals" in a Twitter post. US President Joe Biden had refrained from using the term, which has legal implications, until last week. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called Russia's attack on Mariupol "a massive war crime". Civilians rallied in Kherson despite pressure from the Russian occupiers who took over the city on March 3. (17:27 GMT) A Russian defence ministry spokesman has said a shopping mall in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that was destroyed overnight - killing at least eight people - was being used to store rocket systems. (17:37 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine "cannot fulfil Russian ultimatums". "We should be destroyed first, then their ultimatum would be fulfilled," he told local media. He said Moscow wanted Ukraine to "hand over" Kharkiv, Mariupol and Kyiv, adding that neither the people of those cities "or me, as president, can do this". (18:00 GMT) EU agrees to 5,000-strong response force in defence push (18:00 GMT) The US and its allies will discuss Beijing's position vis-a-vis Russia at an extraordinary NATO summit, a meeting of the Group of Seven economies (G7), and a European Council summit on Thursday. (19:10 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that any compromises agreed with Russia to end the war would need to be voted on by Ukrainians in a referendum. Contentious issues may include territories occupied by Russian forces, including Crimea, or security guarantees offered to Ukraine by countries in lieu of NATO membership, he said. (20:17 GMT) The Pentagon has said it will help gather evidence of Russian war crimes, as it accuses the Kremlin of carrying out indiscriminate attacks as part of an intentional strategy in the conflict. (20:22 GMT) All Chernobyl staff who wanted to leave have been rotated out: IAEA (20:30 GMT) The United States has not explored options for President Joe Biden to visit Ukraine during his upcoming trip to Europe, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Psaki added that Biden plans to ask Polish President Andrzej Duda what more the US can do to support its humanitarian efforts to deal with fallout from the war in Ukraine. (20:46 GMT) The European Union's foreign ministers have disagreed on whether and how to slap sanctions on Russia's lucrative energy sector over its invasion of Ukraine, with Germany saying the bloc was too dependent on Russian oil to decide an embargo. (22:48 GMT) US President Biden has said that Putin's "back is against the wall" in Ukraine, warning that the Russian president may lash out and stage false flag operations to improve his position. "He wasn't anticipating the extent or strength of our unity," "And the more his back is against the wall, the greater severity of the tactics he may employ." Biden has urged the private sector to strengthen cybersecurity in order to fend off a potentially "consequential" Russian cyber attack, offering US government help to companies to step up their defences. "The magnitude of Russia's cyber capacity is fairly consequential, and it's coming." (23:33 GMT) Putin's "back is against the wall and now he's talking about new false flags he's setting up including, asserting that we in America have biological as well as chemical weapons in Europe, simply not true," Biden said at a Business Roundtable event. "They are also suggesting that Ukraine has biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine. That's a clear sign he's considering using both of those." 20220322 (00:21 GMT) India 'somewhat shaky' in its response to Russian invasion of Ukraine: Biden (00:38 GMT) A senior US defense official says the Russians have increased the number of military aircraft sorties over Ukraine over the past two days, doing as many as 300 in the last 24 hours. But Russia still does not have air superiority over the country yet. The official said Ukraine has also increased the pace of its military flights, but declined to provide numbers. The official said that most of the military flights involve air-to-ground strikes, mainly on stationary targets, and that the Russian aircraft are not spending a lot of time in Ukrainian airspace. (01:45 GMT) Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, says Russian forces have "kidnapped" three Israeli citizens in Melitopol. She urged the Israeli government to take a tougher stand against Russia. (02:13 GMT) Japan says it "strongly protests" Russia's decision to abandon talks on a World War II peace treaty because of Tokyo's strong response to the invasion of Ukraine. (05:44 GMT) The Ukrainian army has said it forced Russian troops out of Makariv, a strategically important Kyiv suburb, after a fierce battle. That prevents Russian forces from encircling the capital from the northwest, it added. (05:48 GMT) Ukraine's emergency services has said that at least 651 residential buildings in the country have been completely destroyed since the Russian invasion began on February 24, amd about 3,780 houses have been damaged. (05:52 GMT) Zelenskyy to address Japan's parliament. He has already made virtual addresses to the US Congress, and to parliaments in Europe, Canada, and Israel. (06:34 GMT) The mayor of Boryspil, a town outside Kyiv and home to Ukraine's main international airport, has urged civilians there to evacuate the area. Volodymyr Borysenko said the departure of civilians would make it easier for Ukrainian forces to operate in the area, given the ongoing hostilities. (07:11 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom says it is continuing to supply gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 108 million cubic metres for March 22, up from 104.7 million cubic metres for March 21. (09:57 GMT) Russian court finds jailed Kremlin critic Navalny guilty of fraud (10:45 GMT) More than 3.5 million people have fled Ukraine, UNHCR says (10:51 GMT) Russia's mass-market Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper was hacked on Monday and a false article on Russian military deaths in Ukraine was posted on its site, the newspaper's Kremlin correspondent has claimed. Journalist Alexander Gamov said the article - which reported nearly 10,000 Russian soldiers had been killed - was fake and had been deleted after a few minutes of going online. (11:12 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says its forces have retaken control of Makariv, a strategically important suburb west of Kyiv, after a fierce battle with Russian troops. The regained territory allowed Ukrainian forces to assume command of a key highway and block Russian troops from surrounding the capital from the northwest, it added. Still, the ministry said, Russian forces battling towards Kyiv had taken partial control of other northwestern suburbs, including Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin. (11:38 GMT) Ukraine's health minister has said 10 hospitals have been destroyed amid Russia's invasion, and warned others could not be restocked with medicines and supplies. (11:57 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Peskov has said Moscow would like ongoing talks between Russia and Ukraine to be more "active and substantive" after several rounds of discussions so far have failed to produce any breakthroughs. (12:41 GMT) The Kremlin has rejected claims made by the US that Moscow may be preparing to conduct cyberattacks in response to Western sanctions. (13:10 GMT) Russian court sentences Alexey Navalny to nine more years in prison (14:19 GMT) Kharkiv shelled more than 80 times overnight, official says (16:25 GMT) US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo will travel to Europe next week to coordinate on further measures to ramp up pressure on Russia, including targeting critical sectors of its economy, a Treasury Department spokesperson told Reuters. Adeyemo will meet with counterparts responsible for sanctions in London, Brussels, Paris and Berlin between March 28 and April 1, the spokesperson said. They are expected to also pursue efforts to find and seize assets of Russian elites through a newly created Russian Elites, Proxies and Oligarchs (REPO) Task Force. (16:41 GMT) The United States has not seen any concrete indication of an imminent Russian chemical or biological weapons attack in Ukraine but is closely monitoring intelligence, a senior US defence official has said. The comment comes after President Joe Biden said Russia's accusations that Kyiv has biological and chemical weapons suggest Moscow is considering using them in the war against Ukraine. (17:26 GMT) Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting in the city of Mariupol, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has said. (17:28 GMT) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has asked the European Commission to disburse all EU funds allocated to the country including a loan under the Recovery and Resilience Facility to help handle the Ukrainian refugee crisis, his press chief has said. Orban said Hungary wanted to use the loan facility for defence, border control & humanitarian and other acute crisis management tasks, according to a copy of a letter seen by Reuters. The European Commission has been withholding its approval to pay out pandemic recovery money to Poland and Hungary because the two countries have yet to address EU recommendations on the rule of law, including press freedoms and LGBT rights. (17:41 GMT) A second superyacht linked to Roman Abramovich has docked in the Turkish resort of Marmaris after Western governments slammed sanctions on the Russian billionaire. While strongly criticising the invasion, Turkey said it is against sanctions imposed by its NATO allies on principle, making Ankara a safe haven for Russians seeking to make investments and preserve assets. (19:22 GMT) French oil major TotalEnergies has said it will not renew its Russian gasoil and crude oil supply contracts for its German refinery, adding that it would source crude via Poland and gasoil from Saudi Arabia instead. The firm, which owns stakes in several Russian projects, had come under criticism after it stopped short of joining rivals Shell and BP in planning to divest oil and gas assets in Russia. (19:28 GMT) Moldova is monitoring its breakaway pro-Russian region of Transdniestria for any sign of escalating tensions following Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu has said. (19:32 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will take part virtually in a NATO summit on Thursday to discuss the war with Russia. (20:09 GMT) World Food Program director has told Al Jazeera that ending the war in Ukraine is key to avoiding a global food supply shortage, which would have catastrophic repercussions around the world. "If we don't act now, strategically and quickly, it's going to be hell on earth," David Beasley said in Brussels. (20:15 GMT) Rocket strikes have destroyed the railway station of the town of Pavlohrad around 60 kilometres east of the regional capital Dnipro, killing one person and damaging rails enough to prevent train passage indefinitely, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko has said. (20:25 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told CNN in an interview that Russia would only use nuclear weapons if its very existence were threatened. (22:06 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed "efforts to fortify NATO's Eastern Flank" in a call with the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the State Department said. "The Secretary reaffirmed the need for a strong and united Transatlantic response to the Russian government's war against Ukraine and welcomed ongoing work to strengthen NATO's deterrence and defense" spokesperson Ned Price said in a statement 20220323 (00:09 GMT) Antonio Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations who spoke to reporters in New York earlier, had a "stark message" for Russia, according to a UN statement. "This war is unwinnable," he told Moscow. "Sooner or later, it will have to move from the battlefield to the peace table. This is inevitable. The only question is: How many more lives must be lost?" He added: "The war is going nowhere fast. For more than two weeks, Mariupol has been encircled by the Russian army and relentlessly bombed, shelled and attacked. For what? Even if Mariupol falls. Ukraine cannot be conquered city by city, street by street, house by house." (00:26 GMT) Reuters news agency says the US only admitted seven Ukrainian refugees from March 1-16, and is drawing up plans to allow in more people. (02:55 GMT) Authorities in Ukraine have accused Russian forces of "looting and destroying" a new laboratory at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant that among other things works to improve management of radioactive waste. The state agency responsible for the Chernobyl exclusion zone said the laboratory contained "highly active samples and samples of radionuclides that are now in the hands of the enemy, which we hope will harm itself and not the civilized world". Al Jazeera could not verify the allegation (04:13 GMT) The Russian Investigative Committee has launched a criminal probe against a prominent journalist for spreading what it called "fake" information about the country's armed forces, according to the Interfax news agency. The committee said Alexander Nevzorov "knowingly published false information" about a Russian attack on a maternity hospital in Mariupol on his Instagram page as well as on a YouTube channel. Nevzorov, a former politician, has previously described Russia's actions in the besieged city as "terrorism". Russia's parliament earlier this month passed a law making public actions aimed at "discrediting" Russia's army illegal and banning the spread of fake news. (04:25 GMT) Vietnam Airlines will temporarily suspend regular flights from Hanoi to Moscow starting from March 25 until further notice, according to the state run Vietnam News Agency (VNA). The two countries have close ties dating back to the Soviet era and Vietnam has not so far condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (05:37 GMT) Russian forces have released a Ukrainian official and a journalist who had been held captive for days, according to local media reports Serhiy Kirichko, a local official in the Sumy region, was released on Tuesday after being detained in a basement for a week, the news outlet Ukrinform reported, citing a local politician. Viktoria Roshchina, a journalist with Ukraine's Hromadske channel, was released on Monday after nine days in captivity, the television station announced. (06:32 GMT) Vladimir Putin intends to attend a G20 summit being hosted by Indonesia later this year, according to Russia's ambassador in Jakarta, following calls by some members for the country to be barred from the group. (07:30 GMT) Zhang Hanhui, China's ambassador to Moscow, told about a dozen business heads to waste no time and "fill the void" in the local Russian market (08:00 GMT) The governor of the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine says an agreement has been reached on a local ceasefire to evacuate civilians trapped by fighting. Governor Serhiy Gaidai said the ceasefire would come into force at 9am (07:00 GMT). (09:17 GMT) ICRC head Peter Maurer is in Moscow for two days of talks with senior Russian officials, including Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "Mr Maurer plans to speak about the pressing humanitarian issues to be addressed to alleviate the suffering of people affected by the conflict in Ukraine." (09:25 GMT) A leading ally of Putin has accused the US of aiming to humiliate, divide and ultimately destroy Russia, and vowed the country would never allow that to happen. Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said such a plan - if ever achieved - could have catastrophic results for the world (09:31 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have hit a Ukrainian arms depot outside the country's northwestern city of Rivne, destroying an arsenal of weapons and equipment. The ministry said it had struck the depot on Tuesday using high-precision, long-range weapons fired from the sea. (09:48 GMT) Poland's special services have asked the country's foreign ministry to expel 45 Russian diplomats, according to a spokesman. (09:57 GMT) Poland said last week that it would formally submit a proposal for a peacekeeping mission in Ukraine at a NATO summit set to take place on Thursday. "I hope they understand what they are talking about," Sergey Lavrov told staff and students at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations. "This will be the direct clash between the Russian and NATO armed forces that everyone has not only tried to avoid but said should not take place in principle." (09:58 GMT) Ukraine's president will address the Swedish Parliament via video link 09:55 on Thursday (tomorrow) , the body has said. (10:04 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Warsaw's idea of NATO peacekeepers was "reckless and extremely dangerous". "Any possible confrontation between our troops and NATO forces could have clear consequences that would be hard to repair." (10:09 GMT) EU companies affected by sanctions imposed on Russia will be eligible for up to 400,000 euros ($442,000) of state support under loosened state aid rules, the bloc's executive arm has announced. (10:18 GMT) Russia increasingly relying on 'missiles, rockets and artillery'. (11:41 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged Japan to ramp up pressure on Russia with a trade embargo in an unprecedented direct appeal to the country's parliament. (12:20 GMT) Poland expels 45 Russian diplomats over alleged espionage (12:54 GMT) Belarus tells some Ukrainian diplomats to leave (13:06 GMT) Russian forces have bombed and destroyed a key bridge in the encircled city of Chernihiv, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus has said. The bridge had been used for evacuating civilians and delivering humanitarian aid. It crossed the Desna River and connected the city to Kyiv. (14:09 GMT) Putin says Russia will switch gas sales to roubles for 'unfriendly' countries includes the US, European Union member states, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Ukraine, among others. (14:17 GMT) German FM Annalena Baerbock has said that after delays in deliveries, further supplies of Strela missiles were on the way to Ukraine. "We are one of the biggest weapons suppliers in this situation," she said. "It doesn't make us proud but it's what we must do to help Ukraine." (14:30 GMT) Stoltenberg said he expects NATO will move to strengthen its eastern flank by deploying four new battle groups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. (14:45 GMT) The Kremlin has confirmed that a top Russian official has resigned, saying he did so of his own accord. Earlier, Reuters, citing two unnamed sources, reported that special envoy Anatoly Chubais, an architect of Russia's post-Soviet economic reforms, has stepped down over the war in Ukraine and left Russia. If that is the case, his decision would signal the highest-profile protest by a Russian figure against the invasion yet. (14:54 GMT) Analysts say the Kremlin may have been inspired to recruit foreign fighters in response to a similar step taken by Ukraine itself - and they warn of ominous consequences. (17:27 GMT) Sweden to provide Ukraine with 5,000 more anti-tank weapons (17:53 GMT) Boris Johnson intends to use a meeting of G7 and NATO leaders on Thursday to work with partners to "substantively increase defensive lethal aid to Ukraine", the hiss office said following a call with Zelenskyy (18:14 GMT) Russia has told Washington it would throw out a number of American diplomats in response to a US move to expel Russian staff from the permanent UN mission (18:54 GMT) Jake Sullivan said US sanctions enforcement will look closely at whether China facilitates settlement of Russian payments or attempts to counter export controls passed since Russia invaded Ukraine. (19:16 GMT) Russian communications regulator has blocked Google News (20:44 GMT) Joe Biden has landed in Brussels ahead of NATO, G7 and European Union summits on Thursday 20220324 (21:29 GMT) A Russian-drafted UN Security Council proposal calling for humanitarian aid access in Ukraine has been defeated with two "yes" votes and 13 abstentions. Only Russia and China voted in favour of the draft-resolution. The US and its allies had voiced opposition to the measure because it does not assign blame for the crisis. (22:27 GMT) The French automobile manufacturer Renault has said it suspended operations at its plant in Moscow while it assesses options on its majority stake in Avtovaz, Russia's top carmaker. 20220324 (00:04 GMT) The White House has assembled a group of national security officials to draw up plans for how the US and its allies should respond if Putin orders the use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Known as the Tiger Team, the group is also looking at responses if the Russian president reaches into NATO territory to attack convoys bringing weapons and aid to Ukraine, the NYT reported, (00:22 GMT) The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has verified 64 incidents of attacks on Ukrainian health care facilities and workers since the Russian invasion began. That amounts two to three attacks on health care per day, and has caused 15 deaths and 37 injuries. Attacks on health care are a violation of international humanitarian law. but a disturbingly common tactic of war. (00:53 GMT) Mexican legislators have created a "Mexico-Russia Friendship Committee." (01:03 GMT) The United Kingdom is giving Ukraine 6,000 more missiles, including anti-tank and high-explosive weaponry, as well as 25 million pounds ($33m) to help Kyiv pay its military and police forces. (01:10 GMT) Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he has been raising concerns about Russian President Vladimir Putin's plans to attend the next G20 summit in Indonesia this year. (01:51 GMT) Ukraine's agriculture minister Roman Leshchenko has submitted his resignation, but did not provide a reason for doing so, according to the Ekonomichna Pravda newspaper. Leshchenko told Reuters Tuesday that Ukraine's spring crop sowing area might more than halve this year from 2021 levels to some 7 million hectares versus 15 million hectares expected before the Russian invasion. (01:58 GMT) Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says Kyiv is using facial recognition software to identify the bodies of Russian soldiers killed in combat and to trace their families to inform them of their deaths. Fedorov told the Reuters news agency that Ukraine has been using technology from Clearview AI, a NY-based facial recognition software provider, to find the social media accounts of the dead soldiers. Authorities are then messaging relatives to make arrangements to collect the body. "As a courtesy to the mothers of those soldiers, we are disseminating this information over social media to at least let families know that they they've lost their sons and to then enable them to come to collect their bodies," Fedorov said (02:13 GMT) Dozens of orphans and their caretakers from Ukraine have arrived in the UK, where they are being given refuge following the Russian invasion of their country. Aged between 1 and 18 years old, the 52 children came from orphanages in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. (02:17 GMT) Ukraine's president has called on NATO to provide "effective and unrestricted" support to his country, including any weapons it needs to fend off the Russian invasion. (03:07 GMT) A senior US defence official says Russian ground forces appear to be digging in and setting up defensive positions between 15-20 kilometers outside Kyiv, as they continue to make little to no progress moving toward the city center. (03:40 GMT) Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki says Tokyo does not know how Russia will handle the required rouble payments for its energy sold to "unfriendly" countries. Japan accounted for 4.1 % of Russia's crude oil exports and 7.2 % of its natural gas exports in 2021. (04:09 GMT) Dmytro Zhyvytskyy, the governor of Sumy region, says they have not been able to access the site of a huge fire that broke out in the city of Trostianets on Tuesday 20220322. "Due to the shelling and the fighting, it is impossible for firefighters to get there to extinguish the fire." (06:19 GMT) Turkish telecoms operator Turkcell, which operates under the name "lifecell" in Ukraine, said in a stock exchange statement on Wednesday that around 10% of its 9,000 base stations in Ukraine were disabled, adding there had been no casualties among its employees. (06:28 GMT) Ukraine's 2022 sunflower seed harvest could decrease by 42 % to 9.6 million tonnes due to a sharp decrease in the sowing areas, APK-Inform agriculture consultancy has said. (07:15 GMT) Russia is stepping up its airstrikes, with more than 250 flights registered in 24 hours, the Ukrainian military's general staff has said. This was 60 more flights than the day before. The main targets remain the areas in and around Kiev, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv. The Ukrainian army said 11 "enemy air targets" were hit Wednesday, including seven planes, a helicopter, a drone and two cruise missiles. (07:18 GMT) A Russian ship has been destroyed in the Azov Sea port of Berdiansk, Ukraine's defence ministry has reported, not specifying any details but posting a video showing huge plumes of smoke rising from the port. The Orsk was a beachable landing support ship for paratroopers. (07:23 GMT) Russia has used banned white phosphorus bombs to shell residential areas in the southeastern Luhansk region, its governor Serhiy Haidai has said. Four people were killed, and the shelling destroyed 10 apartment buildings and 13 private houses, and set fire to 16 of them. (07:35 GMT) Any use of chemical weapons by Russia in its war in Ukraine could cause contamination in NATO territory, Stoltenberg has warned. 07:40 GMT) NATO's Stoltenberg has said declaring a no-fly zone over Ukraine means the alliance would need to massively attack Russian air defence. (07:54 GMT) Western nations will warn Putin that his country will pay "ruinous" costs for invading Ukraine, during an unprecedented one-day trio of NATO, G7 and EU summits that will be attended by Biden. (09:27 GMT) Turkish exports to Russia have halved, while exports to Ukraine are near zero, the Turkish Central Bank official has said. (09:47 GMT) The rouble has extended its recovery amid a partial restart in trading on Russia's stock market after a month-long hiatus that saw the majority of options rise. (10:07 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Peskov has said that sanctioned Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich played an early role in talks between Russia and Ukraine, but the process was now in the hands of the two sides' negotiating teams. (10:16 GMT) he UK's government says it has imposed new sanctions on 65 more Russian individuals and organisations, including Eugene Shvidler, an oligarch said to have "close business links" to Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, and Polina Kovaleva, the stepdaughter of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. "These oligarchs, businesses and hired thugs are complicit in the murder of innocent civilians and it is right that they pay the price," UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said. (10:55 GMT) The Swiss government has so far frozen about 5.75 billion Swiss francs ($6.17bn) worth of Russian funds and assets in Switzerland (11:23 GMT) More than half of Ukraine's children displaced: UNICEF (11:36 GMT) Bulgaria will recall its ambassador to Russia for consultations in response to "undiplomatic, sharp and rude" comments from the Russian ambassador, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov has said. (11:57 GMT) "As for Mr Johnson, we see him as the most active participant in the race to be anti-Russian," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has saying. "It will lead to a foreign policy dead end." (12:10 GMT) Zelenskyy has asked NATO to provide Ukraine with "military assistance without restrictions" as its forces battle to "save people" and the country's cities from Russia's onslaught. (13:13 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has accused NATO member Poland of a dangerous escalation of tensions after it expelled 45 Russian diplomats. (13:23 GMT) Stoltenberg to stay on as NATO chief until October 2023 (13:50 GMT) US to welcome up to 100,000 Ukrainians fleeing the war (13:58 GMT) "In response to Russia's actions, we have activated NATO's defence plans, deployed elements of the NATO Response Force, and placed 40,000 troops on our eastern flank," NATO leaders announced in a joint statement following the alliance's emergency summit. "We are also establishing four additional multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. We are taking all measures and decisions to ensure the security and defence of all Allies across all domains and with a 360-degree approach," (14:21 GMT) The US has imposed a new wave of sanctions on Russia, targeting dozens of defence companies and hundreds of members of Russia's parliament (14:30 GMT) Ukraine says Russian forces pushed back in some areas around Kyiv (14:31 GMT) Nikolay Mitrokhin, a Russia expert and researcher at Germany's Bremen University, says "It could be temporary, but in the past two weeks, the [opposed] armies are in the same position, and the war has turned from manoeuvre warfare into a trench phase," Instead of pushing forward in strategic directions, the Russians boast very moderate gains only in the breakaway, eastern Donbas region, where Moscow's troops "take a village a day", albeit with enormous losses. (14:50 GMT) China dismisses media reports alleging 'prior knowledge' of invasion (15:54 GMT) The 193-member UN General Assembly (UNGA) has passed a resolution demanding aid access and civilian protection in Ukraine and criticising Russia for creating a "dire" humanitarian situation in the country. The resolution, drafted by Ukraine and allies, was backed by 140 countries. Five member states - Russia, Syria, North Korea, Eritrea and Belarus - voted against it, while another 38 abstained. (16:51 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said the European Union needs to "crush" Russia with sanctions. "Russia is trying to re-establish the Empire of Evil," Morawiecki said, in a reference to the Soviet Union. (17:37 GMT) A foreigner organising the illegal passage for Ukrainian "draft-dodgers" has been detained, the Ukrainian border service has said. Each person paid $1,500 to illegally cross into neighbouring Moldova, it wrote on Telegram without specifying the person's nationality. Men can face nine years in jail and their vehicles can be confiscated if found attempting to leave the war-torn country, which is under martial law. (17:59 GMT) Biden says he thinks Russia should be removed from G20. If countries such as Indonesia and others did not agree with Russia's removal, he said, then Ukraine should be allowed to attend the meetings. (18:51 GMT) ICRC President concludes visit to Moscow to address humanitarian issues (19:04 GMT) Canada to increase defence spending, impose new sanctions on Russia "Canada will be increasing pressure by sanctioning 160 members of the Russian Federation Council who facilitated and enabled this unjustified invasion," Trudeau told reporters in Brussels. Ottawa will also impose new prohibitions on the export of certain goods and technologies to Russia, "with the aim of undermining and eroding the capabilities of the Russian military," according to a statement. (19:55 GMT) Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev has said Russia is offering to allow foreign vessels to gather in the Black Sea 32 kilometres southeast of the port of Illichivsk and then follow a 129-kilometre-long "humanitarian corridor" to safety. He added that 67 ships from 15 countries have been stranded in Ukrainian ports (20:03 GMT) Dmitry Rogozin, head of Roscosmos, said in a Chinese television interview that Europe wrecked cooperation by imposing sanctions against his agency, and (about 10) rockets that were meant to launch European satellites would now be used for Russian companies or countries friendly to Moscow. The European Space Agency said last week it was suspending cooperation with Roscosmos over the ExoMars rover mission to search for signs of life on the surface of Mars. (20:49 GMT) Thousands of people have taken to the streets of Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine and to show solidarity with Ukrainians. The rally, organised on social networks, followed Zelenskyy's call on people round the world to protest the month-long war. (20:36 GMT) The G7 countries - Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain and the US - have backed the International Criminal Court's probe into possible war crimes in Ukraine, saying they are "appalled" by Russian attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities. (21:10 GMT) Daniil Medvedev has shrugged off the threat of being barred from this year's Wimbledon after the status of Russian players at the tournament was called into question by the British government. "Don't have any response to Wimbledon," Medvedev said. "I will need to see what happens next. I try to take it tournament by tournament. I mean, there are always different rules, regulations in order to play or not to play." (21:50 GMT) Legislation removing "most favoured nation" trade status for Russia has been delayed in the US Senate at least until next week, after some Republicans raised concerns that its human rights provisions might be too broad. It is expected to pass next week, although the delay stymied efforts to pass it in time for Biden's meetings with allies in Europe. (22:06 GMT) Russia has conducted 1,804 air raids on Ukraine since its invasion began, including 467 missile attacks, the Ukrainian Defence Ministry has said. (22:42 GMT) "Ukraine informed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) today that Russian forces were shelling Ukrainian checkpoints in the city of Slavutych where many people working at the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant live, putting them at risk," the Vienna-based UN agency said. (22:53 GMT) Australia has imposed sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko and members of his family, and 22 Russian individuals, whom it called "propagandists and disinformation operatives". The latest sanctions will target editors from organisations including RT, the Strategic Culture Foundation, InfoRos and NewsFront, Minister for Foreign Affairs Marise Payne said in a statement. (23:42 GMT) Ukraine says Moscow has forcibly taken 402,000 civilians from shattered Ukrainian cities to Russia, where some may be used as "hostages" to pressure Kyiv to give up. The Kremlin gave nearly identical numbers, but said they wanted to go to Russia. Ukraine's rebel-controlled eastern regions are predominantly Russian-speaking, and many people there have supported close ties to Moscow. 20220325 (00:13 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Ukrainian forces have launched raids against "high value targets in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, including a landing ship and ammunition storage depot at Berdyansk". (00:41 GMT) A government official in the northern city of Chernihiv has told The Associated Press that a "catastrophe" is unfolding for the local population with Russian troops deliberately targeting food stores in a near-month-long siege. An airstrike this week destroyed a bridge over the Desna River, which was a crucial route to bring in food and other aid from Ukraine-controlled territory further south. (00:48 GMT) Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, has said that a Polish proposal to deploy a Western peacekeeping force in Ukraine "will mean World War III". "The situation is very serious and very tense." (00:57 GMT) Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov says that his forces have taken control of the city hall in besieged Mariupol and hoisted the Russian flag. "The guys are radioing to say that they liberated the building of the Mariupol authorities and put up our flag over it," Kadyrov said on Telegram. He also released a video later saying Moscow's forces "have completely cleared the residential areas in the eastern part of the city" "Soldiers raised a flag over the building of the Levoberejny district prosecutor's office, the last one to be liberated," he said. (01:20 GMT) Three US officials have told the Reuters news agency that Russia is suffering failure rates as high as 60% for some of the precision-guided missiles it is using to attack Ukraine. (01:48 GMT) A senior Pentagon official says Russia is running out of precision guided munitions and it is more likely to rely on so-called dumb bombs and artillery. (02:28 GMT) Russian state media has shown Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu attending a meeting of top officials amid speculation about his whereabouts after he dropped out of public view in the midst of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Shoigu, who is overseeing the war in Ukraine, had not been seen in public since March 11. But the RIA news agency on Thursday showed Shoigu on a televised split screen of top officials as Putin spoke to his Security Council by video conference. RIA made a point of zooming in on Shoigu in the top left-hand corner of a video screen set in front of Putin. The clip did not contain audio and did not show Shoigu speaking. (03:35 GMT) The Russian ambassador encouraged Mexico Mexico to defy "Uncle Sam" ... "The Russian ambassador was here yesterday making a lot of noise about how Mexico and Russia are so close. This, sorry, can never happen. It can never happen," Ken Salazar, the US's ambassador to Mexico, said in remarks at Mexico's lower house of Congress. "We have to be in solidarity with Ukraine and against Russia," he said. (04:32 GMT) The Japanese government says it will freeze the assets of 25 more Russians and prohibit exports to 81 Russian organisations in response to Moscow's war in Ukraine. (05:38 GMT) Russian forces have fired two missiles at a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of Dnipro, the fourth-largest city in the country. (07:36 GMT) Rescuers are searching for survivors among the debris after two missiles hit a Ukrainian military unit on the outskirts of the city of Dnipro, causing "serious destruction", Governor Valentyn Reznychenko has said (07:39 GMT) The Marshall Islands is considering "expelling" from their ship registry any Russian yachts or boats that have been targeted by Western-led sanctions on Russia, its foreign minister has said. (07:43 GMT) Biden will travel to a town near the Polish-Ukrainian border, trying to signal Western resolve. Air Force One will jet into the eastern Polish town of Rzeszow - bringing him less than 80km from the border. (07:51 GMT) Russia has launched some 1200 cruise missiles since the invasion began on February 24, but 59% of them did not explode, were shot down or missed, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces has said. A senior Pentagon official said earlier that Moscow was running out of precision-guided munitions and was likely to rely more on dumb bombs and artillery. (08:20 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says the country's forces have destroyed a major fuel depot outside Kyiv in a missile strike. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov told a briefing that the strike happened on Thursday evening, using Kalibr cruise missiles fired from the sea. Konashenkov said the depot was used to supply Ukrainian forces positioned central Ukraine (09:07 GMT) Russian forces have fully cut off Ukraine's besieged northern city of Chernihiv, regional governor Viacheslav Chaus has said, adding that it was under fire from artillery and warplanes. (09:20 GMT) The US and EU have announced a new deal on liquefied natural gas (LNG) aimed at reducing Europe's reliance on Russian energy imports. The agreement will see the US supply the bloc with at least 15 billion additional cubic metres of the fuel this year. "This will replace the LNG supply we currently receive from Russia," von der Leyen said. (09:44 GMT) Ukraine's Telegraf news website has published an article instructing Russian soldiers how to surrender. It added that those who surrender will be given amnesty, given "monetary rewards" for handing over equipment and weapons and allowed to make calls to family or friends (10:02 GMT) The UK's defence ministry says Ukrainian forces have re-taken towns and defensive positions up to 35km east of Kyiv. (10:12 GMT) Local officials say 300 killed in Mariupol theatre bombing (10:23 GMT) Kremlin plays down impact of possible G20 expulsion "The G20 format is important, but in the current circumstances, when most of the participants are in a state of economic war with us, nothing terrible will happen," Peskov told reporters. (11:59 GMT) US, G7 have taken new action to destabilising Russia's sanctions-hit economy. On Thursday, the US and its allies announced they were blocking financial transactions involving the Russian central bank's international reserves of gold. (12:45 GMT) Putin has accused the West of trying to cancel Russian culture, including the works of great composers such as Pyotr Tchaikovsky. "Today, they are trying to cancel a whole thousand-year culture, our people," the Russian leader said in a televised meeting with cultural figures, referring to the pulling of events involving Russian masters in some Western countries in recent weeks. (13:14 GMT) Biden has landed in Poland's southeastern city of Rzeszow, located about 100km from the country's border with Ukraine. The US president is due to meet US soldiers stationed in the area and non-governmental organisations helping Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's invasion later. (14:03 GMT) Russia has said the first phase of its "military operation" in Ukraine is mostly complete and that it will now focus on completely "liberating" eastern Ukraine's Donbas region. The Russian defence ministry said Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93% of Ukraine's Luhansk region and 54% of the Donetsk region - the two areas that jointly make up the Donbas. (14:42 GMT) The UN's human rights office (OHCHR) said it had documented the arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance of 22 local Ukrainian officials, 13 of whom had subsequently been released, since Moscow launched its attack. (15:15 GMT) Russia's ruling United Russia party has opened an office in Mariupol, the city's council has said, citing reports by local residents. The office is located in the city's Metro shopping centre, the council said in a Telegram post. "According to Mariupol residents who remain in the city, the ... [office] distributes party newspapers, agitates for Russia, and also issues cards of the Phoenix mobile operator, which has been operating in the occupied territory of Donetsk since 2014." (15:37 GMT) After Uzbekistan's unexpected pro-Ukraine statement, analysts say traditional regional dynamics could be shifting. (16:54 GMT) Ukrainian forces still control Mariupol city, says regional governor (17:25 GMT) Biden has left the Polish city of Rzeszow, after meeting with US troops and representatives of aid organisations, to fly to the capital Warsaw. (17:34 GMT) 'No one is going to surrender Mariupol,' Ukraine's top security official Oleksiy Danilov says (18:34 GMT) The Ukrainian Air Force has said that Russian cruise missiles hit several buildings while attempting to strike the Air Force's command in the Vinnytsia region, southwest of Kyiv. (19:01 GMT) Biden has compared Russia's invasion of Ukraine to China's crushing of protests in Tiananmen Square in 1989. (19:34 GMT) Emmanuel Macron has said there was no reason for his country to accept a demand from Russia to pay up in Russian roubles for Russian gas. (21:30 GMT) Russia is shifting its military goals in Ukraine to focus on fully capturing the eastern region of Donbas because it failed to quickly take Kyiv, Harry Nedelcu, policy director of Rasmussen Global, an international policy consultancy firm, has said. (see 14:03 GMT above) (22:17 GMT) Spotify to halt service in Russia (01:13 GMT) Britain is sending crucial food supplies to Ukraine following a request from Kyiv. About 25 truckloads of dried food, tinned goods and water - worth about 2 million pounds ($2.6 million) - will be sent by road and rail from Poland and Slovakia to Ukraine's most at-risk towns and cities. (05:43 GMT) Russia was conducting military drills on islands claimed by Tokyo, Japanese media reported, days after Moscow halted peace talks with Japan because of its sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russia's Eastern Military District said it was conducting military drills on the Kuril islands with more than 3,000 troops and hundreds of pieces of army equipment. It did not say where on the island chain, connecting Russia's Kamchatka peninsula and Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido, the drills were taking place. (08:18 GMT) Zelenskyy made a surprise video appearance at Qatar's Doha Forum, calling on energy producing countries to increase output so that Russia cannot use its oil and gas wealth to "blackmail" other nations. (09:15 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was seen chairing an army meeting and discussing weapons supplies in a video posted by his ministry, the first time he had publicly been shown speaking for more than two weeks. The meeting was attended by a number of top Russian army officials including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, who also had not been seen in public recently. (09:26 GMT) The governor of Kyiv region says Russian forces have taken control of the town of Slavutych, where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live. (09:38 GMT) Ukraine's Zelenskyy has delivered a virtual address to a forum of more than a dozen world leaders at the annual Doha Forum in Qatar. (10:04 GMT) Four Kalibr missiles had been fired from a naval vessel on the Black Sea have missiles have destroyed a depot containing an oil depot and a military factory near the city of Zhytomyr in northwestern Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry said. (11:59 GMT) Biden meets top Ukrainian ministers in Warsaw (16:03 GMT) Vladyslav Atroshenko, the mayor of Chernihiv in Northern Ukraine, has said the city "is completely devastated," adding that over 200 civilians had been killed in the past few weeks. (17:30 GMT) Biden's gives a long speech at Warsaw's Royal Castle. He has dramatically escalated his rhetoric against Putin, calling for the Russian leader to be removed because of his brutal invasion of Ukraine. "For god's sale, this man can not remain in power!" A White House official said "The President's point was that Putin cannot be allowed to exercise power over his neighbors or the region. He was not discussing Putin's power in Russia, or regime change" (20:12 GMT) Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Kyiv, has described a "muted response" to Biden's forceful speech in Warsaw from some Ukrainian officials. "The speech didn't give Ukrainians nothing new, it was much more a sum up of the US position when it comes to Ukraine, but Ukrainians don't want to talk about sanctions, about refugees or humanitarian aid being delivered," Khan said, noting that they were rather seeking stronger practical support, including more weapons and the ability to close the sky. (20:38 GMT) Russian forces have fired at a nuclear research facility in the city of Kharkiv, the Ukrainian parliament said in a Twitter post. "It is currently impossible to estimate the extent of damage due to hostilities that do not stop in the area of the nuclear installation," (20:47 GMT) Tough Western sanctions on Moscow will lead to the size of the Russian economy being "cut in half" over the next few years, according to Biden. (20:55 GMT) The US will provide Ukraine with an additional $100m in civilian security assistance, the State Department said on Saturday. Antony Blinken said in a statement that the assistance would be to build the capacity of the Ukrainian ministry of internal affairs with a view to aid "border security, sustain civil law enforcement functions, and safeguard critical governmental infrastructure". (21:44 GMT) Zurich Insurance has removed its Z logo from social media after Z became a symbol of support in Russia for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (22:08 GMT) British foreign minister Liz Truss has said sanctions imposed on Russian individuals and companies could be lifted if Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The British government says it has so far imposed sanctions on banks with total assets of 500 billion pounds ($659bn) and oligarchs and family members with a net worth of more than 150 billion pounds. (23:26 GMT) Zelenskyy has criticised the United States and Western nations for hesitating on supplying his country with fighter jets, saying "ping-pong" continued in discussions on who should deliver fighter planes and other defence weapons, and that Ukraine could not defend itself against missiles without proper weapons and could not liberate besieged Mariupol without tanks and combat jets. 20220327 (00:31 GMT) Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyy says a man was detained on suspicion of espionage at the site of one of the two rocket attacks that rattled the city on Saturday. Police found on his telephone photos of checkpoints which Kozytskyy said had been sent to two Russian telephone numbers. (01:13 GMT) Tens of thousands of people have gathered in London's Trafalgar Square to express solidarity with Ukraine and protest Russia's invasion of the country. The rally, dubbed "London Stands with Ukraine", was organised by the mayor of the British capital, Sadiq Khan. (01:48 GMT) A Ukrainian military unit says it has "liberated" the town of Trostyanets in the Sumy region. The 93rd Independent Kholodnyi Yar Mechanised Brigade made the announcement. The Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian news website, said Russian forces had captured Trostyanets on March 1. (02:00 GMT) Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, the exiled opposition leader of Belarus, has told Biden during a phone call that the people of her country "stand firmly with the people of Ukraine". (02:08 GMT) The UK has seized two jets from Russian billionaire Eugene Shvidler, a $45m Bombardier Global 6500 and a $13m Cessna Citation Latitude. (02:57 GMT) Musicians in Ukraine have performed a classical concert in Kharkiv's subway on Saturday, the same day that the city would have hosted the Kharkiv Music Fest if not for the Russian invasion. Three violinists, a cellist and a bass player delighted an audience of a few dozen people for half an hour, including with an extract from Bach's Orchestral Suite No 3 as well as Dvorak's humoresques. (03:58 GMT) Ukraine's Ministry of Health says it has deployed 590 StarLink antennas at medical and healthcare institutions in the country. The ministry said the StarLink systems will let hospitals access the internet "when there is a temporary lack of communication due to active hostilities". (05:42 GMT) Zelenskyy again calls for fighter jets and tanks from Poland (06:36 GMT) Russia has started destroying Ukrainian fuel and food storage depots, meaning the government will have to disperse the stocks of both in the near future, Ukrainian interior ministry adviser Vadym Denysenko said. Speaking on local television, Denysenko also said Russia was bringing forces to the Ukrainian border on rotation, and could make new attempts to advance in its invasion of Ukraine. (06:45 GMT) Traders have exported the first supplies of Ukrainian corn to Europe by train as the country's sea ports remain blocked due to the invasion. (07:32 GMT) The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) says if the conflict in Ukraine does not stop soon 90% of the country's population could fall into poverty. "The economy is in large part suffering the consequences of supply chain constraints but also basic municipal services are increasingly not being able to function," (08:53 GMT) Some 30,000 Ukrainian refugees have arrived in France, with half of them travelling through the country to other places such as Spain, according to French housing minister Emmanuelle Wargon. Wargon told Franceinfo radio the government was preparing to welcome 100,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine. (10:42 GMT) The US has no strategy of regime change for Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told reporters after President Biden said Putin "cannot remain in power". "I think the president, the White House, made the point last night that, quite simply, President Putin cannot be empowered to wage war or engage in aggression against Ukraine or anyone else," Blinken said during a visit to Jerusalem. "As you know, and as you have heard us say repeatedly, we do not have a strategy of regime change in Russia - or anywhere else, for that matter." (HAHA!) (10:57 GMT) The head of Ukraine's Luhansk separatist region has suggested holding a referendum on becoming part of Russia. "I think that in the near future a referendum will be held on the territory of the republic, during which the people will ... express their opinion on joining the Russian Federation," Russian news agencies quoted Leonid Pasechnik as saying. (13:47 GMT) Polish Foreign Minister Pawel Jabloński has said Russia's invasion is a threat to countries in eastern Europe, including NATO allies. "If Russia wins this war it will attack more countries," Jabloński said, speaking at the Doha Forum. (14:05 GMT) Zelenskyy has slammed Western nations for failing to provide weapons that he said are "just gathering dust" in Europe. Ukraine has asked NATO to provide one% of its aircraft and one% of its tanks. (14:14 GMT) Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint in both words and actions after US President Joe Biden described Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "butcher" and said he should not remain in power. "I wouldn't use this type of wording because I continue to hold discussions with President Putin," Macron said. (14:57 GMT) Ukraine has asked the ICRC not to open a planned office in Russia's southern port city of Rostov-on-Don. Mykhailo Radutskyi, chairman of the public health committee in Ukraine's parliament, said the move would legitimise Moscow's "humanitarian corridors" and "support the abduction of Ukrainians and [their] forced deportation." (15:03 GMT) The ICRC has said it delivered sixty tons of food and relief items to Kharkiv on Saturday as it scaled up its response in Ukraine. (15:39 GMT) Oleg Deripaska, a prominent Russian oligarch subject to sanctions, has said the conflict in Ukraine is "mad" and could have been stopped through diplomacy, but that the words spoken by US President Joe Biden in Warsaw had widened the rift. "Now some sort of hellish ideological mobilisation is underway from all sides," Deripaska said. "That's it: these people are preparing to fight for a few years more." Earlier this month, activists in London briefly seized his multimillion-dollar mansion, saying they wanted to use it to house refugees from Ukraine. (18:05 GMT) Russia's communications watchdog has said it restricted access to the website of Germany's Bild to viewers inside the country. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on March 18 denied a Bild report that asserted his plane had turned around and returned to Moscow while on the way to China. "We understood long ago that there is no such thing as an independent Western media," Lavrov told Russia's RT on that day. (18:30 GMT) Zelenskyy tells Russian media Ukraine prepared to discuss neutrality (20:25 GMT) Russia is considering "a Korean scenario" for Ukraine and splitting the country in two after failing to seize the capital Kyiv (21:45 GMT) Russia is maintaining a distant blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea coast which is effectively isolating Ukraine from international maritime trade, British military intelligence has said. (21:53 GMT) Germany is considering purchasing a missile defence system to shield against a potential attack from Russia, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. Scholz said it would not help to keep Germany's nuclear power plants running longer, but he noted that the timing of the country's plan to exit from coal was dependent on how quickly it made progress in expanding renewable energy. (22:01 GMT) Ukraine will insist on sovereignty and territorial integrity at the next round of negotiations with Russia, President Zelenskyy has said. 20220328 (00:10 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said Russian forces were "militarising" the exclusion zone around the station, site of the world's worst civil nuclear accident in 1986. Russian forces, she said, were transporting large amounts of old and badly maintained weapons, creating a risk of damaging the containment vessel constructed around the station's wrecked fourth reactor. And Russian forces were preventing firefighters from bringing under control large numbers of fires in the zone, she said. (01:55 GMT) The governor of Volyn in northwestern Ukraine has reported a missile strike on an oil depot in the city of Lutsk. (02:54 GMT) Russian forces have left the Ukrainian town of Slavutych, home to workers at the defunct nuclear plant of Chernobyl, after completing their task of surveying it, according to the town's mayor. (04:01 GMT) Zachary Paikin, a researcher at the Center for European Policy Studies, says Moscow and Kyiv likely hold differing views on what it means for Ukraine to be a neutral state. "The central theme in the lead up to this invasion was Ukraine's status in NATO, and that's how Russia more or less explicitly chose to frame neutrality during those talks over previous months. But membership in the EU is just as much of a sticking point," he said. "Ukraine joining the EU poses certain problems for Russia, because the EU is more of a Western political construct and Russia insists that Ukraine forms part of the Russian world, and EU nominally has a common foreign and security policy as well. This would very much run up against the concept of neutrality from Moscow's perspective." (05:10 GMT) China's state-run Sinopec Group has suspended talks for a major petrochemical investment and a gas marketing venture in Russia, in response to the Chinese government's calls for caution as western sanctions on Russia mount. One of the sources told Reuters that Sinopec had been planning to team up with Sibur, Russia's largest petrochemical producer, to build a new gas chemical plant in Siberia. (05:32 GMT) "Our priorities in the negotiations are known. Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity are beyond doubt. Effective security guarantees for our state are mandatory," Zelenskyy said. "Our goal is obvious: Peace and the restoration of normal life of our native state as soon as possible." But in comments to Russian journalists earlier in the day, he had said Ukraine was willing to assume neutral status and compromise over the status of eastern Donbas region as part of a peace deal. (06:28 GMT) Russian forces have retreated from the northern town of Slavutych that serves the shutdown Chernobyl nuclear power plant, its mayor said. (07:16 GMT) For the twelfth time, Russian forces have been defeated in the southern town of Chornobaivka after trying to seize a strategic airport, a presidential aide said. The Chornobaivka airport between the seized city of Kherson and the besieged city of Mykolaiv has become a symbol of Ukraine's resistance and spawned dozens of memes ridiculing Russia's blind determination to seize the town by all means necessary. (07:27 GMT) Dutch brewing giant Heineken said it has decided to exit its business in Russia, after previously saying it would halt new investments and exports there. (07:54 GMT) Mariupol is on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe and must be completely evacuated, its mayor said. (09:00 GMT) Russia's foreign minister said Moscow's relations with Beijing are now at their strongest level ever. China has repeatedly voiced opposition to the sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion, insisting it will maintain normal economic and trade exchanges with the latter. Beijing has also refused to publically condemn Moscow's offensive. (09:10 GMT) Ukraine has no plans open any humanitarian corridors today due to concerns about safety. The decision was taken because of intelligence reports warning of possible Russian "provocations" along the routes. (09:48 GMT) The Kremlin's spokesman has said that Biden's comment this past weekend that Putin "cannot remain in power" is a cause for concern. Peskov told reporters the remarks were "alarming" and said Moscow would continue to closely follow Biden's statements following the incident. (10:25 GMT) Ukrainian forces have launched counterattacks against Russian troops in parts of the country's northeastern region of Kharkiv, its governor has said. The villages of Mala Rohan and Vilkhivka were now "completely under the control" of Ukrainian troops, and "fierce battles" continue to take place in the city of Izyum, located some 124km southeast of the city of Kharkiv - the second-largest in Ukraine. (10:35 GMT) Russia's justice ministry has added Deutsche Welle to a list of media organisations it has labelled as "foreign agents", a designation that requires outlets to publish a disclaimer on all its publications. (11:04 GMT) Gazprom has said it is continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 109.5 million cubic metres (mcm) for today, after 109.6 mcm on Sunday. (11:20 GMT) A Romanian military dive team is trying to defuse a mine detected some 70km offshore in the Black Sea, the country's defence ministry has said. Earlier on Monday, Turkish authorities secured a mine close to the border with Bulgaria. On Saturday, they deactivated another ordinance, setting off a loud explosion north of Istanbul. Russia's main intelligence agency said earlier in March that several mines had drifted to sea after breaking off from cables near Ukrainian ports, a claim dismissed by Kyiv as disinformation. (11:32 GMT) More than 3.8 million people have fled Ukraine, UNHCR says (11:41 GMT) Individuals who display the letter "Z" in Germany to symbolise support for Russia's war in Ukraine could be liable to prosecution, Reuters has quoted a spokesperson for the country's interior ministry as saying. "The letter Z as such is of course not forbidden, but its use may in some cases constitute an endorsement of the Russian war of aggression." (11:43 GMT) Former Bolivian President Evo Morales has accused the US of using the war in Ukraine to "militarily, politically and economically" attack the people of Russia and attempt to overthrow the latter's government. "The only country in the world that killed hundreds of thousands with atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, that massacres peoples and plunders natural resources, has no morals to call anyone a 'criminal'." (12:36 GMT) North Macedonia's foreign ministry says the country has declared five Russian diplomats personas non grata for violating diplomatic norms and ordered them to leave within five days. (13:33 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry has said "According to our information, the Russian Federation has not abandoned its attempts, if not to capture, then to surround Kyiv," "For now we don't see the movement of enemy forces away from Kyiv," (13:39 GMT) Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted lawmaker Ivan Abramov as saying a refusal by the G7 group of industrialised nations to pay for Russian gas in roubles will lead to an unequivocal halt in supplies. (14:04 GMT) Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow is preparing to restrict entry into Russia for nationals of countries deemed "unfriendly" by the Kremlin, including the United States, the United Kingdom and all 27 EU member states. (14:08 GMT) Ukrainian forces have retaken Irpin, local mayor says (14:36 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has spoken to Prime Minister Mario Draghi about Italy helping to create a system that would give Ukraine security guarantees to protect it from future threats. (16:39 GMT) Ukrainian peace negotiators and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich suffered symptoms of suspected poisoning after a meeting in Kyiv earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Symptoms included red eyes, constant and painful tearing, and peeling skin on their faces and hands, the sources said, adding that they blamed the suspected attack on hard-liners in Moscow who want to sabotage talks to end the war in Ukraine. Abramovich and the Ukrainian negotiators, who include Crimean Tatar lawmaker Rustem Umerov, have since improved and their lives aren't in danger, WSJ reported. The Russian oligarch became involved in attempts to end the war despite longstanding links to President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from the American newspaper. (17:57 GMT) A US official who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity has said that intelligence suggests the sickening of Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and Ukrainian peace negotiators was due to an environmental factor, not poisoning. (18:36 GMT) Russian soldiers who seized the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster have driven their armoured vehicles without radiation protection through a highly toxic zone called the "Red Forest", kicking up clouds of radioactive dust, workers at the site said. Two sources told Reuters soldiers in the convoy did not use any anti-radiation gear. One employee said that was "suicidal" for the soldiers because the radioactive dust they inhaled was likely to cause internal radiation in their bodies. (18:48 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has poured cold water on reports of the alleged poisoning of Ukrainian negotiators and Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. "There is a lot of speculation, various conspiracy theories," Podolyak said. (19:41 GMT) Biden dismissed claims that he was calling for regime change in Moscow. "I wasn't articulating a policy change," he said. "I was expressing the moral outrage that I felt toward this man." (20:08 GMT) The Kremlin has said Russian investigators will look into a video circulated on social media that purported to show Ukrainian forces mistreating captured Russian soldiers. The footage shared on Sunday shows five of the prisoners tied up and lying on the ground being beaten by soldiers who are likely Ukrainian. Three other captives are shot in their legs without provocation. (20:34 GMT) The State Special Communications Service of Ukraine (SSSCIP Ukraine) has accused Russian forces of launching a cyberattack against Ukrtelecom, Ukraine's telephone company. Ukrtelecom had suspended services to the majority of its private users and business clients to continue providing service to the army. (20:42 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's northwestern Rivne region Vitaliy Koval has said Russian forces carried out a rocket strike on an oil depot. (20:45 GMT) British military intelligence has said a Russian private military company, the Wagner Group, has been deployed to eastern Ukraine. "They are expected to deploy more than 1,000 mercenaries, including senior leaders of the organisation, to undertake combat operations," (22:11 GMT) Seven European Union countries have urged their citizens to refrain from joining the military fight against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The appeal was issued by the justice ministers of France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Luxembourg and Belgium. (23:01 GMT) The US Pentagon has said it is deploying six Navy aircraft that specialise in electronic warfare and about 240 Navy personnel to bolster NATO defences in Eastern Europe. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby says the EA-18G "Growler" aircraft, based at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island in Washington state, were scheduled to arrive on Monday at Spangdahlem air base in Germany, where they will be stationed. They are not intended for use in Ukraine, he said. (23:28 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged Western nations to toughen sanctions against Russia, including imposing an embargo on Russian oil. 20220329 (00:13 GMT) Ukrainian firefighters have brought a blazing fire at an oil depot in the far north-western region of Volyn under control. The site was hit by a Russian rocket attack late on Sunday, which set multiple storage tanks on fire. (00:42 GMT) Pentagon leaders say they may have to ask the US Congress for additional money to support Ukraine's battle against Russia's invasion, including to replenish the arsenal for weapons sent to Kyiv. (01:09 GMT) "The siege of Mariupol, the denial of humanitarian evacuation and humanitarian escape for the population, and the targeting of civilians, according to Amnesty International's investigation, amounts to war crimes," said the group's Secretary-General Agnes Callamard. "The crisis in Ukraine right now, the invasion ... is not just any kind of violation of international law," she said. "It is an aggression. It is a violation of the UN charter of the kind that we saw when the US invaded Iraq." (01:39 GMT) Japan's trade ministry will ban the export of luxury goods to Russia from April 5. Prohibited items include luxury cars, motorcycles, liquors, cosmetics, fashion items and art pieces, the ministry said. (02:41 GMT) Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, says Russia is yet to take a final decision on how to respond should European countries refuse to pay for Russian gas exports in roubles, but warned that "We are not going to supply gas for free, this is clear. It is hardly possible and reasonable to engage in charity in our situation." (03:18 GMT) Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces have retaken the key Kyiv suburb of Irpin, but cautioned Russians still control areas north of the capital. (03:42 GMT) France has handed over 27 fire and rescue trucks, as well as 50 tonnes of medical and emergency equipment to Ukraine. (04:11 GMT) A senior US official says Washington has not seen any indications of non-compliance in Asia with export controls on Russia. (04:30 GMT) The Financial Times says Russia is no longer requesting Ukraine be "denazified" and is prepared to let Kyiv join the EU if it remains militarily non-aligned as part of ceasefire ngotiations. Citing four people briefed on the talks, the FT said the draft ceasefire deal does not contain any discussion of three of Russia's initial core demands - "denazification", "demilitarisation" and legal protection for the Russian language in Ukraine. (06:37 GMT) Russia poses significant threat to Kyiv through their strike capability even though Ukrainian forces continue localised counter attacks to the north west of the city, according to British military intelligence. Russian forces have maintained their offensive on Mariupol with continuous heavy shelling of the city. (06:44 GMT) Poland has become vital in the Western effort to defend Ukraine, with some of the fighting getting close to its border. Last week, Russian forces targeted the western Ukrainian city of Lviv - near the Polish border, just as the US president was visiting Poland. The situation has forced NATO to decide on how to respond to such incidents inside the borders of its member states. So, is there a risk of a conflict spillover? (06:58 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official Tetyana Lomakina says at least 5,000 people have been buried in the city of Mariupol since the invasion began, but that bodies have gone uncollected amid continuing Russian shelling. (07:23 GMT) Ukraine's army says 17,200 Russian "occupiers" have been killed in the country since the invasion began. Russia has lost 597 tanks, 1,710 armoured vehicles, 127 jets, 129 helicopters and seven ships, the Ukrainian military said in a post shared on Facebook. On Friday, Moscow said it lost 1,351 servicemen in the Ukraine war. (07:48 GMT) Ukraine's army says it successfully repelled seven Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (07:56 GMT) Ukraine says it is reopening humanitarian corridors and evacuating civilians from war-scarred regions after a one-day pause over what Kyiv called possible Russian "provocations". (10:26 GMT) At least twelve people have been killed and 33 others wounded in a Russian attack on a regional administration building in Mykolaiv. Russian forces have attacked Ukraine's southern ports, including Kherson, Odesa, Mykolaiv and Mariupol, as part of an apparent attempt to cut Ukraine's access to the Black Sea (10:46 GMT) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is in Ukraine for talks with senior government officials about ensuring the safety and security of its nuclear facilities. (11:15 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says the country has expelled 10 diplomats from the three Baltic nations in a tit-for-tat response, including three diplomats from Estonia and Latvia, and four from Lithuania. Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania expelled a total of 10 Russian diplomats in a coordinated move earlier this month. (11:16 GMT) Russia's defence minister Shoigu says Ukraine's military capacity has been seriously degraded and has restated that the main tasks of the first phase of Moscow's so-called "military operation" in its neighbour had been completed. (11:20 GMT) Russia sanctions redraw shipping routes, cleaving East from West. This new reality is creating a windfall for merchant shipping, but risks creating higher prices for European consumers and hunger for Africa. (11:30 GMT) "Personal insults cannot but leave their mark on relations between heads of state," Kremlin spokesman Peskov told reporters. However, he added that "one way or another, sooner or later, we will have to speak about questions of strategic stability and security and so on". Biden has called Putin a "war criminal" and over the weekend said his Russian counterpart "cannot remain in power". (12:31 GMT) Russia's military claims it will "fundamentally cut back" operations near Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, and the northern city of Chernihiv in order to boost talks between the two sides. Ukraine's military said it had noted withdrawals around Kyiv and Chernihiv. (12:36 GMT) Kyiv's delegation has said it proposed Ukraine would adopt a neutral status in exchange for security guarantees at the latest round of talks with Russia, meaning it would not join military alliances or host military bases. The negotiators told reporters the proposals would also include a 15-year consultation period on the status of annexed Crimea, which was seized by Russia in 2014, and could come into force only in the event of a complete ceasefire. (13:10 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says Ukraine's proposal for security guarantees could involve several guarantor states such as the US, the UK, Turkey, France and Germany. The countries would be "legally [and] actively involved in protecting [Ukraine] from any aggression" in terms similar to NATO's Article 5 collective defence clause. (14:00 GMT) The UK government says it has detained a 38 million pounds ($49.6m) superyacht owned by a Russian businessman which was docked in London's Canary Wharf financial district. The 58.5-metre Dutch-built yacht, named Phi, was detained under the government's sweeping sanctions on Russia, which include measures against scores of individuals and entities. It marked the first time the regulations have been used to detain a ship. ~/photos/events/20220330_which_countries_have_sanctioned_russia.png (14:36 GMT) The Dutch foreign ministry said it had ordered 17 alleged Russian intelligence agents who were accredited as diplomats to leave the country, while Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes announced her country had moved to banish 21 Russian diplomats on espionage charges. Ireland, too, announced it was expelling four Russian diplomats and the Czech Republic gave one member of Russia's embassy in Prague 72 hours to leave the country. (15:16 GMT) Antony Blinken says the US has not seen any evidence indicating talks between Moscow and Kyiv were progressing in a "constructive way". He also warned Russian indications of a pullback could be an attempt by Moscow to "deceive people and deflect attention", before calling on Russia to end its aggression immediately and pull its forces back. (16:58 GMT) Leaders from Britain, the United States, France, Germany and Italy have agreed there could be no relaxation of Western resolve. "The leaders discussed the need to work together to reshape the international energy architecture and reduce dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. They agreed there could be no relaxation of western resolve until the horror inflicted on Ukraine has ended," (17:02 GMT) Vladimir Putin said Ukrainian "nationalists" in the embattled city of Mariupol must lay down their arms as he discussed the conflict with French leader Emmanuel Macron, the Kremlin has said. "It was stressed that in order to resolve the difficult humanitarian situation in this city [Mariupol], Ukrainian nationalist militants must stop resisting and lay down their arms," (17:52 GMT) Any movement of Russian forces from around Kyiv would constitute a "redeployment, not a withdrawal", a US official has said after Russia promised to scale down military operations near the Ukrainian capital. (18:34 GMT) Berlin is the second biggest arms supplier to Ukraine at the moment, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has said, responding to criticism her country was not delivering enough weapons to Kyiv. (18:40 GMT) The Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine may consider joining Russia once it controls all of Ukraine's Donetsk region, its news outlet has cited separatist leader Denis Pushilin as saying. (20:49 GMT) Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, has accused the West of escalating the conflict in Ukraine by supplying what he called the "Kyiv regime" with weapons. Nebenzya also rejected US assertions that the invasion of Ukraine was a "war of choice", saying that the West was trying to create an "anti-Russia state" in Ukraine. (21:02 GMT) The executive director of the World Food Programme (WFP) David Beasley has warned that the crisis in Ukraine, a major food producer, will have disastrous humanitarian consequences around the world, especially in places already suffering food shortages, like Yemen and the Horn of Africa. (21:34 GMT) The Pentagon has clarified that US troops in Poland were "liaising" with Ukrainian forces as they hand over weapons to them, but were not training "in the classic sense" following remarks from Biden on the matter. "It's not training in the classic sense that many people think of training. I would just say it's liaising," Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday. On Monday, Biden said that while in Poland last week, he talked to US troops who were helping "train" Ukrainian forces. (PJB: sounds like "advisors" to me, just like in Vietnam ...) (21:50 GMT) US and EU diplomats will hold a "high-level dialogue on Russia" in Washington on Wednesday 20220330, the US State Department has confirmed. (22:11 GMT) Thousands of civilians may have died in the besieged city of Mariupol in southern Ukraine since bombing began four weeks ago, Matilda Bogner, head of the UN human rights mission in Ukraine, told Reuters. (23:45 GMT) The Russian military has alleged that the Ukrainian military had used old naval mines to protect the coast against a Russian landing and some of them have been ripped off their anchors by a storm and left adrift. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry responded, accusing Russia of using Ukrainian mines it seized after the 2014 annexation of Crimea and setting them adrift to "discredit Ukraine before international partners". 20220330 (00:16 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russian setbacks and Ukrainian counterattacks around Kyiv mean "it is almost certain" that Russia "has failed in its objective to encircle" the capital, and that Russian pledges to cut back troops around Kyiv may indicate its "acceptance that it has now lost the initiative in the region". (00:40 GMT) "There are indications that the Russian forces are regrouping to focus their efforts on eastern Ukraine," the Ukrainian general staff said in a statement. "At the same time, the so-called 'withdrawal of troops' is most likely a rotation of individual units and is aimed at misleading the Ukrainian military leadership" by creating the misconception that the Russians have decided not to try to encircle Kyiv. (01:15 GMT) Ukraine's UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya has told the UN Security Council that the "demilitarization of Russia is well under way" due to "unprecedented" personnel and equipment losses. Since the beginning of the invasion into Ukraine, Kyslytsya said the Russian occupiers have lost more than 17,000 military personnel, over 1,700 armoured vehicles and almost 600 tanks. He also said Russia also has lost 300 artillery systems, 127 planes and 129 helicopters, almost 100 rocket launchers systems, 54 air defense systems and seven ships. (02:20 GMT) Zelenskyy is scheduled to address Australia's parliament on Thursday evening. Employment Minister Stuart Robert told parliament that Zelenskiy would make an address by video facility at 5.30pm (07:30 GMT). (02:27 GMT) The Polish government has adopted draft legislation that will allow a ban on imports of Russian coal, according to a cabinet spokesperson. Sanctions in EU as a rule have to be agreed by the whole trading bloc, and Brussels could potentially punish countries acting unilaterally. (02:44 GMT) Oleksandr Markushyn, the mayor of Irpin, a Kyiv suburb that Ukrainian forces claimed control of on Monday, has told residents of the area not to return just yet. "Do not come back yet. The city is still not safe. We still hear gunshots and shelling, Grads [multiple rocket launchers] are even still being deployed." (03:31 GMT) The National Union of Journalists in Ukraine says Russian forces in Zaporizhzhia region have arrested a local journalist and taken her to the Donetsk region for "an investigation into her actions". Citing the journalist's sister, the union said the Russians accused Irina Dubchenko of sheltering a wounded Ukrainian soldier. (04:38 GMT) Russia's Lavrov makes first China visit since the Ukraine war started (05:10 GMT) The Kyiv Independent is reporting "multiple explosions" in Kyiv, a day after Russia pledged to reduce combat operations there, and also air raids went off early in the morning on several regions across the country, including in Zhytomyr, Kharkiv, Dnipro and Poltava. (05:22 GMT) The US Department of State has issued a travel advisory warning that Moscow "may single out and detain US citizens in Russia" and repeating earlier warnings for Americans not to travel to the country. (06:40 GMT) Residential areas of Ukraine's eastern city of Lysychansk have been shelled by heavy artillery on Wednesday morning, Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Gaidai wrote on Telegram. "A number of high-rise buildings have been damaged. Many buildings have collapsed." (07:31 GMT) Russian forces have hit industrial facilities in three strikes on the Khmelnitskyi region of western Ukraine overnight, regional governor Serhiy Hamaliy says. (08:02 GMT) The governor Viacheslav Chaus of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region says there has been no let-up in Russian attacks despite a promise by Moscow to scale down military operations there. (08:31 GMT) "We will impose a total embargo on Russian coal, and I hope by April, May at the latest, we will have completely exited from Russian coal," Poland’s prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference. "We will do everything to stop using Russian oil by the end of the year." (08:36 GMT) Russian forces are shelling nearly all cities along the frontline separating Ukrainian government-controlled territory from areas held by Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donetsk region, the regional governor has said. Pavlo Kyrylenko said the situation could worsen as Russian forces concentrated their efforts to attack the Donetsk region. (08:43 GMT) Russia is moving forces from northern to eastern Ukraine to try to encircle Ukrainian troops, but is keeping some behind near the capital Kyiv to tie down part of the Ukrainian military there, Oleksiy Arestovych an adviser to Zelenskyy has said. (09:00 GMT) Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said Russian forces had used air-launched long-range cruise missiles to target a fuel depot in Starokostiantyniv and Khmelnytskyi in central Ukraine. He added that troops had also hit the Ukrainian special forces headquarters in Bereznehuvate, in the southern Mykolaiv region, and that mobile land-based Iskander missile launchers had been used to strike two ammunition depots in the eastern Donetsk region. (09:16 GMT) The UNHCR says more than four million refugees have now fled Ukraine since Russia launched its war on February 24. Of those, 2.3 million have entered neighbouring Poland. An estimated 6.5 million people have also been displaced from their homes within Ukraine. (09:43 GMT) Finland's national railway operator VR Group has said it will resume services between Helsinki and Saint Petersburg in Russia on March 30, less than a week after having halted the service. (09:50 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit New Delhi on Thursday for a two-day trip, India's foreign ministry says. Lavrov is currently in China on his first visit to the country since the war began. (10:15 GMT) Ukrainian officials think Russian forces not retreating, but 'regrouping' (10:34 GMT) The UN has named three human rights experts to conduct an investigation into possible war crimes and other violations committed in Ukraine Erik Mose is a former judge on Norway's supreme court and on the European Court of Human Rights, and previously president of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. He will be joined by Jasminka Dzumhur, the human rights ombudsperson of Bosnia Herzegovina, and Pablo de Greiff of Colombia, who has served as the UN's top expert on the promotion of truth, justice and reparations. (10:47 GMT) The Kremlin has said there was no "breakthrough" during the latest round of talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv on Tuesday. (11:57 GMT) Norway has donated more weapons to Ukraine, the country's defence ministry says. The latest shipment contains 2,000 M72 anti-tank weapons, raising the total number of M72s donated by Norway to 4,000 (12:05 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained 60 supporters of what it described as a Ukrainian "neo-Nazi" group and seized weapons in 23 regions across Russia. The FSB has identified the group as the MKU. State television in December said the abbreviation stood for the words "Maniacs. Cult of Murder". The FSB said it had been set up under the patronage of Ukraine's intelligence services. (see also: Azov Batallion ) (12:53 GMT) Denmark would support potential Finnish NATO bid (13:45 GMT) An estimated 200 to 300 civilians were killed in the Ukrainian town of Irpin, near Kyiv, before it was taken back from Russian forces this week, the local mayor Oleksandr Markushyn has said. (14:41 GMT) Moscow's lead negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on television that Ukrainian officials had submitted a set of proposals including Kyiv's readiness to adopt a non-bloc, nuclear-free status and drop its bid to join NATO during Tuesday's talks. He added Ukraine had also signalled its readiness not to host foreign military bases and to hold joint drills with foreign militaries only in consultation with countries serving as guarantors of a peace deal, which would include Russia. (15:08 GMT) The United Nations' human rights chief Michelle Bachelet said there are "credible allegations" that Russian forces have used cluster munitions 24 times and allegations that Ukrainian forces have done so too. (16:43 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres aid two billion people - 1/4 of humanity - are living in conflict areas today, as the world experiences the highest number of violent conflicts since the end of World War II in 1945. Yemen, Syria, Myanmar and Sudan to Haiti, Africa's Sahel and now the war in Ukraine. (16:43 GMT) Slovakia has ordered Russia’s embassy to cut its staff by 35 (17:12 GMT) Biden to dispatch additional $500 million in direct aid to Ukraine (17:16 GMT) The Pentagon says it has seen some Russian troops in the areas around Kyiv moving north toward or into Belarus over the last 24 hours. (17:39 GMT) "We believe that Putin is being misinformed by his advisers about how badly the Russian military is performing and how the Russian economy is being crippled by sanctions, because his senior advisers are too afraid to tell him the truth," a US official said. "Putin didn't even know his military was using and losing conscripts in Ukraine, showing a clear breakdown in the flow of accurate information to the Russian president," (18:23 GMT) Britain has put in place new legal powers to prohibit maintenance on aircraft and ships belonging to specific sanctioned Russian oligarchs or their businesses. (18:37 GMT) Russian hackers have recently attempted to penetrate the networks of NATO and the militaries of some eastern European countries, Google's Threat Analysis Group has said in a report. The attack was launched by a Russian-based group called Coldriver, or Callisto, and used what Google described as "credential phishing campaigns." "These campaigns were sent using newly created Gmail accounts to non-Google accounts, so the success rate of these campaigns is unknown," (19:02 GMT) Governor says Russian forces using phosphorus ammunition in E.Ukraine (19:34 GMT) Denis Pushilin, head of the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said on Russian television that "about 140,000 left Mariupol ... both towards the DPR and towards Russia" (20:10 GMT) Russian forces have begun to pull out of the defunct Chernobyl nuclear power site after seizing control of the facility on February 24, a senior US defence official has said. (20:47 GMT) Russia announces Mariupol ceasefire to evacuate civilians (20:49 GMT) Boris Johnson has said Western nations should not lift sanctions on Russia until all of Moscow's troops leave Ukraine. (21:42 GMT) Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military was getting ready for further fighting in the country's east. "We will not give anything away. We will fight for every metre of our territory." (22:17 GMT) Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) chief Jeremy Fleming said there was evidence that Russian soldiers had low morale and were poorly equipped. "We've seen Russian soldiers - short of weapons and morale - refusing to carry out orders, sabotaging their own equipment and even accidentally shooting down their own aircraft," Fleming said in a speech in Canberra at the Australian National University (23:29 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the White House for pledging an additional $500m in direct aid, but said he was open with Biden about Ukraine needing more tanks, aircraft, artillery systems to resist the Russian invasion. 20220331 (00:35 GMT) A senior European diplomat has told Reuters that a US assessment on Putin's advisers misleading him about the Ukraine war is in line with European thinking. "Putin thought things were going better than they were. That's the problem with surrounding yourself with 'yes men' or only sitting with them at the end of a very long table." (00:55 GMT) Zelenskyy has recalled Ukraine's ambassadors to Georgia and Morocco, suggesting they had not done enough to persuade those countries to support Ukraine and punish Russia. (01:20 GMT) "A rocket hit an oil depot in Dnipro," said Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. "[It hit] one of the plants in Novomoskovsk." (01:39 GMT) Biden is preparing to order the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve, (02:09 GMT) Global restrictions on exports to Russia have shut down Renault, which controls Russian carmaker Avtovaz, and firms affected include Baikal Electronics, Moscow Center for SPARC Technologies and Russian tank maker UralVagonZavod, said Thea Kendler of the US Commerce Department.. (04:44 GMT) New Zealand says member countries of the International Energy Agency (IEA) will meet on Friday at 1200 GMT (1400 Paris time) to decide on a collective oil release. (05:06 GMT) Indian authorities are actively considering dedicated payment mechanisms for trade with Russia to enable existing trade obligations in the wake of sanctions imposed on the Kremlin. (05:54 GMT) Gita Gopinath, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director, told the Financial Times that some countries are already renegotiating the currency in which they get paid for trade away from US dollars. She said that the war will also spur the adoption of digital finance, from cryptocurrencies to stablecoins and central bank digital currencies. (08:34 GMT) Europe must stop buying oil and gas from Russia and should apply new sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine, Lithuania's president Gitanas Nauseda has said in a news conference Danish PM Mette Frederiksen. (10:34 GMT) The UN's nuclear watchdog will establish online monitoring missions to Ukraine's defunct Chernobyl and active Zaporizhzhia nuclear plants, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear company has said. (10:58 GMT) The UK has announced a new wave of sanctions against "Russian propagandists and state media". The measures are aimed at 14 individuals and entities - including TV presenter Sergey Brilev and Kremlin-funded TV-Novosti, which owns the Russia Today news channel (11:30 GMT) Norway's prime minister says he called on Putin to end Russia's offensive during talks between the pair by phone. "I asked the president urgently to end the war in Ukraine, pull out Russian troops and secure humanitarian access," Jonas Gahr Stoere said. (11:45 GMT) Russia has "practically destroyed" almost all of Ukraine's defence industry, Oleksiy Arestovych, advisor to Zelenskyy, has said. (12:04 GMT) Russian rockets have struck a military facility in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, killing two people and destroying the site's administrative building and fuel depot, according to the region's governor Valentyn Reznychenko. (14:01 GMT) Putin says he has signed a decree saying foreign buyers must pay in roubles for Russian gas from Friday, and contracts would be halted if these payments were not made. "In order to purchase Russian natural gas, they must open rouble accounts in Russian banks. It is from these accounts that payments will be made for gas delivered starting from tomorrow." (14:11 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Western countries will continue paying for Russian gas in euros or dollars despite the Kremlin's threat to cut off supplies not paid for in roubles. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said separately said Paris also rejected Russia's demand. (14:33 GMT) A Kremlin decree, published by state media, says "unfriendly countries" can continue to pay for natural gas in foreign currency through a Russian bank Gazprombank that will convert the money into roubles. It sets out that a designated bank will open two accounts for each buyer, one in foreign currency and one in roubles. (14:53 GMT) NATO has asked Denmark to send a battalion of 800 soldiers to Latvia to bolster the transatlantic military alliance's eastern flank, the country's defence ministry says. Such a move would require parliamentary approval. (15:30 GMT) Lithuania's most prestigious film festival has cancelled all Russian film screenings. While many have welcomed the move, others are concerned such measures will harm artists more than the Kremlin, which is facing a wave of cultural backlash over the war in Ukraine. (16:26 GMT) Biden will announce on Thursday the release of a record million barrels of oil a day for about 180 days from US strategic stockpiles, in an attempt to dampen soaring prices. (16:31 GMT) Russia has said it will expand the list of EU figures banned from entering the country following Western sanctions. (16:55 GMT) The US has hit 21 Russian tech firms with sanctions, including the nation's largest chip maker Mikron. (17:11 GMT) Putin has said Moscow will provide domestic airlines with 100 billion roubles ($1.25 billion) in support to help them deal with the consequences of international sanctions. (17:19 GMT) Polish Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski has told Al Jazeera that allowing Russia to make gains in Ukraine will encourage Moscow to adopt an aggressive stance towards eastern European countries. The official added that in recent days members of the Russian parliament discussed the "de-Nazification" of six more countries, including Poland. "If we allow Russia to win this war, they will regroup, they will resupply and they will be attacking more countries and starting more wars," Jablonski said. (17:25 GMT) Britain and its allies have agreed to send additional lethal weapons to Ukraine to help defend it against Russia's invasion, British defence minister Ben Wallace has said. He said this included longer range artillery, ammunition, and more anti-aircraft weapons. (17:41 GMT) The UN Humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine has called on all parties to agree to "the exact terms of humanitarian pauses", including the route, the start time, and the duration, to ensure the safe delivery of assistance and the evacuation of civilians. (18:08 GMT) Russia trades accusations with Ukraine on drifting Black Sea mines (18:27 GMT) Britain has announced sanctions on 14 more Russian entities and people, including state media organisations behind RT and Sputnik. (19:38 GMT) Justin Trudeau has said that Russia cannot be a constructive partner in the G20. Speaking to reporters in Ottawa, Trudeau said G20 leaders were having conversations about Russia's presence in the G20 because the Ukraine invasion has "upended economic growth for everyone around the world and can't possibly be a constructive partner." (19:47 GMT) The US wants Ukraine's borders to be respected as before the invasion was launched, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News. (21:15 GMT) An initial half-dozen shipments of US weapons and other security assistance have reached Ukraine as part of the $800m package of aid that Biden approved on March 16, the Pentagon has said. Spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that the shipments included Javelin anti-tank weapons, Stinger anti-aircraft missile systems, body armour, medical supplies and other material. Kirby said the $800m in assistance is likely to be fully delivered within about two weeks. It also includes Mi-17 helicopters, small arms, ammunition, vehicles, secure communications systems, and satellite imagery and analysis capability. (21:29 GMT) US renews warnings for Americans to leave Russia and Ukraine immediately (22:08 GMT) "As they ran away from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, the Russian occupiers took members of the National Guard, whom they had held hostage since February 24, with them," Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom said in a statement on Telegram, citing plant workers. It was unclear how many Ukrainian servicemen had been taken away. 20220401 (00:47 GMT) Leaders from the EU and China are due to hold their first summit in two years and the war in Ukraine is expected to dominate discussions. (01:05 GMT) Scott Morrison announces Australia will send Bushmaster military vehicles to Ukraine following a request from Zelenskyy. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushmaster_Protected_Mobility_Vehicle (01:59 GMT) Russia has warned it will respond to EU sanctions. "The actions of the EU will not remain unanswered ... the irresponsible sanctions by Brussels are already negatively affecting the daily lives of ordinary Europeans," senior foreign ministry official Nikolai Kobrinets told RIA (02:17 GMT) Zelenskyy has stripped two generals of their ranks, because they were "traitors". Ukrainian media outlets say the generals were senior members of the national security service, Andriy Naumov and Serhiy Kryvoruchko. (04:28 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to Japan, Sergiy Korsunsky, has told the media that the country might soon be able to better protect itself from Russian air attacks because it's expecting to get "super-modern" equipment from the US and Britain. "They still have superiority in air force, in airplanes and missiles, and we expect to begin to receive super-modern equipment from the United States and Britain to protect our skies and our cities." In a series of tweets on Thursday, Ukraine's Air Force said it needed "Patriot systems from the US or the cheaper, more mobile NASAMS system from Norway." (04:57 GMT) A regional governor has accused Ukraine of attacking a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, which lies across the border to the north of Kharkiv. The official, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said two Ukrainian helicopters carried out the attack, which started a fire at the facility. Two people had been hurt. (05:39 GMT) British military intelligence has said Ukrainian forces have retaken the villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka to the south of Chernihiv and located along main supply routes between the city and Kyiv. (06:26 GMT) Dmitry Medvedev, who served as president from 2008 to 2012 and is now deputy secretary of Russia's security council, said he would like to outline "some simple but important points about food security in Russia," given the sanctions imposed. "We will only be supplying food and agriculture products to our friends," Medvedev said on social media. "Fortunately we have plenty of them, and they are not in Europe or North America at all." (06:55 GMT) Gerard Depardieu, who has praised Putin in the past, has criticised his "crazy, unacceptable excesses" in Ukraine. Depardieu, who took up Russian nationality in 2013, told the AFP news agency on Thursday: "the Russian people are not responsible for the crazy, unacceptable excesses of their leaders like Vladimir Putin." (06:59 GMT) The Russians are trudging towards the Belarusian border, taking away stolen civilian vehicles and looted property, Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces has said on Facebook. It added that seven Russian attacks were repelled in Donetsk and Luhansk overnight, with Ukrainian forces destroying three tanks, two armoured vehicles and one drone. (07:24 GMT) Gazprom says it continues to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. The company said requests stood at 108.4 million cubic metres (mcm) for April 1, down from 109.5 mcm a day earlier. (07:42 GMT) Russia's central bank says it is softening restrictions on foreign fund transfers for individuals for six months. The bank said the measures, which raise an earlier limit on funds that can be transferred abroad, did not apply to residents and non-residents from countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia over Ukraine. (08:30 GMT) An aide to the mayor of Mariupol has said Russian forces have been preventing any humanitarian supplies from reaching civilians trapped there, making clear a planned "humanitarian corridor" had not been opened. "The city remains closed to entry and very dangerous to exit with personal transport," Petro Andryushchenko said. (08:55 GMT) Russia is continuing to withdraw some of its forces from around Ukraine's northern Kyiv region and they are heading towards Belarus, its governor Oleksandr Pavlyuk has said. He added Russian forces had left the town of Hostomel, which is next to a strategically important airfield, but warned they were digging in nearby, in the town of Bucha. (10:23 GMT) Moscow appears to be 'withdrawing units' around Kyiv, Chernihiv (10:54 GMT) The Kremlin has said the alleged Ukrainian strike on a fuel depot in Belgorod has created uncomfortable conditions for continued talks with Kyiv over ending the war. Russia's defence ministry has said two Ukrainian Mi-24 helicopters were responsible for an attack on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, and it added that the facility did not supply fuel to the military. The ministry said the two helicopters attacked after crossing the border at an extremely low altitude. (11:44 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said he "can neither confirm nor reject" whether Ukrainian forces were involved in the alleged attack in Belgorod because he is not privy to all military information. He added that foreign powers were not pushing Ukraine to compromise in the negotiations with Moscow. (12:04 GMT) Germany's defence ministry has approved the delivery to Ukraine of several dozen infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs) that originally belonged to the former communist East Germany, according to a media report. The 58 PbV-501 vehicles are armed with cannons and machine guns, the Welt am Sonntag newspaper reported. It added that Berlin had passed the IFVs on to Sweden at the end of the 1990s, which later sold them to a Czech company that now aims to sell them to Kyiv. Countries aiming to pass on German weapons exports need to apply for approval in Berlin first. (12:20 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said "huge" battles are being fought to the north and east of Ukraine's capital and warned people against returning to the city amid the fighting. (14:10 GMT) Ukrainian forces are pushing back Russian troops northeast and northwest of Kyiv, an adviser to Zelenskyy has said. Oleksiy Arestovych added at a news briefing that Mariupol was still holding out after weeks of bombardment but warned Russian forces were now trying to encircle the northern city of Chernihiv. (15:01 GMT) China has accused the United States of instigating the war in Ukraine and said NATO should have been disbanded following the break-up of the Soviet Union. "As the culprit and leading instigator of the Ukraine crisis, the US has led NATO to engage in five rounds of eastward expansion in the last two decades after 1999," Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters at a daily briefing. "The number of NATO members increased from 16 to 30, and they have moved eastward more than 1,000km to somewhere near the Russian border, pushing Russia to the wall step by step," he added. (15:58 GMT) EU chief warns China of 'reputational damage' over stance on war (16:40 GMT) Ukraine's top security official has denied accusations by Russia that Ukraine was behind an attack on an oil depot in the Russian city of Belgorod. Speaking on national television, Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said: "For some reason they say that we did it, but according to our information this does not correspond to reality." (16:43 GMT) The Red Cross has said the team it sent to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of civilians from Mariupol had been forced to turn around after conditions made it "impossible to proceed". (16:47 GMT) Energy group Orsted has said it had no intention of paying for Russian gas in roubles, after Russia demanded foreign buyers do so on Thursday. (17:02 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Minister Liz Truss discussed additional possible actions to ratchet up their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the US State Department has said. (17:59 GMT) "Agreed contracts must be respected. 97% of the relevant contracts explicitly stipulate payment in euros or dollars. Companies with such contracts should not accede to Russian demands," a European Commission spokesperson said. (18:58 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia would strengthen its western borders so that "it wouldn't cross anyone's mind to attack", RIA news agency reported. (19:35 GMT) The US is providing Ukraine with supplies and equipment in case Russia deploys chemical or biological weapons, the White House has said, underscoring that this would not compromise domestic preparedness in any form. (20:41 GMT) The White House has declined to say whether the US would back Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil after Moscow accused Kyiv of being behind an air raid on a fuel depot in the Russian city of Belgorod. (21:39 GMT) British military intelligence has said the destruction of several oil tanks at a depot in the Russian city of Belgorod, close to the Ukrainian border, will likely add short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistics chains. "The probable loss of fuel and ammunition supplies from these depots will likely add additional short-term strain to Russia's already stretched logistic chains," Britain's Ministry of Defence said on Twitter. "Supplies to Russian forces encircling Kharkhiv (60 km from Belgorod) may be particularly affected." (PJB: I don't like this, the US just pushing harder and harder ...) (21:50 GMT) Buses carrying Mariupol residents arrive in Zaporizhzhia 20220402 (00:05 GMT) The US has announced more export restrictions against Russia and Belarus, mostly companies with links to the military. (00:56 GMT) The US has announced additional "security assistance" for Ukraine of up to $300 million. This brings the total spending since the Russian invasion to more than $1.6 billion. (04:30 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, has given its assessment of what Russia's apparent pullback from Ukraine's north suggests about Moscow's military strategy. Echoing the Ukrainian president, the IOW, says Russia's "main effort is now focused on eastern Ukraine" with the goal of capturing Mariupol as well as the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk. Its analysts expect Russia to take Mariupol "in the coming days" but will continue to suffer heavy casualties. (06:22 GMT) Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine, Poltava and Kremenchuk, Dmitry Lunin, head of the Poltava region, wrote. Lunin later said at least four missiles hit two infrastructure objects in Poltava while, according to preliminary information, three enemy planes attacked the industrial facilities of Kremenchuk. (06:32 GMT) Ukrainian forces continue to advance against withdrawing Russian forces in the vicinity of Kyiv, British military intelligence has said. Russian forces are also reported to have withdrawn from Hostomel airport near the capital, which has been subject to fighting since the first day. "In the east of Ukraine, Ukrainian forces have secured a key route in eastern Kharkiv after heavy fighting." (06:52 GMT) Zelenskyy warned residents about land mines as Russian forces were leaving behind. "They are mining the whole territory, they are mining homes, mining equipment, even the bodies of people who were killed." He urged residents to wait to resume their normal lives until they are assured that the mines have been cleared and the danger of shelling has passed. (07:54 GMT) Ukraine's economy could contract 40% (08:05 GMT) EU eyes further Russia sanctions that will not affect energy sector (08:42 GMT) Head of Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin aid that the restoration of normal ties between partners at the International Space Station (ISS) and other joint space projects would be possible only with the with the "full and unconditional removal" of Western sanctions against Moscow. (09:17 GMT) Residents of Irpin, a town in Kyiv's suburb where Russian forces have been pushed back by Ukrainian forces, are not allowed to return yet because it is "simply too dangerous," said Al Jazeera's Imran Khan. "The Russians in their retreat placed booby traps and, as Ukrainians are telling us, they put explosives into people's devices like laptops, mobile phones and just threw them around places," Khan said reporting from a nearly fully destroyed village one kilometre outside Irpin. (10:52 GMT) Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin has been found dead near the capital Kyiv after going missing more than two weeks ago, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Saturday. "He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhyhirska on April 1," (11:28 GMT) A team of Ukrainians has come together to launch a radio station in Prague to help refugees fleeing war to adjust to their new life in the Czech Republic. (11:37 GMT) Russian President Putin and his Kazakh counterpart Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed during a phone call that it was vital for an agreement to be reached for a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free Ukraine. (14:48 GMT) A series of blasts has torn through the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar nearby the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (15:43 GMT) Thousands of people have gathered in the Swiss capital Bern to demand an end to Russia's devastating war in Ukraine. In a sea of blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, with a rainbow-coloured sprinkling of PEACE banners, around 10,000 demonstrators marched through the city, according to organisers. "We are all Ukrainian civilians," read one banner. (16:33 GMT) Authorities in the tiny breakaway region of Transnistria in Moldova denied "absolutely untrue" claims by Ukraine that Russian troops based there are massing to conduct "provocations" along Ukraine's border. Earlier, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Russian troops already in Transnistria were preparing for "a demonstration of readiness for the offensive and, possibly, hostilities against Ukraine." "The information disseminated by the General Staff of Ukraine is absolutely untrue," Transnistria's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. (17:09 GMT) Nearly 300 buried in 'mass grave' in Bucha: Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk He said the heavily destroyed town’s streets are littered with corpses. (17:28 GMT) A Russian air raid damaged an airfield runway and fuel depot near the city of Myrhorod in Ukraine's central-eastern Poltava, Governor Dmytro Lunin said (19:04 GMT) Ukraine's deputy prime minister says 765 residents managed to make it out of Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia in private vehicles. (19:26 GMT) Ukraine has regained control of "the whole Kyiv region" after invading Russian forces retreated from some key towns near the Ukrainian capital, deputy defence minister Ganna Maliar has said. "Irpin, Bucha, Gostomel and the whole Kyiv region were liberated from the invader" Maliar said on Facebook, referring to towns that have been heavily destroyed by fighting (19:54 GMT) European Union countries want to reduce their dependence on Moscow and are pulling out all the stops to find alternative supplies. Africa has a wealth of natural gas reserves and could fill the gap. (20:13 GMT) Lithuania has stopped importing natural gas from Russia, the energy ministry has announced. The ministry said the country's gas network has been running without Russian gas imports since the beginning of the month. "We are the first EU country among Gazprom's supply countries to gain independence from Russian gas supplies, and this is the result of a multi-year coherent energy policy and timely infrastructure decisions." (20:57 GMT) Ukraine's top negotiator in peace talks with Russia said that Moscow had "verbally" agreed to key Ukrainian proposals, raising hopes that talks to end fighting are moving forward. "The Russian Federation has given an official answer to all positions which is that they accept the Ukrainian position, except for the issue of Crimea," David Arakhamia said (21:40 GMT) The head of Latvia's natural gas storage operator has said Baltic states are no longer importing Russian natural gas. "Since April 1 Russian natural gas is no longer flowing to Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania," he told Latvian radio. He added that the Baltic market was currently being served by gas reserves stored underground in Latvia. (22:16 GMT) The UK is working with others to collect evidence of Russian war crimes, British foreign secretary Liz Truss wrote on Twitter. Truss said she was "appalled by atrocities in Bucha and other towns in Ukraine. Reports of Russian forces targeting innocent civilians are abhorrent." (23:12 GMT) Poland's government has issued more than 625,000 national identification numbers to Ukrainian refugees since Russia launched its invasion, according to Deputy Interior Minister Pawel Szefernaker. The ID number, known as a PESEL, gives people the right to access health care, schooling or other state services. 20220403 (00:14 GMT) The UK could build up to seven new nuclear power stations as part of a radical expansion of homegrown energy following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng told The Sunday Telegraph. Ministers have agreed to set up a new development vehicle, called Great British Nuclear, to identify sites, cut through red tape to speed up the planning process, and bring together private firms to run each site. (00:41 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says there has been a "concentration of Russian air activity in southeastern Ukraine" over the past week. (02:40 GMT) Zelenskyy is "virtually the only one in Europe to openly support" Russian President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "We did not ask for anything special from Budapest. We didn't even get what everyone else is doing! Doing for the sake of peace. We did not receive the vital transit of defence aid, we did not see moral leadership. We saw no effort to stop the war" he said. (03:50 GMT) Reuters says a series of explosions were heard and smoke was seen in Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa in the early hours of Sunday. (04:48 GMT) Air raids have rocked the strategic Black Sea port city of Odesa, with fires reported in some areas. The blasts sent up at least three columns of black smoke with flames visible in an industrial area. Missiles hit "critical infrastructure facilities", a spokesperson said. The raids destroyed the Kremenchug oil refinery in the Odesa region. (05:54 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence has said Russian naval forces continue to blockade the Ukrainian coast on the Black Sea and Sea of Azov, preventing resupply by sea. (07:07 GMT) About 300 residents have been killed on the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital during a monthlong occupation by the Russian army, authorities have said, with the streets littered with corpses. Locals said the dead in Bucha were civilians killed by departing Russian soldiers without provocation. Anti-tank mines were scattered across a bridge in Bucha. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/4/3/photos-ukraine-retreating-russians-leave-trail-of-dead-bodies-near-kyiv (08:55 GMT) "Poland would be pleased if the Americans increased their presence in Europe from the current 100,000 soldiers up to 150,000 in the future due to Russia's increasing aggressiveness," Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the leader of Poland's ruling party Law and Justice (PiS), told German newspaper Welt am Sonntag. "Of these, 75,000 soldiers should be stationed on the eastern flank; ie. on the border with Russia; 50,000 soldiers in the Baltic states and Poland," he said. (09:55 GMT) The mayor of Kyiv has expressed shock at what he called "cruel war crimes" committed by Russian soldiers in the town of Bucha, northwest of the capital. Referring to reports of executed civilians, Vitali Klitschko told German daily Bild on Sunday that "what happened in Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv can only be described as genocide." He added that civilians had been "shot with tied hands" and called on the whole world and especially Germany to immediately end gas imports from Russia. (10:36 GMT) Ukrainian grain exports in March have been four times lower than February levels due to the Russian invasion, the economy ministry has said. Grain shipments overseas included 1.1 million tonnes of corn, 309,000 tonnes of wheat, and 118,000 tonnes of sunflower oil, the ministry added. Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest grain exporter in the 2020-2021 season, according to International Grains Council data, with most of its commodities shipped out via the Black Sea. Traders are now forced to transport grain by rail to avoid the southern coast, where war is raging. (11:07 GMT) Ukraine Mykolaiv port city hit in rocket attack: interior ministry (11:17 GMT) Russia will only export food and crops to "friendly countries" in roubles or in their national currencies, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy secretary of the country's Security Council, was quoted by RIA news agency as saying. (12:27 GMT) "There can be no complete vacuum or isolation of Russia, it is technologically impossible in the modern world," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian state TV. The world is "much larger than Europe", he said, adding that "sooner or later we will have to build a dialogue, whether some overseas want it or not." (12:43 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has congratulated Ukraine on the "liberation" of the Kyiv region and has offered help in documenting war crimes. "Shocked by news of atrocities committed by Russian forces," Borrell tweeted. "All cases must be pursued, namely by the ICC." (14:30 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region has said that shelling had continued throughout the night and day, and described the situation in the region as "turbulent". (15:39 GMT) Zelenskyy has accused Russia of carrying out a genocide in his country. (16:47 GMT) Russia has denied Ukrainian allegations that it had killed civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, describing footage and photographs of dead bodies as a "provocation" and a "staged performance" by Kyiv. (19:05 GMT) Richard Sulik, economy minister of Slovakia, which relies on Russian gas for about 85% of its demand, has said the country could not be cut off from Russian gas flows. (23:57 GMT) The Ukrainian military says that its forces have retaken some towns in the Chernihiv region and that humanitarian aid is being delivered. Chernihiv is 129 km north of Kyiv and it had been cut off from shipments of food and other supplies for weeks. Its mayor has said that Russian shelling had destroyed 70% of the city. 20220404 (00:48 GMT) Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has won a fourth consecutive term in office after a campaign overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. Addressing a jubilant crowd in Budapest, Orban said Sunday's victory had come against all odds. "We never had so many opponents," the 58-year-old said: "Brussels bureaucrats... the international mainstream media, and finally the Ukrainian president." (02:01 GMT) Zelenskyy appeared in a video aired at the Grammy Awards in the US and appealed to viewers to support Ukrainians "in any way you can." "What is more opposite to music? The silence of ruined cities and killed people," said Zelenskiy in the video that aired ahead of a performance by John Legend and Ukranian poet Lyuba Yakimchuck. "Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today, to tell our story. Support us in any way you can. Any, but not silence." (03:18 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda has called on Western allies to provide more weapons to Ukraine after the discovery of hundreds of bodies in areas occupied by Russian troops. "Pictures from Bucha disprove the belief that we have to seek a compromise at any cost," Duda wrote on Twitter. "In fact, the Defenders of Ukraine need three things above all: weapons, weapons and more weapons." (03:34 GMT) The UN human rights office says it has verified 1,417 civilian deaths in Ukraine, but says the actual toll is "considerably higher" as figures from areas such as Mariupol and Irpin are yet to be corroborated. (03:53 GMT) Russian forces are withdrawing from northeastern Sumy and taking their equipment with them, according to the region's governor Dmytro Zhyvytsky (04:49 GMT) Serbia's President Aleksander Vucic, who claimed a landslide victory in Sunday's presidential election, says the conflict in Ukraine played a key role in the election outcome. "The influence of the Ukrainian crisis on the election results was huge," he said in his victory speech, adding that Serbia has no plans to deviate from its balancing act between the EU and close ties with Russia and China. "We will maintain policy that is important for the Europeans, Russians and Americans, and that is ... military neutrality," "Serbia will try to preserve friendly and partnership relations in many areas with the Russian Federation." (05:31 GMT) UK says Russian forces continue to refocus their offensive into the Donbas region (06:48 GMT) Ukraine's army says they repelled seven Russian attacks overnight in the southeastern Donetsk and Luhansk region, where Russia concentrated its offensive after retreating from around Kyiv. Ukrainian air defence forces shot down three Russian planes, one helicopter and two cruise missiles. (07:51 GMT) Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says Germany is the main roadblock to imposing tougher sanctions on Russia, adding that Hungary was not blocking them. (09:46 GMT) Concerns have been raised about a EU-funded migrant detention centre near Lutsk, in NW Ukraine. The facility appears to continue to hold an unconfirmed number of migrants despite ssia's invasion. (09:48 GMT) The Kremlin has categorically denied any accusations of the murder of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the facts and chronology of the events in Bucha did not support Ukraine's version of events and urged international leaders not to rush to judgment. (11:16 GMT) Sumy governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said Moscow's forces had mostly withdrawn from the region, which lies on Ukraine's border with Belarus. He added Ukrainian troops were working to push out the remaining units and alleged that Russian soldiers had abandoned a lot of equipment as they pulled back. (11:45 GMT) ICRC staff have again been unable to enter Mariupol, due to 'security conditions'. Several previous attempts by the ICRC to reach Mariupol over recent days and weeks have also proved unsuccessful. (12:01 GMT) Putin has signed a decree to introduce visa restrictions for citizens of countries that Moscow deems "unfriendly". The decree, which comes into force immediately, suspends the simplified visa issuance regime Russia has with some EU countries as well as with Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland. (12:25 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has dismissed Ukrainian accusations that Moscow's forces committed atrocities against civilians, calling Kyiv's claims of a massacre in Bucha a "stage-managed anti-Russian provocation". Sergey Lavrov said at the start of his talks with UN Under-Secretary-General Martin Griffiths that the Ukrainian allegations were a "direct threat to global peace and security". (13:46 GMT) Russia's relentless bombardment of Mariupol in recent weeks has destroyed nearly all of the city's infrastructure, its mayor has said. "The sad news is that 90% of the infrastructure in the city is destroyed and 40% is unrecoverable," Vadym Boichenko said. He added that about 130,000 people remain trapped in the city, where they face increasingly desperate conditions as stocks of vital supplies dwindle. (14:04 GMT) Lithuania expels Russian ambassador (16:41 GMT) The US government has seized a mega-yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to the Russian president, the first in the government's sanctions enforcement initiative to "seize and freeze" giant boats and other pricey assets of Russian elites. The US had issued a seizure warrant for the vessel, named the Tango. (17:19 GMT) Russian lawmakers submitted a draft bill to the lower house of parliament, or the Duma, that envisages a prison term of up to 10 years and fines for adhering to Western sanctions in Russia. A number of Russian companies, including firms partially owned by the state, are refusing to work with sanctioned banks and companies because they fear they could land on the sanctions list as well. (17:44 GMT) Canada to impose sanctions on nine Russian, nine Belarusian individuals (17:51 GMT) France has decided to expel 35 Russian diplomatic staff echoing a similar action taken by Germany, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said. (19:01 GMT) Russia says 'unfriendly' German expulsion of diplomats will worsen ties (20:36 GMT) The US Defense Department approved the sale of eight F-16 combat aircraft to Bulgaria for $1.67 billion. 20220405 (02:33 GMT) The US is allocating $250,000 to the global chemical weapons watchdog the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to provide assistance if Ukraine is targeted or threatened with chemical weapons. (02:39 GMT) A senior US defence official says about two-thirds of the roughly 20 Russian battalion groups that had been located around Kyiv have now left and are either in Belarus or on their way there. In addition, he said Russian troops have been moving out of Sumy and back into Russia. (02:58 GMT) Ukrainian police have found a "torture chamber" in the basement of a children's sanatorium in Bucha, the prosecutor general's office said. (04:32 GMT) The US has stopped the Russian government from paying holders of its sovereign debt more than $600m from reserves held at American banks, in a move meant to ratchet up pressure on Moscow and eat into its holdings of US dollars. Under sanctions put in place after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, foreign currency reserves held by the Russian central bank at US financial institutions were frozen. But the US Department of Treasury had been allowing the Russian government to use those funds to make coupon payments on dollar- -denominated sovereign debt on a case-by-case basis. On Monday, as the largest of the payments came due, including a $552.4m principal payment on a maturing bond, the US government decided to cut off Moscow's access to the frozen funds. An $84m coupon payment was also due on Monday on a 2042 sovereign dollar bond. The move was meant to force Moscow to make the difficult decision of whether it would use dollars that it has access to for payments on its debt or for other purposes, including supporting its war effort, the spokesperson said. (04:48 GMT) China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi has spoken with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in a phone call on Monday. (06:31 GMT) Withdrawing Russian troops likely to require 'significant re-equipping' before re-deployment: UK MoD (07:37 GMT) The EU will likely adopt new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, France's European Affairs Minister Clement Beaune says. (09:15 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban will have to choose between Moscow and the "other world" after his election victory on Sunday 20220404. (10:03 GMT) 'The divide between Russian and global sciences is happening' Al Jazeera interviewed Andronick A Arutyunov, an anti-war mathematician in Russia, about the isolation of Russian academia, among other things. (10:25 GMT) White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has warned of a "protracted" conflict as Russia revises its war aims. (10:45 GMT) Sweden to expel three Russian diplomats (10:58 GMT) The departure of Russian troops from around the city of Chernihiv in northern Ukraine has reopened its direct road link to the capital, Kyiv, the region's governor Viacheslav Chaus has said. (12:01 GMT) As Russia's influence grows in the Western Balkans and war rages in Ukraine, the leaders of Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina have said joining NATO would help preserve regional security. (12:17 GMT) Spain will expel about 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, the country's foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares has said. (13:22 GMT) The European Union's 27 member states have agreed that they will stop importing fossil fuels from Russia after its forces' alleged atrocities in Bucha, Germany's foreign minister says. "The answer to these war crimes now with the fifth sanctions package at the European level must be that we as a European Union must completely phase out fossil energy dependence on Russia, starting with coal, then oil, and then gas," Annalena Baerbock said, without providing further details. Asked by reporters about Ukraine's request for tanks, she added that the EU's members were open to exporting further weapons systems to the country. (13:57 GMT) The European Union's executive arm has proposed a fresh set of sanctions on Russia that includes a ban on Russian coal imports and blocking the country's ships from entering European ports. If approved by the 27 EU member states, the package will mark the bloc's fifth wave of sanctions (14:24 GMT) Putin has said possible nationalisation of Russian assets abroad is "a double-edged weapon" in a thinly-veiled warning that suggests Moscow may respond in kind to any such moves by foreign governments. Putin's remarks came a day after Germany said its energy regulator would take control of Gazprom Germania, a gas trading, storage and transmission business. (15:05 GMT) Zelenskyy has called for Russian forces and officials to be held accountable for alleged war crimes in Ukraine and for Moscow to be removed as a member of the UNSC so that it cannot block the body from making decisions about the conflict. (17:07 GMT) EU expels 19 Russian diplomats from Belgium (18:21 GMT) Sergei Lavrov has accused the West of trying to derail negotiations between Russia and Ukraine by fuelling "hysteria" over alleged war crimes by Moscow's forces. (20:46 GMT) Explosions heard in west Ukraine: "Explosions near Radekhiv," regional governor Maksim Kositsky said, referring to a town about 70 kilometres northeast of Lviv. "Everybody must remain in shelters." (21:15 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has landed in Brussels ahead of a NATO meeting of EU foreign ministers. (21:42 GMT) Stephen Rapp, former US Ambassador-at-large on war crimes issues under former President Barack Obama has said any International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into alleged crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine is expected to take a long time, unless more effort is put by Western powers. "The ICC has only 71 investigators and 16 analysts for 15 countries," "There needs to be hundreds of individuals provided by Western law enforcement agencies to come in and work with it (ICC)," he said. "And then support civil society organisations that are also employed in order to really have the evidence that's needed." 20220406 (02:05 GMT) The British National Health Service says it is sending 20 ambulances to Ukraine to help "bring vital lifesaving care" to Ukrainians. The first vehicles will arrive in Ukraine's western city of Lviv this week. (02:26 GMT) In Chinese media, the US is the villain. State news agency Xinhua calls the war "a special military operation" and "the Russia-Ukraine crisis" but never refers to it as an invasion. CCTV, the state broadcaster, mentioned civilian casualties for the first time only three weeks after Russia invaded. More recently, state outlets doubled down on the Russian conspiracy theory claiming the US is funding the development of biological weapons in Ukraine, including migratory birds that could spread avian viruses in Russia. (03:08 GMT) Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington will send an additional $100m aid to Ukraine to meet its "urgent need" for anti-armour systems. Blinken said this was the US's sixth drawdown of arms, equipment, and supplies for Ukraine and that it brings the US's total security assistance to Kyiv to more than $1.7bn since the Russian invasion began. AP said the additional aid was for the transfer of Javelin anti-armour missiles (04:39 GMT) US computer chip designer and manufacturer Intel Corp says it has suspended business operations in Russia. (05:45 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says the humanitarian situation in the besieged city of Mariupol is worsening due to continued Russian air strikes and heavy fighting. "Most of the 160000 remaining residents have no light, communication, medicine, heat or water," the ministry said. (06:21 GMT) Russian forces have attacked overnight a fuel depot and a factory in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. "The night was alarming and difficult. The enemy attacked from the air and hit the oil depot and one of the plants. The oil depot with fuel was destroyed. Rescuers are still putting out the flames at the plant," (06:48 GMT) Ukraine retakes three villages in Kherson: Dobryanka, Novovoznisenske and Trudolyubovka were "liberated" after weeks of occupation (06:58 GMT) The world must act to stop the mass murder in Ukraine, British health secretary Sajid Javid has said. "This is mass murder on an unprecedented scale in Europe. We haven't seen the likes of this I think since 1995," he told BBC television. "I don't want to be commemorating another genocide in Europe years from now. We have the power, the world has the power to stop this, and it must act." (07:22 GMT) Hungary's foreign ministry has summoned Ukraine's ambassador over what it called offensive comments from Kyiv regarding Budapest's stance on Russia's invasion. Foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary had condemned Russia's invasion, acknowledged Ukraine's sovereignty and taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the war. So it was "time for Ukrainian leaders to stop their insults directed at Hungary and acknowledge the will of the Hungarian people," Szijjarto said in a statement, referring to Sunday's election win. "This is not our war, so we want to and will stay out of it." (07:26 GMT) "Yesterday, on April 5, they tried to fire mortars at the position of our border guards in the Sudzhansky district," Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Russian Kursk region, said. "Russian border guards returned fire ... There were no casualties or damage on our side." (07:31 GMT) A car has crashed into the gate of the Russian Embassy in Bucharest, Romania, bursting into flames and killing the driver, police have said. (07:56 GMT) The mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol has said occupying Russian troops were "doing their best" to disrupt the sowing season. "They mine fields, search storages with farming equipment, steal the equipment," Ivan Fyodorov said in televised remarks. (07:59 GMT) Gazprom is continuing to supply natural gas to Europe via Ukraine in line with requests from European consumers. Gazprom estimated the request for gas exports to Europe through Ukraine to be of 108.3 million cubic metres on Wednesday. (08:30 GMT) India's foreign minister says the country's government is working to "stabilise economic transactions" with Russia, a day after New Delhi condemned the killing of civilians in Ukraine and called for an independent probe. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar told India's parliament that Russia continues to be a critical economic partner. (08:59 GMT) Greece asks 12 Russian diplomats to leave the country (09:55 GMT) Zelenskyy tells Irish parliament he cannot tolerate any "indecisiveness" from Western countries over whether to impose new sanctions on Russia. (10:21 GMT) Russian forces have seized control of about 60% of the town of Rubizhne, in Luhansk, its governor Serhiy Haidai has said. (10:35 GMT) The EU will increase its reserves of protective equipment, decontamination gear, vaccines and medicines, including iodide tablets, (11:44 GMT) Norway expels 3 Russian diplomats (12:08 GMT) Mariupol's mayor has accused Russia of attempting to cover up what he said was the killing of possibly "tens of thousands of civilians" in the city by using mobile crematoriums to burn corpses. "The world has not seen the scale of the tragedy in Mariupol since the Nazi concentration camps," Boychenko said, accusing Russia of turning the city into a "death camp". (12:31 GMT) The Netherlands says it has sent four F-35 warplanes to NATO ally Bulgaria to help with its air-policing tasks. The warplanes, along with Bulgarian MiG-29 fighter jets, will help protect the airspace of the Black Sea country until May 31, in line with NATO's integrated plan for air and anti-missile defence, the Dutch defence ministry said. (14:14 GMT) Russian forces intensifying push for control of Mariupol (14:39 GMT) Washington has applied "full blocking sanctions" on Russia's Sberbank and Alfa Bank, two of its largest financial institutions, as well as some Russian state-owned enterprises. In addition to Putin's two adult daughters, the measures also target Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's wife and daughter, and members of Russia's security council. (15:22 GMT) Taiwan's president Tsai Ing-wen says the country stands "with the democratic world in demanding an end to violence against non-combatants in Ukraine". "Targeted killing of civilians must be condemned, and those responsible investigated and brought to justice under international law," (15:52 GMT) The UK has imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia, marking its fifth such package since the war began. The measures include a freeze on the assets of Russia's Sberbank and a ban on outward investment to Russia. A further eight oligarchs active in the fertilisers, oil and gas industries, among others, were also sanctioned. The UK's government added it intended to stop all imports of Russian coal and oil by the end of 2022. (16:39 GMT) A small number of Ukrainians already in the US are being trained on how to use Switchblade drones, a senior US defense official has said. (17:14 GMT) Rich countries will tap an additional 120 million barrels of oil from emergency reserves in a bid to calm crude prices, the International Energy Agency has said. (17:17 GMT) Ukraine FM says will discuss need for weapons with NATO, G7 (17:51 GMT) Russia says Ukrainian fuel storage base destroyed in the Kharkiv region (18:09 GMT) Italy's Draghi says halting Russian gas imports 'not on the table' (18:21 GMT) Ukrainian authorities cannot help people evacuate from the eastern front line town of Izyum or send humanitarian aid because the town is completely under Russian control, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Sinegubov has said. (18:47 GMT) "Of course they (Ukraine) can win this," Pentagon spokesman John Kirby told a news briefing. "The proof is literally in the outcomes that you're seeing everyday ... absolutely they can win." (19:05 GMT) The US wants to see the war in Ukraine "come to an end as quickly as possible" and is supporting Ukraine to increase pressure on Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. (20:25 GMT) US officials have said that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) disrupted thousands of routers and firewall appliances away from Russian military hackers. "Fortunately, we were able to disrupt this botnet before it could be used," US Attorney General Merrick Garland said.` (20:26 GMT) The US is imposing sanctions on the relatives of Russian officials to prevent them from concealing their assets, the White House has said. Washington has imposed sanctions on Putin's two adult daughters as well as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's wife and daughter. (20:36 GMT) US treasury secretary says Biden wants Russia out of the G20 US officials have said that Putin's two adult daughters, Katerina and Maria are hiding his wealth. (21:20 GMT) Jonathan Leader Maynard an expert on genocide and war crimes at King's College in London has said that there is now evidence that the war in Ukraine is seeing an increasing "brutalisation." "To some extent all wars involve significant civilian suffering, but this kind of severe violations of the laws of war is not universal, it is specific to certain conflicts. The evidence so far would suggest that this has been much more widespread in areas of Russian occupation particularly against civilians but there have been a few isolated crimes that appears to show Ukrainian forces engaging in violations of the law of war as well," Maynard said in reference to a recent video that emerged that appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers shooting a captured Russian soldier. 20220407 (00:27 GMT) The Kyiv Independent says Russian forces have dismissed the mayor of the city of Enerhodar in the Zaporozhzhia Region, Dmytro Orlov, and installed a regime-friendly head Andriy Shevchyk. (PJB: thinks: which regime?) (02:27 GMT) A teacher in the Russian town of Penza is facing a fine of three to five million roubles, or five to ten years in prison, after telling her students about Russian forces bombing Mariupol. Radio Liberty reported the teacher, Irina Gen, was interviewed by an agent of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) after her students posted her lesson online. She has been charged with spreading "fake news" about the Russian army. (04:55 GMT) Elites close to Russian President Vladimir Putin who disagree with the invasion of Ukraine won't be able to influence the situation, a Russian political scientist has told an independent news channel. Speaking on exiled Russian businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky's program, Valery Solovei said some of the elites wanted Russia "to get out" of Ukraine "at any price". But he said it was impossible for them to unite and change Russia's position on Ukraine. "They fear each other. And they don't fear for nothing. That's because they know if they say anything in the company of three people, two of those people will sell them out." (06:32 GMT) Australia to impose sanctions on 67 Russians over Ukraine (06:36 GMT) Austria says it is expelling four Russian diplomats (06:39 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, who was holding talks with G7 and NATO nations, has said his country was seeking "long-term solutions" to help it win its war with Russia. "My agenda is very simple. It has only three items on it. It's weapons, weapons, and weapons," (06:46 GMT) Mayor of Bucha says 90% of victims shot, not shelled (06:50 GMT) Ukraine has told residents in the country's east to evacuate "now" or "risk death" ahead of a feared Russian onslaught on the Donbas region (07:20 GMT) Shell to take hit of up to $5 bn on Russia exit (07:41 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said its missiles had destroyed four fuel storage facilities in the Ukrainian cities of Mykolayiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia and Chuhuiv overnight. (09:35 GMT) A Ukrainian journalist who visited the town of Borodyanka, northwest of Kyiv, say the number of civilians killed there is "worse than in Bucha".` (11:10 GMT) A video posted online and verified by the New York Times appears to show Ukrainian troops shooting what is believed to be a captured Russian soldier outside of a village west of Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Three other apparent Russian soldiers can be seen dead nearby, one with a head wound and his hands tied behind his back. (11:31 GMT) Mariupol mayor says 100,000 people still need to be evacuated (12:45 GMT) The mayor of Dnipro, in central-eastern Ukraine, has urged women, children and the elderly to leave the city ahead of an anticipated intensified offensive from Moscow in the Donbas region. (12:57 GMT) Lukashenko says there must be no Ukraine deal 'behind Belarus's back' (14:01 GMT) Photos: Ukrainian refugees fleeing war wait at US-Mexico border https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/4/7/photos-ukrainian-refugees-fleeing-war-wait-on-us-mexico-border (14:23 GMT) Ukraine says about 18,900 Russian troops killed since start of war (14:30 GMT) Stoltenberg told reporters following a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Brussels that the alliance would boost cyber security assistance to Kyiv and provide equipment to Ukraine to help protect the country against potential chemical and biological threats. (15:34 GMT) Ukraine is effectively using landmines in the conflict with Russia, forcing Russian armored vehicles into engagement areas where they are vulnerable to US-supplied anti-tank weaponry. "That's one of the reasons why you see column after column of Russian vehicles that are destroyed. So anti-tank or anti-personnel mines are very effective," Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee. (16:02 GMT) The UN General Assembly has voted to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council as punishment for the invasion of Ukraine. Of the 193 members of the assembly, 93 voted in favor of suspension while 24 voted against and 58 abstained, suggesting weakening international unity against Russia. It was the second ever suspension of a country from the council. Libya was the first, in 2011. (16:06 GMT) Ukraine has received about 25,000 anti-aircraft weapons systems from the United States and its allies, helping Kyiv prevent Russia from establishing air superiority that would have aided Moscow's ground invasion. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the United States and its allies had also supplied Ukraine with 60,000 anti-tank systems. (16:14 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it had imposed entry bans on 228 Australian government members and lawmakers, including Prime Minister Scott Morrison, in response to sanctions from Canberra. (16:18 GMT) Blinken: US will not let anything stand in way of sending Ukraine arms (17:38 GMT) Montenegro expels four Russian diplomats (17:47 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Russia had sustained "significant losses" in Ukraine. (19:16 GMT) The EU said it has approved an embargo on Russian coal as well as the closing of the bloc's ports to Russian vessels over the Ukraine war. An official from the French presidency of the European Council said the moves spearhead a "very substantial" fifth round of sanctions against Moscow which will also include a ban on high-tech exports. (19:26 GMT) UN aid chief: 'I'm not optimistic' about Ukraine ceasefire "I think it's not going to be easy because the two sides, as I know now ... have very little trust in each other," Undersecretary-General Martin Griffiths told the Associated Press agency. (20:14 GMT) The Russian co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, Dmitry Muratov, has said that he was attacked on a train with red paint, in an apparent protest at his newspaper's coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Pictures showed Muratov with red paint on his head and clothes and around his sleeping compartment on a Moscow-Samara train. (20:30 GMT) The US Congress has voted overwhelmingly to suspend normal trade relations with Russia and ban imports of Russian oil. (21:16 GMT) Enrique Lucero, director of the Mexican city of Tijuana's immigration services, said about 2,829 Ukrainians were waiting, more than double the 1,200 counted last Friday. Nearly two-thirds of them were in shelters, with the rest in hotels and churches. (22:07 GMT) "As of now, WHO has verified 103 incidents of attacks on health care, with 73 people killed and 51 injured, including health workers and patients," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference. Of the confirmed attacks, 89 had impacted health facilities and most of the rest hit transport services, including ambulances. (22:16 GMT) Canada has increased financial support for Ukraine, as the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau unveiled its new federal budget. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said the budget earmarked an additional $800m ($1bn Canadian) in loans through the International Monetary Fund, as well as $400m ($500m Canadian) in military aid. (22:30 GMT) New Zealand has announced plans to release 184,000 barrels of crude and close to 299,000 barrels of diesel to the International Energy Agency emergency release. 20220408 (00:24 GMT) Russian troops retreating from the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv left behind crushed buildings, streets littered with destroyed cars and residents in dire need of food and other aid, AP reports. (01:44 GMT) US sanctions Russia's shipbuilding and diamond mining companies United Shipbuilding Corporation and Alrosa, blocking their access to the US financial system. (02:12 GMT) Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić said his country voted for suspending Russia's membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council because of the threat of sanctions against it. Serbia was one of the 93 members that voted to support the resolution. (02:56 GMT) The first of 20 Bushmaster vehicles have left Australia for Ukraine, one week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy requested the Australian-manufactured four-wheel drives during a speech to the Australian parliament. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a Boeing C-17 Globemaster transport jet that can carry four Bushmasters left the east coast city of Brisbane for Europe on Friday. (03:18 GMT) "Do not drive on the roadsides and do not use forest roads. Do not approach destroyed equipment or orc sites!," Sumy governor Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said on Telegram. Ukrainians have commonly referred to Russian soldiers as "orcs" since the beginning of Russia's invasion. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc (03:38 GMT) Germany's foreign intelligence service, the BND, has intercepted radio conversations in which Russian troops discussed the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. In one message, a soldier is seemingly heard telling another that they had shot a person riding a bicycle. Images of a dead body lying next to a bicycle recently surfaced following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Bucha area. (07:00 GMT) President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell Fontelles, are on their way to Ukraine's capital to meet with President Zelenskyy. Von der Leyen is later set to attend a Stand Up For Ukraine event in Warsaw, Poland. (08:11 GMT) Russia has said it destroyed a training centre for "foreign mercenaries" near the city of Odesa as part of its military campaign in Ukraine. "High-precision missiles of the Bastion coastal missile system destroyed a foreign mercenary assembly and training centre near the village of Krasnosilka, northeast of Odesa." (08:55 GMT) Russia has launched Iskander cruise missiles at a railway station in Kramatorsk in Donetsk killing 50 and wounding more than a hundred civilians, officials have said. Kramatorsk has been heavily shelled for weeks. The city's mayor, Oleksander Honcharenko, said there were about 4,000 civilians at the station when it was hit. He said many were elderly, women and children. (09:15 GMT) The EU has formally adopted its fifth package of sanctions against Russia, including bans on the import of coal, wood, chemicals and other products. The measures also prevent many Russian vessels and trucks from accessing the EU, further crippling trade, and will ban all transactions with four Russian banks, including VTB. (09:27 GMT) About 19,000 Russian servicemen have been killed in Ukraine since the invasion started on February 24, Ukraine's military has said. Ukrainian forces destroyed some 700 tanks, 1,891 armored vehicles, 150 planes, 135 helicopters and 112 drones, the Armed Forces General Staff said (09:43 GMT) Zelenskyy has called Russia an "evil" with "no limits" (11:00 GMT) EU has frozen 30bn euros in Russian, Belarusian assets A total of 29.5 billion euros ($32 billion) "including assets such as boats, helicopters, real estate and artwork" have been seized and another 196 billion euros of transactions have been blocked, the European Commission has said (12:21 GMT) Slovakia says it has given S-300 air defence system to Ukraine (12:21 GMT) Food prices soar to record levels (UNFAO) (12:57 GMT) Kyiv is preparing to nationalise the property and other assets that belong to Russia or Russian businesses in Ukraine, PM Denys Shmyhal has said. (12:58 GMT) Biden will place the fourth Patriot air defence system in the NATO country to secure its territory after it donated its S-300 system to Ukraine, Slovak defence minister Jaroslav Nad has said. The Patriot battery would arrive next week, in addition to batteries brought to Slovakia by Germany and the Netherlands in March, and will stay in Slovakia for as long as needed. (13:46 GMT) Odesa region sees no signs of Russia preparing landing operation (13:57 GMT) Russian shelling has damaged 208 residential bldngs & 46 schools in Kyiv (15:52 GMT) "A curfew will be introduced in Odesa and Odesa region from 9pm on April 9 to 6pm April 11," "given events in Kramatorsk" and "threat of a missile strike on Odesa" (16:06 GMT) Boris Johnson has said the UK is sending Ukraine more Starstreak anti-aircraft missiles and 800 anti-tank missiles. The "high-grade military equipment" is worth $130m, Johnson said, with the UK anti-tank missiles seen as particularly potent against Russian forces. (17:00 GMT) Russia revokes registration of Amnesty, Human Rights Watch (18:27 GMT) The US believes Russia used a SS-21 Scarab short range ballistic missile to hit the Kramatorsk railway station in east Ukraine (21:21 GMT) The US has broadened its export curbs against Russia and Belarus, restricting access to imports of items such as fertiliser and pipe valves, ball-bearings. The Biden administration also restricted flights of American-made aircraft that are owned, controlled or leased by Belarusians from flying into Belarus (21:40 GMT) the US believes Russia has lost 15 to 20% of the combat power it had assembled along Ukraine’s borders before launching its invasion. (21:51 GMT) Nicaragua blasts UN move to oust Russia from Human Rights Council (02:06 GMT) Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president and prime minister and now deputy chairman of the security council, has condemned ever-tougher Western sanctions as an "act of international aggression". In a lengthy post on his Telegram channel, Medvedev condemned the sanctions as "illegal" and said they amounted to "a declaration of economic war". (03:55 GMT) Ramaphosa said on Friday he had had a "productive" call with Biden. "We shared views on the conflict in Ukraine and agreed on the need for a ceasefire and dialogue between Russia and Ukraine,' Biden stressed "the need for a clear, unified international response to Russian aggression in Ukraine" and emphasised the "global challenges" created by the invasion. South Africa was one of 58 countries that abstained in the vote on Russia. (04:20 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War says Russia is attempting to regroup its forces for an offensive in the east but could be hindered by "poor morale" with the Ukrainian General Staff reporting that 80% of personnel in some (Russian) units are refusing to fight. (05:51 GMT) Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai says more evacuations are needed from the region as shelling has increased in recent days and more Russian forces have been arriving. He said that some 30% of people still remain in settlements across the region and have been asked to evacuate. (06:08 GMT) The Welt am Sonntag newspaper, citing the Germany's interior minister, reports that Berlin has started working on strengthening its basement shelters as well as building up crisis stocks in case of war. After decades of attrition of Germany's armed forces, Russia's war in Ukraine has led to a major policy shift with Chancellor Scholz pledging to increase defence spending and injecting $109bn into the army. (07:12 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says Washington will put one Patriot missile defence system - along with American troops to operate it - in Slovakia, after Bratislava agreed to donate its S-300 air defence system to Ukraine. The system would arrive in the coming days. (08:26 GMT) The leader of Sweden's second-biggest opposition party says he will suggest that his party change its stance towards favouring a Swedish membership of NATO, should neighbour Finland apply to join the alliance. A change of stance by the Sweden Democrats party would mean a swing to a parliamentary majority in favour of long-neutral Sweden joining (09:06 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says Russian forces have destroyed an ammunition depot at the Myrhorod Air Base in central Ukraine. A Ukrainian air force MiG-29 fighter and a Mi-8 helicopter were also destroyed in the attack on the base in the Poltava region (11:17 GMT) Italy intends to reopen its embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, immediately after Easter, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said. (13:33 GMT) Russia has carried out war games in Kaliningrad - an enclave on the Baltic Sea sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania - Interfax news agency cited the Baltic Fleet Command as saying, days after a senior official warned European countries against any potential action against Kaliningrad. (13:45 GMT) European Union countries sharing borders with Russia and Belarus have barred some cargo vehicles registered in the two countries from entering since Friday due to sanctions, according to the Russian customs service. (14:38 GMT) Boris Johnson has travelled to Kyiv to discuss providing Ukraine with more financial and military aid in a meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (14:58 GMT) "Six hundred million of those [$652m] will go to Ukraine, to the Ukrainian authorities and partially to the United Nations," von der Leyen said at a fundraising event for Ukraine in Warsaw, Poland. "And 400 million euros [$435m] will go to the front-line states that are doing such an outstanding job and helping the refugees that are coming," she said. (15:24 GMT) A global pledging event for Ukrainian refugees called Stand Up for Ukraine has raised 10.1 billion euros ($11bn). (15:59 GMT) Russia, hit by Western sanctions, has called on the BRICS group of ( BRICS consists of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa ) emerging economies to extend the use of national currencies and integrate payment systems, according to the finance ministry. Sanctions have cut Russia off from the global financial system and from nearly half of its gold and foreign exchange reserves, which stood at $606.5bn in early April. (22:38 GMT) At a meeting in Kyiv, Johnson told President Zelenskyy that Britain would provide armoured vehicles and anti-ship missile systems, along with additional support for World Bank loans. 20220410 (06:47 GMT) Ukraine's State Emergency Service (SES) has said that its pyrotechnic units have neutralised more than 2,700 explosive devices in a day. Since war started 46,275 explosive devices have been defused. (11:10 GMT) Slovakia could sell Ukraine some of its Zuzana self-propelled howitzers, said Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad. The Zuzana 2 howitzer, a modernised version of an older model, is using 155mm rounds and has an effective range of 40-50km, depending on ammunition type. (11:21 GMT) The head of Russia's Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has previously made statements defending Moscow's actions in Ukraine and views the war as a bulwark against a Western liberal culture that he considers decadent. "Let the Lord help us unite during this difficult time for our Fatherland, including around the authorities," Kirill, 75, said in a sermon in the Russian capital. (12:03 GMT) UNHCR says 4.5 million refugees have fled Ukraine. (12:28 GMT) "There has been another attack on Dnipro airport. There is nothing left of it. The airport itself and the infrastructure around it has been destroyed. Rockets keep flying and flying," the head of the city's military administration, Valentin Reznichenko, said (17:55 GMT) US national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said that the United States is committed to providing Ukraine with "the weapons it needs" to defend itself against Russia as Kyiv seeks more military aid from the West. (23:55 GMT) The Stand Up For Ukraine campaign's pledging event has raised 9.1 billion euros for people displaced by the invasion of Ukraine, inside the country and abroad. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development also announced an additional 1 billion euros in loan. 20220411 (00:30 GMT) Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned Russia's "unlawful" elections in Georgia's South Ossetia region held on April 10. South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been occupied by Russia since the country's invasion of Georgia in 2008. The US embassy in Georgia also issued a statement saying it does not "recognise the legitimacy of the so-called presidential elections" and "will not acknowledge their outcome." "Our position on Abkhazia and South Ossetia remains clear: these regions are integral parts of Georgia. No 'elections' or a priori illegitimate 'referendum' calling for incorporation of South Ossetia into Russia can change this," the statement said. It also called on Russia to immediately stop its war in Ukraine and occupation of Georgia. (01:08 GMT) Zelenskyy has criticised NATO and the United Nations in an interview on CBS' 60 Minutes. "When you are [working] at diplomacy, there are no results. All this is very bureaucratic... I don't have any more lives [to give]. I don't have any more emotions. I'm no longer interested in their diplomacy that leads to the destruction of my country," Zelenskyy said after being asked why he had spoken in an undiplomatic way to NATO and the UN's Security Council (UNSC). In recent days Zelenskyy had told the UNSC it should punish Russia or "dissolve itself". (01:46 GMT) Russia will take legal action if the West tries to force it to default on its sovereign debt, Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has told Izvestia. "Of course we will sue, because we have taken all the necessary steps to ensure that investors receive their payments." (02:08 GMT) Head of the Chechen Republic, Ramzan Kadyrov, says Russian forces will stage an offensive on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. "There will be an offensive ... not only on Mariupol, but also on other places, cities and villages. Luhansk and Donetsk - we will fully liberate in the first place ... and then take Kyiv and all other cities." (03:00 GMT) South Korean Defence Minister Suh Wook has told his Ukrainian counterpart that Seoul has "limits" when it comes to sending weapons to Ukraine (04:10 GMT) Finland and Sweden are poised to join NATO as early as this summer in the northern hemisphere, The Times has reported, citing US officials. The move will enlarge the western alliance from 30 to 32 members. (04:31 GMT) New Zealand will send a C-130 Hercules aircraft, with 50 defence force personnel, to help transport and distribute donated military aid to Ukraine, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced. "But at no point will they enter Ukraine, and nor have they been asked to." The aircraft will leave New Zealand for Europe on Wednesday. (04:42 GMT) Joe Biden will speak with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a virtual meeting later today as he presses world leaders to take a hard line against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India has held a neutral stance towards Russia's invasion. It was one of 58 members that abstained when the United Nations General Assembly voted last Thursday to suspend Russia from its seat on the 47-member Human Rights Council. (07:43 GMT) French banking group Societe Generale said it was ceasing its activities in Russia and selling its stake in Russia's Rosbank. "With this agreement ... the group would exit in an effective and orderly manner from Russia, ensuring continuity for its employees and clients", the French bank said. The deal, pending regulatory approval, would result in a write-off of about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion) (08:37 GMT) Norway's defence ministry says the country will extend its current NATO enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) troop deployment in Lithuania until August. The deployment was increased in February by about 50 servicemen, to a total of 200 overall, on a three-month basis. It has now been extended by a further three months. (08:58 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a shipment of air defence missile systems provided to Ukraine by the West. The ministry said Russian sea-launched Kalibr missiles hit the four S-300 anti-aircraft launchers on Sunday. It alleged the missile systems were concealed in a hangar on the outskirts of the central Ukrainian Dnipro. The ministry added that 25 Ukrainian soldiers were hit in the attack. It did not say which European country had supplied the S-300 systems. (09:40 GMT) The Russian-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine says the rebel republic will "intensify" its battle against Ukrainian forces in the region. "The more we delay, the more the civilian population simply suffers, being held hostage by the situation. We have identified areas where certain steps need to be accelerated," Denis Pushilin was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. He also said more than 5,000 civilians may have been killed in Mariupol. (10:00 GMT) The Kremlin has warned against Sweden and Finland possibly joining the NATO transatlantic security alliance. "We have repeatedly said that the alliance remains a tool geared towards confrontation and its further expansion will not bring stability to the European continent," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (11:23 GMT) Ukrainian forces are preparing for a "last battle" for control of Mariupol, soldiers in the city have said, adding they have been "pushed back" and "surrounded" by Russian forces. "Today will probably be the last battle, as ... ammunition is running out," the 36th marine brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a post on Facebook. "It's death for some of us, and captivity for the rest." (12:16 GMT) Hungary's foreign minister says the country plans to pay for Russian gas in euros through Gazprombank, which will convert the payment into roubles to meet a new requirement set by Putin. Under the scheme, Hungarian energy group MVM's subsidiary, CEEnergy, would pay an upcoming bill in euros, which Gazprombank would convert into roubles and then transfer to Russia's Gazprom Export, Peter Szijjarto told a news conference. He said the move would not violate any European Union sanctions. (14:32 GMT) Croatia orders 24 Russian embassy staff to leave (15:16 GMT) The Russian-backed leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine has said that separatist forces have taken control of the port in the southeastern city of Mariupol. (15:43 GMT) Three Russian regions bordering Ukraine (Belgorod, Voronezh and Bryansk) have said they are stepping up security measures over what they warned were "possible provocations" from the Ukrainian side. (18:25 GMT) France declares six Russian spies persona non grata over a clandestine operation (20:12 GMT) Vladimir Kara-Murza, one of the leading critics of the Kremlin and its offensive in Ukraine still living in Russia, has been arrested near his home, his lawyer Vadim Prokhorov said. (21:14 GMT) A new ABC News/Ipsos poll has found that half of Americans are experiencing financial hardship due to high gas prices, with one in five reporting "serious" difficulties. Americans blamed several factors for the costs, including Putin, oil companies, and Biden and the Democrats. Fifty-one% of respondents blamed Biden, while 71% said Putin was at fault, the poll found. (21:44 GMT) Ukrainian authorities in Kharkiv begin clearing landmines. Lieutenant Colonel Nikolay Ovcharuk, of the state emergency service demining unit, said the devices were plastic PTM-1M mines, which detonate using timers and were widely used by Soviet forces in Afghanistan. (22:14 GMT) IMF sets up administered account to allow donors to fund Ukraine (23:50 GMT) Biden tells Modi more Russian oil imports not in India's interest 20220412 (00:13 GMT) Ukraine needs jets and more armoured vehicles, Zelenskyy says (01:37 GMT) The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has made public a trove of new information about shell companies linked to more than 800 Russians as part of a broader effort to spotlight the offshore, hidden wealth of Kremlin-linked figures in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Dubbed Pandora Papers Russia, the new publication includes details about companies tied to Russian President Vladimir Putin's allies and other Russian political figures who shelter assets behind opaque businesses that can be used to escape global sanctions. https://offshoreleaks.icij.org/ (03:49 GMT) Japan has announced further sanctions on Russia, and will freeze the assets of 398 Russian citizens and 28 organisations, including Vladimir Putin's two daughters as well as Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's wife, Maria Lavrova and daughter, Ekaterina Lavrova. (04:18 GMT) Russia's former President and Deputy Chairman of its Security Council has has hit out against global bans on Russia's cultural products. "The ban on Russian culture is a current Western trend," he posted, labelling it a "medical problem". "Dostoevsky, Chekhov, Shostakovich and Pushkin are anathematised by many Europeans with clinical pleasure." (04:34 GMT) Russia is receiving munitions and hardware sourced from Iraq for its war in Ukraine, with the help of Iranian weapons smuggling networks, the Guardian has reported, including rocket propelled grenades and anti-tank missiles, as well as Brazilian-designed rocket launcher systems. Also an Iranian-made Bavar 373 missile system, similar to the Russian S-300 long-range surface-to-air missiles, has been donated to Moscow. (07:20 GMT) Russia's Gazprom continues gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, though requests have fallen to 74.5 million cubic metres for April 12 (07:39 GMT) The Russian defence ministry said Russian missiles had struck an ammunition depot and hangar at the Starokostiantyniv airbase in the Khmelnytskyi region, as well as an ammunition depot near Havrylivka north of the capital Kyiv. (07:56 GMT) The chair of NATO's military committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, says it is the sovereign right of countries like Sweden and Finland to decide if they want to join the alliance. (09:15 GMT) UNIGEF: Nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children displaced (10:50 GMT) Germany says more than 330,000 refugees have arrived from Ukraine (11:58 GMT) Turkey's defence exports to Ukraine soared in the first quarter of 2022, according to figures recently released by the Turkish Exporters' Assembly. Most sales took place in January, the month before Moscow launched its invasion, as Kyiv readied for a feared Russian attack. (12:37 GMT) World Bank says it is preparing $1.5bn aid package for Ukraine (14:29 GMT) Putin has spoken extensively on the conflict in Ukraine at a joint news conference with Lukashenko. Here are some of his claims: * Western sanctions imposed on Moscow in a bid to make it change course have failed, the Russian president said, adding the "blitzkrieg on which our foes were counting on did not work". * He blamed Ukraine's "inconsistency" for derailing talks between the two sides, suggesting the discussions had reached "a dead end". * Putin also said Ukrainian allegations that Russian servicemen killed civilians in Bucha were false. * In a bleak comparison, he said the Bucha allegations evoked what he called staged chemical weapons attacks in Syria aimed at incriminating the country's leader, Bashar al-Assad. (14:55 GMT) Ukraine says more than 870,000 who fled war have returned "They say they see that the situation is safer, especially in the western regions," Demchenko told a news briefing. "They are ready to return to the country and stay here." (15:08 GMT) The world is facing "a multiyear problem" in the food supply as the war in Ukraine drives global prices higher and disrupts the production of staple crops, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) has warned. (15:23 GMT) Germany's president says his offer to visit Ukraine with other European Union leaders has been rejected by Kyiv. "I was prepared to do this, but apparently, and I must take note of this, this was not wanted in Kyiv," Frank-Walter Steinmeier told reporters during a visit to Warsaw. Steinmeier, a former foreign minister, was long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia prior to its invasion. He has since expressed regret for taking such a position. (17:33 GMT) Recently reported to have been appointed as the supreme commander of Russia's forces in Ukraine, Aleksandr Dvornikov commanded a Russian motor rifle division that stormed Grozny, the capital of the de facto independent southern Russian province of Chechnya, in late 1999 and early 2000. He also led the Russian forces in Syria fighting on the side of the Syrian government. (19:16 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has published a photo of prominent pro-Russian Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk (the leader of the Opposition Platform - For Life party) in handcuffs after a reported operation by the security forces. (20:05 GMT) Dutch customs authorities has said they had impounded a total of 20 yachts at shipyards in the Netherlands targeted by sanctions against Russia and Belarus over the Ukraine conflict. (20:30 GMT) The US and its allies are pushing ahead with sanctions aimed at forcing Putin to spend Russia's money propping up its economy rather than sustaining its "war machine", according to a top US Treasury Department official. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told The Associated Press news agency that the goal is to make Russia "less able to project power in the future." (19:56 GMT) The World Bank is preparing a $1.5bn support package for Ukraine, President David Malpass has said. In remarks at the Warsaw School of Economics in Poland, Malpass said the bank was helping Ukraine provide critical services, including paying wages for hospital workers, pensions and social programmes. (22:03 GMT) The Biden administration is expected to announce another $750m in military assistance for Ukraine for its fight against Russian forces, two US officials familiar with the matter told Reuters. The equipment would be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, or PDA, by which the president can authorize the transfer of articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval in response to an emergency. (22:04 GMT) Zelenskyy has proposed swapping Medvedchuk for male and female prisoners of war being held by Moscow's forces. (22:18 GMT) A report on space and security conducted by the US's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has shown that Russia and China may be taking steps to undercut the US in its advantage in space, with both nations seeing space as a requirement for winning modern wars. PJB: sounds like the latest *missile-gap" to me ... (22:24 GMT) Letting Russia try to qualify for the World Cup risked doing "irreparable and chaotic" harm to the competition, FIFA has argued successfully at sport's highest court. 20220413 (00:39 GMT) Zelenskyy has called on the world to respond "preventively" to unconfirmed reports Russia used chemical weapons in Mariupol. (01:34 GMT) Russia's Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has reiterated claims that the United States funded biological laboratories in Ukraine to develop biological weapons. "These laboratories were not set up to pursue methods of eliminating dangerous diseases." In late March, Russia's parliament set up a working group to investigate "the activities of biological laboratories in Ukraine". Independent scientists, Ukrainian leaders, and of course the White House and Pentagon have denied Russia's claims. (03:23 GMT) Oil price may rise to $150 per barrel with EU ban, Russian minister says (03:37 GMT) Vladimir Putin has said Russia's military action in Ukraine was "unavoidable". Speaking at the Vostochny space launch facility, where he met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Putin charged that Ukraine was turned into an "anti-Russian bridgehead" where "sprouts of nationalism and neo-Nazism were being cultivated". "This new generation of Ukrainian nationalists are especially clashing with Russia. You see how Nazi ideology became a fact of life in Ukraine." (04:14 GMT) The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have arrived in Ukraine, and are on their way to Kyiv to meet with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Polish Press Agency has reported. Andrzej Duda, Gitanas Nausėda, Egils Levits and Alar Karis are reportedly there in a show of support. (07:57 GMT) "In the town of Mariupol, near the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works, as a result of successful offensives by Russian armed forces and Donetsk People's Republic militia units, 1,026 Ukrainian soldiers of the 36th Marine Brigade voluntarily laid down arms and surrendered," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. (09:16 GMT) Al Jazeera's Imran Khan, reporting from Kyiv, says areas northwest of the capital that were until recently occupied by Russian forces, such as Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, have been "completely devastated". (10:02 GMT) Countries that are seeking advantage by failing to condemn Russia's "heinous war" against Ukraine are being short-sighted and will face consequences if they undermine Western sanctions, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. The US and its partners "will not be indifferent" to actions that undermine the measures they have imposed on Moscow. (10:45 GMT) "There are different perspectives to apply [for] NATO membership or not to apply and we have to analyse these very carefully," Finland's prime minister Sanna Marin has said, "But I think our process will be quite fast, it will happen in weeks." (11:11 GMT) The Pentagon is set to host a meeting with eight of the largest defence contractors in the United States, as Washington aims to up military assistance to Ukraine, according to multiple reports. (11:43 GMT) The United Kingdom has imposed new sanctions on 206 individuals in response to Russia's invasion, including 178 who it alleged were involved in propping up two Russian-backed breakaway regions in Ukraine's east. Those targeted by the new measures include Alexander Ananchenko and Sergey Kozlov, the self-styled prime minister and the chair of the government of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. (11:48 GMT) The Russian embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina has criticised the suspension of a Bosnian Serb property law and warned of potential destabilisation in the country unless the decision by the top UN representative is revoked. (14:08 GMT) Russia will view any United States and NATO vehicles transporting weapons on Ukrainian territory as "legal military targets", Sergei Ryabkov, the country's deputy foreign minister has told the TASS news agency. (14:11 GMT) Czech Republic reopens embassy in Kyiv (14:30 GMT) A Le Pen victory in France's presidential election runoff on April 24 would reverberate through Europe and across the Atlantic, installing a deep eurosceptic in the Elysee Palace and someone who had long professed admiration for Vladimir Putin. "As soon as the Russian-Ukrainian war is over and has been settled by a peace treaty, I will call for the implementation of a strategic rapprochement between NATO and Russia." (15:09 GMT) Zelenskyy warns war will become an 'endless bloodbath' unless Kyiv gets more weapons (PJB: a Trumpian opposite-of-truth argument) (16:10 GMT) The World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations World Food Program and World Trade Organisation have called for urgent, coordinated action on food security, and urged countries to avoid export bans on food or fertiliser. (17:01 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said a humanitarian ceasefire in Ukraine does not seem possible at the moment. (17:37 GMT) Russia warns of striking Kyiv if Ukraine continues attacks on Russian territory (18:04 GMT) Jersey freezes $7bn of assets connected to Roman Abramovich (18:13 GMT) Biden has announced a new $800m military aid package for Ukraine, including weapons, ammunition, armored personnel carriers and helicopters. (18:16 GMT) Mayor of Kharkiv says bombing of city has increased significantly (18:23 GMT) Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen urges China to pressure Russia to end war (18:36 GMT) Russia has said that it had introduced sanctions against 398 members of the US Congress in retaliation against Washington's punitive measures over Ukraine and said more sanctions would follow. The Russian foreign ministry said in a separate statement that it had introduced sanctions against 87 members of the Senate of Canada. (18:44 GMT) Zelenskyy has denounced French leader Emmanuel Macron's refusal to call killings in Ukraine "genocide" and his reference to Russians as a "brotherly" people. "Such things are very painful for us, so I will definitely do my best to discuss this issue with him." (21:40 GMT) Multiple US government agencies have issued a joint alert warning of the discovery of malicious cyber tools created by unnamed advanced threat actors that they said were capable of gaining "full system access" to multiple industrial control systems. https://www.cisa.gov/uscert/ncas/alerts/aa22-103a https://www.mandiant.com/resources/incontroller-state-sponsored-ics-tool (21:50 GMT) Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has said some of the systems, like the howitzers and radars, will require additional training for Ukrainian forces not accustomed to using American military equipment. "We're aware of the clock and we know time is not our friend," Kirby said when asked about the speed of deliveries. (22:51 GMT) Executives from the top United States weapons-makers have met with Pentagon officials to discuss challenges for the industry in the event of a protracted Ukraine conflict. (23:51 GMT) Ukraine launched two Neptune anti-ship cruise missiles at Russia's missile cruiser "Moskva" in the Black Sea, causing serious damage, the head of Odessa's regional administration said on Telegram. Russia's defence ministry has confirmed the ship was "seriously damaged" and the crew completely evacuated "as a result of detonation of ammunition caused by fire". Moskva is the flagship of the Black Sea Fleet, reportedly leading the naval assault on Ukraine. 20220414 (01:53 GMT) Australia has imposed a new set of sanctions on 14 state-owned enterprises of "strategic and economic importance to Russia", according to a statement from Defence Minister Marise Payne. Included in the sanctions are defence-related transportation company Kamaz and the United Shipbuilding Corporation. Sanctions also extend to Ruselectronics, "which is responsible for the production of around 80 per cent of all Russian electronics components" and Russian Railways, "one of the largest single contributors to Russia's GDP". (02:18 GMT) The Thai aid package consists of 71,000 items which include food, blankets and sleeping bags, baby and child products, hygiene items and first aid kits. (02:37 GMT) The US plans to step up the intelligence it provides Ukraine so its forces can target Russia's military units in Donbas and Crimea, the Wall Street Journal reports. But it adds officials have stressed the US will "refrain from providing intelligence that would enable the Ukrainians to strike targets on Russian territory". (02:37 GMT) The UNHCR has expressed concern over potential exploitation of Ukrainian women in relation to a UK scheme that allows British residents to house Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. (04:56 GMT) Global IT firm Infosys are moving business out of Russia "to an alternate location". This comes after other IT companies such as Oracle Corp also announced they were suspending all operations in Russia. (06:42 GMT) The European Space Agency has ended cooperation with Russia on three missions to the Moon due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, following a previous decision to do the same for a Mars mission. (07:56 GMT) Russia has warned NATO that, if Sweden and Finland join the military alliance, it will have to bolster its defences and there could be no more talk of a "nuclear free" Baltic. (08:21 GMT) Russia's Investigative Committee has said it is opening criminal cases into Ukrainian servicemen's alleged torture of their Russian counterparts. (09:22 GMT) Mariupol mayor denies Russian reports that port has been taken. Boichenko called Russian reports that the port had been taken and that more than 1,000 Ukrainian fighters had surrendered "fake news". (10:42 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that sailors have contained a fire on board the Moskva missile cruiser, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, and that measures were being taken to tow it back to port (11:14 GMT) The government of the Netherlands will instruct companies not to pay for Russian gas in roubles as Moscow has proposed, as doing so would violate European Union sanctions. (11:19 GMT) A border post in the Bryansk region has been fired at with mortars from Ukraine, Russia's security service has said, in the latest of a series of reported cross-border attacks. No one was injured in the incident but some vehicles were damaged (14:04 GMT) A village in Russia's Belgorod region has come under fire from Ukraine, the region's governor has said. "The village of Spodaryushino has been subjected to fire from Ukraine," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a post on the Telegram messaging service. He said no one had been injured and that the village and one other settlement had been evacuated. (15:30 GMT) Canada to deploy 150 military personnel to Poland. "Our people will provide general support, spiritual services and limited medical care enabled by Ukrainian-speaking Canadian Armed Forces personne.," (16:43 GMT) A second village in Russia's Belgorod region has come under fire from Ukraine."Our village of Zhuravlyovka was fired on from Ukraine," Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted. He said residential buildings were damaged and that he did not know if anyone had been injured. (17:23 GMT) Russian aviation has destroyed seven military facilities in Ukraine in the past 24 hours, including an artillery missile depot, Interfax quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying. (20:00 GMT) When asked how Washington views the potential addition of Sweden and Finland to NATO, the US State Department said there was no change in Washington's position and repeated that "NATO's open door is an open door". "Without speaking to any countries in particular, we would not be concerned that the expansion of a defensive alliance would do anything other than promote stability on the European continent," spokesperson Ned Price said during a briefing. (20:25 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said the missile cruiser Moskva, the flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, sank as it was towed back to port in stormy weather following an explosion and fire. The 12,500 tonne Moskva was armed with multiple anti-ship and surface- to-air missiles, and was the only ship of its class in the Black Sea. The two other missile cruisers - the Marshal Ustinov and the Varyag - are deployed with Russia's Northern and Pacific fleets respectively. 20220415 (00:57 GMT) A group of UNESCO's National Commissions - bodies set up by member governments - have signed a letter stating they will not travel to Russia's city of Kazan where the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) is to be held, deeming the session "impossible". (01:05 GMT) Powerful explosions were heard in Kyiv early Friday and air raid sirens blared across Ukraine as residents braced for new Russian attacks after Moscow's lead warship in the Black Sea sank following a fire. (01:22 GMT) US blames Russia for food shortages in poor nations (01:31 GMT) Ukraine's grain production could be affected for years. The expected decline would include farms that grow crops to provide seeds for the following year, leaving Ukrainian farmers short of seeds for 2023 planting, said Claude Tabel, of French seed makers association UFS. (02:01 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has today released new documents as part of an ongoing project to showcase the "genocide of the Ukrainian population at the hands of Bandera nationalists" during the second world war and the years after. Stepan Bandera was part of the far-right "Organisation of Ukrainian Nationalists" in the early to mid 20th century. The project "The Archives Remember Everything!" was launched by Russia's defence ministry in March 2022. https://www.prlib.ru/en/events/1332072 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera According to Stephen Dorril, author of MI6: Inside the Covert World of Her Majesty's Secret Intelligence Service, OUN-B was re-formed in 1946 under the sponsorship of MI6. The organization had been receiving some support from MI6 since the 1930s. One faction of Bandera's organization associated with Mykola Lebed became more closely associated with the CIA (03:22 GMT) Almost 85 per cent of the bodies recovered in the city of Bucha have bullet holes, which indicates deliberate premeditated murder, Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk has said (04:23 GMT) Russian forces over the past day concentrated their main efforts on capturing the cities Popasna and Rubizhne in the Donesk region, but "unsuccessfully", the Ukrainian General Staff have said (06:53 GMT) Vladimir Putin may resort to using a tactical or low-yield nuclear weapon in light of Russia's military setbacks in Ukraine, the CIA director, William Burns, has argued. "None of us can take lightly the threat posed by a potential resort to tactical nuclear weapons or low-yield nuclear weapons," Burns said during a speech at Georgia Tech university in Atlanta. "We're obviously very concerned. I know President Biden is deeply concerned about avoiding a third world war, about avoiding a threshold in which, you know, nuclear conflict becomes possible." (08:03 GMT) Moscow's defence ministry has warned it will intensify attacks on Kyiv in response to strikes on Russia's soil, after accusing Ukraine of targeting Russian border towns. (08:06 GMT) A Russian strike in northeastern Ukraine killed "up to 30 Polish mercenaries", Moscow's defence ministry has said. The hit took place the village of Izyumskoe, near Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv. (10:09 GMT) About 1,564 explosive devises, including two aerial bombs, were found and neutralised by pyrotechnic units in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's emergency service (SES) has said (10:14 GMT) Russia warns of 'consequences' if Finland, Sweden join NATO (12:27 GMT) Russia's media watchdog Roskomnadzor blocked access to the website of French radio station RFI, saying it had violated a law banning the dissemination of false or "extremist" information. (13:25 GMT) The UN Refugee Agency said 4,796,245 million Ukrainians had left the country since February 24. Moreover, the UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) claims some 215,000 third-country nationals have also fled to neighbouring nations. (14:16 GMT) A Finnish cabinet minister has said it was "highly likely" that Finland would apply for NATO membership, despite Russia's warned of unspecified "consequences" should FInland and Sweden join the military organisation. (16:54 GMT) The United States now believes the sunken Russian missile cruiser Moskva was hit by two Ukrainian missiles, Neptune anti-ship missiles, a senior US official said. (19:46 GMT) Russia has warned the United States of "unpredictable consequences" should Joe Biden's administration continue to transfer weapons to Ukraine, The Washington Post reported. A diplomatic note warned that US and NATO shipments of the "most sensitive" weapons systems to Ukraine could bring "unpredictable consequences". (21:10 GMT) Thousands of Serbs waving Russian and Serbian flags and carrying pictures of Putin have marched through Belgrade to the Russian embassy to protest Serbia's government bid to distance itself from Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine. (21:18 GMT) Russia faces a dilemma over how to spin the sinking of the Moskva missile cruiser, Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, has said. "Because on the one hand it's claiming that the sinking of the Moskva had nothing to do with Ukraine. But at the same time they seized on this as an excuse to wreak revenge on Kyiv and they are linking this to the attack on the capital now. "So Russian propaganda is tying itself in knots but at the same time whipping up even more hysteria." (22:00 GMT) The German government has said it plans to release more than one billion euros ($1.08bn) in military aid for Ukraine, amid complaints by Kyiv it is not receiving heavy weapons from Berlin. 20220416 (01:40 GMT) Britain's Times newspaper is reporting that the SAS, the country's special forces, have been providing training to two local battalions stationed near Kyiv. It's the first time they've done so since the Russian invasion began seven weeks ago, the paper said, citing Ukrainian officers. The Ukrainians are getting instruction in how to use British-supplied anti-tank missiles that were delivered in February. (04:13 GMT) Explosions have been reported in Kyiv and Lviv, where it's the early hours of Saturday morning. Air raid sirens have also been sounded across most of Ukraine, according to the Reuters news agency. (04:42 GMT) Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has told Al Jazeera that Ukraine needs more weapons if the war is to come to an end. "The shortest way to peace is to supply more weapons to Ukraine," Poroshenko said in an exclusive interview. "That's why from the international community we need three things: weapons, weapons and more weapons." He said the key was to provide "game-changing" equipment, saying the country needed 300 tanks, 1,000 armed personnel carriers and 100 jet fighters. (08:09 GMT) The delivery of heavier weaponry to Ukraine such as tanks, would not constitute an entry into the war against Russia, Germany's justice minister says. "So if [Ukraine] exercises its legitimate right of self-defence, supporting it by supplying weapons cannot lead to becoming a party to the war," (08:29 GMT) Russia destroyed production buildings of an armoured vehicle plant in Kyiv and a military repair facility in the city of Mykolaiv, Russia's defence ministry has said. The strikes were carried out by high- -precision long-range weapons. Russia also downed one Ukrainian SU-25 aircraft near the city of Izyum in Kharkiv Oblast of eastern Ukraine. (09:33 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it has barred entry to the country for PM Boris Johnson, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other British government members and politicians. (12:14 GMT) Switzerland wants the exclusion of Russian and Belarussian officials from top posts in international sports federations, according to a letter from the Swiss Minister of Sport and Defence Viola Amherd to the International Olympic Committee (IOC). In view of the war in Ukraine, it is no longer sufficient to exclude athletes from the two countries from international competitions, the letter says. (15:41 GMT) Ukraine's presidential office reported Saturday that missile strikes and shelling over the past 24 hours occurred in eight regions: Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv in the east, Dnipropetrovsk, Poltava and Kirovohrad in the central Ukraine and Mykolaiv and Kherson in the south. (15:51 GMT) Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov says an armoured vehicle plant was among the infrastructure targeted. He did not specify where the plant is located, but there is one in Kyiv's Darnytskyi district. He said the plant was among multiple Ukrainian military sites hit with "air-launched high-precision long-range weapons". (18:40 GMT) The entire urban area of Mariupol has been cleared of Ukrainian forces and only a few fighters remain on its outskirts, Russia's defence ministry says. (19:28 GMT) UK PM Johnson pledges to send Ukraine armoured vehicles in 'coming days' (21:05 GMT) The world should prepare for the possible use by Russia of nuclear weapons, Ukraine's president said, repeating an earlier warning. (21:49 GMT) A yacht linked to a Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska arrived in a bay near the southwestern Turkish resort of Gocek as more Russian billionaires head for Turkey to flee Western sanctions. (23:07 GMT) Vladimir Putin spoke with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their second call since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Saudi readout of the call said the crown prince affirmed support for efforts that will lead to a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine. The kingdom recently announced $10m in humanitarian aid for Ukrainian refugees. (23:07 GMT) Ukraine's military has suffered 23,367 "irreplaceable losses" since the start of Russia's invasion of the country, its military says. Defence ministry chief spokesman Igor Konashenkov said "the Ukrainian contingent's casualties in Mariupol alone amounted to over 4,000 people". On Mariupol, Konashenkov said 1,464 Ukrainian servicemen had surrendered. "The number of those surrendering is growing by the day." Russia shot down a Ukrainian military cargo plane in the Odesa area that was "set to deliver a large shipment of weapons supplied to Ukraine by Western countries", Konashenkov added. (23:08 GMT) "The entire urban area of Mariupol has been completely cleared and remnants of the Ukrainian [armed] group are currently completely blockaded ... Their only chance to save their lives is to voluntarily lay down their arms and surrender," said Igor Konashenkov, Russia's defence ministry's chief spokesman. (23:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says if Ukrainian forces still fighting in Mariupol lay down their arms starting at 6am Moscow time (03:00 GMT) their lives will be spared, Tass news agency reported. Russia said the remaining fighters - which it claims are both Ukrainian and foreign - are blockaded in the Azovstal steel works. 20220417 (00:17 GMT) Zelenskyy says he spoke on Saturday with the leaders of Sweden and the United Kingdom about how best to help those defending Mariupol and the tens of thousands of civilians trapped inside the besieged city. "Either our partners give Ukraine all of the necessary heavy weapons, the planes, and without exaggeration immediately, so we can reduce the pressure of the occupiers on Mariupol and break the blockade," he said in his nightly video address to the nation. "Or we do so through negotiations, in which the role of our partners should be decisive." (03:34 GMT) Ukraine's richest man has pledged to help rebuild the besieged city of Mariupol, a place close to his heart where he owns two vast steelworks that he says will once again compete globally. Rinat Akhmetov has seen his business empire shattered by eight years of fighting in Ukraine's east but remains defiant, sure that what he calls "our brave soldiers" will defend the Sea of Azov city reduced to a wasteland by seven weeks of bombardment. (05:15 GMT) Italy bars Russian ships from Italian ports (06:29 GMT) "Russian servicemen constantly complain about the lack of rotation, equipment that constantly breaks down, the quality of the fuel supplied and food," said Oleksandr Shputun, representative of the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine. (07:17 GMT) "Overnight air sirens were sounding around the city again and again, not only in Kyiv but also in Lviv and some other parts of the county," said Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar, reporting from the Ukrainian capital. In the last two days Russia hit two military factories, Serdar noted, one repairing tanks and the other repairing and producing missiles. Overall one person was killed and four were wounded, he added. "The fear here is that if war escalates the capital Kyiv is going to witness more Russian long-range, high-precision missile attacks." (09:06 GMT) There will be no humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from the east of the country for the day, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said, as Ukrainian and Russian forces have failed to commit to a ceasefire. (09:32 GMT) Ukraine has asked G7 nations for $50 billion in financial support and is also considering issuing 0% coupon bonds to help it cover a war-linked budget deficit over the next six months, the president's economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said. (10:26 GMT) Russia says it has freed a number of hostages that were allegedly held in captivity in a mosque in Mariupol. Russian Defense Ministry, General Igor Konashenkov said that the operation was done at the request of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He added that "29 militants, including foreign fighters" were killed. Reports from early March indicated that a number of Turkish citizens were in the mosque not as captives, but to shelter from Russian shelling. Konashenkov added though that the "hostages" were from one of the CIS countries, which are Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. (11:18 GMT) Russia is worried about the increased activity of NATO forces in the Arctic and sees risks of "unintended incidents", Russian ambassador-at-large Nikolay Korchunov reportedly said. "The recent increase in NATO's activity in the Arctic is a cause for concern. Another large-scale military exercise of the alliance was recently held in northern Norway. In our view, this does not contribute to the security of the region," Korchunov said, adding that such activity raises the risk of "unintended incidents", which, in addition to security risks, can also cause serious damage to the Arctic ecosystem. (14:14 GMT) Italian Premier Mario Draghi has said Ukraine's resistance to Russia's invasion is "heroic," depriving Russia of what it expected to be a rapid victory and setting the stage for a "prolonged" war. (19:49 GMT) IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva and Zelenskyy discuss 'post-war reconstruction' (22:03 GMT) 18 people have been killed and more than 100 wounded in Russian shelling in the past four days in the NE Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Zelensky said. (22:24 GMT) The UNHCR has said 4,869,019 million Ukrainians have left the country since Russia invaded on February 24 - up 32,574 on Saturday's total. (23:44 GMT) The "hot phase" of the war in Ukraine will end in two to three weeks, and the war should be completely over in two to three months, Fyodor Venislavsky, a member of Ukraine's Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence (also know as Verkhovna Rada) said on television. 20220418 (00:17 GMT) Belgium, Estonia and Bulgaria ban Russian ships (00:50 GMT) A British soldier fighting with the Ukrainian army, Shaun Pinner, has been paraded on Russian television. This comes a few days after Russian media showed another captured British, soldier Aiden Aslin. (01:57 GMT) The Sumy region has received the first $8.5 million of assistance from the Ukraine government to restore destroyed territories and infrastructure, the head of the regional state administration Dmitry Zhivitsky, has said. (02:06 GMT) Ukraine says it has completed a questionnaire which will form a starting point for the European Union to decide on membership for Kyiv. The questionnaire was handed to Zelenskyy by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen during her visit to Kyiv on April 8. (02:40 GMT) The head of Crimea, Serhiy Aksyonov, has announced teachers from Kherson, Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia regions will have to attend summer "retraining camps" in Crimea, Ukraine's Centre for Countering Disinformation has reported. It also said Ukrainian children will also be forced to take Russian language classes. (08:47 GMT) As Russia's anticipated offensive in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region looms, Kyiv's need for heavy weapons systems is acute. At the top of the list are fighter jets, something the European Union and the United States have been reluctant to provide. (09:47 GMT) Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin says 200,000 jobs are at risk as foreign firms leave the Russian market. (10:16 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of constantly shifting its position on issues previously agreed upon at talks between the two sides. "Unfortunately the Ukrainian side is not consistent in terms of the points that have been agreed," Peskov said. "It is often changing its position and the trend of the negotiating process leaves much to be desired," he added, noting that "contacts continue at an expert level." (10:48 GMT) Two captured Britons appear on Russian state TV, ask to be swapped https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/1/on-the-front-line-britons-fight-alongside-ukrainian-troops (12:11 GMT) The Kremlin says there is still time for "unfriendly" countries to switch to payments for gas in roubles, as demanded by Putin. (12:35 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it has declared some employees of the Bulgarian embassy in Moscow "persona non grata" in retaliation for Sofia's decision to expel 10 Russian diplomats in March. (12:50 GMT) Putin discusses Russia-Ukraine talks with Palestinian Mahmoud Abbas (13:28 GMT) Russian troops still not in full control of Mariupol, Ukraine says (14:45 GMT) Putin says Western countries have hurt themselves with sanctions (16:16 GMT) The US military will to start training Ukrainian trainers on using the Howitzer artillery system in coming days, a senior US defense said (17:08 GMT) Russia appears to have started its anticipated new offensive in the east of Ukraine, Ukraine's top security official has said. "This morning, along almost the entire front line of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv regions, the occupiers attempted to break through our defences," (17:36 GMT) Russian planes in the morning struck a Ukrainian logistics centre holding "large batches of foreign weaponry, delivered to Ukraine over the past six days by the United States and European countries", and "destroyed" them, Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. (18:05 GMT) The port city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine was still contested as Russian appeared to have sent reinforcements into Ukraine in recent days, a senior U.S. defense official has said. (18:37 GMT) At least 1,000 civilians hiding under Ukrainian steel plant in Mariupol: City council. "Mostly they are women with children and old people," (20:11 GMT) Zelenskyy said, "We can now say that Russian forces have started the battle of the Donbas, for which they have long prepared." (20:28 GMT) US considering additional sanctions on Russia: White House (20:34 GMT) Psaki has said that four planes delivered US military assistance to Ukraine over the course of the weekend, and a fifth was due to arrive. "Another one is supposed to arrive today, if it hasn't already, from the $800m package" of additional American aid to Kyiv announced last week, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. (20:52 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he discussed "problems of navigation in the Black Sea" in talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. He said in a separate tweet that he also spoke to Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, thanking him for "important defensive assistance" to Ukraine. (21:14 GMT) US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman will travel to Brussels this week for US-EU meetings on China and the Indo-Pacific region, the State Department said. She will also meet with Washington's NATO and EU allies "to discuss our continued close coordination on Putin's war of choice against Ukraine and other global issues" (21:21 GMT) Russia 'confident' it is close to gaining full control of Mariupol (21:49 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen plans to meet with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during this week's big meetings of global economic leaders in Washington. (22:05 GMT) What Russian authorities have called a "special military operation" in Ukraine has now dragged on for nearly two months and is now being framed as "a proxy war between Russia and NATO" in which "Russia itself is in danger", according to Donnacha O Beachain, professor at Dublin City University specialised in post-Soviet history. (22:10 GMT) Biden has 'no plans' to visit Ukraine's capital, White House says. "There [are] no plans for the president to go. Let me just reiterate that," Psaki told reporters. A string of European leaders, including Boris Johnson, have made the trip to Kyiv to meet Zelenskyy (23:36 GMT) UN records 4,890 civilian casualties in Ukraine (since Feb 24) (23:56 GMT) Ukraine's membership in the European Union is integral to the "strategic vision" for its post-war reconstruction, Zelenskyy said 20220419 (00:34 GMT) Invasion damaged up to one third of Ukraine’s infrastructure: Official Kubrakov said more than 300 bridges on national roads had been destroyed or damaged, more than 8,000 km of roads had to be repaired or rebuilt and dozens of railway bridges had been blown up. (01:20 GMT) Moldova's Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu has told his US counterpart that "everyone in Europe feels less secure than just two months ago." Popescu made these comments before his meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in Washington. (01:49 GMT) Russia's eastern offensive is unlikely to be "dramatically more successful" than previous campaigns, but "Russian forces may be able to wear down Ukrainian defenders or achieve limited gains", the Institute for the Study of War has said. Russia's forces did not take the necessarily pause to reconstitute and properly integrate damaged units withdrawn from northeastern Ukraine into its eastern operation. (03:09 GMT) Biden to meet with 'allies' on Ukraine (04:28 GMT) The governor of Russia's Belgorod region has said one person has been injured in shelling originating from "the Ukrainian side". "There was shelling from the Ukrainian side of the [Russian] village of Golovchino, Graivoronsky district," Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. (05:27 GMT) In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, the army said its repulsed seven enemy attacks, destroyed ten tanks, 18 armoured units and eight vehicles, one artillery system and an enemy mortar. (06:21 GMT) IMF and World Bank leaders discuss food crisis in Washington Anna Nagurney, a crisis management specialist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, said the meeting spoke to the "growing fear" that "the world may be on the verge of a hunger catastrophe." (06:35 GMT) Japan will send gas masks, hazmat suits and drones to Ukraine amid growing concern of chemical weapons use by the Russian military. (06:44 GMT) Ivan Fedorov, mayor of Melitopol, describes 'hard' interrogation by Russian captors (07:38 GMT) The US is seeking to seize a superyacht suspected of belonging to a Russian oligarch that is currently docked in Fiji. The luxury vessel, the Amadea, is widely believed to be owned by billionaire Suleiman Kerimov, sanctioned by the US and EU. The vessel arrived in Fiji a week ago after leaving Mexico 18 days earlier and crossing the Pacific. (07:54 GMT) China has told Russia it will continue to increase "strategic coordination" with it regardless of international volatility, according to a foreign ministry statement. Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng gave this assurance to Russian ambassador to China, Andrey Denisov. (09:13 GMT) Moscow says that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has not tried to get in touch with Vladimir Putin since the start of Moscow's offensive. "No one has been in touch, neither through the permanent mission of Russia to the UN, nor directly with the foreign ministry." (09:27 GMT) The Greek coast guard said the Russian-flagged Pegas, an oil tanker with 19 Russian crew on board, was seized on April 15 and is now anchored in the bay of Karystos, on the southern coast of the island of Evia. (09:53 GMT) Russia's defence minister has accused the United States and other Western countries of doing everything possible to drag out Russia's war in Ukraine. "The increasing volume of foreign arms supplies clearly demonstrates their intentions to provoke the Kyiv regime to fight to the last Ukrainian standing," Sergei Shoigu was quoted as saying by TASS (10:30 GMT) Finance Minister Anton Siluanov will lead Russia's delegation at this week's meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors from the Group of 20 major economies. The US has called for Russia to be expelled from the G20 and warned it will boycott some meetings if Russian officials show up. (10:56 GMT) Russian forces have taken control of the city of Kreminna in Luhansk (12:37 GMT) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/19/as-families-seek-truth-kremlin-refuses-to-discuss-moskva-sinking (12:43 GMT) Russia expels 36 Dutch and Belgian diplomats in tit-for-tat move (14:10 GMT) The European Commission has cleared a 20-billion-euro ($21.6bn) German scheme to help companies affected by sanctions against Russia and also approved 836 million euros ($903m) in Polish state aid for the agricultural sector (14:45 GMT) Canada rolls out new Russia sanctions, targeting Putin's daughters (15:02 GMT) Lavrov says Russia not seeking 'regime change' in Ukraine (15:55 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced Russia's new offensive and called for a four-day truce to coincide with the onset of Orthodox Holy Week. (16:41 GMT) Britain to send more artillery weapons to Ukraine (17:27 GMT) About 120 civilians living next to the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol have left via humanitarian corridors, the Interfax news agency reported, quoting Russian state TV. (18:28 GMT) The latest US military aid package to Ukraine - an $800m bundle that includes additional helicopters and, for the first time, 155mm howitzer cannons - are "really no more than barely keeping up with what has been lost by the Ukrainians up to this point," retired US army general Mark Kimmitt has said. (19:17 GMT) US authorises certain transactions relating to NGO activities in Russia, Ukraine (20:03 GMT) Ukraine's partners have provided it additional military aircraft and parts to repair others in Kyiv's arsenal that were damaged or inoperable, the Pentagon has said. (20:46 GMT) Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, says world leaders have agreed to "tighten [their] sanctions against Russia and step up financial and security assistance for Ukraine". She was speaking after a call was convened by US President Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron, Boris Johnson, von der Leyen, Olaf Scholz and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, among others. (21:09 GMT) Joe Biden is expected to announce within days another military aid package for Ukraine about the same size as the $800m one last week (21:57 GMT) Brazil's Economy Minister Paulo Guedes has said his country clearly condemns Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but is against economic sanctions imposed on Moscow. (22:07 GMT) Western nations are preparing to stage coordinated walk-outs and other diplomatic snubs to protest against Russia's invasion of Ukraine at a meeting of G20 finance ministers in Washington, officials have said. (22:34 GMT) Russian entrepreneur Oleg Tinkov has denounced Moscow's "massacre" in Ukraine and urged the West to help end "this insane war". (22:46 GMT) Kelly Clements, the UN's deputy high commissioner for refugees, has urged members of the Security Council to help put an end to Russia's offensive. (23:52 GMT) The war in Ukraine would already be over if its army had all the weapons they needed, Zelenskyy has said. 20220420 (00:44 GMT) The UK's tax authority has announced it intends to revoke the Moscow Stock Exchange's (MOEX) status as a recognised stock exchange in the UK. This would make investors unable to access certain UK tax benefits in the future when trading securities on MOEX (02:33 GMT) Direct communications have been restored between the Chornobyl nuclear power plant and the state atomic power regulator after Russian troops left the facility, Ukraine said told the IAEA on Tuesday. (02:55 GMT) The Russian military has found the headquarters of a Ukrainian territorial defence unit in a school in the port city of Kherson, the Russian Defence Ministry has said. The ministry said the school and the basement were filled with boxes of ammunition, weapons and medicines. Russian soldiers examined the school for mines and explosives and removed all weapons and ammunition. "Then the building was handed over to the administration", RIA said. Kherson was the first major Ukrainian city Russia's forces captured as part of its invasion. But in late March, the Pentagon said Ukraine's forces had pushed back and Russia was no longer in full control. (06:42 GMT) Russian shelling has damaged a gas pipeline in the city of Novodruzhesk in the Luhansk region, according to the head of the regional administration, Serhiy Gaidai. (06:50 GMT) Norway says it has sent its Mistral air defence system and 100 missiles to Ukraine. (06:59 GMT) Finland's parliament to discuss joining NATO (07:29 GMT) Growing majority of Swedes back joining NATO (07:41 GMT) European Council chief Charles Michel has arrived in the Ukrainian capital for a surprise visit. "In Kyiv today. In the heart of a free and democratic Europe," Michel tweeted, with a photo at a train station. (10:02 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of reneging on commitments it made during talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv over ending the war. (10:30 GMT) US Navy veteran and former MSNBC defence analyst Malcolm Nance has confirmed that he is fighting in Ukraine as part of the country's international legion. (10:38 GMT) More than five million people have fled Ukraine: UNHCR (11:01 GMT) Harry Nedelcu, a policy director at global political consultancy firm Rasmussen Global, says Washington's latest package of military support for Ukraine is "very significant". "Western support for Ukraine ... is focused now on delivering heavy weaponry and not only defensive systems like anti-tank rockets," (11:12 GMT) Germany has chosen not to make public the extent of the weaponry it has sent to Ukraine, the country's foreign minister Baerbock says. (11:40 GMT) Moscow's Mariupol surrender deadline passes unmet (12:24 GMT) Ukrainian troops have held up an attempted advance by Russian forces from Ukraine's northeastern town of Izyum towards the nearby city of Slovyansk, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelenskyy, says. (13:09 GMT) Boris Johnson has urged Russia to treat Aiden Aslin, a British fighter who was captured in Ukraine with compassion, adding that he had served in the Ukrainian army for some time and was not a mercenary. (13:25 GMT) Local authorities in the Ukrainian region of Odesa have banned ships, including fishing boats, from parts of the Danube River's delta in the country's southwest due to the presence of Russian mines there. (13:46 GMT) Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny accuses France's Marine Le Pen of 'selling influence to Putin' (14:57 GMT) Vladimir Putin said Moscow aims to "help our people living in Donbas" with its offensive in the eastern Ukrainian region. (15:04 GMT) Russian, Belarusian players, eg: Daniil Medvedev, banned from Wimbledon. Moscow reacted angrily to the move, calling it "unacceptable" and accusing the tournament's organisers of turning athletes "into hostages to political prejudice". (15:14 GMT) Russia says it has test-launched its new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile. (15:37 GMT) China's defence minister Wei Fenghe has told his United States counterpart Lloyd Austin that Washington should not "use the Ukraine issue to smear, frame, threaten or pressure China", following criticism of its perceived backing of Russia's invasion. (15:46 GMT) Germany commits to ending oil imports from Russia by the end of 2022 (16:35 GMT) UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has asked to meet with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine in their respective capitals (16:39 GMT) Russian ICBM test 'routine' and 'not a threat': Pentagon (16:42 GMT) The EU will hold an international donors conference on May 5 to ensure "the victory of Ukraine," Council President Charles Michel said in Kyiv. (16:55 GMT) Ukraine has not received whole aircraft from allies, only parts: Pentagon (16:57 GMT) Zelenskyy praises 'warmer' relations with West over weapon supplies (16:59 GMT) The US military has started training a small number (60?) of Ukrainian troops on using howitzer artillery, a senior US defense official has said, adding the training was being conducted outside of Ukraine and would take about a week. West warns of Russian cyberattacks on critical infrastructure (18:37 GMT) Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has urged the Group of 20 not to politicise dialogue between member states and warned them of the risk of undermining confidence in the global monetary and financial system. Top finance officials from the UK, the US and Canada walked out of a meeting when Russian representatives spoke, UK Finance Minister Rishi Sunak said earlier. (18:52 GMT) The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) has said it is "very disappointed" with the decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's Wimbledon tournament. (19:35 GMT) Russia's nuclear forces will start taking delivery of the new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile this year once testing is complete, Tass quoted the head of the Roscosmos space agency as saying. (19:46 GMT) France's Le Pen says Europe should not stop importing Russian gas and oil (19:57 GMT) Ukraine is ready to hold a "special round of negotiations" with Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol without any conditions, negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak has tweeted. He said the talks could be "one on one. Two on two. To save our guys, (the far right) Azov (battalion), military, civilians, children, the living and the wounded". (20:03 GMT) Turkey has accused some of its NATO allies of wanting the war in Ukraine to last longer in order to weaken Russia. (20:13 GMT) US targets Transkapitalbank, Malofeyev in latest sanctions (20:20 GMT) The US military will be delivering additional military equipment to Ukraine in the coming days, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. (20:45 GMT) A group of 21 US lawmakers have sent a letter to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg voicing concern about what they called disinformation on the platform aimed at Spanish speakers about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (20:52 GMT) France's Macron says Le Pen's interests tied to Russian leadership (21:51 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's republic of Chechnya, has said Russian forces would be in complete control of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Thursday. 20220421 (22:01 GMT) Zelenskyy says Russians being 'maximally cruel' (22:26 GMT) Biden lauds US army officials for 'exceptional' work arming Ukraine (23:42 GMT) A group of international experts, in collaboration with Ukraine, have today released a white paper outlining advice on how governments and companies can strengthen sanctions against Russia. The plan advises Russia and Belarus be recognised as state-sponsors of terrorism, and Russia's armed forces as a terrorist organisation. 20220421 (00:26 GMT) Top officials from Britain, the United States and Canada walked out on Russia's representatives at a Group of 20 meeting on Wednesday and many members spoke to condemn Moscow's war in Ukraine, Reuters has reported. Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati, who chaired the daylong meeting of G20 finance officials in Washington, said this was an "extraordinary situation" adding it had not been "business as usual". (01:48 GMT) Russia has blamed Ukraine for disrupting the evacuation of civilians trapped in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant. Ukraine said the evacuation didn't go ahead due to Russian forces not observing the ceasefire. About 1,000 civilians are trapped in the steel plant with Ukrainian fighters who have not met several of Russia's deadlines for them to surrender. Head of the National Defence Control Centre, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, told Izvestia the Russian military had opened a humanitarian corridor for civilians to exit the plant April 20 at 2pm. "In addition, the Ukrainian military and foreign mercenaries were asked to lay down their arms and voluntarily surrender to the Russian side. We are forced to state that the declared humanitarian operation by the Kiev authorities was cynically disrupted, no one used the indicated corridor." (02:10 GMT) Russia will stop the war when NATO stops ‘capturing’ Ukraine: diplomat A senior Moscow diplomat has said the war in Ukraine, which Russia calls a "special military operation" will end when NATO countries will stop threatening Russia by using Ukraine for their own purposes. "The special military operation will end when its tasks are completed. These include the protection of the civilian population of Donbas, the demilitarisation and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the elimination of threats to Russia emanating from Ukrainian territory due to its being "developed" [manipulated] by NATO countries," Alexey Polishchuk, Director of the Second Department for CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States] Affairs of the Russian Foreign Ministry, told TASS. (02:16 GMT) 5eyes warning of Russian cyberattacks in retaliation for sanctions Guardian: Boris Johnson casts doubt on possibility of negociated peace in Ukraine. Jermy Corbyn wound like to see ANTO 'ultimately disbanded'. (03:23 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has reiterated China's opposition to unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction". (03:27 GMT) G7 finance ministers have said they have provided and pledged together with international community additional support to Ukraine exceeding $24 billion for 2022 and beyond, and that they were prepared to do more as needed. (03:29 GMT) A 91-year-old Holocaust survivor, Vanda Semyonovna Obiedkova, has died in a basement in the besieged Ukrainian port of Mariupol. ewish organisation Chabad.org reported that her daughter shared the news after arriving with the rest of her family at a safe location, saying she died April 4, pleading for water in a freezing basement. She was ten years old when the Nazis occupied Mariupol and killed thousands of Jews in a single day, including her mother. She survived in a basement then, and died in a basement in the same city 81 years later. PJB: note that 81 years ago, she was hiding from Stepan Bandera's UNO-B (or perhaps OUM-M), which is now in control of Kiev ... She was not hiding from the Russians. (04:01 GMT) Ukraine is working to convince Germany and other western allies to shift Russia's shipments of natural gas from the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Ukraine's pipeline, energy officials have told Reuters. Germany has already halted Russia's Nord Stream 2 gas project. Representatives from Ukraine's gas pipeline operator and gas firm Naftogaz told administration officials and congressional lawmakers in Washington that the plan, which would force Russia to move more of its Europe-bound gas through Ukraine, would make Moscow pay more transit fees. This could help Ukraine's wartime defence and deter Russia from damaging Ukraine's pipelines in the meantime. (04:38 GMT) Household goods maker Procter & Gamble Co said in a securities filing on Wednesday that it may not be able to stay in business in Russia. P&G has roughly 2,500 employees in Russia with business in the country representing 2% of its net sales and global profit. The company also said its two factories in Ukraine could be destroyed. There are roughly 500 P&G employees in Ukraine. (05:18 GMT) Russian forces in the Kherson region are prohibiting residents of the village Zolotaya Balka from trying to evacuate and intending to use them as as human shields, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have said. It added that the villagers were warned if Ukrainian forces started firing on Russia's army units in the village, Russia's forces would shell the settlement. Al Jazeera could not independently verify these claims. (05:42 GMT) Russia's annual Victory Day marks the Soviet defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. Officials in Ukraine and the West see May 9 as a date by which Russian President Putin could target progress in the war. (05:54 GMT) A poll by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows 54 % of Americans think Biden has been "not tough enough", 36 % think his approach has been about right, while 8 % say he's been too tough. Only 32 % of Americans say the US. should have a major role in the conflict which has fallen from 40 % last month, but it remains slightly higher than the 26 per cent who said so in February. (07:11 GMT) The Ukrainian military says Russian forces in the Kherson region plan to forcibly mobilise locals for war with Ukraine. (07:48 GMT) Vladimir Putin has hailed Russia's "liberation" of Mariupol after Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told him Moscow controlled the Ukrainian port city apart from the Azovstal steel plant. He ordered his forces not to storm the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in the besieged city but to block it instead. (08:49 GMT) Two dozen Syrian and Libyan 'mercenaries' killed in Ukraine: Official (08:55 GMT) Ukrainian fighters say they have destroyed three Russian tanks and three more armed vehicles in Mariupol, which Moscow claims to have liberated. Ukraine's far-right Azov Battalion said in a brief report on Telegram that the vehicles were destroyed "despite the ongoing situation." (09:32 GMT) Italy is obliged to stop buying Russian gas "soon for ethical reasons," as the payments are funding the Ukraine war, the country's Ecological Transition Minister Roberto Cingolani said in an interview with La Stampa newspaper. The minister is currently on a two-day trip to Angola and Congo Republic seeking energy deals to reduce Italy's dependency on Russia, which provides about 45% of its gas. (09:45 GMT) Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have arrived in Kiev to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy. (11:14 GMT) Russia has ordered the closure of the Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian consulates and asked their employees to leave in a retaliatory move. Russia's foreign ministry said it was closing the Latvian consulates in St Petersburg and Pskov, the Estonian consulate in St Petersburg and its office in Pskov, and the Lithuanian consulate in St Petersburg. Earlier in April, Latvia and Estonia each ordered the closure of two Russian consulates, while Lithuania told the Russian ambassador to leave. (11:30 GMT) Russian tanker impounded by Greece will be released. The 115,500-deadweight-tonnage Russian-flagged Pegas, with 19 Russian crew members on board, was impounded near Karystos, on the southern coast of Evia, as part of EU sanctions. (11:58 GMT) A further 51,000 Ukrainians flee war. A total of 5,085,360 Ukrainians have fled the country since February 24, the UNHCR has said. (13:52 GMT) Ukrainian PM Denys Shmyhal visited the White House before Joe Biden was due to deliver remarks on the next tranche of US aid for Ukraine (13:54 GMT) The UK set out further trade sanctions against Russia by expanding the list of products facing import bans and increasing tariffs, the government has said. The latest sanctions will include import bans on silver, wood products and high-end goods from Russia including caviar (14:11 GMT) US to give Ukraine another $500m to keep government running (14:16 GMT) Biden announces new $800m military package for Ukraine. "This package includes heavy artillery weapons, dozens of howitzers, and 144,000 rounds of ammunition to go with those howitzers. It also includes more tactical drones." (15:23 GMT) Russia has imposed a travel ban on US Vice President Kamala Harris, Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg and 27 other prominent Americans. (15:46 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has announced sanctions against 61 Canadian officials, journalists and military experts for supporting what it called the "Russophobic" stance of the Canadian administration. The list includes Special Operations Forces Commander Major-General Steve Boivin, Central Bank Governor Tiff Macklem as well as John Tory and Jim Watson, the mayors of Toronto and Ottawa. (16:52 GMT) Zelenskyy urges world to send more heavy weapons (18:59 GMT) Ukraine needs $7bn a month to function amid the devastating "economic losses" inflicted by Russia, Zelenskyy has said. (19:27 GMT) Russian forces captured 42 villages in the eastern Donetsk region on Thursday, but Ukraine might take them back, an aide to the chief of staff to Zelenskyy has told national television. (20:25 GMT) Xi Jinping has said his government supports negotiations and opposes the "wanton use" of sanctions to resolve international disputes, remarks seen as confirming that China is sticking to its stance of refusing to criticise Russia's invasion. China rejects "double standards, and oppose the wanton use of unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction". (20:42 GMT) Organisation of American States (OAS) suspends Russia's permanent observer status (20:44 GMT) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will host Ukraine-focused defence talks with allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on April 26 (21:05 GMT) Ukrainian troops begin training in Britain as Johnson steps up support. Britain is providing Ukraine 120 armoured patrol vehicles, including the Mastiff, which can be used as a reconnaissance or patrol vehicle. (21:49 GMT) Biden has tapped retired Lieutenant General Terry Wolff, a former three-star Army general and former National Security Council official during the Obama administration, to coordinate billions of dollars security assistance being sent into Ukraine. (22:15 GMT) Trudeau says Canada would support Sweden and Finland joining NATO 20220422 (00:05 GMT) As the human and financial cost of Russia's invasion in Ukraine mounts, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said looking to Russia for the funds needed to rebuild the country "is something we ought to be pursuing," the Associated Press reports. Zelenskyy has previously called on proceeds of Russia's sanctioned property and frozen Central Bank reserves to be used to compensate Ukraine for its losses. However, liquidating frozen assets, among other sanctioned property, would likely require congressional action. (01:29 GMT) 'This is the new Babyn Yar': Mariupol Mayor (01:37 GMT) Germany will give Ukraine 37 million euros ($40.12 m) for reconstruction (04:24 GMT) Russia's Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov called the decision by the Organization of American States (OAS) to suspend Russia as a permanent observer a "serious mistake" and a "deliberate campaign to isolate Russia at international platforms." "We are being punished for firmly defending our legitimate national interests and refusing to bend to others' will," he said. "Today, the OAS has become weaker. It alienated a reliable friend." (04:57 GMT) The Russian military has concentrated up to 25 battalion tactical groups, we well as several airborne forces, in the strategic area of Izyum, which links with the Donbas, the Ukrainian army reports in its latest update. From there, they aim to launch an offensive in the direction of the settlement of Zavody, in the Kharkiv region. Russian forces intensified their attacks along the entire line of combat in the Donetsk region and the town of Tavriya, in the Kherson region, and are advancing towards the city of Rubizhne. (05:27 GMT) US bans Russian ships from its ports "That no ship that sails under the Russian flag or that is owned or operated by a Russian entity, will be allowed to dock in a United States port or access our shores. None," Biden said. 07:37 GMT) Russian Olympic gold medallist Evgeny Rylov has been suspended for nine months after he attended a rally in Moscow in support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, swimming's world governing body FINA has said. Rylov, who won gold in 100 and 200 metres backstroke events at last year's Tokyo Olympics, was among several athletes who attended a massive rally at the Luzhniki stadium last month hosted by Putin. (07:43 GMT) Russia has lost some 21200 soldiers since war started, Ukraine's military says. Ukrainian forces also destroyed 838 tanks, 2,162 armored vehicles, 176 planes and 153 helicopters, the General Staff of Armed Forces said. (08:01 GMT) Russia says its air force struck 58 military targets (08:19 GMT) EU nations must not allow a new iron curtain to fall across the continent, Emmanuel Macron told France Inter, adding that it was important to take account of differing views within the bloc <=== towards Russia and the war in Ukraine. (08:47 GMT) Russia says it plans to take full control of Donbas and Southern Ukraine (08:55 GMT) There is no rule book which states when Germany could be considered a party to the war in Ukraine, said Chancellor Olaf Scholz when asked about Germany's decision to not deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine. "That's why it is all the more important that we consider each step very carefully and coordinate closely with one another," he told Der Spiegel. "To avoid an escalation towards NATO is a top priority for me." <== (09:01 GMT) Pope Francis's plan to meet with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill has been suspended, the pontifex (=pope) told an Argentine newspaper. (09:46 GMT) There are no changes to Russia's timetable for making foreign companies pay for gas in roubles, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, Peskov said all the timings for the payments were set out in Putin's presidential decree, and settlements should be carried out in line with that order. (11:22 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Ministry denounced plans announced by Russia to take full control of Donbas and southern Ukraine as "imperialism". "They stopped hiding it," the ministry said on Twitter. It said Russia had "acknowledged that the goal of the 'second phase' of the war is not victory over the mythical Nazis, but simply the occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine. Imperialism as it is." (12:08 GMT) While on a two-day visit to India, Boris Johnson indicated there may be no swift end before 2023 to the conflict in Ukraine because of the stiff resistance to Russia's invasion. (12:28 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it is "ready at any moment" to allow a ceasefire and a humanitarian corridor for civilians at Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant if Ukrainian soldiers were to raise white flags. "In response to the ongoing allegations by the Ukrainian side about the alleged presence of civilians at Azovstal, we once again declare that Russia is ready at any moment to introduce a regime of silence and announce a humanitarian pause for the evacuation of civilians" if they are in the plant. (16:22 GMT) "On Tuesday, April 26, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres will arrive in Moscow for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told state news agency RIA Novosti. "He will also be received by Russian President Vladimir Putin." (17:43 GMT) Moldova has summoned Moscow's envoy after a senior Russian commander said his country sought "control over the south of Ukraine" that could provide access to Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria. (19:37 GMT) Russian authorities have declared opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza (40) a "foreign agent" and ordered his pre-trial detention for allegedly spreading false information about the Russian army amid its military campaign in Ukraine. (21:16 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine's allies were finally delivering the weapons that Kyiv had asked for, adding the arms would help save the lives of thousands of people. Zelenskyy also said comments by a Russian commander about the need to link up with Moldova showed Moscow wanted to invade other countries. (21:36 GMT) Children in Kyiv, including evacuees from other parts of the country, decorated traditional Ukrainian Easter eggs - but this year they have taken on a more patriotic tone. "Many people are diverting from tradition a little, not drawing the usual images like stars, flowers," said Mariya Poshyvailo, who works at the Ivan Honchar Museum National Centre of Folk Culture. "Instead, they want to draw something current, like Ukraine's trident symbol, or write slogans like 'Glory to Ukraine', 'Glory to the Heroes'. What is close to them." (22:03 GMT) Canada says it has provided heavy artillery to Ukraine forces Canada has now delivered a number of M777 howitzers and associated ammunition to Ukrainian forces, and is finalising contracts for commercial pattern armoured vehicles that it will send to Ukraine as soon as possible. (22:26 GMT) Zelenskyy has warned residents in the south of Ukraine to "be very careful" as Russian forces might attempt to register them to hold and falsify a "so-called referendum" on the status of the south of the country. "I urge residents in the southern regions of Ukraine - the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions - to be very careful about what information you give the invaders. If they ask you to fill out some questionnaires, put your passport details somewhere, then know that this is not to help you," (23:49 GMT) Indonesia's President Joko Widodo has announced the country will ban all exports of palm oil, the world's most widely-used vegetable oil and an ingredient in products from ice cream to shampoo. 20220423 (05:12 GMT) Britain's defence ministry says Russian forces have made "no major gains" in the past 24 hours "despite increased activity". (08:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces had shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet and destroyed three MI-8 helicopters at an airfield in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. There was no immediate reaction from Ukraine regarding the Russian claims. (11:23 GMT) Russia resumes offensive against Ukrainian forces in Azovstal (11:48 GMT) Russia says it plans to deploy its newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of mounting nuclear strikes against the United States, by autumn. Sarmat is capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys, and of striking targets thousands of kilometres away in the United States or Europe. Dmitry Rogozin, head of the Roscosmos space agency, the missiles would be deployed with a unit in the Krasnoyarsk region of Siberia, 3,000km east of Moscow. (12:40 GMT) Missile strikes infrastructure of Ukraine's Odesa: City council (14:42 GMT) At least five people - including a three-month-old infant - were killed and 18 wounded in a series of missile strikes on. A Ukraine official said Russian forces fired at least six cruise missiles at the city. Ukraine's southern air command earlier said two missiles struck a military facility and two residential buildings in Odesa. (15:55 GMT) A video released by the Azov regiment of Ukraine's National Guard - part of a group currently holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol - shows women and children sheltering underground with some hiding there in tunnels for up to two months. (16:50 GMT) UK confirms supply of vehicles, drones and anti-tank weapons to Ukraine (17:00 GMT) Russia used high precision missiles to destroy a logistics terminal in Odesa where a large number of weapons supplied by the United States and European nations were being stored, the defence ministry said. In an online post, it also said Russian forces had killed up to 200 Ukrainian troops and destroyed more than 30 vehicles, some of them armoured. (17:14 GMT) Turkey has closed its airspace to Russian civilian and military planes flying to Syria, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Saturday. "We closed the airspace to Russia's military planes - and even civilian ones - flying to Syria. They had until April, and we asked in March." (18:31 GMT) Zelenskyy said that foreign countries would sponsor different Ukrainian regions as part of a post-war reconstruction plan. (19:02 GMT) The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it was working to secure the release of a number of Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) members who had been detained in eastern Ukraine. "The OSCE is extremely concerned that a number of SMM national mission members have been deprived of their liberty in Donetsk and Luhansk. The OSCE is using all available channels to facilitate the release of its staff." (22:35 GMT) Vladimir Putin has attended an Easter mass in Moscow conducted by the Russian Orthodox Church, which has strongly backed the Kremlin leader's "special military operation" in Ukraine. (22:52 GMT) Ukraine asks IAEA for equipment to operate its nuclear power plants This includes radiation measurement devices, protective material, computer-related assistance, power supply systems and diesel generators. (23:25 GMT) Poland and Ukraine have signed an agreement increasing cooperation in the railway transport sector, aiming to help Kyiv maintain its trade exchange with foreign countries as the Russian invasion affects its ports 20220424 (00:13 GMT) Germany's former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has rejected criticism of his work as a lobbyist for Russian energy companies since leaving office in 2005, telling the New York Times: "I don't do mea culpa." In an interview with the newspaper, Schroeder called the war in Ukraine "a mistake" and said atrocities need to be investigated. But he said that he did not believe that his long-time friend President Vladimir Putin himself ordered killings of civilians such as those allegedly committed by Russian troops in Bucha. (01:11 GMT) Zelenskyy urges Asian nations to support Ukraine (01:43 GMT) "If our people in Mariupol are killed, if pseudo-referendums are announced in new pseudo-republics, Ukraine will withdraw from all negotiations," Zelenskyy said during a news briefing. (03:12 GMT) Ukraine's military says it destroyed a Russian command post in Kherson, a southern city that fell to Russian forces early in the war. The Ukrainian military intelligence agency posted a statement saying the command post was hit on Friday and two generals were killed and one was critically wounded. Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Zelenskyy, said in an online interview that 50 senior Russian officers were in the command center when it came under attack, and their fate was unknown. (04:19 GMT) German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has said that Berlin must do everything in its power to help Ukraine win the war against Russia but without endangering its own security and NATO's defence capability. (04:33 GMT) Ukrainian forces have shot down two Russian cruise missiles that were flying in the direction of a port near the southern city of Odesa, according to the city council. The missiles were "launched from the Black Sea area by a Russian ship and were flying towards the port of Pivdennyi" (05:24 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says his country has supplied Ukraine with more than $1.6bn worth of weapons since the invasion began. Polish media says the it includes 40 tanks and around 60 armoured cars. (06:18 GMT) Russia has deployed Iskander-M mobile battlefield missile launchers within 60 km of the Ukrainian border, according to Ukraine's military. (06:31 GMT) Switzerland has held up German arms deliveries to Ukraine by blocking the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition used in Marder infantry fighting vehicles that Kyiv would like to get, Swiss paper SonntagsZeitung has reported. The Marder, made by German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, uses ammunition manufactured in Switzerland, the paper said. Switzerland restricts re-export of such war materiel to conflict zones. (08:59 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its high-precision missiles struck nine Ukrainian military targets overnight, including four arms depots in the Kharkiv region where artillery weapons were stored. The ministry also said its missile and artillery forces destroyed a further four such arms depots in the same region and hit a facility in Dnipropetrovsk region producing explosives for the Ukrainian army. (10:51 GMT) The working of the Russian embassy in Washington, DC is "blockaded", with its bank accounts closed and staff receiving threats, state news agency RIA cited ambassador Anatoly Antonov as saying. "The embassy is in essence blockaded by US government entities. Accounts of our two consulates in Houston and New York have been closed by Bank of America. We receive threats both by phone and letters come ... At some point even the exit from the embassy was blocked," (11:54 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will press India over its neutral stance on the Ukraine war after arriving in the country for trade, security and climate talks. Narendra Modi's government has not openly condemned the Kremlin or backed a UN Security Council vote that deplored Moscow's "aggression". (13:23 GMT) The UK has said "it would be good to see more from France and Germany" to support the Ukraine war effort, warning that a Russian victory has "always been a possibility". (13:58 GMT) Almost 5.2 million Ukrainians flee war: UNHCR (15:44 GMT) Russia has said a village in its Belgorod region bordering Ukraine was shelled from across the frontier. Local official Vladimir Pertsev said there were no casualties or damage after one projectile landed in a field, according to TASS. (18:47 GMT) Bulgarian journalist Christo Grozev notes on Twitter that a "Ukrainian heavy-transport Antonov plane just landed" in Bulgaria's capital Sofia, according to a flight-tracking website. "Bulgaria has been secretly supplying ammo to Ukraine via a 'third country', in an attempt to prevent disintegration of the coalition government due to the Socialists' adamant pro-Kremlin objection to arms exports," "Bulgaria has the all-important large caliber (152) shells in quantities that can support Ukraine's defense for months. But secret supplies can only get Ukraine a streak, so Ukraine has been pushing for official sales. Maybe it worked. We'll find out soon." (20:22 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin have arrived in Kyiv and are holding talks with Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Zelenskyy, has said on social media. (23:42 GMT) The continuation of the war in Ukraine and killing of people and children "makes it clear that the current sanctions policy is insufficient", Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak has said. "It needs to be strengthened. It needs to be updated, new sanctions need to be developed constantly," 20220425 (00:19 GMT) The EU is preparing "smart sanctions" against Russian oil imports, The Times has reported, citing the European Commission's executive VP, Valdis Dombrovskis. "We are working on a sixth sanctions package and one of the issues we are considering is some form of an oil embargo. When we are imposing sanctions, we need to do so in a way that maximises pressure on Russia while minimising collateral damage on ourselves." (00:54 GMT) "Tanks caught fire at an oil depot in Bryansk," TASS cited the government of Bryansk. It also cited the Ministry of Emergency Situations as confirming the fire. "There is also confirmation that these are tanks," Earlier on social media, locals reported explosions and posted videos of a fire on the outskirts of Bryansk. The city lies about 400 km southwest of Moscow and is the administrative centre of the Bryansk region which borders with the Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine. In mid-April Russia accused Ukraine of shelling the town of Klimovo in the Bryansk region and allegedly causing casualties. (01:34 GMT) Nine Russian missiles hit infrastructure facilities in the city of Kremenchuk, Poltava region, on Sunday evening," the head of the Poltava regional military administration, Dmytro Lunin, reported. Kremenchuk is the administrative centre of the Poltava region, east of Kyiv. (02:32 GMT) Aleksey Pushkov told state newspaper Izvestia that the EU's plan to phase out Russian fossil fuels by 2027 "is a recognition of the impossibility of ensuring the functioning of the economy of Germany and a number of other European countries without supplies from Russia." He added sanctions will be unable to strangle Russia'a economy for two reasons. "The first is rise of hydrocarbon prices which will provide Russia with a record budget surplus. The second is the long-term nature of restrictions, which gives Russia enough time to adapt to new conditions. All this makes it impossible for the Russian economy to collapse." (04:10 GMT) Blinken and Austin told Zelenskyy and his advisers that the US would provide more than $300m in foreign military financing and had approved a $165m sale of ammunition, and promised that its diplomats will return to the western city of Lviv in the coming week. (04:57 GMT) Russia is using a special rescue ship to lift its sunken warship Moskva from the seabed, Ukraine's news channel Espreso reports, citing German newspaper Bild. "Due to the size of the Moskva (187 meters in length), the 110-year-old Kommuna is unlikely to be able to lift the sunken cruiser from the depths completely, but there will be attempts to save the ship's anti-ship and anti-aircraft missiles, as well as secret documents and military equipment." Other publications such as Forbes say the Kommuna is only attempting to rescue sensitive materials from the ship. (05:39 GMT) Entire region under heavy shelling, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said (05:40 GMT) Moscow sent a note to Washington demanding it stops supplying weapons to Kyiv, Russia's Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, said in an interview with the Russia-24 TV channel. "$800 million, for this [amount of] weapons will be supplied to Kyiv from Washington. This is a huge figure, it does not contribute to finding a diplomatic solution, resolving the situation," Antonov said. "Did we pass a note - yes, we emphasised the unacceptability of the situation when the United States are stuffing Ukraine with weapons, we demanded an end to this practice." Antonov added that the US was "trying to raise the stakes even more and aggravate the situation". (06:57 GMT) Russian air defence systems shot down two Ukrainian drones in Russia's Kursk region which borders Ukraine, Governor Roman Starovoyt wrote (07:01 GMT) The German defence company Rheinmetall has requested approval to export 100 old Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The deal will have to be approved by Germany's national security council, a committee chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz that meets in secret session. (07:20 GMT) The US defence chief says Lloyd Austin Ukrainians can win against Russia with the right equipment and support. "We believe that they can win. They can win if they have the right equipment, the right support. And we're going to do everything we can, continue to do everything we had to ensure that they get it." (08:01 GMT) Russian forces stormed Popasna, a town of 20,000 in the southeastern Luhansk region, Ukraine's General Staff of Armed Forces has said. (08:27 GMT) Azovstal under fire: Ukraine's military (08:28 GMT) As Russian forces are pressing into the eastern city of Slovyansk, Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford said that the nearby town of Lyman was already under heavy attack. (08:35 GMT) Russia has struck and destroyed the Kremenchug oil refinery and Ukrainian military installations, the defence ministry said, TASS news agency has reported. Russian air defense systems shot down a dozen Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas in the Kharkiv region, it added. (08:58 GMT) Five railway stations in central and western Ukraine were hit by Russian forces early morning, the country's railway service's chief Oleksandr Kamyshin has said. (09:11 GMT) Russia has warned the US against sending more arms to Ukraine, Moscow's ambassador to Washington told Russian state television. "We stressed the unacceptability of this situation when the United States of America pours weapons into Ukraine, and we demanded an end to this practice," Anatoly Antonov said in an interview with the Rossiya 24 TV. (09:14 GMT) Russian cruise missiles hit two towns in the southwestern Ukrainian region of Vinnytsia, its governor said, adding that "sites of critical infrastructure" were hit in the towns of Zhmerynka and Kozyatin. (10:20 GMT) Russia said it would investigate the cause of a large fire that erupted in the early hours of the morning at an oil storage facility in the city of Bryansk, 154km northeast of the border with Ukraine. Unverified social media footage showed what sounded like two explosions followed by a tower of flames, with one showing a fire raging around a giant fuel reservoir. (10:22 GMT) Russia to open Azovstal humanitarian corridor (10:55 GMT) Putin said that Moscow's security forces thwarted an assassination attempt against a Russian journalist. He also pointed at foreign special services, including the CIA, working in conjunction with Ukrainian forces to murder Russian journalists. Putin also said that provocations against the Russian military using foreign media must be stopped. He suggested that Western military support to Ukraine was a "strange diplomacy". (11:45 GMT) Joe Biden named Bridget Brink, currently represents the US in Slovakia, as the new ambassador to Ukraine. This must be confirmed by the Senate. (12:32 GMT) Ukraine has not reached any agreement with Russia on establishing a humanitarian corridor to evacuate civilians from the southern city of Mariupol, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshschuk said. "It is important to understand that a humanitarian corridor opens by the agreement of both sides. A corridor announced unilaterally does not provide security, and therefore is not a humanitarian corridor." 12:50 GMT) The US Department of State supports the approval of a possible sale of $165m worth of ammunition to Ukraine, it said in a statement. The Ukrainian government has asked to buy so-called non-standard ammunition, which are those that do not adhere to NATO standards. (12:57 GMT) Russia's main intelligence service reportedly said that Ukraine hired "neo-Nazis" to "assassinate" outspoken pro-Kremlin television anchor Vladimir Solovyev. The Federal Security Service claimed in a statement published by the RIA Novosti news agency that Russian members of the outlawed National Socialism/White Power neo-Nazi group were hired by Ukraine's intelligence service to kill Solovyev. (13:33 GMT) Russia expels 40 German diplomats in tit-for-tat move (13:41 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov and Washington's ambassador to Moscow John Sullivan discussed bilateral issues at a meeting on Monday, Russia's foreign ministry has said. (14:01 GMT) Germany will take on an additional 39.2bn euros ($42.1bn) of debt in 2022 to counter the economic impact of the war in Ukraine, sources in the finance ministry have said. The additional debt package, set to be put to the cabinet on Wednesday, will raise the total of new borrowing for the year to 138.9bn euros. (14:14 GMT) Moscow has deployed eight warships near Ukraine's Black Sea coast, Defence Ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk has said. (14:53 GMT) Finland, Sweden to begin NATO application in May, local media reports (14:54 GMT) Britain to send Stormer armoured vehicles to Ukraine British assessments showed that around 15,000 Russian personnel had been killed in the conflict while 2,000 armoured vehicles including some 530 tanks had been destroyed, along with 60 helicopters and fighter jets. (16:16 GMT) Ukraine's military command has said that Russia was trying to bomb Ukraine's rail infrastructure in order to disrupt arms supplies from foreign countries. "To do this, they focus strikes on railway junctions" (17:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its high-precision missiles destroyed six facilities powering the railways that were used to supply Ukrainian forces with foreign weapons. (20:09 GMT) Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that peace talks with Ukraine would continue, but warned there was a "real" danger of a World War III. Speaking to Russian news agencies, he criticised Kyiv's approach to the talks, adding: "Goodwill has its limits. But if it isn't reciprocal, that doesn't help the negotiation process." (21:16 GMT) US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said he expected "swift, bipartisan" passage of another bill to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia, once Biden submits a new funding request. "I expect swift bipartisan cooperation to get it done," he added. (21:39 GMT) Britain is providing Ukraine with new ambulances, fire engines, medical supplies and funding for health experts to help its emergency services deal with the aftermath of Russian attacks, the government has said. (21:52 GMT) Russia wants to reduce all chances of "artificially" elevating the risk of nuclear conflict, Lavrov has said in a television interview. "This is our key position on which we base everything. The risks now are considerable," he told Russia's state television. (22:02 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Russia will not be able to win the war against his country and called on residents to do everything to make the presence of Russian troops in Ukraine "unbearable". He said Russia will lose the war but in order to make Russia seek peace Ukrainians must think of how to make "the presence of occupiers [in] our land even more unbearable". "Ukraine is ready for peace ... But in order to make Russia seek peace, every Ukrainian man and woman must fight, must defend freedom. Because every day of the fight will add years and years to the peaceful life after this war, after our victory," (22:14 GMT) Deliveries of Western weaponry to Ukraine mean that the NATO alliance is "in essence engaged in war with Russia" and Moscow views these weapons as legitimate targets, Lavrov has said. "These weapons will be a legitimate target for Russia's military acting within the context of the special operation," the foreign minister told state television. "Storage facilities in western Ukraine have been targeted more than once [by Russian forces]. How can it be otherwise?" "NATO, in essence, is engaged in a war with Russia through a proxy and is arming that proxy. War means war." (22:44 GMT) The United States will host Ukraine-focused "defence" talks at Ramstein, which are expected to bring together more than 40 countries. US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a key goal of the event at Ramstein Air Base was to synchronise and coordinate mounting security assistance to Kyiv that includes heavy weaponry, like howitzer artillery, as well as armed drones and ammunition. "The next several weeks will be very, very critical," Milley told reporters. "They need continued support in order to be successful on the battlefield. And that's really the purpose of this conference." (23:33 GMT) The UK is removing all tariffs covered by the UK-Ukraine trade deal and hitting the Putin government with fresh sanctions, the government says. (23:40 GMT) Russian troops fired four times at the Sumy region from Russian territory over the evening, Ostrov reports, citing the State Border Service. (23:48 GMT) NATO must not be cowed by President Putin's threat to use nuclear weapons and should send troops to establish a base for military and humanitarian supplies in Ukraine, a former US commander in Europe told The Times. General Philip Breedlove, Supreme Commander Europe from 2013 to 2016, said it was time to stand up to Putin by putting boots on the ground in Ukraine. "We must respect the fact that Putin might use nukes but we shouldn't be paralysed by it," 20220426 (00:09 GMT) Zelenskyy has praised the Ukrainian people for withstanding Russia's attack. "In two months, they used more than 1100 missiles against us. Countless bombs and artillery. They tortured, robbed, executed. They mined our land. Peaceful cities and villages were turned into hell." (00:50 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will start a difficult three-day trip to Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday amid criticism for the limited role played by the United Nations in the management of the crisis. (00:57 GMT) Three NATO warships arrived in the southwestern Finnish port of Turku on Monday 20220425 to train with Finland's navy as Helsinki considers the possibility of joining the US-led alliance amid increased tensions with Russia over Ukraine, Reuters reports. Latvian minelayer LVNS Virsaitis and minehunters Estonian ENS Sakala and Dutch HNLMS Schiedam will train with two minehunters from Finland's coastal fleet, the Finnish defence forces said in a statement. (01:17 GMT) Elevator manufacturer Otis Worldwide Corp. announced Monday it is seeking alternatives to business in Russia, The Associated Press reports. "We have growing concerns about the long-term sustainability of Otis' operations in Russia, especially with mounting regulations and supply chain disruptions," Otis Chief Executive Judith Marks said (01:25 GMT) Russia's aggression in Ukraine is a direct threat to Europe's security, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to India on Monday, the Associated Press reports. "Targeting and killing innocent civilians. Redrawing borders by force. Subjugating the will of a free people. This goes against core principles enshrined in the UN Charter. In Europe, we see Russia's aggression as a direct threat to our security," von der Leyen said in a speech to the Raisina Dialogue, a geopolitics conference in New Delhi. (02:36 GMT) Russia is checking whether the Wikimedia Foundation falls under the "Law on foreign persons' activities on the internet in Russia", Russia's state news agency TASS reports. It cited a message from the Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, abbreviated Roskomnadzor, which said it had requested the daily number of Russian users of Wikipedia. If the company has over 500,000 daily users, the law stipulates "it must create a branch, open a representative office or establish a Russian legal entity that fully represents the interests of the parent company and is the main channel for its interaction with Russian regulators in the Russian Federation." (02:41 GMT) Moscow has accused Croatia of having an anti-Russian policy for failing to provide "humanitarian" passage for 24 Russian diplomats and embassy staff who were expelled from the country over the war in Ukraine. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Monday that the government of Croatia is "systematically destroying bilateral relations," (03:29 GMT) The White House says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin was referring to Washington's determination to prevent Russia from subsuming Ukraine when he said he wanted to see Moscow "weakened". "The president's view and Secretary Austin's view that we are going to do everything we can to push back on President Putin's aspirations to subsume Ukraine, to take over their territorial integrity and their sovereignty, and aspirations he had as of two months ago to go beyond that," said Jen Psaki, the White House spokeswoman. (04:12 GMT) The 193 members of the UN General Assembly are set to vote on a resolution that would require the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto in future. Discussions of veto reform are rare and controversial. The measure was introduced by Liechtenstein. Around 60 countries, including the US have joined in co-sponsoring the reform. (04:51 GMT) Earlier this month Putin elivered a crisp message to leaders of his country's energy sector: they needed to plan for a decline in Western imports by shifting focus to Asia. But a cocktail of infrastructure limitations, political pressure and poor economic demand could prevent Asian markets from absorbing energy supplies that would otherwise be headed to Europe if Brussels indeed bans all Russian hydrocarbons. (06:16 GMT) India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar says his country is prepared to take a much bigger role in global affairs and would help the world with more supplies of wheat if trade rules allowed. (07:25 GMT) British armed forces minister James Heappey has said he did not think there was an imminent threat of escalation in the war in Ukraine. "Lavrov's trademark over the course of 15 years or so that he has been the Russian foreign secretary has been that sort of bravado. I don't think that right now there is an imminent threat of escalation." Earlier Lavrov told the world not to underestimate the considerable risks of nuclear conflict and said NATO's supply of weapons to Ukraine meant that the Western alliance was engaged in a proxy war with Russia. (07:27 GMT) Germany will pledge to supply Gepard anti-aircraft systems to Ukraine, daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung has reported, in what would be a clear switch in Berlin's cautious policy on military backing for Kyiv. (07:36 GMT) Two radio antennae in the Moldovan breakaway region of Transdniestria have been damaged by blasts, the interior ministry has said. "In the early morning of April 26, two explosions occurred in the village of Maiac, Grigoriopol district: the first at 6:40 and the second at 7:05." The blasts follow a series of explosions on Monday that tore through the ministry of state security in Tiraspol, the capital of Moldova's separatist-controlled region where Russia bases about 1,500 soldiers. ( moldova is in the OSCE, but not in NATO or EU ) The explosions damaged old Soviet-era radio antennae that broadcast Russian radio from a village in Transnistria, say local authorities. (08:20 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces struck over 90 military targets in Ukraine overnight, killing at least 500 soldiers and destroying dozens of armoured vehicles, artillery and other military equipment. The ministry also said its troops had hit two ammunition depots in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. (08:38 GMT) Norway will allocate 400 million crowns ($44m) to a British-led initiative for buying weapons for Ukraine, the country's prime minister Jonas Gahr Store says. (08:54 GMT) The Belarusian defence ministry has announced that Russia and Belarus will hold joint drills involving their respective air forces and air defence forces. (08:55 GMT) Kadri Simson, the EU's energy policy chief, says a sixth package of sanctions against Russia is expected to be agreed upon "very soon". (09:10 GMT) Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen says US is "clearly trying to give a signal to Europe mainly, but also other countries, to prop up military support for Ukraine" at the meeting of defence ministers in Germany. "The US is trying to build this broad coalition of more than 40 countries which goes beyond NATO to include countries from Asia, Africa and the Middle East," (09:19 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has kicked off talks in Germany with officials from more than 40 other countries by expressing confidence that Ukraine can prevail against Russia in the two-month-old conflict. (09:24 GMT) UNHCR expects 8 million Ukrainians to flee as refugees (5.2m so far) (09:42 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow, says Guterres will attempt to persuade Russia to agree to a truce in Ukraine during his visit to Moscow. "The secretary-general is going to try and convey the urgency of any kind of a ceasefire that can be had, even if it is a very short-lived one, to try and get as much aid and humanitarian assistance to the areas that are most affected in Ukraine." "There is a sense of urgency ... and according to the latest figures from the UN, they have now doubled their request for humanitarian aid to Ukraine to $2.25bn." (10:34 GMT) Breakaway Moldovan region Transnistria has raised its "terrorist threat level" to red and introduced checkpoints after several blasts in the region, according to a report by the country's official news agency. The Russia-backed region has been hit by several attacks in the past day, local authorities claim, after a military unit was targeted, blasts took place at Transdniestria's state security HQ and two explosions damaged old Soviet-era radio antennae. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/26/five-things-to-know-about-russian-backed-transnistria (11:11 GMT) Russia expels three Swedish diplomats in tit-for-tat move (13:47 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council has said that Western and Ukrainian government policy is leading towards the break-up of Ukraine. Nikolai Patrushev was quoted by government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta as saying that Russia's neighbour would collapse into several states due to the positions being adopted by Kyiv and its allies. (14:13 GMT) Ukrainian official accuses Moscow of trying to destabilise Transnistria ( PJB: li fatti son negati ) (14:35 GMT) Kyiv has begun dismantling a Soviet-era 'Friendship of Peoples' statue that was installed to celebrate the ties between the people of Russia and Ukraine. (14:52 GMT) Ukraine warns against attempts to drag Transnistria into war (PJB: 0/10) (15:08 GMT) Washington and Kyiv are "largely aligned" on what Ukraine needs to continue its fight against Russia's invasion, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. (15:24 GMT) The United States and its allies will meet once a month to discuss Ukraine's defence needs to battle invading Russian troops, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said. (15:47 GMT) Switzerland's government says it has vetoed the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition used in Gepard anti-aircraft tanks that Germany is sending to Ukraine. The Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) confirmed it had received two requests from Berlin to transfer to Ukraine ammunition it had previously received from Switzerland. One concerned 35mm ammunition for the Gepard tank, the Reuters news agency quoted SECO as saying, and the other concerned 12.7mm ammunition. "Both inquiries by Germany as to whether the ammunition received from Switzerland may be transferred to Ukraine were answered in the negative with reference to Swiss neutrality and the mandatory rejection criteria of Swiss war material legislation," SECO said. (16:07 GMT) The leader of Transnistria Vadim Krasnoselsky has suggested elements in Ukraine were to blame for a series of recent attacks in the region. "As the first conclusions of urgent operational and investigative measures suggest, these attacks can be traced to Ukraine ... I presume that those who plotted these attacks pursue the goal of drawing Transnistria into the conflict. I can say for sure that these attempts will fail," Tass news agency reported, according to a statement posted by Krasnoselsky's press office. Moreover, he called on the Ukrainian government "to investigate the facts of the illegal relocation of particular combat groups and the terror attacks that they committed", Tass wrote. (16:20 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Austin has welcomed Germany's decision to, for the first time, send heavy weapons to Ukraine. "I think it's significant that Germany announced that it is going to provide 50 Cheetah systems," Austin said after talks at Ramstein base in Germany, calling the Gepard anti-aircraft guns by their English name. (17:03 GMT) The Dutch government will provide a "limited number" of armoured howitzers to Ukraine to support its war effort, ANP has reported. The howitzers, described as among the most powerful the Dutch army has, are to be delivered in cooperation with Germany, the report said. (17:34 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has informed Poland's PGNiG that it will halt gas supplies along the Yamal pipeline at 08:00 CET (06:00 GMT) on Wednesday, PGNiG said in a statement published on Tuesday. (17:43 GMT) France says it fully backed the territorial integrity of Moldova after a series of blasts in a Russian-backed separatist region raised fears of a spillover from the war in Ukraine. Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his Moldovan counterpart Nicu Popescu that France was "worried" about the reports of explosions in the over the last two days. (18:44 GMT) President Zuzana Caputova of Slovakia in a video has addressed invading Russian forces urging them to stop the war in Ukraine. (19:07 GMT) The US Department of State has criticised Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments about the potential of a nuclear war, saying loose talk about nuclear escalation was the "height of irresponsibility". (19:50 GMT) The US State Department spokesperson has said Washington is seeking a "strategic defeat" for Moscow in Ukraine that would leave Russia economically weaker and more isolated internationally. "When we talk about strategic defeat, we're talking about Moscow's positioning in the international system," Ned Price told reporters. (20:13 GMT) British PM Boris Johnson says the UK does not want war "to escalate beyond Ukraine's borders," rejecting an allegation by Moscow that the West is fighting a proxy conflict with Russia. But Johnson said Ukrainians "are being attacked from within Russian territory" and "have a right to protect and defend themselves" by striking inside Russia. (20:15 GMT) The Canadian government will change its sanctions law to allow for seized and sanctioned foreign assets to be redistributed as compensation to victims or to help in rebuilding a foreign state from war, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said. "These changes would make Canada's sanctions regime the first in the G7 to allow these actions." (20:48 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has told Bulgaria that similar to steps taken against Poland, it will halt its shipments of gas to the country from Wednesday. "Bulgargaz received a notification today, April 26, that natural gas supplies from Gazprom Export will be suspended starting April 27," Bulgaria's economy ministry said late Tuesday in a statement. "The Bulgarian side has fully met its obligations and has made all payments required under its current contract in a timely manner, strictly and in accordance with its terms." (PJB ie: not in rubles) (21:04 GMT) Ukraine slams Russian threat as 'gas blackmail' (21:53 GMT) Tom Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at data intelligence firm ICIS, has said Russia's threat to suspend gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria is "a seismic warning shot". "Poland has had an anti-Russia and anti-Gazprom stance for a number of years, which is not the case for Bulgaria, so to see Bulgaria also be cut off is also quite a development in its own right," he told the Reuters news agency. (22:05 GMT) A Soviet-era monument symbolising friendship between Russia and Ukraine was dismantled in Kyiv, the city's mayor has said. The statue depicted a Ukrainian and Russian worker on a plinth, holding aloft together a Soviet order of friendship. The statue was located underneath the People's Friendship Arch, erected in 1982 to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the Soviet Union. (22:50 GMT) Seventy-three% of Americans support US efforts to supply Ukraine with weapons, the highest level of support since Russia's invasion began, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll. (23:32 GMT) Putin agrees 'in principle' to UN role in Mariupol evacuations (23:37 GMT) Zelenskyy has said his army is "ready for a possible escalation in the temporarily occupied territory" of Moldova. He made his comments in a press conference after meeting with IAEA Director Rafael Mariano in Kyiv, after a series of attacks targeted sites in Transnistria, a Russian-backed breakaway region in Moldova which borders Ukraine. He added he knew the Russian troops in Transnistria were in a state of "constant readiness" and that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were "ready for this" and "are not afraid of them." 20220427 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcp0TYx_eUI Col. Richard Black: The U.S. is Leading the World to Nuclear War 20220427_col_richard_black_US_leading_world_to_nuclear_war.webm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Black_(politician) http://www.senatorblack.com/ (00:01 GMT) Australia has announced it will send six M777 howitzers, and ammunition for the long-range weapons, to Ukraine after being asked to do so by the United States and the Ukrainian embassies. The latest package is worth AUD$26.7 million (US$19 m), taking Australia's military aid to the war-torn country to more than $225 million (US$160 m). (01:11 GMT) Russia hit Azovstal with 35 airstrikes in past day: Ukraine officials. "Russia has drastically intensified strikes over the past 24 hours and is using heavy bunker bombs," said Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor, on Tuesday. (01:16 GMT) Russian missiles knocked out a strategic railroad bridge along a route that links southern Ukraine's Odesa port region to neighbouring Romania, a NATO member, Ukrainian authorities said. No injuries were reported. (01:25 GMT) Russia is investigating the "installation of explosive devices by neo-Nazis in Mykolaiv," state news agency TASS reports, citing a Telegram post of The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation. "According to the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation, in Nikolaev [Mykolaiv], near an aircraft repair plant, neo-Nazis have installed radio-controlled explosive devices with damaging elements that they plan to detonate in a mass gathering of people and blame the Russian military for this." (01:53 GMT) A series of blasts was heard in the early hours of Wednesday in the Russian city Belgorod near the Ukrainian border, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. Gladkov said the authorities were trying to establish the location and cause of the explosions. (02:09 GMT) The 193 members of the United Nations General Assembly have adopted by consensus a resolution requiring the five permanent members of the Security Council to justify their use of the veto. The measure is intended to make veto-holders the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom "pay a higher political price" when they use the veto to strike down a Security Council resolution, said one ambassador who asked to remain anonymous. (02:18 GMT) Russia's largest energy corporation Gazprom hasn't confirmed that the supply of Russian gas to Poland has been stopped, state news agency TASS has reported citing the company's spokesman Sergey Kupriyanov. (03:20 GMT) Ukraine's army now has full control of three settlements in the Mykolaiv region, an adviser to the head of Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs has said. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine have returned full control over three villages west of Snihurivka: Shirokoye, Lyubino and Novopetrivka," Anton Gerashchenko said on Telegram. (06:25 GMT) Russia's state energy giant Gazprom says it has completely suspended gas supplies to the Bulgarian company Bulgargaz and the Polish PGNiG as neither had paid on time in roubles. (07:26 GMT) 'Ukraine is strengthening' after US, allies promise more heavy weaponry: Ukrainian presidential Mykhailo Podolyak, following taks at Rammstein (07:58 GMT) Ukraine's army says Russian forces took over two towns in the country's southeast. They seized the town of Zarichne as part of their assault on the northern part of the Donetsk region, the General Staff of Armed Forces said, and Russian troops also entered the town of Novotoshkivske that stands on the road linking separatist-controlled Luhansk with the Kyiv-controlled town of Lysychansk. (08:08 GMT) Bulgarian Prime Minister Kiril Petkov says Russia's warning it was shutting off gas supplies to Bulgaria over demands to pay in roubles is a "grave breach of a current contract and amounts to blackmail" Petkov said Bulgaria was reviewing all of its contracts with Gazprom, including for transit of Russian gas to Serbia and Hungary, <=== because "one-sided blackmail was not acceptable". (08:24 GMT) Switzerland's government says it has approved an agreement that will enable it to exchange sensitive information with the United States-led NATO transatlantic military alliance. Such agreements make it possible, among other things, for Swiss companies to apply for contracts with classified content that are advertised by NATO. (08:44 GMT) An aide to Zelenskyy has described explosions heard in three Russian provinces bordering Ukraine on Wednesday as "karma" and linked them to payback for Moscow's offensive. Mykhailo Podolyak stopped short of acknowledging Kyiv was responsible for the incidents, however. "The reasons for the destruction of the military infrastructure in (Russian) border areas can be quite varied," he said in a post on Telegram, adding that "sooner or later the debts will have to be repaid" when one country decides to attack another country. (09:04 GMT) Transnistria's interior ministry says shots were fired from Ukrainian territory overnight towards a village in the Russia-backed breakaway region that houses a large ammunition depot. The ministry also said that it had detected drones that it alleged were launched from Ukraine. While internationally recognised as part of Moldova, Transnistria has been under the control of separatist authorities since 1992, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. Russia has an estimated 1,500 soldiers in the region, which Kyiv fears could be used as a launchpad for new attacks on Ukraine. (09:32 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have struck an arms depot in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region with Kalibr missiles. The ministry said the depot was housing weapons from the United States and European countries provided to Kyiv. It added its air force had destroyed a total of 59 Ukrainian military targets overnight. (11:05 GMT) Russia has imposed personal restrictions on 287 British members of parliament and banned them from entering the country, accusing them of fuelling "unwarranted Russophobic hysteria", the country's foreign ministry has announced. The ministry said the sanctions on members of House of Commons were a response to UK imposing similar restrictions on 386 members of its lower house of parliament on March 11. (11:40 GMT) The head of the United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO has announced that Russia had quit the international agency just as its member states were preparing to vote on its suspension over its invasion. (13:05 GMT) >Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo has invited him to the G20 summit set to be held in the Southeast Asian country later this year. (13:38 GMT) EU chief warns paying for Russian gas in roubles will breach sanctions (14:16 GMT) Putin has warned that any countries attempting to "interfere" in Ukraine will be faced with a swift response from Moscow. (14:32 GMT) Moscow says it is expelling eight Japanese diplomats in a tit-for-tat response to expulsions by Tokyo. (14:49 GMT) Moscow has freed Trevor Reed, a former American marine held in a Russian prison, in exchange for Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, who was serving a 20-year prison sentence in the United States. (16:15 GMT) Shell has tightened its restrictions on buying Russian oil, saying it would no longer accept refined products with any Russian content, including blended fuels. (17:10 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced his arrival in Kyiv following talks in Moscow with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (18:03 GMT) Spain has barred from its waters a Maltese ship carrying cargo from a Russian vessel, in line with EU sanctions over the Ukraine invasion, according to the Spanish transport ministry. "The Maltese-flagged ship Black Star is denied access to Spanish territorial waters because there is evidence that it was carrying cargo transferred from the Russian ship Andrey Pervozvanniy, which is subject to EU sanctions," (18:40 GMT) The European Commission is advising EUcountries to stick to the euro or dollar currencies in their existing gas contracts with Russia and not pay for gas in roubles, according to energy policy chief Kadri Simson. (20:20 GMT) A number of Ukrainian cities plan to rename streets and squares associated with Russia under a process of "de-Russification". (20:43 GMT) The US Department of Agriculture and US Agency for International Development will together contribute nearly $700m to international food aid efforts in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The money will go to emergency food operations in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen. Of the announced sum, $282m will come from the Bill Emerson Humanitarian Trust (BEHT), which is co-managed by the agencies, while USDA said it would additionally provide $388m for transportation, shipping, and other costs. (21:11 GMT) Pentagon says Russian nuclear threats are 'irresponsible'. "It's certainly not what you would expect from a modern nuclear power, nor should anybody expect from a modern nuclear power." (21:22 GMT) Ukraine has fired three rockets at the centre of the southern city of Kherson but Russian occupying forces shot down two of them, RIA news agency cited a security source as saying. A RIA correspondent on the ground had earlier reported a series of powerful explosions near the television centre. (21:56 GMT) The US House of Representatives has passed a bipartisan bill that would encourage the use of sanctioned Russian assets to help build Ukraine. (22:14 GMT) British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has warned China that failure to play by global "rules" would cut short its rise as a superpower. "They will not continue to rise if they do not play by the rules. China needs trade with the G7. We [the Group of Seven] represent around half of the global economy. And we have choices," Truss said in a speech in London. "We have shown with Russia the kind of choices that we're prepared to make when international rules are violated." (22:54 GMT) More than 50 Ukrainian forces have completed US howitzer artillery training, a Pentagon spokesperson has said. (23:30 GMT) Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the office of Ukraine's president has said the country needs almost 600,000 apartments to provide housing for displaced people. 20220428 (00:17 GMT) Russia's RIA news agency has reported that Ukrainian forces sent a Tochka-U rocket into Kherson from the Mykolaiv region, citing one of its journalists who reportedly witnessed the event. (00:49 GMT) The Kherson region will start transitioning to Russia's currency, the rouble, from May 1, RIA news has reported, citing the deputy chairman of the region's military-civilian administration. (02:34 GMT) Ukrainian and Russian media say explosions near a television tower in Kherson city temporarily knocked Russian channels off the air. Ukrayinska Pravda, an online newspaper, said the strikes set off a fire and caused Russian television channels to go off air. RIA Novosti said the broadcast later resumed. It said Russian channels began broadcasting from Kherson last week. (03:58 GMT) US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has said that Russia's war on Ukraine "screams" that the world needs to stop importing oil and gas from Russia and instead move toward other forms of energy. At an international forum on offshore wind energy in Atlantic City, Granholm said the US as well as its energy industries "are on a war footing," and called for a rapid acceleration of renewable energy including offshore wind power. (05:14 GMT) TASS says air defence systems have been activated in the Russian city of Belgorod in the early hours of Thursday. The Belgorod province borders Ukraine's Luhansk, Sumy and Kharkiv regions, all of which have seen heavy fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine two months ago. Russia has accused Ukraine of carrying out strikes on targets in the region. (06:17 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia's Black Sea fleet retains the ability to strike Ukrainian and coastal targets, despite its losses of the landing ship Saratov and the cruiser Moskva. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said about 20 Russian Navy vessels, including submarines, are in the Black Sea operational zone. "The Bosphorus Strait remains closed to all non-Turkish warships, rendering Russia unable to replace its lost cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea," it added. (06:35 GMT) British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says Vladimir Putin may seek to consolidate what he has got in Ukraine and dig in, like a "cancerous growth" within the country. (06:43 GMT) Rafael Grossi, the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for access to the nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia, saying the level of safety there is like a "red light blinking". (07:28 GMT) British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said would be legitimate for Ukrainian forces to target Russian logistics but they were unlikely to use British weapons. Moscow has accused London of provoking Ukraine to strike targets in Russia, saying there would be an immediate "proportional response" if it continued. (08:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its missiles struck four Ukrainian military targets overnight, destroying two missile and ammunition depots near Barvinkove and Ivanivka in the east of the country. Russian forces had also downed a Ukrainian Su-24 aircraft near Luhansk. (09:24 GMT) Russia's losses in Ukraine amount to 22,800 servicemen, including 400 in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's General Staff of Armed Forces has said. Moscow also lost 970 tanks, 2,389 armoured vehicles, 187 planes and 155 helicopters since the invasion began on February 24, it said on Facebook. (09:30 GMT) Poland says countries paying for gas in roubles should be penalised (09:35 GMT) Western countries are openly calling on Ukraine to attack Russia, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said, adding that the West should take Moscow seriously when it says strikes on Russian territory will lead to a response. (09:41 GMT) Russia has accused the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which has a monitoring mission in eastern Ukraine, of handing information on the location of Russian and pro-Russian forces to Western and Ukrainian intelligence. (PJB: but of course ...) (10:07 GMT) The Kremlin has said Western arms deliveries to Ukraine are dangerous for European security. (10:24 GMT) Brussels says EU states agree they are not willing to pay for Russian gas in roubles (11:57 GMT) Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has welcomed a vote by Germany's lower house of parliament backing the delivery of weapons, including heavy arms, to Kyiv. (12:04 GMT) Scholz says Germany must prepare for possible Russian gas export stop (12:21 GMT) Biden will ask Congress for new funds to support Ukraine's military, as well as new legal tools to tighten sanctions and siphon assets from Russian oligarchs. He is expected to put forward a proposal for lawmakers to hand his administration new capabilities, letting US officials seize more oligarchs' assets, give the cash from those seizures to Ukraine and further criminalise sanctions dodging, the White House said. (12:54 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said that Poland is still buying Russian gas in Germany and that reverse supplies to Poland via the Yamal pipeline amount to around 30 million cubic metres per day. (13:31 GMT) Dozens of heavy Russian bombs have destroyed a hospital inside Azovstal, the steel plant in Mariupol where hundreds of servicemen and civilians have been holed up, a Ukrainian serviceman has said. (13:58 GMT) Sweden's government does not plan to hold a referendum if its parliament decides to proceed with an application for NATO membership, Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has said. (14:23 GMT) Biden is requesting from Congress new powers to seize and repurpose Russian oligarchs' assets. The request is part of a larger funding proposal for aid for Ukraine (14:39 GMT) Biden will ask Congress on Thursday for $33bn to support Ukraine, a significant increase of US funding for its war against Russia, as well as new legal tools to tighten sanctions and siphon assets from Russian oligarchs, US officials have said. The vast funding request includes over $20bn for weapons, ammunition and other military assistance, as well as $8.5bn in direct economic assistance to the government and $3bn in humanitarian and food security aid. (14:43 GMT) A British man has been killed in Ukraine while a second is missing, Sky News has reported, citing the UK's foreign office. "We can confirm that a British national has been killed in Ukraine and are supporting their family," a foreign office spokesperson said, according to Sky News. (15:54 GMT) Biden has said that the US will not let Russia use "gas blackmail" to pressure European allies and to undermine sanctions placed on Moscow. "We will not let Russia intimidate or blackmail their way out of these sanctions. We will not allow them to use their oil and gas to avoid consequences for their aggression." (15:55 GMT) The US has seen indications that some Russian forces are leaving the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and moving towards the northwest even as fighting for the port city continues, a senior US defence official said. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that in addition to training Ukrainian forces on the howitzers, training was continuing outside of Ukraine for a mobile radar system and the M113 armoured personnel carrier. (15:57 GMT) Two powerful blasts were heard in the Russian city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, two witnesses have told Reuters. (15:59 GMT) Biden has blasted Moscow for "idle comments" on the possible use of nuclear weapons in the Ukraine conflict, saying such talk showed Russia's "desperation". "No one should be making idle comments about the use of nuclear weapons or the possibility that they would use that. It's irresponsible," Biden said. (16:06 GMT) The European Commission has warned buyers of Russian gas they could breach sanctions if they converted gas payments into roubles, as officials struggled to clarify the EU's stance on payment in roubles. (17:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said the military fired missiles at six arms and fuel depots in Ukraine and destroyed them. The ministry also said that Russia had hit 76 Ukrainian military facilities. (17:31 GMT) Two explosions were heard in Kyiv, Reuters eyewitnesses have said. Russian strikes have slammed into Kyiv as Guterres was visiting in the first such bombardment of Ukraine's capital since mid-April, Zelenskyy's office and AFP correspondents have said. (19:17 GMT) Canada's Defense Minister Anita Anand has said during a visit to Washington that Canadian troops were training Ukrainian troops to use howitzer artillery. The US has been training a small number of Ukrainian forces on howitzers and some other systems outside of Ukraine. Anand, speaking alongside US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, did not say where the Canadian training was taking place. (19:47 GMT) Guterres and his team were "shocked" by the proximity of the Russian missile attacks which slammed into central Kyiv as they were visiting but were all "safe", a spokesperson has said. "It is a war zone but it is shocking that it happened close to us," Saviano Abreu, spokesperson for the UN's humanitarian said, without saying how close they were. (20:32 GMT) The US House of Representatives has given final passage to legislation that would streamline a World War II-era military lend-lease program to more quickly provide Ukraine and other Eastern European countries with American equipment to fight the Russian invasion. The measure, which passed by an overwhelming 417-10 vote, now goes to the White House for President Joe Biden to sign into law. House Foreign Affairs Committee Gregory Meeks of New York said with unified support from the US Congress, "Ukraine will win". 20220429 (00:09 GMT) Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to Ukraine's president has said the country has suffered serious losses in the war with Russia but Moscow has lost many more soldiers. (01:44 GMT) Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is on his way to Indonesia as he tries to rally Southeast Asia to respond more robustly to the invasion of Ukraine. Indonesia is Southeast Asia's largest economy and is the current chair of the G20. Japan is the region's sole member of the G7. (02:53 GMT) Guterres expresses 'regret' that UN was not part of Ukraine talks (03:23 GMT) OSCE will take "immediate steps" to end its monitoring mission in Ukraine (06:40 GMT) A checkpoint in the Russian village of Krupets in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine was shelled at 8am local time (5am GMT), regional governor Roman Starovoyt has said on his telegram channel. He added that there were no casualties or damage. (08:33 GMT) Russia's defence ministry confirms it had carried out an air strike on Kyiv during a visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. "High-precision, long-range air-based weapons of the Russian Aerospace Forces have destroyed the production buildings of the Artyom missile and space enterprise in Kyiv." (09:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it used a diesel submarine in the Black Sea to strike Ukrainian military targets with Kalibr cruise missiles. (09:28 GMT) The Netherlands will reopen on Friday its embassy in Kyiv, says Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra. "A small embassy team there (in Kyiv) will work closely with the Ukrainian authorities and other returned partner countries," Wopke Hoekstra tweeted. "It is important that we provide support to Ukraine on the ground." (09:49 GMT) Vira Hyrych, a journalist with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, was killed by a Russian missile in Kyiv (09:54 GMT) Ukrainian mortars damaged a border checkpoint in western Russia, regional governor Alexander Bogomaz has said. The shelling in the Bryansk region's village of Belaya Berozka damaged power and water supply networks, Bogomaz said on Telegram. There were no casualties, he added. This is the second time today in which Moscow says Ukrainian forces hit a target on Russian soil. (10:13 GMT) Norway will close its borders and ports to Russian trucks and ships, joining a string of sanctions imposed by the EU over the war in Ukraine, the Norwegian foreign ministry has said. Russian fishing vessels, which often land their catch at ports in northern Norway, will receive exemptions from sanctions. Norway's Arctic Svalbard archipelago, which operates under a 1920s treaty allowing expanded foreign access, will also be exempted. (12:01 GMT) Sweden to boost military on Gotland amid Russia fears ($163m) (12:41 GMT) Ukrainian forces have regained control of the village of Ruska Lozova in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian defence ministry's intelligence unit has said. This is the village from which Russian forces used to shell Kharkiv and it is strategically positioned on the highway linking Ukraine's second-biggest city to the Russian city of Belgorod. (13:30 GMT) The security architecture on the European continent is changing dramatically as Russia extends its war on Ukraine. While Finland and Sweden are increasingly likely to join NATO, closer cooperation with the alliance is also the subject of a lively discussion in Switzerland. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/29/why-switzerland-is-unlikely-to-join-nato-anytime-soon (13:46 GMT) Spanish ship arrives in Poland with arms for Ukraine (14:20 GMT) Indonesia's President Joko Widodo says that both Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and Russia's Vladimir Putin have agreed to attend the G20 summit to be held in Bali in November. (15:09 GMT) A former US marine has been killed alongside Ukrainian forces in the war with Russia, his relatives told CNN, in what's the first known death of an American citizen fighting in Ukraine. Rebecca Cabrera said her 22-year-old son was working as a corrections officer in Tennessee and had signed up to work with the private military contractor shortly before fighting began in Ukraine on February 24. She told CNN he agreed to go to Ukraine. (15:22 GMT) Russia releases video showing UK national captured in Ukraine "I don't have a rank, I just know the foreign legion said I could help," (16:45 GMT) British aid group Presidium Network says it believes two UK citizens Paul Urey and Dylan Healy have been abducted by Russian forces in SE Ukraine. The group believes they were taken while trying to carry out an independent evacuation in Dniprorudne, near Zaporizhzhia, 470 km SE of Kyiv. Co-founder of the Presidium Network has told Al Jazeera the British aid workers captured are humanitarian workers and not working with any agenda. "They were helping with some small medical runs ... they were helping with evacuations ... they are not connected with any military. Basically treat them as humanitarian workers under international law," Dominik Byrne said from Hertfordshire, UK. (17:16 GMT) The Russian campaign to seize control of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine is moving slowly and behind schedule, a Pentagon official has claimed. (18:59 GMT) Russia's foreign minister says it does not consider itself to be at war with NATO over Ukraine since such a development would increase the risks of a nuclear war, RIA news agency reported. The news outlet added that Sergei Lavrov telling Dubai-based Al Arabiya channel that Ukraine was at fault for stalled peace talks with Russia, blaming what he said was Kyiv's changing negotiating positions. (19:45 GMT) US opposes Putin G20 invitation The United States has expressed concern over the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the G20 summit saying there could no longer be "business as usual" with Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine began. "The President has expressed publicly his opposition to President Putin attending the G20. We have welcomed the Ukrainians attending," (20:42 GMT) The US is training Ukrainian forces in Germany on weapons recently delivered as part of Washington's ongoing military assistance to Kyiv, "Today, I can announce that the United States has commenced training with Ukrainian armed forces on key systems at US military installations in Germany," Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby told reporters. "These efforts build on the initial artillery training that Ukraine's forces already have received elsewhere, and also includes training on the radar systems and armoured vehicles that have been recently announced as part of security assistance packages." (19:50 GMT) As dusk fell on Ukraine, there was no sign a planned evacuation of civilians out of the steel works plant in the city of Mariupol would be carried out. Zelenskyy expressed pessimism over the prospect of continued peace talks with Russia, blaming public anger with what he said were atrocities by Russian troops. "People [Ukrainians] want to kill them. When that kind of attitude exists, it's hard to talk about things," Interfax news agency quoted him as saying. (22:58 GMT) The father of a former US Marine who was killed fighting alongside Ukrainian forces has told The Washington Post that his son "just wanted to help out." Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died on Monday, and is the first known US citizen to die fighting Russian forces in Ukraine. 20220430 (00:41 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (IOW) has released its latest update on the situation on the ground. The key points: Russia continued to shell the "entire frontline" in Donetsk and Luhansk, and "secured several tactical advances" Russian military probably intends to leave a "minimal force" in Mariupol to block Ukrainian forces in the Azovstal plant Ukraine recaptured Ruska Lozova and continued counterattacks northeast of Kharkiv /home/pjb/photos/events/20220430_kharkiv_control_map.png (00:56 GMT) Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says some 1.02 million people have been evacuated into Russia since February 24. This includes 120,000 foreigners and people evacuated from the Donetsk and Luhansk People's republics. (01:48 GMT) The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC) has said it will support Ukrainian athletes seeking to resettle in Australia on humanitarian grounds. Outgoing AOC President John Coates the committee's annual general meeting in Sydney on Saturday that it was "sad" young Ukrainian athletes were swapping sports equipment to take up arms against Russia. (02:26 GMT) Ukrainian authorities are cracking down on anyone suspected of aiding Russia and its forces. Offenders face up to 15 years in prison for acts of collaborating with the invaders or showing public support for them, under new laws adopted by Ukraine's parliament after the Russian invasion. A "registry of collaborators" is being compiled and will be released to the public, Oleksiy Danilov, head of Ukraine's Security Council was quoted as saying in a report by the Associated Press news agency. (04:22 GMT) Lavrov told the Chinese state media agency Xinhua that a Russian demand for the removal of sanctions was part of its negotiations with Ukraine. He described the talks, which are on a video link, as "difficult". (07:02 GMT) Russian forces have stolen "several hundred thousand tonnes" of grain in the areas of Ukraine they occupy, Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskiy has said. He expressed concern that most of what he said was 1.5 million tonnes of grain stored in occupied territory could also be stolen by Russian forces. (08:03 GMT) Russia's ministry of defense said it has hit overnight 389 Ukrainian targets, including 35 control points, 169 areas where Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment were concentrated, and that 15 arms and ammunition depots and four military facilities were destroyed. (08:44 GMT) Dialogue between Moscow and Washington on strategic stability is formally "frozen", the TASS news agency cited a Russian foreign ministry official as saying. Vladimir Yermakov, head of nuclear non-proliferation and controls at the foreign ministry, said contacts could be resumed once Russia's its "special military operation" in Ukraine was complete. (09:12 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry said it expected commodity flows with China to grow and trade with Beijing to reach $200 billion by 2024 (10:00 GMT) Fighting is still continuing around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, AJ's Charles Stratford reported, also in the towns of Popasna, Lysychansk and Hirske. Ukraine said that its military blew up a bridge overnight in Lyman, "which would have been very important for Russia to move in heavy military equipment and troops closer to Sloviansk (11:55 GMT) Macron said that France would "intensify" its supply of military and humanitarian support following a conversation with Zelenskyy (12:32 GMT) The German government is said to be planning a law to speed up the construction of import LNG terminals (13:23 GMT) <=== Russia believes the risks of nuclear war should be kept to a minimum and that any armed conflict between nuclear powers should be prevented, according to the TASS news agency quoting a foreign ministry official. Vladimir Yermakov, the foreign ministry's head of nuclear non-proliferation, said all nuclear powers must stick to the logic laid out in official documents aimed at preventing nuclear war. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday the West should not underestimate the elevated risks of nuclear conflict over Ukraine, although the US subsequently said it did not believe there was a threat of Russia using nuclear weapons despite an escalation in Moscow's rhetoric. (14:01 GMT) In an interview, Russia's foreign minister has urged the United States and NATO to stop supplying Kyiv with arms if they are "really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis", according to the Xinhua agency. "If the US and NATO are really interested in resolving the Ukraine crisis, then first of all, they should wake up and stop supplying the Kyiv regime with arms and ammunition," Sergey Lavrov said. (14:55 GMT) Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's western Kursk region has said several shells were fired at a checkpoint near its border from the direction of Ukraine. (15:53 GMT) A Russian missile attack on Odesa airport has damaged the runway and it can no longer be used, according to the Ukrainian military. (17:50 GMT) Russia's armed forces has said they hit 17 Ukrainian military facilities with high-precision missiles and also destroyed a command post and a warehouse used to store rockets and artillery, and killed more than 200 Ukrainian troops and destroyed 23 armoured vehicles. (18:59 GMT) UK is more committed than ever to reinforcing Ukraine: Johnson "confirmed that the UK will continue to provide additional military aid to give the Ukrainians the equipment they needed to defend themselves," (20:08 GMT) Russia's Rosneft has offered oil products from its refineries for loading May-June in a tender requiring prepayment in roubles (20:40 GMT) Twenty civilians leave Mariupol's Azovstal site: Ukraine regiment (20:53 GMT) A Russian reconnaissance plane briefly violated Sweden's airspace, say Swedish defence officials, as the Scandinavian country ponders a bid for NATO membership after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "A Russian AN-30 propeller plane violated Swedish airspace on Friday evening," the Swedish defence ministry said in a statement on Saturday evening, adding that its teams had followed the incident and photographed it. The ministry said the plane was flying east of Bornholm, a Danish island in the Baltic, before it headed towards Swedish territory. (21:50 GMT) A well-known Russian ballerina is starting a new life in the Netherlands because of the war in Ukraine. Olga Smirnova says she was so ashamed by the invasion that she quit the Bolshoi ballet to dance in Amsterdam. (22:11 GMT) "I think the future of the entire continent rests on the capacity of Ukraine to maintain its political system, its country, its resilience," Moldova's Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu told Sky News. (23:22 GMT) Ukraine's president says Russia had lost more than 23,000 soldiers in what he described as a "senseless war". Speaking in his night time video address, Zelenskyy said Ukraine had destroyed more than a thousand Russian tanks, almost 200 planes, and nearly two and a half thousand armoured vehicles during the conflict. 20220501 https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3007.html Kiam la sudaj landoj rifuzas viciĝi malantaŭ Okcidento pri Ukrainio Male al la plimulto de okcidentaj landoj, ĉefe Usono, la sudaj landoj adoptis singardan pozicion pri la milito inter Ukrainio kaj Rusio. La sinteno de la arabaj emirlandoj, kvankam aliancanoj de Vaŝingtono, estas signifoplena pri la rifuzo partianiĝi : ili samtempe denuncas la invadon de Ukrainio, kaj la punojn al Rusio. Tiel sin trudas multpolusa mondo en kiu, pro manko de ideologiaj diferencoj, ĉefas la ŝtataj interesoj. (01:35 GMT) "We cannot allow the Kremlin and its shady troll farms to invade our online spaces with their lies about Putin's illegal war," Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said in a statement. "The UK Government has alerted international partners and will continue to work closely with allies and media platforms to undermine Russian information operations." (06:28 GMT) Ukraine's village of Barvinkove is the site of a new attempt by Russian forces to push south to surround the neighbouring city of Slovyansk. (06:46 GMT) Zelenskyy said he has held a meeting with US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi in Kyiv and shared a video on Twitter. She was joined by US Representatives Jason Crow, Jim McGovern and Adam Schiff. (07:48 GMT) Ukraine is calling on Germany to supply it with more modern weaponry, just days after the German government approved the direct delivery of anti-aircraft tanks to the Ukrainian military for the first time. The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Andriy Melnyk, told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks are already 40 years old. To defeat Russia, "we need the most modern German weapons." What was needed, he said, was newer Leopard and Marder tanks as well as self-propelled howitzers "and much more." (09:07 GMT) Ukraine's army says there is a threat of Russia carrying out missile attacks from the territory of Belarus. (09:46 GMT) Russia should confiscate property owned by Westerners in response to a proposal by US President Joe Biden to transfer the frozen assets of Russia's elite to Ukraine, Russia's most senior lawmaker said. Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said the sumptuous yachts and villas of Russia's oligarchs had not helped Russian development but that the West appeared to be engaged in simple "theft". "It is right to take mirror measures towards businesses in Russia whose owners come from unfriendly countries where such measures were taken: confiscate these assets." (13:18 GMT) A Russian defence ministry facility in the southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine has caught fire, the region's governor has said. There was no immediate information about damage or casualties. (13:38 GMT) The UN has confirmed that an operation to evacuate people from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol is under way. UN humanitarian spokesman Saviano Abreu said the evacuation effort was being done in collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross and in coordination with Ukrainian and Russian officials. (14:28 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has pledged to continue to support Ukraine with money, aid and also weapons, saying a pacifist approach to the war is "outdated." "I respect all pacifism, I respect all attitudes, but it must seem cynical to a citizen of Ukraine to be told to defend himself against Putin's aggression without weapons." (15:40 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said 80 civilians were evacuated from the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol, the Ifax news agency has reported. Ukraine's President Zelenskyy placed the figure at around 100 evacuees. (15:52 GMT) The Danish government has summoned Russia's ambassador after a Russian spy plane violated its airspace on Friday evening east of the Danish Baltic island of Bornholm before flying into Swedish airspace. Swedish defence officials reported the violation on Saturday. (16:17 GMT) US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer has said he will add provisions to the $33bn Ukraine aid package that will allow US authorities to seize Russian oligarchs' assets and send money derived from them to Ukraine. (17:59 GMT) Germany's response to Russia's war on Ukraine has been hesitant compared to other European countries, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended his decisions on Ukraine, rejecting criticisms that he has been acting too slowly and not doing enough on Russia's invasion. "I make my decisions quickly and in coordination with our allies," he told Bild am Sonntag. "I am suspicious of hasty action and Germany going it alone." (18:03 GMT) The Ukrainian army says that a Russian offensive along a broad front in the country's east has been stalling amid human and material losses inflicted by Kyiv's forces. (19:05 GMT) Moscow suggests it could seize the Russia-based assets of countries it deems hostile in retaliation for a US proposal to sell off Russian oligarchs' assets and pay the proceeds to Ukraine. "It is fair to take reciprocal measures and confiscate assets" of companies based in Russia whose owners are "citizens of hostile countries," the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin, said. (19:16 GMT) Mariupol's city council says a broad, UN-backed evacuation of its civilians, other than those sheltering in Azovstal, will begin on Monday. (20:15 GMT) Ukrainian National Guard brigade commander Denys Shlega has said in a televised interview that shelling resumed at the Azovstal steel plant as soon as rescue crews ceased evacuating civilians. Shlega said at least one more round of evacuations is needed to clear civilians from the plant 20220502 PJB: Al Jazeera's coverage has suddenly and radically changed today, with the "blog" featuring only long articles issued by the West. No Russian comments are present. Indeed. today's Live Blog page was off-line until about 10:00 (Tas). Smells to me like Qatar has understood what huge profits are to be made by selling hydrocarbons to europe and have decided to adopt a more pro-west portrayal ... Aha: but now an hour later normal service seems to have resumed ... (00:25 GMT) An explosive device damaged a railway bridge on Sunday in the Kursk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine, the region's government reported. The explosion caused a partial collapse of the bridge near the village of Konopelka, on the Sudzha-Sosnovy Bor railway. (00:39 GMT) Two explosions in Russia's Belgorod: Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov (00:55 GMT) Russia's foreign minister says Moscow will not base its actions in Ukraine on the deadline of Victory Day celebrated on May 9. "Our troops won't artificially base their activities on a specific date, including Victory Day," Sergey Lavrov said in an interview on Italy's Mediaset television channel, according to Russia's TASS news agency. "We will solemnly celebrate May 9 the way we always do," he added. (01:32 GMT) Energy ministers from EU countries will hold emergency talks on Monday, as the bloc strives for a united response to Moscow's demands. (01:42 GMT) Dozens of civilians evacuated from the bunkers of Mariupol's Azovstal steel works arrived at a temporary accommodation centre on Sunday. A Reuters photographer saw civilians arriving in the village of Bezimenne in an area of Donetsk under the control of Russia-backed separatists around 30 km east of Mariupol. They were reportedly receiving refreshments and care. (02:01 GMT) South Korea's embassy staff return to Kyiv They had evacuated from the capital and worked at a temporary office in the Ukrainian city of Chernivtsi since March. (02:34 GMT) Nadal, Djokovic slam Wimbledon ban on Russian players (04:02 GMT) Mariupol City Council has said the United Nations and Red Cross secured two extra areas from where civilians will be evacuated on Monday - the village of Manhush and Lunacharsky Kiltse near Berdyansk. (05:24 GMT) More than one quarter of the 120 battalion tactical groups Russia committed at the start of the war in Ukraine are likely now ineffective for combat, the UK defence ministry has said. It adds that the units to have suffered the highest level of attrition are some of Russia's most elite and "will probably take years... to reconstitute". (05:40 GMT) A grain warehouse has been destroyed by a missile strike in the Sinelnikovsky district of the Dnipropetrovsk region. (06:12 GMT) Two people have been killed and four injured as a result of shelling in the town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region, the regional military administration has said. (06:38 GMT) Shelling in Kharkiv has damaged 24 boiler house and 36 heating stations, some of which will have to be rebuilt, the region's press service said. (06:41 GMT) Ukrainian prisoners of war taken to Russia were tortured with freezing temperatures, beaten and forced to sing "patriotic" Russian songs, Ukraine's ombudswoman for human rights has said. Lyudmila Denisova said on Telegram that some of the 14 Ukrainian POWs swapped on Friday had their limbs amputated because Russians forced them to wear water-filled boots for days in freezing temperatures. She said the prisoners were thrown in jail in the western city of Kursk, where they were interrogated two or three times a day, beaten severely and denied medical help. She added that apart from the amputated limbs, some had severe wounds and sepsis on returning to Ukraine. (06:57 GMT) New Zealand has added 170 Russian politicians to its sanctions list, as well as six defence companies and organisations which had contributed to Russia's war against Ukraine. (07:59 GMT) Following the remarks by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned the Russian Ambassador to Israel for a clarification meeting with the Deputy Director-General for Eurasian Affairs. Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said last night "Hitler also had Jewish blood" as he tried to explain how Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zelenskyy could lead a neo-Nazi country. (08:18 GMT) UNHCR says 5.5 million have fled Ukraine (08:26 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that its armed forces have shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet near the city of Slovyansk, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, and that Russian troops had hit a total of 38 military targets throughout Ukraine overnight, including ammunition depots and control centres. A Ukrainian Bayraktar drone destroyed two patrol ships in the Black Sea on Monday 20220502. "Two Russian Raptor-class boats were destroyed at dawn today near Zmiinyi (Snake) Island," Chief of General Staff Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote (10:04 GMT) The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says that a Russian battalion has been redeployed from Mariupol to the town of Popasna in the country's eastern Luhansk region. (10:28 GMT) The war is expected to result in a huge decline in the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey this year. The projected downturn is a major cause of concern for Ankara, which is battling ongoing economic crises. (10:34 GMT) Poland wants the EU to impose a clear cut-off date at which member states will have to stop importing Russian oil, the climate minister says (11:40 GMT) A Russian rocket strike has hit a strategically important bridge across the Dniester estuary in the Odesa region of southwest Ukraine. The bridge, which has already been hit twice, is the only road and rail link on Ukrainian territory to a large southern part of the Odesa region. (11:48 GMT) Kyiv votes on renaming subway stations 'Heroes of Mariupol' and 'Master Yoda' and 'Bucha'. (12:13 GMT) US embassy in Ukraine says it hopes to return to Kyiv by the end of May (14:24 GMT) Ukraine claims to have recaptured several villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The areas recaptured included Ruska Lozova, from where Russian forces bombarded Ukraine's second-largest city. (14:43 GMT) Hungary moves embassy back to Kyiv from Lviv (15:40 GMT) Russia's Bolshoi Theatre has abruptly cancelled a series of shows this week by directors who have spoken out against the war in Ukraine. The theatre gave no reason for dropping Timofey Kuliabin's production of the opera Don Pasquale and Kirill Serebrennikov's ballet Nureyev. Both directors are currently outside Russia. (15:47 GMT) Sweden to reopen embassy in Kyiv (16:27 GMT) The US believes that the Russian military's Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, visited Ukraine's Donbas region last week but cannot confirm media reports that he was wounded during fighting, a US defence official has said, adding "We can confirm he was in the Donbas." (17:29 GMT) A Ukrainian fighter holed up in the city of Mariupol has said that up to 200 civilians remain trapped in bunkers in the Azovstal steelworks. (17:33 GMT) The sanctions imposed on Russia will not be lifted until Moscow reaches a peace agreement with Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding that it was for Ukraine to decide what peace it wanted. (17:43 GMT) Physical gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline, which brings gas from Russia via Poland to Germany, have stopped. Exit flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border were at 13,218,713 kilowatt hours per hour (kWh) before it dropped to 0. (17:55 GMT) German Chancellor Scholz declines to say if he would share a table with Putin at G20 summit (17:58 GMT) Moscow says Russian forces have shot down Ukrainian drones over Snake Island, after Ukrainian sources said earlier that Russian ships in the Black Sea had been destroyed using drones. (19:09 GMT) Justin Trudeau has denounced Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments suggesting that Adolf Hitler had Jewish origins. "They are ridiculous and unacceptable," Trudeau told reporters in Windsor, Ontario. "What the Russian foreign minister just said is unbelievable." (20:42 GMT) Italy's Draghi calls Lavrov's comments on Jews and Hitler 'obscene' (21:26 GMT) Russia has rerouted internet traffic in the occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson through Russian communications infrastructure, the internet service disruption monitor NetBlocks has said. (22:24 GMT) Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the US, has condemned as "sickening" Lavrov's comments about the Russian invasion (22:41 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has thanked neighbouring Slovakia for welcoming Ukrainian refugees and supplying the country with military aid. (22:47 GMT) US Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff has said Washington "must do even more" to ensure that Ukraine gets the intelligence it needs from US agencies in the face of Russia's continuing invasion. He also said the US "must continue to give military aid to Ukraine", as well as humanitarian assistance to those seeking refuge inside and outside of the country. (23:25 GMT) Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out a new package of military aid worth $374 million, to support Ukraine's ongoing defence. The package includes electronic warfare equipment, a counter battery radar system, GPS jamming equipment, thousands of night vision devices. "This is Ukraine's finest hour, an epic chapter in your national story that will be remembered and recounted for generations to come," Johnson will say in a speech to Ukraine's parliament on Tuesday, as the British embassy reopens in Kyiv. (23:58 GMT) For Kyiv, progress in any negotiations would be for Russia to withdraw its troops and move out of occupied territories, the head of Ukraine's president's office has said on CNN. 20220503 (00:08 GMT) More explosions in Russia’s Belgorod: RIA (00:25 GMT) Vladimir Putin could formally declare war on Ukraine as soon as May 9, which would allow for the full mobilisation of Russia's reserve forces, some Western officials believe, according to CNN. (00:38 GMT) The Union of European Football Associations has kicked Russian soccer teams out of the Women's European Championship, the next men's Champions League and out of qualifying for the 2023 Women's World Cup. (00:53 GMT) US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi returned to Washington, after a surprise trip to Ukraine, to sign legislation which streamlines sending aid to Kyiv. The bill, passed last week by Congress would update a World War II-era military lend-lease law and bypass red tape in the process for sending aid to Ukraine. Biden is expected to sign it into law. (02:16 GMT) The EU hopes to pass the sixth round of sanctions against Russia at the next meeting of its Foreign Affairs Council (FAC), the bloc's chief diplomat Josep Borrell has said. (04:49 GMT) Russian forces did not conduct any confirmed ground attacks on Monday along any axes of advance and instead shelled Ukrainian positions on the frontlines, the Institute for the Study of War has said. It added that the Ukrainian artillery strike on Russian command headquarters near Izyum on April 30 likely disrupted Russian operations on the Izyum axis and may hinder Russian offensives from Izyum for the next few days. But the Institute said that Russian forces on the southern axis continued to regroup likely in preparation for ground assaults in the direction of Kryvyi Rih, Mykolaiv, and Zaporizhzhia. (06:27 GMT) Italy aims to cut off its dependence on Russian gas by the second half of 2024, Italy's ecological transition minister has said. (06:54 GMT) More than 200 civilians are still holed up with fighters in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, the city's mayor has said. (07:07 GMT) The British military says it believes the Russian military is now "significantly weaker" after suffering losses in its war on Ukraine. "Russia's military is now significantly weaker, both materially and conceptually, as a result of its invasion of Ukraine," the UK Defence Ministry tweeted. "Recovery from this will be exacerbated by sanctions. This will have a lasting impact on Russia's ability to deploy conventional military force." The ministry added while Russia's defense budget has doubled from 2005 to 2018, the modernisation program it undertook "has not enabled Russia to dominate Ukraine." "Failures both in strategic planning and operational execution have left it unable to translate numerical strength into decisive advantage." (08:10 GMT) Slovakia seeks exemption from any EU embargo on Russian oil (08:23 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have struck a logistics centre located at a military airfield near Ukraine's southwestern city of Odesa with high-precision missiles. The ministry said the facility housed weaponry provided to Kyiv by its Western allies. "Hangars containing unmanned Bayraktar TB2 drones, as well as missiles and ammunition from the US and European countries, were destroyed." (09:15 GMT) How to dodge media censorship in Russia: Leave and use Telegram Amid Russia's media crackdown, independent outlet DOXA - like others - has had to reinvent itself. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/5/3/how-to-dodge-media-censorship-in-russia-leave-and-use-telegram (09:39 GMT) WHO to hold urgent meeting on impact of invasion on healthcare "There will be a meeting on 10 May on the impact of war on Ukraine health system," Tarik Jasarevic told reporters at the global health body's headquarters in Geneva. (10:22) Charles Stratford reports: "The Luhansk regional military administration says that so far today Ukrainian forces have managed to hold back a push by Russian forces in various areas across the region, including in places such as Rubizhne and Popasna." "Seemingly the Russians are unable to make any serious gains in pushing towards what we understand is the big prize for them - the urban centres of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk." (11:22 GMT) 'Orcs' and 'Rashists': Ukraine's new language of war aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/3/orcs-and-rashists-ukraines-new-language-of-war (12:20 GMT) 'It's our heritage': Defending Ukraine's modernist Soviet-era architecture https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/3/its-our-heritage-defending-ukraines-modernist-architecture (12:49 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth 300 million pounds ($375m), including electronic warfare equipment and a counter-battery radar system. (13:45 GMT) The deputy commander of the Azov battalion, a Ukrainian regiment holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, says Russian forces have started to storm the facility. (13:56 GMT) Convoy carrying evacuees from Mariupol reaches Zaporizhzhia “The buses were carrying women, children and the elderly.” "It took three days to get them from there to here, on a route that would normally take about three hours [to complete] ... The UN said that at every point, there had to be negotiations about what was going on." (14:39 GMT) Josep Borrell says new EU sanctions on Russia to target oil, more banks (15:04 GMT) The Kremlin says that Putin told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron during talks by phone between the pair that the West must stop supplying weapons to Ukraine. Putin argued Kyiv's allies could help end "war crimes [and] massive shelling of towns and settlements in Donbas", leading to civilian casualties, by halting military aid to Zelenskyy's government and "exerting appropriate influence" on the Ukrainian president. Russia denies alleged war crimes by its own forces and has blamed the deaths of civilians on what it calls nationalists and "neo-Nazis" (15:36 GMT) Sebastian Rhodes Stampa, a United Nations official who oversaw the evacuation of civilians from Mariupol to Zaporizhzhia, about 220km to the northwest, has described the effort as "hugely complicated". He believed there were more people trapped in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks, but warned they were likely "terrified to come out". (16:18 GMT) At least 10 people have been killed and 15 wounded in a Russian strike on a coke plant in the east Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. (17:08 GMT) The government of the separatist Moldovan region of Transnistria has accused Ukrainian forces of attempting to destroy broadcast facilities in the region. "According to information from specialists, the drone with the dangerous cargo started on the Ukrainian side," the Interior Ministry of the pro-Russian separatist region said. The drone was destroyed, the statement added. (18:07 GMT) Explosions heard in western city of Lviv (20:14 GMT) Military support to Ukraine by the United States and its allies is helping make the invasion a "strategic failure" for Russia, Biden said. Speaking at a Lockheed Martin factory in Alabama that produces anti-tank Javelin missiles, which have been a crucial asset for Ukrainian forces, Biden credited the workers at the plant for helping Ukraine resist the Russian invasion. "A big part of the reason they [Ukrainians] have been able to keep up fighting and to make this war a strategic failure for Russia is because the United States, together with our allies and partners, have had their back." (20:21 GMT) Biden has called the US military aid to Ukraine a "direct investment" to protect democracy. "Since Russia invaded Ukraine just over two months ago, we have sent more than $3bn in security assistance to Ukraine - alone us, not counting our allies," Biden said. "That money is a direct investment in defending freedom and democracy itself, because if you don't stand up to dictators, history has shown us they keep coming... their appetite for power continues to grow." (21:10 GMT) Russian air raids have targeted the western Ukraine city of Lviv, with its Mayor Andriy Sadovyi saying the attacks injured two people. He said the bombing had damaged three power substations and two water pump stations, affecting utilities in the city. (21:35 GMT) A bus has collided with a fuel truck in western Ukraine. "A bus, a car and a fuel truck collided. As of now, there are already 17 dead, but there may be more victims," Zelenskyy said, expressing condolences to those who lost loved ones in the accident. (21:50 GMT) Biden has called on the US Congress to "quickly" approve funding for Ukraine aid that the White House had requested. Last week, he asked lawmakers for $33bn in additional spending to support Ukraine. (22:46 GMT) European Union officials have handed over a draft plan to member states on a new package of sanctions against Russia, but some members are jockeying to opt out of an oil embargo. The commission's proposal would phase in a ban on oil imports from Russia over six to eight months, with Hungary and Slovakia allowed to take a few months longer, EU officials told AFP. Other officials said Bulgaria and the Czech Republic could also seek sanctions opt-outs. (23:36 GMT) Zelenskyy says 156 civilian evacuees from Mariupol have arrived in Zaporizhzhia. 20220504 (00:16 GMT) The Ukrainian army conducted a "significant counteroffensive" that likely pushed Russian forces roughly 40 km east of Kharkiv, the Institute for the Study of War says. This would "unhinge the Russian positions northeast of Kharkiv" and "set conditions for a broader operation to drive the Russians from most of their positions around the city," the Institute said in its latest assessment of the Russian offensive campaign. It added that the Russian army may then face a dilemma of "whether to reinforce their positions near Kharkiv to prevent such a broader Ukrainian operation or to risk losing most or all of their positions in artillery range of the city." ~/photos/evets/20220504_kharkiv_control_map.png (00:37 GMT) The Russian military occupation in Mariupol are setting conditions for its administrative occupation, the Institute for the Study of War says (01:32 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says the war in Ukraine has worsened problems in the Western Hemisphere caused by the coronavirus pandemic, such as rising poverty. (02:22 GMT) Hundreds of Ukrainian refugees are camping out in Mexico City and waiting for the US government to allow them into the country, AP reports. About 500 evacuees were waiting on Tuesday in large tents under a searing sun on a dusty field on the east side of Mexico's sprawling capital. The camp has been open only a week and around 50 to 100 people are arriving every day. (02:27 GMT) Antony Blinken has spoken in a phone call with his UK counterpart Liz Truss about the situation in Ukraine. The US state department said the two discussed additional security and humanitarian assistance. (02:49 GMT) Russia says it attacked 39 military facilities in Ukraine Major General Igor Konashenkov said in the areas of Lyman, Kramatorsk and Kamyshevakha, four radar stations for detecting air targets, six ammunition and weapons depots and a US-made radar station were destroyed. (03:43 GMT) Australia has moved to further sanction more than 70 Russian politicians and more than 30 "puppet" Ukrainian government officials installed in the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the sanctions and travel bans on the 110 individuals are in response to the violation of Ukrainian sovereignty "through their assertion of governmental authority". Australia has now sanctioned 812 individuals and 47 entities. (03:53 GMT) Taiwan gives $150,000 to Ukrainian refugee children in Slovakia (04:37 GMT) The armed forces of Belarus began sudden drills on Wednesday to test their combat readiness, Russia's TASS news agency cited the defence ministry of Ukraine's neighbour as saying. Against the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ministry said the exercise posed no threat to its neighbours or the European community in general. (04:50 GMT) Russia "highly likely intends" to proceed beyond the city of Izyum to capture the cities of Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk, the UK defence ministry has said. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said Russia has deployed 22 battalion tactical groups near Izyum "in its attempt to advance along the northern axis of the Donbas." Capturing Kramatorsk and Severodonetsk "would consolidate Russian military control in north-eastern Donbas and provide a staging point for its efforts to cut-off Ukrainian forces in the region." (06:17 GMT) The speaker of Russia's parliament has said that NATO was arming Ukraine to attack Russia in January and Putin's decision to start a "special military operation" prevented "a huge tragedy". "NATO was preparing Ukraine for an attack on our country. How else to explain that all decisions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine were made by the US Parliament in January. Even before the start of the special military operation," Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel. He also said that Ukraine's citizens were only "expendable material" for Washington and nationalism had become "the state ideology of Kyiv", Russia's RIA news agency reported. (PJB: I do agree with the last sentence ... ) (06:38 GMT) More buses of evacuees leave Mariupol (06:57 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen urged the EU's members to phase out imports of crude oil within six months and refined products by the end of the year. She also proposed that Sberbank, Russia's largest bank, and two other major banks be disconnected from the SWIFT international banking payment system. The proposals need to be unanimously approved to take effect and are likely to be the subject of fierce debate. Von der Leyen conceded that getting all 27 member states - some of which are landlocked and highly dependent on Russia for energy supplies - to agree on oil sanctions "will not be easy". (08:15 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it has disabled six railway stations in Ukraine used to supply Ukrainian forces in the country's east with Western-made weapons. The ministry said it bombed the stations' power supplies using high-precision air and sea-based weapons, but did not specify which weapons were supplied to Ukrainian forces via those sites. (08:34 GMT) The EU Council's president says the bloc is considering providing additional military support to Moldova. Charles Michel told reporters at a joint news conference with Moldovan President Maia Sandu during a visit to Chisinau that European leaders were weighing how to help Moldova build up its forces. (08:44 GMT) Ukraine warns Belarus could yet join the Russian war effort (09:03 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, says the EU's proposed sixth round of sanctions "notably makes no reference to Russian gas". (09:22 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has announced sanctions against 63 Japanese officials, journalists and professors for engaging in what it called "unacceptable rhetoric" against Moscow. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and defence minister Nobuo Kishi are among those targeted by the measures, which include an indefinite ban on entering Russia. (09:52 GMT) A Russian submarine in the Black Sea has fired two Kalibr cruise missiles at targets in Ukraine, Russia's defence ministry says. (10:03 GMT) Russia's defence minister has reiterated that Moscow's forces will seek to destroy convoys of arms shipments to Ukraine from its Western allies, echoing earlier such threats from Moscow. "The United States and its NATO allies are continuing to pump weapons into Ukraine," Sergei Shoigu told a conference of defence ministry officials. "We view any transport of the North Atlantic Alliance arriving on the territory of the country with weapons or materials destined to the Ukrainian army as a target to be destroyed." (10:45 GMT) Moldova sees no imminent threat of unrest spilling over from the war in Ukraine despite "provocations" by pro-Russian separatists in recent days, but has been making contingency plans for "pessimistic" scenarios, President Maia Sandu says. Sandu's remarks came after fears have grown in the past week that Moldova could be drawn into the war in Ukraine, with which it shares a border, after pro-Russian separatists in the country's breakaway region of Transnistria reported a number of attacks and explosions there, which they blamed on Kyiv. (11:15 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed speculation that Putin plans to declare war against Ukraine and initiate a national mobilisation on May 9, when Russia commemorates the Soviet Union's victory in World War II. (11:44 GMT) Slovakia seeking three-year exemption to EU's Russian oil embargo (11:59 GMT) The mayor of Mariupol says heavy fighting is under way at the city's Azovstal steelworks. Vadym Boychenko said on national television that contact had been lost with the Ukrainian fighters still in the sprawling, Soviet-era plant and that more than 30 children were among the dozens of civilians awaiting evacuation. (12:29 GMT) Bulgaria to seek exemption from any EU embargo on Russian oil (12:39 GMT) UK bans services exports to Russia, sanctions Russian media outlets (13:33 GMT) Hungary cannot support EU ban on Russian oil imports: Foreign minister (13:42 GMT) The Russian Orthodox Church has scolded Pope Francis for urging Patriarch Kirill not to become the Kremlin's "altar boy", cautioning the Vatican that such remarks would hurt dialogue between the churches. (14:03 GMT) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says his administration will not impose sanctions on Russia. "We want to remain neutral," (14:48 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he will not accept any deal with Moscow on ending the war that would allow Russian troops to remain in currently occupied parts of Ukraine. Addressing the Wall Street Journal CEO Council Summit in London via videolink, he said he "will not accept a frozen conflict". (15:30 GMT) Biden told reporters he will discuss additional Russia sanctions with G7 "We're always open to additional sanctions," . "I'll be speaking with the members of the G7 this week about what we're going to do or not do." (16:22 GMT) The US is in constant talks with its partners about further sanctions against Russia and could take "additional actions" to pressure Moscow to halt its aggression against Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said (17:26 GMT) Brazilian presidential front-runner Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said Zelenskyy and Vladimir Putin bear equal responsibility for the war in Ukraine, putting the leftist icon at odds with Western powers. "I see the president of Ukraine, speaking on television, being applauded, getting a standing ovation by all the [European] parliamentarians," Lula, Brazil's president from 2003 to 2010, told Time magazine. "This guy [Zelensky] is as responsible as Putin for the war," he added. (17:35 GMT) Emmanuel Macron has welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Paris for talks and a "working dinner", hoping to prise New Delhi away from Russia over the invasion of Ukraine. (20:42 GMT) "The Russian armed forces will from 8am to 6pm [Moscow time] on May 5, 6 and 7 open a humanitarian corridor from the territory of the Azovstal metallurgical plant to evacuate civilians," the defence ministry said. (20:50 GMT) "Russians have not made the kind of progress in the Donbas and in the south that we believe they wanted to make. And we do believe it's been slow. And at every turn they have met a stiff Ukrainian resistance," John Kirby told a media briefing at the Pentagon. "What we're focused on is making sure that resistance remains as stiff as possible." (21:21 GMT) Sweden has received assurances from the US that it would get support during the period a potential application to join NATO is processed by the 30 nations in the alliance, Foreign Minister Ann Linde has said. (21:47 GMT) White House press secretary Jen Psaki has said that Russia "already lost the war in Ukraine". (22:30 GMT) Ukraine accuses Russia of ‘missile terrorism’ (22:52 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said the US is in constant discussions with its partners about further sanctions and could impose "additional actions" to pressure Moscow. (?) Britain's foreign secretary has announced £45 million ($56 million) in funding for agencies and charities doing humanitarian work on the ground in Ukraine and its borders. 20220505 (00:48 GMT) Russia refused to participate in Wednesday's informal meeting of the UN Security Council with the EU "in light of the hostile and Russophobic policy of the European Union", Russia's representative to the UN said. Dmitry Polyansky wrote on Telegram that the EU policy was "actively trying to extinguish the fire of the Ukrainian crisis by pouring gasoline on it", adding that there was no other explanation for the "open warmongering" by the EU leadership. (00:59 GMT) Russia may hope to capture Azovstal by May 9: Institute for the Study of War (ISW) (01:57 GMT) The US provided Ukraine with intelligence which allowed them to target and kill many of the Russian generals who have died in the current war, the New York Times has reported, citing senior American officials. "The targeting help is part of a classified effort by the Biden administration to provide real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine." Ukrainian officials have said they have killed around 12 generals on the front lines - a very high number according to many military analysts (03:14 GMT) Antony Blinken has met with Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde in Washington and reaffirmed "our commitment to NATO's open door policy" (04:13 GMT) The European Commission has proposed freezing the assets of Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church, a diplomat has said. ~/photos/events/20191027_patriarch_kirill_of_moscow_and_all_russia.jpg The Patriarch has been added to a draft blacklist that includes hundreds of military officers and businessmen close to the Kremlin whom the EU accuses of supporting the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. The sanction, which would entail an asset freeze and a travel ban, needs the backing of EU states to be adopted. (04:44 GMT) Russian forces lost control over several settlements on the border of the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions due to "successful actions of Ukrainian defenders", the Ukrainian army has said. (05:04 GMT) Japan would face "difficulty" to immediately follow a move to cut off Russian oil imports over the invasion of Ukraine, its minister of economy, trade and industry Koichi Hagiuda has said. (05:28 GMT) Russia may try to inflate the threat that Belarusian military exercises pose to Ukraine in order to drive Ukraine's forces north of the country and away from fighting in the Donbas, the UK's defence ministry has said. (06:59 GMT) Russia 'stole' 400,000 tonnes of grain: Ukraine's defence ministry (07:37 GMT) Two villages in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine have been shelled by Ukraine, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who added that there were no civilian casualties. (07:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its artillery struck multiple Ukrainian positions and strongholds overnight, killing 600 fighters. The statement also said its missiles destroyed aviation equipment at the Kanatovo airfield in Ukraine's central Kirovohrad region and a large ammunition depot in the southern city of Mykolaiv. (09:24 GMT) Gazprom says it will use Nord Stream 2 capacity for domestic gas supply In February, Germany halted the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea gas pipeline project, designed to double the flow of Russian gas direct to Germany. (10:08 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it has declared seven Danish diplomats "persona non grata" in response to Copenhagen expelling 15 Russian diplomats last month, with Moscow also objecting to Copenhagen's military assistance to Ukraine. The ministry said Denmark's anti-Russian policy was seriously damaging bilateral relations. (11:50 GMT) Spanish authorities have detained a pro-Russian Ukrainian blogger and aspiring politician on an international arrest warrant for suspected treason, according to a police source quoted by the Reuters news agency. The source said Anatoliy Shariy, a vocal critic of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his pro-Western government, had been detained in the coastal city of Tarragona in Catalonia, the source said, without providing further details. Earlier, Ukraine's SBU security service said in a statement Shariy was detained on Wednesday in an operation coordinated between Ukrainian authorities and Spanish police on suspicion of committing treason and the crime of "breaching the equal rights of citizens" based on race, nationality or other attributes. (12:29 GMT) Authorities in Fiji have seized a $300m yacht of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov at the request of the United States, according to the US Justice Department. (12:50 GMT) Donors' conference in Warsaw raises $6.5bn for Ukraine (13:41 GMT) Ukraine has received over $12bn in weapons and financial aid since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. (13:51 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has invited German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to visit, the German president's office has said, three weeks after Steinmeier was snubbed by Kyiv. (13:59 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says 140 individuals will be added to a Russian asset freeze list while an export ban will be expanded to Russian military firms. (14:21 GMT) NATO will increase its presence around Sweden's borders and in the Baltic Sea while a potential application to join the alliance is processed, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has told Swedish public broadcaster SVT. "From the potential moment Sweden is applying, and NATO says that they want Sweden to join, there is a very strong obligation from NATO to be able to guarantee Sweden's security," Stoltenberg said, adding that it would include increased presence around Sweden and in the Baltic Sea. Moscow has warned Sweden and Finland of "serious consequences" and that it could deploy nuclear weapons and hypersonic missiles in the European exclave of Kaliningrad if Sweden and Finland become NATO members. (14:55 GMT) The Chinese and Russian central banks will discuss the use and promotion of their respective national payment systems Mir and China UnionPay in both countries, (15:53 GMT) The mayor of Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine has urged residents to avoid public gatherings this weekend, or leave the city if they can, for fear of Russian missile attacks. "We have certain information, <=== the enemy unfortunately wants to conduct further missile strikes, therefore on the 7th, 8th, and 9th there won't be any public events, including prayers," he said. "For your safety, I urge you ... on these three days to stay at home ... or out of town if you are able," said Mayor Ruslan Martsinkiv. (16:16 GMT) The British government says it has sanctioned steel manufacturing and mining company Evraz. "Today's asset freeze means no UK citizen or company can do business with them." (16:23 GMT) The EU has proposed sanctioning former Russian gymnast Alina Kabaeva for her role in Kremlin propaganda and close ties to Vladimir Putin. (17:37 GMT) Putin apologises for foreign minister's Hitler remarks (18:49 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and US President Joe Biden have agreed in a call that they will not recognise any Russian territorial gains in Ukraine, a German government spokesperson has said in a statement. (18:56 GMT) The European Union's new sanctions package against Russia, including an embargo on crude oil imports, would cause more harm to Hungary than Russia, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said. (19:00 GMT) The Kremlin has accused the West of preventing a "quick" end to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine by supplying weapons and intelligence to the country. "The United States, Britain, NATO as a whole hand over intelligence ... to Ukraine's armed forces on a permanent basis," Peskov told reporters. "Coupled with the flow of weapons that these countries are sending to Ukraine, these are all actions that do not contribute to the quick completion of the operation." (20:27 GMT) UN chief urges reintegrating food from Russia and Ukraine into the global market (20:32 GMT) The Russian military has said its air force destroyed 45 Ukrainian military facilities in the latest series of attacks. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the targets hit included Ukrainian troops and weapons concentrations and an ammunition depot in the eastern Luhansk region. He said the Russian artillery hit 152 Ukrainian troops' strongholds and 38 artillery firing positions. (20:34 GMT) The Ukrainian army has said Russian troops made "unsuccessful" attempts to advance in the eastern Kharkiv and Donetsk regions. (21:21 GMT) The US defence department has denied that it provided intelligence on the locations of Russian generals on the battlefield so that Ukraine forces could kill them. Reacting to a New York Times report on US support for the Ukraine military, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said it was true that Washington supplies Kyiv's forces with military intelligence "to help Ukrainians defend their country". "We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military," Kirby said. (22:05 GMT) UN reports 6,731 civilian casualties in Ukraine (22:34 GMT) White House welcomes Finland, Sweden discussions on NATO. "We obviously strongly support NATO's open-door policy and the right of each country to decide its own future foreign policy and security arrangements," 20220506 (00:17 GMT) US intelligence helped Ukraine sink the Russian warship Moskva, NBC News has reported, citing US officials. The flagship of Russia's Black Sea Fleet sank on April 14 after having been struck by two Ukrainian Neptune anti-ship missiles. According to the officials, the attack happened after Ukrainian forces asked the Americans about a ship sailing in the Black Sea south of Odesa. The US identified it as the Moskva and helped confirm its location, after which the Ukrainians targeted the ship. (01:00 GMT) Russia's war 'designed to terrorise and kill' Ukrainians: UK diplomat (01:21 GMT) A court in Spain has ordered the provisional release of a Ukrainian politician and blogger who was arrested after being accused of treason in his home country. Citing the "circumstances of the case" and Shariy's connections to Spain, the judge declined to keep him in custody but said he had to surrender his passport and report to authorities regularly. The measures would remain for 40 days to allow Ukraine to formally request Shariy's extradition. (01:41 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the US has said that NATO isn't taking the threat of nuclear war seriously enough and there would be "no winners" if it happened. In an interview with Newsweek, Anatoly Antonov said that talk of Russia's sabre-rattling and threat of using nuclear weapons was "a flurry of blatant misrepresentation of Russian officials' statements on our country's nuclear policy". "It is our country that in recent years has persistently proposed to American colleagues to affirm that there can be no winners in a nuclear war, thus it should never happen." He then underlined the "conditions under which the use of nuclear weapons is possible". Russia's doctrine states that nuclear weapons "can be used in response to the use of WMD against Russia and its allies, or in the event of aggression against our country, when the very existence of the state is jeopardised," (02:11 GMT) World Health Organization states will consider a resolution against Russia next week, including the possible closure of a major regional office in Moscow, a document obtained by Reuters news agency shows. The draft, prepared largely by EU diplomats and submitted to the WHO's regional office for Europe this week, follows a request by Ukraine, signed by at least 38 other members including Turkey, France and Germany (03:14 GMT) ( see today 00:17 ) The Pentagon's press secretary has dismissed an earlier NBC News report that US intelligence helped Ukraine sink Russia's Moskva flagship. "We did not provide Ukraine with specific targeting information for the Moskva. We were not involved in the Ukrainians' decision to strike the ship or in the operation they carried out," several journalists on Twitter quoted John Kirby as having said. "We had no prior knowledge of Ukraine's intent to target the ship." ( PJB: The sound of squirming weasels ... ) (06:14 GMT) Germany will deliver seven self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, on top of five howitzers the Dutch already pledged, Germany's defence minister has said. The training of Ukrainian troops on the artillery weapons can start next week in Germany, Christine Lambrecht told reporters in the Slovak town Sliac where she was to meet her Dutch counterpart later. (07:41 GMT) Russian authorities in occupied parts of the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia are forcing locals to re-register their businesses, pay taxes and report the land they farm, Ukrainian defence officials said (08:26 GMT) Russia has said its missiles destroyed a large ammunition depot in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, according to its defence ministry. Moscow also said its air defences shot down two Ukrainian warplanes, an Su-25 and a MiG-29, in the eastern Luhansk region. (10:58 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has slammed Poland for what he called its hostile rhetoric, saying that Warsaw could be "a source of threat". Poland has urged the EU to tighten sanctions on Moscow and called for NATO to arm Ukraine forces that have poured into its eastern parts. Polish environment and climate minister, Anna Moskwa, said, "Poland is proud to be on Putin's list of unfriendly countries." (11:57 GMT) A Russian frigate is burning off the coast of the Odesa region following a Ukrainian attack, a Ukrainian YouTube channel claimed on Friday. The Burevestnik warship, known by the NATO reporting name Krivak, was hit by a Ukrainian Neptune torpedo near the Zmiinyi Island (Snake Island), the Odesa & Transport channel claimed. It said Russian warplanes are circling above the ship, and that Russian vessels from occupied Crimea are moving towards it to rescue the crew. (13:56 GMT) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck was expected to visit the PCK oil refinery in Brandenburg on Monday, where he is to hold talks with its management and staff as part of efforts to reduce Germany's dependence on Russian fossil fuels, his ministry announced. The refinery is controlled by state-owned Russian oil company Rosneft and is a key factor in Germany's failure to rapidly reduce its dependence on Russian oil supplies in the medium term. (14:08 GMT) Taiwan's government has imposed controls on exports of technology to Belarus, saying it was directly involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (16:30 GMT) Russia has handed over 41 people, including 28 military personnel, in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, Deputy PM Iryna Vereshchuk has said. (16:46 GMT) Africa faces an "unprecedented" crisis caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, particularly with soaring food and fuel prices, UN officials say (18:19 GMT) Ukraine official says 50 people evacuated from Azovstal plant (19:25 GMT) The UN Security Council, including Russia, has expressed "deep concern regarding the maintenance of peace and security of Ukraine" and backed efforts by the UN chief to find a peaceful solution in the body's first statement since Moscow's invasion. (20:10 GMT) A mega yacht at the centre of a mystery over its ownership appeared ready to set sail from Italy, an AFP photographer saw, as speculation swirls it might belong to the Russian president. "Scheherazade", worth an estimated $700 million, is the subject of a probe into its ownership by Italy's financial police. It had been berthed for several months for maintenance work at a shipyard at the Marina di Carrara, within the western seaside town of Massa. Built by Germany's Luerssen in 2020, the 140-metre yacht features two helipads, a swimming pool and a movie theatre, according to the SuperYachtFan website (21:00 GMT) US President Biden has announced new security aid to Ukraine. "I am announcing another package of security assistance that will provide additional artillery munitions, radars, and other equipment to Ukraine," Biden said in a statement without specifying the amount of the aid. 21:11 GMT) Biden has renewed his call for the US Congress to "quickly" authorise additional funding for aid to Ukraine. Late last month, Biden asked lawmakers for $33bn to keep the assistance flowing. The US president said in a statement that the most recent aid package "nearly exhausted" his administration's funding for Ukraine. (21:34 GMT) The Italian finance minister has announced a decree that will impede a mega-yacht from sailing away from a Tuscan port, after an investigation indicated the luxury vessel Scheherazade has links to "prominent elements of the Russian government". (21:42 GMT) The newest US military aid package to Ukraine, announced by Biden on Friday, is worth $150m, a US official has said. The latest tranche of assistance includes 25,000 155mm artillery rounds, counter-artillery radars, jamming equipment, field equipment and spare parts. (22:11 GMT) Ukraine's wheat production is likely to be down by at least a third from last year due to the invasion, satellite imagery has shown. (22:26 GMT) With the latest $150m US security aid package to Ukraine, Washington's military assistance to Kyiv since the Russian invasion began has reached around $3.8bn, the State Department has said. 20220507 (00:19 GMT) The UK government which has already donated nearly 600 mobile generators to Ukraine, is to send 287 more. The new generators, which are enough to power nearly 8,000 homes, will be used for hospitals, shelters and other essential services in eastern Ukraine. (01:43 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War says it can't confirm any specific Russian advances on the assault on the Azovstal steel plant but on the city of Mariupol adds: "Likely widespread civilian resistance to the Russian occupation may additionally disrupt previously announced Russian plans to conduct a Victory Day exhibition in Mariupol." (06:03 GMT) The conflict in Ukraine is taking a heavy toll on some of Russia's most capable units and most advanced capabilities, the British ministry of defence tweeted. At least one T-90M, Russia's most advanced tank, has been destroyed in the fighting, the ministry said. Approximately 100 T-90M tanks are in service amongst Russia's best equipped units, including those fighting in Ukraine, it said. (07:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said it had destroyed a large stockpile of military equipment from the United States and European countries near the Bohodukhiv railway station in Ukraine's Kharkiv region. The ministry said it had hit 18 Ukrainian military facilities overnight, including three ammunition depots in Dachne, near the port city of Odesa. (08:52 GMT) Transnistria, a breakaway Russian-backed territory in Moldova bordering on Ukraine, said there have been renewed attacks on its territory. There were several explosions in the village of Voronkovo near the Ukrainian border during the night, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the region's interior ministry. (09:45 GMT) The territorial defence headquarters of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said that 50 more people had been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel factory in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, to a reception centre in nearby Bezimenne, in the separatist DPR. (13:15 GMT) A Croatian citizen who fought alongside Ukrainian troops in Mariupol has been detained by the Russian army, Croatian state media has reported. ( Croatia is in NATO and in EU see 20220113_nato_eu_osce_membership.png ) (13:18 GMT) Kyiv says it has destroyed another Russian warship near the Black Sea's Snake Island. Ukraine's defence ministry said an armed drone had destroyed a Serna-class landing craft and a missile defence system at the small island under Russian control. (13:36 GMT) Russia's most senior lawmaker has accused Washington of coordinating military operations in Ukraine, which he said amounted to direct US involvement in military action against Russia. "Washington is essentially coordinating and developing military operations, thereby directly participating in military actions against our country," Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel. (14:03 GMT) US First Lady Jill Biden has praised the Romanian government and relief organisations for the range of humanitarian aid they are providing to Ukrainian refugees. At a Romanian public school hosting refugee students, Biden saw firsthand the relief efforts to assist some of the 900,000 Ukrainians who have fled to Romania. "We stand with you," Jill Biden told the mothers of some of the students after visiting classrooms where kids ages five to 15 attend school. (14:46 GMT) Six missiles have hit the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, the spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command told the country's public broadcaster. (16:26 GMT) Ukraine: 'All women, children and elderly' evacuated from Azovstal (18:49 GMT) Russia says operation to evacuate civilians from Azovstal plant is over (19:38 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford says attempts to rescue civilians trapped in the besieged town of Popasna, in eastern Ukraine, have been suspended because too dangerous. (20:30 GMT) Ukraine has urged aid agency Doctors Without Borders MSF to evacuate its soldiers from their last holdout in the devastated port city of Mariupol. ( up till now Zlelenskyy has been telling them to "never surrender" ) https://tass.com https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media_in_Russia 20220508 (02:25 GMT) Germany has announced an aid package of 63 million euros ($66m) to help rebuild conflict-torn areas in Ukraine. "We have boosted the immediate aid programme for Ukraine from 122 million to 185 million euros," said German Development Minister Svenja Schulze. "This will be used to restore the drinking water supply and rebuild destroyed apartments, schools and kindergartens." She added, "Where the bombs have stopped falling, Germany will assist with billions for rebuilding." (03:06 GMT) UK to provide 1.3 billion pounds of additional military aid to Ukraine (03:16 GMT) The leaders of the G7 countries - UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States - are due to hold a virtual meeting with Ukraine's Zelenskyy. The meeting will take place on Sunday afternoon, or morning in US time. (03:27 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's republic of Chechnya, says his soldiers have taken control of most of the eastern Ukrainian city of Popasna. Popasna is in the Luhansk region. (05:33 GMT) The bodies of two people have been pulled out of the rubble of a school building in the town of Belogorovka in the Luhansk region, according to Ukraine's emergency services. They said some 90 people had been sheltering in the school when the Russians dropped a bomb on Saturday. The governor of Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai has said dozens of people stuck under the rubble after the school bombing in Belogorovka were likely dead. "Probably all 60 people who are still under the rubble of the building are dead," he posted on his Telegram account. Emergency services were able to rescue 30 people, seven of whom were injured. (06:51 GMT) The last of the Ukrainian civilians trapped in a steel plant in the port city of Mariupol have now been evacuated. (07:14 GMT) Russia's Gazprom continues gas exports to Europe via Ukraine Requests stood at 92.1 million cubic metres (mcm) for May 8 compared with 92.4 mcm on May 7. (08:10 GMT) The Russian defence ministry claims it had destroyed a Ukrainian corvette warship near Odesa by a missile strike overnight. The ministry also said its air defences had shot down two Ukrainian SU-24 bombers and a helicopter over the Snake island in the Black Sea. It said a total of four Ukrainian warplanes, four helicopters and an assault boat had been destroyed over the past 24 hours. (10:10 GMT) Croatia's prime minister Andrej Plenkovic has visited Ukraine following reports that a Croatian citizen fighting in Mariupol was captured by Russian forces. (10:49 GMT) EU wrangles over details of Russia oil embargo Several member states, most vocally Hungary, demanded exemptions from the ban and or support to help them escape their long-standing dependence on a single pipeline for Russian crude. (11:53 GMT) Since midnight Ukraine time, at least seven air raids have taken place on Odesa. (12:20 GMT) Armed fighters from the Azov Regiment at the besieged Azovstal steel plant have pledged to continue fighting "for as long as we are alive". (13:56 GMT) Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Marat Khusnullin says he has visited, among others, the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Khusnullin is Russia's most senior official to step foot in Ukraine since the war began. (14:39 GMT) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has visited Irpin, a key suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv that had been temporarily occupied by Russian forces. (14:55 GMT) Irish rock group U2's frontman Bono and his bandmate the Edge performed a 40-minute concert in a metro station in Kyiv. (15:07 GMT) Pelosi urges US Congress to approve $33bn in aid by end of May (15:27 GMT) Zelenskyy, German parliament head Baerbel Bas discuss arms, EU membership (15:52 GMT) US top diplomat Kristina Kvien returns to Kyiv embassy (16:03 GMT) The US has unveiled sanctions against three Russian television stations, banned Americans from providing accounting and consulting services to Russians, and sanctioned executives from Gazprombank to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. (16:14 GMT) Russian shells hit Lysychansk oil refinery, damage production areas (16:51 GMT) G7 leaders pledge further economic isolation of Russia (17:00 GMT) Russia says it destroyed US-supplied weapons near the settlement Soledar. (17:21 GMT) The US Department of State announced a raft of visa bans and a new policy of visa restrictions on more than 2,500 Russian military officials and Russian-backed forces in Ukraine, according to a department fact sheet. It also said it designated eight Russian maritime-related companies and added 69 vessels to a US Treasury Department sanctions list. (18:35 GMT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced new weapons and equipment for Ukraine after an unannounced visit to Kyiv. (21:13 GMT) Russian bomb-strike at school in Bilohorivka in the Luhansk region kills about 60: Zelenskyy (21:20 GMT) Bulgaria will not support European Union's new set of sanctions against Russia if the Balkan country does not get a derogation from the proposed ban on buying Russian oil, Deputy Prime Minister Assen Vassilev has said. (21:53 GMT) The UK is placing fresh sanctions on Russia and Belarus, including import tariffs on precious metals and export bans. The import tariffs, including on platinum and palladium, will target trade worth $2.10bn while export bans worth $310m will target Russia's manufacturing and heavy industry, the UK's Department for International Trade said. (23:50 GMT) Japan to ban Russian oil imports 'in principle' "For a country heavily dependent on energy imports, it's a very difficult decision. But G7 coordination is most important at a time like now," PM Kishida said, in to a statement released by the Japanese government. 20220509 (00:07 GMT) US weapons maker Lockheed Martin plans to nearly double the production of Javelin missiles, the antitank weapon that has helped Ukraine. The company's aim is to boost output to 4,000 per year from 2,100 per year currently. The increase will take as long as a couple of years. (02:32 GMT) A court in Fiji has suspended the execution of a US warrant to seize the Amadea $300m superyacht that Washington claims is owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, according to prosecutors. (04:22 GMT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will help Ukraine work out options on how to export stored grain to uphold global food security. Nearly 25 million tonnes of grains are stuck in Ukraine and unable to leave the country due to infrastructure challenges and blocked Black Sea ports. (05:52 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence is warning that Russia is running out of precision-guided munitions, meaning that Moscow will increasingly turn to inaccurate rockets and bombs that can spread destruction even wider. (07:30 GMT) Putin was speaking at the annual Victory Day parade on Moscow's Red Square marking the anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany in World War II. He says the intervention in Ukraine had been necessary because the West was "preparing for the invasion of our land, including Crimea". He says Russian troops in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region are fighting for their "Motherland". "You are fighting for your Motherland, its future," he said at the Victory Day parade in Moscow. "The death of every soldier and officer is painful for us. The state will do everything to take care of these families." He cited NATO's expansion around its borders as an "absolutely unacceptable threat" and the reason for invading Ukraine. Putin told thousands of troops gathered in Moscow's Red Square that Russian forces in Ukraine were continuing the battle against "Nazism", but it was important "to do everything so that the horror of a global war does not happen again". Putin observed a minute of silence to honour the troops who fell in combat. He finished his speech with a rallying cry to the assembled soldiers: "For Russia, For Victory, Hurrah!" Putin's 11-minute speech on day 75 of the invasion offered no assessment of progress in the war on Ukraine and or how long it might continue. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/5/9/photos-russia-marks-wwii-victory-shadowed-by-ukraine (08:01 GMT) Sweden's ruling party to announce NATO stance on May 15 (08:21 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow, says Putin was quick to focus on Moscow's "justifications" for sending Russian troops into Ukraine in late February. "There were a lot of expectations here about what the Russian president would say and whether or not he would talk about what the people of Russia can expect in the coming days and weeks, but Putin kept his speech very short," Jabbari said. (08:28 GMT) The leader of the Moscow-backed, self-declared Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine has taken part in Victory Day celebrations in the southeastern city of Mariupol. Denis Pushilin was seen yelling "Hurrah!" and carrying a giant St George's Ribbon - a symbol of Russia's victory in WWII. (09:12 GMT) Australia looks to fill Asia's energy gap amid the Ukraine crisis https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/9/australia-looks-to-fill-asias-energy-gap-amid-ukraine-crisis (10:13 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a US-made counter-battery radar station near the eastern Ukrainian town of Zolote. The US and other NATO allies have been supplying increasingly heavy weapons to Kyiv in recent weeks. (11:43 GMT) Brussels to give 'opinion' on Ukraine EU membership bid in June (13:06 GMT) Zelenskyy called for immediate moves to open Ukrainian ports blockaded by Russia to allow wheat exports and prevent a global food crisis. (13:51 GMT) Protesters in Poland have thrown red paint on Russia's ambassador in protest against the war in Ukraine, shouting 'Fascist murderer'. The incident on Monday occurred at a Warsaw cemetery dedicated to Red Army soldiers who died during World War II. (14:16 GMT) Europe must learn from its past mistakes and make sure no side is humiliated when Russia and Ukraine negotiate for peace, French President Emmanuel Macron has said after describing Putin's Victory Day speech as "intimidation" and "warlike". (14:59 GMT) The president of the European Council has lamented that "silos full" of food ready for export is blocked in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa. Charles Michel's remarks came as he visited the southwestern city, which has been the target of Russian missile attacks over recent days, in a surprise trip on Monday. "I saw silos full of grain, wheat and corn ready for export," Michel tweeted. "This badly needed food is stranded because of the Russian war and blockade of Black Sea ports. Causing dramatic consequences for vulnerable countries. We need a global response." (15:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, says UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's visit on Monday to Moldova's capital is "very telling" amid mounting fears the country's breakaway republic of Transnistria could be drawn into the war. (15:40 GMT) US to suspend tariffs on Ukrainian steel for one year (17:34 GMT) Around 14,500 Ukrainians have filed for applications as of last week to come to the United States under a humanitarian parole programme that allows Ukrainians to stay with American sponsors. Ukrainians are also coming to the US on tourist visas, through the southern border. (20:12 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked US legislators and President Joe Biden for passing legislation reviving a WWII-era weapons programme that will allow Washington to more easily export arms to Ukraine. "Today's signing of the law on Lend-Lease is a historic step," he tweeted. "I am convinced that we will win together again. And we will defend democracy in Ukraine. And in Europe. Like 77 years ago." (20:14 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has offered Ukraine "full support" as he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz visited Berlin's symbolically important Brandenburg Gate, illuminated in Ukraine's national colours, AFP news agency saw. (20:20 GMT) The White House has slammed Putin's Victory Day speech, accusing the Russian president of spreading "disinformation". In a speech marking the defeat of the Nazis during World War II, Putin had said the invasion of Ukraine was in response to an "unacceptable" Western threat to Russia. (20:32 GMT) President Joe Biden was not happy with leaks to news outlets in which US intelligence appeared to take credit for helping Ukraine target a Russian ship and Russian generals in Ukraine, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters. "The president was displeased with the leaks. His view was that it was an overstatement of our role, an inaccurate statement and also an understatement of the Ukrainians' role and their leadership and he did not feel they were constructive," she said. (20:39 GMT) Lithuania's top diplomat has said removing Putin from power is the only way to protect the West and its allies from future threats from Moscow, urging an even tougher stance against Russia than the US and many NATO allies have been willing to pursue. (21:28 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rosiland Jordan, reporting from Washington, DC, said US weapons exports typically involve a months-long process amid various agency reviews, but a law signed by Biden on Monday will help expedite the procedure. "What this signing of the Lend-Lease Act does is essentially wipe away all of that bureaucracy," Jordan said, about the legislation Biden signed. "This gives the administration the ability to give to the Ukrainians equipment that the US already owns and to get it there as quickly as possible." (21:38 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said during an official visit to non-NATO member Moldova that the consequences of Russia's war against Ukraine escalating are "too frightening to contemplate." (22:15 GMT) The most recent US sanctions package targeted three Russian television stations, banned Americans from providing accounting and consulting services to Russians, and sanctioned executives from Gazprombank. "The United States will continue to execute new economic measures against Russia as long as the Russian Federation continues its aggression against Ukraine," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. 20220510 (00:27 GMT) Ukraine has filled in the second part of the European Union's questionnaire to gain candidate country status. (00:34 GMT) A halt to Russian gas supplies to Germany would trigger a deep recession and cost half a million jobs, a senior economist has said. Achim Truger, a member of Germany's Council of Economic Experts, told daily newspaper Rheinische Post that the country's industry could suffer serious damage in the long term if the Russian president decides to cut gas exports. Russian gas accounted for 55% of Germany's imports last year, and Berlin has come under pressure to unwind a business relationship that critics says is helping fund Russia's war in Ukraine. Last month, Russia's Gazprom cut Poland and Bulgaria off from its gas for refusing to pay in roubles, and threatened to do the same to others, raising fears that it could take similar action against Germany. (01:04 GMT) Biden said Putin is a very calculating man and the problem he worries about now is that the Russian leader "doesn't have a way out right now, and I'm trying to figure out what we do about that." (01:14 GMT) Japan will decide the timing and method of a Russian oil embargo while considering actual conditions, its industry minister Koichi Hagiuda said. (01:49 GMT) Members of the Kremlin-linked private military company the Wagner Group have requested hundreds of thousands of additional troops to reinforce Russian efforts in Donbas, the Institute for the Study of War has said. (02:35 GMT) Russia is not planning to proactively close its embassies in Europe in response to sanctions and other unfriendly measures by the West, state news agency RIA has reported, citing Russia's deputy foreign minister. "This is not in our tradition," Alexander Grushko said. "Therefore, we believe that the work of diplomatic representative offices is important" On Monday, Russia's ambassador to Poland was doused in red paint (02:51 GMT) Japan has announced new sanctions on Russia, Reuters reports. The sanctions include freezing the assets of more individuals and banning exports of cutting-edge goods to some Russian groups, including scientific research institutions. (03:59 GMT) One of the Ukrainian fighters holding out in the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol has said they were still defending the city. Valeri Paditel, who heads the border guards in the Donetsk region, said the fighters were "doing everything to make those who defend the city in the future proud." In a video address, released by the national border guard service, Paditel said the fighters include border guards, soldiers, national police and members of the national guard. (05:04 GMT) Ukraine's army has said it repelled 15 Russian attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the past day. The latest report from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Moscow's forces are preparing for offensives in the towns of Lyman and Severodonetsk. Fights continue for the settlements of Voevodovka and Toshkovka in the Severodonetsk district of the Luhansk region, as well as Kamenka in the Donetsk region. Russian forces are continuing to secure a section of the Ukrainian- -Russian border near the Russian regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Multiple areas of the Sumy region were shelled, including the villages of Belopolye, Bolshaya Pisarevka, Krasnopolye and Yunakivka. The post also said that Ukraine's forces destroyed one Russian anti-aircraft missile system, nine tanks, three artillery systems, 25 units of armoured combat vehicles, three units of special engineering equipment and three other vehicles. (07:15 GMT) Moscow's losses amounted to 26,000 soldiers, including some 350 in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's military said. Since the invasion began on February 24, Russian forces have also lost 1,170 tanks, 2,808 armored vehicles, 199 planes and 158 helicopters, the General Staff of Armed Forces said on Facebook on Tuesday. (07:30 GMT) At least 100 civilians remain in a steel works that is under heavy 1Russian fire in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Petro Andryushchenko an aide to the city's mayor (in exile?) said (08:10 GMT) Due to "catastrophic losses" in Ukraine, the Kremlin is changing the tone of its propaganda, Ukrainian intelligence said. To prepare average Russians for a possible defeat, Kremlin-controlled media started to present the war as Moscow's confrontation with the European Union and NATO members, the Chief Intelligence Department of Ukraine's defence ministry said on Facebook. "This will reduce the shame of losing to a more powerful opponent," In his May 9 speech on Moscow's Red Square, Putin said that Ukraine received "regular deliveries of modern weapons" from NATO member states. (09:00 GMT) Ukraine's central bank says it increased its portfolio of domestic war bonds to 100 billion hryvnias ($3.3bn) after buying a further 30 billion to help the government finance the budget amid the war with Russia. (09:10 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has arrived in Ukraine, becoming the highest-ranking German government official to visit the country since February 24. (09:27 GMT) The head of the United Nations human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine says that thousands more civilians have been killed in the country since the war began than its official toll of 3,381. (09:50 GMT) Tokyo has said it intends to phase out Russian oil in a way that "minimises adverse effects" after agreeing on such an embargo with other Group of Seven nations. (10:20 GMT) Zelenskyy has called on the international community to take immediate steps to help end the Russian blockade of Ukraine's ports. (10:45 GMT) Kyiv officials have announced the new names for five subway stations in the Ukrainian capital whose existing titles are linked to Russia or the former Soviet Union following a public vote. The Leo Tolstoy Square station will become Vasyl Stus in a nod to the famed Ukrainian dissident and poet, who died in a Soviet jail in 1985. The Beresteiska station, named after the city of Brest in Moscow-friendly Belarus, will be retitled Bucha. The three other new names are Heroes of Ukraine, Warsaw and Botanical. (11:20 GMT) Ukraine's leading agricultural group, Ukrlandfarming, says Russia's invasion has caused it losses totalling hundreds of millions of dollars, mainly because of the loss of access to land and the destruction of farms. Ukrlandfarming, which produces grain, meat, eggs and sugar, said in a statement that it had lost control of 40% of its land portfolio. (11:33 GMT) Finnish Parliament's defence committee recommends NATO membership (11:50 GMT) More than eight million people have been internally displaced in Ukraine since the start of Russia's invasion, the UN's migration agency IOM says (12:35 GMT) Members of the World Health Organization's (WHO) European region have passed a resolution that could result in the closure of Russia's regional office and the suspension of meetings in the country. (12:42 GMT) Soviet hymns blasted from speakers in the centre of the Moldovan capital on Monday, as the annual Victory Day march went ahead as war raged in Ukraine. The commemoration of the end of World War II in 1945 came against the backdrop of deep societal divisions, with those who lean towards Russia and those who favour closer integration with the West at odds. And now, many Moldovans live in fear that their country could get dragged into the conflict. (12:48 GMT) A Ukrainian fighter holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks has said that numerous wounded troops need to be evacuated from the site after Russian attacks there. (13:00 GMT) Germany's foreign minister said Ukraine should become a full member of the EU at some point, but added there could be no shortcut to membership. (13:11 GMT) Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) has alleged that Russia is listing troops killed in Ukraine as "missing" while secretly burying their bodies in order to hide the true extent of its losses. The SBU said its claim was based on an intercepted phone call between a pro-Russian separatist fighter and his wife in the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. The rebel allegedly said in the call that thousands of killed Russian troops were being dumped at a huge "junkyard" near the city of Donetsk. "It's not a morgue, it's a landfill," the SBU quoted the separatist fighter as saying. He added in the call that the site was "cordoned off" and the stacks of corpses there reach two metres in height (13:28 GMT) Confrontation between competing world powers resulting from the Ukraine crisis could become a bigger and more lasting threat to international peace than the crisis itself, China's President Xi Jinping has warned his French counterpart during talks by phone, according to state media. China has repeatedly urged European countries to exercise diplomatic autonomy instead of aligning with the US in what Beijing says is a "cold war mentality". (13:37 GMT) Boris Johnson will travel to Sweden and Finland on Wednesday, his spokesman says, as the two countries consider joining NATO. "It is about not just Ukraine, but about the broader security of Europe," Johnson's spokesman said of the trip. (14:19 GMT) The US believes that Putin is preparing for a long conflict in Ukraine and that a Russian victory in the Donbas in the east of the country might not end the war, its director of national intelligence says. She added that Putin was counting on Western powers' resolve to weaken over time.` (14:29 GMT) A high-ranking official in the separatist Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) says the region will open an embassy in Moscow next month. (15:20 GMT) The United Nations General Assembly has elected the Czech Republic to the Geneva-based Human Rights Council to replace Russia, which was suspended last month over its invasion of Ukraine and then immediately quit the 47-member body. Russia had been in its second year of a three-year term. (15:26 GMT) Kyiv mayor says nearly two-thirds of residents have returned (15:40 GMT) As Europe attempts to abandon Russian energy imports, Greece is becoming a gateway for liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/5/10/ukraine-war-speeds-greeces-transition-to-eu-energy-gateway (16:14 GMT) Ukraine's gas system operator GTSOU has said it would declare force majeure on the transportation of gas through the Sokhranivka entry point, with flows stopping on May 11. (16:24 GMT) Belarus will deploy special operations troops in three areas near its southern border with Ukraine, the armed forces have said as President Alexander Lukashenko talked up the role of Russian-made missiles in boosting the country's defences.` (16:29 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has visited gas-producing ally Algeria for talks as Europe jockeys to secure alternative gas supplies. Algeria is a major gas supplier to Europe, providing 11% of its imports, compared with 47% from Russia. Algiers abstained when the United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution in March demanding Russia immediately withdraw from Ukraine. (16:32 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged Malta to stop Russians from abusing passports handed out as part of a lucrative citizenship scheme, and to prevent its ships from transporting Russian oil. (16:42 GMT) Portuguese police have raided a refugee support centre run by the municipality of Setubal near Lisbon over allegations that pro-Kremlin Russian attendants had collected personal data of dozens of newly arrived Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion. (16:55 GMT) India has exported a record 1.4 million tonnes of wheat in April, four trade sources have said. India is the only major supplier of wheat at this time of year. (17:12 GMT) Gazprom has said it is not technologically possible to switch gas transfers to Ukraine to a new entry point, as Ukraine's gas system operator GTSOU was proposing. GTSOU earlier said it would declare force majeure on the transportation of Russian gas through the Sokhranivka entry point, with flows stopping on May 11, and proposed transferring capacity to another location, Sudzha. (17:23 GMT) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will spend one billion euros ($1.053bn) in Ukraine in 2022, the bank's president Odile Renaud-Basso has said. (17:42 GMT) Zelenskyy has told Maltese lawmakers that despite pleas, Ukraine has not received the amount of weapons it would need to unblock the siege of Mariupol and free the city. (18:28 GMT) Russia says it has repelled Ukrainian efforts to reclaim Snake Island in the Black Sea. (18:36 GMT) Leonid Kravchuk, the first president of post-Soviet Ukraine, has died (18:48 GMT) Ukraine says Russia taking transit gas, sending it to separatist regions (18:55 GMT) Gas flows to Europe via Ukraine could fall by a third unless Russia switches to using a different route after Kyiv said it would suspend the flow of natural gas through a transit point, state energy firm Naftogaz head Yuriy Vitrenko has said. (19:03 GMT) Ukraine's suspension of Russian natural gas flows through the Sokhranivka route should not have an effect on the domestic Ukrainian market, state energy firm Naftogaz head Yuriy Vitrenko has told Reuters. (19:05 GMT) The US House of Representatives will vote on a $40bn military and humanitarian aid package for Ukraine on Tuesday night, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said. (19:22 GMT) German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock and her Dutch counterpart, Wopke Hoekstra, have met with the mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko. (19:34 GMT) "The Russians aren't winning and the Ukrainians aren't winning and we're at a bit of a stalemate here," Lieutenant General Scott Berrier, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said before the Senate Armed Services Committee. He said that so far, between eight and 10 Russian generals have been killed. (19:52 GMT) As the European Union tries to impose sanctions on Russian oil over the war in Ukraine, Hungary has emerged as one of the biggest obstacles to unanimous support needed from the bloc's 27 member nations. (20:42 GMT) UN Secretary-General António Guterres has met with refugees from Ukraine in Moldova. (20:45 GMT) Ukraine says its forces have recaptured villages from Russian troops north and northeast of Kharkiv, pressing a counteroffensive that could signal a shift in the war's momentum and jeopardise Russia's main advance. Ukrainian troops in recent days recaptured the settlements of Cherkaski Tyshky, Ruski Tyshki, Borshchova and Slobozhanske, north of Ukraine's second-largest city, said Tetiana Apatchenko, a press officer with the main Ukrainian force in the area. (20:57 GMT) US gas prices have reached a record high as Biden says fighting inflation is his top domestic priority. The average price at the pump hit $4.37 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association (AAA), surpassing the last record of $4.33 set on March 11. The average price per gallon a year ago was $2.97. (21:24 GMT) Ukraine has said it would suspend the flow of gas through a transit point which it said delivers almost a third of the fuel piped from Russia to Europe, blaming Moscow for the move and saying it would move the flows elsewhere. GTSOU, which operates Ukraine's gas system, said it would suspend flows via the Sokhranivka route from Wednesday, declaring "force majeure", a clause invoked when a business is hit by something beyond its control. The company said in a statement that it could not operate at the Novopskov gas compressor station due to "the interference of the occupying forces in technical processes", adding that it could temporarily shift the affected flow elsewhere, to the Sudzha physical interconnection point located in territory controlled by Ukraine. But Gazprom, which has a monopoly on Russian gas exports by pipeline, said it was "technologically impossible" to shift all volumes to the Sudzha interconnection point, as GTSOU proposed. (21:34 GMT) The Biden administration's nominee for US ambassador to Ukraine has said she would work to make Russia's invasion of that country a "strategic failure". "What we are trying to do as an administration is move security items as fast as possible to Ukraine," Brink said. (22:53 GMT) Members of the US House of Representatives have started debating the $40bn aid bill to Ukraine, which is expected to pass with overwhelming bipartisan support. Still, some Republican lawmakers voiced concern about the allocation of the money and what would happen after the funds run out Marjorie Taylor Greene, a staunch supporter of former President Donald Trump, questioned why Washington is sending billions to Ukraine while the US is suffering from a baby formula shortage because of supply disruptions. "Completely ignoring our own border crisis, our own baby formula crisis and brutal inflation skyrocketing, gas crisis that no one can afford. But $40 billion for Ukraine?" she said. (23:35 GMT) Speaking to US lawmakers on Tuesday, Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, said the shifting of Russian military operations to Ukraine's Donbas region in the east is only temporary. "We assess President Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine during which he still intends to achieve goals beyond the Donbas," Haines said. 20220511 (00:12 GMT) Canada says it has given $2.5 million to the United Nations to report on human rights violations in Ukraine. (00:50 GMT) A US citizen in Ukraine who had been accused of espionage and held by Russian forces was being evacuated to Poland with two family members after his release was secured by a private volunteer group from Florida. Kirillo Alexandrov, 27, was arrested with his spouse and mother-in-law in late March outside the city of Kherson as they were trying to flee the region following its occupation by Russian troops. This is according to Project Dynamo, a Tampa-based group first formed to rescue Americans and others from Afghanistan last year. (01:32 GMT) The governor of the Kharkiv region has said that the intensity of Russian shelling, particularly on the residential areas, increased on Tuesday. (02:11 GMT) The US House has approved a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine, the bill having sailed through by a 368-57 margin. The new funding is $7 billion more than Biden's request from April. It would give Ukraine military and economic assistance, help regional allies, replenish weapons the Pentagon has shipped overseas and provide $5 billion to address global food shortages caused by the war's crippling of Ukraine's normally robust production of many crops. (03:12 GMT) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said that Putin's war against Ukraine "is not only an act of brutality, it's an act of cowardice." "We should all be very proud that we had the opportunity - when Putin decided whatever he decided, to be brutal and cruel and a coward - that we were there to help. It is about democracy versus a dictatorship. Democracy must prevail." (03:24 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has lamented Western reluctance to send Kyiv weapons early in the conflict, saying had they done so, thousands of lives may have been saved. ( ie: kill more Russians ... ) (04:15 GMT) The head of Russia's national defence control centre has said that Ukrainian soldiers have staged a "provocation" in Kharkiv by shooting six civilian vehicles, state news agency RIA has reported. "According to the available reliable information, in the Kharkiv region, the Kyiv regime carried out another bloody action in accordance with the Bucha scenario. On the section of the road between the settlements of Stary and Novy Saltov, servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shot six civilian vehicles with white flags mounted on them," Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev said. (04:50 GMT) Putin's representative to the occupied region of Crimea has said that areas of southern Ukraine "liberated" by Moscow's troops will become regions of Russia, RIA news reports. "This, as we assess from our communication with the inhabitants of the region, is the will of the people themselves, most of whom lived for eight years under conditions of repression and bullying by the Ukronazis," Georgy Muradov said. (05:07 GMT) Ukraine has "successfully" struck Russian air defences and resupply vessels stationed in the western Black Sea with Bayraktar drones, the US defence ministry reports. (05:41 GMT) China's Shandong Port International Trade Group, a provincial government backed commodities and oil trader, has secured a rare shipment of Russian crude oil for arrival into east China this month, according to traders and a company statement. Reuters reports that this marks the first such deal under which a Chinese firm other than Beijing's national oil giants has directly bought oil from a Russian supplier. Shandong Port group said in a statement that a 100,000 tonne (730,000 barrel) crude oil shipment in recent days was scheduled to arrive at Shandong province in the middle of this month. Although it did not specify the origin of the shipment, trading sources who closely monitor Russian oil sales to China said the cargo size and the shipping voyage would indicate it is a cargo of ESPO blend, Russia's flagship export grade from its Far East port Kozmino. (06:16 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked US House speaker Nancy Pelosi and other members of Congress who voted in favour of a $40 billion aid package for Ukraine. "We are looking forward to consideration of this important document for us by the Senate," he tweeted (06:36 GMT) Two US senators have introduced a resolution that would call on the Biden administration to list Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. Republican Lindsey Graham and Democratic Richard Blumenthal cited actions during Russia's invasion of Ukraine and incidents where Russia supported fighters in Syria and Chechnya prior to the invasion. The Ukrainian parliament voted last week to urge the US to recognise Russia as a terror sponsor, citing atrocities committed in Bucha, Mariupol and other Ukrainian cities. Zelenskyy asked Biden to name Russia last month. (09:11 GMT) TBILISI, May 11 (Reuters) - The new leader of the Georgian breakaway region of South Ossetia said on Wednesday it would wait for a signal from Moscow before holding a referendum on joining Russia. Moscow recognised South Ossetia and the coastal region of Abkhazia as independent after fighting a brief war with Georgia in 2008. It has provided them with extensive financial support, offered Russian citizenship to their populations and stationed troops there. In comments to TASS news agency, Alan Glagoev, who defeated incumbent Anatoly Bibilov in a presidential vote at the weekend, said South Ossetia needed for Russia to be on board with a referendum on joining the country if it were to be held. (09:31 GMT) Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has accused the United States of waging a "proxy war" against Russia after legislators approved the $40bn aid package for Ukraine. Medvedev said in a post on Telegram that the move was a bid "to deal a serious defeat to our country and limit its economic development and political influence in the world." "It won't work. The printing press by which America is constantly increasing its already inflated government debt will break faster," he added. Medvedev, who has served as deputy chairman of Russia's security council since resigning as prime minister in January 2020, also blamed "insane" prices for US fuel and groceries on what he called America's "Russophobic authorities". (09:49 GMT) Russian forces have carried out 38 air raids on Mariupol's besieged Azovstal steelworks in the past 24 hours, according to Ukrainian fighters holed up in the sprawling, Soviet-era plant. Four of the attacks were carried out by heavy strategic bombers, the Azov battalion said on Telegram. (10:02 GMT) "If you are worried about the prospect of war in Europe - we do not want that at all," Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday at a news conference in Muscat after talks with his Omani counterpart. "But I draw your attention to the fact that it is the West that is constantly and persistently saying that in this situation, it is necessary to defeat Russia. Draw your own conclusions." (10:23 GMT) The leader of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine has said there are no civilians left inside Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks, according to a TASS report. "According to our information, there are no civilians left there. Consequently, our units' hands are no longer tied," TASS quoted Denis Pushilin, whose Moscow-backed separatist forces have taken part in the assault on Mariupol, as saying. Ukraine said on Tuesday that Russian forces were bombarding the steelworks, where a local official said at least 100 civilians were still holed up. Many wounded fighters are also believed to be in the bombed-out plant. Kyiv had previously indicated that all civilians had left Azovstal, and Russia has said the evacuation of civilians from the site was complete. (11:05 GMT) UN chief does not foresee Ukraine peace negotiations any time soon (11:50 GMT) About 4.8 million jobs have been lost in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion in late February as the conflict shut down businesses, strangled exports and drove millions to flee, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) says. (12:05 GMT) "We are steadfast and unequivocal in our support to both Sweden and Finland and the signing of these security declarations is a symbol of the everlasting assurance between our nations," the British PM Johnson said in a statement released to coincide with his visits to both countries. The UK government said in a statement that Johnson would set out the UK's "intention to support the two nations' armed forces should either face crisis or come under attack" during his visits. Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson says that Sweden and the UK have agreed on mutual assistance in the case of crisis or attack, support that could include contributing military resources. "In times of crisis, cooperation becomes even more important," she said after talks with Johnson at the government's country retreat south of Stockholm. "If either country should suffer a disaster or an attack, the United Kingdom and Sweden will assist each other in a variety of ways. The support will be given on request by the affected country and may include military resources." (12:10 GMT) Russia is closely watching anything that can affect NATO's configuration on its borders, the Kremlin's spokesman says. Dmitry Peskov's remarks came as Sweden and Finland are expected to make decisions this month on whether to apply to join the US-led transatlantic military alliance. (12:21 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the war with Russia would have been prevented if his country had been a member of NATO beforehand. "If Ukraine had been part of NATO before the war, there would have been no war," he told students at France's Sciences Po university via video link. Zelenskyy added that he wanted to restore the country's territory before an end to the conflict could be envisioned, adding he was still willing to dialogue with Moscow. Putin has repeatedly said the risk of seeing Ukraine become a member of NATO warranted Russia's invasion. (12:35 GMT) The Polish ambassador to Russia has been summoned to the foreign ministry in Moscow, according to state media reports, two days after Russia's envoy to Poland was doused with red paint in protest over the war. (12:50 GMT) Ukraine has regained control of some 1,200km of the borders with Russia and Belarus after driving Moscow's forces out, an official said. Ukraine says its forces have recently launched counteroffensives around the northeastern city of Kharkiv, liberating several key towns and villages in the region. (13:32 GMT) Local authorities in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slovyansk have told residents to go out as little as possible and to keep their windows shut because Russian shelling has damaged a warehouse storing ammonium nitrate nearby. Ammonium nitrate is commonly used as a source of nitrogen for fertiliser and it can cause respiratory problems if inhaled in large quantities. "We emphasise that there is no direct threat to the lives of the inhabitants of the Slovyansk community," the city's authorities said, adding that the warehouse was in the Kramatorsk area. (14:05 GMT) Serbia enjoys warm ties with Moscow but in recent weeks, pro-government tabloids have turned on Putin and officials in the West have decried Belgrade for sitting on the fence over Russia's invasion. (14:17 GMT) Ukraine can expect to feel the aftermath of its war with Russia "for 100 years" because of unexploded ordnance littering cities, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding that allies would help the country rebuild. (14:40 GMT) "The [Russian] occupiers have turned Mariupol into a medieval ghetto," Mariupol Mayor Vadym Boychenko, who has left the city, said on national television. "Without medicine and medical care, the restoration of the water supply and proper sewerage in the city, epidemics will erupt. Today, the majority of the current population is old and sick. Without proper conditions, mortality among vulnerable groups will increase exponentially." Boychenko's remarks came as Ukraine's human rights ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova appealed to the UN and Red Cross to help evacuate hundreds of wounded fighters holed up in the southeastern port city's vast Azovstal steelworks, saying the destruction of a makeshift hospital there meant many were dying. (15:13 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and US Ambassador John Sullivan have met in Moscow to discuss bilateral issues. The US embassy said, "The United States remains committed to open channels of communication with the Russian government, both to advance US interests and to reduce the risk of miscalculation between our countries." (15:45 GMT) Russia has demanded a formal apology from Poland and threatened possible future reprisals for a protest in which Moscow's ambassador to Warsaw was doused with red paint. The ambassador, Sergey Andreev, was accosted by people protesting against Russia's intervention in Ukraine as he went to lay flowers at the Soviet Military Cemetery in Warsaw on Monday, drawing a furious reaction from Moscow. "Russia expects an official apology from the Polish leadership in connection with the incident and demands the safety of the Russian ambassador and all employees of Russian foreign institutions in Poland are ensured," it said in a statement. (15:45 GMT) Sergei Naryshkin, head of Russia's foreign intelligence agency SVR, said the US was encouraging the spreading of fake information on the popular Telegram messaging service to "discredit" and "dehumanise Russia's political and military leadership in the eyes of the Russian people". "Their actions have a lot in common with the traditions of the Third Reich's ministry of public education and propaganda and its head Joseph Goebbels," Naryshkin said in a statement published on the SVR website. Naryshkin provided no evidence to support the claims of a US-backed information campaign. Russia regularly accuses the West of funding and supporting anti-Kremlin movements and has labelled dozens of independent human rights groups and media outlets in Russia "foreign agents" over recent years. (15:55 GMT) Ukraine's prosecutor general has said a Russian soldier will stand trial for committing an alleged war crime in Ukraine for the first time since the war began. Iryna Venediktova said in a post on Facebook that the man, identified as Vadim Shysimarin, is accused of killing an unarmed civilian in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region on February 28, four days after Moscow launched its offensive.` (16:41 GMT) Werner Hoyer, president of the European Investment Bank, has backed a multi-trillion-euro 'Marshall'-style plan to rebuild Ukraine, saying Europe must not be left alone to foot the vast bill that he predicted could run into the trillions. "What will it cost to rebuild, reconstruct Ukraine? Figures were flying around the room ... but one thing is quite clear to me: We are not talking about millions but trillions" said Hoyer, a former German foreign office minister, told Reuters. Under the post-World War Two US scheme known as the Marshall Plan, the United States granted Europe the present-day equivalent of some $200 billion over four years in economic and technical assistance. (16:47 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said there was a lack of clarity on whether Moscow's demand that European buyers pay for Russian gas in roubles breaches EU sanctions. "There is no official pronouncement of what it means to breach sanctions, nobody has ever said anything about whether roubles payments breach sanctions or not, how these payments are organised, so it's such a grey zone here," he said during a visit to the United States. "As a matter of fact most of the gas importers have already opened their accounts in roubles with Gazprom," he said, adding that he believed the largest gas importer in Germany had already paid in roubles. He did not name the company was referring to. (16:57 GMT) Ukraine has shut down a pipeline that carries Russian natural gas to homes and industries in Western Europe. Ukraine's natural gas pipeline operator said it moved to stop the flow of Russian gas through a compressor station in part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Moscow-backed separatists because enemy forces were interfering with the station's operation and siphoning off gas. (17:11 GMT) "NATO is a defensive alliance. NATO poses no threat to anyone. It is there for the purposes of mutual defence," Boris Johnson said in a joint press conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö in Helsinki. (17:24 GMT) Russia has imposed sanctions against units of Gazprom Germania, in which its gas producer Gazprom ceded ownership, and against EuRoPol GAZ SA, owner of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe gas pipeline. (19:19 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov and US Ambassador John Sullivan have met in Moscow to discuss bilateral issues. The US Embassy said, "The United States remains committed to open channels of communication with the Russian government, both to advance US interests and to reduce the risk of miscalculation between our countries." (20:18 GMT) One person died and three more have been injured in southwestern Russia as a result of shelling from Ukraine, the governor of Belgorod has said (20:24 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he discussed defensive aid, energy sector cooperation and increasing sanctions in a call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (21:07 GMT) More than 560 soldiers from Ukraine's National Guard, a force that includes the Azov regiment currently holed up in Mariupol's steelworks, have been killed since the war with Russia began, its leader has said. Besides the 561 dead, an additional 1,697 troops had been wounded since the war started, National Guard chief Oleksiy Nadtochy said. (22:29 GMT) Ukraine's national football team played its first game since the invasion by Russia on Wednesday, beating German club Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in a friendly organised to raise funds for victims of the conflict. (23:49 GMT) US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin met with the UK's defence secretary Ben Wallace today and discussed "the next steps to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian military aggression", according to a tweet from the UK's defence ministry. "Russia's invasion has entered a different phase that is no less dangerous," 20220512 (00:44 GMT) NATO allies expect Finland and Sweden to apply to join the alliance in coming days and will grant membership quickly, five diplomats and officials told Reuters. During the one-year ratification of their membership, the allies would provide an increased troop presence in the Nordic region, hold more military exercises and naval patrols in the Baltic Sea and possibly rotate US and British forces through Finland and Sweden, they said. Finland and Sweden would not benefit from NATO's collective defence clause - that an attack on one ally is an attack on all - until the parliaments of all 30 member states have ratified the decision. (01:03 GMT) Russian forces made no significant advances anywhere in Ukraine on Wednesday, while Ukrainian forces took further ground northeast of Kharkiv, the Institute for the Study of War has said. (01:11 GMT) Zelenskyy has described as "historic" the US signing of the lend-lease act, which makes it easier to provide military assistance to Ukraine. Zelenskyy also thanked the US for the $40b assistance package passed by the House yesterday. (02:28 GMT) The EU-Japan summit is underway with discussions on "further cooperation and alignment on sanctions in response to Russia's aggression against Ukraine," according to a statement. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida are among the leaders taking part. Von der Leyen said she welcomed Japan's strong stance against Russia in its aggression towards Ukraine. "Like the EU, Japan understands what is at stake here. Not just Ukraine's future. Not just Europe's future. But the future of a rules-based world order," (03:05 GMT) Kharkiv City Council has voted to unilaterally severe twin relations with the Russian cities of Belgorod, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk and St. Petersburg, Ukrainian news agency Hromadske has reported. (03:46 GMT) Germany may be able to cope with a boycott of Russian gas imports as soon as the coming winter, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. "If we have full storage facilities at the turn of the year, if two of the four floating LNG tankers we have leased are connected to the grid and if we make significant energy savings, we can to some extent get through the winter if Russian gas supplies collapse." (04:03 GMT) Ukraine's army has said 788 cruise and ballistic missiles have been launched on targets in Ukraine from the territories of Russia and Belarus since the start of the full scale invasion. Alexei Gromov of Ukraine's armed forces said the main targets were transport infrastructure in the south and east of Ukraine. (05:12 GMT) Multi-national industrial manufacturing company Siemens will quit the Russian market. Siemens said losses and charges at its train-making business led to a downturn in profit during its second quarter. (05:56 GMT) The withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kharkiv region "is a tacit recognition of Russia's inability to capture key Ukrainian cities," the UK's defence ministry said. Russia's prioritisation of operations in the Donbas had left the troops in the Kharkiv area vulnerable. (06:31 GMT) The Atlantic Council has honoured the people of Ukraine with a distinguished leadership award, marking the first time the council has given a full nation the accolade. Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Ukrainian singer-songwriter Jamala were among today's award honourees, recognised for representing "the pillars of the transatlantic relationship", according to the Council. They included ... "11-year-old Maksym, who said nothing to his mother, ran away from home and came to ask for permission to be a part of territorial defence." (06:47 GMT) It will take up to 10 years to remove all the landmines planted by Russian forces in eight Ukrainian regions, Oleh Bondar of the Ukrainian State Emergencies Service has reportedly said. (08:11 GMT) Russian forces trying to cross a strategic river in the southeastern region of Luhansk "feed fish" with their bodies, the regional governor said. Russian forces have been trying to bridge the Siversky Donets river with pontoons near the town of Bilohorivka. But, Ukrainian forces shelled the pontoons and destroyed the units that crossed the river. (08:38 GMT) In their attempt to take the besieged Azovstal plant in Mariupol, Russian troops tried to block the underground passages under the gigantic complex, a Ukrainian official said. The plant that occupies 11 square km remains the only Ukrainian stronghold in the nearly-destroyed Azov Sea port that was pummeled for more than two months. (09:16 GMT) Gazprom has said gas transported through Ukraine to Europe using a key route has dropped dropped by a third. According to Interfax news agency, Gazprom said that supplies transiting Ukraine on Thursday were at 50.6 million cubic metres in total, compared to 72 million cubic metres the day before. Ukraine's pipeline operator GTSOU announced it was halting gas transport at the Sokhranivka transit point from Wednesday as Russian occupying forces now in control were interfering with operations. (09:40 GMT) A Ukrainian strike killed one Russian and wounded seven more in a village that borders Ukraine, a regional governor has claimed. The strike also destroyed 17 houses and six cars in the village of Solokhi in the Belgorod region on late Wednesday, Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. He called the situation "the direst since the shelling began" in April. Russia accused Ukraine of hitting several western Russian villages where fuel and arms depots are located, but Kyiv routinely denies this. (10:20 GMT) Clothing giant Nike has terminated its sponsorship deal with Spartak Moscow as the team will not be competing in European competitions next season, the club has said. (10:51 GMT) Russia "is today the most direct threat to the world order with the barbaric war against Ukraine, and its worrying pact with China", European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said after meeting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo along with European Council President Charles Michel. (11:40 GMT) Russia has sent a warning that it would have to take "military-technical" steps in response to neighbouring Finland joining NATO, after leaders in Helsinki backed entering the US-led alliance. "The expansion of NATO and the approach of the alliance to our borders does not make the world and our continent more stable and secure," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (12:12 GMT) Ukraine will not reopen the suspended Sokhranovka gas transit route from Russia to European customers until Kyiv obtains control over its gas transit system, the head of the system's operator GTSOU told Reuters. The gas pipeline runs through Ukraine's Luhansk region, part of which has been under the control of Russia-backed separatists since 2014. (12:35 GMT) A Russian military court sentenced on Thursday five Muslim men from annexed Crimea for their membership in what it called an "Islamist" organization, a community activist has said. They were accused of being members of Hizb-ut Tahrir, an organization that freely operates in Ukraine but is banned in Russia. (13:44 GMT) Pressure on Europe to secure alternative gas supplies has increased after Moscow imposed sanctions on European subsidiaries of state-owned Gazprom and Ukraine stopped a gas transit route, pushing prices higher. Russia imposed sanctions late Wednesday, mainly on Gazprom's European subsidiaries including Gazprom Germania, an energy trading, storage and transmission business that Germany placed under trusteeship last month to secure supplies. It also imposed sanctions on the owner of the Polish part of the Yamal-Europe pipeline that carries Russian gas to Europe. (14:19 GMT) Russian forces have killed some 300 civilians and 37 militias in the Kyiv suburb of Irpin, its mayor, Oleksandr Markushkin, has said. (14:35 GMT) The European Commission has proposed helping Ukraine export its wheat and other grains by rail, road and river to get around a Russian blockade of Black Sea ports, which is preventing those critical supplies from reaching parts of the world at risk of food insecurity. (15:08 GMT) The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution by a strong majority, setting up an investigation into allegations of rights abuses by Russian troops in parts of Ukraine formerly under their control. The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised nations (G7) will discuss how to end a blockade of Ukrainian grain to enable it to be exported to the world, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. "There are 25 million tons of grain currently blocked in the Ukrainian port of Odesa, which means food for millions of people in the world that is urgently needed, above all in African countries and in the Middle East," Baerbock said. (15:57 GMT) France 'fully supports' Finland's choice to join NATO (19:07 GMT) Over six million refugees have fled Ukraine, says UNHCR (19:32 GMT) Ukrainian forces have damaged a modern Russian navy logistics ship in the Black Sea, setting it on fire, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration in southern Ukraine has said. Spokesman Serhiy Bratchuk said in an online post that the Vsevolod Bobrov had been struck near Snake Island, the scene of renewed fighting in recent days, but did not give details. The tiny island is located near Ukraine's sea border with Romania. (20:20 GMT) Canada will deploy a general and six staff officers to a new NATO unit in Latvia that will help plan, coordinate and integrate regional military activities, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said. The general and staff officers will "be part of a first of its kind unit", Trudeau told reporters at a joint news conference with Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins. "It'll serve as a continued important part of our enhancements to NATO's defense and deterrence capabilities." Canada has almost 700 members of its armed forces deployed in Latvia, a small Baltic state that shares a border with Russia. Karins welcomed Canada's participation in a new "multi-divisional headquarters" there. (20:34 GMT) The White House has said it would support any move by Finland and Sweden to join NATO (20:37 GMT) A student at a construction college in the Russian village of Solokhi near the border with Ukraine has died as a result of a shelling attack, a teacher at the college has told Russia's Interfax news agency. "Russian Nifodyov died as a result of the shelling of the peaceful village of Solokhi by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Nikolai Ignatenko was cited as saying. (21:27 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said that everyone involved in the transportation and sales of grain seized by Russia in occupied areas of the country will face legal consequences. "I want to remind the participants in this deal: what is stolen has never brought happiness to anyone. Everyone involved in the sale, transportation or purchase of stolen grain is an accomplice to the crime," ministry's press service quoted Dmytro Kuleba as saying. Ukrainian officials said earlier this week that a Russian ship carrying seized Ukrainian grain had reached the Mediterranean Sea with Syria as it likely destination. (21:43 GMT) Rocket attacks on Ukraine's central Poltava region have been "perhaps the most intense for the duration of the war", the regional governor has said "[Thursday's] shelling of the Poltava region is perhaps the largest during the course of this full-scale war," Dmitry Lunin wrote in a Telegram post. "12 Russian missiles hit the infrastructure in [the city of] Kremenchuk; most of them hit an oil refinery that was not operational anyway." (21:59 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he is ready to talk with Russian President Vladimir Putin and that "we must find an agreement", but with no ultimatum as a condition. He told Italian RAI state TV in an interview to be broadcast on Thursday night that Ukraine will never recognise Crimea as part of Russia. (22:50 GMT) Republican US Senator Rand Paul has defied leaders of both major parties and single-handedly delayed the approval of an additional $40bn in American aid to Ukraine. With the Senate poised to debate and vote on the package of military and economic aid, Paul denied leaders the unanimous agreement they needed to proceed. The legislation has been approved overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives, but without all 100 senators on board, the bill must follow a lengthy legislative process in the upper chamber. Paul is demanding that the legislation be altered to require an inspector general to oversee spending on Ukraine. "This is the second spending bill for Ukraine in two months. And this bill is three times larger than the first," Paul said before formally blocking the aid package. "Congress just wants to keep on spending, and spending." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rand_Paul (23:28 GMT) Proposals on alternatives to European integration are "unacceptable" for Ukraine, the head of Zelenskyy's office Andriy Yermak said. "Ukraine must become part of a united Europe as soon as possible. This is a matter of mutual security," (23:46 GMT) Sweden and Finland's NATO membership, and the deployment of allied units on their territory, will make them possible targets for Russia, Moscow's representative to the UN has said. "They know that the moment they become members of NATO it will imply certain mirror moves on the Russian side," Dmitry Polyansky said in a video interview with online publication UnHerd. "If there are NATO detachments in those territories, these territories would become a target - or a possible target - for a strike." 20220513 (00:01 GMT) Russian forces likely control all of Rubizhne as of Thursday and have likely seized the town of Voevodivka, north of Severodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War has said. "They will likely launch a ground offensive on or around Severodonetsk in the coming days," the institute said in its latest campaign assessment. "The relative success of Russian operations in this area combined with their failure to advance from Izium and the notable decline in the energy of that attempted advance suggest that they may be giving up on the Izium axis," it added. (02:51 GMT) Airspace closed, Western-made aircraft at risk of repossession, no Visa or Mastercard... flying outside the country has become increasingly difficult for ordinary Russians. (04:27 GMT) Satellite images have emerged that reportedly show the aftermaths of what were probable missile attacks on a Russian Serna-class landing craft near Snake island, close to Ukraine's sea border with Romania. Ukraine said earlier that the Russian navy logistics ship, Vsevolod Bobrov, had been struck near Snake Island, the scene of renewed fighting in recent days, but did not give details. Images taken by US-based private company Maxar Technologies, also showed recent damage to buildings on the island. (04:45 GMT) An adviser to Ukraine's president has said that Moscow's navy logistics ship, Vsevolod Bobrov, was carrying an air defence system from Russia's northern fleet to Zmeiny (Snake) Island, when Ukraine allegedly struck it. Oleksiy Arestovych told former Russian lawyer and politician Mark Feygin that the ship was seriously damaged but was not believed to have sunk. (04:52 GMT) The president of the European Council, who is visiting Japan's Hiroshima, the first city to suffer an atomic bombing, has said that global security was under threat from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and North Korea's recent missile test. "As we speak, global security is under threat. Russia, a nuclear armed state ... is attacking the sovereign nation of Ukraine, while making shameful and unacceptable references to the use of nuclear weapons," Michel said in his speech. (04:58 GMT) Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich nations will discuss how to alleviate food security concerns when they meet in Germany on Friday as fears mount that the war between Russia and Ukraine could further destabilise Moldova. The annual meeting running until Saturday brings together top diplomats from Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, France, Japan the United States and the European Union, to the Baltic Sea resort of Weissenhaus. (05:02 GMT) The war in Ukraine is a "child rights crisis" where education is under attack, nearly 100 youngsters have been killed in just the last month and millions more have been forced to flee their homes, the UN children's agency UNICEF has said. (05:41 GMT) The United Kingdom's ambassador to the UN has said that Ukraine faces a real risk of a "lost generation". Barbara Woodward said children in Ukraine have been killed and maimed; schools and nurseries have been targeted across the country; there are credible allegations of sexual violence against children by Russian forces; and there are continuing reports of forced deportations. (05:55 GMT) Russian troops are putting "significant effort" into the area around Izium and Severodonetsk to finally break through to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the UK's defence ministry has said. "The primary objective on this axis is to envelop Ukrainian forces in the Joint Forces Operation area, isolating them from support or reinforcement by units in the west of the country," the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. It also said Ukrainian forces successfully prevented a river crossing in the Donbas by the Russians, who incurred some losses during the attempt. "Conducting river crossings in a contested environment is a highly risky manoeuvre and speaks to the pressure the Russian commanders are under to make progress in their operations in eastern Ukraine," the ministry added (06:27 GMT) One quarter of Russians use a VPN to access Facebook and Instagram, which have been blocked in Russia, a study has found, Moscow state news agency TASS reports. Russia has blocked Instagram because it is owned by Meta, which Moscow has recognised as an extremist organisation. (07:57 GMT) Gazprom has said it continues shipping gas to Europe via Ukraine at the Sudzha entry point, with volumes seen at 61.97 million mcm, compared with 50.6 mcm on Thursday. Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine fell by a quarter on Wednesday after Kyiv halted use of the Sokhranovka route. (08:37 GMT) Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has said that a decision by the UN Human Rights Council to set up an investigation into alleged human rights abuses by Russian troops shook members' trust in the body. The UN Human Rights Council resolution to set up the investigation passed on Thursday by a strong majority, with 33 members voting in favour and two - China and Eritrea - against. Zhao said during a press briefing that China's objection was due to the UN failing to look at some countries that wage war, while choosing to target others. (08:50 GMT) Russian forces killed at least 37 Ukrainian civilians who tried to flee the occupants in the villages north of Kyiv throughout March, the Wall Street Journal reports. They were mostly killed on a 6.5km-long stretch of road between the villages of Motyzhin and Yasnohorodka, which were occupied in March, the video report released on Thursday said. After analysing dashboard camera footage, locations of Russian forces, and interviewing survivors and police, the WSJ concluded that most of the fleeing civilians were targeted and killed by mortar fire. (09:30 GMT) In their efforts to create an "illusion of improvements" in Mariupol, Russian occupiers are creating a new "humanitarian disaster," a Ukrainian official has said. They partially restored water supply in the city, but water leaking from damaged pipes will mix with sewage and breed infections, mayor's adviser Petro Andriushchenko said on Telegram. Because weeks of shelling destroyed sewage treatment plants, the occupiers will likely discharge sewage directly into the sea, he said. (10:13 GMT) The Vatican's number two has said supplying weapons to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russian aggression is morally legitimate under certain conditions, citing the Catholic Church's teaching on "just war". Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin spoke to reporters on the sidelines of a conference in Rome, saying: "There is a right to armed defence in the case of aggression." He said the right was enshrined in the Roman Catholic Church Catechism, or book of teachings, under certain conditions. (11:34 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said that Kyiv has thwarted Moscow's plans to destroy Ukrainian statehood - but a "long-term" phase of the war lies ahead. "We are entering a new - long-term - phase of the war. To win it, we need to carefully plan resources, avoid mistakes, and project our strength so that in the end, the enemy fails," Oleksii Reznikov said. (12:10 GMT) Moscow's losses amounted to 26,900 soldiers, including some 250 in the past 24 hours, according to Ukraine's military. Since the invasion began on February 24, Russian forces have also lost 200 planes, 162 helicopters, 1,205 tanks and 2,900 armoured vehicles, the General Staff of Armed Forces claimed on Facebook. The biggest losses occurred around the city of Kurakhove in the southeastern Donetsk region, (12:38 GMT) Russia has expelled 10 Romanian diplomats in response to similar expulsions by Bucharest. (12:47 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has urged Putin to agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine as soon as possible during a telephone call, according to a government spokesperson. During the 75-minute call, Scholz reminded Putin of Russia's responsibility for the global food situation. (13:33 GMT) A member of Pussy Riot, the Russian female punk rock band, has reportedly been charged with "desecrating" the Russian flag after burning an effigy of Putin. Wrapped in the white-blue-and-red banner, the figure was burned in late March in ex-Soviet Georgia as part of the band's Shrovetide performance protesting Moscow's offensive. Anna Kuzminykh, 27, a filmmaker and one of the band's newest members, was charged on Wednesday and faces up to a year in jail, the Ostorojno Novosti Telegram channel, which often posts leaks from Russian officials and law enforcement agencies, reported. (13:40 GMT) A Moscow court has fined the United States-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 12.8 million roubles ($196,621) for not deleting what Russia calls "fake" content about its operation in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reports. Russia's communications watchdog blocked websites of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and some other foreign media in early March. (14:34 GMT) An aide to Ukraine's interior minister has warned that Ukrainian forces may shell a western Russian town. "Belgorod, get ready," Victor Andrusiv said in televised remarks. "That's why I think in the near future, they will find out what it's like to run to basements, when their houses are burning," Andrusiv said. (14:35 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba is calling on major industrialised nations to seize and hand over Russian assets to help rebuild his war-torn country, as he meets the G7 club in Germany. At that G7 meeting, the EU's Josep Borrell said the bloc plans to provide another $520m for the delivery of weapons and other military equipment to the Ukrainian armed forces. (14:36 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey is opposed to anticipated NATO membership bids by Sweden and Finland, accusing the two countries of being "guesthouses for terrorist organisations". Turkey's opposition could pose a problem for Sweden and Finland given all 30 NATO allies must unanimously approve a new country becoming part of the US led alliance. (15:16 GMT) Washington is working to clarify Turkey's position on Sweden and Finland's potential membership of NATO, Karen Donfried, assistant secretary for Europe and Eurasian affairs the US State Department said. (15:22 GMT) Ukraine accuses Russia of deporting more than 210,000 children (15:33 GMT) The United Kingdom and Norway have penned a new joint declaration on "enhancing cooperation" between the two countries, just days after London signed deals with fellow Scandinavian nations Finland and Sweden aimed at bolstering European security. The agreement, which covers areas from security and defence to climate change and energy, came as British Prime Minister Boris Johnson hosted his Norwegian counterpart Jonas Gahr Store for talks in London. (15:37 GMT) The US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine during talks by phone with his Russian counterpart. (15:48 GMT) Russia will suspend electricity supplies to Finland this weekend, a supplier has claimed, as tensions rise over Helsinki's anticipated NATO bid. (16:43 GMT) Italy will fully support NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has said. (17:29 GMT) Ukraine has signed contracts to import 300,000 tonnes of diesel and 120,000 tonnes of petrol to cover consumption in May as Russia targets Ukrainian fuel infrastructure, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko has said. Russia has destroyed 27 fuel depots and the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine. (17:50 GMT) Russia says it is recommending that its citizens not travel to Britain, complaining that authorities there were making it "virtually impossible" for Russians to obtain visas. (18:29 GMT) The United States is "working to clarify Turkey's position" after its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened to block Finland and Sweden from joining NATO, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki has said. The United States is working to clarify Erdogan's comments about Finland and Sweden but Ankara's standing in the NATO alliance had not changed because of them, the Pentagon has said. (20:11 GMT) Soaring bread prices have triggered protests in Iran, the official IRNA news agency has reported, with an estimated 300 people gathering in the largest demonstration in Dezful in the oil-rich southwestern province of Khuzestan. IRNA said 15 people were arrested for "trying to create chaos" in the city. The protests were triggered by a cut in government subsidies for imported wheat that caused price hikes as high as 300% for a variety of flour-based staples. (22:02 GMT) Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Russia is provoking a "large-scale food crisis" by blocking Ukraine's ports. (22:42 GMT) Zelenskyy has said although Ukrainians are doing everything they can to drive out Russians forces, "no one today can predict how long this war will last". "This will depend, unfortunately, not only on our people, who are already giving their maximum," he said in his nightly video address. "This will depend on our partners, on European countries, on the entire free world." He added that he was thankful to all those who are working to strengthen sanctions on Russia and increase military and financial support to Ukraine. 20220514 (01:28 GMT) The United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have affirmed their "respect for sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity" in relation to Ukraine. The statement followed a key summit at the White House - the first in 45 years. Singapore is the only country in the 10-member grouping to have joined US-led sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, although most - with the exceptions of Laos and Vietnam - voted to condemn the invasion at the UN General Assembly. (03:31 GMT) India has banned all wheat exports with immediate effect. India's the world's second biggest exporter of the crop after Ukraine and many had been banking on it to fill the gap caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (04:08 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (IOW) says it appears that Ukraine has "won the Battle of Kharkiv" with evidence suggesting Russia has "likely decided" to withdraw fully from its positions around city because of the strength of Ukrainian counter-attacks and a lack of reinforcements. In its latest assessment of the position on the ground, IOW says Russia looks to be "conducting an orderly withdrawal and prioritizing getting Russians back home". (05:04 GMT) The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment has said his soldiers - holed up in the Azovstal steel works - will hold out "as long as they can," despite shortages of ammunition, food, water and medicine. "We continue to resist and follow the order of our senior political leaders to hold the defence. We are holding the defence and continue fighting despite everything," he said, according to AP. Speaking to a panel that included a number of senior US generals, he appealed for US to help evacuate about 600 wounded soldiers from the plant. (05:09 GMT) Germany's Welt am Sonntag newspaper says more than 700,000 people fleeing the war in Ukraine have been recorded in Germany so far. About 40% of the war refugees were under the age of 18, while women make up 81% of all the adult refugees registered. (05:50 GMT) The European Union's hopes to quickly impose a ban on Russian oil imports could be dashed after Hungary demanded expensive guarantees for its own fuel supplies, diplomats say. (06:50 GMT) Senior Russian lawmaker Anna Kuznetsova has visited the region of Kherson in Ukraine to discuss social and healthcare needs of the local population, the state RIA news agency reported. Kuznetsova, deputy head of Russia's Duma or lower house of parliament, discussed the supply of foodstuffs as well as medical and other products needed for children, RIA reported. (07:27 GMT) Moscow will take adequate precautionary measures if NATO deploys nuclear forces and infrastructure closer to Russia's border, Russian news agencies quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying. "It will be necessary to respond ... by taking adequate precautionary measures that would ensure the viability of deterrence," Interfax agency quoted Grushko as saying. Moscow has no hostile intentions towards Finland and Sweden and does not see "real" reasons for those two countries to be joining the NATO alliance, Grushko added. (07:47 GMT) In an interview with Al Jazeera's Diplomatic Editor James Bays, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says European Union's "unity" on Russia will be broken if Hungary blocks a proposed EU ban on Russian oil imports. "I believe it will cause a lot of damage to the European Union," Kuleba said in Weisenhaus, Germany at a gathering of G7 nations. (08:44 GMT) Russian Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu spoke with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday after months of refusing direct contact with his American counterpart. (09:02 GMT) Anatoly Bibilov, the leader of Georgia's breakaway region of South Ossetia set July 17 as a date for a referendum on joining Russia. 'Going home', he called it. (09:25 GMT) Russia has suspended electricity supplies to Finland overnight after its energy firm RAO Nordic threatened to cut off supplies over payment arrears, an official for Finland's grid operator told AFP. (09:50 GMT) "It is important that we have a consensus," Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly told reporters on the sidelines of a G7 meeting in northern Germany. "We wish that there not only be an accession of Finland and Sweden, but a quick accession, which is fundamental in the circumstances as Finland and Sweden are looking for security guarantees." (10:50 GMT) The G7 industrialised nations have said they would never recognise the borders Russia is trying to shift in its war against Ukraine and pledged enduring support for Kyiv. "We will never recognise borders Russia has attempted to change by military aggression, and will uphold our engagement in the support of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, including Crimea, and all states," the G7 foreign ministers said in a statement after three days of talks in northern Germany. (11:32 GMT) The G7 nations have called on China not to help Russia, including by undermining international sanctions or justifying Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Beijing should support the sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, and not "assist Russia in its war of aggression" (12:20 GMT) The G7 nations have warned that the war in Ukraine is stoking a global food and energy crisis that threatens poor countries. "Russia's war of aggression has generated one of the most severe food and energy crises in recent history which now threatens those most vulnerable across the globe," the group said in a statement. (12:40 GMT) Vladimir Putin has told his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto it would be a mistake for Helsinki to abandon its neutral status and join NATO, the Kremlin said. Putin said there were no security threats to Finland, and the potential change in its foreign policy stance could be negative for bilateral relations. (13:28 GMT) Russian troops are withdrawing from around Ukraine's second-largest city after bombarding it for weeks, the Ukrainian military has said. Ukraine's general staff said the Russians were pulling back from the northeastern city and focusing on guarding supply routes, while launching mortar, artillery and air raid in the eastern Donetsk province in order to "deplete Ukrainian forces and destroy fortifications." Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine was "entering a new - long-term - phase of the war." (13:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that efforts by the West to isolate Russia were doomed to fail, while pointing to the importance of its relations with China, India, Algeria and Gulf countries. "The collective West has declared total hybrid war on us and it is hard to predict how long all this will last but it is clear the consequences will be felt by everyone, without exception," he said in a speech to mark 80th day since Moscow invaded Ukraine. "We did everything to avoid a direct clash - but now that the challenge has been thrown down, we of course accept it. We are no strangers to sanctions: they were almost always there in one form or another." (13:41 GMT) Ukrainian forces are on the counteroffensive near the Russian-held town of Izium, the governor of Kharkiv region has said, striking at a key axis of Russia's assault on eastern Ukraine. A major and successful counteroffensive on that Russian line of advance would deal a serious setback for Moscow in the Battle for the Donbas, a region in Ukraine's east that Russia has said it wants to capture completely. (13:59 GMT) The war in Ukraine could reach a "breaking point" by August and end in defeat for Russia before the end of the year, Kyiv's head of military intelligence has told the UK's Sky News. "The breaking point will be in the second part of August," Major General Kyrylo Budanov told the news network. "Most of the active combat actions will have finished by the end of this year. "As a result, we will renew Ukrainian power in all our territories that we have lost, including Donbas and the Crimea," he said. (14:32 GMT) Hungary's President Katalin Novak has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine at her inauguration ceremony. "We condemn Putin's aggression, the armed invasion of a sovereign state. We say eternally no to every effort aiming at the restoration of the Soviet Union," Novak said. Novak, a former Fidesz party lawmaker and ally of Prime Minister Viktor Orban, was elected to the largely ceremonial post of president in March. Orban has also condemned Russia's invasion but has avoided personal criticism of Putin. (14:58 GMT) Kyiv has renamed an iconic Soviet-era arch symbolising ties with Moscow to "Arch of the Freedom of the Ukrainian People", the mayor said. "The city council today decided to 'de-communise' the name of the Peoples' Friendship Arch," the capital's mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. The symbolic move comes after the city demolished a statue of two workers - one Russian and the other Ukrainian - under the arch last month. Officials have approved a list of more than 40 monuments and memorial plaques that will be removed from the capital and transferred to a "museum of totalitarianism", Klitschko said. (15:41 GMT) The foreign ministers of Finland and Turkey will meet in Berlin later to try and solve disagreements over Finland's and Sweden's plan to join NATO, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavesto has said. Speaking before talks, Haavisto said he was "confident that in the end, we will find a solution and Finland [and] Sweden will become members of NATO". (16:04 GMT) Portugal has blocked the sale of a 10 million euro ($10.4m) mansion belonging to sanctions-hit Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Publico newspaper has said, without citing its sources. The property registry of the mansion in the luxury Quinta do Lago resort in the Algarve was frozen on March 25 at the request of the foreign ministry, a month after Russia's full invasion of Ukraine. According to Publico, the former Chelsea football club owner tried to sell the property 15 days before Russia's invasion of Ukraine started. Portugal's largest bank, Caixa Geral de Depositos, noticed the move and alerted authorities. (16:45 GMT) "We don't know what Turkey really means but from [the] Norwegian perspective, we are 100% behind Finland and Sweden if they decide to apply for membership in NATO," Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeld said as she arrived for a meeting with her NATO counterparts in Berlin. Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra echoed her, saying it was important that all NATO members showed unity. (16:49 GMT) Egypt is in talks with Indian officials about getting an exemption from India's decision to ban wheat exports, Egypt's agricultural quarantine head Ahmed El Attar has said, as Cairo seeks to supplant purchases disrupted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. India banned wheat exports as a scorching heatwave curtailed output and domestic prices hit a record high. (16:56 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has blamed soaring food prices on Western sanctions, denying accusations that Moscow is fuelling a global hunger crisis. "If you don't understand that, it's either a sign of stupidity or deliberately misleading the public," Zakharova said on Telegram, addressing German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. Baerbock earlier accused Moscow of waging a "grain war" that endangers global food security at a G7 foreign ministers meeting. (17:11 GMT) A delegation of US senators headed by Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell has met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv during an unannounced visit. In an Instagram post, Zelenskyy called the visit "a strong signal of bipartisan support for Ukraine from the United States Congress and the American people." The trip came as the Senate was working to approve a nearly $40 billion package for Ukraine, pushing American aid to the region well above $50bn. (17:21 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister has criticised the "unacceptable and outrageous" support that prospective new NATO members Sweden and Finland give to the PKK Kurdish militant group, potentially complicating the alliance's enlargement. "The problem is that these two countries are openly supporting and engaging with PKK and YPG. These are terrorist organisations that have been attacking our troops every day," Mevlut Cavusoglu said as he arrived in Berlin for a meeting with his NATO counterparts. (17:39 GMT) The G7 leading economies has warned that urgent measures are needed to unblock stores of grain that Russia is preventing from leaving Ukraine. The G7 also urged China "to desist from engaging in information manipulation, disinformation and other means to legitimise Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine." (19:26 GMT) Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed a declaration by the Group of Seven to "never" recognise border changes brought about by Moscow's war on Ukraine. "To put it mildly, our country doesn't care about the G7's non-recognition of the new borders," he said on Telegram. Arguing that the will of the people living in a region was all that mattered, Medvedev called the G7's promise to continue supplying Ukraine with weapons a continuation of its "covert war against Russia." (20:08 GMT) Russia has dismissed Ukraine's claim it had damaged a modern navy logistics ship in the Black Sea and showed photos of what it said was the vessel with no signs of damage. In an online post, the Russian defence ministry published photos it said had been taken of the ship in the Crimean Black Sea port of Sevastopol. "It is now clear from the photographs that the ship is not damaged at all," it said. Military authorities in the southern Odesa region said that Ukrainian naval forces had struck the Vsevolod Bobrov, setting it alight. (20:57 GMT) Vladimir Putin has told his Finnish counterpart that joining NATO would be "a mistake", as Moscow cut off its electricity supply to the Nordic country earlier. "Putin stressed that the end of the traditional policy of military neutrality would be a mistake since there is no threat to Finland's security," the Kremlin said in a statement on Saturday. "Such a change in the country's political orientation can have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations developed over years in a spirit of good neighbourliness and cooperation between partners," it said. (22:23 GMT) Russian diplomats in Washington are being threatened with violence and US intelligence services are trying to make contact with them, Russia's Tass news agency reported, citing Moscow's ambassador to the US. "It's like a besieged fortress. Basically, our embassy is operating in a hostile environment ... Embassy employees are receiving threats, including threats of physical violence," Tass quoted Ambassador Anatoly Antonov saying on Saturday. "Agents from US security services are hanging around outside the Russian embassy, handing out CIA and FBI phone numbers which can be called to establish contact," the ambassador told Tass. Russia and the US have been locked in a dispute over the size and functioning of their respective diplomatic missions since before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (22:48 GMT) A large convoy of cars and vans carrying refugees from the ruins of Mariupol has arrived in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Zaporizhzhia after waiting days for Russian troops to allow them to leave. (23:22 GMT) Ukraine has won the Eurovision Song Contest, riding a wave of public support across Europe for the embattled nation and buoyed by an infectious folk hip hop melody. Kalush Orchestra's song "Stefania" beat out 24 competitors in the finale of the world's biggest live music event on Saturday. Sung in Ukrainian, the winning song fused rap with traditional folk music and was a tribute to band frontman Oleh Psiuk's mother. ( PJB: or Stepan Bandera ? ) Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent good luck wishes earlier in the night, saying that if Kalush Orchestra were to win it would have a huge symbolic meaning. "For us today, any victory is very important," he said in his nightly address. Russia had been excluded from the competition in Turin. 20220515 (00:30 GMT) The Republican leader of the US Senate has reaffirmed Washington's support for Ukraine during a surprise visit to Kyiv. In a statement, Mitch McConnel said he reassured Zelenskyy that US "stands squarely behind Ukraine and will sustain our support until Ukraine wins this war". (00:53 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has arrived in Germany ahead of an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. The gathering will consider moves by Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance, as well as ways in which NATO can support Ukraine without being drawn into the conflict with Russia. (02:17 GMT) Ibrahim Kalin, spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, says Ankara has proposed carrying out a sea evacuation of wounded fighters holed up in a steel plant in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol. (02:57 GMT) Relatives of Ukrainian soldiers trapped in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant have called on China's President Xi Jinping to "save" the encircled troops, saying he was the last world leader that Moscow would listen to. (03:21 GMT) Johnson has congratulated Ukraine on its Eurovision victory, describing the win as a reflection of European support for the war-torn country. (03:27 GMT) The frontman of Kalush Orchestra says he and his band members are "ready to fight" in the war with Russia once more when they return to their country. Oleh Psiuk spoke during a news conference in Turin after Ukraine's victory at the Eurovision Song Contest was confirmed in the early hours of Sunday. (05:15 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says the Russian offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region "has lost momentum and fallen significantly behind schedule". In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said Russia has "failed to achieve substantial territorial gains over the past month whilst sustaining consistently high levels of attrition". "Russian forces are increasingly constrained by degraded enabling capabilities, continued low morale and reduced combat effectiveness," the ministry added. "Under the current conditions, Russia is unlikely to dramatically accelerate its rate of advance over the next 30 days." (05:48 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's Lviv region has reported a missile attack in the western area. Maxim Kozitsky said the missile attack early on Sunday hit some military infrastructure in the region. (06:38 GMT) One person was injured with a shrapnel wound after a Ukrainian strike hit the Russian village of Sereda, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region, said on Telegram. The town is in Shebekinsky district, next to the border with Ukraine. "Four enemy missiles hit a military infrastructures in Yavoriv district, near the border with Poland," Kozitsky said on Telegram. "The object is completely destroyed," he said, adding that there were no victims. (06:59 GMT) NATO's Deputy Secretary Mircea Geoana said he was confident Turkey's concerns over Finland and Sweden joining the defensive military alliance could be addressed. (07:16 GMT) Germany has taken all preparations for a quick ratification process should Finland and Sweden decide to apply for NATO membership, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, while underlining both countries' need for security guarantees. "If they decide to join they can join quickly...We must make sure that we will give them security guarantees, there must not be a transition period, a grey zone, where their status is unclear," she told reporters in the German's capital, Berlin. She was referring to the ratification period that can take as long as a year, during which the two countries will not yet be protected by NATO's article 5 which guarantees an attack on one ally is an attack on all. (08:32 GMT) More weapons and support is coming to Ukraine, the country's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba has said following a meeting in the German capital, Berlin, with his American counterpart Antony Blinken. "More weapons and other aid is on the way to Ukraine," Kuleba said on Twitter. (09:14 GMT) Eurovision and NATO might not usually be associated, but the military alliance's deputy chief Mircea Geoana congratulated Ukraine for winning the annual music contest with a "beautiful song", calling it a testament to its bravery in fighting Russia. (10:12 GMT) Finland has announced the Nordic country intends to apply for membership in NATO, paving the way for the 30-member Western military alliance to expand amid Russia's war in Ukraine. President Sauli Niinisto and Prime Minister Sanna Marin made the announcement at a joint news conference at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki. "By joining NATO, Finland will strengthen its own security and that of all of Europe," the foreign minister Pekka Haavisto as saying. "We are making this historic decision for future generations," he added. Finland is ready to talk with Ankara on problems raised by Turkey on NATO membership, says Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. (10:17 GMT) A senior NATO official said Russia's military advance in Ukraine appears to be faltering and expressed hope that Kyiv can win the war. (12:16 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister said that Sweden and Finland must stop supporting "terrorists" in their countries, provide clear security guarantees and lift export bans on Turkey as they seek membership in NATO. Mevlut Cavusoglu said Ankara was not threatening anybody nor seeking leverage but speaking out especially about Sweden's support for the PKK Kurdish group. (13:21 GMT) NATO will look at providing security guarantees for Finland and Sweden during the interim period from their application for membership to accession, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg has said. "We will look into ways to provide security assurances including by increasing NATO presence in the region." (13:51 GMT) Russia's behaviour amounts to the unilateral repudiation of a 1997 cooperation agreement with NATO, Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said. "The Russian government has made it clear that the NATO-Russia Founding Act is no longer worth anything to it. So we now have to acknowledge that this basic act was also unilaterally terminated by Russia, not by NATO," Baerbock told reporters at the end of a NATO foreign ministers meeting. The agreement was designed to build trust and limit both sides' force presence in Eastern Europe. NATO suspended practical cooperation with Russia in 2014 following Moscow's seizure of Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula. Russia suspended its mission to NATO and closed the alliance's office in Moscow in October, 2021 in response to expulsions of Russian diplomats. (13:58 GMT) Ukraine has deployed many of its new US M-777 howitzers at the front lines and Washington has delivered all but one of the 90 artillery pieces they were due to send, the US embassy in Kyiv has said. The M-777 is seen as particularly significant because of its long range and accuracy. The US embassy reposted a Ukrainian military video of Kyiv's soldiers training to use the weapons. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howitzer A howitzer is a long-ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like other artillery equipment, are usually organized in a group called a battery. Howitzers, together with long-barreled guns, mortars, and rocket artillery, are the four basic types of modern artillery. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M777_howitzer The M777 howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery piece. It is used by the ground forces of Australia, Canada, India, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine and the United States. It made its combat debut in the War in Afghanistan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M777_howitzer#Ukraine (13:59 GMT) Finnish President Sauli Niinisto has said his latest talk with Putin about his country's bid to join NATO was measured and did not contain any threats. "He confirmed that he thinks it's a mistake. We are not threatening you. Altogether, the discussion was very, could I say, calm and cool," Niinisto said in an interview with CNN's "State of the Union". (14:22 GMT) Sweden was unable to reach a solution with Turkey about its expected NATO membership application, but will continue negotiations, the Swedish foreign minister has said, following an informal meeting in Berlin. Noting that Sweden was unable to agree with the Turkish side "because of the formation in the north of Syria", Ann Linde stressed: "We accept that the PKK is a terrorist organisation. "We don't think the same about the formation in northern Syria and neither do many NATO countries. "Like the US and other NATO countries, we have met with Kurdish organisations in northern Syria," she said. (15:07 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he believes Ukraine can win its war against Russia, pointing out just how far from Moscow's original plan its invasion had strayed. "Ukraine can win this war," Stoltenberg said after attending a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. "Russia is not achieving its strategic objectives," "Ukraine stands. NATO is stronger than ever." (15:41 GMT) US Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said he expects the Senate to vote on $40bn in proposed aid to Ukraine on Wednesday after holding a related procedural vote on Monday. He was referring to a procedural "cloture" vote that caps further debate on a matter to 30 hours. (15:51 GMT) German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said that in order for dialogue with Moscow to begin, Russia must stop bombing Ukraine. (16:11 GMT) Dozens of demonstrators in Istanbul have joined a protest against Russia's military invasion of Ukraine and the siege by Russian forces of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Chanting slogans of support for Ukraine, the protesters called on Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to provide assistance with the plant's evacuation. (PJB: thinks: another twit-a-mob ... Erdogan should be careful ... ) (18:37 GMT) Ukrainian band Kalush Orchestra, fresh off its Eurovision victory, has released a new music video of its winning hit "Stefania" that features scenes of war-ravaged Ukraine and women in combat gear, as the annual song contest took on ever more political tones given Russia's war. "We were trying to deliver the message of what Ukraine looks like today." (18:46 GMT) NATO has pledged open-ended military support for Ukraine at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin. (19:38 GMT) Serbian presiden tAleksandar Vucic: 'We will fight as long as we can' to not impose sanctions on Russia. He said Serbia is suffering for its refusal to impose sanctions on Russia and that life would be "ten times better" if it did so. But, he said Serbia will still not impose sanctions because it has an independent policy, regional media N1 has reported. (20:36 GMT) With Sweden and Finland's decision to join NATO, this "shows how counterproductive the war that Vladimir Putin started is," Robert Dalsjo, director of studies at the Swedish defence research agency told Al Jazeera. He was referring to Russia's plan, which was to stop the creeping of NATO around its borders. (20:51 GMT) Russia is pummelling positions in the east of Ukraine, its defence ministry has said, as it seeks to encircle Ukrainian forces in the battle for Donbas and fend off a counteroffensive around the strategic Russian-controlled city of Izium. (22:22 GMT) The Ukrainian army continues to control around a tenth of the eastern region of Luhansk despite coming under heavy Russian attacks, according to its governor. Governor Serhiy Gaidai said on Sunday that the Russians had not yet been able to capture the outskirts of the cities of Rubizhne, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. (23:06 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the Russian troops were "at a dead end" in the conflict with Ukraine. 20220516 (00:29 GMT) Several Telegram channels have reported rocket sightings over Russia's city of Belgorod, with some saying they had been launched towards Ukraine, an independent Russian publication has said. Ridus quoted the press service of Russia's defence ministry saying that: "Rockets are taking off in the sky over Belgorod towards Ukraine". Ridus said the defence ministry also reported that three Iskander rockets have already flown into the territory of Ukraine. Ridus had earlier reported that 280 households were damaged by Ukrainian shelling in the Belgorod region, and that some people were dead and injured. (00:50 GMT) The intentional flooding of a small village north of Kyiv that created a quagmire and submerged cellars and fields, but prevented a Russian attack on the capital, was worth all the sacrifice, residents have said. Ukrainian forces opened a dam early in the war in Demydiv, causing the Irpin River to flood the village and thousands of acres around. The move has since been credited with stopping Russian soldiers and tanks from breaking through Ukraine's lines. (01:07 GMT) Sanctions imposed on Belarus have blocked $16-$18 billion worth of its annual exports to the West, the Belta news agency cited Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko as saying. President Alexander Lukashenko has insisted that Belarus must be involved in negotiations to resolve the conflict in Ukraine, saying also that Belarus had been unfairly labelled "an accomplice of the aggressor". (01:20 GMT) Turkey laid out demands on Sunday on the sidelines of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Berlin, saying it wanted the two Nordic countries to end support for Kurdish militant groups present on their territory, and to lift the ban on sales of some arms to Turkey. (01:25 GMT) Ukraine's gas transit system operator has said that it had resumed operations at two distribution stations in the Kharkiv region and restarted gas supply to more than 3,000 consumers, Reuters reports. Ukraine's forces recently made rapid gains to drive Russia's military away from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. "Both stations were shut down due to damage to the main gas pipeline in the Kharkiv region as a result of hostilities," the operator said in a statement, adding that the damages have now been repaired. Some 54 gas distribution stations in seven regions of Ukraine remain shut down, the operator added. (01:33 GMT) The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian in Paris on Sunday, ahead of the US-EU Trade and Technology Council ministerial dinner. (01:58 GMT) Russian forces have likely run out of combat-ready reservists, forcing Moscow to bring in soldiers from different elements, including private military companies and proxy militias, the Institute for the Study of War has said. (02:33 GMT) Zelenskyy has again pointed to the need to strengthen sanctions against Russia, particularly for European nations to ban Moscow's oil imports. "Now the priority is the oil embargo. No matter how hard Moscow tries to disrupt this decision, the time of Europe's dependence on Russian energy resources is coming to an end," he added. (03:04 GMT) Germany plans to stop importing Russian oil by the end of the year, even if the EU fails to agree on a ban in its next set of sanctions, Bloomberg has reported citing government officials. (05:58 GMT) Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko is in a fine balancing act, maintaining support for Russia's Ukraine invasion but hesitating to get involved militarily, the UK's defence ministry has suggested. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said that Belarus is deploying special operations forces along the border with Ukraine, as well as air defence, artillery and missile units to training ranges in the west of the country. (06:14 GMT) The US and EU plan to announce a joint effort aimed at identifying semiconductor supply disruptions as well as countering Russian disinformation, officials have said. (06:48 GMT) Kharkiv's regional governor has strengthened earlier claims that Ukrainian troops defending the city of Kharkiv had reached the state border with Russia. "We are proud of the soldiers of the 227th Battalion of the 127th Brigade of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who restored the border sign on the state border!," Oleh Sinegubov wrote on Telegram. (07:02 GMT) Zelenskyy has dismissed the Commander of the Territorial Defence Forces of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Yurii Halushkin, from the post, Interfax reported. The president then appointed Ihor Tantsiura to the position of Commander, according to documents on the president's website. Halushkin was made commander of the Territorial Defence Forces, the military reserve component of Ukraine's armed forces, on January 1 this year. Tantsyura previously held the position of chief of staff to the deputy commander of the APU land forces. The reasons for the dismissal and reappointment have not been published. (08:18 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister has said potential bids by Finland and Sweden to join the NATO military alliance are a "grave mistake" that will increase "military tension" in Europe. "The fact that the security of Sweden and Finland will not be strengthened as a result of this decision is very clear to us," the Interfax news agency quoted Sergey Ryabkov as saying. "They should have no illusions that we will simply put up with it," he added. "The general level of military tension will rise, and predictability in this sphere will decrease." The moves to try and join the United States-led alliance from two historically neutral powers mark one of the biggest changes to Europe's security architecture for decades. (09:09 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have shot down three Ukrainian fighter jets. The ministry said its forces had shot down Su-25 aircraft near the settlements of Yevhenivka in the Mykolaiv region and Velyka Komyshuvakha in Kharkiv, and an Su-24 jet near Snake Island in the Black Sea. High-precision Russian missiles also hit two command posts in the Kharkiv region, the ministry added, and struck other targets including weapons depots and locations where Ukrainian troops and equipment were concentrated. (09:15 GMT) Moscow's troops have focused their latest attacks in Ukraine on the country's eastern Donetsk region, targeting civilian and military sites in multiple towns, Ukraine's military says. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces had used a range of weaponry on Ukrainian military fortifications and units and fired artillery at civilian infrastructure in the towns of Dovhenke, Ruski Tyshki, Ternova and Petrivka. (09:32 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from near Kharkiv, says the battle for control of the city has been "won by the Ukrainians". "When we first came to Kharkiv [a month ago] we couldn't enter without wearing body armour, the streets were empty and there was constant firing and shelling going on all around us," Baig said. "Now people have returned, people are outside, and some cafes and restaurants have opened up. Today is also the first day that public transport is running," he added. "People are walking their dogs and riding their bikes - the atmosphere has completely changed and that's because the Ukrainians have managed to push the Russians further away [from the city]." (09:52 GMT) Ukrainian border guards have repelled an incursion by a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the northeastern region of Sumy, its governor says. (10:21 GMT) McDonald's says that it has started the process of selling its Russian business, which includes 850 restaurants that employ 62,000 people, making it the latest major Western corporation to exit Russia in the wake of its invasion. (10:45 GMT) The US Congress will seek to ratify Finland's application to join the Western military alliance NATO before going into recess in August, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has said, after meeting Finland's President Sauli Niinisto in Helsinki.. (11:08 GMT) The Kremlin has criticised reported attempts by the FBI or the CIA to recruit embassy staff in Washington, DC as "unacceptable". Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, told state media that embassy employees had been threatened with physical violence, and were frequently badgered in the vicinity of the embassy to work for the two departments. (11:42 GMT) Ukrainian forces have hit Russian positions in the southern region of Kherson, killing 75 troops, according to Kyiv. Ukraine's defence ministry claimed to have struck the troops on Sunday, as they tried to land for a 20th time at the airport near the town of Chornobaivka. (11:54 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has urged other members of a Russian-dominated military alliance to stand united amid Western pressure and sanctions against Moscow and Minsk, and accused Kyiv's allies of hoping to prolong the conflict in Ukraine to try to weaken Russia as much as possible. Lukashenko, speaking at the CSTO summit in Moscow, said "hellish sanctions" against his country and Russia could have been avoided if the group had spoken with one voice. "Without a united front, the collective West will build up pressure on the post-Soviet space," Lukashenko said in televised opening remarks, addressing Putin and the leaders of Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_Security_Treaty_Organization (12:06 GMT) Hungary still has no acceptable proposal from EU on Russia oil embargo. "The European Commission has caused a problem with a proposal so it's a rightful expectation from Hungary... that the EU should offer a solution: to finance the investments and compensate for ... the [resulting] price rises which necessitates a total modernisation of Hungary's energy structure," Peter Szijjarto said in a Facebook post. He added another solution would be to make oil shipments via pipeline exempt from the planned embargo. (12:37 GMT) Sweden will start diplomatic discussions with Turkey to try to overcome Ankara's objections to its plan to join NATO, its defence minister says. "We will send a group of diplomats to hold discussions and have a dialogue with Turkey so we can see how this can be resolved and what this is really about," Peter Hultqvist told public service broadcaster SVT. (12:40 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia any expansion of military infrastructure in Finland and Sweden, which are edging closer to joining NATO, would demand a reaction from Moscow. "As to enlargement, Russia has no problem with these states - none. And so in this sense there is no immediate threat to Russia from an expansion (of NATO) to include these countries," Putin said in the Russian capital at a summit of the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO). "But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response," he added. "What that [response] will be - we will see what threats are created for us." Putin also accused NATO of having an "endless expansion policy" and said the alliance was reaching far beyond its Euro-Atlantic remit - a trend he said that Russia was following carefully. (12:59 GMT) With the Ukraine conflict in its third month, and as potassium prices have tripled in the past year over fears of looming shortages amid sanctions and logistical bottlenecks, long-held interests in mining huge reserves of potassium in the Brazilian Amazon are being revived. (13:15 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that an agreement had been reached to transport wounded Ukrainian soldiers out of the besieged Azovstal steel works in Mariupol to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk. (13:48 GMT) Sweden's government says it has taken the formal decision to apply for NATO membership, following in the footsteps of its neighbour Finland in a move that will redraw the geopolitical map of northern Europe. ~/photos/events/20220516_history_of_NATO_expansion.png (14:06 GMT) Sweeping sanctions against Russia have led to fresh concerns about the fate of Turkey's first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Moscow's state-owned nuclear company. The Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, located on the Mediterranean coast near Mersin, was due to start production next year. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/16/turkish-nuclear-plant-threatened-by-russian-sanctions (14:10 GMT) "Together with Denmark and Iceland, Norway stands ready to assist its Nordic neighbours by all means necessary should they be the victim of aggression on their territory before obtaining NATO membership," said Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store. (14:36 GMT) Ukrainian forces killed "more than a thousand" Russian troops who tried for days to cross a strategically important river in the southeastern region of Luhansk, its governor has said. Haidai said in a post on Telegram that Moscow's forces had made multiple attempts to cross the Siversky Donets near the town of Bilohorivka last week but were repeatedly repelled. (15:00 GMT) Ukraine's president says he discussed the need for financial support for the country's economy with International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva. (15:37 GMT) Prime Minister Viktor Orban has insisted that he will not support any EU sanctions that negatively affect Hungary's energy security. (15:44 GMT) A Ukrainian court has seized assets worth 12.4 billion hryvnia ($420m) from Russian billionaire Mikhail Fridman, Ukraine's prosecutor general says. Iryna Venediktova said in a post on Facebook that the assets were securities in Cypriot companies that were held in Ukraine. Fridman has been sanctioned by the EU. (15:54 GMT) Russian shelling has killed at least 10 civilians in the city of Sievierodonetsk, in Ukraine's southeastern region of Luhansk, according to its governor Serhiy Haidai.` (16:08 GMT) Senior representatives of Sweden and Finland plan to travel to Turkey for talks to address Ankara's objections to NATO membership for the two Nordic countries, the Swedish foreign office has said. (16:55 GMT) Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly has said Canada was in favour of a "quick" accession to the NATO military alliance for Sweden and Finland. (17:21 GMT) The Russian central bank has said Russian residents and non-residents from friendly states will be able to channel foreign currency abroad equivalent to up to $50,000 a month, from the previous limit of $10,000. (17:27 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed Turkey's opposition to NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, again accusing them of failing to take a clear stance against terrorism. He said that Swedish and Finnish delegations should not bother coming to Ankara to convince it to approve their NATO bid. In a news conference, Erdogan said Turkey would not approve their bids to join NATO, calling Sweden a "hatchery" for terrorist organisations, and adding they had terrorists in their parliament. Ankara says Sweden and Finland harbor people it says are linked to groups it deems terrorists, namely the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) armed group and followers of Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara accuses of orchestrating the 2016 coup attempt. (17:58 GMT) The European Union has not yet found agreement on a sixth package of sanctions against Russia, its top diplomat Josep Borrell said after a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels. (18:15 GMT) The French presidential office has said that France stands ready to support Finland and Sweden, who recently chose to join NATO, politically and through "enhanced military interactions", and protect the country against any threats or aggressions. (19:11 GMT) A Reuters witness says about dozen buses carrying Ukrainian servicemen who were holed up in the Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine's southeast left the structure. The new agency said it was impossible to determine how many servicemen were aboard the buses. It was also unclear whether those on board were all among the 40 wounded fighters Ukrainian officers said to have been beneath the plant. Some 600 servicemen were said to have been inside. (19:35 GMT) Ukraine says 20 civilians killed in Donetsk and Luhansk (19:51 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he sees no sign of an imminent end to the war in Ukraine and warned that a further escalation remains possible. There had so far been no sign that people had realized the importance of ending the conflict "as quickly as possible," Scholz told German broadcaster RTL, adding that he was also concerned there could be "an escalation of the war." (20:23 GMT) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ratcheted up his objection to Sweden and Finland joining NATO. Erdogan accused the countries of failing to take a clear stance against Kurdish fighters and of imposing military sanctions on Turkey. "Neither country has an open, clear stance against terrorist organisations," Erdogan said at a joint news conference with the visiting Algerian president. "We cannot say 'yes' to those who impose sanctions on Turkey, on joining NATO which is a security organisation." (20:28 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that attempts by the West and the G7 group of nations in particular to isolate Moscow have worsened global food shortages. "Attempts to divert Russia economically, financially and logistically from long-standing channels of international cooperation are only exacerbating economic and food crises," the foreign ministry said on its website. "It should be noted that it was the unilateral actions of Western countries, primarily from the Group of Seven, that exacerbated the problem of breaking the logistics and financial chains of food supplies to world markets." (20:39 GMT) A senior US defence official has said that Russian long-range attacks near the western city of Lviv appeared to target a Ukrainian military training centre in Yavoriv, less than 25km from the border with Poland. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the US military assessment, at this point, is that there were as many as a half-dozen missiles fired and that a few small buildings were damaged. There are no reports of casualties yet, the official said, adding that the missiles were fired from the Black Sea and likely came from a Russian submarine. (20:47 GMT) The Polish agriculture minister Henryk Kowalczyk has said that Ukraine's grain exports could be routed through Poland as long as Russia's war prevents them from departing Black Sea ports. (21:17 GMT) Ukraine's servicemen evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have arrived in Novoazovsk, Reuters has reported. Some of the evacuees were carried out of the buses on stretchers, the witness said. Novoazovsk is now under the control of Russia-backed separatists who have held parts of eastern Ukraine since 2014. (21:46 GMT) More than 260 Ukrainian soldiers have been evacuated from the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar has said. "53 heavily wounded (soldiers) were evacuated from Azovstal to the medical [facility] near Novoazovsk for medical aid," Malyar said in a statement. Another 211 were taken out through the humanitarian corridor, she added. (22:04 GMT) The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces has said that the servicemen defending the Azovstal steel plant have fulfilled their combat mission. "The supreme military command ordered the commanders of the units stationed at Azovstal to save the lives of the personnel." "We hope that we will be able to save the lives of our guys," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "There are severely wounded ones among them. They're receiving care. Ukraine needs Ukrainian heroes alive." (23:32 GMT) Ukraine's faces a monthly budget deficit of around US$5 billion per month, Zelenskyy has said. He mentioned this in his nighttime address in his talks with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva "on how to speed up the provision of financial assistance to Ukraine, given the state budget deficit during the war, which is about $ 5 billion a month". (23:45 GMT) The US Senate has voted to advance $40 billion more aid for Ukraine, setting the stage for a vote on the bill possibly later this week. The tally was 81 to 11 on the first of a potential three procedural votes paving the way for final Senate passage of the funding. All 11 "no" votes were from Republicans. 20220517 (00:24 GMT) Russia has again hit a major military facility in the Lviv region, near the border with Poland, Lviv's regional governor has said. "A military infrastructure facility in the Yavoriv district, almost on the border with Poland, was shelled again," Maksym Kozytskyy wrote on his social media channels adding that more information would follow in the morning. His posts came after reports of powerful blasts in the city of Lviv. (00:38 GMT) Air defences likely prevented missiles hitting the city of Lviv on Tuesday morning, according to two officials. Makysym Kozytskyy, the region's governor, posted a message on Telegram channel saying: "according to preliminary information, air defences worked." Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, said on Facebook that there was no confirmed information about the missiles hitting the city. "Let's thank those who protect our sky for this!," Sadovyi said. An Associated Press team in the city witnessed the glare of bright explosions which lit up the night sky to the west of the city shortly after midnight local time. AP said that witnesses counted at least eight explosions accompanied by distant booms. An earlier report by Reuters said witnesses counted around 10 blasts. (00:51 GMT) Putin has appeared to climb down from Russia's objections to Sweden and Finland joining NATO, saying Moscow had no issues with them entering the US-led military alliance. "I want to inform you, dear colleagues, that Russia has no problem with those states, it hasn't. So, in this regard, expansion by the addition of those countries poses no direct threat for us," Putin said during a CSTO meeting with leaders of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. "But the expansion of military infrastructure into this territory would certainly provoke our response. What that (response) will be - we will see what threats are created for us," he added. (01:12 GMT) The quick acceptance of Ukrainians fleeing Russia's aggression puts a spotlight on Europe's "double standard" for migrants, standing against its non-welcome for people fleeing violence in Africa, the Middle East and elsewhere, Francesco Rocca, the head of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has said. Over 48,000 migrants have died or disappeared since 2014 while traveling at sea, and the deadliest route is that taken by migrants across the central Mediterranean to Europe, with at least 19,000 such deaths. (01:53 GMT) A Russian army veteran and former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer has said that Moscow's operation to defeat the Ukrainian army in the Donetsk region has failed. "I must state with regret that the operation to defeat the enemy's Donetsk grouping, widely publicised in late April-early May, HAS FAILED," Igor Girkin, also known under the alias Igor Strelkov, wrote on Telegram. Strelkov said that after more than two weeks of "fierce fighting" not a single large settlement was "liberated", except the town of Rubizhne, but the battle for this had started before Russia announced its new Donbas offensive. (02:05 GMT) Japan respects Sweden's "serious decision" to apply for NATO membership, Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno has said. (02:17 GMT) Russians in the occupied town of Enerhodar, in the Zaporizhzhia region, have kidnapped several local men, taking them away with hands tied in an "unknown direction", Interfax reports citing the press service of the Zaporizhzhia administration. The regional press service said the Russian military came to the men's appartments and kept the other residents at gunpoint while tying the men's hands and taking them away, according to Interfax, and also said that the Russian military were planning on staging a referendum to lay groundwork for Enerhodar to join the Russian Federation. Al Jazeera could not independently verify these reports. (03:50 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister has said that an exchange would be worked out for the fighters evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant who have been taken to Russian-held territory. Anna Malyar said in the early hours of Tuesday that 53 seriously wounded fighters were taken from the Azovstal steelworks to a hospital in the Russian-held city of Novoazovsk, in the Donetsk People's Republic. An additional 211 fighters were evacuated to Olenivka, also in Russian-held Donetsk, through a humanitarian corridor. (05:01 GMT) Russia is prepared to use "artillery against inhabited areas with minimal regard to discrimination or proportionality," the UK's defence ministry has suggested, based on the scale of damage Russia caused to residential buildings. The ministry said Russia's reliance on indiscriminate artillery bombardment was likely due to its "limited target acquisition capability" as well as its "unwillingness to risk flying combat aircraft routinely beyond its own frontlines". In coming weeks, the ministry warned Russia "is likely to continue to rely heavily on massed artillery strikes as it attempts to regain momentum in its advance in the Donbas". (05:08 GMT) A village in Russia's western province of Kursk bordering Ukraine came under Ukrainian fire on Tuesday, regional governor Roman Starovoit said, but there were no injuries, although three houses and a school were hit. Russian border guards returned fire to quell the shooting from large-calibre weapons on the border village of Alekseyevka. (05:19 GMT) An international relations expert has said that while Sweden and Finland's decision to join NATO is "historic", it will herald little practical change to the security of Europe and both countries. Eoin McNamara told Inside Story that Sweden and Finland have had close cooperation with NATO for many years. "They're as good as NATO members, without the Article 5 guarantee." But McNamara, a Visiting Research Fellow at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs, added that membership would give the two countries an "added layer" of protection, such as that of NATO's nuclear deterrent. Under NATO's Article 5, an attack against one ally is considered an attack against all allies. (05:52 GMT) Japan signed a US$100 million loan agreement with Ukraine on Monday. (06:10 GMT) New Zealand has sanctioned 27 Belarusian leaders, including President Lukashenko, and defence entities who support Russia's actions in Ukraine. (06:19 GMT) The Russian-backed administration of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic has said that Ukrainian troops twice shelled a residential area in the Petrovsky district on Tuesday, Russia's state news agency RIA reports. The report didn't mention any casualties. (06:43 GMT) see also 00:38 Ukraine's air defence shot down three cruise missiles the Lviv region, Ukraine's air force has said. "At midnight on May 17, the enemy launched a missile strike on the infrastructure of the Lviv region. Three cruise missiles were destroyed by air defence units of the West Air Command. According to reports, they attacked the Lviv region from the southeast with naval cruise missiles," the air force said (07:30 GMT) At least 27,900 Russian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, including some 200 in the past 24 hours, Ukraine's military has said. On Facebook on Tuesday, the General Staff of Armed Forces said Russian forces have also lost 1,235 tanks, 3,009 armored vehicles, 201 planes and 167 helicopters since February 24. (08:04 GMT) The (Ukrainian) mayor of Mariupol has urged its evacuated residents not to return to the Russian-occupied city. "You can get in, but leaving is very complicated," Vadym Boychenko, who has left the city, said in televised remarks. He referred to a Russian system of "filtration" that allegedly includes interrogations, searches and torture for anyone suspected of being a Ukrainian serviceman, official or sympathiser. He said that pledges made by the Russians to pay compensation for lost housing and killed relatives were nothing but a "trap" and a "propaganda" ploy to lure back as many Mariupol residents as possible. (08:26 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba sits down with Al Jazeera's Diplomatic Editor James Bays on the sidelines of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting in northern Germany https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6l-4SlIDlI (08:30 GMT) Separatists in eastern Ukraine say 256 Ukrainian fighters who had been holed up in Mariupol's Azovstal steel plant "have surrendered". (09:10 GMT) Zelenskyy says he and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have held talks on the current state of the conflict and the possibility of further sanctions on Moscow. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine counted on further German help for his country's path to full membership in the European Union. (09:30 GMT) Moscow and Kyiv are not holding talks over ending the war "in any form", Russia's Interfax news agency has quoted the country's deputy foreign minister as saying. "No, negotiations are not going on. Ukraine has practically withdrawn from the negotiation process" Andrey Rudenko said. Previous rounds of discussions in person and online have failed to produce any deal on halting the conflict. (09:40 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have fired missiles at arms shipments from Kyiv's Western allies - including the United States - in Ukraine's western Lviv region, destroying the cargo. (09:51 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called for Washington's allies to step up financial support for Ukraine, saying that funds announced so far will not be sufficient for the country to meet its "basic needs" as it battles Russia's offensive. (10:08 GMT) The Kremlin has demoted, dismissed or arrested at least six leading Russian military figures over failures during Moscow's offensive, Ukraine's defence ministry has claimed. "To reduce the consequences of future political and criminal responsibility, the Kremlin tries blaming all of its failures and defeats on commanders of the occupation forces and units," the ministry's chief intelligence department said in a Telegram post. It cited Igor Osipov, the head of Russia's Black Sea fleet, as being among the officials targeted by the Kremlin. The ministry said Osipov was sacked and arrested over the sinking of Russia's flagship Moskva guided-missile cruiser in the Black Sea in mid-April. (10:30 GMT) Finland and Sweden will be able to reach an agreement with Turkey over its objections to the two Nordic countries' plans to join the 30-nation NATO alliance, Finland's president has said. (10:55 GMT) The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, has reportedly said that Azov Regiment fighters evacuated from Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks should not be swapped for Russian prisoners of war and instead ought to stand trial as "war criminals." "Nazi criminals should not be exchanged. These are war criminals and we must do everything to make sure they will stand trial," Vyacheslav Volodin was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying. Moscow has long claimed that the Azov Regiment, a controversial volunteer battalion turned national guard unit with links to the far-right, are "neo-Nazis". (11:00 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it is expelling two diplomats from the Finnish embassy in Moscow in retaliation against Helsinki's decision to expel two of its own envoys. (11:20 GMT) Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says that Ukrainian fighters who surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant will be treated "humanely" and "in accordance with international standards". His remarks came after a lawmaker who acted as one of Moscow's negotiators in now-stalled peace talks with Ukraine said earlier on Tuesday that Russia should consider the death penalty for what he called "nationalist" fighters from the Azov regiment who had been holed up at the steelworks. "They do not deserve to live after the monstrous crimes against humanity that they have committed and that are committed continuously against our prisoners," Leonid Slutsky said in the Duma. (11:26 GMT) Ukrainian fighters who defended Mariupol from Russia's offensive changed the course of the war by holding out for 82 days, Podolyak has said. (12:10 GMT) Germany's foreign minister says she is confident that Finland and Sweden would rapidly join NATO despite reservations regarding their accession expressed by Turkey. (12:41 GMT) Finland's parliament has overwhelmingly voted in favour of bid for NATO membership. Matti Vanhanen, the legislative body's speaker, said. 188 lawmakers had voted in favour of the move. Eight voted against it. (13:11 GMT) Biden will host the leaders of Sweden and Finland at the White House on Thursday to discuss their NATO applications, the White House has said. (13:36 GMT) European Union defence ministers are set to approve another 500 million euros ($527m) in military aid for Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said. "We have to continue to support the Ukrainians with arms, that's why we will pull 500 million euros more" from the European Peace Facility. (14:21 GMT) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the UN's nuclear watchdog plans to send another team of experts to the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant in Ukraine in "the coming weeks". (15:06 GMT) The office of Russia's prosecutor general has asked the Russian Supreme Court to recognise Ukraine's Azov Regiment as a "terrorist organisation", Interfax reports, citing the Ministry of Justice website. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the case on May 26. (15:51 GMT) An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that talks over ending the war are currently suspended and blamed Moscow for failing to find areas for compromise. (17:20 GMT) Seven buses carrying Ukrainian fighters who held out for weeks against Russian forces at the Azovstal steelworks arrived at a former penal colony in the Russian-controlled town of Olenivka near Donetsk, according to a Reuters witness. (17:48 GMT) Arms deliveries from France to Ukraine will intensify in coming days, French President Emmanuel Macron told his Ukrainian counterpart, adding that Paris was ready to respond to additional demands for help. (17:53 GMT) Russians lined up in a Moscow train station for what may be their last Big Mac from one of the few McDonald's restaurants still open in the country. The world's largest burger chain is rolling down the shutters in Russia after more than 30 years, becoming one of the biggest global brands to leave following Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The exit of McDonald's ends a chapter in the United States company's history that began when it started serving its burgers in Russia as a symbol of American capitalism. (18:07 GMT) Ukraine's government has lifted restrictions on fuel prices to enable traders to import more and make up the shortage Ukraine is experiencing after Russian forces destroyed many storage facilities and logistics chains, said the economy minister Yulia Svyrydenko. (19:33 GMT) US Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell urged the Biden administration to lead an effort to ensure broad, sustained international support for Ukraine and said Washington should remain a reliable supplier of advanced weaponry for the besieged country. (19:38 GMT) The 75th Cannes Film Festival has kicked off with a live satellite video address from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called on a new generation of filmmakers to confront dictators as Charlie Chaplin satirized Adolf Hitler. Zelenskyy, streamed live and dressed in his signature olive green shirt, drew a thunderous standing ovation and spoke at length about the connection between cinema and reality. (20:21 GMT) Canada has introduced a bill in the Senate that will ban Russian President Vladimir Putin and some 1,000 other members of his government and military from entering the country. (20:40 GMT) The war with Russia is entering "a protracted phase", Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said, as Moscow's troops are now trying to take full control of the east and south of the country. "Russia is preparing for a long-term military operation," Reznikov told EU defence ministers and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. (20:50 GMT) US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price has said it is up to Ukraine to define its own objectives in talks with Russia to end the war. "It is not for us to define the objectives that our Ukrainian partners seek to achieve," Price told reporters. "It is the task of the Ukrainian government, which is in turn expressing the will of the Ukrainian people." (21:37 GMT) Republican US Senator Josh Hawley has said he opposes the $40bn aid bill to Ukraine that the Senate is in the process of approving because it represents "misplaced" priorities in US policy. "My biggest concern is that I don't think this represents a nationalist foreign policy. I mean, it seems to me to be part of this unfocused globalism that unfortunately many in my party have embraced in the last couple of decades," Hawley told Fox News. (21:55 GMT) US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo has said concerted efforts by the EU and the US to cut off Russia's access to technology over its war on Ukraine have greatly succeeded. "We've essentially stopped sending high-tech to Russia, which is what they need for their military," said Raimondo, after returning from a meeting near Paris of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council. (22:10 GMT) The European Commission is expected to unveil a 210 billion euro ($221bn) plan for how Europe can end its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027, Reuters has reported. To wean countries off those fuels, Brussels will propose a three-pronged plan: a switch to import more non-Russian gas, a faster rollout of renewable energy, and more effort to save energy, according to draft documents seen by Reuters. (22:42 GMT) The fall of Mariupol appears at hand as Ukraine is moving to abandon the Azovstal steel plant where its soldiers had held out for months. The port city would become the largest in Ukraine to be fully captured by Russia. Zelenskyy said Ukraine is working to get its remaining troops safely out of the steel plant. In his nightly video address to the nation, he said the evacuation mission was being supervised by Ukraine's military and intelligence officers and added that "the most influential international mediators are involved". (22:49 GMT) Ukraine's former world boxing heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian athletes. Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv, enlisted in the Ukrainian reserve army shortly after Russia launched its invasion. (23:41 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Russian missiles struck the regions of Lviv, Sumy and Chernihiv on Tuesday. Russian forces had also carried out air strikes in the Luhansk region. (23:55 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has announced Moscow is officially withdrawing from the Council of the Baltic Sea States "in response to hostile actions," TASS news agency reports. "NATO and EU states within the Council rejected the equal dialogue and the principles that this Baltic regional structure was created upon, and they gradually turn the council into an instrument of anti-Russian politics," the ministry said in a statement. The 11 member council that includes the EU, Finland, Germany, Poland and Sweden, suspended Russia from participation in March in response to its invasion of Ukraine. Belarus, which held observer status, was also suspended. The statement from Russia's foreign ministry said the council had made "iIllegal and discriminatory decisions" and Russia would not participate in turning the organisation into another platform for sabotage activities and 'western vanity'." 20220518 (00:12 GMT) Ukrainian guerrilla fighters have reportedly killed several high-ranking Russian officers in the southern city of Melitopol, the regional administration has said. Russian forces have occupied the city since early in the war. No details of the killings were given and the report could not immediately be confirmed, according to the Associated Press. (01:00 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to New York this week to chair a United Nations meeting on food security and discuss its link with conflict with the Security Council, the State Department has said. (01:06 GMT) Green trade deals can help to end the world's dependence on Russian oil and gas and "de-Putinise" the global economy, Britain's trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan will say in a speech on Wednesday. "This terrible conflict in Ukraine has underlined what can be achieved through a cohesive global approach. It has also reminded the globe that we must de-Putinise the world's economy," (01:25 GMT) Ukraine's human rights ombudsman said the Russian military was holding more than 3,000 civilians from Mariupol at another former penal colony No.120 near Olenivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Ombudsman Lyudmyla Denisova said on Telegram earlier on Tuesday that the civilians were being held at penal colony No. 52, also near Olenivka. (01:59 GMT) Moscow must constantly remind others of its ability to "give an immediate and overwhelmingly powerful response to an attack on our country," Russia's former prime minister and deputy chairman of its security said. "We can repulse any aggression which threatens our state," Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram after a visit to Russia's town of Sarov, the country's centre for nuclear research. The Telegram post included a video in which Medvedev spoke to scientists at the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Experimental Physics where the first Soviet nuclear bomb was developed in the 1940s. (02:22 GMT) Ukraine, in negotiating to evacuate its fighters from the Azovstal steel plant, likely agreed to Russia's probable condition of surrender and ordered its men to do so, the Institute for the Study of War has suggested. "Mariupol defenders trapped in the Azovstal Steel Plant likely surrendered after Ukrainian officials negotiated evacuation measures with the Kremlin," the institute said in its latest campaign assessment. "The Kremlin might have agreed to the conditional surrender of the Azovstal defenders to accelerate Russia's ability to declare Mariupol fully under its control," it added. The institute also said there were mixed responses on Russian social media channels to the event, with some blaming the Russian government for negotiating with Ukrainian "terrorists" and "Nazis". (03:02 GMT) The US state department has announced a new program to "capture, analyse, and make widely available evidence of Russia-perpetrated war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine." Called Conflict Observatory, the program's information will be publicly available online "to help refute Russia's disinformation efforts and shine a light on abuses." (04:44 GMT) Australia has sanctioned 11 individuals and 12 entities it says are "purveyors of propaganda and disinformation who have sought to legitimise Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine," according to a statement from the foreign minister Marise Payne. Individuals sanctioned include the First Deputy Director of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), Sergei Korolyov, and All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company journalist, Yevgeny Poddubny. Among the entities is the Wagner group, described as Putin's de-facto private army, and two Belarusian enterprises. (05:14 GMT) The governor of Russia's Belgorod region says a power transmission line was damaged by Ukrainian shelling in the village of Bezymeno on Tuesday. "The destruction of residential buildings is insignificant, mostly glass is broken," Vyacheslav Gladkov said on social media (05:30 GMT) Russia has a "significant resourcing problem" in Ukraine and "disunited command" which hampers its operations, the UK's defence ministry said. (05:43 GMT) About 300,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat booked by Egypt's state grains buyer for delivery in February and March is yet to be shipped, with one cargo stuck in port and four others still to be loaded, four traders have said, according to Reuters. (05:59 GMT) Russian forces are attacking the village of Dovhenke in the Donetsk region near Slovyansk, and have deployed jets and artillery units to support the offensive, Ukraine's army has said. In its latest briefing, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said that Russia also launched an offensive to try to establish full control of the settlement of Drobysheve, to block the Donetsk city of Lyman from the north. To support the offensive in the areas of Bakhmut and Severodonetsk, in Luhansk, Russians brought in up to fifteen helicopters, the army said. (06:45 GMT) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Finland and Sweden have applied to join the NATO military alliance. (07:15 GMT) Moscow may order its peacekeepers in the separatist Moldovan region of Transdnistria that borders southwestern Ukraine, to start an offensive, Moldovan politician Kirill Motspan said. (07:33 GMT) Ivan Kuliak has been handed a one-year ban for displaying the letter "Z" on his outfit during an event in Qatar in March, the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) said. The 20-year-old, who won bronze in the parallel bars at the Apparatus World Cup in Doha, displayed the letter as he stood on the podium next to Ukrainian gold medallist Illia Kovtun. "Mr Kuliak breached the FIG Statutes, the FIG Code of Discipline, the FIG Code of Ethics, the FIG Code of Conduct and the FIG Technical Regulations when he wore the letter 'Z' on his singlet," the governing body said in a statement. (07:53 GMT) Swiss packaging group Vetropack has said it would cut roughly 400 jobs in Ukraine following severe war damage to its Hostomel plant, a sign of the widening economic toll of the fighting in Ukraine. The manufacturer of glass packaging, which has employed roughly 600 at the plant, northwest of Kyiv, said it had continued to pay full salaries of its people while releasing them from work duties. However, now with the damage from military activity rendering the plant inoperable for the near future and hostilities continuing in the region, the company said it would need to let go roughly two-thirds of the workforce. (09:42 GMT) Top-ranking Ukrainian commanders holed up at Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks are yet to surrender, local media has quoted pro-Russian separatist leader Denis Pushilin as saying. Pushilin, who heads the self-declared breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, said that the hundreds of fighters who had given themselves up did not include any commanders of the highest level, the Donetsk News Agency (DAN) reported. "They have not left [the plant]," he said. (10:04 GMT) Russian forces who occupied areas around Kyiv and parts of Ukraine's northern Chernihiv region in the weeks after Moscow launched its invasion subjected civilians there to summary executions, torture, and other grave abuses that are "apparent war crimes", Human Rights Watch (HRW) says. HRW said it had investigated 22 apparent summary executions, nine other unlawful killings, six possible enforced disappearances, and seven cases of torture in 17 villages and small towns during a visit to the formerly occupied areas by some of the NGO's staff in April. Its findings, published in a new report on Wednesday, w(10:19 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said there is currently no movement in negotiations with Ukraine about ending the war. "Negotiations are not progressing and we note the complete unwillingness of Ukrainian negotiators to continue this process," (10:35 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it is expelling 34 French diplomats in a retaliatory move. France kicked out 35 Russians with diplomatic status in April as part of a broader wave of expulsions that saw more than 300 Russians sent home from European capitals. (10:46 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he expects Turkey's NATO allies to understand its sensitivities on security, having set out his opposition to Sweden and Finland's applications to join the bloc. He added that Sweden should not expect Turkey to approve its NATO application without returning "terrorists". (11:01 GMT) Russia's deputy prime minister says Moscow's military doctrine determines it can only use nuclear weapons in a "retaliatory strike" for an attack on the country. "According to the doctrine, we do not attack first," Yuri Borisov said. (11:43 GMT) The EU intends to mobilise up to 300 billion euros ($315bn) of investments by 2030 to end its reliance on Russian oil and gas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says. The investments will include 10 billion euros ($10.5bn) for gas infrastructure, two billion euros ($2.1bn) for oil, with the rest for clean energy. (12:00 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Moscow has expelled 24 Italian and 27 Spanish diplomats in tit-for-tat responses to the expulsion of Russian envoys over the war in Ukraine. Spain said in April that it would expel some 25 Russian diplomats and embassy staff from Madrid, joining other European Union countries that have ordered Russian officials to leave. (13:43 GMT) If the two Nordic countries join the alliance, it would mean that NATO forces could be right next to the Finnish-Russian 1,340km border, in turn extending the NATO-Russia borderlines along the northwest of Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/18/map-what-will-nato-look-like-once-sweden-and-finland-join ~/photos/events/20220518_nato_military_budget.png (14:13 GMT) Poland's army says it is launching a new form of military service this month amid security concerns because of the war in neighbouring Ukraine. The Polish military said volunteers will be able to provide a year's paid service that can be turned into long-term or professional service. A NATO member since 1999, Poland has some 111,500 professional soldiers and 32,000 volunteer territorial troops. (14:32 GMT) Russia says it is closing the Moscow bureau of Canada's CBC and withdrawing visas and accreditation from the public broadcaster's journalists after Ottawa banned Russian state TV station Russia Today. (14:58 GMT) Germany's defence ministry says Berlin will give the Czech Republic 15 Leopard 2 tanks as part of a "ring exchange" programme under which it aims to help countries pass their stocks of Soviet weaponry to Ukraine. (15:12 GMT) Switzerland's Federal Criminal Court has upheld two appeals by defendants arguing that Russia did not deserve legal assistance in criminal cases given its invasion of Ukraine, the court says. The judgements are not final and may be appealed to the Swiss Supreme Court. They concerned cases in which Russia accused the unnamed defendants of illegal exports to Israel via Switzerland of materials that could be used to make weapons. (15:33 GMT) Russia will finance the reconstruction of the "freed" territories in Ukraine that it has taken control of and will repair roads that link those areas with Russia, the country's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin as saying. Khusnullin also said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe by capacity, will supply energy to Russia and to Ukraine if the latter pays for it, RIA reported. (16:23 GMT) Russia's state statistics agency says it expects economic growth to stand at 3.5% in the first quarter of this year. By comparison, Russia's economy expanded by five% in the fourth quarter of 2021. (16:40 GMT) Ukraine and Russia have suspended negotiations to end the war for the time being. (16:58 GMT) Top EU officials have urged member states to be ambitious in helping Ukraine rebuild after the war, including through possible joint borrowing to cover the massive costs. To help pay for this, officials are floating a repeat of the EU's post-pandemic recovery fund, the 800 billion euros ($840bn) in fiscal stimulus that is being financed by common debt among the EU's 27 member states. The fund, officially known as Next Generation EU, overcame deep reticence by so-called "frugal" member states such as the Netherlands and Denmark to come into being. (17:02 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has lamented what he called a "silent process of disarmament" as member countries were urged to quickly replenish their depleted stocks of ammunition and military equipment. "We've been stripping ourselves of arms without saying it. We've reduced our military assets between 2008 and 2014 in a very shocking way and in a very uncoordinated way," Borrell said at a briefing in Brussels. Longer term, the bloc aims to develop more drones and air-to-air refuelling capabilities, upgrade Europe's tank and fighting vehicle armoury, strengthen naval capacities, and bolster its cyber defence abilities. (17:05 GMT) Hundreds of Ukrainian fighters from the Azov battalion who surrendered to Russian and separatist forces should be sentenced to death, a Russian senator has said. Russia bans death penalty, but the separatist "People's Republics" of Donetsk and Luhansk live according to Josef Stalin's constitution that prescribes capital punishment for a number of crimes. (17:07 GMT) A Ukrainian police chief has said that the bodies of 1,288 civilians killed by Russian servicemen have been found in the Kyiv region. (17:47 GMT) After three months of closure, the US flag is flying over the American embassy in Kyiv once again. The news was also confirmed by US State Secretary Anthony Blinken: "The Ukrainian people, with our security assistance, have defended their homeland in the face of Russia's unconscionable invasion, and, as a result, the Stars and Stripes are flying over the Embassy once again." (19:40 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he is in "intense contact" with Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, the US and the EU to try and restore Ukrainian grain shipments and revive Russian fertiliser exports. (19:44 GMT) Justin Trudeau slammed Russia's closure of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Moscow offices, saying the move was "unacceptable". (20:16 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a meeting that necessary messages will be given regarding Turkey's security concerns about Sweden & Finland's NATO bids. In a news conference with Turkish media, Cavusoglu also said he told his American counterpart that the US should strike a balance in its policies towards Greece and Turkey. (20:38 GMT) A senior US defence official said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist and spoke about the interim period between when the country's NATO application is formally submitted and when it is approved, the Associated Press reported. There have been concerns about threats from Russia during that period, in which Sweden and Finland would not formally be covered by NATO's Article 5, which states that an attack against one member is an attack against all and calls for collective defence. (20:41 GMT) White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan has said President Joe Biden asked his national security team and cabinet members about the risks and benefits of Finland and Sweden joining NATO. He said the team "emphatically supported the entry of Finland and Sweden". (21:14 GMT) President Zoran Milanovic of Croatia wants his country to follow Turkey's example by trying to block Sweden and Finland from joining NATO. Milanovic is in a bitter verbal dispute with Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic over a number of issues, including whether to support the NATO applications Sweden and Finland submitted. Before Croatia's parliament ratifies NATO membership for the two Nordic nations, Milanovic wants a change of neighbouring Bosnia's electoral law that would make it easier for their nationalist Bosnian Croat allies to get elected to leadership positions. (21:50 GMT) Google's Russian subsidiary plans to file for bankruptcy after authorities seized its bank account, making it impossible to pay staff and vendors, but free services including search and YouTube will keep operating, a Google spokesperson has said. (22:47 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is determined to restore its control over the southern cities of Kherson, Melitopol, Berdyansk, Enerhodar and Mariupol, now occupied by Russian troops. "All of our cities and communities under occupation - under temporary occupation - should know that Ukraine will return," 20220519 (00:25 GMT) Russia has said it is using a new generation of powerful lasers in Ukraine to burn up drones. Little is known about the specifics of the new laser. But Yury Borisov, the deputy prime minister in charge of military development, told a conference in Moscow that one prototype called Peresvet was already being widely deployed and it could blind satellites up to 1,500 km above Earth. He added there were already more powerful systems. "If Peresvet blinds, then the new generation of laser weapons lead to the physical destruction of the target - thermal destruction, they burn up," he told Russian state television. Asked if such weapons were being used in Ukraine, Borisov said: "Yes. The first prototypes are already being used there." He said the weapon was called "Zadira". (00:48 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for the EU's 9 billion euro macro-financial aid and recovery program for Ukraine. (01:17 GMT) The US has gathered intelligence that shows some Russian officials have become concerned that Russian forces in the ravaged port city of Mariupol are carrying out grievous abuses, a US official familiar with the findings has said, Associated Press reports. The Russian officials are concerned that the abuses will backfire and further inspire Mariupol residents to resist the Russian occupation. (02:15 GMT) Australia is sending Ukraine an extra 20 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, 14 M113 armoured personnel carriers and radiation monitoring and personal protective equipment, pushing the nation's contribution to Kyiv's war effort above AU$285 million ($199 m), the Australian newspaper has reported. (02:35 GMT) The US Senate confirmed Bridget Brink as the US ambassador to Ukraine as officials plan to return American diplomats to Kyiv. The veteran foreign service officer, who has spent most of her career in the shadow of the former Soviet Union, was nominated to the position last month. (02:44 GMT) The US does not have legal authority to seize Russian central bank assets frozen due to its invasion of Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. "I think it's very natural that given the enormous destruction in Ukraine, and huge rebuilding costs that they will face, that we will look to Russia to help pay at least a portion of the price that will be involved." (03:03 GMT) Janet Yellen has said it is likely that the special license granted to allow Russia to make payments to its US bondholders would not be extended when it expires next week. This would leave Russian officials a fast-narrowing window to avoid its first external debt default since the 1917 Russian revolution. Russia has some $40 billion of international bonds. A temporary license from the Treasury granted an exception allowing banks to accept dollar-denominated payments from Russia's finance ministry despite crippling sanctions on Russia. The license expires on May 25, with the next major payment due that day. (04:17 GMT) Japan will double fiscal aid for Ukraine to $600 million in a coordinated move with the World Bank to back the country's near-term fiscal necessities damaged by Russia's invasion, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said. Japan, a member of the G7, had previously announced $300 million in loans to Ukraine in April. (04:23 GMT) Blinken has said that Ukraine will be getting $215 million in emergency food assistance, with more aid expected in the future. (04:37 GMT) The head of Ukraine's president's office has said that the longer the war lasts, the more risk there is that it will involve other countries. "At first, it will affect states that have borders with Russia, and then it may be a war involving even more countries," Andriy Yermak said in an interview with MSNBC. (05:04 GMT) Ukraine will not compromise with Russia and will not give up any territory, an advisor to Zelenskyy has said. "The only option for reconciliation is Russia's capitulation, the withdrawal of troops and talks on compensation. This is the principle position of the government," Oleksiy Arestovych told 24 Channel. Arestovych said he believed some countries wanted a repeat of the Minsk agreements, which had sought unsuccessfully to end the war in Ukraine's Donbas region since 2014. But he said, although some countries would try to negotiate, "there will be no option where we allow Russians to stay here". (05:29 GMT) Russian occupation authorities in the Donetsk region say they plan to destroy the Azovstal steel plant after capturing it and turn Mariupol into a "resort city", the Institute for the Study of War has said. (05:49 GMT) One person has died in another attack from Ukraine on the village of Tetkino in the Kursk region, its governor has said, TASS news agency reports. "Another enemy attack on Tetkino, which took place at dawn, unfortunately ended in tragedy. At the moment, at least one civilian death is known," Roman Starovoit said on Telegram. (05:54 GMT) Former US President George W. Bush mistakenly described the invasion of Iraq as "brutal" and "unjustified" before correcting himself to say he meant to refer to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Bush made the comments in a speech during an event in Dallas on Wednesday, while he was criticising Russia's political system. "The result is an absence of checks and balances in Russia, and the decision of one man to launch a wholly unjustified and brutal invasion of Iraq," Bush said, before correcting himself and shaking his head. "I mean, of Ukraine." He jokingly blamed the mistake on his age as the audience burst into laughter. (06:11 GMT) A culture of cover-ups and scapegoating is likely prevalent in Russia's military and security system, the UK's defence ministry has said. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry listed some of Russia's senior commanders who had recently been fired after being considered to have poorly performed in Ukraine. This includes Vice Admiral Igor Osipov who commanded the Black Sea Fleet and was suspended after the sinking of Moskva. "Many officials involved in the invasion of Ukraine will likely be increasingly distracted by efforts to avoid personal culpability for Russia's operational set-backs, the ministry said, adding this would likely place further strain on Russia's centralised command model. "It will be difficult for Russia to regain the initiative under these conditions," the ministry added. (06:16 GMT) G7 financial leaders are likely to focus on Thursday and Friday on how to help Ukraine pay its bills. Reconstruction after the war, surging global inflation, climate change, supply chains and the impending food crisis will also be high on the agenda. (06:56 GMT) Ukraine's army says that the Russian military has lost 28.5 thousand men since the start of the invasion. In a Facebook post, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces also said that Russia had lost 1,254 tanks and 3,063 armoured vehicles. Ukraine's figures of Russia's losses are significantly higher than Moscow's. On March 25, Russia said 1,351 of its soldiers had been killed in combat and has given no more information since. At the time Ukraine had the number at 19,000. Experts say figures by both parties cannot be trusted as Kyiv is likely to inflate them to boost the morale of its troops, while Russia is probably downplaying them. (08:00 GMT) "The situation has deteriorated over the last week or so," said Al Jazeeera's Assed Baig, reporting from the town of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region. "The major of the town has told residents to leave, the situation is very tense," Baig said, adding that those who remain have to deal with no electricity as Russians forces have hit and destroyed power lines. "While we are standing here almost every second we can hear fire coming in and out." (08:07 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz says that the EU must set up a solidarity fund to help rebuild Ukraine after the war. (08:23 GMT) A ceasefire must be reached as soon as possible, Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said, in order to avoid the worsening of a humanitarian crisis triggered by the war. (08:39 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it has registered in the past two days hundreds of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) leaving the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. The registration process, it said, allows the ICRC to track those who have been captured and help them keep in touch with their families. (08:44 GMT) Belfast, Northern Ireland - Refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine have found themselves in limbo in Northern Ireland, caught between differing approaches to the crisis by the UK and the Republic of Ireland. (09:00 GMT) More than 1,700 fighters who were in Mariupol's Azovstal plant have laid down their arms, Russia state media says, citing Russian defence ministry's chief spokesman Igor Konashenkov. "Over the past day 771 militants of the Azov nationalist unit have surrendered," Konashenkov was quoted as saying, bringing the total who have left to 1,730. (09:22 GMT) Switzerland reopens its embassy in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv two and a half months after its closure. (09:27 GMT) Britain said it was introducing new sanctions against the Russian airline sector to prevent state-owned Aeroflot, Ural Airlines and Rossiya Airlines from selling their unused landing slots at British airports. It estimated the slots were worth 50 million pounds ($61.9 million). (09:44 GMT) Biden is set to meet President Sauli Niinisto of Finland and Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson in Washington, DC a day after he strongly endorsed their bid to join NATO. (10:22 GMT) In the latest tit-for-tat diplomatic move, Russia has expelled five employees of the Portuguese embassy in Moscow. The decision comes after 10 Russian diplomats in Portugal were declared "persona non grata", (10:57 GMT) Russia is hopeful that a solution for grain exports from Ukraine could be found, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency, adding that the removal of sanctions should also be considered. "If our partners want to achieve a solution, then it is necessary, among other things, to solve problems related to the abolition of the sanctions restrictions that were imposed for Russian exports." Ukraine used to export most of its goods through seaports but since Russia's invasion, it has been forced to export by train or via its small Danube River ports. (11:21 GMT) Finland is opposed to NATO deploying nuclear weapons or setting up military bases on its territory even if it succeeds in its bid to become a member of the military alliance, Prime Minister Sanna Marin has said. (11:46 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stands firm on his opposition to Finland and Sweden's bids to join NATO, saying his government informed Turkey's NATO allies that Ankara "will say no". "We will keep following this path," he added while addressing a young crowd at the Presidential National Library. (12:14 GMT) Donetsk's governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko, urges all residents to leave the region as Russian shelling intensifies. "Now there are no absolutely safe places in Donetsk region," he said on his Telegram channel. His remarks came after shells hit a five-story building in the village of Bakhmut whose majority of residents have already been evacuated. (12:30 GMT) International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said she was "getting more optimistic" that a G7 agreement to provide new budget funding to Ukraine can be reached and can help the country avoid hyperinflation. (12:37 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed longer-term security proposals for Ukraine and ways to get grain exports out of the country, Johnson's office said. (13:57 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that "concerns" raised by Turkey over the Sweden and Finland's applications to the military alliance were being addressed. (14:30 GMT) German legislators have agreed to remove former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of his office and staff after he defended his long-standing ties with Moscow and its energy sector despite the invasion of Ukraine. (15:45 GMT) President Sauli Niinisto of Finland says his country is open to discussing any concerns Turkey may have in regards to their application to join NATO in an "open and constructive manner." Niinisto comments made the remarks during a joint press conference with US President Biden and Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson of Sweden at the White House. Magdalena Andersson said her government has come to the conclusion that "security of the Swedish people will be best protected within the NATO alliance". (16:38 GMT) The United Nations has urged Russia and Ukraine to "build on" contacts and coordination that enabled the evacuation operations from Mariupol in order to resume stalled talks to end the war. (16:59 GMT) Top US General Mark Milley has spoke by telephone with his Russian counterpart General Valery Gerasimov, their first discussion since before Russian forces invaded Ukraine in February, the Pentagon said. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, "discussed several security-related issues of concern."` (17:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from the eastern city of Bakhmut, said Russian forces had made several advances in the Donbass and the situation in the region had "deteriorated". "Last week we were here [in Bakhmut] and we could hardly hear any artillery fire. Now the streets are way more quiet. We're hearing rockets, artillery fire and shelling all the time," he added. "Currently in Bakhmut, no place is safe, and the mayor who is in a bunker, has asked people to evacuate," Baig said. (17:49 GMT) The Senate overwhelmingly approved a $40bn infusion of military and economic aid for Ukraine and its allies as both political parties rallied behind the US's latest financial salvo against Russia's invasion. The 86-11 vote gave final congressional approval to the package, three weeks after President Joe Biden requested a smaller $33bn version and after a lone Republican opponent delayed Senate passage for a week. The senators who voted against were: Rand Paul, Josh Hawley, Marsha Blackburn, John Boozman, Mike Braun, Mike Crapo, Bill Hagerty, Mike Lee, Cynthia Lummis, Roger Marshall and Tommy Tuberville. (18:36 GMT) For many Ukrainians, the Azov Battalion servicemen are the 300 Spartans. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/19/how-the-capture-of-azov-fighters-affects-the-russia-ukraine-war (19:15 GMT) World Food Program Executive Director David Beasley said growing hunger will add at least 47 million people to the 276 million "marching to starvation" before Russia's invasion of its smaller neighbour. Beasley told a UN Security Council meeting Thursday that 49 million people in 43 countries are already "knocking on famine's door". (19:58 GMT) The United States has announced a shipment of $100m in military equipment to Ukraine, separate from what will be coming from the $40bn approved earlier by Congress. The latest package includes 18 more howitzers as well as anti-artillery radar systems, both of which the US has provided to Ukraine already since the invasion began. (20:26 GMT) Ukrainian refugees and their relatives in Israel have protested in Tel Aviv by marching through the city with a 30-metre-long Ukrainian flag. Some protesters carried banners with the names of Ukrainian cities. (20:52 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the West should not expect Russia to continue food supplies if it slaps Moscow with devastating sanctions over the war. "Our country is ready to fulfil its obligations in full. But it also expects assistance from trading partners, including on international platforms," Medvedev, who now serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said. "Otherwise, there's no logic: on the one hand, insane sanctions are being imposed against us, on the other hand, they are demanding food supplies. Things don't work like that, we're not idiots," (21:21 GMT) Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny's team has urged a fresh round of US sanctions over the war in Ukraine that moves beyond wealthy oligarchs to spread the financial pain to Russian government officials, mid-level politicians and public figures. Vladimir Ashurkov, the executive director of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, said the "avalanche of sanctions" so far from the West is having an effect in Russia. "Let's bring on, or at least announce, the next wave," Ashurkov said. (22:29 GMT) A veteran Russian rock musician is facing charges over anti-war remarks made at a concert. Yuri Shevchuk, singer for the band DDT, could face a fine of up to 50,000 rubles ($800). After the war began, Russia passed a more severe law making the spread of "fake news" about the conflict punishable by up to 15 years in prison. "Old people, women and children are dying," Shevchuk said during a concert. "The motherland, my friends, is not the ass of a president that you have to lick and kiss all the time. The motherland is a poor grandmother selling potatoes at the train station." (23:32 GMT) An investigation by the New York Times, including previously unreleased videos, confirms eyewitness accounts that Russian forces in Bucha took captive and executed several men. (23:46 GMT) The deputy commander of the Azov Regiment, which led the defence of the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol, has said that he and other fighters are still inside plant. "An operation is underway, the details of which I will not announce," Svyatoslav Palamar said in a brief video message. It is unclear how many Ukrainian fighters remain in the warren of bunkers and tunnels in the sprawling plant. Russia says more than 1,700 have now surrendered. 20220520 (00:03 GMT) A Ukrainian government advisor has said that the US is planning to destroy Russia's Black Sea Fleet. In a post on Twitter, Anton Herashchenko said that the "effective" way Ukrainians handled Russian warships "convinced the US to prepare a plan to unblock the ports." "Deliveries of powerful anti-ship weapons (Harpoon and Naval Strike Missile with a range of 250-300 km) are being discussed," he added. (00:15 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has instructed his education minister to introduce a "simplified mechanism" for young people living in temporarily occupied territories to gain admission to Ukraine's universities, and not to have to pay contract fees. The government had already introduced such a mechanism in 2020 for students from the occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as Crimea. Now Zelenskyy has said it should extend to other temporarily occupied regions such as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. (00:58 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has said that BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - should help to stabilise international relations at a time of turbulence, TASS reports. "BRICS countries need to ... take real action to promote peace and development, uphold fairness and justice, and advocate democracy and freedom, so as to inject stability and positive energy into international relations in a period of turbulence and transformation." (01:07 GMT) Russia will fight attempts to steal its assets abroad, the Kremlin's spokesman has said. "This could be a continuation of the very line that has become popular recently in a number of countries - stealing other people's assets. We take this negatively, we will fight it, we will defend our assets," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Thursday the EU was looking into ways of using the frozen assets of Russian oligarchs to fund the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Wednesday that the US did not have legal authority to do so. (01:21 GMT) The International Monetary Fund's deputy managing director has said the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and tighter global financial conditions would make this year "challenging" for Asia. (01:47 GMT) A fourth tranche of aid left the UK for Ukraine over the last week carrying medicines such as painkillers and antibiotics as well as personal protective equipment and respirators. According to a government statement the tranche contains "4.2 million doses of medicines - including painkillers and antibiotics that are critical for treating infections caused by battlefield trauma and limited hygiene facilities - and 1.5 million items of other supplies. (01:58 GMT) The Russian-appointed head of the Kherson region has said it will "soon become part" of the Russian Federation. (03:29 GMT) Russian-backed proxy authorities in now occupied Mariupol are not collaborating with each other, which is likely exacerbated by the evacuation of Ukrainian fighters from Azovstal, the Institute for the Study of War has said. In its latest campaign assessment, the institute said there had been complaints on pro-Russian Telegram channels that Moscow's forces were removing its own servicemen from Donetsk hospitals to treat recently evacuated Azovstal soldiers. The institute also noted that the advisor to Mariupol's mayor had reported proxy authorities in Mariupol, who collaborate with the Russian occupiers, don't report to the leadership of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. Instead, they are guided by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). "If confirmed, these reports indicate a continued lack of consistency in the way Russian and proxy authorities are handling the evacuation of Ukrainian forces from Azovstal and the overall capture of Mariupol," the institute added. (04:01 GMT) Russian-backed actors have launched numerous disinformation campaigns seeking to, among other objectives, "demoralise" Ukrainians, incite internal unrest and divide Ukraine from its allies, a report by cybersecurity firm Mandiant has found. In one of the campaigns, referred to as "Secondary Infektion," the actors falsely claimed that Zelenskyy had suicided in a military bunker in Kyiv because of his failure to keep his country safe. Another campaign spread falsehoods saying that Ukraine's Azov regiment was seeking vengeance against Zelenskyy for abandoning his troops in Mariupol. One operation disseminated an artificial intelligence-generated deepfake video of Zelenskyy stating that Ukraine had surrendered to Russia. The Ukraine 24 website and a news ticker in one of the channel's broadcasts showed identical messages or screenshots from the deepfake video. (04:06 GMT) Ukraine's grain exports are down 64% so far in May compared to the same timeframe last year, the country's agriculture ministry has said (04:32 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the US for its approval of a $40 billion aid bill (05:51 GMT) Russian forces are likely to shift focus to reinforcing their operations in the Donbas once they have secured Mariupol, the UK defence ministry has said. (07:41 GMT) Qatar hopes to start sending liquefied natural gas to Germany in 2024, via their US Golden Pass liquefied natural gas plant in Texas, according to the Gulf state's deputy prime minister who spoke to the German daily Handelsblatt. (07:59 GMT) Ukraine has received roughly $530m in US and British grants from a fund set up by the World Bank for donations to the Kyiv government in the wake of Russia's invasion, according to the the finance ministry. The US donated around $50m and Britain 24 million pounds ($30m) and the money had now arrived in the state budget. (08:37 GMT) Slovak state gas importer SPP has paid a bill for Russian natural gas in euros and conversion of the funds to roubles is outside its control, CEO Richard Prokypcak has said in a live interview on Slovak public television RTVS. "The foreign exchange conversion is outside any control of SPP, for us really the important moment of fulfilling our commitment is the euro payment." (08:51 GMT) Up to 15,000 civilians who could not leave the besieged eastern town of Severodonetsk are trying to survive intense shelling of Russian forces, an official says. "These people live in bomb shelters, in the basements of apartment buildings, where it is possible to hid, to find shelter from the shelling," district administration head Alexander Stryuk said in televised remarks. He said that the shelling destroyed "up to 70%" of houses and apartment buildings in the town that lies only 100 kilometers northwest of rebel-held Luhansk and has been a focus of Russia's offensive in recent weeks. (09:41 GMT) Ukrainian forces have successfully prevented an attempted Russian river crossing in the Donbas, according to a regular British defence ministry Twitter bulletin. Images suggest that Russia has lost armoured manoeuvre elements of at least one battalion tactical group and the deployed pontoon bridging equipment while crossing the Siverskyi Donets river west of Severodonetsk, Britain said in its intelligence update. (11:15 GMT) Russian forces have beat up Ukrainian firefighters protesting the kidnapping of their boss in the Russia-occupied town of Enerhodar, according to a Ukrainian official. The southern town accommodates the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest, producing about a quarter of Ukraine's electricity. Russians seized it in early March to secure power supply to energy-starved Crimea. Chief firefighter Vitaly Troian was forcibly taken from his office on Thursday after refusing to collaborate with Russians. (11:48 GMT) Russian authorities have forcibly herded public school teachers in the occupied city of Mariupol to launch a new curriculum based on Russian, according to a Ukrainian official. Before the end of May, they plan to open four schools in each of the ruined and depopulated city's districts, that, in September, will switch to "Russian standards", fugitive city official Petro Andriyushchenko said on Telegram. He said only history, mathematics, and Russian literature will be taught. Tens of thousands of civilians remain in the city that largely lacks power, water and gas supplies. (12:10 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has informed Finland that it will halt flows of natural gas from Saturday morning, according to Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler Gasum. Gasum has refused to pay Gazprom Export in roubles as Russia has requested European countries to do. (12:40 GMT) Finance ministers and central bank governors of the G7 wealthy democracies have said they are mobilising $19.8bn for Ukraine and pledged to give more financial support if needed. (12:50 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says Moscow is close to taking full control of Ukraine's southeastern region of Luhansk. Pro-Russian separatists have controlled about a third of the region since 2014, and Russia recognised their "independence" days before invading Ukraine. The Kremlin said it would "liberate" the Kyiv-controlled part of the region that has been heavily fortified amid a smouldering trench war with separatists. "The liberation of the Luhansk People's Republic is nearing completion," Shoigu said at a televised ministry meeting. (13:41 GMT) Qatar will play a central role in Germany's strategy to diversify away from Russian gas, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. "The energy security issue plays an important role for us. Germany will develop its infrastructure to be in a position to import liquefied gas by ship," Scholz told journalists at a joint news conference with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani in Berlin. "It's a big step and Qatar plays an important role in our strategy," Scholz added. (13:49 GMT) Canada has said it is imposing additional sanctions on Russian oligarchs and banning the import and export of targeted luxury goods from Russia. The new measures would put restrictions on 14 individuals including Russian oligarchs, their family members, and close associates of Putin, according to an official statement. The import ban would target Russian goods including alcoholic beverages, seafood, and non-industrial diamonds, while the export ban would target luxury goods such as footwear, luxury clothing and jewellery. (13:51 GMT) Czech utility CEZ has made its due payment for Russian gas in euros, a spokesman has said, declining to provide any further details. "We have made the payment in euros, in line with the recommendation of the European Commission. We will not comment on details," CEZ said, declining to specify whether the company, which takes a small fraction of gas from Gazprom, used a scheme demanded by Russia that includes converting foreign currency payments to roubles via accounts at Gazprombank. (13:56 GMT) A petition to rebrand dozens of Ukrainian streets named after iconic Russian poet Alexander Pushkin, to the name of American author Stephen King, has been posted on Zelenskyy's website. (14:09 GMT) Germany will deliver the first 15 Gepard tanks to Ukraine in July, a German defence ministry spokesperson has said. The delivery includes training and almost 60,000 rounds of ammunition. Gepard - German for "cheetah" - is considered highly effective against low-flying aircraft and lightly armoured ground targets. It was decommissioned by the German military in 2012 but some 50 mothballed units are being restored by manufacturer KMW for use by Ukraine. (15:33 GMT) Vladimir Putin claims his country has faced a barrage of cyberattacks from the West but has successfully fended them off. (15:40 GMT) Gazprom Export, the exporting arm of Russian gas giant Gazprom, has confirmed it will suspend gas sales for Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler Gasum starting from Saturday. Gazprom Export said this was because Gasum had not settled up for gas delivered in April under new Russian rules requiring buyers to make their payments in roubles. Gazprom also said it would defend its interests in arbitration proceedings initiated by the Finnish company. (15:43 GMT) Close historic ties with Russia and deep internal divisions are undermining the formation of a unified national stance in Montenegro over the conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/20/ukraine-war-means-difficult-juggling-act-for-montenegro (15:49 GMT) Italy's foreign minister says Rome has submitted a peace plan for Ukraine to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Luigi Di Maio said during a Council of Europe meeting in Turin, Italy, that the proposal submitted on Thursday calls for local ceasefires to evacuate civilians along humanitarian corridors and creating the conditions for a more general ceasefire leading "to a long-lasting peace". Josep Borrell added that it was up to Kyiv to decide the terms of any negotiations over ending the conflict. He said that he hopes that "when the time comes for negotiations to take place, Ukraine will be able to negotiate from a position of strength." (15:56 GMT) Turkey views the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and all its affiliates as security threats, complicating its relationship with NATO aspirants Sweden and Finland, which it accuses of harbouring individuals with ties to the groups. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/20/pkk-central-to-turkish-opposition-to-sweden-finland-joining-nato (16:47 GMT) The Ukrainian president has met with lawmakers from the Irish parliament in Kyiv. Zelenskyy met Mark Daly, the chairperson of the upper house of the Irish parliament, and Sean O Fearghail, the chairperson of the lower house of the Irish parliament, in his office in Kyiv. The Irish delegation discussed the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine and sanctions against Russia with the Ukrainian leader. (19:02 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said the last group of Ukrainian forces holed up in Mariupol's smashed Azovstal steelworks had surrendered, marking an end to a weeks-long siege. (19:06 GMT) Bosnian Serb nationalist leader Milorad Dodik has told European Council President Charles Michel that Bosnia needs to maintain neutrality and not join EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. "I think it is of utmost importance for Bosnia to remain neutral," Dodik said at a joint news conference with Michel and presidency Bosniak Chairman Sefik Dzaferovic. "In conditions in which we exist, it would be a problem for us to impose any kind of sanctions and join the EU or global sanctions." (20:57 GMT) Moody's has cut Ukraine's debt rating for the second time in three months and lowered the outlook to negative due to the growing risk the Russian invasion will affect the nation's debt sustainability. The ratings agency cut the grade a notch to Caa3, after lowering it in early March, and said the country could face "a more protracted military conflict than Moody's initially expected". (21:13 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed a weeks-long mystery about the siege of the Azovstal in Mariupol: How were supplies delivered to fighters in the steel mill? Ukrainian pilots risked Russian anti-aircraft fire to fly medicine, food and water to the steel mill on helicopters, suffering a large amount of casualties, Zelenskyy said in an interview on the third anniversary of his inauguration as president. He said the effort also included retrieval of bodies and picking up the wounded. (22:30 GMT) Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti has quoted the country's defence ministry as saying a total of 2,439 Ukrainian fighters who had been holed up at Mariupol's steel plant had surrendered since Monday, including more than 500 on Friday. (22:38 GMT) The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has decried what he called "unspeakable crimes", including sexual violence, by Russian forces being reported in areas recently recaptured by Ukraine. (22:45 GMT) Zelenskyy devoted his nightly video address to Ukraine's demand that Russia be held financially responsible for the damage its forces are inflicting on Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Russia should be made to pay for every home, school, hospital and business it destroys. He said a legal mechanism should be created through which everyone who suffered from Russia's actions would be able to receive compensation. (00:59 GMT) Tennis's governing agencies have said players who take part in Wimbledon won't get ranking points because the UK tournament's organisers banned athletes from Russia and Belarus. The world's most prestigious tennis tournament excluded Russian and Belarusian players after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, citing UK government guidance. It's the first time Wimbledon has excluded players on the grounds of nationality since the immediate post-World War Two era when German and Japanese players were banned. (02:24 GMT) The Ukraine Contact Group, led by US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, made up of more than 40 countries, will meet again - online - on May 23. They'll discuss further military support for Ukraine. (02:41 GMT) An adviser, Petro Andriushchenko, to the Ukrainin mayor of Mariupol says Russia on Friday removed the last bodies from the Drama Theatre where hundreds of civilians had been sheltering when Russia bombed it in March. (03:16 GMT) In its latest update on the fighting in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (IOW) says Russian forces appear to be "digging in" around Kharkiv and along the southern axis in preparation for Ukrainian counter-offensives and a protracted war. The key developments on May 20, according to IOW: * Fighting was focused on the area between Izyum and the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts * Significant Russian offensives continue around Severodonetsk with "marginal gains" in the north, west and south of the city especially near Popasna * Russia could be overstating the number of soldiers evacuated from Azovstal in order to "maximise" any POW exchange with Ukraine (04:06 GMT) Russia's parliament is considering new legislation that would allow Russians over the age of 40 and foreigners who are older than 30 to join the military as contract soldiers. The proposals were introduced by two members of the United Russia party on Friday. (04:15 GMT) Gerhard Schroder, who was German chancellor between 1998 and 2005, has resigned from the board of Russia's Rosneft. Schroder has been under growing pressure over his links with Russia, with the European Parliament urging he be blacklisted and Germany this week closing his taxpayer funded office. The 78-year-old, who counts the Russian president as a personal friend, was also in line for a top job at gas giant Gazprom. German businessman Matthias Warnig also stepped down from Rosneft. "We are sympathetic to [Schroeder and Warnig's] decisions and thank them for their continued support," Rosneft said in a statement. (04:56 GMT) Gazprom has halted gas exports to Finland, the Finnish gas system operator has confirmed. "Gas imports through Imatra entry point have been stopped," Gasgrid Finland said in a statement, according to Reuters news agency. Imatra is the entry point for Russian gas into Finland. Finnish state-owned gas wholesaler Gasum also confirmed supplies had stopped. It says it will source supplies through Estonia's grid instead. (06:05 GMT) How is Russia's economy performing under Western sanctions? Moscow says the economy is weathering the storm, but analysts warn of a steep future decline. Western nations imposed some of their strongest ever sanctions on Russia as punishment for invading Ukraine. They include freezing the central bank's foreign reserves, banning oil and gas imports and suspending Russia's banks from global financial systems. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2022/5/20/how-is-russias-economy-performing-under-western-sanctions https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXexqBGW4ok (07:15 GMT) Representatives of the US and several other nations have walked out of an Asia-Pacific trade ministers meeting in Bangkok to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials said. Representatives from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia joined the Americans in walking out of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) meeting, two Thai officials and two international diplomats told Reuters. (07:44 GMT) The UK is exploring the possibility of sending modern weaponry to Moldova to protect it from any threat of invasion from Russia, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said in an interview. (08:53 GMT) The Kremlin has claimed Russian forces have destroyed a large shipment of Western-supplied weapons in northwestern Ukraine with long-range missiles, Moscow's defence ministry said. "High-precision long-range sea-based Kalibr missiles destroyed a large batch of weapons and military equipment near the Malin railway station in Zhytomyr region delivered from the United States and European countries," it said. (09:20 GMT) Ukraine's eastern Donbass province is experiencing heavy fighting, a regional governor has reported. The eastern Ukrainian town of Sievierodonetsk has been under fire for days, with several dead and injured, according to the governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Hajday. "The Russians are wiping out Sievierodonetsk like Mariupol," Hajday said on the Telegram news channel. (10:50 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to neighboring Poland in an interview with AP news agency says he hopes the European Union will soon release billions of euros to Poland - so that assistance to Ukrainian refugees does not come "at the cost of the Polish people". Ambassador Andrii Deshchytsia said that while there have been no real social tensions and his country was grateful to Poland, he worries they could appear in the future. "I'm worried because I don't know where the limits of this hospitality, of the hospitality of Polish people, are." (11:45 GMT) Russia has announced it was banning entry to 963 Americans including US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA chief William Burns. (12:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from near the eastern city of Bakhmut, says Russia gaining full control of port city Mariupol was a "significant" blow for Ukraine, and allows Moscow to have a "landbridge" to the annexed Crimea. "For Ukrainians, it's a significant loss in terms of territory, but also in terms of morale," he said. (13:51 GMT) Finnish President Sauli Niinisto says he held "open and direct" talks with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan to discuss Finland's bid for NATO membership. Erdogan says he told Sweden's Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson that Ankara expects concrete steps regarding its concerns about "terrorist organisations", the state-owned Anadolu news agency reported. (15:26 GMT) Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa says he supports Ukraine's European Union accession bid. Speaking alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to Kyiv, Costa backed Ukraine's EU ambitions saying "the worst thing the European Union could do to Ukraine would be to divide itself now over any decision regarding the future." (18:04 GMT) The shattered city of Irpin back in Ukrainian control. Some of the worst street battles of the war were around Ukraine's capital. Now Irpin is back in Ukrainian control, people there are trying to move on. (19:12 GMT) Zelenskyy says his country is prepared to exchange its troops who surrendered at the Mariupol Azovstal steel plant for Russian prisoners. (20:01 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskiy says he talked to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and stressed the importance of more sanctions on Russia and unblocking Ukrainian ports. Zelenskyy also thanked Draghi for his "unconditional support" of Ukraine's bid to become a member of the European Union. (22:27 GMT) Ukrainian director Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk has criticised the Cannes Film Festival for including a Russian director in its line-up. The festival has banned official Russian delegations from attending, but Russian dissident Kirill Serebrennikov, who has spoken out against the invasion of Ukraine, premiered his in-competition film "Tchaikovsky's Wife" at the festival on Wednesday. (23:00 GMT) Russian forces have intensified efforts to encircle and capture Ukraine's Severodonetsk city in Luhansk Oblast and will likely continue to do so in the coming days, the Institute for the Study of War has said. 20220522 (00:15 GMT) Ukraine's presidential advisor has dismissed as "very strange" calls in the West to negotiate an ceasefire with Russia that would involve its forces remaining in territory they have occupied in the south and east. Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters making concessions would backfire on Ukraine because Russia would hit back harder after any break in fighting. "Any concession to the Russian Federation would instantly lead to an escalation of the war. So the war will not stop. It will just be put on pause for some time," he said. "After a while, with renewed intensity, the Russians will build up their weapons, manpower and work on their mistakes, modernise a little, fire many generals... And they'll start a new offensive, even more bloody and large scale, taking into account all mistakes," Podolyak added. (01:01 GMT) The Luhansk governor has said 57 people were evacuated from the region on Saturday, adding that it was very "hot" in Severodonetsk, Lysychansk and the village of Bilohorivka. (01:29 GMT) A Russian separatist leader has said that six Ukrainian fighters were killed at the Azovstal steel plant during an evacuation procedure in which the fighters were surrendering to the Russians in groups. The self-proclaimed leader of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), Denis Pushilin, said that this happened due to Ukrainian men blowing up their own caches of ammunition. "It is unclear who did this, no one is assuming responsibility, but after the main group walked out... someone ordered to blow up ammunition caches... six people died immediately, and, as far as I know, four were injured," Pushilin said on the Soloviev Live YouTube channel on Saturday. Pushilin also said that an unknown number of Ukrainian servicemen could still be at the Azovstal plant, adding that they had some stocks of food and water, but were short on medicines. (01:51 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine's army has for days been deterring Russia's advances on Slovyansk and Severodonetsk. (01:56 GMT) The governor of Russia's Kursk region has again accused Ukraine of firing on its settlements, TASS news agency reports. "Tetkino and nearby residential areas were subjected to Ukraine's fire once again," Roman Starovoit said on Saturday. (02:11 GMT) Russia has added two Kremlin critics, former chess champion Garry Kasparov and former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, to its long list of "foreign agents". Soviet-born former world chess champion Kasparov is a longtime opponent of Putin and has lived in the US for almost a decade. Khodorkovsky, one of Russia's most powerful businessmen in the 1990s, spent ten years in Russian prison on what many see as falsified charges, before going into exile. (02:42 GMT) Russia's transport minister has said that international sanctions have "practically broken" logistics in the country, TASS has reported. "The sanctions imposed on Russia... have practically broken all logistics in our country. And we have to look for new logistics corridors," Vitaly Savelyev, said on a visit to Russia's southern port city of Astrakhan, on the Caspian Sea The new corridors for moving goods include a north-south route through two Caspian Sea ports: Olya and Makhachkala. The minister's comments were a rare admission from the Kremlin that sanctions intended to cripple Russia's economy are having an effect. (05:04 GMT) A Russian politician and Putin's appointed representative to the annexed region of Crimea says Ukraine is unlikely to continue to exist in its current form, Russia's state news agency RIA reports. Georgy Muradov suggested Ukraine would likely become a federation, or a group of states. He added that no country that respects itself would tolerate a flagrant violation of the rights of its own people in neighbouring states, invoking the argument Moscow commonly uses for having invaded Ukraine. "And even more so if these attempts result in outright extermination of people, as happened in recent years with regard to Russians and Russian-speakers in Ukraine, where they lived for centuries in their native land," he said. (07:54 GMT) Russia has released a list of 963 Americans who have been "permanently banned" from entering the country in response to US sanctions related to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. At the top of the list is US President Joe Biden. On the list also is Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman, 84, who had appeared in a video in 2017 that accused the Russian government of meddling with American democracy. (09:37 GMT) The eastern city of Severodonetsk has been attacked from four different directions overnight, but the Russians were pushed back, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office said on Sunday. Severodonetsk and Sloviansk are essential to controlling the Luhansk region. "Severodonetsk was assaulted from four sides at once, but the enemy was repelled and retreated to previous positions," the presidential morning briefing said. Seven houses in Severodonetsk and at least 27 houses in surrounding towns and villages were damaged, the statement said. (09:53 GMT) Lithuania will have completely cut imports of Russian energy supplies including oil, electricity and natural gas from today, Sunday. (10:24 GMT) Joe Biden will meet this week with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Japan, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters as the US President flew from South Korea to Japan. This comes at a time when the US is working to convince India to distance itself from Russia. India is a major purchaser of Russian arms, and so far has resisted pressure to condemn Moscow's invasion of Ukraine or join a chorus of states in isolating Russia. Biden and his Indian counterpart will meet on the sidelines of the summit by the Quad, an informal alliance between the US, India, Japan, and Australia. (10:48 GMT) Only Ukraine has the right to decide its future, Polish president Duda has said to parliamentarians in Kyiv. "Worrying voices have appeared, saying that Ukraine should give in to Putin's demands. Only Ukraine has the right to decide about its future," he said. (11:52 GMT) Olaf Scholz will embark on his first trip to Africa as German Chancellor with Russia's effect on energy prices, food prices and security in the backdrop. The three-day tour of Senegal, Niger and South Africa kicking off on Sunday comes at a time when Germany is seeking to reduce its heavy reliance on Russia for gas following its invasion of Ukraine. It could also help explore a gas field in Senegal, a government official said on Friday, as reported by Reuters. Senegal has billions of cubic metres of gas reserves and is expected to become a major gas producer in the region. (14:19 GMT) Polish citizens in Ukraine will be granted the same rights that Ukrainian refugees in Poland are currently receiving, Zelenskyy said during a visit to Kyiv by his Polish counterpart Andrzej Duda. Poland has granted the right to live and work and claim social security payments to more than three million Ukrainian refugees fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (14:30 GMT) The Ukrainian parliament has extended the period of martial law and general mobilisation for an additional 90 days, until August 23, a sign that Kyiv expects many more months of fighting. Martial law gives the military expanded powers and restricts civil liberties such as the right to demonstrate. Able-bodied men aged 18 to 60 have been prohibited from leaving the country and urged to join the fight against the Russians. President Zelenskyy first imposed the drastic measures across the country on February 24, just hours after Russia invaded the country. (14:47 GMT) In its daily briefing, Russia's ministry of defence has said that Russian high-precision missiles have hit three command posts and 13 areas where Ukrainian soldiers and military equipment were located in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk. It also said four ammunition deposits were hit in the Donbas. In the southern region of Mykolaiv, read the ministry's update on Telegram, Russian rockets hit a mobile anti-drone system near the settlement of Hannivka. (15:24 GMT) Senegalese President Macky Sall says he would visit Moscow and Kyiv in the coming weeks in his capacity as chairman of the African Union, which he said wanted to see de-escalation in Ukraine and peace through dialogue between the two sides. (15:31 GMT) A bid by Ukraine to join the European Union could not be finalised for "15 or 20 years," France's Europe minister has said, pouring cold water on Zelenskyy's hopes for a quick entry in the European block. "We have to be honest. If you say Ukraine is going to join the EU in six months, or a year or two, you're lying," Clement Beaune told Radio J. "It's probably in 15 or 20 years; it takes a long time." (16:10 GMT) The Russian-appointed head of the occupied Ukrainian town of Enerhodar, next to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, was injured in an explosion. Andrei Shevchik was in intensive care following the attack, Russia's RIA news agency reported, citing a source in the emergency services. "We have accurate confirmation that during the explosion the self-proclaimed head of the 'people's administration' Shevchik and his bodyguards were injured," Dmytro Orlov, who Ukraine recognises as mayor of the town, said in a post on Telegram. (18:01 GMT) Ukrainian footballer Oleksandr Zinchenko wrapped the Ukrainian flag around the trophy as his team Manchester City won the Premier League title. (21:01 GMT) Ukraine rules out a ceasefire or any territorial concessions to Moscow as Russia stepped up its attack in the eastern and southern parts of the country, pounding the Donbas and Mykolaiv regions with air strikes and artillery fire. (21:10 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has banned the symbols "Z" and "V", used by Russia's military to promote its war in the country but agreed to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's call to allow their use for educational or historic purposes. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, an opposition member, announced the decision on the Telegram messaging app, saying 313 deputies had voted in favour in the 423-member Verkhovna Rada assembly. Zelenskiy had vetoed an earlier version of the bill and called for the two symbols to be allowed in displays in museums, libraries, scientific works, re-enactments, textbooks and similar instances. Neither of the two letters exists in the Russian alphabet. (21:44 GMT) UK PM Boris Johnson on Sunday discussed with Zelenskyy Russia's blockade of Ukraine's shipping port Odesa, a Downing Street spokesperson said. (22:45 GMT) Russia's lead negotiator in peace talks with Ukraine said on Sunday that Moscow was willing to resume negotiations, but that the decision remained with Kyiv. "Freezing talks was entirely Ukraine's initiative," Vladimir Medinsky told Belarusian TV adding that the "ball is completely in their court". He spoke a day after Zelenskyy said the war "will only definitively end through diplomacy". (23:56 GMT) Zelenskyy has given the Polish city of Rzeszów the honorary title of "Rescuer City" for its help in welcoming millions of Ukraine's refugees. Rzeszów lies about 100 km from the border with Ukraine and has been acting as a reception point for people fleeing the war. 20220523 (00:06 GMT) Russian forces continued ground assaults around the major Luhansk city of Severodonetsk on Sunday but made only minimal gains in the east of the country, the Institute for the Study of War has said. In its latest campaign assessment the institute noted that Russia had been unsuccessful at encircling Severodonetsk from the east to support its previous advances towards the city from the north (via Rubizhne), west (via Bilohorivka), and south (via Popasna). But it added that there had been confirmed reports Russia seemed to have broken through Ukrainian defences around Popasna. (00:24 GMT) More than 100 million people have been driven from their homes around the world, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has said, citing new data and adding the war in Ukraine was one of the factors propelling millions to flee. The UNHCR added that protracted conflict in places like Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo were other factors behind the high numbers. Nearly 6.5 million people have now fled Ukraine due to the war. (01:02 GMT) Hundreds of Japanese people rallied at Shiba Park in Tokyo on Sunday to protest against US President Joe Biden's three-day visit to Japan, as international tensions are running high over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "West European countries and NATO members led by the US have intensified the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, provided military supplies [for Ukraine], imposing sanctions on Russia. All this will not stop the conflict, but intensify and prolong it, instead. I can't forgive such actions," one protestor, Ota, said. "From a historical perspective, it is the eastward expansion advanced by the US and NATO that provoked Russia's resistance. The root cause is the US," said Shunkichi Takayama, a lawyer. (01:14 GMT) Representatives of seven nations, including those who walked out of the APEC meeting in Bangkok to protest Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have said they support the organisation and host nation Thailand. Representatives of the United States, Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and New Zealand said in a joint statement that they had "grave concerns" over the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. "Reaffirming the importance of the rules-based international order that underpins an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific region, we strongly urge Russia to immediately cease its use of force and completely and unconditionally withdraw all of its military forces from Ukraine." <=== Representatives from Canada, New Zealand, Japan and Australia joined the Americans, led by US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, in walking out of the meeting on Saturday, while Russian Economy Minister Maxim Reshetnikov was speaking. (01:30 GMT) Kharkiv's emergency services have said that since the beginning of Russia's invasion, they have cleared 98 locations of rubble and recovered 150 bodies across the region, Interfax reports. Around 250 people were rescued, but five emergency services workers died during the operations, the deputy head of the regional emergency services, Anatoly Toryanik, said during a national telethon. (01:57 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has voted to end a double taxation agreement with Russia, which had been in place since 1995 and in which Russian residents operating in Ukraine were exempt from paying Kyiv's taxes and could be taxed by their home country only, Interfax has reported. Ukraine's finance ministry said that now "all income of residents of the Russian Federation received from sources in Ukraine will be subject to a general tax rate of 15% established by the Tax Code of Ukraine," instead of preferential rates established by the double taxation agreement. The ministry also said Ukrainian residents operating in Russia will equally no longer be able to pay Moscow's taxes. (02:05 GMT) Ukraine and Poland have agreed to establish a joint border customs control and work on a shared railway company to ease the movement of people and increase Ukraine's export potential. (02:34 GMT) New Zealand will send 30 defence force personnel to the UK to help train Ukrainian soldiers in operating L119 light field guns. (02:49 GMT) Imports into Russia have fallen 2020 levels due to "measures from unfriendly states", which have led to logistical difficulties, a deputy head of Russia's customs service has said, state agency RIA news reports. (03:08 GMT) Zelenskyy will address the World Economic Forum in Davos via livestream on Monday, while Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko, is expected to attend the forum in person. (03:36 GMT) Russian soldiers cleared mines and debris on the industrial grounds of the Azovstal steelworks in Mariupol on Sunday after hundreds of Ukrainian forces holed up in the vast plant for weeks were ordered to stand down. (03:38 GMT) Joe Biden has assured his "good friend" Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan that the US is fully committed to Japan's defence, amid simmering tension with China and the ramifications of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (04:11 GMT) Ukraine's army says Russia is strengthening its position in the Black Sea with a new addition to its fleet, the frigate Admiral Makarov. Ukraine says the ship has left the Crimean port of Sevastpotol and is heading towards Odesa. (04:42 GMT) The governor of Luhansk has said that Russia is simply trying to destroy the city of Severodonetsk, as it came under heavy bombardment from Moscow's forces trying to take the industrial area of Donbas. (05:05 GMT) In three months of the war in Ukraine Russia has suffered a similar death toll as did the Soviet Union in the nine years of war in Afghanistan. "A combination of poor low-level tactics, limited air cover, a lack of flexibility, and a command approach which is prepared to reinforce failure and repeat mistakes has led to this high casualty rate, which continues to the rise in the Donbas offensive," the UK's defence ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. (05:21 GMT) Russian forces now control 95% Luhansk, Russia's media has said. Ukraine's forces are still holding Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the Zvezda TV channel, run by the Russian defence ministry, said on Sunday. (06:37 GMT) Joe Biden said that Russia "has to pay a long-term price" for its "barbarism in Ukraine" in terms of sanctions imposed on Moscow by the United States and its allies. He said that if, after any future rapprochement between Russia and Ukraine, "the sanctions are not continued to be sustained in many ways, then what signal does that send to China about the cost of attempting to take Taiwan by force?" ( PJB: confirms my guess that Ukraine is a rehearsal for Taiwan :-( ) (07:00 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has claimed its forces destroyed a Ukrainian unit of US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon, according to a report by the RIA Novosti news agency. The M-777 is seen as particularly significant because of its long range and accuracy. (08:09 GMT) Poland's climate minister says Warsaw has decided to terminate an intergovernmental agreement with Russia regarding the Yamal gas pipeline. (08:31 GMT) Russia's war in Ukraine and conflicts taking place in other parts of the world have pushed the number of forcibly displaced people above 100 million for the first time ever, according to the UNHCR. from dw.com: dw.com/en/stepan-bandera-ukrainian-hero-or-nazi-collaborator/a-61842720 "Bandera is our father, Ukraine is the mother. We will fight for Ukraine!" sings a young woman in camouflage uniform, carrying a machine gun, in a video that Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol shared on social networks in early May. The video seems to have been recorded in a bunker at the Azovstal Steelworks, the city's last stand for Ukrainian resistance to Russian troops. "Azov" fighters were on site, too, a regiment founded by radical nationalists that was later put under Ukraine's Interior Ministry. (09:08 GMT) The European Union has extended through 2023 its suspension of rules against overspending by the bloc's governments, prolonging a pandemic-era reprieve because of Russia's offensive. Known as the Stability and Growth Pact, the EU rules limit deficit spending to three% of a country's overall economy, and debt to 60%. (09:19 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have pounded dozens of targets in eastern Ukraine with air raids and artillery strikes as troops on the ground attempt to encircle the city of Severodonetsk. Russia's air force hit four command centres, a communications point, an anti-aircraft missile system and 87 areas where troops and Ukrainian military equipment amassed as well as seven ammunition stores, the ministry said. Meanwhile, Russian artillery struck 73 command points and more than 570 locations where troops and Ukrainian military equipment were stationed, as well as 37 artillery and mortar units in firing positions. The ministry said Russian forces had also shot down three Ukrainian Su-25 jets and struck military supplies headed for eastern Ukraine at the Malin railway station in the country's west with sea-launched long-range missiles. (09:32 GMT) The leader of eastern Ukraine's self-declared Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has been quoted as saying that the Ukrainian fighters who surrendered at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol will face trial in the separatist region. (10:05 GMT) Ukraine's president has called for "maximum" sanctions against Russia, including an oil embargo, during a virtual speech to the WEF gathering. He called for all Russian banks to be blocked as well as the complete withdrawal of foreign companies from Russia and said Kyiv needs at least $5bn of financial support per month as it attempts to defy Moscow's offensive and rebuild Ukraine. (10:16 GMT) A Ukrainian court has sentenced Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia's invasion. (10:47 GMT) German economy minister Robert Habeck has warned Hungary against blocking efforts to impose a European Union-wide embargo on Russian oil imports. Budapest, Moscow's closest ally in the EU, has said it wants compensation from the bloc to mitigate the cost of ditching Russian crude or some exemptions from the suggested embargo. The EU needs all 27 states to agree to the measure for it to take effect. (11:25 GMT) Eighty-seven people were killed in a Russian air raid on the village of Desna last Tuesday, Zelenskyy has said. The Ukrainian leader's claim, which he made while addressing the World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, came after local authorities said last week that eight people were killed in the strike in the northern Ukrainian region of Chernihiv. (11:35 GMT) Refugees who have fled the war in Ukraine can change their Ukrainian hryvnia into euros in Germany starting from Tuesday, the finance ministry in Berlin and German banks have announced. (11:51 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the West is attempting to "dismember" Ukraine and has accused Poland of seeking to seize the western part of the country. At a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, his longtime ally, Lukashenko said Kyiv would eventually have to ask for help in preventing the seizure of western Ukraine. Moscow has in the past suggested that Poland seeks to establish control over historical Polish lands in Ukraine, a claim that Warsaw denies as disinformation. (12:20 GMT) Workers have removed the trademark "golden arches" sign from a McDonald's restaurant just north of Moscow as the first stage of the rebranding of the fast-food company's outlets starts in Russia, Reuters reports. 12:34 GMT) Al Jazeera's Diplomatic Editor James Bays, reporting from Davos, Switzerland, says Zelenskyy used his video address to the World Economic Forum gathering to "call on the international community, political leaders and business leaders to try and reconstruct his country". "He said the world was at a turning point and compared it to the outbreak of World War I and World War II, and he said that his country desperately needs more funds," Bays said. (12:57 GMT) Nearly four million people left Russia in the first three months of 2022, including IT specialists, journalists, researchers and analysts, as the country faced increasing diplomatic and economic pressure from Western powers over its offensive. (13:00 GMT) Boris Bondarev, 41, a veteran Russian diplomat to the United Nations office at Geneva says he handed in his resignation before sending out a scathing letter to foreign colleagues denouncing the "aggressive war unleashed" by Russian President Vladimir Putin in Ukraine. (14:03 GMT) Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has urged the World Health Organization to help tackle the country's vast mental health crisis, warning that the effects of Russia's war could last for decades. (14:15 GMT) The United Kingdom and Lithuania have signed a joint declaration to boost defence and security collaboration. The UK said the declaration would build on the defence cooperation the countries share as NATO allies and would increase resistance to threats, including from Russia and China. It gave no further details. (15:14 GMT) Ukraine's prosecutor general says the country's authorities are investigating about 13,000 cases of alleged war crimes carried out by Russian forces. (15:41 GMT) Democratic and Republican US Senate leaders have introduced a resolution backing Sweden and Finland's bids to join NATO, underscoring support for expanding the alliance despite growing nationalism in the Republican party. It will take a two-thirds majority in the 100-member Senate to approve the expansion of the alliance, requiring "yes" votes from at least 17 Republicans along with every Democrat. (15:54 GMT) Lithuania will withdraw its ambassador to Russia from June 1, according to a new presidential decree. (16:50 GMT) Russia is cutting the proportion of foreign currency revenues that exporters must convert into roubles to 50% from 80%, the finance ministry has said, after the policy contributed to steep gains in the local currency. Despite an economic crisis prompted by the conflict in Ukraine, the rouble has surged about 30% against the dollar this year, and on Monday hit a near seven-year high against the euro. That has raised concerns the strong currency could hurt Russia's budget revenues from exports. (16:52 GMT) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said that some 20 countries had announced new security assistance packages for Ukraine during a virtual meeting with allies aimed at coordinating arms for Kyiv. Those who announced new packages included Italy, Denmark, Greece, Norway and Poland, Austin told reporters. Denmark would provide a harpoon launcher and missiles to defend Ukraine's coast, he said. "Today was a very successful meeting," Austin said. "Many countries are donating critically needed artillery ammunition, coastal defence systems and tanks and other armoured vehicles." Lloyd Austin lauded the UK for "its leading role in helping to coordinate security assistance and for the significant quantities of British equipment that continue to flow into Ukraine". (17:04 GMT) Lithuanian Finance Minister Gintare Skaiste has urged the EU to set up a fund that would help countries welcoming thousands of Ukrainian refugees manage the financial burden, just like the EU did for Turkey in 2016. The UN estimates that some 6.5 million Ukrainians have left their country since the Russian invasion started on February 24th. Most of them, some 3.5 million, have entered Poland, and almost a million went to Romania. "In Lithuania, Ukrainians are now about 2% of the population," Skaiste told Reuters in an interview. "In Estonia it is about 2.5% and in Poland about 6-7%, so the numbers for supporting them are quite big. We are asking for some additional funds, which would be helpful in this situation," she said. (17:29 GMT) A Ukrainian court has ordered the arrest in absentia of former President Viktor Yanukovych, accusing him of treason over an agreement he signed in 2010 extending Russia's lease on naval facilities in Crimea. The agreement, widely known in Ukraine as the Kharkiv Pact, allowed Russia to keep its Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol. (19:48 GMT) A team of Colombian soldiers will travel to Europe to train their Ukrainian counterparts on de-mining techniques, the South American country's defense minister has said. (21:43 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow will consider offers of re-establishing ties with the West and think whether that is needed, but will focus on developing ties with China. "If they (the West) want to offer something in terms of resuming relations, then we will seriously consider whether we will need it or not," Lavrov said in a speech, according to a transcript on the foreign ministry's website. "Now that the West has taken a 'dictator's position', our economic ties with China will grow even faster." (22:11 GMT) After the sentencing of a Russian soldier to life in prison for allegedly shooting a Ukrainian civilian, more war crime cases are expected to be tried in Ukraine, Al Jazeera correspondent Zein Basravi has said. (22:33 GMT) Wimbledon's decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players from this year's tennis tournament following the invasion of Ukraine was wrong, world number one Novak Djokovic has said. (22:55 GMT) The US and Britain have accused Russia of spreading disinformation online and manipulating public opinion about the war in Ukraine, vehemently rejecting Russian claims that the West is aiming to control all information flows and define what is true or not true. Britain's deputy ambassador James Roscoe told a UN Security Council meeting that Russia has conducted cyber-attacks and used "an online troll factory to spread disinformation and manipulate public opinion about their war". US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Moscow "continues to shut down, restrict and degrade internet connectivity, censor content, spread disinformation online, and intimidate and arrest journalists for reporting the truth about its invasion". Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused countries that call themselves a "community of democracies" of building "a cyber-totalitarianism" and along with technology giants like Meta of shutting down Russian TV channels, expelling Russian journalists and blocking access to Russian websites. (23:35 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that if Ukraine had all the weapons it needed, many people would not have died. "Every time we tell our partners that we need modern anti-missile weapons, modern combat aircraft, we are not just making a formal request. We say that our request is the real lives of many people who would not have died if we had received all the weapons we are asking for," he said in his nighttime address. 20220524 (00:08 GMT) US officials and congressional sources have told Reuters that only a handful of countries were willing to send Harpoon anti-ship missiles to Ukraine. But a US official said no nation had wanted to be the first or only nation to send Harpoons, fearing reprisals from Russia if a ship is sunk with a Harpoon from their stockpile. Copenhagen's pledge of Harpoon missiles and a launcher to Ukraine on Monday is the first sign since the Russian invasion that Kyiv will receive US-made weapons that significantly extend its striking range. (01:22 GMT) A key question for Joe Biden going into the Quad meetings this week is how to wean India off Russian-supplied military equipment and whether to provide defence aid and other support to India to accelerate that transition. (01:25 GMT) Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley has said said that "low-level" discussion is underway on how the US may need to adjust its training of Ukrainian forces and on whether some US troops should be based in Ukraine. The US withdrew its few troops before the war and has no plans to send in combat forces. Milley's comments left open the possibility troops could return for embassy security or another non-combat role. Milley said that "any reintroduction of US forces into Ukraine would require a presidential decision. So we're a ways away from anything like that." (01:44 GMT) "Part of Putin's war is an attempt to erase Ukrainian identity," the US Secretary of State has said. Ukraine's identity is "powerfully manifested through its culture". (02:11 GMT) Kherson's Moscow-backed, self-proclaimed authorities plan to instal a Russian military base in the region to "guarantee security", Russia's state news agency RIA has reported. "The Russian army has become the guarantor of peace and security in our region," said the self proclaimed leader of the Kherson military administration, Kirill Stremousov. Russia claims that Ukrainian troops are shelling the region from the direction of the port city of Mykolaiv and that Ukraine's government has stopped paying pensions to Kherson's residents. (02:24 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said that 580 foreign companies remain in Russia, continuing to do business "as usual". "That is, they pretend that nothing happened," Dmytro Kuleba said on Instagram on Monday. He said Ukraine's foreign affairs ministry sent a request to eight of the largest international corporations to stop working in Russia but had not received a response. (02:52 GMT) Russian will become the state language of Kherson, alongside Ukrainian, the Moscow-backed self-proclaimed leader of the regional military administration has said, the Russian state-owned RIA news agency reports. Kirill Stremousov said schools and universities will be run in Russian but Ukrainian classes could also be formed at the request of parents. "We will not infringe on anyone's rights. Plus, we have a large community of Crimean Tatars living in our region. The expediency of giving the status of the state language to the Crimean Tatar language, as is done in Crimea, we will discuss in detail at a meeting with the community." (03:31 GMT) Kyiv is ready for an exchange of prisoners with Russia, Zelenskyy has said as he called on his allies to put pressure on Moscow. (03:56 GMT) The commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces has said 24 settlements in the Kharkiv region have been "liberated". Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the village of Kutuzovka was among them. (04:23 GMT) Joe Biden has said that the crisis in Ukraine is a global issue which heightens the importance of maintaining international order, territorial integrity and sovereignty. Biden's comments delivered at the opening of the "Quad" meeting of Indo-Pacific leaders in Tokyo came a day after he broke with convention and volunteered US military support for Taiwan, the self-governed island claimed by China. (04:40 GMT) Americans are becoming less supportive of punishing Russia for launching its invasion of Ukraine if it comes at the expense of the US economy, a new poll has found. (05:01 GMT) Russian nationalist figures are increasingly criticising the failures of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine and calling for further mobilisation, the Institute for the Study of War has said. The institute said that the All-Russian Officers Assembly, an independent pro-Russian veterans' association that seeks to reform Russian military strategy, called for Putin to declare war on Ukraine and introduce partial mobilisation in Russia on May 19. (05:12 GMT) Some 62 million barrels of Russia's flagship Urals crude oil are sitting in vessels at sea, data from energy analytics firm Vortexa showed, as traders struggled to find buyers for the crude. The volume of crude oil on the water is triple the pre-war average, Vortexa said, even as Russian seaborne oil exports fell to 6.7 million barrels per day (bpd) so far in May, down about 15% from the 7.9 bpd in February. (05:32 GMT) Outgoing Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has sharply criticised Putin for the killings of innocent civilians in Ukraine, saying while the two of them have been tagged as killers, "I kill criminals, I don't kill children and the elderly." Duterte, who openly calls Putin an idol and a friend, voiced his rebuke for the first time over Russia's invasion of Ukraine in remarks aired Tuesday where he blamed the three-month old war for the spike in global oil prices that has battered many countries, including the Philippines. (05:57 GMT) Australia's Prime Minister Antony Albanese has said that "strong views" were expressed on Russia in the Quad leaders meeting. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Albanese said Russia's "unilateral" attack on the people of Ukraine was an outrage. "Strong views were expressed in the meeting," he said. (06:45 GMT) Britain is in discussions with Ukraine about how to help get grain out of the country after Russia blocked its main sea ports, transport minister Grant Shapps has said. (06:50 GMT) Leaders of the Quad grouping of countries, including India's Modi, shared concerns over the situation in Ukraine at their meeting in Tokyo, the Japanese prime minister has said. (06:57 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said that the country still doesn't have all the weapons it needs and that "the Russian offensive in the Donbas is a ruthless battle." "I urge partners to speed up the supply of weapons and ammunition, especially MLRS, long-range artillery, APCs [armoured personnel carriers]," Dmytro Kulebo wrote on Twitter. (08:13 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have struck an arms depot in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas used to store shells for US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon. Ukraine has deployed many of the M777 howitzers supplied by Washington at the front lines, with the US claiming to have delivered all but one of the 90 artillery pieces they were due to send to Kyiv. (08:17 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council says the country will achieve its objectives in Ukraine and is not "chasing deadlines" there. "All the goals set by the president will be fulfilled. It cannot be otherwise, because truth, including historical truth, is on our side," Nikolai Patrushev told Russian newspaper Argumenty i Fakty. He also alleged Ukraine was being used by the West to contain Russia, echoing charges laid out by Putin. "The ideal scenario for the whole of NATO, led by the United States, seems to be an endless simmering conflict," Patrushev said. (08:54 GMT) Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has lambasted Putin in a live court hearing, casting him as a madman who had started a "stupid war" in Ukraine based on lies. (08:57 GMT) Sweden and Finland will attend the NATO summit in Madrid next month, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has told the WEF's Davos gathering. (09:16 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says Ukraine must win the war it is fighting against Russia, making President Vladimir Putin's decision to invade a "strategic failure". (09:25 GMT) Finland and Sweden will send delegations to Ankara on Wednesday to try to resolve Turkish opposition to their applications for membership of the NATO military alliance, Finland's foreign minister says. (09:50 GMT) Ukraine's deputy prime minister says the decision on her country's status as a candidate for membership in the European Union should be made next month. "As politicians, we must find a way for Ukraine to truly become part of this family, both economically and politically," Olga Stefanishyna told reporters in Paris. (10:15 GMT) Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reporting from Kyiv says the situation remains perilous and unpredictable throughout Ukraine, including in the capital. "Even though things are [generally] calm here, just a few minutes ago the air raid warning siren went off once again," Basravi said. (10:30 GMT) Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted the country's defence minister as saying that Moscow is deliberately slowing its offensive in Ukraine in order to allow civilians to evacuate. Sergei Shoigu also stressed that Russian forces had not attacked civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting non-combatants during the conflict. (10:32 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow, says developments in Ukraine's Russian-occupied southern city of Kherson are "showing what things could look like" in the future in other parts of the country controlled by Moscow's forces. (10:36 GMT) Russia has not yet seen an Italian peace plan for Ukraine, but hopes to receive it through diplomatic channels, the Kremlin's spokesman says. "We haven't seen it yet, we hope it will be delivered to us through diplomatic channels and we will familiarise ourselves with it," Dmitry Peskov said. (11:15 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned world leaders gathered at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos against pursuing economic benefits at the expense of their own security. "Freedom is more important than free trade," Stoltenberg said, referring specifically to debates over the use of Chinese technology in 5G networks and the Nord Stream 2 pipeline for Russian gas. (11:38 GMT) Europe needs to seek talks with Russia over the possibility of reviving the exports of wheat and other food supplies out of Ukraine in order to prevent a global food crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says. (11:55 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said during a visit to South Africa that it is "unacceptable" that some countries have sided with Russia over its offensive in Ukraine. (13:03 GMT) India's foreign minister says that the leaders of the other members of the Quad group of countries understood its position on Russia when they met in Tokyo. Vinay Kwatra said India wants an immediate end to hostilities and diplomacy and dialogue to resolve the crisis. India is the only member of the Quad - which also includes the United States, Japan and Australia - to not have condemned the actions of Russia. (13:20 GMT) Russian and Chinese military planes have conducted joint exercises in the Asia-Pacific region, Russia's defence ministry says, in a pointed farewell to US President Joe Biden as he concluded an Asia trip that rankled Beijing. (14:07 GMT) Poland's president has warned of mass migration to Europe, if the war in Ukraine causes food shortages in North Africa. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/24/duda-warns-of-huge-migration-problems-to-southern-europe (14:35 GMT) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has written to the president of the European Council to tell him that proposed EU sanctions on Russia, including an oil embargo, should not be discussed at next week's summit of the bloc's leaders. Orban said in the May 23 letter sent to Charles Michel and obtained by the Reuters news agency that it was unlikely a solution to disagreements over the suggested measures could be found by the upcoming meeting. He added that Hungary was not in a position to agree to the proposed EU sanctions until all outstanding issues are resolved. (15:03 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have completed removing mines in the Azov Sea port of Mariupol. Mines have been removed from the territory of the port and nearby waters, the ministry said in a statement. (15:11 GMT) The leader of a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine has said that foreign representatives, including Western officials, will be invited to a trial of Ukrainian fighters being held there, Interfax reports. (15:30 GMT) Nearly four million people left Russia in the first three months of 2022, including IT specialists, journalists, researchers and analysts, as the country faced increasing diplomatic and economic pressure from Western powers over its offensive in Ukraine. aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/23/many-leave-russia-as-ukraine-war-drags-on (15:56 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Moscow has imposed an entry ban on 154 members of the United Kingdom Parliament's House of Lords in retaliation for sanctions against Russian senators. (16:52 GMT) Canada has purchased 20,000 artillery rounds of NATO standard ammunition for Ukraine to support it in its defence against Russia's invasion, Defence Minister Anita Anand has said. The ammunition was bought from the US for about 98 million Canadian dollars ($76.4m) and would soon be delivered to Ukraine. (17:50 GMT) Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has imposed a new state of emergency in the country, citing the challenges posed by the ongoing war in neighbouring Ukraine. Hungary is already under a state of emergency, linked to the COVID pandemic, which was due to expire next Tuesday. (17:55 GMT) Russia's parliament has passed a bill giving prosecutors powers to shut foreign media bureaus in Moscow if a Western country has been "unfriendly" to Russian media, following the closure of some Russian state news outlets in the West. (18:25 GMT) The Boehly-Clearlake consortium, which agreed on terms to acquire Chelsea Football Club for 4.25 billion pounds ($5.33bn) earlier this month, passed the Premier League Owners' and Directors' Test, the league has said, paving the way for the club's takeover. The UK government is set to approve the sale after Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich gave assurances he will not benefit from the deal. (19:22 GMT) The US will end an exemption allowing Moscow to pay its foreign debts with dollars held in Russia as of midnight Wednesday, the US Treasury has announced, a move that could push Vladimir Putin's country closer to default. The exemption to the drastic financial sanctions imposed on Moscow ends on Wednesday, two days before Russia's next debt service payment is due. (19:44 GMT) INSIDE STORY: Has Russia achieved its war objectives in Ukraine? Three months into Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine, the invasion appears to be turning into a drawn-out war. Leaders from both sides say they are far from any talk of a ceasefire. Is the continued conflict complicating efforts to find a diplomatic solution? https://www.aljazeera.com/program/inside-story/2022/5/24/has-russia-achieved-its-war-objectives-in-ukraine (20:20 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the country's "post-war reconstruction and recovery" will be key topics at an upcoming international forum in Switzerland. The Ukraine Recovery Conference will take place in the town of Lugano on July 4 and 5. (20:28 GMT) The US has criticised a joint military exercise between Russia and China, saying that it demonstrated that Beijing is still committed to its partnership with Moscow despite the invasion of Ukraine. Early in February, before the Ukraine war, Russia and China released a lengthy joint statement that reaffirmed their alliance and expressed opposition to NATO expansion. (20:40 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region has said that the situation there was worsening "with every hour" as advancing Russian troops seize more territory and "completely destroy" Severodonetsk. (21:13 GMT) Organisers of a camp for Ukrainian refugees who had traveled to Mexico have said they will soon close it and discouraged Ukrainians still in Europe from traveling to Mexico as they try to enter the United States. Some 1,000 Ukrainians passed through the camp during the month that it was open on the east side of Mexico City. Now, only about 120 remain and 98% of those already have sponsors lined up in the United States and expect to soon travel there. (22:09 GMT) A Biden administration official is travelling to India to talk with officials and private industry about US sanctions, the Treasury Department said, as Washington seeks to keep India's purchases of Russian oil from rising. (23:22 GMT) The Ukrainian military has said Russia fired at Ukrainian border guards in the northeastern Sumy region in the latest of a series of alleged cross-border attacks over the past few weeks. Military officials say observers Tuesday night recorded seven shots from Russian territory toward the village of Boyaro-Lezhachi, most likely mortar fire. 20220525 (00:20 GMT) A Swedish government delegation, including State Secretary with responsibility for Foreign Affairs, Oscar Stenstrom, arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara on Tuesday evening. (00:49 GMT) The head of the office of Ukraine's president has said that there is only one way to prevent the war in Ukraine from escalating: "Help Ukraine win." Andrii Yermak told a panel at Davos that Ukrainian leaders "keep hearing calls for capitulation for the sake of peace in Europe." But "history teaches us that pacifying an aggressor is futile. They always take peacefulness for weakness. They demand more with every next concession," (01:25 GMT) The Russian parliament has given preliminary approval to a bill that would allow the government to appoint new management of foreign companies that pulled out of Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Tass said the new law would transfer control over companies that left Russia because of "anti-Russian sentiment in Europe and the US." Foreign owners would still be able to resume operations in Russia or sell their shares. (02:13 GMT) Russian forces have likely abandoned efforts for a single large encirclement of Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine and are instead attempting to secure smaller encirclements. This enables them to make incremental measured gains, the Institute for the Study of War ISW said. "Russian forces are likely attempting to achieve several simultaneous encirclements of small pockets of Ukrainian forces in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts: the broader Severodonetsk area (including Rubizhne and Lysychansk), Bakhmut-Lysychansk, around Zolote (just northeast of Popasna), and around Ukrainian fortifications in Avdiivka." (02:40 GMT) Antony Blinken has criticised a Moscow court for rejecting Alexey Navalny's appeal against a nine-year sentence, saying it was another example of the "Kremlin's quest to suppress dissent and civil society". (02:56 GMT) Ukraine's army says that Russian forces are regularly shelling areas in the now-occupied Kherson region while blaming Ukraine for the raids. (03:49 GMT) India has allowed duty-free imports of 2 million tonnes each of crude soyoil and crude sunflower oil for the current and the next fiscal year to March 2024, a government order has said, as part of efforts to keep a lid on local prices. India imports more than two-thirds of its edible oil needs and a sharp drop in the supplies of sunflower from the Black Sea region has stoked local prices. The Black Sea accounts for around 60% of the world's sunflower oil output and 76% of exports, while Argentina, Brazil and the United States are the key soyoil suppliers to India. (04:01 GMT) Four cruise missiles were launched at the region of Zaporizhzhia early on Wednesday morning, with one having been shot down by Ukraine's air defences, the region's military administration reports. (05:25 GMT) Moldovan authorities are housing most Romani refugees separately from others fleeing the war in Ukraine, in a way that constitutes unequal and discriminatory treatment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has found. (06:14 GMT) An advisor to the Ukrainian mayor of the besieged and now captured port city of Mariupol has said that officials believe at least 22,000 residents were killed during three months of war. Petro Andriushchenko, who has fled to Ukrainian-held territory told CNN, that the figure was based on the many contacts he and other town hall officials continue to have with officials trapped inside. But he said he believed the actual figure could be much higher. (06:44 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says that NATO is unlikely to enforce a no-fly-zone to help ships leave blocked Ukrainian ports. "If NATO did not close the skies over Ukraine at the most tragic moments of the war, then why would they now open the sea so that exports could leave without barriers?" Dmytro Kuleba said on Wednesday during a breakfast at Davos, where the World Economic Forum is taking place. (06:49 GMT) Zelenskyy says he is only willing to talk directly to Vladimir Putin and not via intermediators. He added that if the Russian President "understands reality" there was the possibility of finding a diplomatic way out of the conflict. Zelenskyy speaking to an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos, also said that Ukraine would fight until it recovered all of its territory. He said that Moscow should withdraw its troops back to the lines in place before Russia began its invasion on February 24. "That might be a first step towards talks." (07:20 GMT) Russia is ready to provide a humanitarian corridor for vessels carrying food to leave Ukraine, the Interfax news agency has cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying. He added it would be premature to establish a Russian military base in the Russian-controlled area of Ukraine's Kherson region. (08:34 GMT) Lithuania will transfer 20 M113 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, as well as military trucks and de-mining vehicles, the country's defence ministry says. (08:52 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that Mariupol's Azov Sea port is operating normally after the city was seized by Moscow's forces following a three-month siege. The ministry's statement came after a Russian foreign ministry official said earlier on Wednesday that Moscow was in touch with the United Nations and "does not rule out the possibility of global talks to unblock Ukraine's ports." (09:05 GMT) Ukraine's president has accused the West of being divided over the extent of its support for his country. "Unity is about weapons. My question is, is there this unity in practice? I can't see it. Our huge advantage over Russia would be when we are truly united," Zelenskyy said during a panel discussion on Ukraine at the World Economic Forum WEF meeting in Davos. (09:28 GMT) Ukraine has to be able to negotiate with Russia from a position of strength so that Moscow is not encouraged to take further aggressive action, Estonia's prime minister says. "We must avoid a bad peace, a badly negotiated peace for Ukraine would mean a bad peace for us all," Kaja Kallas said in a speech while on a visit to Stockholm, Sweden. "It is much more dangerous giving in to Putin, than provoking him. All these seemingly small concessions to the aggressor lead to big wars. We have done this mistake already three times: Georgia, Crimea and Donbas," she added. (10:16 GMT) Sweden and Finland began their NATO membership application processes earlier this month, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear that he opposed the move. Ankara is out of step with the rest of the alliance's member states, which have backed NATO expansion as Russia's war on Ukraine rages. All 30 members must vote unanimously in favour if they are to join the Washington-led group, so Turkey could - in theory - block an application. (10:40 GMT) Russia's State Duma has approved a bill to remove the upper age limit for contractual service in the country's military. Currently, only Russians aged between 18 and 40 and foreigners aged 18 to 30 can enlist as professional soldiers in the Russian army (12:02 GMT) Vladimir Putin has signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to acquire Russian citizenship and passports. The decree extends a scheme available since 2019 to residents of areas controlled by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions. (12:09 GMT) Moldova's justice minister has promised to ensure a corruption investigation into detained pro-Russian opposition leader Igor Dodon will be in strict accordance with the law after he accused the country's government of a politically motivated attack. "Corrupt politicians must answer before the law," Sergiu Litvinenco said on Facebook. Dodon, who was president of the eastern European country until 2020, was detained on Tuesday for up to 72 hours following a search of his home. In a statement, he said he was innocent and that the case had been fabricated. (12:18 GMT) Moscow is working on measures against English-language media in response to "unfriendly actions" by foreign governments towards Russian news outlets, Zakharova says. The foreign ministry spokeswoman referred in her weekly briefing to "Anglo-Saxon media", using a term Russian officials often cite when talking about the English-speaking world. (12:39 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says the urgency of his country's weapons needs can be summed up in two abbreviations - MLRS and ASAP, meaning multiple-launch rocket systems and as soon as possible. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, Dmytro Kuleba warned the situation in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region was "extremely bad". (12:40 GMT) A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry has described a peace plan for Ukraine put forward by Italy as a "fantasy". "You can't supply Ukraine with weapons with one hand and come up with plans for a peaceful resolution of the situation with the other," Maria Zakharova said at her weekly briefing, referring to the Italian initiative. "If they hope that the Russian Federation will seize on any Western plan, then they haven't understood much," she added. Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio gave the broad outlines of the plan last week and said that he had discussed it with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres during a visit to New York. The Kremlin said on Tuesday it had not seen the initiative but hoped to receive it through diplomatic channels. (12:48 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says its forces are battling to remain in control of a key highway to the front-line city of Severodonetsk, in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine. (13:10 GMT) Africa has become a "collateral victim" of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, further denting the continent's ability to fulfil its "enormous promise and potential", top officials of the African Union and United Nations have said in messages for Africa Day. "Africa has become the collateral victim of a distant conflict, that between Russia and Ukraine," said Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the AU Commission, the body's secretariat. "By profoundly upsetting the fragile global geopolitical and geostrategic balance, it has also cast a harsh light on the structural fragility of our economies." (13:46 GMT) The UK's defence secretary has called on Russia to allow Ukraine to export its grain in order to help countries where a scarcity of the foodstuff could trigger hunger crises. He also rejected earlier suggestions from a Russian official that the exports could be permitted in exchange for a lifting of sanctions on Moscow. (14:31 GMT) Russia's TASS news agency has quoted a Russian-backed official in Mariupol as saying that the first cargo ship to leave its port since Moscow's forces completed their capture of the southeastern city will depart in the next few days. The official said the vessel would carry about 3,000 tonnes of metals to Rostov-on-Don, in Russia, TASS reported. (14:49 GMT) Russian state media has shown President Vladimir Putin meeting with soldiers wounded during Moscow's offensive in Ukraine, marking his first such public visit since launching the invasion. The Rossiya-24 news channel showed Putin wearing a white coat while chatting to Russian troops at Moscow's Mandryka military hospital. (15:13 GMT) A top EUofficial says the bloc's 27 member states have reported the freezing of about 23 billion euros ($24.5bn) of assets of the Russian Central Bank, revealing for the first time a figure that was expected to be much higher. Russia has publicly said that Western sanctions led to the freezing of about $300bn of its central bank's assets globally. (15:37 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has accused Moscow of attempting to "blackmail" world leaders by "demanding to lift sanctions in exchange for them unblocking Ukraine's food exports". (15:57 GMT) A senior United Nations official is due to visit Moscow in the coming days to "discuss the scheme by which we can export out fertilisers", Russia's UN ambassador has told the Reuters news agency. Vassily Nebenzia said that "formally fertilisers and grain are not under sanctions, but there are logistical, transport, insurance, bank transfer problems" created by Western sanctions imposed on Russia that "prevent us from exporting freely". "We are prepared to export fertilisers and grain from our ports to the world market." (16:33 GMT) Ukraine's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba has blasted NATO of "doing literally nothing" in the face of Russia's invasion. (17:22 GMT) Turkey's presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin has called on Sweden and Finland to take concrete steps against "terror groups" in order to address Turkey's security concerns. Ankara has repeatedly voiced objections over the two Nordic countries' application to the military alliance due to their perceived support of groups such as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a decades-long fight against Turkey. (17:44 GMT) Serhiy Gaidai, governor of Luhansk province, has given a short update on the situation in the eastern region. Gaidai said that the Lysychansk-Bakhmut highway - whose seizure by Russian forces would cut Luhansk from the rest of the country - was under fire. While Russian soldiers had managed on Tuesday to set up checkpoints on the road, he added, today it was not blocked. (18:57 GMT) Russian citizens are not allowed anymore to travel to Ukraine without a visa, Zelenskyy says citing the need to improve border security. (19:49 GMT) Russia gave permission for natural gas supplies to Gazprom Marketing & Trading Singapore Ltd, part of Gazprom Germania, from Yamal LNG project for 90 days, a government decree shows. The move comes less than two weeks after the Kremlin said that Russian sanctions imposed on state gas company Gazprom's former German unit and other entities meant they could not receive gas supplies from Russia. (20:12 GMT) The US, EU and the UK have announced they are launching a new mechanism to help ensure accountability for war crimes in Ukraine. Dubbed the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA), the new initiative aims to support the office of the prosecutor general of Ukraine in its investigation of war-related crimes. (20:20 GMT) World Bank President David Malpass has suggested the war in Ukraine and its effects on food and energy prices could trigger a global recession. (20:47 GMT) Vladimir Putin has announced a 10% raise to the minimum wage rate and pensions in the coming weeks, as the Russian economy faces an unprecedented wave of international sanctions. The bump will bring the minimum wage to about $250 per month and the average pension to $320, according to the Interfax news agency. (21:48 GMT) Former Ukrainian legislator Aliona Hlivco has said her country will not make concessions on territorial integrity, stressing that any Russian advances in the eastern Donbas region will be tactical - not strategic - victories for Moscow. (22:55 GMT) Zelenskyy has strongly rebuffed those in the West, such as Henry Kissinger, who have suggested Ukraine should cede control of areas occupied by Russian forces for the sake of reaching a peace agreement. 20220526 (00:19 GMT) Zelenskyy has held a meeting with the Chancellor of Austria, Karl Nehammer, on the situation in the Donbas and "other areas of hostilities", Ukraine's president has said. "We agreed that Austria would take our severely wounded servicemen for treatment. Cooperation in the European integration of Ukraine was discussed in detail," Zelenskyy said in his nighttime address. (00:57 GMT) The US has said that Moscow's move to fast track Russian citizenship for residents of parts of southern Ukraine largely held by Putin's forces is one element of Russia's attempt to subjugate the people of Ukraine and impose their will by force. (01:06 GMT) The US says it will not consider lifting sanctions on Russia in exchange for Moscow helping Ukrainian exports leave Black Sea ports. (01:41 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross has said some progress has been made on the right of the ICRC to visit prisoners of war, which is part of the Geneva conventions. "There is agreement on both sides" on this right, "which is good news," Director-General Robert Mardini said, but the major obstacle in the ICRC carrying out visits is the war itself and the logistical constraints. Mardini said the ICRC registered all the Ukrainian fighters that held out until last week at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol before they were taken to Russian-controlled territory. Russia said there were 2,439 Ukrainian fighters. (01:54 GMT) The Russian Defence Ministry is promising to open a safe corridor to allow foreign ships to leave Black Sea ports. A separate corridor will be open to allow ships to leave Mariupol by sailing from the port on the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea. Mikhail Mizintsev, who heads the National Defence Control Centre under the General Staff, said 70 foreign vessels from 16 countries are now in six ports on the Black Sea including Odesa, Kherson and Mykolaiv. Earlier Wednesday, the Russia military said Mariupol's port was functioning again after three months of fighting. The Defence Ministry spokesman said the military first had to clear the port of mines. (04:10 GMT) Moscow's moves towards making Ukrainian residents in occupied regions Russian citizens may be laying groundwork to carry out mobilisation in these regions, the Institute for the Study of War suggests. "...having a Russian passport would make conscription-eligible residents of occupied territories subject to forced military service," the ISW said in its latest campaign assessment. The institute noted other moves Russia had made to increase its diminishing pool of combat-ready reservists, such as Moscow raising to raise the maximum age of voluntary enlistment from 40 to 50. (04:33 GMT) Moscow's decision to fast track Russian citizenship for Ukrainian residents of the occupied Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions means these territories will not return to Ukraine, a Moscow-installed officer of the so-called ministry of internal affairs of Zaporozhzhia has said. Alexei Selivanov said residents of the occupied regions "get the opportunity to work, get an education throughout the territory of great power, register in the territory to receive all social benefits and payments," Russia's Tass news reports. "This means that the Zaporozhzhia and Kherson regions will no longer return to Ukraine." (05:34 GMT) Although Russia's airborne forces, the VDV, enjoy elite status, high pay and are manned by professional contract soldiers, they have been involved in major tactical failures in Ukraine, the UK's ministry of defence has said. It added that this likely reflects strategic mismanagement of this otherwise superior capability. The tactical failures the VDV was involved in include "the attempted advance on Kyiv via Hostomel Airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izyum axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River," the ministry said in its latest briefing. "The VDV has been employed on missions better suited to heavier armoured infantry and has sustained heavy casualties during the campaign," "Its mixed performance likely reflects a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia's failure to secure air superiority." (05:44 GMT) A Russian representative in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region says that Ukraine has forever lost access to the Sea of the Azov, state news agency Ria has reported. Earlier another Russian representative in Crimea told Ria that after the "liberation" of Mariupol, the Sea of Azov became a joint sea for Russia and the Donetsk People's Republic. (06:04 GMT) Ukrainian prisoners of war held in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics number about 8,000, Luhansk official Rodion Miroshnik was quoted by TASS news agency as having said. "There are a lot of prisoners. Of course, there are more of them on the territory of Donetsk People's Republic, but we also have enough, and now the total number is somewhere in the region of 8,000. That's a lot, and literally hundreds are being added every day," Miroshnik said. (06:17 GMT) The leader of Russian-backed separatists in the breakaway Donetsk region has called for the military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to be accelerated, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Denis Pushilin, head of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said Kyiv had blocked water supplies to key cities in the north of the region and called for military action to be stepped up. (06:38 GMT) Russia's oil production is expected to decline to 480-500 million tonnes this year from 524 million tonnes in 2021, the deputy prime minister has said, RIA reports. The Russian economy minister Alexander Novak has said Russia's oil output this year was set to fall 9.3% to 475.3 million tonnes in the base-case scenario. "I think the contraction will be way smaller. There was only one month with contraction of more than 1 million barrels per day, which is not as deep by now. So, I think there will be a recovery in the future," (07:00 GMT) Denis Pushilin,the leader of Russian-backed separatists in the breakaway Donetsk region, has called for the military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine to be accelerated, says RIA Novosti. (08:20 GMT) Zelenskyy's office has said 11 high-rise buildings were destroyed in Sievierodonetsk and eight in Lysychansk. (08:44 GMT) Ukrainian prisoners of war held in the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk People's Republics number about 8,000, Luhansk official Rodion Miroshnik is quoted by TASS news agency as saying. "There are a lot of prisoners. Of course, there are more of them on the territory of Donetsk People's Republic, but we also have enough, and now the total number is somewhere in the region of 8,000. That's a lot, and literally hundreds are being added every day." (09:07 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has showed footage of an Iskander-K missile launch against an unnamed "military target" in Ukraine. The Iskander is a short-range ballistic missile system. (10:39 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that reporters from Western countries will be expelled from Russia if YouTube blocks access to its spokeswoman's briefings. "You block another briefing, one journalist or American media outlet goes home." (11:10 GMT) Russia's war on Ukraine is forcing the EU to look for alternatives to Russian gas imports which amount to about 40 % of consumption every year. Qatar and other Middle Eastern countries can play a crucial role. (11:31 GMT) Turkey is in negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to open a corridor via the Bosphorus for grain exports from Ukraine, according to a senior Turkish official quoted by the Reuters news agency. Ukraine's Black Sea ports have been blocked since Russia invaded it in February and more than 20 million tonnes of grain are stuck in silos there. (12:24 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that the appeal of Russian money is making some countries tolerant of its aggression. He rejected calls to accept territorial concessions to appease Moscow. (12:54 GMT) Ukrainian military has said that Russia has the military advantage in the fight in the eastern Luhansk region, but they are doing everything they can. Meanwhile, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were retreating before Moscow's offensive in the eastern Donbas region, but said the last road out of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk remained outside Russian control. (13:33 GMT) Moscow has pressed the West to lift sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, seeking to shift the blame for a growing food crisis worsened by Kyiv's inability to ship millions of tons of grain and other agricultural products because of the conflict. (14:54 GMT) Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko has ordered the creation of a new military command for the south of country, bordering Ukraine, according to a video release. Belarus planned to deploy special operations troops in three areas near its southern border with Ukraine as Lukashenko talked up the role of Russian-made missiles in boosting the country's defences. (16:00 GMT) A Russian resolution that expresses concerns about a "health emergency" in Ukraine but makes no reference to its own actions in the country has been rejected by a World Health Organization assembly. (16:30 GMT) Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Russian President Vladimir Putin have discussed the situation in Ukraine, the food crisis and its impact on poor countries, Rome said in a statement after a phone call between the two leaders. (16:57 GMT) Civil vessels may safely use the Azov Sea port of Mariupol in Ukraine as the danger from mines has been eliminated, the Russian defence ministry have said. (17:27 GMT) Finland's prime minister have said Russia's actions in Ukraine were a turning point for the world and relations with Moscow could not go back to how they were before its invasion. Sanna Marin made her comments during a trip to Ukraine that included visiting the towns of Irpin and Bucha where Ukraine suspects Russian troops carried out atrocities, an allegation denied by Moscow. (17:54 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned the West that supplying weapons to Ukraine capable of hitting Russian territory would be "a serious step towards unacceptable escalation", the TASS news agency said. Lavrov told the RT Arabic channel that he hoped sane people in the West would understand this, adding, "There are still a few left there." (18:03 GMT) Advancing Russian forces came closer to surrounding Ukrainian troops in the east, briefly seizing positions on the last highway out of a crucial pair of Ukrainian-held cities before being beaten back, a Ukrainian official has said. (19:08 GMT) Putin told Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi that Moscow "is ready to make a significant contribution to overcoming the food crisis through the export of grain and fertilizer on the condition that politically motivated restrictions imposed by the West are lifted," according to a Kremlin readout of the call. (20:44 GMT) Allied Western nations are considering whether to allow Russian oligarchs to buy their way out of sanctions and use the money to rebuild Ukraine, the Associated Press has reported, citing unidentified officials familiar with the matter. Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland proposed the idea at a G-7 finance ministers' meeting in Germany last week, the news agency said. He said the Ukrainians were aware of the discussions, adding that it is in the West's interests to have prominent oligarchs dissociate themselves from Russian President Vladimir Putin while at the same time providing funding for Ukraine. (20:49 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called for heavy weapons, including launch rocket systems, for Ukraine to push back against Russian forces. "We need heavy weapons," he added. "The only position where Russia is better than us, it's the amount of heavy weapons they have. Without artillery, without multiple launch rocket systems, we won't to be able to push them back." (21:14 GMT) The White House has said it expects minimal effects on the US and global economy from a potential Russia debt default as Washington decided to not extend a waiver that enabled Russia to pay US bondholders. "We expect the impact on the US and the global economy to be minimal, given Russia has already been isolated financially," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said. (21:52 GMT) The move to reopen the US embassy in Ukraine has brought one American military officer back into the country as part of the diplomatic team. But the Pentagon said no other troops are going into Ukraine at this point. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said the defence attache, a colonel, has gone back to Kyiv with other embassy staff. The military official reports to the chief of mission and is there for diplomatic work, not security. Kirby said that so far, the State Department is handling embassy with diplomatic security personnel and has not asked for Marines. (22:08 GMT) Two Russian soldiers accused of war crimes in Ukraine appeared at a second trial hearing in the northeastern town of Kotelva. The Russian servicemen, Alexander Alexeevich Ivanov and Alexander Vladimirovich Bobykin, are charged with shelling civilian infrastructure with a multiple rocket launcher. Both soldiers pleaded guilty at the hearing held at the Kotelevsky District Court. (22:36 GMT) Zelenskyy has complained about divisions inside the European Union over more sanctions against Russia and asked why some nations were being allowed to block the plan. The EU is discussing a sixth round of punitive measures, including an embargo on Russian oil imports. Such a move requires unanimity, but Hungary opposes the idea for now on the grounds its economy would suffer too much. 20220527 (00:47 GMT) US officials have told Reuters the Biden administration is considering supplying Kyiv with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), which depending on the munitions can have a range of hundreds of kilometres. But Washington has also held discussions with Kyiv about the danger of escalation if it strikes deep inside Russia, US and diplomatic officials have told Reuters. The behind-the-scenes discussions, which are highly sensitive and not previously reported, do not put explicit geographic restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces. But the conversations have sought to reach a shared understanding of the risk of escalation, three US officials and diplomatic sources said. ( PJB: he's telling Kiev that if they want to escalate, which they have said they do, that can use these weapons to do it. ) (01:22 GMT) Russia says it is reinforcing its recently drawn up borders with Ukraine with reserves, weapons and armoured vehicles. "The situation remains difficult at the present time, which is mainly due to the shelling of Russian border guards, as well as the conduct of 'actions of intimidation' by Ukrainian nationalists..." a deputy director of the border service of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) was quoted by Interfax as saying. Vladimir Kulishov said that additional forces would be deployed to protect "the Crimean transport crossing, other strategically important objects of the peninsula, as well as ensuring the safety of subjects of maritime economic activity in the Black and Azov Seas." (01:38 GMT) The Ukrainian mayor of the city of Severodonetsk, which is the centre of fierce fighting in Ukraine's east, says at least 1,500 people have been killed and only 12 were able to be evacuated on Thursday. Oleksandr Stryuk said about 12,000 to 13,000 people remained in the city where 60% of residential buildings have been destroyed. Severodonetsk is the only part of the Luhansk region in the Donbas under Ukrainian government control, and Russian forces have been trying to cut it off from the rest of Ukrainian-controlled territory. (01:48 GMT) Sweden & Finland's push to join NATO won't require adding more US ground forces into either country, the US general nominated to take over European Command told senators. But Army General Christopher Cavoli said military exercises and occasional American troop rotations will probably increase. (02:14 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged the West to stop playing around with Russia and impose tougher sanctions on Moscow to end its "senseless war" in Ukraine, adding his country would remain independent, the only question was at what price. Zelenskyy criticism of the West has mounted in recent days as thousands of Russian forces try to encircle the two key cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. (02:36 GMT) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said she will meet with Joe Biden at the White House next Tuesday, where she expects to speak about the war in Ukraine and the increasing competition in the Indo-Pacific - an apparent reference to growing rivalry between the US and its allies and China in the region. Ardern, who spoke with reporters on Thursday after delivering the commencement address at Harvard University during a visit to the US, said she would also meet with US Vice President Kamala Harris the same day. (03:57 GMT) A South Korean volunteer fighter returned home from Ukraine on Friday saying he had to recover from injuries and was ready to face a police investigation on suspicion of breaking the law by defying a government ban on travel to Ukraine, Reuters reports. Rhee Keun, a former member of South Korean naval special forces who is also known as Ken Rhee, flew back to S.Korea with media broadcasting his return live on television. (04:27 GMT) Russian forces have made several gains in the Luhansk region in past week, but their offensive operations remain slow, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. "Russian forces continued steady advances around Severodonetsk and likely seek to completely encircle the Severodonetsk-Lysychansk area in the coming days," the ISW said in its latest campaign assessment. The institute added that Russia continued to make advances south and west of Popasna toward the town Bakhmut, "but the pace of advance will likely slow as they approach the town itself". "Russian forces are heavily degraded and will struggle to replace further losses," they added. (05:17 GMT) The US has won the latest round of a legal battle to seize a $325-million Russian-owned superyacht in Fiji, with the case now appearing headed for the Pacific nation's top court. Fiji's Court of Appeal on Friday dismissed an appeal by Feizal Haniff, who represents the company that legally owns the superyacht Amadea. Haniff had argued the US had no jurisdiction under Fiji's mutual assistance laws to seize the vessel, at least until a court sorted out who really owned the Amadea. The US argues that its investigation has found that behind various fronts, the Cayman Islands-flagged luxury yacht is really owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, an economist and former Russian politician. (05:26 GMT) Russian ground forces are continuing their attempt to surround the cities of Severodonetsk and Lyscyhansk, recently capturing several villages north-west of Popasna, the UK's defence ministry has said in its latest intelligence briefing. The ministry said that in recent days, Russia likely moved 50-year-old T-62 tanks from deep storage into the area under the responsibility of its Southern Grouping of Forces, which are tasked with occupying Ukraine's southern territory. "The T-62s will almost certainly be particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons and their presence on the battlefield highlights Russia's shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment," the ministry said. (06:42 GMT) The speaker of Russia's parliament has said the outcome of most recent vote in the UN's Security Council to strengthen sanctions on North Korea over its renewed ballistic missile launches - vetoed by Russia and China - shows that the US has lost the support of the majority of the world's population. Vyacheslav Volodin said this was already evident in March, when the UN General Assembly considered condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Forty countries refused to oppose Russia, including China, India, Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, South Africa, Algeria, Pakistan and others. The population of these states is 4.47 billion people - 57.3 per cent of the world's population." "Often behind majority decisions in the UN, in reality, there is a minority... Joe Biden is striving to reform the UN in order to maintain the position of the United States. He desperately wants to preserve the unipolar model, which has become obsolete," Volodin said. (08:03 GMT) The Biden administration is leaning towards approve sending Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) to Ukraine, technology that would vastly increase the military's capabilities, CNN has reported, citing multiple unnamed US officials. The MLRS and the lighter weight version, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), can launch rockets as far as 300km. The systems topped the list of weapons requested by Ukraine as fighting has concentrated in the eastern region of the country. (08:19 GMT) Pro-Russian separatists from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have said they have established full control over the strategic town of Lyman in the north-east of Ukraine's embattled Donbas region. Ukrainian and Russian-backed forces had been fighting for the town, which contains an important railway junction, for several days. (08:46 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it is expelling five staff members of the Croatian embassy in Moscow in response to Zagreb ordering out some of its staff. Croatia in April told 24 Russian embassy staff to leave. (09:14 GMT) Oleksiy Arestovych, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, has said the purported capture of the strategic town of Lyman, in Donbas, shows the "growing level of operational management and tactical skills of the Russian army". Arestovych said in televised remarks: "according to unverified data, we lost the city of Lyman. The Russian army captured it." "And the way it captured [the city] shows that there are very talented commanders who organised the operation correctly. And this shows the growing level of operational management and tactical skills of the Russian army." (09:32 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that while talking directly with Russia's Vladimir Putin may not be popular, the country has to "face the realities" that direct engagement is needed to end the war. (09:51 GMT) Amid fears that Moldova could be drawn into the Ukraine war, Ana Revenco, Moldova's interior minister, has told Al Jazeera that Europe needs a "paradigm shift" in its security policies. "Food security, border security, cyber-vulnerabilities, uninterrupted services for the population, uncertainty about the presence of Ukrainian refugees, and other immediate and emerging threats including use of mercenaries in Ukraine, large caches of incoming foreign weapons and divisive propaganda - must all be tackled," Revenco said. (10:13 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has blamed Ukraine for the fact that peace talks between the two countries are frozen, saying it was unclear what Kyiv wanted. "The Ukrainian leadership constantly makes contradictory statements," he said in a call. "This does not allow us to fully understand what the Ukrainian side wants." His statement came after Zelenskyy on Friday said that Ukrainians need to "face the realities" and engage with Putin on peace talks. (10:35 GMT) Russian attacks on a military facility in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro early on Friday left about 10 people dead and injured more than 30 others, a local defence official said. (12:03 GMT) Russian forces are fortifying their defensive positions in the Kherson region which lies just north of Crimea, while shelling Ukraine-controlled areas on a daily basis, the region's Ukrainian governor has said. (12:20 GMT) More than 4,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia's invasion began on February 24, although the true number is likely much higher, the UN rights office (OHCHR) has said. (12:38 GMT) Ukrainian forces are engaged in a "fierce defence" of the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which is two-thirds surrounded by Russian forces, the Luhansk region's governor has said, citing the head of the city's administration. Shelling, which is "very strong", has damaged 90% of the housing in the city, Serhiy Haidai said. (13:04 GMT) Ukrainian troops are still fighting to keep control of the northwestern and southeastern parts of the town of Lyman, Ukraine's defence ministry has said. Defence ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk made the comments hours after pro-Russian separatists said on their Telegram channel that they had taken full control of the strategically important town. Motuzyanyk added that Ukrainian troops were "counteracting attempts" by Russia to push its offensive towards the key Ukrainian town of Sloviansk, said at a briefing. (14:07 GMT) Ukraine's state gas company and gas infrastructure operator have issued a request to the German government to either halt or severely curtail gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, the head of the head of gas system operator said. (14:51 GMT) Putin has accused Ukraine of "sabotaging" the negotiating process between the two countries, the Kremlin said, citing comments he made to Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in a phone call. Putin also informed Nehammer about actions that Russia was taking to secure safe passage for vessels in the Azov and Black Seas, the Kremlin said in a statement. (14:58 GMT) Putin has told Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer that attempts to blame Russia for difficulties shipping grain worldwide were unfounded and pointed to Western sanctions being responsible instead, the Kremlin said. (15:17 GMT) Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has said Russian President Vladimir Putin told him on a telephone call that Moscow would meet its natural gas delivery commitments and was ready to discuss a prisoner swap with Ukraine. Austria gets 80% of its gas from Russia. (15:19 GMT) Russia needs huge financial resources for its military operation in Ukraine, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said, putting the amount of budget stimulus for the economy at 8 trillion roubles ($120bn). (15:22 GMT) Italy's Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Zelenskyy discussed unblocking wheat exports from Ukraine to tackle the food crisis which is threatening the world's poorest countries, Draghi's office said. Russia's blockade of Ukrainian ports has prevented shipments of grain, of which both countries are major exporters. Russia accuses Ukraine of mining the ports and Ukraine has described the Russian position as "blackmail". (16:24 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, which has almost completely fallen under Russian control, has said it was possible that Kyiv's forces would be forced to retreat from the final pocket of resistance to avoid being captured. (18:15 GMT) The Moscow branch of Kyiv's Orthodox Church has said it was cutting ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, declaring "full independence" in a historic move against Russia's spiritual authorities. "We disagree with the position of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow ... on the war," the church said in a statement after holding a council focused on Russia's "aggression" where it declared the "full independence and autonomy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church". (19:04 GMT) The US military has signed a contract for $687m worth of anti-craft Stinger missiles to replenish US stocks sent to Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/27/us-buys-more-stingers-to-refill-stock-sent-to-ukraine-reuters The US Army has said it has awarded a contract worth $625m to Raytheon Technologies Corp for anti-aircraft Stinger missiles in order to replenish stocks sent to Ukraine. Since February, Washington has shipped about 1,400 Stingers to Kyiv. (19:11 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear inspectorate has accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of falling for Russian propaganda and demanded it back efforts by Kyiv to expel Moscow's forces from a major power plant. (20:43 GMT) US President Joe Biden has accused his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin of seeking to "wipe out" Ukrainian culture and identity. "Not only is he trying to take over Ukraine, he's literally trying to wipe out the culture and identity of the Ukrainian people," Biden said in a speech at a US Naval Academy graduation ceremony. (20:55 GMT) A senior Turkish official has told the Reuters news agency that talks with Sweden and Finland over the two countries' efforts to join NATO are "not an easy process" but will continue. (21:19 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the situation in the country's east was extremely difficult, as Russian forces continued to concentrate maximum efforts in the Donbas. (21:58 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said more weapons would be arriving in Ukraine after holding a phone call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. According to he report, heavy weapons were on "top of the agenda," according to the Kyiv Independent. 20220528 (01:39 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has released its latest assessment on the fighting in Ukraine. It says Russia's direct attacks on Severodonetsk began even before the city had been completely encircled, which could make it difficult for the military to advance quickly in the town. "Russian forces have performed poorly in operations in built-up urban terrain throughout the war to date," the think tank said. It also observed an increase in the activity of Ukrainian partisan forces in the south that have been occupied by Russian troops. (02:20 GMT) Lithuanians have raised some 3 million euros ($3.2 million) in just three days - out of the 5 million euros needed - to buy an advanced military drone for Ukraine. Laisves TV, a Lithuanian internet broadcaster that launched the drive, says hundreds of people have donated small amounts. Ukraine has bought more than Turkish-made 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones in recent years and ordered 16 more on January 27. That batch was delivered in early March. "This is the first case in history when ordinary people raise money to buy something like a Bayraktar. It is unprecedented, it is unbelievable," Beshta Petro, Ukraine's ambassador to Lithuania, told Laisves TV, according to Reuters. (03:53 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck a determined tone in his regular nightly video address amid reports that Russia had captured Lyman and was pounding Severodonetsk. Ukraine was protecting its land "as much as our current defence resources allow," "If the occupiers think that Lyman or Severodonetsk will be theirs, they are wrong," Zelenskyy said. "Donbas will be Ukrainian." (04:08 GMT) AP is reporting that a Communist Party legislative deputy in Russia's Far East has demanded an end to the war in Ukraine and the withdrawal of its armed forces. "We understand that if our country doesn't stop the military operation, we'll have more orphans in our country," Leonid Vasyukevich said at a meeting of the Primorsk regional Legislative Assembly in the Pacific port of Vladivostok on Friday. Another deputy followed to support Vasyukevich's views but the legislative assembly's chairman in a statement afterwards called the remarks a "political provocation" not supported by the majority of lawmakers. (05:30 GMT) Governor of the Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai has denied Russian claims that their forces have surrounded the eastern city of Severodonetsk but said Ukrainian soldiers may have to retreat. "The Russians will not be able to capture Luhansk region in the coming days, as analysts predict. We will have enough forces and means to defend ourselves," (07:02 GMT) Serhiy Haidai has said there are some 10,000 Russian troops in the eastern region. "These are the (units) that are permanently in Luhansk region, that are trying to assault and are attempting to make gains in any direction they can," Gaidai said on Ukrainian television. (07:27 GMT) Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reporting from the northern city of Bucha says Russia has left so many unexploded ordnance and landmines in Ukraine, that experts estimate it could take "as much as five years" to clear the areas retaken by the Ukrainian government. (08:03 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser and peace talks negotiator Mykhailo Podolyak has said that any agreement with Russia cannot be trusted and Moscow can only stopped in its invasion by force. "Any agreement with Russia isn't worth a broken penny, Podolyak wrote on Telegram. "Is it possible to negotiate with a country that always lies cynically and propagandistically?" (09:02 GMT) English Premier League club has said a "final and definitive agreement" had been struck to sell the club to a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and backed by Clearlake Capital. "It is expected that the transaction will be completed on Monday," Chelsea said. "The Club will update further at that time." (09:16 GMT) Russia's army in a statement has claimed that it captured the strategic town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine. "Following the joint actions of the units of the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Russian armed forces, the town of Lyman has been entirely liberated from Ukrainian nationalists," the defence ministry said in a statement, confirming an announcement a day earlier by pro-Moscow separatists. (09:58 GMT) A ship has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol for the first time since Russia completed its capture of the city to load metal and ship it east to Russia, TASS news agency reported. A spokesperson for the port told TASS that the vessel would be loading 2,700 tonnes of metal before travelling 160 km east to the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on Monday. (10:19 GMT) Russian forces have announced the latest successful test of their Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. The missile was fired from the Admiral Gorshkov frigate stationed in the Barents Sea and "successfully hit" a target stationed 1,000km away in the White Sea in the Arctic, the defence ministry said. (10:54 GMT) Kyiv has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov announced, saying the arms would bolster forces fighting Russia's invasion. "The coastal defence of our country will not only be strengthened by Harpoon missiles - they will be used by trained Ukrainian teams," Reznikov wrote on his Facebook page. He said Harpoon shore-to-ship missiles would be operated alongside Ukrainian Neptune missiles in the defence of the country's coast including the southern port of Odesa. (11:20 GMT) Al Jazeera's correspondent Zein Basravi reporting from Kyiv says Russia's plan to remobilise its forces to the east and the south seems to be working amid Russian claims it had taken full control of the city of Lyman. "Lyman ... is not a very big place. It's a village town, about 20,000 people in total lived there before the invasion ... but it does represent a strategic location," Basravi added. "If Lyman, as the Russians say, has fallen to their full control, then what they could do is use Lyman as a staging ground to move further south and east to encircle troops that are currently fighting for Severodonetsk, potentially cutting off 8,000 plus Ukrainian forces from making a tactical retreat." (11:53 GMT) Former Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko has claimed he was barred from leaving the country, accusing the government of breaking a so-called political ceasefire in place since Russia invaded. After Russia invaded, Ukraine's parliament banned several pro-Russian parties and allowed others to operate under a so-called political ceasefire, a tacit understanding that all parties would put aside domestic political disagreements to unite against the war. However, Poroshenko's office said he "was refused to cross the border of Ukraine", accusing the government of violating the agreement. (13:33 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron have asked Putin to hold "direct serious negotiations" with Zelenskyy. During an 80-minute conversation with the Russian president, the two EU leaders "insisted on an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Russian troops, Macron and Scholz have asked Putin to release 2,500 Ukrainian fighters who were holed up inside the Azovstal steel plant. Putin cautioned Scholz and Macron against providing Ukraine with heavy weapons; deliveries of more powerful weapons posed the risk of further destabilising the situation and exacerbating the humanitarian crisis, Putin told the leaders of France and Germany Moscow is ready to look for ways to ship grain stuck in Ukrainian ports but demanded the West lift sanctions. In talks with Scholz and Macron, Putin "also talked about how the discussions have stalled between the two sides as a result of the Kyiv government not being serious and responding to the offers that have been made by the Russian negotiators, the last one being made on April 15," Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari said from Moscow. (13:55 GMT) Spain is sending a battery of surface-to-air missiles and around 100 troops to the NATO forward presence mission in Latvia, joining some 500 compatriots already present in the Baltic state, El Pais has reported. The defence ministry "plans to deploy in Latvia a battery of surface-to- -air NASAMS," or Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System. (14:59 GMT) Exiled Kremlin critic and ex-oil magnate Mikhail Khodorkovsky has urged the West to supply heavy weapons to Ukraine. "If the Ukrainians are not supplied with the weapons they are asking for, there will soon be fighting around Kyiv again," he told Germany's Bild newspaper. (17:01 GMT) A senior pro-Russian official in the region of Kherson has told Reuters that nearby fighting could affect the timing of its formal bid to join Russia and a decision was likely "towards next year". (17:37 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari reporting from Moscow said that Putin told his counterpart that "there are a number of issues with the ships that are carrying Ukrainian wheat that have been stuck in the Black Sea, as a result of what the Russians are saying are mines that are placed along the routes for them to leave in the Black Sea by the Ukrainian military. "Putin said that Russia is willing to allow the passage of those ships, roughly around 300 of them from the main port in Odesa in Ukraine. That is something that is up for discussion, but of course that is something that has to be done through the Russian military." (19:13 GMT) The Mayor of the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv has released video footage which showed damage caused by shelling in the residential area of the city. Several residents were seen cleaning up damage in the footage - a couple made comments about their damaged homes laced with irony, saying the Russian army had "made it better", and that they had been "freed" from "everything that we have got in our forty years". (22:12 GMT) Ukraine has started receiving Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said. Reznikov said Ukraine had received a range of heavy artillery pieces, including modified US-made M109 self-propelled howitzers that will allow the Ukrainian military to strike targets from longer distances. Harpoon shore-to-ship missiles will be operated alongside Ukrainian Neptune missiles in the defence of the country's coast including the southern port of Odesa, the minister wrote on his Facebook page. Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesman for the Odesa regional military administration in southern Ukraine, said in an online post that "so many Harpoons have been handed over to us that we can sink the entire Russian Black Sea Fleet. Why not?" <===XXX (23:26 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War said an ongoing counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces in the Kherson region has reportedly pushed Russian forces back to "unfavourable borders" near the villages of Andriyivka, Lozove, and Belohirka in Kherson. The policy research organisation said earlier on Saturday that a ground attack launched by Russian forces near Kherson-Mykolaiv had been unsuccessful. It was the first such Russian attack near Kherson for several weeks. 20220529 (00:20 GMT) Zelenskyy says Russia's war in the frontlines in Donbas and Kharkiv "is very difficult". Wearing a t-shirt that read, "I'm Ukrainian", Zelenskyy said the Russian focus remains focused on the cities of Sievierodonetsk, Lysychansk, Bakhmut and Popasna. (01:30 GMT) Zelenskyy says he is preparing to address a meeting of the European Council, which will take place on May 30-31. "In particular, I will talk about the following: terror, which has become in fact the only form of action of the Russian state against Europe. Terror on the land of Ukraine. Terror in the energy market of Europe, not just our country. Terror in the food market, and on a global scale. And what type of terror will be next?" (03:05 GMT) Dozens of homes in the Ukrainian village of Demydiv remain partially submerged months after a dam was destroyed and the area flooded to stop Russian troops from advancing on Kyiv, officials say. The Ukrainian military blew up the dam on the river Irpin in February, flooding houses and fields in Demydiv, whose history goes back a thousand years. "At this time, about 50 houses in the village of Demydiv remain flooded," regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba wrote in a post on the Telegram messaging app. "People are understanding of the situation. We, in turn, make every effort to resolve the issue." (03:33 GMT) Japan has announced $1.7m in aid to help transport aid supplies to Ukraine, according to the NHK broadcaster. Officials said the money will go to the United Nations Office for Project Services. (04:18 GMT) Zelenskyy says he is expecting 'good news' on arms deliveries "Every day we are bringing closer the time when our army will surpass the occupiers technologically and by firepower. Of course, a lot depends on the partners. On their readiness to provide Ukraine with everything necessary to defend freedom. And I expect good news on this already next week," he said in his evening address. (04:23 GMT) Ukraine's Minister of Youth and Sports says more than 50 Ukrainian athletes have died while defending their country against Russia, according to the news agency Ukrinform. (04:50 GMT) Ukraine's military says fighting for the eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk is continuing with Russian forces conducting assault operations on Saturday. (05:20 GMT) An adviser to Ukraine's president has called on the West to supply his country with long range weapons if it really wants Kyiv to win against Russia. "It is hard to fight when you are attacked from a 70km distance and have nothing to fight back with. Ukraine can bring Russia back behind the Iron Curtain, but we need effective weapons for that," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. (06:50 GMT) The deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in occupied Kherson has said that there won't be a referendum on formally joining Russia until fighting stops in the area and the nearby regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv. (07:07 GMT) Russia has scrapped the upper age limit for Russians and foreigners to join the military, according to Russian state news agency TASS, enabling people over 40 to enlist for the armed forces. Previously, the army had age limits of 18 to 40 for Russian citizens and 18 to 30 for foreigners wishing to enlist. (07:49 GMT) Russia is continuing to ship gas to Europe through Ukraine, Russian gas producer Gazprom has confirmed. The Russian gas producer has said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine - via the Sudzha entry point - continues, despite the war. An application to supply gas via another entry point, Sokhranovka, was rejected by Ukraine, according to Reuters. (08:23 GMT) Ukraine has accused Moscow of stealing metal from the captured city of Mariupol and loading onto a ship bound for Russia. Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for human rights Lyudmyla Denisova said Russia has started shipping 3,000 tons of metal products on the first ship to Rostov-on-Don in Russia, according to the Kyiv Independent. (09:15 GMT) Fighting is continuing in Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, where the situation is "even more difficult" and "the enemy keeps assaulting," the Ukrainian head of the Luhansk regional administration said. (10:10 GMT) Leaders of the central branch of the Orthodox church in Ukraine have made a formal break with the hierarchy in Moscow, formalising a schism that has been brewing since 2014, the year that Russia annexed Crimea. The council of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which had been formally subordinate to the Moscow Patriarchate of the Russian Orthodox Church, has said it was seeking "full independence and autonomy". It has also said it was cutting ties with its leader, Patriarch Kirill I, over his support for the war. Kirill is the leader of the church in both countries, but he has avoided condemning attacks on Ukrainians. (10:33 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it destroyed a large arsenal of the Ukrainian army in the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, Reuters reported. The ministry also said that Russian anti-aircraft defence systems shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jet in the Dnipro region, according to TASS (11:15 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom on Sunday ruled out the Kremlin's use of tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying such weapons are "not used in conflicts like that at all". In an interview airing Sunday morning on the BBC, Andrei Kelin said Russia has a "very strict provision on the issue of the use of tactical nuclear weapons," adding that Russian doctrine allows their use mainly when "the existence of the state is endangered". (11:39 GMT) Hundreds of Lithuanians pooled funds to buy an advanced military drone for Ukraine, in a show of solidarity with a fellow country formerly under Moscow's rule. $5.4m were raised in less than four days, primarily due to small amounts, to fund the purchase of a Bayraktar TB2 military drone. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/30/lithuanians-crowdfund-5-4-million-for-combat-drone-to-ukraine (11:48 GMT) Putin and his Serbian counterpart Aleksandar Vucic agreed that Russia will continue supplying natural gas to Serbia and that the two countries will bolster their partnership, the Kremlin said, according to Reuters. (12:17 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the UK has said that allegations of war crimes committed in the Ukrainian town of Bucha are a "fabrication." Andrei Kelin told the BBC that Russian forces did not shell civilian areas. (13:17 GMT) President Zelenskyy visits front lines in first visit outside Kyiv region, in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. (13:58 GMT) Moscow's judiciary says it has opened a criminal case against Ben Grant, the son of British lawmaker and ex-minister Helen Grant, for fighting against the Russian military in Ukraine. "Within the framework of a criminal case on mercenarism, investigators are determining the role of a relative of British parliamentarian Helen Grant," the Russian Investigative Committee announced. Ben Grant, who served for several years in the Royal Marines, is hailed as a hero in British media for fighting on the side of Ukraine since March. The British press frequently reports on his combat activities, including recently that he saved the life of an injured comrade under fire and carried him off the battlefield. Mercenarism is a criminal offence in Russia, as in many other countries, and Grant could be punished by up to seven years in prison should he ever stand trial in Russia. (14:48 GMT) Several explosions have been heard in Kharkiv hours after a visit by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was making his first trip outside of the Kyiv region since the start of Russia's invasion. (see 13:17) (16:18 GMT) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck says he fears that the European Union's unity was "starting to crumble" ahead of a summit to discuss an oil embargo against Russia and plans to cut dependence on Russian energy. (17:17 GMT) EU governments have failed to reach an agreement on an embargo on Russian oil, but will continue negotiations on Monday morning, an EU official told Reuters news agency. The proposal under discussion now among EU countries assumes a ban on Russian oil delivered to the EU by sea by the end of the year, but foresees an exemption for oil delivered by the Russian Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech republic. (18:22 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian shelling has destroyed all of the critical infrastructure in Sievierodonetsk, describing the taking of the city as Russia's "principal aim" right now. "As a result of Russian strikes on Sievierodonetsk, all the city's critical infrastructure is destroyed... More than two-thirds of the city's housing stock is destroyed," Zelenskyy said in a televised speech. (19:02 GMT) Zelensky says he fired Kharkiv's security services chief "for the fact that he did not work on the defence of the city from the first days of the full-scale war, but thought only about himself," (20:18 GMT) "The liberation of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, recognised by the Russian Federation as independent states, is an unconditional priority," Lavrov said in an interview with French TV channel TF1, according to RIA. For the rest of the territories in Ukraine, "the people should decide their future in these areas," (22:07 GMT) Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic has announced that he has secured an "extremely favourable" three-year natural gas supply deal with Russia, amid efforts by the European Union to phase out Russian energy supplies. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/29/serbia-ignores-eu-sanctions-secures-gas-deal-with-putin 20220530 (00:31 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that one third of the Kharkiv region is still under Russian occupation, but that Ukraine will "definitely liberate the entire territory". (00:56 GMT) Russian forces fired on 46 communities in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on Sunday, killing at least three civilians, wounding two others, and destroying or damaging 62 civilian buildings, the Ukrainian army posted. (01:38 GMT) New satellite imagery shows that a Russian ship carrying grain allegedly stolen from Ukrainian farms has arrived in the Syrian port of Latakia, CNN reports. The images are provided by Maxar Technologies and show the carrier Matros Pozynich at Latakia on May 27. According to CNN, the Pozynich is one of three ships that have been loading grain in the Crimean port of Sevastopol since the Russian invasion. It was last seen in Sevastopol on May 19 and then tracked along the Turkish coast. (03:01 GMT) Canada has asked South Korea to supply it with artillery rounds, Seoul said, apparently to "backfill" supplies that Ottawa has sent to Ukraine, upping pressure on South Korea to provide - at least indirectly - lethal aid in the war, Reuters reports. A spokesman for South Korea's ministry of defence confirmed that Ottawa had made the request, but would not elaborate further saying "no official proceedings are under way related to the request." Canada has provided Ukraine with M777 towed howitzers, which fire 155-millimetre shells. South Korea is a major manufacturer of 155mm ammunition, with its K9 self-propelled howitzer dominating the international market. Seoul has provided humanitarian assistance to Ukraine and has shipped non-lethal items including bulletproof helmets and medical kits but has said it has no plans to provide the embattled country with lethal aid. (04:13 GMT) Moscow is reviewing the terms of its agreements with the US "in the fields of scientific and educational cooperation" with a view to terminate or suspend them, TASS has reported newspaper Izvestia saying. Izvestia didn't specify that kinds of scientific and educational organisations the Duma committee was looking into. But Sergei Tsekov, a member of the Federation Council committee on international affairs, reportedly told Izvestia Russia is extremely likely to withdraw from other organisations, such as the the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). (05:42 GMT) The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk has said there is no gas or water in Severodonetsk, and no possibility of restoring these services. Serhiy Haidai added that about one million people have been left without water supply in the Luhansk region. Russian troops are moving deeper into the city of Severodonetsk from the outskirts, Serhiy Haidai said. (06:05 GMT) French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna will meet Ukraine's president in Kyiv later on Monday to express France's solidarity with Ukraine and offer more support for the country, the French foreign affairs ministry has said. (06:24 GMT) The UK's defence ministry says that Russia's troops in Ukraine are likely to suffer a further decrease in morale and continued poor discipline. According to the ministry, this is partly due to the fact Russia's army has "suffered devastating losses" among its mid and junior ranking officers. "Junior officers have had to lead the lowest level tactical actions, as the army lacks the cadre of highly trained and empowered non-commissioned officers (NCOs) who fulfil that role in Western forces," (06:36 GMT) Families across Africa are paying about 45% more for wheat flour as Russia's war in Ukraine blocks exports from the Black Sea, AP reports. Some countries like Somalia get more than 90% of their wheat from Russia and Ukraine. (07:28 GMT) Spain supports a new package of EU sanctions against Moscow but there is no agreement yet as some member states remain heavily dependent on Russian crude imports and are reluctant to block them, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares has said. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says NATO's support for Ukraine is "unbreakable". "Supporting Ukraine with determination is the only way to ensure that the Europe and the world we have built has a certain future," Sanchez told an event marking Spain's 40th anniversary as part of NATO (08:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have struck a shipbuilding facility in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv. Russian artillery struck a hangar at the Okean Shipyard, destroying vehicles and other equipment, the ministry said. (08:41 GMT) Ukrainian forces killed 63 Russian soldiers during a counterattack south of the city of Kryvyi Rih, in central Ukraine, according to a local defence official. The Russian troops were advancing from the occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine, but the counterattack repelled them and also "destroyed" T-72 tanks, helicopters and the Grad multiple rocket system, Oleksandr Vilkul said in a Telegram post. Kryvyi Rih is Zelenskky's hometown. (09:22 GMT) An official installed by Russia in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine says grain from the area is being sent to Russia. Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Russia-backed administration for the Kherson region, told Russia's TASS news agency that grain from last year's harvest was being delivered to Russian buyers. (09:41 GMT) A Russian gas-for-roubles scheme used with foreign purchasers has proved convenient both for buyers and sellers, the Kremlin has said. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov's remarks came after Russia's finance ministry proposed to apply a similar scheme to foreign holders of Russian Eurobonds. (11:11 GMT) A Russian woman who rallied against Moscow's war in Ukraine was arrested on Monday in Moscow, according to a protest monitoring group. Opposition activists Natalya Perova and Lyudmila Annenkova donned "blood-stained" white dresses as part of their demonstration against the offensive outside of the Russian foreign ministry building in central Moscow on Sunday, the OVD-Info group said in a Telegram post. (11:55 GMT) Ukrainians deported to Russia from Ukraine and now trying to leave the country to enter the EU are having to go through new "filtration camps", a Ukrainian official has claimed. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians, especially men suspected of having served in the military, have reportedly had to go through such "filtration camps" in separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine before being allegedly forcibly sent to Russia. But new camps have now started operating near Russia's border with Estonia, an EU member state, Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's mayor, said in a Telegram post. Andryushchenko, who has fled to Ukrainian-held territory, said Ukrainians who had passed through the new camps in Russia alleged the facilites made those in eastern Ukraine appear like a "child's game" in comparison. (13:14 GMT) Ukraine's first deputy minister of agriculture has accused Russian forces of stealing nearly 500,000 tonnes of wheat from occupied areas in Ukraine. Taras Vysotsky claimed in televised remarks that Moscow had tried to sell the wheat to Egypt and Lebanon, but Cairo and Beirut refused to buy it. (13:31 GMT) The US will not send Ukraine rocket systems that can reach Russia, Biden says. The US leader's comments, issued to reporters at the White House, followed reports last week that Washington was preparing to send advanced long-range rocket systems to Kyiv. Ukrainian officials have sought a longer-range system called the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS, that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has cautioned Western powers against supplying Ukraine with weapons capable of hitting Russian territory, warning such a move would be a "serious step towards unacceptable escalation". Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev has welcomed Washington's decision not to send Ukraine rocket systems that could reach into Russia, calling the move "rational". (14:32 GMT) Erdogan has told Putin that Ankara is ready to take on a role in an "observation mechanism" between Moscow, Kyiv and the United Nations, if an agreement is reached in that regard. Erdogan's office said he had told Putin during the pair's talks by phone that peace needs to be established as soon as possible and confidence-building steps need to be taken on the conflict. (14:53 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed a French journalist has been killed while working in Ukraine. "Frederic Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of war. On board a humanitarian bus with civilians forced to flee to escape Russian bombings, he was mortally wounded," Macron wrote. Leclerc-Imhoff's employer French TV channel BFM-TV also confirmed he had been killed. "France demands that a probe be carried out as soon as possible and in transparency on the circumstances of this drama," Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said in a statement. (15:20 GMT) Vladimir Putin has told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow is ready to facilitate unhindered sea transit of cargoes, including grains from Ukrainian ports, the Kremlin says. Putin also reiterated during the pair's telephone call that Russia may export significant volumes of fertilisers and food in case sanctions against Moscow are lifted, according to the readout of the discussion published by the Kremlin. (15:43 GMT) Dutch company GasTerra says that from Tuesday it will no longer receive gas from Russia's Gazprom after refusing to agree to Moscow's demands for payment in roubles. GasTerra, which buys and trades gas on behalf of the Dutch government, said it had contracted elsewhere for the two billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas it had expected to receive from Gazprom through October. It added the system that Russia had demanded, which involved the setting up of accounts that would be paid in euros and then swapped for roubles, could violate EU sanctions and also said the payment route presented too many financial and operational risks. GasTerra is 50% owned by Dutch government entities and 25% each by oil giants Shell and Exxon. Russia's Gazprom Export has said it will suspend gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra on May 31 over failure to pay for gas delivered in April under the rouble-for-gas payments scheme. (16:25 GMT) Ukraine was fed up with "special solutions" and separate models for its integration into the European Union, the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. "We need a clear legal affirmation that Ukraine is a part of the European integration project, and such an affirmation would be the granting of candidate status," he said speaking after a meeting with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna in Kyiv. (16:39 GMT) A Ukrainian group that monitors Russian media and social networks said that the Russian army's death toll in Ukraine has reached 3,000. The Goryushko group said on the messaging app Telegram that the 3,000th Russian soldier killed in Ukraine was Svyatoslav Nizhegorodov, a captain in the city of Sevastopol in Russia-annexed Crimea. He was reportedly killed on May 8 on the Zmiiny island in the southern Odesa region. The Ukrainian military claimed that the death toll has exceeded 30,000. while Russia's most recent number which it released in late March placed the toll at 1,300. (17:40 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has urged the EU to end internal "quarrels" that he said only help Moscow as he told the bloc to adopt more sanctions against Russia. "All quarrels in Europe must end, internal disputes that only encourage Russia to put more and more pressure on you," Zelensky told an EU summit in Brussels via video-link. "It is time for you to be not separate, not fragments, but one whole." (17:58 GMT) A car bomb exploded in the Russia-controlled Ukrainian city of Melitopol, injuring several people in what Russia's Investigative Committee and a Ukrainian official have said may have been the work of Ukrainians opposed to Russia. "On 30 May 2022, an explosion reportedly took place in the centre of Melitopol near a residential building at the time of distribution of humanitarian aid, which was organised by Ukrainian saboteurs," the Russian investigative committee said on its website. According to preliminary information, three people were injured as a result, the committee added. (18:31 GMT) A chief adviser to Turkey's president told his US counterpart that Turkey wanted "concrete steps" on the existence of what it calls "terrorist organisations" in Finland and Sweden before it would consider their NATO bids, the Turkish presidency has said. (18:37 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has told Zelenskyy in a call that he has placed value on a project to create a safe sea route for exporting Ukrainian agricultural goods, his office has said. "Erdogan stated that he especially valued the project to create a secure sea route for exporting Ukrainian agricultural products," his office said in a statement and added he welcomed, in principle, the idea of making Istanbul a headquarters for an "observation mechanism" between Moscow, Kyiv and the United Nations. (18:53 GMT) Roman Abramovich has completed the sale of Chelsea and related companies to an investment group led by Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, the Premier League club has said, ending a three-month sale process. (19:12 GMT) The European Parliament supports Ukraine's EU membership and urges bloc leaders to move ahead with the integration process, the legislative body's president has said. "There is zero ambiguity about the European Parliament's position that it positively views the next step for Ukraine to become a candidate for the EU," Roberta Metsola told Anadolu Agency at a news conference following her discussions with the EU leaders at the special summit. (19:32 GMT) Valentin Yumashev, the son-in-law of former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin who helped Putin come to power, has quit his role as a Kremlin adviser, two people familiar with Yumashev's thinking have told Reuters. Yumashev was an unpaid adviser with limited influence on Putin's decision-making, but his departure removes one of the last links inside Putin's administration to Yeltsin's rule. (22:19 GMT) The president of the European Council Charlse Michel has announced an agreement among EU countries on a ban on Russian oil exports to the 27-nation bloc. "This immediately covers more than 2/3 of oil imports from Russia, cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine." It remains unclear when the ban will go into effect or whether countries heavily dependent on Russian energy exports, which previously opposed the embargo, will be exempt from the measure. (22:42 GMT) Belarus will conduct military mobilisation exercises in June and July in the Gomel region, which borders Ukraine to the south and Russia to the east, state news agency BelTA has reported. "Events of this kind are traditionally held to increase the combat and mobilisation readiness of military commissariats, and improve military knowledge and practical skills of those liable for military service," BelTA quoted Andrey Krivonosov, military commissar of the Gomel region, as saying. (23:30 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Russian occupiers have stolen "at least half a million tonnes of grain" from Ukraine. They "are now looking for ways to illegally sell it somewhere. To sell it in a way to make money on what was stolen and to keep the deficit in the legal market," he said in his nighttime address. On Monday, CNN reported that satellite imagery showed a Russian merchant ship loaded with stolen Ukrainian grain had arrived in the Syrian port of Latakia. It was carrying nearly 30,000 tonnes of (Ukrainian) wheat, according to Ukrainian officials. (23:50 GMT) Russian troops pushed farther into the key city of Severodonetsk, in the Luhansk region, on Monday and fought street by street with Kyiv's forces. The mayor said the battle has left the city in ruins and driven tens of thousands from their homes. Military analysts have painted the fight for Severodonetsk as part of a race against time for the Kremlin. 20220531 (00:43 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has denied rumours that President Putin is ill, Russia's TASS news agency has reported. "You can watch him on screens, read and listen to his speeches," Lavrov said in an interview on French TV, according to TASS. "I don't think that sane people can see in this person signs of some kind of illness or ailment." British intelligence sources were quoted telling media outlets that Putin was seriously ill in the last week. (01:11 GMT) EU members have backed a package of loans worth 9 billion euros ($9.7 billion), with a small component of grants to cover part of the interest, for Ukraine to keep its government going and pay wages for about two months. Leaders also backed the creation of an international fund to rebuild Ukraine after the war, with details to be decided later. (02:01 GMT) The Ukrainian mayor of the now Russian-controlled city of Mariupol has said that since mid-April, Russian occupiers have buried at least 16,000 city residents in mass graves near the villages of Staryi Krym, Manhush and Vynohradne. (02:45 GMT) Russian forces reportedly control the northeast and southeast outskirts of the city of Severodonetsk and are continuing to gain ground within the city, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. "Ukrainian and Russian sources reported ongoing fighting to the south of Severodonetsk in Toshkivka, Ustynivka, Voronove, Borivske, and Metolkine, as Russian forces continue efforts to complete the encirclement of Severodonetsk from the south." (03:49 GMT) "We can say already that a third of Severodonetsk is already under our control," TASS quoted Leonid Pasechnik, the leader of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic, as saying in a report on Tuesday morning. Pasechnik told the Russian state news agency that fighting was raging in the city, but Russian forces were not advancing as rapidly as might have been hoped. "But we want, above all, to maintain the city's infrastructure," he said. The advance of Russian troops was complicated by the presence of several large chemical plants in the Severodonetsk area, TASS reported. (03:55 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Tuesday, which included discussions on international support for Ukraine, according to a statement from the state department. (04:11 GMT) The Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, now under Russian control, have switched over to Russia's mobile and internet network, state news agency RIA reports citing an advisor to the Moscow-installed head of information policy in the annexed territory of Crimea. (05:24 GMT) Japan won't leave the Sakhalin 2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project even if asked to leave, the Japanese industry minister has said. The land for the project is Russia's but the plant is owned by the Japanese government and companies, Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Koichi Hagiuda told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. (05:42 GMT) Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has posted a video of what look to be Chechen troops walking in the middle of the city of Severodonetsk, speaking with residents and taking a Ukrainian flag off one of the city's central buildings. Explosions can be heard in the background as residents happily thank the fighters for "liberating" them. The Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, said that some militants from the opposing side had entered the city, but that the scenes of residents welcoming them were staged. (05:48 GMT) The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk has told Ukrainian television that Russian troops were slowly advancing towards the centre of Severodonetsk. Serhiy Haidai said Ukrainian troops defending Severodonetsk were not at risk of being encircled as they could retreat to Lysychansk across the river. (06:50 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom says it has fully cut off gas supplies to Dutch gas trader GasTerra after it had failed to make payments for gas delivered in April. It said the payments should be done in line with the gas-for-roubles scheme, ordered by the Russian president (07:00 GMT) The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic will have its own "merchant navy" after ships in the port of Mariupol, including some foreign ships, are to be transferred into the ownership of the DPR, the separatist head of the republic has said, Russian state news agency TASS reports. (07:45 GMT) The EU deal to cut most of Russian oil imports would force Moscow to offer crude at a lower price to others, according to the bloc's top diplomat, Josep Borrell. "We are the most important client for Russia," Borrell said on arriving to second day of EU leaders talks about the latest in Russia's war against Ukraine. "The purpose is to make Russia have less financial resources to feed its war machine." (08:37 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that its forces had downed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region and bombed a radar station and two ammunition depots in eastern Ukraine. (08:59 GMT) A Ukrainian has court sentenced two captured Russian soldiers to 11 and a half years in jail for shelling a town in eastern Ukraine, the second war crimes verdict since the start of Russia's invasion in February. Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov, who listened to the verdict standing in a reinforced glass box at the Kotelevska district court in central Ukraine, both pleaded 'guilty' last week. (09:40 GMT) The latest European Union sanctions on Russia, which ban most imports of its oil, are "not enough" and the pace of sanctions so far has been too slow, according to a senior official in the Ukrainian president's office. "If you ask me, I would say far too slow, far too late and definitely not enough," Ihor Zhovkva, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, said. (11:16 GMT) The EU's sanctions against seaborne imports of Russian oil will be imposed with a phase-in period of six months for crude oil and eight months for refined products, according to a European Commission spokesperson. That timeline would kick in once the sanctions are formally adopted, with EU country ambassadors aiming to adopt them this week, after EU leaders agreed in principle to the sanctions at a summit on Monday. (12:07 GMT) A senior Russian legislator Oleg Morozov has suggested kidnapping a NATO defence minister in Ukraine and bringing them to Moscow for questioning about what "orders" the West has been giving to Kyiv. (14:05 GMT) Three more nations join international team probing Ukraine war crimes Three more nations have joined an international investigation team probing war crimes in Ukraine. Estonia, Latvia and Slovakia signed an agreement during a two-day coordination meeting in The Hague to join Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine in the Joint Investigation Team that will help coordinate the sharing of evidence of atrocities through the EU judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust. International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan has said he is working toward opening an office in Ukraine's capital "in the next few weeks". The ICC cannot prosecute the crime of aggression because neither Russia nor Ukraine is its member. However, the ICC is taking part in a joint investigation along with Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania. (14:30 GMT) Germany is sticking to its goal of becoming independent from Russian oil imports by the end of the year, Chancellor Scholz has said. He added that options on how to handle refineries in eastern Germany, where thousands of employees worried about losing their jobs, were still to be determined. "For now, it is important that we find a perspective that safeguards the jobs in Leuna and Schwedt," Scholz told journalists in Brussels after a summit with EU leaders that agreed on a gradual embargo on Russian oil imports. (14:38 GMT) Germany will deliver infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) to Greece so that the government in Athens can pass on Soviet-style weapons to Ukraine, Chancellor Scholz has said. "We will provide Greece with German infantry fighting vehicles," he told reporters, without specifying what kind of IFVs Berlin will hand over to Greece or what kind of weapons Athens will pass on to Kyiv. (14:44 GMT) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny says he has been charged in a new criminal case and faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. (15:02 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have urged Putin to end Russia's blockade of the Ukrainian port of Odesa under the terms of a UN resolution. (15:08 GMT) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said the EU ought to pay for natural gas interconnections between Madrid and its neighbours after the country heavily invested over the past decades into the capacity to unload and regasify imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). "We are talking about capacities that were financed by the efforts of the Spanish taxpayer and that we will make available to the European Union." (15:25 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it would cut off gas flows to Denmark's Orsted and to Shell Energy for its contract to supply gas to Germany after both companies failed to make payments in roubles. The cuts will be effective from June 1. (15:40 GMT) The chairman of the African Union has warned EU leaders that their decision to expel Russian banks from the SWIFT financial messaging system risks hurting food supplies to the continent. (16:08 GMT) Zelenskyy has welcomed a sixth package of EU sanctions against Russia but criticised what he called an "unacceptable" delay in the bloc agreeing on the latest measures. "When over 50 days have passed between the 5th and 6th sanction packages, the situation is not acceptable for us." (18:00 GMT) A Russian airstrike has hit a nitric acid tank in Severodonetsk, local governor Serhiy Gaidai has said. In a post on Telegram, he urged local residents not to leave bomb shelters due to the risk posed by toxic fumes from the acid tank. He did not provide information on any casualties. Gaidai added that Russian forces were in control of most of the eastern city but had not surrounded it after days of fighting. (19:09 GMT) The Biden administration will give details on potential new security assistance for Ukraine "before too long," State Department spokesperson Ned Price has said at a press briefing. Washington also remains concerned over Russian attempts to institutionalise its control over Ukrainian territory it has seized, including the city of Kherson, Price added. (20:07 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on French President Emmanuel Macron to visit the country before the end of France's EU presidency on June 30. "It would be good that Macron came during the French EU presidency, and the best thing would be that he comes with more weapons deliveries for Ukraine," Kuleba told French news channel LCI. "That's the most precious aid we can receive from France." (20:14 GMT) Ukrainian officials have reported a "shutdown of all communications" in the Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson. Ukraine's State Service for Special Communication and Information Protection said in a statement that an unspecified intrusion "by the occupation regime" had taken place and that equipment had been powered down and cables disconnected. "The residents of the region are currently left without Ukrainian mobile communication and Internet access, as well as with no means to make national and international phone calls using landline phone devices," the agency said. (20:41 GMT) US President Joe Biden and his team are still considering the sending of longer-range rocket systems to Ukraine but do not want them used to launch attacks inside Russian territory, the White House has said. US officials said Biden and his national security aides are in the final stages of preparing a new weapons package for Ukraine with an announcement expected soon, possibly as early as Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Biden earlier had told reporters that "we're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Inq45NGYNfg ( HIMARS ) In a big snub to the Ukrainian President, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could hit targets well inside Russian territory. Russia had warned in advance that supply of any powerful weapon to Ukraine by the West would mean crossing a red line. Find out why Joe Biden refused to provide mobile batteries of long-range rockets, the M270 MLRS and the M142 Himars, which can launch multiple rockets at the same time with a range of up to 187 miles." (21:23 GMT) Washington has warned against attempts by Russia to "institutionalise" its control over "sovereign Ukrainian territory", particularly in the Kherson region. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Russia could announce an independent region in the area in an effort to eventually annex it. (21:40 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the European Union for banning most oil from Russia and urged Ukraine's allies to give it more weapons. (23:43 GMT) Washington's new aid package for Ukraine is expected to include what the US considers medium-range rockets, which generally can travel about 70 kilometres. That's a critical weapon Ukrainian leaders have been begging for as they struggle to stall Russian progress in the Donbas region, US officials said Tuesday. The US plan tries to strike a balance between the desire to help Ukraine battle ferocious Russian artillery barrages while not providing arms that could allow Ukraine to hit targets deep inside Russia and trigger an escalation in the war. 20220601 https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3014.html "Elsangigi Ruslandon" de Serge HALIMI (00:13 GMT) Zelenskyy has called Russia's bombing of Severodonetsk "madness" due to the number of chemical plants in the city. "Given the presence of large-scale chemical production in Severodonetsk, the Russian army's strikes there, including blind air bombing, are just madness," he said in his nighttime address. Zelenskyy added that the situation in the Donbas remained "very difficult". (00:34 GMT) The US will provide Ukraine with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a senior Biden administration official has said, upgrading Kyiv's battleground capabilities as it battles Russian invaders. "These systems will be used by the Ukrainians to repel Russian advances on Ukrainian territory, but they will not be used on targets in Russian territory," the official told reporters. Joe Biden said in an opinion piece for the New York Times that the US "will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine." "We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition." (01:17 GMT) Joe Biden has said that although the US is continuing to "reinforce NATO's eastern flank with forces and US capabilities," Washington does not seek a war between NATO and Russia. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow," Biden said in a guest essay in the New York Times. "So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces," he said. Biden added that the US was not "encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders," adding "we do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia." ( I fati son negati -- Falstaff a1s1 ) (01:48 GMT) Some 60 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers are killed per day in the war with Russia, Zelenskyy has said, adding that around 500 are wounded daily. (02:05 GMT) The Russian-occupied Kherson region, as well as the so-called Luhansk People's Republic (LNR) and Donetsk People's Republic (DNR), will become part of Russia, state news agency RIA reports citing Andrey Turchak the secretary general of the United Russia Party's general council. "The decision should be made by the residents themselves, and I am sure that they will accept it. Therefore, I have no doubts that this region will be part of the Russian Federation." (02:35 GMT) Russia's nuclear forces are holding drills in the Ivanovo province, northeast of Moscow, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as having said. Some 1,000 servicemen are exercising in intense manoeuvres using more than 100 vehicles including Yars intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, it cited the ministry as saying. (03:01 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has dismissed Lyudmyla Denisova from her post as human rights commissioner, Ukrinform news agency has reported. The reasons for Denisova's dismissal are in relation to inadequate performance including in establishing humanitarian corridors, arranging prisoner swaps and ensuring against the deportation of Ukrainians from occupied territory, Ukrinform cited a member of parliament having said. Ukrinform also said the (s?)he noted Denisova's dismissal related to "focusing the ombudsman's media activity on the numerous details of 'unnatural sexual offences' and child sexual abuses in the occupied territories, which were unsupported by evidence and only harmed Ukraine". (04:19 GMT) Moscow's focus on seizing the eastern city of Severodonetsk, and the Donbas region more generally, puts its vital position in the Kherson region at risk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. "If Russia is able to retain a strong lodgement in Kherson when fighting stops it will be in a very strong position from which to launch a future invasion," the ISW said in its latest campaign assessment, adding that if Ukraine were to regain the region, it would be in a much stronger position to defend itself against a future attack. The ISW added that Ukrainian forces were now withdrawing from Severodonetsk, allowing Russian forces to move in "relatively quickly". (05:28 GMT) Russian forces are storming Severodonetsk and consolidating their positions in the centre of the city, while continuing to destroy the region's infrastructure, the governor of the Luhansk region has said. Serhiy Haidai said that at about 6:55 pm on Tuesday, Russians hit Severodonetsk's giant Azot chemical plant, which produces nitrogen-based fertilisers, "releasing toxic substances". (05:56 GMT) Russia's economy will not suffer from the European Union's embargo on its oil due to new markets and rising fuel prices, the chairwoman of Russia's Federation Council has said. "We can easily reorient this oil, the demand for which is huge, to other markets," Valentina Matviyenko told reporters on Wednesday after a meeting with Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi. "There is only a certain amount of production on the world market, a certain volume of oil for sale, any more, nobody will be able to get from the moon," Matviyenko said, adding that the sanctions were encouraging Russia to build more oil refinery plants rather than relying on crude exports. (06:07 GMT) Russian manufacturing activity expanded in May after three months of contraction and price pressures eased notably, but sanctions continued to dent client demand, a survey has shown. The S&P Global Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 50.8 from 48.2 in the previous month, climbing above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction for the first time since January. (06:33 GMT) Russia continues to conduct long-range missile strikes on Ukraine's infrastructure across the country, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry confirmed previous reports that Russian forces are pushing closer to the centre of Severodonetsk city. (06:39 GMT) Danes vote on Wednesday to decide whether to join the EU's defence policy, potentially becoming the final hold-out in the bloc to sign up as Russia's invasion of Ukraine forces countries to radically reassess their security. Denmark is the only member of the 27 nation bloc not in the Common Security and Defence Policy, having secured exemptions from it and the euro currency in a 1993 referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, which laid the groundwork for the modern EU. (06:52 GMT) China has barred Russia's airlines from flying foreign-owned jetliners into its airspace, the Russian news outlet RBK has reported. The move came after Putin threw the aircrafts' ownership into doubt by allowing them to be re-registered in Russia to avoid seizure under sanctions over Moscow's attack on Ukraine. The EU, home to major aircraft leasing companies, banned the sale or lease of aircraft to Russian carriers in February. Putin responded by approving the re-registration measure in March, which prompted suggestions foreign owners may never recover planes worth billions of dollars. China's air regulator asked all foreign carriers last month to update ownership information and other details, RBK said. It said Russian airlines that couldn't provide documents showing their aircraft were "de-registered abroad" were barred from Chinese airspace. (07:32 GMT) Russia has said that a US decision to supply advanced rocket systems and munitions to Ukraine was extremely negative and would increase the risk of a direct confrontation. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told state news agency RIA Novosti that Moscow views US military aid to Ukraine "extremely negatively". Ryabkov singled out US plans to supply Kyiv with its High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), a multiple rocket launcher system that Washington said it would supply to Ukraine as part of its latest military aid package. (08:26 GMT) Pope Francis has appealed to Russia to lift its blockade on wheat exports from Ukraine's ports, saying the foodstuff cannot be used as a "weapon of war". (08:38 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany will supply Ukraine with modern anti-aircraft missiles and radar systems following pleas from Kyiv as well as German opposition parties to step up heavy weapons deliveries to the country. Scholz told legislators in the Bundestag that the government had decided to provide Ukraine with IRIS-T missiles developed by Germany together with other NATO nations. He said Germany will also supply Ukraine with radar systems to help locate enemy artillery. "We have been delivering continuously since the beginning of the war," Scholz said, pointing to more than 15 million rounds of ammunition, 100,000 hand grenades and over 5,000 anti-tank mines sent to Kyiv since Russia invaded in late February. (09:13 GMT) Russian forces are now in control of about 70% of Severodonetsk, Serhiy Haidai the governor of eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region says. (09:38 GMT) Denmark's largest energy company says Russia has cut off its gas supply because it refused to pay for the fossil fuel in roubles. Danish energy company Orsted said it still expected to be able to serve its customers. Russia's move means that Denmark must purchase more gas on the European gas market, the company added. "We stand firm in our refusal to pay in rubles, and we've been preparing for this scenario," CEO Mads Nipper said. (10:10 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara has not yet received any concrete proposals to address its concerns over Finland and Sweden's NATO membership bids. He also said Turkey's objection to Stockholm and Helsinki's membership bids was not "opportunism" but rather a matter of national security. (10:47 GMT) Russia has accused the US of deliberately "adding fuel to the fire" by supplying advanced rocket systems to Ukraine. "The US is obviously holding the line that it will fight Russia to the last Ukrainian," Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters. He added that Moscow did not trust Kyiv not to use the weapons to fire into Russian territory. When asked how Russia would respond if Ukraine used US-supplied rockets to strike Russian territory, Peskov said: "Let's not talk about worst-case scenarios." (11:02 GMT) Portugal has sent 146 Marines to join a NATO force stationed in Lithuania as part of efforts to bolster the alliance's eastern flank in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The deployment includes divers specialising in deactivating mines and other explosive devices. (11:16 GMT) The Kremlin has warned the world could be on the verge of a major food crisis because of "illegal restrictions" imposed on Russia by Western countries and decisions made by Ukrainian authorities. "We are potentially on the verge of a very deep food crisis linked to the introduction of illegal restrictions against us and the actions of Ukrainian authorities who have mined the path to the Black Sea and are not shipping grain from there despite Russia not impeding in any way," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. (11:37 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential adviser has accused Europe and the US of having an "irrational fear" of Russia that is affecting their response to the conflict. Mykhailo Podolyak, a key negotiator for Ukraine during previous rounds of talks with Russia over ending the war, told the Interfax Ukraine news agency the political elites of the West "want to return to the pre-war period and do not want to solve problems". He added that their financial priorities took precedence in decision-making. (11:58 GMT) Poland's prime minister says his country will serve as an "economic hub" for neighbouring Ukraine, helping it export grain and other products while Russia blocks Ukraine's export routes, chiefly its ports. (12:50 GMT) Germany's foreign minister says Russia has adopted a strategy of flattening settlements from a safe distance in the Donbas. In a speech to the German parliament, Annalena Baerbock said Russia was fighting a war to "depopulate and extinguish civilisation" in the eastern Ukrainian region. "City by city, village by village, Russian troops are destroying them from a safe distance," she said. "First the missiles, then the warplanes with artillery, and then, when everything is flattened, the tanks roll in." Baerbock added that Berlin needed to supply Kyiv with more artillery, drones and air defence weapons as it attempts to hold off the onslaught. (13:14 GMT) HIMARS M142 are a high-tech, lightweight rocket launcher that is wheel mounted, giving it more agility and manoeuvrability on the battlefield. Each unit can carry six GPS-guided rockets, which can be reloaded in about a minute with only a small crew. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/1/what-is-himars-the-advanced-rocket-system-us-is-sending-ukraine (13:33 GMT) The Swiss government has vetoed Denmark's request to send Swiss-made armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, citing its neutrality policy of not supplying arms to conflict zones. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) said it had rejected Denmark's bid to provide Piranha III infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine. Neutral Switzerland requires foreign countries that buy Swiss arms to seek permission to re-export them. In April, it vetoed the re-export of Swiss-made ammunition used in anti-aircraft tanks that Germany is sending to Ukraine. It has also rejected Poland's request for arms to help neighbouring Ukraine. (14:07 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Washington's move to supply Ukraine with advanced M142 rocket launchers raises the risks of a "third country" being dragged into the conflict. Lavrov was responding to a question at a news conference in Saudi Arabia about the White House's weapons plans. (14:31 GMT) Legendary ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov has decried Russian President Vladimir Putin's "world of fear" and said true Russian values will live on "despite all your bans". Along with detective fiction writer Boris Akunin and prominent economist Sergei Guriev, Baryshnikov in March launched a fundraising charity in support of Ukraine called True Russia. (15:15 GMT) Blinken says Ukraine has assured that it will not use M142 long-range weapon systems provided by Washington against targets within Russia's borders. "There is a strong trust bond between Ukraine and the United States, as well as with our allies and partners," he said at a news conference in Washington, DC, alongside Stoltenberg. (15:29 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says he will convene a meeting in Brussels in the coming days with senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey to discuss Ankara's opposition to the two Nordic countries joining the transatlantic security alliance. (16:40 GMT) Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said his country is improving its transport infrastructure to ease the export of grain and other key products from neighboring Ukraine that has been severely restricted by "Russia's war". (17:01 GMT) Russia said it was moving to limit the damage from an EU oil ban as its other key energy export, gas, has fallen after Putin sent troops to Ukraine. "Sanctions will have a negative effect for Europe, us and the whole global energy market," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (17:54 GMT) US President Joe Biden has announced a new $700m weapons package for Ukraine, which will include longer-range rocket systems. "The United States will stand with our Ukrainian partners and continue to provide Ukraine with weapons and equipment to defend itself," Biden said in a statement. The US says it has received assurances from Kyiv that it would not use the precision HIMARS M142 rocket systems to hit targets inside of Russian territory. (18:24 GMT) Hungary is holding up the finalisation of the European Union's sanctions package against Russia, insisting on the removal of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill from the list of sanctioned individuals, three diplomats said. (18:54 GMT) A number of civilians are sheltering from Russian shelling under a chemical plant in the Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk and it is possible there are still stocks of dangerous chemicals at the facility, the regional governor told Reuters. "There are civilians there in bomb shelters, there are quite a few of them, but it will not be a second Azovstal as that (plant) had a huge underground city ... which isn't there at Azot." (19:15 GMT) Three Russian oligarchs, including Roman Abramovich, are seeking to overturn EU sanctions they have been slapped with, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) told AFP. The other two oligarchs alongside Abramovich trying to get the sanctions against them scrapped are Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven. (20:07 GMT) The Biden administration plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia, three people familiar with the situation said. The sale of the General Atomics-made drones could still be blocked by Congress, the sources said, adding that there is also a risk of a last minute policy reversal that could scuttle the plan, which has been under review at the Pentagon for several weeks. Ukraine has been using several types of smaller shorter range unmanned aerial systems against Russian forces that invaded the country in late February. They include the AeroVironment RQ-20 Puma AE, and the Turkish Bayraktar-TB2. But the Gray Eagle represents a leap in technology because it can fly up to 30 or more hours depending on its mission and can gather huge amounts of data for intelligence purposes. Gray Eagles, the Army's version of the more widely known Predator drone, can also carry up to eight powerful Hellfire missiles. (20:26 GMT) TASS China calls on the West to stop fueling conflict in Ukraine, cease pressure on Russia Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian pointed out that Beijing "is using various channels" to maintain contacts with all interested sides https://tass.com/world/1458949 (20:30 GMT) Interpol has expressed serious concern about the delivery of small and heavy weapons to Ukraine that can end up in the hands of criminals in Europe. Agency head Jurgen Stock urged countries supplying military equipment to Kyiv to focus on tracing mechanisms. "The wide availability of weapons during the current conflict will lead to the proliferation of illicit weapons in the post-conflict phase," he told the Anglo-American Press Association in Paris, as reported by Le Figaro news. (20:43 GMT) Between 60 and 100 Ukrainian soldiers are dying on the battlefield every day, and another 500 wounded, Zelenskyy told US newsgroup Newsmax in an interview. (20:42 GMT) Biden and his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will meet with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the White House on Thursday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said. Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he would convene a meeting in Brussels in the coming days with senior officials from Sweden, Finland and Turkey to discuss Turkey's opposition to Sweden and Finland joining the alliance. (21:11 GMT) Ukraine's Culture Ministry has documented 367 war crimes against Ukraine's cultural heritage, including the destruction of 29 museums, 133 churches, 66 theaters and libraries, and a Jewish cemetery, the Kyiv Independent has reported. (21:27 GMT) The White House has said that any offensive cyber activity against Russia would not be a violation of US policy of avoiding direct military conflict with Russia. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre commented on statements from US cyber command chief General Paul Nakasone, who told Sky News the US has conducted a series of digital operations in support of Ukraine. (21:45 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the national soccer team's win over Scotland in a vital World Cup playoff game, saying the victory would bring joy to soldiers fighting against Russia. Ukraine coach Oleksandr Petrakov has said his country's World Cup qualification playoff win over Scotland is a victory for his compatriots who "fight with every last drop of their blood". "We played for them, for those who fight with their last drop of blood, for those who suffer every day, we made baby steps towards our great aim," he said. (22:15 GMT) Ireland's Senate has passed a resolution declaring Russia's invasion of Ukraine an act of genocide, Chair of the Irish Senate Mark Daly has said in a tweet. The resolution follows similar moves in recent weeks by Canada, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Lithuania, and the Czech Republic. (23:32 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that 200,000 children are among the Ukrainians who have been forcefully taken to Russia and dispersed across the vast country. They include children from orphanages, children taken with their parents and those separated from their families. "The purpose of this criminal policy is not just to steal people but to make those who are deported forget about Ukraine and unable to return." (23:44 GMT) A regional governor in western Ukraine has said a Russian airstrike on transport infrastructure wounded two people Wednesday. Maksym Kozytskyy didn't name the target of the Russian strike near the city of Lviv. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the country's interior minister, said the Russians hit the Beskidy railway tunnel in the Carpathian Mountains in an apparent effort to cut a key railway link and disrupt shipments of weapons and fuel. The Lviv region has served as a key conduit for supplies of Western weapons and other supplies. (23:52 GMT) The Ukrainian Orthodox Church has said that two monks and a nun have been killed in the shelling of a historic monastery in eastern Ukraine. The church said in a statement that three monks were also wounded by Monday's shelling, which heavily damaged the Sviatohirsk monastery in the Donetsk region. It didn't give further details. The monastery, located on the steep right bank of the Seversky Donets River, is one of the most important historic Orthodox monasteries in Ukraine. (23:56 GMT) Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed solidarity for Ukraine in what she described as a "barbaric war" with Russia at an event on Wednesday, after months of silence prompted criticism of her own policy towards Moscow. A fluent Russian-speaker after growing up in the former communist East Germany, Merkel drew criticism from the US and others for supporting the planned Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, designed to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany. (23:56 GMT) TASS According to French General Dominique Trinquand, although war was being waged on Ukrainian territory, the conflict was rooted in confrontation between the US and Russia https://tass.com/world/1459113 20220602 (02:20 GMT) Russian forces in the now occupied Kherson region are scrambling to secure the vital ground line of communication the Ukrainians have threatened, the Institute for the Study of War (SW) has said. The ISW had previously noted that Russia had left vulnerable its position in Kherson as it threw everything at its attempts to capture the key Luhansk towns of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk. "Ukrainian forces carried out a series of organised counterattacks targeting settlements on the eastern bank of the Ihulets River that are very close to a key highway supporting Russian forces further north," the ISW said about the Kherson region. The institute added that the Russians destroyed the bridges Ukrainians had used to hold their line against anticipated counteroffensives. But "Ukrainian forces are likely still close enough to the highway to disrupt its use as a main supply route, potentially undermining the Russians' ability to hold against Ukrainian counter-offensives from the north." (04:47 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said that Gulf Arab states would not participate in sanctions against Russia and Belarus, China's CCTV has reported. Lavrov's comments came after a meeting with members of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates - in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday. CCTV reported that Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said during the talks that the Gulf states shared the same position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict and were very concerned about the impact of the conflict on world food security. (05:55 GMT) Novartis is resuming business in Ukraine after reviewing how safe it was to operate in the country that Russia invaded in February, the Swiss drugmaker has said. "After studying current safety protocols in the country, and on advice which we will regularly review, we have begun to resume business operations remotely to help the war-torn country restore some basic critical business processes," Novartis said on its website. (06:25 GMT) While Russia has taken most of the key city of Severodonetsk and continues to make steady gains, its forces have sustained losses in the process and risk losing momentum when they switch to focus on taking the neighbouring Donetsk region, the UK's ministry of defence has said. (06:34 GMT) Oil group OPEC+ is working on compensating for a drop in Russian oil output, Reuters reports two OPEC+ sources having said. (06:38 GMT) Slovakia will deliver eight self-propelled Zuzana 2 howitzers to Ukraine under a commercial contract which a state-controlled producer signed, the Slovak Defence Ministry has said. The Zuzana 2 howitzer, a modernised version of an older model, uses 155-mm rounds and has an effective range of 40 km to more than 50 km depending on the ammunition type. (07:30 GMT) The head of the African Union, Senegalese President Macky Sall, will speak with President Vladimir Putin in the southwestern Russian city of Sochi on Friday, his office has said. The visit, aimed at "freeing up stocks of cereals and fertilisers, the blockage of which particularly affects African countries", was organised after an invitation by Putin. Sall will travel with the president of the African Union Commission. (08:19 GMT) The regional governor of Lviv's district has said Russian cruise missiles struck and "severely damaged" railway infrastructure but did not hit a mountain railroad tunnel as previously stated. Maksym Kozytskyi said on Telegram that the missiles were launched on Wednesday from the Black Sea and hit between 10:45pm and 10:55pm. He added that five people have been injured, four of whom have been hospitalised. (09:12 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry has said that the European Union's decision to partially phase out Russian oil was likely to destabilise global energy markets. "Brussels and its political sponsors in Washington bear full responsibility for the risk of an exacerbation in global food and energy issues caused the illegitimate actions of the European Union," the ministry said in a statement. (09:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its military downed a Ukrainian Su-25 fighter jet in the Mykolaiv region. It also said in a briefing that it had struck command points of Ukrainian forces near Kharkiv. (09:29 GMT) Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod has said he expects Denmark to join the European Union's common defence policy after two-thirds of voters who cast ballots in a referendum supported abandoning a 30-year-old waiver that kept the EU country out. There are "a series of formal steps before Denmark can be admitted" to the defence agreement, Kofod said, including the Danish Parliament giving its approval of the referendum's result. (09:42 GMT) Ukraine already considers itself part of the European Union, Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in a video address to the Luxembourg parliament. "Ukraine has already become a de facto member of the EU," he said. "I believe that Ukraine is already showing by its actions that it meets the European criteria." (09:51 GMT) Ukraine is working with international partners to create a United Nations-backed mission to restore Black Sea shipping routes and export Ukrainian farm produce, foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko has said. "We call on countries whose food security may suffer more from Russian aggression against Ukraine to use their contacts with Moscow to force it to lift the blockade of Ukrainian seaports and end the war," Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. (10:11 GMT) The Kremlin has confirmed a Reuters report that Valentin Yumashev, the son-in-law of former Russian leader Boris Yeltsin, had quit his role as an unpaid advisor to President Vladimir Putin. (10:25 GMT) Russia has said US plans to sell Ukraine four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones that can be armed with Hellfire missiles for battlefield use against Russia would not change the parameters of what Moscow calls its military operation. "Pumping [Western] weapons into Ukraine does not change all the parameters of the special operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "Its goals will be achieved, but this will bring more suffering to Ukraine." (11:00 GMT) Russia does not plan to "close the window" to Europe, the Kremlin has said, as its relations with the West linger at new lows over the conflict in Ukraine. Asked whether difficult relations with Europe were turning the clock back on Peter the Great's efforts to open Russia up to Europe, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "We are not planning to close anything." Peter the Great, a tsar who ruled the Russian Empire from 1682 to 1725, oversaw Russia's transition to a major European power and founded the city of Saint Petersburg, dubbed Russia's "window to Europe". (11:46 GMT) Hungary's opposition to potential EU sanctions against the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, "has been known for a long time," Prime Minister Viktor Orban's press chief has told state news agency MTI. MTI cited Bertalan Havasi as saying that Hungary would keep to the agreement signed at the EU summit on sanctions earlier this week and that no one raised their voice against the Hungarian stance regarding Patriarch Kirill at the EU summit. (11:48 GMT) Sweden will provide Ukraine with more economic aid and military equipment, the Nordic country's defence and finance ministers have said. Finance minister Mikael Damberg and defence minister Peter Hultqvist told a news conference the military equipment would include anti-ship missiles, rifles and more anti-tank weapons. (12:09 GMT) Russia's war against Ukraine should not stop the world from tackling other pressing global crises, UN Environment Programme chief Inger Andersen has said. "The world has to learn to deal with multiple crises and not let go of one in favour of another," she told reporters at the two-day Stockholm+50 environmental conference in the Swedish capital. She cited the climate crisis and difficult issues surrounding biodiversity and pollution as "existential" threats that must be urgently faced. (12:36 GMT) The UK has pledged to send sophisticated medium-range rocket systems to Ukraine, joining the United States and Germany in equipping the embattled nation with advanced weapons for shooting down aircraft and knocking out artillery. British defence secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would send an unspecified number of M270 launchers, which can fire precision-guided rockets up to 80km. Ukrainian troops will be trained in the UK to use the equipment, he said. The decision to provide the launchers was coordinated closely with the US government, which said Wednesday that it would supply High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems to Ukraine. (13:30 GMT) Russian forces are trying to attack the east Ukrainian village of Berestove which lies on a main road linking the Luhansk region's city of Lysychansk to the rest of Ukraine, a Ukrainian general has said. Russia is close to capturing all of Luhansk, one of two Ukrainian regions that make up the Donbas. Russian forces are also trying to attack the town of Sviatohirsk in the Donetsk region, Reuters reports General Oleksiy Gromov told a media briefing. (13:47 GMT) Ukraine would consider switching off its Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that lies in Russian-occupied territory, if Kyiv loses control of operations at the site. Reuters cited Interfax news agency quoting an aide to the Ukrainian prime minister as saying on Thursday, "As long as the control commands are executed and the site maintains the regime, we are not stopping. But the scenario in which the station could move completely out of control and we stop it is also being looked at." The facility in southeast Ukraine is Europe's largest nuclear power plant. (14:09 GMT) Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister has expressed his gratitude to the US and his counterpart Antony Blinken for a new $700m weapons package for Ukraine. The new package will include artillery rocket systems, which can accurately hit targets as far away as 80km (14:35 GMT) Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, has said the supply of US advanced rocket systems to Ukraine increases the risk of a "third country" being dragged into the conflict. Lavrov's deputy, Sergey Ryabkov, said that US military aid to Ukraine increases the risk of a direct confrontation. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov added, "We believe that the United States is purposefully and diligently adding fuel to the fire." (14:45 GMT) The US Department of the Treasury has announced a host of new sanctions against a yacht management company and its owners, describing them as part of a corrupt system that allows Russian elites and President Vladimir Putin to enrich themselves. The Department of State is separately targeting additional Russian oligarchs and elites close to Putin, while the Department of Commerce is further restricting the Russian military's ability to obtain technologies. This includes adding 71 parties located in Russia and Belarus to the Entity List, effectively cutting them off from obtaining US-origin items or foreign-made products derived from certain US technology or software, a White House statement said. (15:22 GMT) The EU has removed Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, from its new sanctions list, AFP reports. Diplomats are cited as saying the was dropped from the list of sanctioned individuals, at the request of Hungary. (15:53 GMT) OPEC Plus has agreed to a larger increase in oil supply than planned for July and August. The group of oil-producing nations said on Thursday it would raise production by 648,000 barrels a day, an increase of about 50% over the 430,000 barrels a day agreed under a programme last year. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/6/2/opec-agrees-on-bigger-oil-output-hikes-for-coming-months (16:31 GMT) The European Union has given its final stamp of approval to fresh sanctions on Russian oil and top bank Sberbank, after disagreements with Hungary. EU leaders agreed to an embargo on crude oil imports that will take full effect by the end of 2022. Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic secured exemptions for the pipeline imports they rely on. The sixth round of sanctions also included cutting Russia's biggest bank, Sberbank, off from the SWIFT international transaction system. (16:48 GMT) Moscow has accused the son of a UK member of parliament from the Conservative Party of being involved in the killing of a Chechen brigade commander in Ukraine, The Guardian reported, citing a statement by Russia's National Guard. The statement said that one of its commanders, a Chechen named Adam Bisultanov, was killed on 26 May in a clash with a "group of mercenaries from the UK and the USA" that included the "son of a British parliamentarian," Ben Grant. This came after footage emerged of the British national, Ben Grant, fighting in the country. He is the son of Member of Parliament Helen Grant. (17:15 GMT) Ukraine's central bank has more than doubled its interest rates - from 10 to 25% - on Thursday, its first increase since Russia launched its invasion of the country on 24 February. The move by the Ukrainian central bank's governor, Kyrylo Shevchenko, is meant to try to stem double-digit inflation and protect the country's exchange rate. (18:02 GMT) Turkey has said that it will donate a combat drone to Lithuania to be handed over to Ukraine, after hundreds of Lithuanians crowdfunded nearly 6m euros ($6.45m) to buy it. Lithuania's defence ministry said that the manufacturer Baykar will deliver the TB2 advanced combat drone, painted in the colours of the Lithuanian and Ukrainian flags, in a few weeks. (18:47 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said on Thursday he was in close contact with Turkey to find a way forward to address Ankara's concerns over Sweden and Finland's bid to join the alliance. Stoltenberg was speaking outside the White House after meeting with US President Joe Biden. (19:05 GMT) The European parliament has announced that it has banned all Russian lobbyists from its premises, AFP reported. (19:51 GMT) The European Commission has opened the door for giving Poland billions of dollars in aid, which had been blocked during a dispute over judicial independence in the country. Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, said on Thursday that the executive body has endorsed a Polish plan to address concerns over the country's judiciary that would unfreeze coffers from a $38bn EU coronavirus recovery fund. "A first payment will only be possible when the new law is in force and ticks all the boxes under our contract," von der Leyen said, according to AFP. Poland's hard line against Moscow has thawed relations between Brussels and Warsaw. (20:15 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed "the urgency of continued support to Ukraine" in talks with his British counterpart, Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss. That support includes "vital humanitarian and security assistance", State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a readout of the call between the two leaders. "The Secretary reconfirmed the importance of transatlantic unity in holding those who support the Kremlin's war of choice to account, as well as ensuring vital agricultural commodities can leave Ukraine to provide the world critical food supplies." (20:24 GMT) The new US ambassador to Ukraine has said she gave her credentials to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, as the American embassy resumes its work in the capital, Kyiv. Bridget Brink hailed Zelenskyy as "a symbol of bravery and courage around the world". (20:35 GMT) The US has announced further sanctions on Russia, targeting an oligarch who heads a major steel producer, a yacht management company, the spokeswoman for the country's foreign ministry and a cellist. (20:45 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged the country's Western allies to provide more weapons to help Ukraine reach an "inflection point" and prevail in the war. Zelenskyy told Luxembourg's parliament via videolink that Russian forces now occupied about a fifth of Ukrainian territory, as the invasion entered its 100th day on Friday. (20:54 GMT) The United Nations' aid chief Martin Griffiths is in Moscow to discuss allowing exports of grain and other food from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, a UN spokesperson has said. Griffiths will meet Russian officials days after another senior UN official, Rebecca Grynspan, had "constructive" talks in Moscow with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov on expediting Russian grain and fertilizer exports. (21:22 GMT) The US has added 71 new Russian and Belarusian entities to its trade blacklist, including aircraft plants and shipbuilding and research institutes. The export restrictions include the Russian Academy of Sciences. In total, the Commerce Department has now added 322 entities to its economic blacklist for support of Russia's military since February. (21:45 GMT) Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Washington, in a meeting that focused on preparing for the NATO Summit scheduled to be held in Madrid at the end of June, the White House has said. (22:05 GMT) State Department spokesman Ned Price has defended the US's position that it has supplied Ukraine with advanced weapons after receiving assurances that country would not strike Russian territory. "We want to do everything we can to strengthen the hand of our Ukrainian partners, both on the battlefield but also at the negotiating table," Price said during a regular news conference. "But we also want to be careful to ensure that we are not doing anything or the international community is not doing anything that would needlessly prolong this conflict." (22:46 GMT) Some 60% of the infrastructure and residential buildings in Lysychansk, one of only two cities in the east still under at least partial Ukrainian control, have been destroyed from attacks, a local official has said. Oleksandr Zaika said 20,000 people are left in the city, down from a pre-war population of 97,000. Zelenskyy has said the situation in Severodonetsk was "the hardest right now", as well as in cities and communities nearby. "Lysychansk, Bakhmut and others. Many cities are facing a powerful Russian attack," he said in his nightly video address to the nation. (23:58 GMT) The US and its allies are vowing to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed by its forces since they invaded Ukraine on February 24. US Undersecretary of State Uzra Zeya told a UN Security Council meeting Thursday on strengthening accountability and justice for serious violations of international law that in nearly 100 days the world has seen Russian forces bomb maternity hospitals, train stations, apartment buildings and homes and even kill civilians cycling down the street. 20220603 (01:27 GMT) The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office have indicted a 47-year-old man for allegedly producing and distributing materials that justify Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Interfax reports. "A pre-trial investigation established that in March 2022, a Kharkiv resident made a poster that included the Z symbol used by troops of the aggressor state of the Russian Federation to identify their own forces involved in the aggression against Ukraine," Interfax quotes the the press service of the prosecutor's office having said on Telegram. (02:33 GMT) Russia's Pacific Fleet launched a week-long series of exercises with more than 40 ships and up to 20 aircraft taking part, Russian news agencies quoted the defence ministry as saying. (03:07 GMT) Ukraine's prosecutor general's office has begun an investigation into 10 Russian military personnel who looted the property of civilians in the town of Bucha, in the Kyiv region, when it was under Russian occupation. (03:17 GMT) The United Nations has confirmed 9,151 civilian casualties in Ukraine from the start of the conflict on February 24 until June 2. This includes 4,169 people killed and 4,982 injured, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in its latest civilian casualty update, noting that the actual figures are likely "considerably higher". (04:52 GMT) In the 100 days of Russia's invasion, more than 400km of roads have been damaged, and almost 70 schools and 50 kindergartens destroyed in the Luhansk region, the governor has said. (06:05 GMT) Russia will likely control the whole of the Luhansk region in the next two weeks, the UK's ministry of defence has said, adding that Russia controls more than 90% of the Luhansk region, one of the two regions that make up the Donbas. But although Russia currently appears to hold the initiative over Ukrainian opposition in the Donbas, Moscow's "tactical successes" have come at a "significant resource cost", the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. (06:29 GMT) The war in Ukraine has demolished the myth of Russian military might, cemented the Western alliance, bifurcated global finance and trade and devastated Ukraine's economy. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/3/russia-losing-the-war-in-ukraine-and-uniting-the-west-analysts "We're realising that firepower is the basic factor determining developments on the battlefield," said Konstantinos Grivas, a professor of geopolitics and modern weapons systems at the Hellenic Military Academy in Athens, Greece. "We've seen how important artillery is on both sides - nothing terribly advanced - multiple launch rocket systems from the sixties, and rockets ... with long-range and high accuracy and high destructive power." (07:37 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential advisor says Kyiv does not plan to use multiple-launch rocket systems it receives from the US to attack targets within Russia. "Ukraine is waging a defensive war and does not plan to use the MLRS to attack facilities in Russia," Mykhailo Podolyak said in a Twitter post. (08:14 GMT) Slovakia expects solidarity from the European Union to mitigate the impact of the bloc's sanctions on Russian crude oil, the country's economy ministry has said. Slovakia's sole oil refiner Slovnaft, a unit of Hungary's MOL, said on Thursday that the sanctions will end the refiner's oil product exports to key markets such as the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland after eight months and also hurt domestic customers. (08:44 GMT) The UNcrisis coordinator for Ukraine has warned there will be no victor from Russia's invasion of Ukraine as the conflict enters its 100th day and Moscow's forces press deeper into the country's eastern Donbas region. (09:13 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to Ankara has accused Turkey of being among a number of countries that Kyiv claims are buying grains that Russia stole from the country amid its invasion. Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar also told reporters he has sought help from Turkish authorities and Interpol to investigate who is involved in the alleged shipments of grains transiting Turkish waters. There was no immediate response to Bodnar’s remarks from either Ankara or Moscow. (09:31 GMT) NATO should consider granting Ukraine "de facto" rather than "de jure" membership of the alliance when it discusses its strategy for the next 10 years at an upcoming summit in Madrid, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says. "I think that if we are talking about the membership of Ukraine with NATO de facto, not de jure, it could be the good idea in this strategy," Reznikov told the GLOBSEC 2022 Bratislava Forum by video link. "Ukraine will be also part of the strategy because we also are the part of eastern flank of Europe, the eastern flank of NATO countries, eastern flank of the EU. I think it will be a win-win situation for all countries," he added. (09:45 GMT) Minsk is ready to allow the transit of Ukraine's grain to Baltic Sea ports via Belarus if it is allowed to ship Belarusian goods from these ports, the country's Belta news agency has quoted President Alexander Lukashenko as saying. In a telephone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Friday, Lukashenko said Belarus was ready to free up needed capacity on its railway for Ukraine's grain and proposed organising talks between Belarus, Ukraine and countries which are ready to provide access to their ports, Belta reported. (10:07 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it is summoning the heads of US media outlets in Moscow to a meeting next Monday to notify them of an impending response to US restrictions against Russian media. "If the work of the Russian media - operators and journalists - is not normalised in the United States, the most stringent measures will inevitably follow," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "To this end, on Monday, June 6, the heads of the Moscow offices of all American media will be invited to the press centre of the Russian foreign ministry to explain to them the consequences of their government's hostile line in the media sphere," she added. (10:22 GMT) More talks are needed to strike a deal on allowing exports from Russia as part of an envisaged accord to resume Ukrainian food exports, the United Nations crisis coordinator for Ukraine says. "There was in principle agreement from Russia that they will agree to that, however, there is more negotiation to be done to also ... facilitate the exports of Russia," Amin Awad, who also serves as an assistant secretary-general at the world body, told an online news briefing from Geneva. (10:36 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia will continue its self-described "special military operation" in Ukraine until all of its "goals" have been achieved. "One of the main goals of the operation is to protect people in the DNR and LNR. Measures have been taken to ensure their protection and certain results have been achieved", Peskov said, referring to the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic. The two breakaway regions of Ukraine have been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since early 2014. "Many settlements have been liberated from the pro-Nazi armed forces of Ukraine and directly from nationalist elements," he said, citing Russia's repeated description of authorities in Ukraine as neo-Nazis and nationalists (11:13 GMT) Photos: 100 days of war aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/6/3/photos-100-days-of-the-russia-ukraine-war (11:57 GMT) The head of the African Union has urged Putin to take into account the suffering in African countries from food shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Macky Sall, who also serves as Senegal's president, told Putin on a visit to Russia to "become aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theatre [of war], are victims on an economic level" of the conflict. He added that food supplies should be "outside" of Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over Ukraine. (12:21 GMT) Russia has accused Germany of throwing European security into imbalance by "remilitarising", as Berlin moves to boost its military spending in response to Moscow's invasion. In comments published in German newspapers this week, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Berlin would soon have the largest conventional army of NATO's European members. "We perceive the statement of the German chancellor as yet another confirmation that Berlin has set a course for an accelerated remilitarisation of the country. How could this end? Alas, this is well known from history," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Scholz pledged in February to sharply increase defence spending and inject 100 billion euros ($107bn) into Germany's armed forces, marking a major policy shift for the military after decades of attrition following the end of the Cold War. Politicians were expected to vote on the spending plan on Friday. (12:57 GMT) Ukraine has granted citizenship to a prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov and his wife Lydia who fled Russia after denouncing the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior official. (14:30 GMT) Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says Greece, an entry point for natural gas for the eastern Mediterranean, could play a key role in helping Europe achieve energy autonomy given its location and investments such as a new northern LNG terminal. (14:48 GMT) 100 days of war, 100 stories from Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/6/3/100-days-of-war-100-stories-from-ukraine (15:04 GMT) Hotel industry giant Marriott International Inc says it will suspend its operations in Russia after more than 25 years operating there. (15:13 GMT) Russia has announced travel bans on 41 Canadian citizens, including several members of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress, in retaliation for what it described as "anti-Russian" sanctions imposed on Moscow. Russia's foreign ministry said, "Entry into Russia is closed for [these] citizens of Canada, including heads of organisations supporting ultra-nationalist forces in Ukraine, as well as top military officials." The list of affected individuals includes several Canadian deputy defence ministers and members of Ukraine-linked organisations, such as the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and the Ukrainian World Congress. Russia had already blacklisted hundreds of other Canadian citizens prior to the move. (15:45 GMT) A French national who volunteered as a combatant in eastern Ukraine alongside the country's army was killed during fighting there, a spokeswoman for France's foreign ministry says. "We received the sad news that a Frenchman was fatally injured in fighting in Ukraine", the spokeswoman said in a statement. "We remind everyone that the whole of Ukraine is a war zone. In this regard, travel to Ukraine is formally advised against, for whatever reason." Many foreign fighters have responded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's appeal for volunteers to travel to the country to battle Moscow's forces. (16:24 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg by phone that Turkey's security concerns regarding Sweden and Finland's membership bids are based on just and legitimate grounds, Erdogan's office has said. (17:29 GMT) The Russian National Settlement Depository (NSD) has said it suspends operations in euros due to the latest EU sanctions, calling the situation an emergency. The EU has expanded sanctions against Russia and added the NSD, which Moscow planned to use to service the country's Eurobonds, to the list of sanctioned entities, an EU document showed. (17:41 GMT) Putin has denied that Moscow is preventing Ukrainian ports from exporting grain and said the best solution would be to ship it through Belarus, as long as sanctions on that country were lifted. Putin, saying reports of a Russian export ban were "a bluff", told national television that Western nations were trying to cover up their own policy mistakes by blaming Russia for problems on the global food market. "If someone wants to solve the problem of exporting Ukrainian grain - please, the easiest way is through Belarus. No one is stopping it," Putin said. "But for this you have to lift sanctions from Belarus." (17:51 GMT) Biden has said he thinks a "negotiated settlement" will be necessary to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Asked whether Ukraine should give up some of its territory to Russia in order to end the war and bring peace to the region, Biden said his policy continues to be that the US will not make any decisions about Ukraine without Ukraine. He said "it's their territory" and "I'm not going to tell them what they should and shouldn't do." (19:18 GMT) Ukrainian forces have recaptured around 20% of the territory they lost in the city of Severodonetsk during fighting with Russia, the head of the eastern region of Luhansk has said. "Whereas before the situation was difficult, the%age [held by Russia] was somewhere around 70%, now we have already pushed them back by approximately 20%," Serhiy Gaidai told national television. (19:28 GMT) UN aid chief Martin Griffiths "had frank and constructive discussions" with Russian officials in Moscow on facilitating exports of Ukraine grain from Black Sea ports, a UN spokesman has said. "We've said clearly what we can do and what we cannot do," Russian UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told Reuters. "We have not installed the mines in the coastal area, that was the Ukrainians. If they demine the area we are prepared to provide the safe passage for the ships carrying grain." When asked if a security arrangement could be reached to allow for the demining, Nebenzia said Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov planned to discuss the issue when he visits Turkey next week. (19:36 GMT) The Russian army is amassing forces for an attack on the city of Slovyansk in eastern Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian General Staff. The Ukrainian military said on Facebook that there were up to 20 Russian combat units with armoured infantry, artillery and air defence, numbering 600 to 800 soldiers. Slovyansk is part of the Donetsk administrative region in eastern Ukraine, which Russia has set its sights on completely conquering. (19:41 GMT) Top US General Mark Milley has met Finnish President Sauli Niinisto to pledge US support for Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership bids which Turkey is blocking. "It's clear, that from a military perspective, both Finland and Sweden, if their applications are approved, that they will bring a significant increase in the military capability of NATO," Milley told reporters travelling with him through Europe. (20:27 GMT) Putin has blamed the West for emerging global food and energy crises and repeated his government's offers of safe passage for ships exporting grain from Ukraine if mines are removed from the waters. He also said Western sanctions against Russia would only worsen world markets - reducing the harvest and driving up prices. He said inflation stemmed from the unprecedented dollar "printing press" during the coronavirus pandemic and blamed short-sighted European policies for under-investment in alternatives to traditional energy supplies and price increases. (20:36 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will visit Serbia on June 6 and 7 for official talks, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson has said. At a press briefing, Maria Zakharova said that Lavrov would also talk to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the Serbian Patriarch. Zakharova stated that the topics of discussion are expected to be bilateral political and economic cooperation, the situation in the Balkan region, as well as current international issues. Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is expected to discuss gas supply to Serbia. (20:36 GMT) After 100 days, the war in Ukraine has seen a significant drop in interest online, Axios has reported, citing a study conducted by social media monitoring platform NewsWhip. According to the report, news articles on the Ukraine war have decreased to 70,000 this week from 520,000 articles in the first week of the war. The figures also showed a 22-fold decrease in social media interactions on news articles published about Ukraine. According to the report, there were 4.8 million likes, comments and reshares this week of articles about the war, down from 109 million interactions the first week. (20:47 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it plans to summon the heads of US media outlets in Moscow to a meeting next Monday to notify them of tough measures in response to US restrictions against Russian media. "If the work of the Russian media - operators and journalists - is not normalised in the United States, the most stringent measures will inevitably follow," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. "To this end, on Monday, June 6, the heads of the Moscow offices of all American media will be invited to the press centre of the Russian Foreign Ministry to explain to them the consequences of their government's hostile line in the media sphere." A spokesperson for the US State Department said Washington supports access to media and the internet for Russians, who are being subjected to censorship by their own government. Washington has imposed sanctions against the most highly-viewed state-run Russian TV stations, accusing them of spreading disinformation to bolster Russia's war in Ukraine. (21:10 GMT) As the cost of food soars around the world, the United Nations warns that the war in Ukraine risks aggravating inflating prices and causing a full-on global food crisis. (21:40 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has called on allies to continue to arm Ukraine after "100 days of resistance, bravery and fortitude." "I want to thank our military, volunteers and the entire Ukrainian nation," Reznikov said in a tweet. "We appreciate the support of our foreign partners & ask for reinforcement of arms supply, artillery & MLRS, aircraft & air defence systems. Let's win this war!" (22:11 GMT) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his country's support for Ukraine's people "has not wavered" since Russia invaded Ukraine 100 days ago, "and it never will". "We'll continue to provide assistance, and make sure they have what they need to defend themselves," Trudeau said in a tweet. (23:44 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised his people victory, dismissing the threat from the Russian army. More than 100 days since Russia invaded, Ukraine continues to mount fierce resistance with Russia now focused on capturing territory in the east. "Victory will be ours," Zelensky said in a video address to mark 100 days of the war, saying he expected more "good news" on weapons shipments. He later dismissed the danger posed by the Russian military. (02:56 GMT) In its latest update on the fighting in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russia continued ground assaults in Severodonetsk on June 3 with "partial success" and while it could not confirm the exact control of terrain "Russian forces likely control much of the city". The US-based think tank said there had also been significant fighting around Popasna and Izyum, but that Russia had been unable to make any significant advances. (03:57 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called an immediate end to violence in a statement to mark 100 days since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine, and said the UN was ready to support diplomatic efforts to end the conflict. (04:58 GMT) Reuters is reporting fierce fighting in Severodonetsk on Saturday morning. Russia had reinforced its troops and used artillery to conduct "assault operations" in the city, Reuters said, citing Ukraine's military. But Russian forces had retreated after failed attempts to advance in the nearby town of Bakhmut, it added. (05:53 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is leaning toward attending a summit of leaders from NATO in late June to spur coordination with the West over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Kyodo News reported, citing unnamed government sources. The move would mark an unusually aggressive stance for a Japanese leader although Kishida has repeatedly condemned Russia over what he has described as a "war crime" against Ukraine. The NATO summit takes place on June 29-30 in the Spanish capital Madrid, likely overlapping with the campaign ahead of elections in Japan on July 10. (06:02 GMT) Ukraine's intelligence services are in communication with the captured Azovstal steelworks fighters and Kyiv is doing all it can to ensure their release, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy has said. "It is through them [intelligence services] that we are learning about the conditions of the detention, nutrition and the possibility of their release," Monastyrskiy said on Ukrainian television. "We all know that they will all be here, in Kyiv, and we are doing everything possible to do so." Russia said in May that almost 2,000 Ukrainians had surrendered after making a last stand in the ruins of Mariupol. Uncertainty has surrounded their fate after they were taken into custody. (06:11 GMT) Two Reuters journalists have been injured and a driver killed after the vehicle they were in came under fire while heading to Severodonetsk. Photographer Alexander Ermochenko and cameraman Pavel Klimov were travelling on Friday in a car provided by Russia-backed forces on the Russian-held part of the road between Severodonetsk and the town of Rubizhne. They were taken to a hospital in Rubizhne where they received initial treatment, Ermochenko for a small shrapnel wound and Klimov for an arm fracture. Reuters said it could not immediately establish the identity of the driver, who had been assigned by the separatists for the reporting trip. (07:00 GMT) The British defence ministry has said that Russia is using air and surface cruise missiles to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcement and supplies in the eastern region of Donbas. (07:22 GMT) Ukraine's State Emergency Services have removed 127,393 explosive devices, mostly from urban areas in the Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy and Zhytomyr regions. (07:57 GMT) A ship sent to load metal and transport it to Russia has entered the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, Moscow's TASS news agency has reported, citing a port authority representative. The ship was the second vessel to arrive in the southeastern city (08:53 GMT) Russian forces are blowing up bridges across the Seversky Donets river to prevent Ukraine bringing in military reinforcements and delivering aid to civilians in the town of Severodonetsk, the governor of the Luhansk region has saidince Russia completed its capture last month. (09:02 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has addressed the United24 platform presentation in Washington, saying that "ruins are all that is left behind by the Russians" and calling for international donations to help rebuild destroyed cities. "People need to have somewhere to return. Right now. Today. That is the reason I initiated the special United24 platform. It is not just fundraising. It is also one of the ways to prove to Russia that evil will not win," Zelenskyy said. Kyiv had announced the launch of the United24 global initiative in May. On its website, the platform is presented as "the main venue for collecting charitable donations" for Ukraine. (09:07 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces shot down a Ukrainian military transport plane carrying weapons and munitions near the port of Odesa. The ministry said Russian missiles also struck an artillery training centre in Ukraine's Sumy region where foreign instructors worked. Another strike destroyed a "foreign mercenaries'" outpost in the Odesa region. (09:23 GMT) Ukraine wants to strengthen its positions on the ground with the help of new weapons deliveries from the West before it resumes peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian negotiator David Arakhamia has said. "Our armed forces are ready to use (the new weapons)...and then I think we can initiate a new round of talks from a strengthened position," he told Ukraine national television. (10:50 GMT) European Union countries will be allowed to use money coming from the EU recovery fund, created to support post-pandemic economic growth, to boost their liquefied natural gas capacity (LNG), EU Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni has said. (11:48 GMT) An EU regulation allowing for temporary trade liberalisation and other trade concessions on certain Ukrainian products has gone into force, suspending import duties on all Ukrainian exports to the European Union for one year. (11:58 GMT) The governor of Russia's western Bryansk region has said that one man was slightly injured by shrapnel and two houses were set on fire after Ukraine's forces carried out strikes on a village. (12:17 GMT) Russia is pursuing its siege of the city of Severodonetsk with fresh reserve troops, according to a situation report by the Ukrainian military. "The enemy is undertaking attacks on the city of Severodonetsk with artillery support, it has strengthened its troops with the mobile reserves of the 2nd army corps, the fighting in the city continues," the report said. Military experts of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russia had gathered around 20 tactical battalions in the Izium region in order to advance on the Sloviansk region, home to half a million people before the war, an important target in the Donbas for Russia. (14:30 GMT) Ukraine announced the deaths of four foreign military volunteers fighting Russian forces, whose invasion has spurred a wave of solidarity abroad including from experienced combat veterans. The International Legion of Defence of Ukraine, an official volunteer brigade, announced the men from Germany, the Netherlands, Australia and France had died but did not specify when or under what circumstances. "We lost our brothers in combat but their bravery, their memory and legacy will forever inspire us." (15:36 GMT) Finland and Sweden joining NATO would put Russia in a difficult military position in the Baltic Sea, top US General Mark Milley said during a visit to Stockholm ahead of a military exercise. The two Nordic neighbours, which both have long borders on the Baltic Sea, applied last month to join the military alliance. Once approved, their membership would mean the Baltic Sea's coastline would, bar short strips around Russian cities Kaliningrad and St Petersburg, be encircled by NATO members. "So from a Russian perspective that will be very problematic for them, militarily speaking, and it would be very advantageous to NATO." (22:22 GMT) Zelenskyy said the main church at Sviatohirsk monastery, one of Ukraine's holiest Orthodox Christian sites had burned down following Russian shelling. (23:22 GMT) Russia's sanctions against Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries could cost German taxpayers and gas users an extra $5.4bn a year to pay for replacement gas, the Welt am Sonntag weekly reported, citing industry representatives. 20220605 (00:01 GMT) At this point the aljazeera live blog ends, <<== and is replaced by individual news stories, like for any other issue. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/4/kyiv-slams-macrons-remarks-not-to-humiliate-russia Ukraine has denounced French President Emmanuel Macron after he suggested it is imperative that Russia is not humiliated in its war to keep the door open for good diplomatic relations between the West and Moscow whenever the conflict ends. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/4/fighting-rages-in-two-key-eastern-ukrainian-cities The Ukrainian forces reversed a Russian advance in Severodonetsk and recaptured about 20% of the strategic eastern city over the past couple of days, the governor of Luhansk province said. Moscow, meanwhile, said Ukraine forces were retreating from the city after suffering heavy casualties. Now back again: (02:21 GMT) Bridget Brink, the US envoy to Ukraine, has visited Borodyanka, a town northwest of Kyiv where Russian forces have been accused of committing war crimes. "Borodyanka has suffered horribly," Brink said in a tweet late on Saturday. (03:32 GMT) Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, says he will host a meeting next week of a Contact Group set up to coordinate aid to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian attacks. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting will take place in Brussels on June 15, according to the Kyiv Independent, a Ukrainian news website. Lloyd said in a tweet that "defense leaders from literally all over the world will be there to discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine in the wake of Russia's unprovoked invasion". (03:35 GMT) The Reuters news agency says powerful explosions have been heard in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv. Citing a witness, the agency said smoke was seen in the city following the explosions. Kyiv's mayor says at least one person has been hospitalised. (05:50 GMT) Ukrainian forces have counterattacked in the contested city of Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine, Britain's defence ministry said. This move will likely blunt the operational momentum Russian forces gained by concentrating combat units and firepower, the ministry said in a tweet. (06:50 GMT) Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region where Severodonetsk is located, says control of the city is split in half between Ukrainian and Russian forces. (07:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi reporting from Kyiv said Russian missiles hit a major train hub, a repair centre for railway lines. "The strikes hit what they are saying is a repair centre but in the past when Russian missiles have hit areas like this whether it was in Kyiv or elsewhere in the country they have said they were targeting what they consider to be military targets," Basravi said. "Unconfirmed Local reports suggests there may have been an arms depot at the targeted site. The general staff said there were no casualties but one person was injured and taken to hospital." (07:39 GMT) Energoatom, Ukraine's state-run nuclear power operator, says a Russian cruise missile flew "critically low" over a major nuclear power plant. "It's probable that was the missile that was fired in the direction of Kyiv," the operator of the Pivdennoukrainska plant, also called the South Ukraine Nuclear Plant, said. (08:22 GMT) Bruno Le Maire, France's finance minister, says Paris is in talks with the United Arab Emirates to replace Russian oil purchases, which will stop after the imposition of a European Union ban on Russian crude. (09:03 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has warned the West that Russia would strike new targets if the United States started supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles, the TASS news agency reported. If such missiles are supplied, "we will strike at those targets which we have not yet been hitting," Putin was quoted as saying in an interview with Rossiya-1 state television channel. (09:51 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says Russian strikes destroyed tanks and other armoured vehicles on the outskirts of Kyiv that had been provided to Ukraine by European countries. The ministry's statement came after the Ukrainian capital was rocked by several explosions early on Sunday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/5/explosions-rock-ukraines-capital-after-weeks-of-relative-calm (14:18 GMT) Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has called for an intermediate stage between cooperation and full membership of the European Union for countries like Ukraine and Moldova. The so-called "preparatory space" would allow countries to reach the standards of the European Union, similar to the European Economic Area (EEA) or the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), Nehammer said. (16:25 GMT) Ukraine has denounced French President Emmanuel Macron after he suggested it is imperative that Russia is not humiliated in its war to keep the door open for good diplomatic relations between the West and Moscow whenever the conflict ends. Macron's comments raised the ire of Kyiv, which slammed the French president's position. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said bluntly the comments "can only humiliate France". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/4/kyiv-slams-macrons-remarks-not-to-humiliate-russia (17:39 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister has stressed that the country needed continuous military support from Western countries until it defeated Moscow's forces, as the war continues. "We have already entered into a protracted war and we will need constant support," Ganna Malyar told local media. "The West must understand that its help cannot be a one-time thing, but something that continues until our victory," she added. (19:03 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited front-line troops in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, according to his office, a week after a similar trip to the northeastern Kharkiv region. (19:39 GMT) Ukraine's military has reported that its forces repelled seven attacks in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, or Donbas, destroying four tanks and shooting down a combat helicopter. Britain's defence ministry said that Ukrainian counterattacks in Sievierodonetsk over the past 24 hours were likely to blunt any operational momentum Russia had gained. Moscow was deploying poorly equipped separatist fighters in the city to limit the risk to its regular forces, it said. (20:26 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to Serbia has been cancelled after countries around Serbia closed their airspace to his aircraft, according to a senior foreign ministry source quoted by the Interfax news agency. The source confirmed a Serbian media report that said Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro had closed their airspace to the plane that would have carried Moscow's top diplomat to Belgrade on Monday. "Our diplomacy has yet to master teleportation," the source said. There was no immediate comment from the Russian foreign ministry. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/6/russia-ukraine-war-lavrov-forced-to-cancel-serbia-visit (22:20 GMT) Ukraine loses 1-0 to Wales in World Cup qualifier match It was an agonising end to Ukraine's mission to qualify for Qatar while remaining under invasion by Russia. (22:37 GMT) Putin has lashed out at Western deliveries of weapons to Ukraine, saying they aim to prolong the conflict. "All this fuss around additional deliveries of weapons, in my opinion, has only one goal: to drag out the armed conflict as much as possible." He insisted such supplies were unlikely to change the military situation for Ukraine's government. If Kyiv gets longer-range rockets, he added, Moscow will "draw appropriate conclusions and use our means of destruction, which we have plenty of, in order to strike at those objects that we haven't yet struck". 20220606 (00:47 GMT) The US in mid-May sent an alert to 14 countries, mostly in Africa, that Russian cargo vessels were leaving ports near Ukraine laden with what a state department cable described as "stolen Ukrainian grain", the New York Times has reported. Russia has been seeking buyers among African countries for the grain stolen in Ukraine, the NYT report also said. Ukraine says Russia has stolen up to 500,000 tonnes of wheat, worth $100 million, since Moscow invaded in February. Most of the grain has been taken to ports in Russia-controlled Crimea, then transferred to ships, including some under Western sanctions. On Friday, Vladimir Putin met with the head of the African Union, President Macky Sall of Senegal. (01:39 GMT) Russian missiles strikes killed three people and injured another two in the Donetsk region on Sunday, the governor has said. Two people were killed in the town of Avdiivka and one in the town of Druzhkivka, Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram. (01:52 GMT) A Russian general was killed in eastern Ukraine, a Russian state media journalist said on Sunday, adding to the string of high-ranking military casualties sustained by Moscow. The report, published on the Telegram messaging app by state television reporter Alexander Sladkov, did not say precisely when and where Major General Roman Kutuzov was killed. (02:09 GMT) Britain has said it will supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80 km away, in a move coordinated with the US. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Britain's support for Ukraine would change as Russia's tactics evolved, explaining the gift of the M270 multiple-launch systems, which are similar to the systems the US is sending, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). (02:59 GMT) The website of Russia's Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities appeared to have been hacked, with an internet search for the site leading to a "Glory to Ukraine" sign in Ukrainian, Reuters has reported. (05:15 GMT) Russian aluminium producer Rusal has filed a lawsuit against global miner Rio Tinto, seeking to win back access to its 20% share of the alumina produced at a jointly owned refiner in Queensland, Australia. Rio stepped in to take sole control of Queensland Alumina Ltd (QAL) in April, sidelining Rusal and cutting its access to the refinery's output of alumina, a compound from which aluminium is derived. Rio owns 80% of the refinery, while Rusal owns the remaining 20%. Australia banned the export of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia in March following its Ukraine invasion. Rusal was not directly targeted by Australian sanctions on Russia, but Rio's actions were triggered by sanctions on oligarchs Oleg Deripaska and Viktor Vekselberg, who own stakes worth 25.6 % and 8 % respectively in Rusal. Rusal's Australian unit Alumina and Bauxite Company (ABC) said in a Australian Federal Court filing that the circumstances required for Rio to step-in to take control did not exist and amounted to a breach of obligations, according to the court documents reviewed by Reuters. (05:39 GMT) Russia has moved several air defence systems to Snake Island in the Black Sea, an activity which contributes to Moscow's blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders grain exports, the UK's defence ministry has said. "Following the loss of the cruiser Moskva in April, Russian forces have likely moved multiple air defence assets to Snake Island in the western Black Sea including SA-15 and SA-22 systems." These weapons are likely intended to provide air defence for Russians ships operating around the island, the ministry said, adding Russia's activity "contributes to its blockade of the Ukrainian coast and hinders the resumption of maritime trade, including exports of Ukrainian grain". (06:18 GMT) Ukraine's military says the Russian army has lost 31,250 personnel since February 24. The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces also said Russia lost 1,386 tanks, 3,400 armoured personnel vehicles, 690 artillery systems, 209 multiple-launch rocket systems, 551 cruise missiles, 96 air defence systems, 211 aircraft, 176 helicopters, and 13 ships and boats. (06:39 GMT) The governor of Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, says the village of Tetkino was shelled on Monday morning. "There were no wounded or dead. The main blow was inflicted on the local bridge, there is damage," Roman Starovoit said on Telegram. "The nearest two-story residential building with eight apartments and outbuildings nearby badly damaged. The roof of the house was slashed, the windows were completely broken. The car burned down. There is damage on the territory of the sugar factory." (06:55 GMT) The position of Ukrainian forces fighting in Severodonetsk has "worsened a little", the governor of the Luhansk region has said. "Our defenders managed to undertake a counterattack for a certain time; they liberated almost half of the city. But now the situation has worsened a little for us again," Serhiy Haidai told national television. (07:44 GMT) Explosions were heard in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych said in a post on Telegram. (08:55 GMT) Russia and the US should keep their respective embassies in one another's countries open despite the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine because the world's two biggest nuclear powers must continue to talk, the US ambassador to Moscow has been quoted as saying. John Sullivan told Russia's state-controlled TASS news agency that Washington and Moscow should not simply break off diplomatic relations. "We must preserve the ability to speak to each other," Sullivan said. His remarks were reported by TASS in Russian and translated into English by the Reuters news agency. (09:33 GMT) Ukraine's army says Russian forces are attacking along the entire front line in the country's southeastern Donetsk region as well as conducting offensive operations in the neighbouring region of Luhansk. (10:28 GMT) Moscow has denounced airspace closures by three eastern European countries which prevented Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov from travelling to Serbia as a "hostile action." Countries surrounding Serbia - Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro - closed their airspace to an official plane that would have carried Moscow's top diplomat to Belgrade on Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters such actions could cause problems with the timetabling of high-level diplomatic meetings. But they would not prevent Moscow from maintaining contacts with friendly countries, he added. (10:52 GMT) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the UN nuclear watchdog is "developing the modalities" for an international mission of experts it hopes to send to the Russian-held nuclear power plant at Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine, which is Europe's largest. (11:03 GMT) The Kremlin has said Russia is interested in talks with the United States over nuclear arms but cautioned that negotiations are unlikely to take place at this time. "We are interested and believe that continued negotiations and discussions on this topic, given the tectonic shifts that we are seeing... the whole world needs these kinds of talks," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (11:07 GMT) Zelenskyy says that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed a new package of military aid to Ukraine from the United Kingdom during a call between the two leaders. (11:14 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow will respond to Western deliveries of long-range weapons to Ukraine by pushing Ukrainian forces back, further away from Russia's border. "The longer the range of the systems that will be delivered, the further we will move back the Nazis from that line from which threats to Russian-speakers and the Russian Federation may come," he told a news conference, citing Russia's repeated description of authorities in Ukraine as neo-Nazis and nationalists. (12:43 GMT) At least 32 journalists have been killed in Ukraine amid Russia's offensive, Ukraine's culture and information policy minister says. (13:45 GMT) A Moscow court has fined United States-backed broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) 20 million roubles ($325,214) for distributing allegedly "fake" content about Russia's military operation in Ukraine, Russia's Interfax news agency reports. (14:37 GMT) Italy has summoned Russia's ambassador to protest against Moscow's criticism of Italian media outlets' coverage of the war. The Italian foreign ministry said in a statement it "rejected insinuations concerning the alleged involvement of our country's media in an anti-Russian campaign". (15:00 GMT) Investigative journalist Andrei Soldatov, known for his coverage of Russian security agencies, says that Russian authorities have placed him on a wanted list and frozen his bank accounts. Soldatov, who co-founded the Agentura.ru website, wrote on Twitter: "My Monday: my accounts in Russian banks are under arrest, plus I'm placed on Russia's wanted list." (15:41 GMT) A United Nations commission has increased its projection for poverty in Latin America and the Caribbean for 2022, citing economic disruptions caused by the conflict in Ukraine. Extreme poverty is projected to reach 14.5% this year, 0.7 %age point more than in 2021, according to a study published by the UN's Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). (17:02 GMT) The Russian occupation's administration in Mariupol has shut down the southern port city for quarantine over a possible cholera outbreak, Ukrainian authorities say. Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, said on Ukrainian television that the city is bracing itself for an epidemic as dead bodies and litter are piling up in the city on the Azov Sea. (17:17 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the payment of $81,500 to the families of each member of Russia's national guard Rosgvardia who died in Ukraine and Syria, Tass reports. (17:37 GMT) Russian billionaire and former owner of Chelsea football club Roman has been charged with exporting two US-origin planes to Russia without a licence by American authorities. (17:54 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned there could be as much as 75m tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine by this autumn because of Russian blockades, and that Kyiv wanted anti-ship weapons to secure the safe passage of its exports. Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has been discussing with Britain and Turkey the idea of naval help from a third country guaranteeing the passage of Ukrainian grain exports through the Russia-dominated Black Sea. However, the strongest guarantee of the safe passage of the grain exports would be Ukrainian weaponry, he said, according to Reuters. (18:23 GMT) Moscow has imposed sanctions on 61 US officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, as well as a number of leading defence and media executives, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday. (19:00 GMT) New car sales in Russia have sunk by 83.5% in May as the effects of Western sanctions hit the country's industry with parts shortages and spiralling prices. (19:42 GMT) UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence Pramila Patten has said Monday that she believes "unprecedented" displacement of millions of Ukrainians following Russia's invasion is "turning into a human trafficking crisis." "Women and children fleeing the conflict are being targeted for trafficking and exploitation - in some cases facing further exposure to rape and other risks while seeking refuge." (19:55 GMT) The Ukrainian navy has said it pushed back a fleet of Russian warships more than 100 kilometres from its Black Sea coast, where Moscow's ships have been carrying out a naval blockade for weeks. The Russian fleet was "forced to change tactics", the navy command of Ukraine's armed forces said on Facebook. "We deprived the Russian Black Sea Fleet of complete control over the north-western part of the Black Sea, which has become a 'grey zone'. At the same time, the enemy has adopted our tactics and is trying to regain control of the northwestern part of the Black Sea through coastal missile systems and air-based cruise missiles," the navy statement said. (21:54 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said there are "credible reports" that Russia is "pilfering" Ukraine's grain exports to sell for profit. (22:12 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for sending Ukraine "exactly the weapons" it needs to fight the war with Russia. Earlier, the UK said that, in coordination with the US, it will supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can strike targets up to 80km away as part of a new military aid package for Kyiv. (22:32 GMT) The US and its allies will keep providing "significant" support to Ukraine out of respect for the legacy of D-Day soldiers, whose victory over the Nazis helped lead to a new world order and a "better peace", the top US army general has said. In an interview with The Associated Press overlooking Omaha Beach in Normandy, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Russia's war in Ukraine undermines the rules established by Allied countries after the end of World War II. He spoke on the 78th anniversary of the D-Day invasion of Allied troops onto the beaches of France, which led to the overthrow of Nazi Germany's occupation. One fundamental rule of the "global rules-based order" is that "countries cannot attack other countries with their military forces in acts of aggression unless it's an act of pure self-defence", Milley told the news agency. "But that's not what's happened here in Ukraine. What's happened here is an open, unambiguous act of aggression." (22:45 GMT) The US has accused Russia of trying to "intimidate" American correspondents in Moscow, who were summoned by the Russian foreign ministry and threatened with reprisals because of US sanctions. "The Russian Ministry of Foreign affairs summoned your colleagues to quote, 'explain to them the consequences of their government's hostile line in the media sphere,'" State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters in the US capital. "Let's be clear, the Kremlin is engaged in a full assault on media freedom, access to information and the truth," he added, slamming what he called "a clear and apparent effort to intimidate independent journalists". (23:39 GMT) The Ukrainian government is working on legislation that would designate English as the language of business communication, the prime minister Denys Shmyhal has said. 20220607 (01:28 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he did not believe it would be in Russia's interests to torture Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered from the Azovstal steel plant and were being held as prisoners of war in Russian-occupied territory. Zelenskyy told journalists there were more than 2,500 prisoners from Azovstal in the occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions, adding that they were "public prisoners" whose condition was being monitored by international organisations. (01:38 GMT) Japan will freeze the assets of two more Russian banks and one more Belarusian bank as part of additional sanctions for Russia's Ukraine invasion, Japan's foreign ministry has said. (02:07 GMT) Around 60 % of Ukrainians need psychological help as a result of the war, Ukraine's first lady has said, adding that Kyiv was working on establishing a national support system. Elena Zelenska said that the figure was mentioned in a working group of the National Program for Mental Health and Psychosocial Support, which she said had gone from negotiations with first ladies of various countries and the World Health Organisation (WHO) to the creation of a specific action plan at the state level. (02:33 GMT) Russian forces likely retain control over most of Severodonetsk as of Monday, although the exact situation in the city remains unclear, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said, adding that the city's was likely frequently changing hands. (03:08 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the US has accused Washington of harassing Russian journalists in the US, state news agency RIA has reported. "Russian journalists sent to the United States are being harassed. They face direct bans on broadcasting on American soil. They have limited access to official events. The process of obtaining work visas is complicated. Bank accounts are blocked. Special services approach employees of our media, persuading them to cooperate" Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram, according to RIA. "Numerous attempts by the embassy to convey to ordinary US citizens our position on topical issues of international politics, with rare exceptions, are immediately rejected by local publications as 'malicious propaganda'. There is no possibility to publish materials even on a commercial basis," Antonov added. (06:51 GMT) A Fiji court has ruled a 106-metre Russian-owned superyacht Amadea be removed from the Pacific island nation by the US because it was a waste of money for Fiji to maintain the vessel amid legal wrangling over its seizure. (06:59 GMT) The EU's foreign policy chief has condemned a Russian missile strike on a Ukrainian grain terminal at the weekend, in the southern port city of Mykolaiv, saying it contributed to the global food crisis. (07:51 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom has said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 40.9 million cubic metres (mcm) on Tuesday versus 40.1 mcm on Monday. (08:17 GMT) A Moscow-appointed official in occupied Kherson has said that a referendum was likely to be held to declare the southern region's secession from Ukraine. (08:37 GMT) Take a 360 degree panoramic shot. Hold your cell phone camera steady. Close up on details. Comment on what you are filming. These are not instructions on the basics of filming. This is how a Ukrainian broadcaster has been instructing average Ukrainians to collect evidence on possible Russian war crimes. "People don't keep the original videos. They edit them, add certain marks, there's a risk that a court won't accept such a video. You must keep the original," lawyer Anna Vishnyakova told the TSN broadcaster. (08:40 GMT) Ukraine's grain, oilseed and vegetable oil exports have risen 80% in May month on month 1.743 million tonnes but the volumes are still significantly below the exports in May 2021, the agriculture ministry said. The ministry said corn dominated the shipment with 959,000 tonnes, while exports of sunflower oil totalled 202,650 tonnes. (08:56 GMT) Street fighting raged for control of Ukraine's flashpoint city of Severodonetsk, with the situation changing "every hour", an official has said, as Kyiv warned its troops were outnumbered by Russian forces. (09:14 GMT) A presidential aide has said that the Russian army may siege the strategic Ukrainian town of Sloviansk in the southeastern Donetsk region, while Ukrainian forces would either face a "defeat" or may have to retreat. (09:24 GMT) The Belarusian armed forces have begun taking part in combat readiness training, the country's defence ministry has said. (10:20 GMT) The recent European move against the Russian foreign minister, in which airspace closures forced him to cancel a visit to Belgrade, shows how isolated Serbia has become on the world stage, according to analysts. aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/7/lavrovs-cancelled-visit-a-diplomatic-scandal (10:21 GMT) "We agreed that we must strengthen defensive capabilities in the Baltic countries, by increasing the number of deployed troops, adding to air and maritime defence," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda told reporters after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the Lithuanian capital. Olaf Scholz says his country is ready to ramp up its military mission in Lithuania amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We are ready to strengthen our engagement and to develop it towards a robust combat brigade," Scholz told reporters, "We will defend every centimetre of NATO's territory." (11:21 GMT) Moscow will not be able to retain its military capabilities due to tough Western sanctions imposed as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. (11:37 GMT) A Ukrainian official has said that the population of the southern city of Mariupol occupied by Russia has shrunk from 460,000 to about 120,000. (11:59 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy must not be pressured by world powers into accepting a bad peace deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Boris Johnson has told his top team of ministers. At the cabinet meeting, British foreign minister Liz Truss also said London was readying further sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. (13:27 GMT) Russia has said Ukraine needs to remove sea mines near its Black Sea port of Odesa to allow grain exports to resume. (14:55 GMT) Russia's defence minister said on Tuesday that one can drive from Russia to Crimea via Moscow-occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. (15:43 GMT) Kyiv's ambassador is urging Israel to sell its Iron Dome rocket interception system and provide anti-tank missiles to defend civilians against Russia's invasion. At a news conference in Tel Aviv, Yevgen Korniychuk said Ukraine wants to buy the Iron Dome system, contending that the United States would not oppose such a sale. Korniychuk also said that last week Israel declined a US request for Germany to deliver Israeli-licensed "Spike" anti-tank missiles to Ukraine. Israel has limited its support for Ukraine to humanitarian aid and was the only country operating a field hospital inside the country earlier in the year. (16:10 GMT) The leaders of Lithuania and Estonia have hit back at a recent appeal by French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia should not be humiliated due to its invasion of Ukraine. "Russia has humiliated itself with this war," Lithuanian President Nauseda said after talks with German Chancellor Scholz and his Baltic counterparts in Vilnius. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said, "I don't think we should worry that much about what Putin or Russia feels. We should be more concerned about Ukraine holding out." (16:46 GMT) The Russian and Turkish defence ministers have discussed a potential grain exports corridor from Ukraine, as well as northern Syria, in a call, Turkey's defence ministry has said, as Ankara and Moscow gear up for talks between their foreign ministers. The call comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced two weeks ago that his country would launch new military offensives into northern Syria targeting the Kurdish YPG armed group. During the call, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that "the necessary response will be given to actions aimed at disrupting the stability achieved in the region and the presence of terrorists in the region is not acceptable", Turkey's defence ministry said in a statement. (17:05 GMT) Some 800 civilians have taken refuge in a chemical factory in Ukraine's strategic eastern city of Severodonetsk, according to a lawyer for Dmytro Firtash, whose company owns the facility. (17:54 GMT) The Russian central bank has said Russian residents and non-residents from "friendly" states will be able to channel foreign currency abroad equivalent to up to $150,000 a month, up from the previous limit of $50,000. (19:48 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has told the UK's Financial Times newspaper that a stalemate with Russia is "not an option". "Victory must be achieved on the battlefield", he said as he repeated his call for Western military support. "We are inferior in terms of equipment and therefore we are not capable of advancing," he told the paper. "We are going to suffer more losses and people are my priority." (20:20 GMT) The invasion of Ukraine was "a brutal attack ignoring human rights for which there is no excuse", former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. She said the attack was a big mistake, but also noted that there was never an option to create a security architecture that would have convinced Russia to seek an alternate path. <=== (20:54 GMT) The United States Treasury Department has banned American money managers from buying any Russian debt or stocks in secondary markets, on top of its existing ban on new-issue purchases. (21:43 GMT) The World Bank has said its board of executive directors approved $1.49bn of additional financing for Ukraine to help pay wages for government and social workers, expanding the bank's total pledged support for Kyiv to over $4bn. The World Bank said in a statement that the latest round of funding for Ukraine is supported by financing guarantees from Britain, the Netherlands, Lithuania and Latvia. The project is also being supported by parallel financing from Italy and contributions from a new Multi-Donor Trust Fund. (22:02 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said it is "virtually impossible" for the United States to insulate itself from oil market shocks such as those caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, so it is important to shift toward renewable energy sources. (22:25 GMT) More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered in the city of Mariupol have been transferred to Russia for investigation, Tass news agency has cited a Russian law enforcement source as saying. Later on, more Ukrainian prisoners will be transferred to Russia, the source told Tass. Ukraine has said it is working for all the prisoners to be returned while some Russian legislators say they should be put on trial. 20220608 (00:04 GMT) Zelenskyy says Russian forces have made no significant advances in the eastern Donbas region over the past day, despite the fact the Russian defence minister said that Moscow's forces now control 90% of the Luhansk region. (00:22 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told an online summit on digital democracy that Russia was using information as a weapon of war. (01:06 GMT) The next winter in Ukraine will be "the most difficult" since the country gained independence in 1991, Zelenskyy has said adding that Kyiv was setting up a headquarters to centralise the running of the next heating season. "At this time, we will not be selling our gas and coal abroad. All domestic production will be directed to the internal needs of our citizens," he added. He also said that ministers were working on repairing thermal power plants, combined heat and power plants and boiler houses which were damaged in the war. (01:11 GMT) Satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies collected on Monday shows significant damage and destruction in the city of Severodonetsk and nearby Rubizhne. (01:36 GMT) The first 15 outlets of the rebranded "McDonald's" will open in Moscow and the region on June 12, Tass news reports citing a statement from the newly licensed company. McDonald's pulled out of Russia in May and sold the license for all 850 restaurants across the country to local businessman Alexander Govor. "The chain will operate under a new brand and with new menu names, and all employees will retain jobs 'under equivalent terms' for at least two years." (02:37 GMT) Under heavy pressure from Western sanctions and airspace bans, Russian state flagship airline Aeroflot plans to raise up to 185.2 billion roubles ($3 billion) in an emergency share issue, it has said. (03:37 GMT) Russia's former president and deputy chairman of its security council has made some strong remarks against his enemies, calling them "bastards" and saying he would do his "best to make them disappear". "I am often asked why my posts on Telegram are so sharp. I answer - I hate them. They are bastards and freaks. They want death for us, Russia. And while I'm alive, I'll do my best to make them disappear," Dmitry Medvedev wrote on Telegram. Medvedev - whose posts often contain derisive language against Europe, the US and Ukraine - did not specify who his words were directed at. In previous posts, Medvedev has called European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen "Europe's auntie Ursula", referred to NATO's policies as "cosmic cretinism", labelled Ukrainian officials "mongrels" and said Zelenskyy's eyes are often "burning with stimulants". (04:48 GMT) The US has taken command of the Russian-owned superyacht Amadea in Fiji and sailed it away from the South Pacific nation after winning a legal battle on Tuesday to seize a the $325 million vessel. (05:00 GMT) US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman met with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Dmytro Senik in Seoul on Tuesday. (05:10 GMT) Veteran Russian cosmonaut Valery Ryumin, who set space endurance records on Soviet missions, then returned to orbit after a long absence to fly on a US space shuttle, has died at the age of 82. Ryumin went into space four times, including to the space stations Salyut-7 and Mir after becoming a cosmonaut in 1973. He logged a total of 371 days in space in two short missions and two record-setting long-duration flights. "We have lost a comrade and a friend," Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Roscosmos space agency, said in a statement. "This is an irreparable loss for all of us. I express my deepest condolences to the family and friends of Valery Viktorovich. The memory of him will forever remain in our hearts." Pic: Front row: Charlie Precout (US), Talgat Musabayev (Russia), Nikolai Budarin (Russia), Dominic Gorie (US), Valery Ryumin (Russia). Back row : Janet Kavandi (US), Andy Thomas (US). The crew of Russia's orbiting Mir station prepare for the undocking of the US shuttle Discovery that will end an era in US-Russian cooperation in space. 8 June 1998 [Reuters] (05:49 GMT) Norway has donated 22 self-propelled howitzers to Ukraine, including spare parts, ammunition and other gear, the Norwegian defence ministry said. "The Norwegian government has waited to publicly announce the donation for security reasons. Future donations may not be announced or commented upon," it said in a statement. (05:56 GMT) After forcefully aligning the self-declared administration of occupied Kherson with Russia, Moscow is "highly likely" to claim the region as "evidence" of improving Ukrainian living standards, the UK's defence ministry has said on Twitter. "In the occupied Kherson region, Russia is forcibly aligning its administration with that of the Russian Federation by introducing the Russian rouble as legal tender and employing Russian teachers to introduce the Russian curriculum and language to schools," "Russia will highly likely claim its occupation of Kherson as evidence of delivering improved governance and living standards to the Ukrainian people," it added. (06:19 GMT) Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has lost an appeal contesting the decision by penitentiary officials to label him as "inclined to commit crimes of a terrorist or extremist nature." Navalny, who has been behind bars since January 2021, was first designated by the penitentiary authorities as a flight risk, which implied additional checks and inspections in prison. But in October last year officials replaced that label with the "terrorist or extremist" one. (07:30 GMT) The square near the US embassy's building in Moscow will be named after the separatist "People's Republic of Donetsk," Russian media reports. RIA Novosti reported that 45% of participants in an online poll voted in favour of the name change, while 32% voted for it to be named after "The defenders of Donbas," the region in eastern Ukraine partially controlled by pro-Moscow separatists since 2014. (07:52 GMT) Grain shipments will resume from Ukraine's Russian-occupied Black Sea port of Berdyansk this week after work was completed to de-mine it, Russia's TASS news agency has cited local authorities as saying. (08:05 GMT) Referendum in Zaporizhzhia to be held this year: Russian official A Russia-appointed official in the partially-occupied southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhzhia said a referendum on joining Russia will be held before the end of the year. "The overwhelming majority of our region's residents want to come back to the motherland and become part of big Russia," Kirill Rogov, a former journalist who is now part of Russia's administration in the area, was quoted by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency as saying. "The sooner we become Russia, the faster our lives will improve." (08:10 GMT) The governor of Luhansk, Serhiy Haidai, has warned that Ukrainian forces may have to pull back to stronger positions in the embattled eastern city of Severodonetsk as they attempt to defend it from Russian troops, but vowed Kyiv's forces will not surrender it to Moscow's control. (09:11 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister has described a UN plan to open a corridor to restart Ukrainian grain exports as reasonable but said the proposal requires more talks with all sides to ensure ships would be safe. Cavusoglu told reporters at a news conference in Ankara that he had held fruitful discussions on the issue with Lavrov, who was on a visit to the Turkish capital. (09:46 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has said the onus is on Ukraine to solve the problem of resuming grain shipments by de-mining its ports. Addressing reporters in Ankara following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu, Lavrov claimed no action was required on the Russian side because it had already made the necessary commitments. "We state daily that we're ready to guarantee the safety of vessels leaving Ukrainian ports and heading for the [Bosphorus] gulf, we're ready to do that in cooperation with our Turkish colleagues," he said. "To solve the problem, the only thing needed is for the Ukrainians to let vessels out of their ports, either by demining them or by marking out safe corridors, nothing more is required." Lavrov alleged the main problem was that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had "categorically refused" to resolve the issue of the mined ports and said he appreciated Turkey's efforts in looking for ways to resolve the situation. (10:00 GMT) Ivan Fyodorov the mayor of Ukraine's Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol has alleged that more than 500 local residents have been kidnapped for having a pro-Ukrainian stance. (10:21 GMT) Moscow-appointed authorities will start issuing Russian passports to the residents of Ukraine's partially occupied, southeastern region of Zaporizhia on Sunday, Russia's TASS news agency has reported (10:27 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he raised the issue of Russia's compliance with international rules governing the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) during a phone call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. (10:34 GMT) The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it has seized the assets of a major concrete company owned by one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest allies. The company is one of Ukraine's largest producers of concrete construction materials, and its owners are Russian businessmen who financed separatists in the Donbas region, the SBU said. (11:05 GMT) Moscow says that sanctions on Russia must be lifted if it is to deliver grain to international markets. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters that "no substantive discussions" about lifting sanctions were continuing, however. Peskov also said there are no grounds for Russia to default on its debts, as the country struggles to make interest payments to bondholders because of the measures imposed by an array of Western countries. (11:35 GMT) Italy's foreign minister has warned that millions of people could die of hunger unless Russia unblocks Ukraine's ports, with tens of millions of tonnes of grain currently sitting in silos in the country. (11:37 GMT) Moscow will respond to France's decision to ban some Russian television channels, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry says. "The foreign ministry will react to such actions, and a response to this will be given," Maria Zakharova told reporters, without specifying which measures would be taken. Her remarks came after Russia on Monday reportedly warned US news organisations they risked being stripped of their accreditation unless the treatment of Russian journalists in the US improves. (12:33 GMT) A Moscow-backed official in Ukraine's partially occupied southeastern region of Zaporizhia says that Russia has begun shipping wheat to Turkey and Middle Eastern countries. "We are sending the wheat via Russia, most of the contracts have been made with Turkey," Yevgeny Balitsky, head of the Moscow-installed military-civilian administration in the occupied areas, told Russia's Rossiya 24 news channel. (13:17 GMT) The world economy will pay a "hefty price" for the war in Ukraine encompassing weaker growth, stronger inflation and potentially long-lasting damage to supply chains, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD has warned. (13:50 GMT) Russia has restored railway links between the annexed Crimean Peninsula and southern Ukraine, according to a Moscow-backed official. Oleg Kriuchkov, an adviser to the Moscow-installed head of Crimea, told Russia's RBC news agency that a train carrying grain had arrived in Crimea from Ukraine's Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol, marking the first such journey since the peninsula was seized by Russian forces in early 2014. (14:33 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai says Ukrainian forces have been pushed back to the outskirts of Severodonetsk by intense Russian bombardment on the city. (14:55 GMT) There are big hurdles to a United Nations plan to set up a sea corridor for Ukrainian grain exports overseen by Ankara. The difficulties include persuading Russia to ease its blockade of Ukrainian ports, convincing Kyiv to clear mines it has laid and reassuring shipping and insurance companies that the corridor is safe to use. aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/8/un-plan-to-get-ukraine-grains-out-faces-hurdles The Ukrainian rail system operates on a different gauge from European neighbours such as Poland, so the grain has to be transferred to different trains at the border where there are not many transfer or storage facilities. (15:15 GMT) Canada has announced new sanctions on Russia, banning the exports of 28 services, such as accounting and advertising, that are needed for the operation of Russian oil, gas and chemical industries. (15:44 GMT) The Arctic Council countries have announced they will resume limited internal cooperation that excluded Russia. The countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the United States - halted all meetings in the Council on March 3 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (16:35 GMT) UN chief Antonio Guterres has said that the consequences for the world of Russia's invasion of Ukraine are worsening, affecting 1.6 billion people. "The war's impact on food security, energy and finance is systemic, severe, and speeding up," the Secretary-General said, presenting the UN's second report into the repercussions of the conflict. (17:36 GMT) Russian forces control most of the strategic Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk and are heavily shelling the twin city of Lysychansk, causing major damage, the governor of Luhansk region has said. (18:06 GMT) Ukraine hopes to make 1.5 billion euros from electricity exports to the European Union by the end of the year and earn to more in the future after obtaining the right to export its energy there, a Ukrainian energy ministry adviser has said. Ukraine applied in March to join European energy system ENTSO-E as soon as possible and on Tuesday it received the right to export its energy to Europe, Ukrenergo said. All the required Ukrainians lines are ready to export electricity to Romania, Hungary, Slovakia and Poland, said Lana Zerkal, an adviser to the energy minister, in an interview with the Suspilne public television channel. (19:19 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said defenders in the city of Sievierodonetsk were inflicting major losses on Russian troops during what he called a very fierce and very difficult battle. "In many respects, the fate of the Donbas is being decided there." (20:32 GMT) Russia stepped up its campaign against domestic opponents of its invasion, extending the detention of Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr, a journalist Russia accuses of spreading "false information" about Russia's military. Russia previously adopted a law criminalising "false information" about the war, punishable by up to 15 years in prison. Amid pressure to come out in support of the war, some public figures have fled the country. Pinchas Goldschmidt, the chief rabbi of Moscow, fled to Israel following pressure to make public statements in support of the invasion. (20:40 GMT) The United Nations says it is pursuing a deal that would allow grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea and unimpeded access to world markets for Russian food and fertilisers. (20:42 GMT) Hard hit by sanctions, Russia's economy will shrink by 15% this year and another 3% in 2023, wiping out 10 years of economic gains, the Institute of International Finance, a global banking trade group, said in an analysis. (21:06 GMT) Workers are removing bodies from the ruins of high-rise buildings in the devastated Ukrainian port city of Mariupol and transporting them in an "endless caravan of death", a mayoral aide says. Petro Andryushchenko said on the Telegram app that in a search of about two-fifths of the buildings they have found from 50 to 100 bodies in each. They are taking the bodies to morgues and landfills. Ukrainian authorities estimate at least 21,000 civilians were killed and hundreds of buildings destroyed during a weekslong Russian siege of Mariupol. Reports have surfaced of mass graves holding thousands of bodies. (21:53 GMT) Two British nationals and a Moroccan who were captured while fighting for Ukraine could face the death penalty after pleading guilty in a court of one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine, Russia's RIA news agency has reported. Video published by RIA showed Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun in a courtroom cage with white bars. RIA said Pinner and Saadoun had pleaded guilty to actions aimed at the violent seizure of power. (22:19 GMT) Russia has launched at least 2100 missiles against Ukraine since the start of the invasion, according to information collected by Visegrad. More than 600 of the missiles were launched from Belarus. Visegrad, a cultural and political alliance of four the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia, published a time lapsed video with a map of Ukraine showing where the missiles landed. (22:40 GMT) A UN report has said the war in Ukraine is increasing the suffering of millions of people by escalating food and energy prices, coming on top of ills from a growing financial crisis, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. The report by the UN Global Crisis Response Group said the war "has exacerbated a global cost-of-living crisis unseen in at least a generation" and is undermining the UN goal of ending extreme poverty around the world by 2030. (23:51 GMT) Ruslan Stefanchuk, the speaker of Ukraine's parliament, made a plea for his country to become a candidate for European Union membership, a move that would bring his nation closer to the EU without guaranteeing its admittance. Some 438 members voted in favour of the resolution to make Ukraine a candidate, 65 voted against and 94 abstained. 20220609 (00:02 GMT) Volkswagen s offering pay-offs to employees at one of the company's two plants in Russia if they agree to quit voluntarily, the Kommersant newspaper has said, citing union sources. The paper said the offer - which in some cases would amount to six months' salary - was aimed at the 200 people working at the Nizhny Novgorod plant. (00:20 GMT) Russia and Turkey have voiced support for a safe corridor in the Black Sea to allow Ukrainian grain exports, but Kyiv has rejected the proposal, saying it was not credible. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu hosted his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Ankara on Wednesday for discussions focused on a US proposal to free Odesa and Ukraine's other Black Sea ports. Putin previously pledged that Moscow wouldn't use the safe corridors to launch an attack, but both Ukrainian and EU officials cast doubt on the pledge. Lavrov said Wednesday that Russia is ready to formalise the guarantee for Odesa. He promised that Moscow would not "abuse" its naval advantage if Ukraine removed mines from its ports and would "take all necessary steps to ensure that the ships can leave there freely." (01:09 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that for Russia to join in negotiations to end the war "is simply not possible now because Russia can still feel its power." Speaking via a video link to US corporate leaders Wednesday, through a translator, he added: "We need to weaken Russia and the world is supposed to do it." Zelenskyy said Ukraine is doing its part on the battlefield and called for even tougher sanctions to weaken Russia economically. He told the business leaders: "We need to switch Russia off the global financial system completely." He also said Ukraine is willing to negotiate with Russia to end the war - but "not at the expense of our independence." (02:46 GMT) Decisions taken by the Arctic Council without the participation of Russia will be illegitimate and violate the principle of consensus, Russia's ambassador to the US has said, according to Tass news. "It is simply impossible to effectively resolve the problems of the far north without Russia," Anatoly Antonov was quoted as saying in the Telegram channel of Russia's US embassy. He said this was because Russia occupied about 60% of the region. (02:57 GMT) An adviser to Zelenskyy's office has said Russian troops had changed their tactics in the battle for Severodonetsk. Oleksiy Arestovych said Wednesday that Russian soldiers had retreated from the city and were now pounding it with artillery and air attacks. As a result, he said, the city centre is deserted. In his daily online interview, Arestovych said: "They retreated, our troops retreated, so the artillery hits an empty place. They are hitting hard without any particular success." (03:56 GMT) Russian forces are using psychological tactics to damage the morale of Ukrainian soldiers, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. ISW cited several sources for its assessment, including Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR), which said Wednesday that Russian forces were sending threatening messages to Kyiv's soldiers' "calling on them to betray their service oaths, lay down their arms, surrender, or defect to Russia." (04:10 GMT) The US and China are expected to use the upcoming Shangri-La Dialogue - which attracts top-level military officials, diplomats and weapons makers from around the globe - to trade blows over everything from Taiwan's sovereignty to the war in Ukraine, Reuters reports. On the sidelines of the summit, to take place June 10-12 in Singapore, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chinese Minister of National Defence General Wei Fenghe are expected to hold their first face-to-face meeting since Biden took office more than two years ago. Although the summit is focused on Asian security issues, Russia's invasion of Ukraine will remain central to discussions. Ukraine will send a delegation to the meeting but the Russians will not be attending, a source familiar with the list of attendees told Reuters. (05:10 GMT) China's telecommunications giant Huawei has begun closing its retail outlets in Russia in part due to a decrease in demand, Moscow's state news agency RIA has reported citing a source close to the company. According to RIA, four out of Russia's 19 stores have now closed and RIA says it is likely the rest will soon follow. A shortage of products in warehouses was another reason given by the source. (06:30 GMT) Russian forces have resumed their efforts to advance to the south of the town of Izyum, an offensive that has been stalled since April, the UK's defence ministry says. The ministry says that Russia likely tried to reconstitute its eastern ground forces involved in the Izyum operation after they "suffered very heavy casualties in the failed advance on Kyiv, but its units likely remain understrength." "Russia likely seeks to regain momentum in this area in order to put further pressure on Severodonetsk, and to give it the option of advancing deeper into the Donetsk Oblast," the ministry says. (08:50 GMT) Ukrainian forces still hold the industrial zone and adjacent areas in the city of Severodonetsk, and the situation is "difficult but manageable", according to Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk. He said defence lines were holding despite intense Russian artillery fire but that it was now impossible to evacuate people from Severodonetsk. He said about 10,000 civilians remained in the city, which is now the main focus of Russia's offensive in Ukraine. (09:12 GMT) Ukraine's Zelenskyy has told the OECD that Russia's invasion of his country posed a huge threat of pollution to water basins, including the Sea of Azov. (09:40 GMT) Western long-range artillery would enable Ukraine to beat Russian forces and capture Severodonetsk within days, according to Lugansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday. (10:35 GMT) The Kremlin has said it does not expect Gazprom to cut gas supplies to any more European customers, adding that its scheme to make buyers pay for their gas in roubles was functioning as intended. (11:45 GMT) The Kremlin has said no agreement was reached with Turkey on exporting Ukrainian grain shipments across the Black Sea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that work was continuing. Turkey has been pushing for an agreement between Russia and Ukraine on a plan to resume grain exports from Ukrainian ports, although prospects for a deal look dim, with each side blaming the other for disrupting global food supplies. (12:16 GMT) Ukraine needs assurances that its ports will not be attacked in order to ship out grain cargoes, according to Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi. "We have to offer President Zelenskyy the assurances he needs that the ports will not be attacked," he added. (12:50 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz has discussed updating NATO's strategic aims in the light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in a phone call with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. The two were set to meet in person in Berlin on Thursday but had to switch to speaking remotely after Stoltenberg was diagnosed with shingles. (14:02 GMT) A court in the separatist "People's Republic of Donetsk" has sentenced two UK nationals and one Moroccan to death. Britons Shaun Pinner, Aiden Aslin and Moroccan Saadun Brahim served in the 36th Paratroopers' Brigade and were captured while fighting in the southeastern Donbas region, the Donetsk News Agency reported. It claimed that "the mercenaries' actions led to deaths and wounds of civilians". The defendants said they would appeal the sentence within a month. (14:31 GMT) Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov and his French counterpart, Thierry Burkhard, have held a phone call and discussed the situation in Ukraine and West Africa's Sahel region, the Tass news agency reports. (14:34 GMT) The European Commission has announced the bloc will provide another $219.3m to Ukraine to combat the humanitarian crisis in the country. (15:02 GMT) In a video report released in early May by the Kremlin-funded RT broadcaster, Briton Shaun Pinner, who has been sentenced to death by a court in the separatist People's Republic of Donetsk, is seen talking about how he was captured in the "industrial zone" of Mariupol. "Everyone started running in different directions, my commander seemed to have evaporated, I still don't know what happened to those who were with me," he said, according to a Russian translation of his words. His speech is barely discernible. He said his military unit received an order to leave on an unspecified "Tuesday, at 4am". "It was dark, we took the wounded with us. Mortar and artillery shelling began, military aviation worked, panic began. I had no idea we were surrounded," he said according to the translation. The UK is deeply concerned by the death sentences passed down to two British men by a court of the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic and will work to try to secure their release, a spokesman for Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. "Under the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity, and they should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities. So we will continue to work with Ukrainian authorities to try and secure the release of any British national who was serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and who are being held as prisoners of war." UK Foreign Minister Liz Truss has condemned the death sentences passed down to two British men, calling it a sham judgement. "I utterly condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine," she said on Twitter. "They are prisoners of war. This is a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy." (15:04 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has reportedly claimed to have destroyed a training centre for "foreign mercenaries". Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying that a strike of high-precision missiles destroyed the centre in the northwestern Zhytomyr region. There have been no comments from Ukrainian authorities on his claim. (15:13 GMT) Russia may be getting more revenue from its fossil fuels now than before its invasion of Ukraine, as global price increases offset the effect of Western efforts to restrict its sales, US energy security envoy Amos Hochstein told lawmakers during a hearing. (15:45 GMT) Boris Johnson has said that increasing costs of fuel and wheat as a result of the war in Ukraine must not be used as a reason to encourage the Ukrainians to accept a Russian peace deal that is not in its interest. (16:10 GMT) Russia has warned the West that cyberattacks against its infrastructure risk leading to direct military confrontation, and that attempts to challenge Moscow in the cyber-sphere would be met with targeted countermeasures. In a statement, the foreign ministry said Russia's critical infrastructure and state institutions were being hit by cyberattacks and pointed to figures in the United States and Ukraine as being responsible. "Rest assured, Russia will not leave aggressive actions unanswered," it said. "All our steps will be measured, targeted, in accordance with our legislation and international law." (16:28 GMT) Russia continues to use Belarus for attacks against Ukraine, according to an official from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. (17:27 GMT) FEATURE: Is Russia inching towards victory in Ukraine's Donbas region? https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/6/9/is-russia-inching-towards-victory-in-ukraines-donbas-region (18:20 GMT) Putin has said that producing goods locally to circumvent Western sanctions over Moscow's military operation in Ukraine was not a cure-all and that Russia is looking for new trading partners. "The substitution of imports is not a panacea," Putin told a group of young entrepreneurs who complained of a lack of hitherto imported goods in their quest to develop vaccines. "We are not trying to completely replace imports," Putin said. Russia "must collaborate with those it is possible to collaborate with". (19:15 GMT) The Ukrainian army says Kyiv's forces continue to frustrate Russian attempts to take the fiercely contested eastern city of Severodonetsk. "The occupiers, with the help of motorised rifle units and artillery, conducted assault operations in the city of Severodonetsk. They were not successful; the fighting continues," the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a regular operational update. It added that Ukrainian forces had successfully repelled a Russian attack on the village of Toshkivka, on the northwestern outskirts of Severodonetsk. (19:46 GMT) In a Telegram post, the Ukrainian governor of the eastern Luhansk region Serhii Haidai has said Russian forces continue to shell the city of Lysychansk using large-caliber weapons which "pierce even concrete". "It is extremely dangerous for civilians to remain, even in shelters." (20:15 GMT) The death sentences handed down by a pro-Russian separatist court to British and Moroccan nationals fighting for Ukraine should be considered null and void, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman has said. "The so-called 'trial' of the military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the occupied Ukrainian territories is of no significance," Oleh Nikolenko told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency. "Such show trials put the interests of propaganda above the law and morality; they undermine the mechanisms for the return of prisoners of war. The Ukrainian government will continue to make every effort to release all the defenders of Ukraine," Nikolenko added. (20:26 GMT) One of two breakaway eastern Ukrainian regions backed by Moscow has said it would soon start rail shipments to Russia of grain that its troops had "liberated", the TASS news agency reported. Yuri Pronko, agricultural minister of the self-declared Luhansk People's Republic, said that until now, the grain had been sent by truck in relatively small amounts. "Tomorrow is a historical moment - the first wagons of grain will go Russia, 50 wagons, more than 3,000 tonnes," TASS cited him as saying. (21:10 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukraine's president has responded to Putin's earlier remarks likening himself to Peter the Great, calling them an attempt to legalise the theft of land. <== ie: St Petersburg is not really Russia "The West must draw a clear red line so the Kremlin understands the price of each next bloody step ... we will brutally liberate our territories," Mykhailo Podolyak said in an online post. (21:31 GMT) TASS: Konstantin Gavrilov, Head of the Russian Delegation to the Negotiations on Military Security and Arms Control in Vienna, pointed out that the darknet is now abuzz with offers of selling those Javelins that Ukraine had received from the US. I think, this is happening not without the involvement of Ukraine's military and political leadership. I am not ruling out anything anymore." According to the diplomat, the Kiev regime's promises Ukraine won't use the HIMARS system to strike Russia are "not worth a red cent." (23:35 GMT) The government of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has authorised Russian troops, planes and ships to deploy to Nicaragua for purposes of training, law enforcement or emergency response. In a decree published this week, and confirmed by Russia on Thursday, Ortega will allow Russian troops to carry out law enforcement duties, "humanitarian aid, rescue and search missions in emergencies or natural disasters." The Nicaraguan government also authorised the presence of small contingents of Russian troops for "exchange of experiences and training." Ortega has been a staunch ally of Russia since his days in the leadership of the 1979 revolution that ousted dictator Anastasio Somoza. 20220610 (00:28 GMT) Russian forces destroyed a large sports complex, the Ice Palace, in Severodonetsk, Luhansk's governor has said. "One of the symbols of Severodonetsk was destroyed. The Ice Palace burned down," Serhiy Haidai wrote on Telegram. "Ice, figure skating, hockey, volleyball, sports school, concerts, graduation - almost 50 years of history of sports and cultural development of our Severodonetsk..." is now gone, he added. (00:41 GMT) Canadian police have said that they cracked down on (PJB: ie: stolen) more than C$400 million ($314.81 million) in Russian assets and transactions involving people sanctioned as a result of Moscow's war on Ukraine. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement Thursday that from February 24 to June 7, C$123 million of Russian assets in Canada had been effectively frozen and a further C$289 million in transactions had been blocked. It gave no details. In April, Ottawa said it would change its sanctions law to allow for seized and sanctioned foreign assets to be redistributed as compensation to victims or to help in rebuilding a foreign state from war. (02:09 GMT) Finland's government plans to amend border legislation to allow the building of barriers on its eastern frontier with Russia, it has said, in a move to strengthen preparedness against hybrid threats amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Finland, which is currently applying for membership in the Western military alliance NATO, has a history of wars with Russia, although currently the forest-covered border zone between the two countries is marked merely with signs and plastic lines for most of its 1,300-km length. The Finnish government has rushed to strengthen border security as it fears Russia could attempt to put pressure on Finland by sending asylum seekers to its borders - as the European Union accused Belarus of doing at the end of last year when hundreds of migrants from the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa got stuck on the Polish border. Under existing EU rules, migrants have the right to ask for asylum at any given entry point to an EU member country. The amendments would also allow the building of barriers such as fences, as well as new roads to facilitate border patrolling on the Finnish side. (04:46 GMT) The US ambassador to the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has described the Russian-occupied region of Kherson as the "Kremlin's laboratory of horrors". Russia's pre-planned and multi-faceted campaign to absorb Kherson into Russia and instal puppet authorities "lays bare the truth of its vision of a subjugated, Russified Ukraine", Michael Carpenter said in a speech to the OSCE council in Vienna Thursday. "Kherson is the Kremlin's laboratory of horrors. Every day Kherson remains under Russia's control, the Kremlin works to further its plan to replace Kherson's democratic government, free press, and civil society with a Kremlin-style police state that humiliates and brutalises the local population, abuses their human rights, and abducts, tortures, and/or kills those the Kremlin deems dispensable," Carpenter said. (05:37 GMT) The city of Mariupol is at risk of a major cholera outbreak as Russia struggles to provide basic public services to residents of regions it has occupied in Ukraine, the UK's ministry of defence has said. (06:09 GMT) Russian forces are attacking Severodonetsk and "destroying everything in their path" with the goal of making the Luhansk region nothing but a "desert", the governor has said. (06:18 GMT) A European Union embargo on Russian gas imports would destroy the European economy, already grappling with surging inflation due to higher energy prices, the Hungarian prime minister has said. Viktor Orban told public radio that without price caps in place on fuels, some basic foods and retail energy, Hungarian inflation, which accelerated to 10.7% in May, would be running at 15 to 16%. (06:38 GMT) As Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds into its fourth month, officials in Kyiv have expressed fears that the spectre of "war fatigue" could erode the West's resolve to help the country push back Moscow's aggression. "The fatigue is growing, people want some kind of outcome [that is beneficial] for themselves, and we want [another] outcome for ourselves," Zelenskyy has said in relation to suggestions Kyiv should give up some territory to end the war. (06:47 GMT) A Russian political scientist has blamed the West for exaggerating the problem of Ukrainian grain exports, China's state CCTV reports. "According to data collected by our experts, autumn, from October to December, is the main export season for Ukrainian wheat. So most of the Ukrainian grain has already been shipped out," director of the Institute for Political and Social Studies of the Black Sea-Caspian Region, Viktor Nadein-Raevsky, said. "There's only about three to four million tonnes left in the country, and that's mostly reserved for seed use," he told a roundtable symposium held by Russia's RIA news agency, according to CCTV. (07:38 GMT) Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde says Sweden aims to make constructive progress in talks with Turkey over the Nordic country's application to join NATO. "Our application has received broad support among NATO members," she said in a foreign policy declaration after Sweden, alongside Finland, applied last month to join the military alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion. "Our ambition is to, in a constructive spirit, make progress on the questions that Turkey has raised," she told parliament. (08:17 GMT) Russian forces are looking for potential weak points in Ukrainian defences near the Siverskyi Donets river in eastern Ukraine as Moscow presses for control of the entire Luhansk region, a spokesman for Ukraine's defence ministry says. (09:26 GMT) The European Union's parliament supports Ukraine's bid to achieve candidate status to join the bloc, its president says. "The EU parliament stands firmly behind Ukraine's bid to receive EU candidate status," Roberta Metsola said at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. (10:03 GMT) Russia must 'take responsibility' over 'sham' trial of British nationals: UK (10:28 GMT) NATO's deputy secretary-general says he believes Sweden and Finland will join the transatlantic military alliance despite objections from Turkey. "We are confident that Sweden and Finland will join our ranks," Mircea Geoana told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Friday. Ankara has accused the Nordic countries of harbouring individuals linked to groups it deems to be "terrorists", including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and has taken issue with their decisions to halt arms exports to Turkey in 2019. (11:24 GMT) The UN's human rights office (OHCHR) has voiced concern over the death sentences handed to three foreign fighters by pro-Moscow rebels in the DPR. "Such trials against prisoners of war amount to a war crime." Ravina Shamdasani noted that, according to the Ukrainian military, all three individuals were part of Ukraine's armed forces. She said if that is the case they "should not be considered as mercenaries". (12:43 GMT) A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry says the UK should speak directly to authorities in the DPR about the sentencing of two British citizens to death in the breakaway region of eastern Ukraine. (13:06 GMT) Russia and China have opened a new cross-border bridge in which they hope will further boost trade as Moscow reels from sweeping Western sanctions imposed over its invasion. The bridge linking the Russian city of Blagoveshchensk to the Chinese city of Heihe across the Amur river - known in China as Heilongjiang - is just more than one kilometre long and cost 19 billion roubles ($342m), Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported. (13:30 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has met with Pope Francis to discuss efforts to end the war and address a looming global food crisis. (13:49 GMT) Russia's central bank has cut interest rates back to their prewar levels, saying inflation and economic activity are developing better than expected despite sweeping Western sanctions imposed in response to the war. The bank has lowered its key rate by 1.5%age points to 9.5 %. It had been as high as 20% in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine and the resulting sanctions, which heavily restrict dealings with Russian banks, individuals and companies. Economists say that over time the sanctions will corrode growth and productivity, but the central bank has managed to stabilise Russia's currency and financial system through drastic measures such as high interest rates and restrictions on flows of money out of the country. (14:15 GMT) France's Macron to visit Romania, Moldova next week (14:38 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the UK's assistance for Kyiv during talks with British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace in the Ukrainian capital. (15:09 GMT) Ukraine's military says it has attacked Russian positions in the southern Kherson region where Kyiv's troops are attempting to reclaim territory captured by Moscow's troops early in their invasion. "Our aircraft carried out a series of strikes on enemy bases, places of accumulation of equipment and personnel, and field depots around five different settlements in the Kherson region," Ukraine's defence ministry said in a statement. (15:31 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has met US ambassador John Sullivan in Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry says in a statement on its website. (15:42 GMT) Cholera and other deadly diseases could kill thousands of people in Mariupol as corpses lie uncollected and summer brings warmer weather, its Ukrainian mayor has warned. Vadym Boichenko said wells had been contaminated by the corpses of people killed during weeks of Russian bombardment, and that the collection of bodies by the city's Russian occupiers was proceeding slowly. "There is an outbreak of dysentery and cholera. This is unfortunately the assessment of our doctors: that the war which took over 20,000 residents ... unfortunately, with these infection outbreaks, will claim thousands more Mariupolites," he told Ukrainian national television. (16:06 GMT) Obama hails Ukrainian people's "heroic resistance" (16:22 GMT) Ukraine's military intelligence directorate believes that Russia can continue its war for another year, warning that Kyiv is significantly outgunned on the frontlines. "Ukraine has one artillery piece to 10 to 15 Russian artillery pieces," Vadym Skibitsky of the Main Intelligence Directorate said in an interview with The Guardian. "Therefore everything now depends on what weapons the Western partners give us." (16:59 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he expects sanctions against Russia to be supported by all countries applying for EU membership, including Serbia. (17:31 GMT) The leaders of nine central and eastern European countries have asked NATO to strengthen its eastern flank following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The leaders of Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland met in the Romanian capital, Bucharest, less than three weeks ahead of a NATO summit later this month in Madrid, AFP reported. (17:57 GMT) US President Joe Biden has reacted to Friday's Consumer Price Index report, which revealed continued high inflation in the country, by blaming the high prices on Russia's war on Ukraine. (18:27 GMT) An adviser to French President Emmanuel Macron has said France was ready to assist in an operation to allow safe access to Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odessa, AFP reported. (19:53 GMT) Ukrainian first lady Olena Zelenska has said on Telegram that 37,000 women are in the Ukrainian army and over 1,000 women have become commanders. (20:12 GMT) A Ukrainian governor said on Friday that his country has conducted the 11th prisoner swap with Russia since February, exchanging four Russians for five Ukrainians. (22:13 GMT) The prices of gas, food and most other goods and services in the US jumped in May, the Labor Department has said, raising inflation to a new 40-year high and giving American households no respite from rising costs. The report underscored fears that inflation is spreading well beyond energy and goods whose prices are being driven up by clogged supply chains and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also sent stock prices tumbling. (22:49 GMT) Zelenskyy has said his army's ability to hold off Russian forces in the Donbas region depends on the supply of Western weapons. "The Ukrainian troops are doing everything to stop the offensive of the occupiers, as much as is possible. As much as the heavy weapons, modern artillery - all that we have asked for and continue to ask for from our partners - allow them," he said in his nightly video address. He said that Russia wants to destroy every city in the region. 20220611 (00:03 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War says Ukraine is making more urgent requests for sophisticated Western weaponry as a result of concerns about Russia's superiority in artillery. It cites a senior military intelligence official saying that Russian troops have 10 to 15 artillery pieces for every one held by Ukrainian forces. "Considering the current prevalence of protracted positional battles, especially in the Severodonetsk- Lysychansk area, Ukrainian forces urgently need fresh supplies of artillery systems," ISW said in latest update on the war. "As Ukrainian forces use the last of their stocks of Soviet-era weapon systems and munitions, they will require consistent Western support to transition to new supply chains of ammunition and artillery systems. Effective artillery will be increasingly decisive in the largely static fighting in eastern Ukraine." (00:39 GMT) EU unity must not be compromised by Ukraine candidate status: France A decision to give Ukraine candidate status to the European Union has to be done without weakening the bloc and to ensure Kyiv is not left in limbo for years, a French presidential official has said. "We know that there are different sensitivities on the subject within the European Union," the French presidential source told reporters. "We will pay attention to the unity of the European Council. We believe also that the European Union must come out of this crisis in Ukraine stronger and must not come out weakened." (01:06 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has given an impassioned defence of the international rules-based order at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore. "Russia's invasion of Ukraine is what happens when oppressors trample on the rules that protect us all," he said. "It's what happens when big powers decide their imperial appetites matter more than their smaller neighbours." Austin warned such disregard for the rules-based international order risked creating a "world of chaos and turmoil that none of us would want to live in." (02:57 GMT) Japan's Defence Minister Nobuo Kishi has warned military cooperation between China and Russia has intensified security concerns concerns in the Asia Pacific. Last month, China and Russia conducted a joint aerial patrol in waters close to Japan and Taiwan, their first since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Joint military operations between these two strong military powers will undoubtedly increase concern among other countries," Kishi said. (03:18 GMT) US President Joe Biden has said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "didn't want to hear it" when US intelligence had information that Russia was preparing to invade, according to the Associated Press. "Nothing like this has happened since World War II. I know a lot of people thought I was maybe exaggerating. But I knew we had data to sustain he (Russian President Vladimir Putin) was going to go in, off the border," Biden told Democratic donors in Los Angeles. "There was no doubt. And Zelenskyy didn't want to hear it." (05:40 GMT) Zelenskyy says Kyiv has launched new air strikes in the captured southern region of Kherson, one of the first areas to be taken by Russia after the February 24 invasion, as "very difficult battles" are ongoing in the eastern Donbas region. (06:03 GMT) Russian passports will be distributed in parts of Zaporizhzhya, which is under Moscow's control, starting on Saturday. Rogov said more than 70,000 people had submitted applications in the region. Recipients will be considered full Russian citizens, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the occupying authority, told Russian broadcaster Rossiya-24. (06:09 GMT) Russian forces around Ukraine's Severodonetsk have not made advances into the south of the city, Britain's Defence Ministry has said in its daily intelligence update. "Intense street to street fighting is ongoing and both sides are likely suffering high numbers of casualties," the ministry wrote on Twitter. It added Russian medium bombers have likely launched dozens of 1960s era Kh-22 (NATO designation, AS-4 KITCHEN) air-launched, heavy anti-ship missiles against land targets, which are "highly inaccurate and can therefore cause significant collateral damage and civilian casualties." (06:52 GMT) The war in the east, where Russia is focussing its attention, is now primarily an artillery battle in which Kyiv is severely outgunned, Ukrainian officials say. That means the tide of events could be turned only if Washington and others fulfil promises to send more and better weaponry, including rocket systems. (08:03 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that Moscow's response to a build-up of NATO forces in Poland will be proportionate, the Interfax news agency reported, citing a Russian diplomat. "A response, as always, will be proportionate and appropriate, intended to neutralise potential threats to the security of the Russian Federation," Oleg Tyapkin, the head of a foreign ministry department in charge of Russian relations with Europe, was quoted as saying. (08:43 GMT) EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has visited Ukraine to discuss with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy his country's bid to get candidacy status to join the European Union. "With President Zelenskyy I will take stock of the joint work needed for reconstruction and of the progress made by Ukraine on its European path," von der Leyen tweeted on arrival in Kyiv. (10:21 GMT) The Russian Defence Ministry has said its air defence forces shot down three Ukrainian war planes. The Russian military shot down two MIG-29 planes in the Mikolayiv region and one Su-25 fighter jet in the Kharkiv region, the ministry said in a statement. (10:30 GMT) Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region's governor has said, after a Russia-backed separatist claimed 300-400 Ukrainian fighters were also trapped there. (10:35 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged international pressure to end a Russian naval blockade of Black Sea ports that has choked off his country's grain exports, threatening a global food crisis. Kyiv is in discussion with the UN, Turkey and other countries to open a way to allow the grain exports, and Zelenskyy said the talks are focused on the "format" of the corridor. (11:10 GMT) A Czech citizen has died in Ukraine, Czech foreign minister Jan Lipavsky has said, confirming media reports about the first casualty among its volunteers fighting in the country. "I can confirm that a Czech citizen has died in the Donetsk region of Ukraine," Lipavsky told reporters. "The body should be transported to Kharkiv region tomorrow." More than a hundred Czechs have joined Ukrainian armed forces, with the consent of Ukrainian authorities. (11:24 GMT) France is unwilling to make concessions to Russia and wants Ukraine to win the war against Moscow's invading forces with its territorial integrity restored, a French presidential official has said, as Paris seeks to assuage concerns over its stance in the conflict. President Emmanuel Macron has been criticised by Ukraine and eastern European allies after an interview quoted him as saying it was vital not to "humiliate" Russia so that when the fighting ends there could be a diplomatic solution. "As the president has said, we want a Ukrainian victory. We want Ukraine's territorial integrity to be restored," the official told reporters when asked about Macron's comments. "There is no spirit of concession towards Putin or Russia in what the president says. When he speaks to him directly, it is not compromise, but to say how we see things." (11:32 GMT) Up to 300,000 tonnes of grain may have been stored in warehouses that Kyiv says were destroyed by Russian shelling last weekend, deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotskyi has said. (13:17 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has told President Zelenskyy in Kyiv that the EU executive's opinion on Ukraine's request to join the European Union would be ready by the end of next week. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/11/eu-chief-says-opinion-on-ukraine-membership-ready-next-week Zelenskyy called for a new round of "even stronger" EU sanctions against Russia. (14:57 GMT) The family of British man Shaun Pinner who has been sentenced to death by a separatist court in Donbas have spoken of their devastation at the news and requested that he be exchanged or released. "Firstly, our whole family is devastated and saddened at the outcome of the illegal show trial by the so-called Donetsk People's Republic," the family said in a statement. (15:55 GMT) In the Mykolaiv region near the front line in the south, the regional governor Vitaliy Kim says there is an urgent need for international military assistance. "Russia's army is more powerful, they have a lot of artillery and ammo. For now, this is a war of artillery ... and we are out of ammo." <=== "The help of Europe and America is very, very important." (16:46 GMT) Russian shelling of the Azot chemical plant in Ukraine's front-line city of Severodonetsk caused a powerful fire to break out after a leak of tonnes of oil, regional governor of Serhiy Haidai has said. (17:11 GMT) Montenegro has frozen 44 properties owned by 34 Russians sanctioned by the European Union, the country's interior ministry has announced. (17:25 GMT) Russia no longer wants to abide by rulings of the European Court of Human Rights, with President Vladimir Putin signing a law to that effect, the TASS news agency reported. (18:47 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Kyiv with his counterparts from France and Italy before the Group of Seven summit at the end of June, Bild am Sonntag has reported. The newspaper cited French and Ukrainian government sources. A German government spokesperson told Reuters news agency that "we are not able to confirm this". (20:02 GMT) A large cloud of smoke could be seen after an explosion in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, which houses a chemical plant, the Russian news agency RIA quoted one of its reporters as saying. RIA posted a video it said had been taken from Donetsk. (21:33 GMT) Ukraine remains in control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk where hundreds of civilians are sheltering, the region's governor said. "The information about the blockade of the Azot plant is a lie," said Serhiy Haidai, governor of the Luhansk region. "Our forces are holding an industrial zone of Severodonetsk and are destroying the Russian army in the town." Ukraine has said some 800 people were hiding in several bomb shelters underneath the Azot plant, including about 200 employees and 600 residents of Severodonetsk. Rodion Miroshnik, a Russian-backed representative of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, said 300 to 400 Ukrainian fighters were blockaded on the grounds of the plant, along with civilians, and had tried to negotiate their passage to the city of Lysychansk. "Such demands are unacceptable and will not be discussed," Miroshnik said, adding negotiations with fighters about civilians at the plant were under way. (21:33 GMT) Russian troops are preparing a new offensive against the city of Sloviansk, Ukraine's military said. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Moscow managed to get a foothold in the village of Bohorodychne, 24km northwest of Sloviansk, and was preparing to attack the city. Army spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Russian troops "experienced success" in fighting in the direction of the city. Shtupun also claimed Russia had six carriers in the Black Sea "readied for the use of missile weapons". (22:37 GMT) Separatists claim Ukraine defenders 'holding several hundred civilians hostage'. Some non-combatants managed to flee an industrial zone in the war-torn city of Severodonetsk as Russian forces battle Ukraine defenders there. (22:58 GMT) Zelenskyy claims Russia suffers 32,000 casualties of war 20220612 (01:09 GMT) Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has opened a center for Ukrainian refugees in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. (02:14 GMT) Ukraine's Ambassador to Japan Sergiy Korsunsky says Tokyo is donating 33 portable water purifiers to the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. (03:17 GMT) Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe says Beijing is saddened by the events in Ukraine and said he supports peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv. He also said China opposed the West's provision of weapons to Ukraine as well as its sanctions on Russia. "What is the root cause of this crisis? Who is the mastermind behind this? Who loses the most? And who stands to gain the most? Who is promoting peace and who is adding fuel to the fire? I think we all know the answers to these questions," he said at the Shangri-La dialogue in Singapore. (05:02 GMT) Sri Lanka may be compelled to buy more oil from Russia as the island nation hunts desperately for fuel amid an unprecedented economic crisis, the newly appointed prime minister said. Ranil Wickremesinghe told the Associated Press news agency that he would first look to other sources, but would be open to buying more crude from Moscow. Western nations largely have cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. "If we can get from any other sources, we will get from there. Otherwise [we] may have to go to Russia again," he said. "Certainly we are looking at the Gulf as our main supply." (05:44 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Kyiv with his counterparts from France and Italy before the Group of Seven summit at the end of June, German newspaper Bild am Sonntag reported. None of the three leaders has been to Kyiv since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February. (06:19 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear firm Energoatom says it has helped restore an internet connection between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the servers of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is occupied by Russian forces. (07:03 GMT) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has criticised former chancellor Gerhard Schroder for his business ties to Russia. (07:29 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom says its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 41.9 million cubic metres (mcm) on Sunday, unchanged from Saturday. An application to supply gas via another major entry point, Sokhranovka, was rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. (07:54 GMT) The first 15 restaurants of former McDonald's Corp will reopen in Moscow on Sunday under new ownership and a new name, "Vkusno & tochka", which means "Tasty & that's it", the company says. Another 50 restaurants will be open on Monday, Vkusno & tochka said. (09:19 GMT) Russian forces fired Kalibr cruise missiles to destroy a large depot with US and European weapons in Ukraine's Ternopil region, Interfax news agency reported, citing the Russian defence ministry. Russian forces have also shot down three Ukrainian SU-25 fighter jets near Donetsk and Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, Interfax quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying. (10:56 GMT) Britain's defence ministry says Russia is using its overmatch in force ratio and artillery to gradually seize territory in and around Ukraine's Severodonetsk. (13:42 GMT) Denis Pushilin, a pro-Russian separatist leader in Donetsk, said he would not alter the death sentences handed to two Britons and a Moroccan for fighting with the Ukrainian army. "They came to Ukraine to kill civilians for money. That's why I don't see any conditions for any mitigation or modification of the sentence," Pushilin told reporters. He said the court had "issued a perfectly fair punishment" to the three fighters. He also accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson of ignoring their fate and failing to contact the separatist authorities. (14:24 GMT) Security concerns raised by Turkey in its opposition to Finland's and Sweden's NATO membership applications are legitimate, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said. "These are legitimate concerns. This is about terrorism, it's about weapons exports," Stoltenberg told a joint news conference with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto while visiting him at his summer residence in Naantali, Finland. (15:28 GMT) A British former soldier has been shot and killed in Ukraine, his family said. Jordan Gatley is the second Briton reported to have died fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against Russian troops. Gatley's father Dean said his son was killed in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, and described him as a "hero". (16:02 GMT) The prime minister of Moldova, Natalia Gavrilita, said that despite her country being concerned about the escalation of war in Ukraine, there is little to suggest that Moldova is under immediate threat. "We are doing everything we can both in terms of social programmes, diversifying our markers, and finding alternative sources of energy in order to maintain social cohesion and political stability." Moldova, one of the poorest European nations, relies heavily on Russian gas. It is currently facing the highest inflation rate in Europe at 29 %. (17:42 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he will discuss with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine the steps to ensure exports of Ukrainian grain to the world. Western and Russian officials are warning of a global food crisis due to the war in Ukraine and sanctions on Russia. The two countries, major global grain exporters, had a share of 30 % of world wheat exports in 2021. (18:45 GMT) Protesters formed a human chain outside the European Commission building in Brussels in solidarity with Ukraine's bid to join the European Union. Ukrainian officials have made various pleas in the past weeks for their country to be named a candidate for EU membership, a move that would bring the war-torn nation closer to the bloc without guaranteeing its admittance. Protest organiser Yana Brovdiy told The Associated Press that Ukraine had shown on "many occasions" it was a country which stood for "European values". (20:31 GMT) A new city sign painted in the colours of the Russian flag was unveiled on the outskirts of Mariupol, replacing a monument which had been in the blue and gold of Ukraine. Russian flags were also being flown on a highway into the port city, which is now fully under the control of Moscow-backed forces. According to Kremlin-installed authorities, the seaport is now ready to operate as usual and was being used to ship goods to and from Russia. (20:40 GMT) Russian forces have blown up a bridge linking the embattled Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk to another city across the river, cutting off a possible evacuation route for civilians, local officials said. Russian forces have taken most of the city but Ukrainian troops remain in control of an industrial area and the Azot chemical plant where hundreds of civilians are sheltering. (22:41 GMT) The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said the world's nuclear arsenals will soon grow again in view of current global tensions. <=== Despite a slight reduction in the total number of nuclear warheads to an estimated 12,705 worldwide in the past year, the peace institute estimates that the global stockpile of nuclear weapons could soon rise again for the first time since the Cold War. "Russia has even made open threats about possible nuclear weapon use in the context of the war in Ukraine," the institute said in a summary launching its yearbook 2022. "Although there were some significant gains in both nuclear arms control and nuclear disarmament in the past year, the risk of nuclear weapons being used seems higher now than at any time since the height of the cold war," SIPRI Director Dan Smith said. Around 90% of all nuclear weapons are held by the US and Russia. 20220613 (00:51 GMT) A Russian mountain climber and blogger has made a stand against her country's invasion of Ukraine by unfurling the Ukrainian flag when she reached the top of Mt Everest. Ekaterina Lipka's photo on the summit of Everest has gone viral after being shared by Ukraine's former Ambassador to Austria, Olexander Scherba, on Twitter last Sunday. The climber also posted a photo of herself on the mountain with a sign that said "Free Navalny", in support of Alexei Navalny, an anti-corruption activist and opposition leader in Russia who in March was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony. (02:09 GMT) Ukraine has uncovered sabotage activities among 50 people in Lysychansk who were leaking Ukraine's operational information to Russian forces to help Moscow with its offensive, the Ulrainian governor of Luhansk said. (02:39 GMT) Russian forces should, in principle, be seeking to seize bridges rather than destroy them, since Russian troops have struggled to get across the Siverskyi Donetsk River in the past, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. (02:47 GMT) It was "unacceptable" for a Canadian official to have attended Russia Day celebrations at the country's embassy in Ottawa, Canada's foreign affairs minister has said. A deputy protocol chief in Canada's global affairs department, Yasemin Heinbecker, attended Friday's event, along with representatives of Egypt, Pakistan and some African nations, the Globe and Mail newspaper said in a report. "No Canadian representative should have attended the event hosted at the Russian embassy and no Canadian representative will attend this kind of event again," Melanie Joly said in a Twitter post. (03:44 GMT) The Ukrainian governor of Luhansk has said around 500 civilians remain in hiding at the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk. (04:51 GMT) Russian forces dropped cluster bombs on a residential area in the Kryvyi Rih region of Dnipropetrovsk, killing one woman and wounded another five people, the head of the Kryvyi Rih military administration has said. (05:39 GMT) River crossings will be among the most important determining factors in the course of the war in coming months, the UK's defence ministry says. The ministry said the Russia's 90km key frontline in the Donbas lay to the west of the Siverskyi Donets River, which Russian forces have previously been unable to cross. Ukrainian officials said on Sunday that Russian troops had damaged the bridge over the river which linked Severodonetsk with its twin city of Lysychansk. "To achieve success in the current operational phase of its Donbas offensive, Russia is either going to have to complete ambitious flanking actions, or conduct assault river crossings," the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. "Ukrainian forces have often managed to demolish bridges before they withdraw, while Russia has struggled to put in place the complex coordination necessary to conduct successful, large scale river crossings under fire," it added. (06:11 GMT) Amnesty International has accused Russia of war crimes in Ukraine, saying attacks on the second largest city Kharkiv, many using banned cluster bombs, had killed hundreds of civilians. "The repeated bombardments of residential neighbourhoods in Kharkiv are indiscriminate attacks which killed and injured hundreds of civilians, and as such constitute war crimes," the rights group said on Monday in a report titled "Anyone can die at any time". "This is true both for the strikes carried out using cluster (munitions) as well as those conducted using other types of unguided rockets and unguided artillery shells," it said. Amnesty said it had uncovered proof in Kharkiv of the repeated use by Russian forces of 9N210 and 9N235 cluster bombs and scatterable land mines, all of which are banned under international conventions. (06:35 GMT) Ferrexpo, a London-listed miner with operations in Ukraine, was in advanced talks with additional port operators in central Europe for seaborne exports, it has said, adding that it has lowered output amid the conflict with Russia. Ferrexpo also said damages to transportation infrastructure had reduced its ability to use its barging operations that serve European customers. (06:43 GMT) Farmers of Ukraine's southern Odesa region have started the 2022 grain harvest taking advantage of favourable weather, regional officials have said. Ukraine has already completed the 2022 grain sowing but the agriculture ministry gave no 2022 grain crop outlook. The ministry had said farmers planned to sow 14.2 million hectares of spring grains this year, down from 16.9 million hectares in 2021 due to the Russian invasion. The Odesa regional administration said local farmers had started winter barley threshing and producers would harvest a total of 1.06 million hectares of early grain crops, including 244,000 hectares of winter barley. Farmers also will harvest 551,000 hectares of winter wheat. (07:46 GMT) Russian forces now control 70% of the eastern city of Severodonetsk, the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region says. (08:21 GMT) Gazprom has said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 41.9 million cubic metres (mcm) on Monday, unchanged from a day before. (08:25 GMT) Russia has earned $98bn from fossil fuel exports during the first 100 days of its war in Ukraine, with the European Union being the top importer. (08:35 GMT) Ukraine's army says Russian troops have had partial success in Severodonetsk and have pushed Ukrainian forces out of the city's centre. (08:48 GMT) A Ukrainian official has accused Russian forces of treating the residents of Ukraine's occupied southeastern port city of Mariupol as "slaves and a human shield". (09:16 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a large number of weapons and military equipment in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, including some that had been sent by the US and European nations. The ministry said its military had used high-precision air-based missiles to conduct strikes near the Udachne railway station, hitting equipment that had been delivered to Ukrainian forces. Kyiv's international allies, including the US, the United Kingdom and several European Union member states, have supplied Ukraine with billions of dollars' worth of military aid amid Russia's offensive. (09:33 GMT) Russia-appointed authorities in Ukraine's mostly-occupied southeastern Zaporizhia region are reportedly set to introduce a "simplified" system of taxation as they consolidate their hold on the area. As of July 1, all businesses will be required to pay a five% overall tax, while those selling alcohol or tobacco will pay 10%, Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Moscow-installed military-civilian administration in the region, told Russia's Interfax news agency. Russia controls more than half of the region, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest facility of its kind in Europe. (09:48 GMT) An aide to Ukraine's president has pleaded with Kyiv's allies to provide it with more arms as Moscow's offensive in the Donbas continues. > Being straightforward - to end the war we need heavy weapons parity: > 1000 howitzers caliber 155 mm; > 300 MLRS; > 500 tanks; > 2000 armored vehicles; > 1000 drones. > Contact Group of Defense Ministers meeting is held in #Brussels on > June 15. We are waiting for a decision. (10:15 GMT) The leader of a Russia-backed breakaway republic in eastern Ukraine says he has "re-appointed" the mayor of the southeastern town of Sviatohirsk who switched sides and welcomed Moscow's "liberation" of Ukraine. Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said in a Telegram post that Vladimir Bandura had been forced to "hide his [pro-Russian] position" but had not left his post at a "complicated time" amid Moscow's offensive. "Residents respect and support him, so I offered him the post of the head of administration of the town of Sviatohirsk," Pushilin added. His post featured a picture of the pair holding talks. Sviatohirsk, which had a pre-war population of about 4,000 people, is on top of a hill near the strategically important Siverskyi Donets River. Russian forces have been trying to cross the river for weeks. (10:34 GMT) Finnish President Sauli Niinisto says both sides in the Ukraine war are now using heavier weapons, including thermobaric bombs in Russia's case. (10:53 GMT) At least three people, including a child, have been killed by a Ukrainian artillery attack at a market in the DPR, the separatist-affiliated Donetsk News Agency reports. At least four others were wounded in the incident, according to the agency, which published pictures of burning stalls at the central Maisky market and at least one body on the ground. It reported that 155mm calibre NATO-standard artillery munitions had been used in the attack. (11:27 GMT) The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, has filed an appeal against a Moscow court decision demanding that it remove information related to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, arguing that people have a right to know the facts of the war. A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation 5 million roubles ($88,000) for refusing to remove what it termed disinformation from Russian-language Wikipedia articles on the war including "The Russian Invasion of Ukraine", "War Crimes during the Russian Invasion of Ukraine" and "Massacre in Bucha". (12:19 GMT) Ukrainian forces in Severodonetsk must either "surrender or die", a Russian-backed separatist leader in the DPR has warned. "They have no other option," Eduard Basurin, deputy head of the People's Militia Department in the breakaway region, was quoted as saying by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. Basurin also claimed Ukrainian forces had blocked themselves in Severodonetsk by blowing up the last bridge connecting it to the nearby city of Lysychansk, meaning they are unable to pull back. (12:54 GMT) The father of a Moroccan national sentenced to death by a court in eastern Ukraine's self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) after being captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces says his son should be treated as a prisoner of war as he has Ukrainian nationality. Morocco-born Brahim Saadoun's father, Tahar Saadoun, told the Reuters news agency that his son was not a mercenary, as the Moscow-backed DPR court adjudged him to be, and that his son had surrendered voluntarily when captured in March in Volnovakha, a small town situated between Mariupol and the regional capital of Donetsk. Brahim received Ukrainian nationality in 2020 after undergoing a year of military training as a requirement to access aerospace technology studies at a university in Kyiv, his father said. (13:20 GMT) Lithuania's president says his country is seeking to decouple from the Russian power grid in 2024, a year ahead of schedule. (13:55 GMT) Ukraine's top police officer Ihor Klymenko says that up to 1,200 bodies, including some found in mass graves, are yet to be identified and that criminal proceedings have been opened in connection with the deaths of more than 12,000 civilians overall. (14:26 GMT) Ukraine's government has approved the suspension of any exports of the country's gas, coal and fuel oil because of Russia's invasion. Kyiv said the move was "connected to "the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and the imposition of martial law in Ukraine." (14:52 GMT) Sweden has taken important steps to meet Turkey's demands for approving Stockholm's NATO membership application, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says. "I welcome that Sweden has already started to change its counter-terrorism legislation and that Sweden will ensure that the legal framework for arms export will reflect the future status as a NATO member with new commitments to allies." Ankara has accused Sweden and fellow NATO aspirant Finland of harbouring individuals linked to groups it deems to be "terrorists", including the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), and has taken issue with their decisions to halt arms exports to Turkey in 2019. (15:58 GMT) Mexico's president has slammed NATO's policy on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, calling it "immoral." President Andrés Manuel López Obrador's did not mention NATO or the United States by name, but his comments were the latest example of his party's ambiguous stance on the invasion. Mexico has voted at the United Nation to condemn the invasion, but refused to impose sanctions on Russia. López Obrador said that the allies' current policy was equivalent to saying "I'll supply the weapons, and you supply the dead. It is immoral." "How easy it is to say, 'Here, I'll send you this much money for weapons," "Couldn't the war in Ukraine have been avoided? Of course it could." (16:37 GMT) All bridges to Ukraine's embattled eastern frontline city of Severodonetsk have been destroyed, rendering impossible the evacuation of civilians remaining there, the local governor Serhiy Gaidai has said, adding that some "access" to the city remained. (16:51 GMT) Britain's foreign minister Liz Truss has said she spoke to US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken about Russia's blockade on grain exports from Ukraine, as well as new legislation to govern post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland. (19:12 GMT) Zelenskyy has asked Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz to show full-throated support for Kyiv, charging the German leader with being too concerned about the repercussions this would have for Berlin's ties with Moscow. "We need from Chancellor Scholz the certainty that Germany supports Ukraine," he said. "He and his government must decide: there can't be a trade-off between Ukraine and relations with Russia." (19:14 GMT) Russia's main goal of its military operation in Ukraine is to protect the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, Russia's RIA state news agency cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. "In general, the protection of the republics is the main goal of the special military operation," Peskov said. (19:59 GMT) Zelenskyy has said the battle for Severodonetsk was taking a "terrifying" toll as Russian forces threaten to take the strategic eastern city. "The battle for the Donbas will without doubt be remembered in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe," he added. (21:29 GMT) If Russia prevails in the battle of Donbas, it will mean that Ukraine loses not only land but perhaps the bulk of its most capable military forces, opening the way for Moscow to grab more territory and dictate its terms to Kyiv. A Russian failure in the battle could lay the grounds for a Ukrainian counteroffensive - and possibly lead to political upheaval for the Kremlin. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/13/the-battle-of-donbas-could-prove-decisive-in-ukraine-war The better-equipped Russian forces have made gains in both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions that make up the Donbas, controlling more than 95 % of the former and about half of the latter. (22:34 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has met with his South Korean counterpart Park Jin in Washington, DC, and discussed a wide range of issues, including Ukraine. He said South Korea also has offered Ukraine "significant" economic and humanitarian support. (23:03 GMT) Colombia is set to increase coal and petroleum production as it steps up to fill the void created by sanctions against Russia, Energy Minister Diego Mesa has said. The Andean country has restarted coal exports to Ireland, Mesa said on the sidelines of Canada's prospectors and developers conference in Toronto. Ireland stopped buying Colombian coal in 2016 on human rights concerns. "Six years ago Ireland had replaced Colombian coal with Russian coal ... but at the beginning of the war they came knocking at our doors again," Mesa said. (23:36 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz declined to comment Monday on reports that he is planning to visit Ukraine together with his counterparts from France and Italy soon. (23:56 GMT) A Japanese foundation has announced it is launching a fundraising drive to provide more than 1,200 Ukrainian evacuees in Japan with additional financial support for language studies and other needs. 20220614 (02:33 GMT) Ukraine will "liberate" all cities, towns and regions now occupied by Russia's forces, the president has said in an encouraging address to the nation. "We will come to Kherson. And ordinary Kherson residents will meet our army on the streets of the city ... We will come to Melitopol. And we will return to all Melitopol residents the opportunity to live without fear," Zelenskyy said. "We will come to Mariupol. And we will liberate the city for the third time," he said, explaining that the city was first liberated from the Nazis in 1943 and then again, on June 13, 2014, from Russian-backed separatists. "We will come to Enerhodar. And I want to repeat to everyone in the city who took to the streets against the Russian military, who refuses to cooperate with the occupiers and who is waiting for us today. I want to repeat that we have not forgotten about our Enerhodar for a day.' (03:40 GMT) About half of Australian farmers believe the war in Ukraine would hurt farm businesses, a survey has found. Only 28 % of farmers expected business conditions to improve in the next 12 months, compared with 31% in the previous quarter. Overall, farmers expected their incomes to be stable for the coming 12 months. Although the war in Ukraine is driving up farms' selling prices, especially for grains, those rises are needed to offset higher input costs, according to Rabobank, which conducted the survey. (04:02 GMT) The death toll from Monday's attacks on the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic has grown to five, while the number injured has risen to 33, separatist officials have said, according to Tass. Earlier reports said four people died and 22 were injured. Separatist officials and Russian news agencies on Monday reported several Ukrainian artillery strikes, including on a market. Russian news agencies later reported a shell had fallen on a maternity hospital in the city of Donetsk, triggering a fire and prompting staff to send patients into the basement. (04:35 GMT) Russian troops pushed Ukrainian forces away from the Severodonetsk city centre on Monday but did not fully capture the city, the Institute for the Study of War ISW has said. The institute also said that claims by Moscow-backed separatists that Ukrainian forces had destroyed the last bridge linking Severodonetsk to Lysychansk were likely false. (06:02 GMT) Pope Francis has refused the distinction between "good and bad" in the war in Ukraine, he was quoted as saying by daily La Stampa, which reported the Pope's conversation with editors of Jesuit European cultural magazines. Asked if he was in favour of Russia's president Vladimir Putin, the Pope answered: "No, I am not, I am simply opposed to reducing complexity to distinction between good and bad". Pope Francis hopes to meet Patriarch Kirill of the Russian Orthodox Church in September in Kazakhstan, he added. (06:23 GMT) Russia's defence industry could struggle to further meet the demands of the war in Ukraine, partly due to the effects of sanctions and lack of expertise, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. A top official in Russia's Military Industrial Commission predicted that defence spending could increase Russia's defence budget by 20%, the ministry said. "However, the industry could struggle to meet many of these requirements," it added. "Russia's production of high-quality optics and advanced electronics likely remain troubled and could undermine its efforts to replace equipment lost in Ukraine," the ministry said. (06:52 GMT) Luhansk's Ukrainian governor has described the situation is Severodonetsk as "extremely aggravated". (07:37 GMT) Four people have been injured by shelling in a Russian town in the Bryansk region on the border with Ukraine, the regional governor said. The incident occurred in the town of Klintsy, some 50 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. (07:43 GMT) The Moscow Exchange has said it would suspend trading of the Swiss franc against the rouble and the US dollar after Switzerland adopted new EU sanctions against Russia. The Moscow Exchange, Russia's largest bourse, said it was having difficulty conducting transactions in the Swiss currency as a result of new trading restrictions imposed by Switzerland on June 10 last week. (07:49 GMT) Pope Francis has taken a new series of swipes at Russia for its actions in Ukraine, saying its troops were brutal, cruel and ferocious, while praising "brave" Ukrainians for fighting for survival. But in the text of a conversation he had last month with editors of Jesuit media, he also said the situation was not black and white and that the war was "perhaps in some way provoked". "We must not forget the real problems if we want them to be solved," Francis said, including the armaments industry among the factors that provide incentives for war. (09:01 GMT) A Ukrainian official has criticised Russian troops in the southern city of Mariupol as Russian authorities plan to re-open the drama theatre where "hundreds" of Ukrainians were bombed. (09:26 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine could create "new vulnerabilities" in Europe to illegal drugs by triggering shifts in smuggling routes and potentially exposing more people to narcotics, the Lisbon-based EU drugs agency has warned. (10:46 GMT) Ukraine's military has enough ammunition and weapons, but needs more long-range weapons, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Danish journalists during a press briefing. (10:47 GMT) The training of Ukrainian troops on German howitzers will soon be completed, paving the way for the use of the weapons in the war in Ukraine, German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has said. "The training on the Panzerhaubitze 2000 will soon be completed so that it can be used in battle in Ukraine," she told reporters during a visit to a military base in the western German town of Rheinbach. (12:03 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said it offered Ukrainian fighters sheltering in the Azot chemical plant in the eastern Ukrainian town of Severodonetsk the chance to surrender on June 15, the Interfax news agency reported. The ministry said Ukraine had asked Russia to set up an evacuation corridor to help civilians leave the plant, with all the bridges linking Severodonetsk to Ukrainian-held territory now destroyed. (12:25 GMT) Russia's energy giant Gazprom has said it would be reducing the daily gas deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany due to the "repair" of compressor units by German company Siemens. "Gas supplies via the Nord Stream gas pipeline can currently be provided in the amount of up to 100 million cubic metres per day," Gazprom said in a statement on Telegram, adding that the expected daily volume is 167 million cubic metres. (PJB: no just counter-sanctions! see 16:28 below) With the delayed return of components from Siemens, only three gas-pumping units were currently operational at the Portovaya compression station near the northwestern city of Vyborg, Gazprom added. (14:09 GMT) British business minister Kwasi Kwarteng has said EDF had agreed to keep its West Burton coal-fired power station online over winter and discussions are ongoing with two other plants about doing the same. (14:11 GMT) Russia will start to restrict public access to some government data in a bid to protect the country from additional sanctions, the finance ministry has said. In a statement, the ministry said it will partially restrict the information about budget spending it makes public in response to the "negative consequences" of sanctions on the Russian economy. (14:39 GMT) The US will allow certain energy-related transactions with Sberbank, VTB Bank, Alfa-Bank and several other Russian entities to continue through December 5, the US Department of Treasury has said in a notice posted online. Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control said it was extending the general license authorising the transactions with certain entities, which also included Russia's Central Bank, Sovcombank, among others. (14:47 GMT) Ukrainian armed forces are moving towards the administrative capital of the Russia-occupied southern region of Kherson, an official has said. They are approaching the village of Tomyna Balka that lies only 20km west of the capital, also named Kherson, Serhiy Hlan, an adviser to the region's head, said in televised remarks. Russia seized the Belgium-sized region in early March securing water and food supplies to annexed Crimea. (14:49 GMT) Putin likely still wants to capture much if not all of Ukraine but has had to narrow his tactical objectives in war, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl has said. (14:56 GMT) Ukraine needs at least $5bn a month to keep its wartime budget afloat. "Our expenses are much larger than the amounts that we collect now from traditional sources - the customs office and taxation," Daniil Hetmantsev, who heads the parliamentary commission on finances, taxes and customs, said in televised remarks. (15:01 GMT) Germany will place Gazprom Germania into long-term administration, recapitalising it with a loan to protect it from insolvency and rename it Securing Energy for Europe GmbH, a German government spokesperson has said. A government source said the loan, from the KfW state investment bank, would amount to between 9 and 10 billion euros ($10.4bn). Germany placed Gazprom's German subsidiary under temporary administration on April 4 to secure energy supplies after Russia invaded Ukraine. The new, long-term administration allows administrators to focus on ensuring supply security rather than on preserving the assets of the original owner. <== ie: theft (15:02 GMT) Russia has banned dozens of British journalists, media representatives and defence industry figures from entering the country, the foreign ministry has said in a statement. In a move that Moscow said was a response to Western sanctions and pressure on its state-run media outlets abroad, 29 journalists and members of British media organisations such as the BBC, the broadcaster Sky News and the Guardian and Times newspapers were personally banned. More than a dozen British figures who Moscow said were linked to the defence industry were also banned from entering Russia. (PJB: more counter-sanctions) (15:32 GMT) European countries will consider providing temporary granaries to Ukraine, which faces a shortage of silos for new grain crop, Ukrainian agriculture ministry has said. (16:06 GMT) Finland's Prime Minister has said that Finland's and Sweden's NATO applications could stall if an agreement with Turkey, which is currently blocking their bids, is not reached before a summit this month. (16:28 GMT) The capacity of Gazprom's Nord Stream 1 pipeline to supply gas to Europe is partly constrained as sanctions make it impossible for equipment supplier Siemens Energy to return a turbine being maintained in Canada, the companies have said. Gazprom said it has curbed supplies via the Nord Stream 1 undersea pipeline to Germany to up to 100 million cubic metres (mcm) per day, down from 167 mcm, citing the delayed return of equipment that had been sent for repair. This limits Russian gas supplies via another important route to Europe at a time when Germany, the region's biggest economy, questions Moscow's reliability as an energy provider, prompting efforts to look for alternative sources. (PJB: confirming 12:25 above) (17:16 GMT) The US Open will allow tennis players from Russia and Belarus to compete this year despite the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which prompted Wimbledon to ban those athletes. (17:55 GMT) Ukraine has received just 10% of the weapons it requested from the West to help fight off the Russian offensive, the deputy defence minister Anna Malyar has said. "No matter how hard Ukraine tries, no matter how professional our army is, without the help of Western partners we will not be able to win this war." (18:12 GMT) Biden says he's working closely with EU partners to build temporary silos along the Ukraine border and some in Poland to get much needed grain out. (19:04 GMT) Russian troops are carrying out assault operations in several places in eastern Ukraine as fierce street fighting continues for control of the strategically important city of Severodonetsk, and Russia is regrouping its troops and is trying to bring in reinforcements, the Ukrainian General Staff said in its latest report. There were Russian assaults in Rubizhne in Kharkiv and Zolote in the Luhansk region. Ukraine's soldiers fought off one of the attacks at Berestove in Donetsk, and heavy Russian artillery fire was reported on almost all sections of the front in the east and south of Ukraine. (19:39 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine is suffering difficult losses in Severodonetsk and in the Kharkiv region. He said the country needs modern anti-missile weapons now and there can be no justification for delaying their delivery. (23:25 GMT) Zelenskyy has again called on the West to send his forces "more modern anti-missile systems". "Our country does not have it at a sufficient level yet, but it is our country in Europe that needs such weapons most right now," Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine only managed to shoot down some missiles before the Lviv and Ternopil regions were hit on Tuesday. Delay with provision of these weapons cannot be justified, he said. (23:34 GMT) NATO must build out "even higher readiness" and strengthen its weapons capabilities along its eastern border in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the military alliance's chief has said. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was speaking after informal talks in the Netherlands on Tuesday with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and the leaders of Denmark, Poland, Latvia, Romania, Portugal and Belgium ahead of a wider NATO summit in Madrid at the end of the month. "In Madrid, we will agree a major strengthening of our posture," he said. "Tonight we discussed the need for more robust and combat-ready forward presence and an even higher readiness and more pre-positioned equipment and supplies." (23:45 GMT) Ukrainian forces are suffering painful losses in fighting Russian troops in the eastern city of Severodonetsk and the Kharkiv region, Zelenskyy has said. (23:53 GMT) Russian troops control about 80% of the fiercely contested eastern city of Severodonetsk, the governor of Luhansk has said. Serhiy Haidai acknowledged on Tuesday that a mass evacuation of civilians from Severodonetsk now was "simply not possible" due to the relentless shelling and fighting. He said about 500 civilians were still sheltering in the Azot chemical plant. 20220615 (01:04 GMT) Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny was abruptly transferred from a prison where he was serving his sentence to an undisclosed location on Tuesday, according to his allies. (01:05 GMT) Europe's top aviation safety regulator has said he is "very worried" about the safety of Western-made aircraft continuing to fly in Russia without access to spare parts and proper maintenance. The European Union and the United States have moved to restrict Russia's access to spare parts following its invasion of Ukraine. "This is very unsafe," Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), told reporters on the sidelines of a conference, adding that regulators do not have good data on many of the planes flying in Russia. (01:31 GMT) Poland's prime minister has criticised NATO's support so far for Ukraine, which has time and again called for more and heavier weapons. "We have not done enough defend Ukraine, to support Ukrainian people to defend their freedom and sovereignty. And this is why I urge you, I asked you to do much more to deliver weapon, artillery to Ukraine," Mateusz Morawiecki said at an informal meeting of seven European NATO nations at The Hague. (01:40 GMT) Russia would be ready to consider a UK appeal over the fate of two Britons sentenced to death for fighting for Ukraine, the Kremlin has said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said neither Moscow nor the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine who passed the sentence had heard from London on the issue. "You need to apply, of course, to the authorities of the country whose court passed the verdict, and that is not the Russian Federation," Peskov said on Tuesday. "But, of course, everything will depend on appeals from London. And I am sure that the Russian side will be ready to listen." (01:49 GMT) Nearly two-thirds of children in Ukraine have been uprooted during the war, according to Afshan Khan, the Europe and Central Asia director for UNICEF, who visited the country last week. (02:03 GMT) Nicaragua's Congress has renewed a decade-long decree allowing Russian forces to train in the Central American country, a decision the US criticised. Tuesday's decision allows 230 Russian soldiers to enter Nicaragua between July 1 and December 31 to patrol in Pacific waters with the Nicaraguan Army. President Daniel Ortega has backed Russian President Vladimir Putin in his attack on Ukraine and the decision was expected. Since 2012, Nicaragua's unicameral Congress has biannually approved the entry of foreign military personnel, including Russians, into the country. (02:46 GMT) The route between Ukraine's Donbas region and the Russian-annexed territory of Crimea via the occupied regions of Mariupol, Melitopol and Kherson is now available for civilian vehicles, TASS news agency reports citing a member of the self-proclaimed Moscow-backed administration of the Zaporizhia region. "It's not only for the military," Vladimir Rogov said. "I myself have already traveled from Kherson through Melitopol to Berdyansk, Mariupol, Novoazovsk. Through Novoazovsk I went to Russia." Last week, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the opening of the route to Crimea from Russia's city of Rostov-on-Don - through Ukraine's occupied cities of Mariupol, Berdyansk and Melitopol. (03:24 GMT) Dozens of defence ministers from NATO and other parts of the world are expected to discuss weapon deliveries to Ukraine on Wednesday in Brussels, Reuters reports US officials as having said. Ukraine needs 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones among other heavy weapons, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday. Zelenskyy has called for more modern anti-missile systems. (03:37 GMT) China should factor in the world's response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine as it looks to any future actions with respect to Taiwan, secretary of state Antony Blinken said in an interview on PBS NewsHour. (04:39 GMT) European countries, scrambling to secure alternatives to Russian coal, imported 40% more coal from South Africa's main export hub in the first five months of this year than over the whole of 2021, figures obtained by Reuters have shown. South Africa's Richards Bay Coal Terminal (RBCT) delivered 3,240,752 tonnes of coal to European countries by end-May this year, 15% of RBCT's overall exports, up from 2,321,190 (4%) in 2021. (05:17 GMT) Russia's reliance on heavy artillery has caused "extensive collateral damage" throughout Severodonetsk, which Moscow's forces largely control after more than a month of heavy fighting, the UK's defence ministry has said. (05:41 GMT) It's becoming more difficult for Ukraine's forces to hold off Russia's attacks on Severodonetsk, which are coming from three sides at the same time, the Ukrainian Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai has said. (06:09 GMT) Russian-backed separatists in the Luhansk region say Ukrainian forces have "taken hostage" up to 1,200 civilians in the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, Moscow's news agency TASS has said. "Now in Severodonetsk somewhere 1-1,200 civilians have been taken hostage and are in the territory of 'Azot'. They are kept there forcibly and for a long time... there is no water, no food, no medicine, among them are about 127 children," TASS quotes the Moscow-installed Assistant Minister of Internal Affairs of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, Vitaly Kiselev, as saying. (06:46 GMT) Ukraine says 313 children have been killed and 579 injured amid the war. Most child casualties were recorded in the regions of Donetsk (291), Kharkiv (169) Kyiv (116) Chernihiv (68), Luhansk (54), Kherson (52) and Mykolaiv (48), the prosecutor general's office said on Telegram. (07:01 GMT) Moscow claims to be protecting the rights of Russian-speaking people in Ukraine, but most of the cities destroyed by the Russian army were largely Russian-speaking, Zelenskyy has said. "And they are now switching to Ukrainian because they are shocked at how the Russian army could have done that to them," Zelenskyy told Danish journalists at an online press conference. Zelenskyy reiterated he would only negotiate with Russia if its forces withdrew from Ukraine. (07:35 GMT) Russia has told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant in Severodonetsk to lay down their arms as its troops press for complete control of the key city, in eastern Ukraine. Fighters should "stop their senseless resistance and lay down arms" from 8 am Moscow time (05:00 GMT), Mikhail Mizintsev, head of Russia's national defence management centre, told the Interfax news agency. Civilians would be let out through a humanitarian corridor, he said. (08:05 GMT) Macron has voiced a tougher line on Russia after visiting French and allied troops at a NATO base in Romania, seeking to assuage concerns in Ukraine and among some European allies over his previous stance towards Moscow. (08:23 GMT) At least 19 people have been wounded in recent days by Russian shelling in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, according to regional council head Hamma Zamazeyeva. (08:46 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have launched missile strikes on an ammunition warehouse for weapons donated to Kyiv by NATO member states in Ukraine's western Lviv region, destroying the facility. The ministry said some of the ammunition was to be used for US-produced M777 howitzers, a type of artillery weapon. (09:03 GMT) About 2.4 million hectares of winter crops with a total value of $1.4bn will remain unharvested in Ukraine because of Russia's invasion, the country's agriculture ministry says. It estimated that the number of animals killed in areas affected by fighting included 42,000 sheep and goats, 92,000 cows, 258,000 pigs and more than 5.7 million birds. (09:12 GMT) France's president Macron says that Ukraine's leader will have to hold talks with Russia at some point in order to try and end the war. (09:21 GMT) Romania's president has urged the European Union to grant Ukraine candidate status, saying the decision is the correct call. (09:27 GMT) Up to 1,200 civilians may be holed up in the shelters of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk, according to a Moscow-backed separatist leader in eastern Ukraine's self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). "About 1,000 to 1,200 civilians of Sievierodonetsk may still be on the territory of the Azot chemical plant," Rodion Miroshnik, an official in the LPR's Russian-backed self-styled separatist administration, said in a Telegram post. (09:45 GMT) The Kremlin says communication with the US remains "essential" despite high tensions between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine. But Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that dialogue could only be conducted on a basis of mutual respect and benefit. "The US is not going anywhere, Europe is not going anywhere, so somehow we will have to communicate with them," he said. But he added the issue was "not a topic on the short-term horizon". (10:01 GMT) NATO's secretary-general has called on members of the US-led transatlantic military alliance to continue to supply Ukraine with heavy weaponry and long-range weapons systems, warning there is an "urgent need" to step up arms deliveries. "Ukraine is really in a very critical situation and therefore, it's an urgent need to step up," he said, echoing calls for additional supplies from Kyiv, which complains it has only received a fraction of what it needs and is clamouring for heavier weaponry. Stoltenberg noted that NATO allies had recently shifted to delivering "more long-range, more advanced air defence systems, more advanced artillery [and] more heavy weapons" to Ukraine. "[But] it is also a fact that when we now are actually starting the transition from Soviet-era weapons to more modern NATO weapons there will also be some time needed to just make the Ukrainians ready to use and operate these systems." (10:20 GMT) A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry says the death sentences handed down to three foreign fighters in eastern Ukraine's Moscow-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) will set a "clear example to other soldiers of fortune fighting for Ukraine". (10:36 GMT) Ukraine's president has urged the EU to tighten sanctions on Russia, warning that its forces could attack other countries after invading his own. "Russia is not interested only in our [cities of] Mariupol, Severodonetsk, Kharkiv and Kyiv. No, its ambitions are directed on a vast area from Warsaw to Sofia," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech given to both chambers of the Czech Republic's parliament via video link. "As in the past, the Russian invasion of Ukraine is the first step that the Russian leadership needs to open the way to other countries, to the conquest of other peoples," he added. (11:00 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has told his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin during talks by phone that all parties should work towards resolving the crisis in Ukraine "in a responsible manner", Chinese state broadcaster CCTV reported. China and Russia have grown increasingly close in recent years, and in February, Putin and Xi signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership aimed at countering the geopolitical influence wielded by the United States and said they would have "no 'forbidden' areas of cooperation". (11:35 GMT) Russia's economy minister says that this year's economic recession in the country could be significantly less deep than previous estimates. (11:55 GMT) The European Union, Israel and Egypt have signed a tripartite natural gas export deal as the bloc seeks to diversify from Russian energy in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/eu-signs-gas-deal-with-israel-egypt-in-bid-to-ditch-russia (13:04 GMT) A powerful blast has rocked the town of Chornobaivka in Ukraine's largely-occupied southern region of Kherson, killing and wounding civilians, according to a regional official. The blast ripped through a market early on Wednesday morning, Serhiy Khlan, adviser to the Ukrainian head of the region, said in a Facebook post. (13:16 GMT) A UN commission set up to investigate possible war crimes in Ukraine during Russia's invasion says it has not yet not managed to establish contact with Moscow. (13:47 GMT) Global peace is at its lowest level in more than a decade fuelled by pandemic-related economic uncertainty and the Ukraine conflict, according to the Global Peace Index. The report (PDF), the 16th of its kind produced by the Australian-headquartered Institute for Economics and Peace, said the average level of global "peacefulness" had deteriorated by 0.3% in 2021, falling to its lowest overall level in 15 years. (13:52 GMT) Analysts say that Ukraine has long suffered from systemic corruption but that Russia, which often weaponises the issue, is in no position to judge. www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/how-problematic-is-corruption-in-ukraine Ukrainian leaders Yanukovych, Zelenskyy and Poroshenko have all been accused of failing to stop corruption. (14:08 GMT) Building grain silos at the Polish-Ukrainian border as proposed by US President Biden to help channel the crop from Ukraine to global markets would take three to four months, Poland's agriculture minister says. "President Biden's proposal is an interesting idea but it requires working out several details, including location, infrastructure, financing, ownership," Henryk Kowalczyk said in a Facebook post. "We also have to realise that finalising this type of investment takes three-four months." (14:22 GMT) Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has warned that Ukraine "might not exist at all" within a couple of years. (14:45 GMT) Moscow can "provide safe passage" for Ukraine grain shipments from the country's Black Sea ports, but is not responsible for establishing the corridors, Russia's Ambassador to the United Nations says. "We are not responsible for establishing safe corridors. We said we could provide safe passage if these corridors are established. Establish them. It's obvious it's either demine the territory, which was mined by the Ukrainians, or to ensure that the passage goes around those mines," Vassily Nebenzia told reporters. (15:05 GMT) The speaker of Russia's State Duma, the country's lower house of parliament, says that fighters sentenced to death in eastern Ukraine's Moscow-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) "deserve" to die. "Every day we see crimes against humanity committed by the Kyiv neo-Nazi regime, shelling residential areas, hospitals, maternity hospitals, kindergartens, schools. Old people, women and children are dying," Vyacheslav Volodin said in a Telegram post. (15:12 GMT) Washington has imposed sanctions on two backers of an "ethnically motivated violent extremist group" called the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM), one of whom visited the US to make connections with far-right and white nationalist groups. The US Department of the Treasury named the two individuals as Stanislav Shevchuk, a Europe-based representative of RIM, who travelled to the US in 2017 seeking connections with "extremist" groups, and Alexander Zhuchkovsky, a Russia-based supporter of RIM, who has used his Russia- -based social media platform to fundraise and recruit for the group. (15:18 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has urged Washington's allies not to "lose steam" on sending weapons to Ukraine as Kyiv pleads desperately for heavier arms to hold back Russia's invasion. "We must intensify our shared commitment to Ukraine's self-defence, and we must push ourselves even harder to ensure that Ukraine can defend itself, its citizens and its territory," Austin said at a meeting in Brussels with some 50 countries backing Ukraine, including NATO member states. (15:29 GMT) Since Russia launched its invasion, Ukraine has received billions of dollars' worth of weapons and military equipment from dozens of countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and Turkey, among others. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/infographic-what-weapons-has-ukraine-received-from-the-us-and-al (15:52 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister says it will "take some time" to de-mine Ukraine's Black Sea ports and a safe sea corridor could meanwhile be established in areas without mines under a UN proposal in order to allow for the resumption of Ukrainian grain shipments amid fears of a looming global food crisis. "Since the location of the mines is known, certain safe lines would be established at three ports," Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "These [commercial] ships, with the guidance of Ukraine's research and rescue vessels as envisaged in the plan, could thus come and go safely to ports without a need to clear the mines." Cavusoglu discussed the plan with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Ankara last week, but said further discussions with Moscow and Kyiv were needed. Lavrov then said the onus was on Ukraine to clear mines around its ports for commercial ships to approach. Kyiv fears that de-mining its ports would leave it far more vulnerable to Russian attack from the Black Sea. (16:48 GMT) Ukraine's gas production could drop to 16-17 billion cubic metres (BCM) in 2022 because of the Russian invasion from about 20 bcm in 2021, according to energy minister Herman Halushchenko. (17:15 GMT) US President Joe Biden has announced a new package of arms and ammunition for Ukraine after reaffirming Washington's support for Kyiv against Russia's invasion in a call with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The package of $1bn-worth of arms includes more artillery, coastal anti-ship defence systems and ammunition for artillery and advanced rocket systems that Ukraine is already using, Biden said. (18:00 GMT) Canada will provide 10 replacement barrels for M777 howitzer artillery guns to Ukraine in new military aid valued at 9 million Canadian dollars ($6.9 million), according to the Canadian defence minister. Canada donated the M777 howitzers to Ukraine earlier and the replacement barrels are needed to maintain their distance range and accuracy. (18:40 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine was at a "pivotal" moment and the United States and its allies could not lose focus on the three-month long conflict, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says. Austin was speaking at a meeting of dozens of defence ministers on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial gathering. (19:08 GMT) Germany will supply three MARS II multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine, according to Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht, adding that the training of Ukrainian troops would begin in the coming weeks. The MARS II multiple rocket launcher can hit targets at a distance of more than 80km. (20:40 GMT) The White House has urged Americans not to travel to Ukraine after reports emerged that two Americans had been captured by Russian forces. John Kirby, a National Security Council spokesperson, told reporters that if the reports are true, the United States "will do everything we can" to get them back. (21:33 GMT) Two American veterans from Alabama fighting in Ukraine against Russian forces have not been heard from in days and are missing. Relatives of Andy Tai Ngoc Huynh, 27, and Alexander Drueke, 39, have been in contact with both Senate and House offices seeking information about the men's whereabouts, press aides said. Representative Robert Aderholt said Huynh volunteered to go fight with the Ukrainian, but relatives have not heard from him since June 8, when he was in the Kharkiv region of northeastern Ukraine, near the Russian border. Huynh and Drueke were together. Captive Americans would add another layer of complexity to efforts by the United States, which is pumping billions of dollars into Ukraine but trying to steer clear of direct confrontation with Russia. (21:39 GMT) Ukraine ignored a Russian ultimatum to surrender the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which now largely lies in ruins after weeks of heavy bombardment. Russia told Ukrainian forces holed up in a chemical plant there to lay down their arms. Ukraine says more than 500 civilians, including 40 children, remain alongside soldiers inside the Azot chemical factory. Moscow said it opened a humanitarian corridor from Azot to allow civilians to escape to Russian-controlled territory. It accused Ukraine's forces of disrupting that plan and using civilians as human shields, which Kyiv denied. (21:55 GMT) President Zelenskyy said he was "grateful" for a new 1bn$ American arms package to Kyiv after speaking to President Biden. "The United States announced new strengthening of our defence, a new $1 billion support package," Zelenskyy said in an evening address. "I am grateful for this support, it is especially important for our defence in [the eastern region of] Donbas." US officials have said they are tailoring their military assistance to Ukraine to the needs of the battlefield in Donbas. "Every day I fight for Ukraine to get the necessary weapons and equipment," Zelenskyy said. "But courage, wisdom and tactical skills cannot be imported. And our heroes have those." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/us-to-sent-1bn-in-fresh-aid-to-ukraine-biden-tells-zelenskyy (22:12 GMT) Russian people and companies are using entities in Georgia to bypass Western sanctions, a group of Ukrainian lawmakers alleged. "They [Russians] use heavily right now ... Georgian banks, Georgian financial system, Georgian companies and so on," David Arakhamia, Ukraine's chief negotiator with Russia, told reporters. "If you are a sanctioned Russian person, you go to the Internet, you open up a Georgian company, open up remotely the bank account and start processing." The Georgian embassy in Washington said the accusations were "completely false". (22:38 GMT) The leaders of the European Union's three biggest countries, Germany, France and Italy, are expected in Kyiv on Thursday to show their backing for Ukraine. The visit by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has taken weeks to organise with the three looking to overcome criticism within Ukraine over their response to the war. (22:50 GMT) The Russian military said it used long-range missiles to destroy a depot in the western Lviv region of Ukraine where ammunition for NATO-supplied weapons was stored. Near the border with NATO-member Poland, Russian forces used high-precision Kalibr missiles to destroy the depot near the town of Zolochiv, Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Konashenkov said shells for M777 howitzers, a type supplied by the United States, were stored there. He said four howitzers were destroyed elsewhere and Russian air strikes also destroyed Ukrainian "aviation equipment" at a military aerodrome in the southern Mykolaiv region. (PJB: isn't this a reannouncement ? see 20220615 at 08:46 GMT) (PJB: The live blog seems closed :-( instead we have) aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-112 Ah no, it's back ... (23:21 GMT) Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov says the rouble is overvalued and industry would be more comfortable if it fell to between 70 to 80 against the US dollar from the current 57, the state-owned Tass news agency has said. (23:38 GMT) The White House does not believe it currently needs an additional Ukraine aid package from the United States Congress after just tapping a recently approved $40bn measure. 20220616 (01:32 GMT) The prime ministers of Albania and Montenegro visited Kyiv on Wednesday to meet with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of solidarity for Ukraine. The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski, joined Albania's Edi Rama and Montenegro's Dritan Abazovic by video link. The leaders put together a statement in support of Ukraine becoming a candidate state for European Union membership. (01:42 GMT) Zelenskyy is in "constant contact" with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Ukraine's president has said, after the two shared a phone call on Wednesday 20220615. (01:49 GMT) A food security crisis stoked by the Ukraine war is set to push more people to flee their homes in poorer countries, driving record levels of global displacement even higher, the head of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) says. A report by the UN body shows that some 89.3 million people were forcibly displaced worldwide as a result of persecution, conflict, abuse and violence at the end of 2021. Since then, millions more have fled Ukraine or been displaced within its borders, with price hikes linked to blocked grain exports set to stoke more displacement elsewhere. dw.com.au says: https://www.dw.com/en/why-usa-no-middle-east-support-ukraine/a-62131430 The US and EU would like Saudi Arabia to pump more oil and the UAE to stop hiding Russian oligarchs' superyachts and assets. But they won't - even though the US is still the dominant military power in the region. (02:35 GMT) The $1 billion package of US military aid for Ukraine announced on Wednesday includes 18 howitzers and 36,000 rounds of ammunition, as well as 18 tactical vehicles to tow the howitzers. The US will also send ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) it had previously announced; four tactical vehicles to recover equipment; spare parts and other equipment; two harpoon coastal defence systems; and thousands of secure radios, night vision devices, thermal sights and other optics. Ukraine's presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Monday Kyiv needs 1,000 howitzers, 500 tanks and 1,000 drones, among other heavy weapons. In addition, Zelenskyy has called for more modern anti-missile systems. The total cost of the US package includes $350 million in rapid, off-the-shelf deliveries by the Pentagon and $650 million in other longer-term purchases. All combined, the US has now committed about $6.3 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $5.6 billion since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. (02:54 GMT) Russian Gazprom's move to cut supplies of gas to Germany is a warning signal that could cause problems for Europe's biggest economy in winter, the head of Germany's Bundesnetzagentur energy regulator has said. Gazprom on Wednesday announced a further cut in the amount of gas it can pump through the Nord Stream 1, meaning the pipeline will run at just 40% capacity. "We could perhaps get through the summer as the heating season is over. But it is imperative that we fill the storage facilities to get through the winter," regulator chief Klaus Mueller told the Rheinische Post daily. Asked if he feared that Russia was serious about freezing gas supplies, Mueller said: "It has so far been Russia's logic to want to continue selling gas to Germany. But we can't rule anything out." (03:39 GMT) Essential supplies are running out for the thounsands of civilians trapped in Severodonetsk, many sheltering in the Azot chemical plant, the UN has warned. "The lack of water and sanitation is a big worry. It's a huge concern for us because people cannot survive for long without water," spokesperson for the UN's Humanitarian Affairs office, Saviano Abreu, told the BBC. He said that food supplies and health provisions were also running out in Severodonetsk. (04:04 GMT) Japan's low-cost airline, Zipair Tokyo, has said it will replace its logo featuring the letter "Z" to avoid confusion, as the Russian army has been using the letter as its main symbol in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, the Japan Times reports. The president of the wholly-owned subsidiary of Japan Airlines told reporters that some people might see the current logo, which appears on the aircraft tail, as indicating that the company approves of Russia's invasion. (05:09 GMT) Russia's opposition politician Alexei Navalny has confirmed that he is now in a maximum security prison after his allies raised alarm on Tuesday that he had been transferred, from the prison where he was serving his sentence, to an unknown location. (05:23 GMT) The Romanian Black Sea port in the city of Constanta has become one of the main transit hubs for Ukrainian grain exports. The war-torn country is racing to export about 20 million tonnes of grain stuck in its silos in time to accommodate the harvest of its new crops, which is set to start next month. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/6/16/photos-romanian-port-becomes-key-transit-hub-for-ukrainian-grain The relatively slow pace of the Ukrainian grains transiting the Romanian port is set by difficulties in transporting high volumes of cereal from Ukraine to Constanta by land, or by barge via the Danube River from the small Ukrainian ports of Ismail and Reni. (05:33 GMT) Russia and the United States must discuss the extension of the START nuclear arms reduction treaty, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the RIA news agency. The matter was important for global security and Russia's military operation in Ukraine was no reason to avoid its discussion, Peskov added. Russia and the US hold more than 90 % of the world's nuclear weapons. (06:20 GMT) For both Russian and Ukrainian forces, fighting for key towns and cities such as Severodonetsk, is "devolving to small groups of troops typically operating on foot," the UK's ministry of affairs has said. "Some of Russia's strengths, such as its advantage in numbers of tanks, become less relevant in this environment," which is "likely contributing to its continued slow rate of advance." (06:53 GMT) The French president, German chancellor and Italian prime minister have arrived in Kyiv, Emmanuel Macron's office has said. (06:59 GMT) Three multiple-rocket launchers that Germany pledged to Kyiv can be delivered in July or August after Ukrainian troops have been trained on the weapons, Germany's defence minister Christine Lambrech has said. (07:21 GMT) The German leader, now in the capital, Kyiv, pledges enduring support for Ukraine, along with Draghi and Macron. "We want to show not only solidarity, but also assure that the help that we're organising - financial, humanitarian, but also, when it comes to weapons - will continue," Scholz told Bild daily. "And that we will continue it as long as it is necessary for Ukraine's fight" against Moscow, he said. The chancellor added that EU sanctions imposed on Russia "contribute to the chance that Russia will abandon its plan and withdraw its troops - because that's the goal". (07:51 GMT) A French diplomatic source has told Reuters news agency that France wants a military Ukrainian victory against Russia that reestablishes the territorial integrity of the country, including Crimea that was seized by Russia in 2014. The source added it was up to Zelenskyy to define what a military victory could be. <== so Zelenskyy is in charge ... (07:52 GMT) Russia is not considering dropping out of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Interfax news agency reported citing a deputy Russian foreign minister. The diplomat's comment came a month after Russian Duma's Deputy Speaker Pyotr Tolstoy said that Moscow was starting the process of unilaterally withdrawing from a series of international bodies, including the WTO. (08:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said the visit of the three European leaders is important to address a wide range of issues, from weapons' delivery to Ukraine's EU membership. (08:34 GMT) Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is also now in Kiev joining the three other European leaders. (08:39 GMT) "It's an important moment. It's a message of unity we're sending to the Ukrainians, of support, to talk both about the present and the future, since the coming weeks, as we know, will be very difficult," Macron said as he arrived in Kyiv. Soon after his arrival, together with Draghi and Macron, air raid sirens were heard in the city. (09:03 GMT) Heavy fighting continues in Severodonetsk, in Eastern Luhansk region, where an estimated thousand of civilians are sheltering inside the Azot chemical plant, Al Jazeera's Chales Stratford reported. (09:13 GMT) The European leaders are now visiting war-scarred Kyiv's suburb of Irpin, where residential buildings and civilian infrastructure remain damaged following Russian troops' attempts early in the invasion to capture the capital. (09:40 GMT) Macron praises Ukrainian "heroism" in the face of Russia's invasion while visiting Irpin. "It's here, among other places, that the Ukrainians stopped the Russian army descending onto Kyiv," the French leader said. "It represents the heroism of the army, but also of the Ukrainian population. And alongside that, you have traces of barbarism." He also said that there are signs of war crimes following "massacres" by Russian forces. (09:58 GMT) Moscow is ready to restart peace talks with Ukraine but has yet to receive a response to its latest proposals, Interfax news agency cited Russia's chief negotiator as saying. Vladimir Medinsky said Kyiv was to blame for the lack of progress. (10:15 GMT) Serhiy Haidai, governor of the eastern region of Luhansk says Russian forces have concentrated all their reserves to capture Severodonetsk. "Fierce battles are fought for every house in the city," Haidai said in his daily briefing, adding that Ukrainians need long-range artillery to push back Russian forces. (10:25 GMT) The Kremlin warns against new Western weapons supplies, saying it would be "absolutely useless". "I would like to hope that the leaders of these three states and the President of Romania will not only focus on supporting Ukraine by further pumping Ukraine with weapons," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that it would be "absolutely useless and will cause further damage to the country". (11:17 GMT) The leaders of Italy, France, Germany and Romania sit for a face-to-face talk with Zelenskyy. Images showed the four leaders in business suits sitting around a wooden table with the Ukrainian leader in his customary khaki T-shirt. (11:50 GMT) Russia will have to delay the implementation of some climate-related projects due to restrictions on supplies of foreign equipment, but will stay in the Paris climate accord, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Viktoria Abramchenko told Reuters news agency. Abramchenko said Russia plans to harvest about 130 million tonnes of grain in 2023, on par with the current year, while the government has no plans to change grain export duty. She added that the government does not plan to alter the grain export tax formula. She also denied accusations that Russia was transporting grain from the Ukrainian territories it now controls. (12:10 GMT) Britain has sanctioned the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, for "his prominent support of Russian military aggression in Ukraine". (12:28 GMT) Italian energy giant Eni said it will receive only 65% of the gas requested from Gazprom due to problems at the Russian company's Portovaya compression station. Eni said it had asked for 44% more gas than on Wednesday, when the supply was cut by 15%, and "Gazprom announced that only 65 % of the requested volumes will be delivered", a spokesman said. (12:33 GMT) Zelenskyy will take part in this month's Group of Seven summit, the German chancellor has said on Twitter. Scholz thanked the Ukrainian leader for "accepting my invitation to participate in the G7 summit" being held from June 26 to 28 in the German Alpine resort of Schloss Elmau. Zelenskyy, who is not believed to have left Ukraine since the start of the war, was expected to join the leaders by video link. (12:41 GMT) The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has said he hopes his war crimes investigation in Ukraine would show there can be no escape from justice during conflicts. (13:26 GMT) The head of Ukraine's president's office says his country has handed over sanctions proposals against Russia at a meeting in Kyiv between President Zelenskyy and the visiting leaders of several European nations. "We must increase pressure on the aggressor, work on a seventh package of sanctions with a gas embargo," Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. (13:59 GMT) Russia has announced it had banned 121 Australian citizens, including top journalists and defence officials, from entering, accusing them of being part of a "Russophobic agenda". Among the sanctioned individuals were journalists from Australia's ABC News, Sydney Morning Herald, Sky News and Nine Network, as well as businesspeople and various defence officials. Peter Malinauskas, the premier of South Australia, mining magnate Gina Rinehart and armed forces chief General Angus Campbell were all included on the list, as were prominent TV personalities Liz Hayes, Stan Grant and Andrew Bolt. (14:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kimberley Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, said the US is hoping its announcement of more military aid for Ukraine will "encourage its European partners to in turn do the same". "Even though Ukraine is not a member of NATO ... there is this belief that there is an obligation on the part of NATO and all of the alliance's member states to help Ukraine defend its sovereignty against Russia's invasion," Halkett said. She added Washington's move was prompted by mounting concern that the Russians "are better manned in terms of numbers and equipped in terms of artillery" against the Ukrainian forces. (15:37 GMT) European Council President Charles Michel visited North Macedonia during a visit to North Macedonia says with the landlocked Balkan country and neighboring Albania over EU membership have become a "top priority" since the Ukraine war began. (17:52 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy referenced World War II and the movie Star Wars as he sought aid from big tech firms, appearing as a hologram at a conference in Paris. He told a crowd of hundreds at the VivaTech trade show that Ukraine was offering technology firms a unique chance to rebuild the country as a fully digital democracy. (18:50 GMT) Ukraine alone should decide whether or not to accept any territorial concessions towards Russia in view of ending the war, French President Macron told TF1 television in an interview as he visited Kyiv. (19:16 GMT) Temporary silos on Ukraine's border would be intended to prevent Russia from stealing Ukrainian grain and make sure the country's winter harvest is not lost due to a lack of storage, U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack has said. (19:55 GMT) The intensity and extent of the death and destruction in Mariupol suggested that "serious violations" of international humanitarian law and "gross violations" of international human rights law occurred during the battle for the Ukrainian city, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has said. Michelle Bachelet made the observation as she presented her agency's report into the situation in Mariupol before the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. (23:43 GMT) The United States has said it has not asked Russia about two US citizens reported missing after traveling to Ukraine to fight against Russian forces and said there are reports of a third missing American. "As of today, we have not raised this yet with the Russian Federation ... (We) haven't seen anything from the Russians indicating that two such individuals are in their custody," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters. 20220617 (00:28 GMT) A pair of Russian pranksters have revealed fragments of an interview they conducted with British writer J.K. Rowling while posing as people with sympathies toward neighbouring Ukraine. Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stoliarov, who are also known as 'Vovan and Lexus' on their show on Russian video platform Rutube, revealed the video at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (00:32 GMT) Britain will welcome representatives from Ukraine and business leaders on Friday to discuss how UK companies can help rebuild key infrastructure in Kyiv. (00:42 GMT) Emmanuel Macron has asked French arms manufacturer, Nexter, to increase the production of Caesar howitzers as he promised to send six more of the weapon systems to the Ukrainian army, a source close to France's defence ministry said, Reuters reports. Macron on Thursday pledged to send six more Ceasar howitzers out of French army stocks to Ukraine, adding to the 12 previously delivered. The French army in total holds less than 80 such artillery weapon systems. (01:00 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his government to come up with new measures to support the domestic car industry, which has seen sales tank since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. (01:11 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Russia's invasion amounted to aggression against all Europe and that the more weapons Ukraine receives from the West, the faster it will be able to liberate its occupied land. (01:18 GMT) The pro-Russian militia of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) have said efforts to evacuate people to safety from the eastern frontline city of Severodonetsk had failed, in a video released on Thursday. (01:35 GMT) Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has remained coy over whether he would accept Zelenskyy's invitation to visit Ukraine later this month, Sky News reports. Ukraine's ambassador to Australia previously said Zelenskyy had extended the invitation when he congratulated Albanese on Labor's election win on May 21. But Albanese told Sky News he had only read about the invitation in the paper. (02:13 GMT) Russian-flagged ships have been carrying Ukraine's grain that was harvested last season and transported to Syria over the last couple of months, US satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies has said. (02:24 GMT) Europe's energy security is not at immediate risk as a result of Russia reducing gas supplies to more European countries on Thursday, a European Commission spokesperson has said. "Based on our exchange with the national authorities this morning via the Gas Coordination Group, there is no indication of an immediate security of supply risk," the spokesperson said, adding that Brussels and countries' national authorities were monitoring the situation closely. (02:55 GMT) Ukrainian peace talks negotiator dismissed Russia's latest comments about being ready to resume negotiations as "an attempt to deceive the world." Russia, Mykhailo Podolyak said in an online post on Thursday, wanted to give the impression of being ready to talk while planning to stab Ukraine in the back. Kyiv would definitely return to the negotiations but only at the right time, he added. (03:13 GMT) The head of the state of South Australia has responded to Moscow's latest set of sanctions, which ban him among more than 200 Australian citizens from dealings with Russia, by saying he will not be bullied by Putin. "Overnight I became the first Premier blacklisted by Vladimir Putin," Peter Malinauskas wrote on Twitter. "While travelling to Russia wasn't on my bucket list, it appears this decision has been made in response my government's strong stance in standing up for Ukraine," he said. "Vladimir Putin, I won't be bullied, the State Government won't be bullied and I will continue to stand up for democracy," he added. (03:31 GMT) The UK's new round of sanctions on Russian officials includes Moscow's Children's Rights Commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for her role in the "forced transfer and adoption of Ukrainian children", a statement from the foreign ministry says. The statement describes Russia's treatment of children in Ukraine as "barbaric" and says that "Lvova-Belova has been accused of enabling 2,000 vulnerable children being violently taken from the Luhansk and Donetsk regions". Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in mid-May that more than 190,000 children had arrived in Russia from Ukraine's Donbas region, including about 1,200 coming from orphanages in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. (04:37 GMT) The head of the Russian Central Bank has warned that the country's economy faces pressure from abroad that could persist indefinitely, dampening hopes that conditions could return to what they were before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. "It seems to me that it's obvious to everyone that it won't be as it was before," Elvira Nabiullina said at a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, an annual showpiece gathering aimed at investors. "External conditions have changed for a long time indeed, if not forever," she said. Russia's Minister of Economic Development, Maxim Reshetnikov, told the same session that the prognosis is for Russia's gross domestic product to fall by 7.8% this year, but "in the last month, there's been a wave of improving assessments and prognoses". (05:03 GMT) The Dutch intelligence service has uncovered a Russian military agent attempting to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC) which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine. Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov created an elaborate cover story dating back years to attempt to enter the Netherlands as a Brazilian national for an internship at the Hague-based ICC in April, the agency's head told the Reuters news agency on Thursday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/16/russian-spy-caught-seeking-to-infiltrate-icc-netherlands (05:41 GMT) Moscow's representative to Syria has labelled as fake reports that Russian-flagged ships had been seen taking Ukraine's grain to ports in Syria, state news agency RIA reports. Reuters had earlier reported on satellite images from Maxar Technologies showing that Russia had been transporting Ukraine's grain, that was harvested last season, to Syria over the last couple of month. "This is more fake, unconfirmed and unrealistic information," RIA quotes Alexander Lavrentyev as saying. "The main reserves are located in the Nikolaev [Mykolaiv] and the Odesa regions. Russian ships do not have access to these ports, because they are under the control of Ukraine." (05:55 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has said that his country "didn't invade Ukraine". "We declared a special military operation because we had absolutely no other way of explaining to the West that dragging Ukraine into NATO was a criminal act," Sergey Lavrov told the BBC. When asked about Russia's relationship with the United Kingdom, Lavrov said there was no room for manoeuvre any more. "Because Johnson and Truss claim publicly that 'we must defeat Russia', 'We must bring it to its knees'. Well, go on, do it," he said. (06:43 GMT) The war in Ukraine has accelerated Russia's long-term internal trajectory towards authoritarianism, the UK's defence ministry has said. "In recent weeks, the Duma has started the process to introduce a 20-year sentence for Russians who fight against the Russian Federation," the ministry said in its intelligence briefing on Twitter. "Migration applications suggest that 15,000 Russian millionaires (in US dollars) are likely already attempting to leave the country." (06:55 GMT) Russian-owned superyacht Amadea seized by the United States arrived in Honolulu Harbor on Thursday flying an American flag. The US last week won a legal battle in Fiji to take the $325m vessel and immediately sailed it to Hawaii. The FBI has linked the Amadea to the Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. (07:34 GMT) Italy's Eni says it will receive only half of the gas supply volumes it had requested from Russia's Gazprom on Friday after experiencing a shortfall in the two previous days. "Against a daily gas demand by Eni of around 63 million cubic meters, Gazprom announced that it will only supply 50% of what was requested, with actual quantities delivered almost unchanged from yesterday," the energy giant said on its website. (07:58 GMT) Ukraine says it hit a Russian naval tugboat transporting soldiers, weapons, and ammunition to the Russian-occupied Zmiinyi island south of the Odesa region with missiles. Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko named the tugboat as the Vasiliy Beg. (09:05 GMT) Slovakia's gas importer SPP was informed by Russia that its deliveries of gas would be reduced by half, its chief executive was quoted as saying. "Cutting the deliveries by a half does not hurt us at the moment. We are working with a realistic risk that they will be cut completely," SPP boss Richard Prokypcak was cited as saying by Slovak news website Dennik N. (09:25 GMT) France has not received any natural gas from Russia via pipeline since June 15, network operator GRTgaz says, after Russian energy giant Gazprom warned this week it would sharply cut deliveries to Europe. (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin says the goal of its "special military operation" in Ukraine remains the protection of the population of the eastern Donbas region. (10:49 GMT) The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest cannot be held in Ukraine given the war, the European Broadcasting Union has announced. Ukraine's Kalush Orchestra won this year's contest last month, with the UK's entry coming second. (11:13 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, says "the devil is in the detail" on the European Commission's move to recommend Ukraine be granted candidate status in its bid to join the EU. "[If a candidate], the Ukrainians must comply with several different criteria but the most important ones are they have to prove that they have a stable democracy, a functioning market economy and that the rule of law pertains throughout their country," Kane said. "And they have to sign up to accepting all parts of EU legislation and that includes joining the Euro [currency] when or if they join the EU." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/17/analysis-what-would-ukraine-joining-the-eu-really-mean (11:30 GMT) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/17/reporters-notebook-kharkiv Click here to read an account by Al Jazeera's Assed Baig of the harrowing scenes he witnessed in Ukraine's second city, including apparent abuses by both sides. (11:43 GMT) Ukraine is scrapping visa-free entry for Russians and will require them to obtain visas to enter the country from the beginning of next month, Zelenskyy has announced. (12:44 GMT) The European Council for Nuclear Research (CERN) says its decision-making body intends to terminate cooperation agreements with Russia and Belarus after they expire in 2024 over the situation in Ukraine. (13:01 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has accused Brussels of "manipulating" Ukraine after the European Commission recommended the country be granted candidate status for joining the 27-nation bloc. "We see how for many years the Western community has been manipulating the idea of some kind of involvement of Ukraine in their integration structures," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. (13:41 GMT) Putin says that Russia's economy has weathered a "blitzkrieg" of Western sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's invasion. https://tass.com/economy/1467693 Delivering a combative speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Russian president said gloomy forecasts for his country's economy had not been fulfilled. He also delivered a lengthy denunciation of the United States and its allies, accusing Washington of treating other countries as "colonies" and warning "nothing will be as it used to be in global politics" any more. Putin has delivered a 73-minute speech at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum after an initial delay due to an alleged cyberattack. Here are some highlights: * Putin said Western sanctions had failed as he pledged to expand economic cooperation "with those who want it". * He denied Moscow was to blame for rising prices on the global grain market, accusing Washington of "snapping up" food and pushing up costs, and said Russia stood ready to boost grain and fertiliser exports. * Putin said the EU had lost its "political sovereignty" and accused the bloc's leaders of "dancing to someone else's tune" at the expense of their own populations. * He argued Russia's decision to launch its self-described "special military operation" in Ukraine was "difficult ... but forced and necessary". * The speech ended with him saying Russia was entering a new global order as a "powerful and modern country". (14:04 GMT) Denmark's army says a Russian warship twice violated Danish territorial waters north of the Baltic Sea island of Bornholm earlier today. Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod slammed the alleged action, which coincided with the holding of a democracy festival on Bornholm attended by senior lawmakers and business people, as unacceptable. "A deeply irresponsible, gross and completely unacceptable Russian provocation in the middle of #fmdk," Kofod tweeted, referring to the Democracy Festival of Denmark. (14:22 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister says his country has received a loan of one billion Canadian dollars ($770m) on concessional terms, its first funds through an "administered account" set up by the International Monetary Fund. (14:52 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has made a surprise visit to Kyiv for talks with Ukraine's president. "My visit today, in the depths of this war, is to send a clear and simple message to the Ukrainian people: the UK is with you, and we will be with you until you ultimately prevail," Johnson said. During his talks with Zelenskyy, Johnson offered to launch a major training operation for Ukrainian forces, with the potential to train up to 10,000 soldiers every 120 days, his office said. In joint news conference with Zelenskyy, Johnson said Britain will give Kyiv the "strategic endurance" to prevail in Russia's war on Ukraine, and it will continue to intensify sanctions against Russia. He also pledged to help Ukraine free up grain for export via the Black Sea, which he said was being "held hostage" by Vladimir Putin. (15:09 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has accused the Netherlands of waging an "anti-Russian campaign", responding to Dutch authorities announcing the detention of a man they said was a Russian spy. The ministry's remarks came after the Dutch intelligence service said on Thursday it had uncovered a Russian military agent trying to use a false identity to infiltrate the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating accusations of war crimes in Ukraine. (15:25 GMT) President Joe Biden says he has been briefed about a trio of US nationals missing in Ukraine but is unaware of their whereabouts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/17/us-officials-aware-of-reports-third-american-missing-in-ukraine (16:04 GMT) Ukraine has said its navy has struck a Russian rescue tug, which it says was in the process of transporting "ammunition, weapons and personnel of the Black Sea Fleet to Snake Island". Ukraine's armed forces strategic communications directorate said the tug boat Spasatel Vasily Bekh was hit with two Harpoon missiles. If confirmed, the incident would mark the first time Ukraine has hit a Russian vessel with this type of western-supplied anti-ship rockets. (17:16 GMT) Russia has "nothing against" Ukraine's possible membership of the European Union, President Putin said after the European Commission recommended granting Kyiv candidate status of the 27-member bloc. "We have nothing against it. It's their sovereign decision to join economic unions or not... It's their business, the business of the Ukrainian people," Putin said. "The EU is not a military alliance, unlike NATO." The Russian president, however, said if Ukraine joined the EU it would "turn into a semi-colony" of Western countries. "That's my opinion." (17:34 GMT) Vladimir Putin said his country would "never take the path of self-isolation" and Russia is focusing on "expanding interactions" with nations who "want to work with us". Putin began his address at the International Economic Forum with a lengthy denunciation of countries he contends want to weaken Russia, including the United States. Putin said the US considered itself "God's emissary on Earth" and Russia was taking its place in a new world order whose rules would be set by "strong and sovereign states". He vowed the country's economy would overcome sanctions he called "reckless and insane". Chinese President Xi Jinping, meanwhile, praised Chinese-Russian cooperation and underlined Putin's contention that an era of American domination is at an end. (17:48 GMT) Russian media broadcast images of what they said were two US citizens captured while fighting for Ukraine in what could be the first confirmation the duo had been taken prisoner. The Izvestia newspaper showed a video clip of what it said was a brief interview with Andy Huynh, 27, of Hartselle, Alabama. The RT channel posted an image of a man it identified as Alexander Drueke, 39, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. In another two-second video, the man Izvestia identified as Huynh says, "I am against war" in Russian. (18:34 GMT) A strategic highway out of the bombarded Ukrainian city of Lysychansk is now impassable because of heavy Russian shelling. The road links Lysychansk and the town of Bakhmut, 55km to the southwest. Luhansk regional Governor Serhiy Haidai said in an online post that Lysychansk was still completely under Ukrainian control despite the attacks. The embattled city is preparing for a possible street battle with Russian troops fighting Ukrainian soldiers in the city of Severodonetsk, just across the river. (19:15 GMT) The restoration of Russia's relations with Ukraine is "inevitable," Putin said on Friday at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. "We proceed from the fact that sooner or later the situation will normalise, and we are interested in prosperity for all our neighbours, then it is inevitable," Putin said commenting on Ukraine's possible accession to the European Union. (19:27 GMT) A group of international investigators and experts have visited war-torn areas near Kyiv, including a burnt-out school, as part of Ukraine's ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes (PJB: note "international investigators" and "as part of Ukraine's ongoing investigation") (20:01 GMT) Ukraine has condemned on Friday the European Broadcasting Union's decision to strip it of the right to host next year's Eurovision song contest on security grounds in light of Russia's invasion. "We will demand to change this decision, because we believe that we will be able to fulfil all the commitments ... We demand additional negotiations on hosting Eurovision-2023 in Ukraine," Ukrainian Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko said in a statement, according to AFP. (20:17 GMT) German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that it is "absolutely necessary" for leaders to speak directly with Russian President Putin in an attempt to end the war on Ukraine. (20:40 GMT) The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has confirmed that civilian casualties in Russia's war on Ukraine have exceeded the 10,000 mark. Officials said they have recorded 10,046 civilian casualties in the country, including 4,481 who were killed and 5,565 injured. (20:53 GMT) Ukraine has received a $773m loan from Canada, its finance ministry said in a statement on Friday. 20220618 (00:04 GMT) Republican senators in the United States have written to TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew about reports the social media site had allowed Russian state-approved media content but barred other videos. "Recent reports indicate TikTok... has allowed Russian state media to flood the platform with dangerous pro-war propaganda. No company should find itself in the position of amplifying the Kremlin's lies, which fuel public support for Russia's war of choice in Ukraine," the letter said. (00:07 GMT) Reuters is reporting that the United States' plans to sell four MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones to Ukraine have been put on hold because of concerns the sophisticated surveillance equipment could fall into enemy hands. The technical objection to the sale of the armable drones was raised during a deeper review by the Pentagon's Defense Technology Security Administration, which is charged with keeping high-value technology safe from enemy hands. (01:42 GMT) Save the Children has welcomed a political declaration designed to protect civilians in cities and towns with a commitment to avoid explosive attacks on urban areas. After three years of negotiations, Ireland presented the final draft of the declaration in Geneva on Friday. (02:05 GMT) Russia is deploying more forces to support its offensive in the Severodonetsk and Lysychansk area, but Ukraine's defences remain "strong", according to the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). "The Russian military has concentrated the vast majority of its available combat power to capture Severodonetsk and Lysychansk at the expense of other axes of advance and is suffering heavy casualties to do so," the US-based think tank said. (04:07 GMT) Russia invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to address the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Friday. Speaking by video link, Xi told the forum that it was necessary to "build an open world economy and reject attempts at decoupling, supply disruption, unilateral sanctions and maximum pressure", state media reported on Saturday. China has urged talks to end the war in Ukraine and has not condemned Russia for the invasion. (06:11 GMT) Russia has likely renewed its efforts to advance south of Ukraine's eastern city of Izium in the last 48 hours, Britain's defence ministry has said. (06:17 GMT) A Russian vessel that was delivering weapons to the strategically important Snake Island has sunk after being hit by Ukrainian missiles, a military official has said. The Russian Black Sea Fleet's tug, named Vasily Bech, was damaged on Friday by anti-ship missiles provided to Ukraine by Denmark. "Later it became known that it sank," Odessa military governor Maxym Marchenko said in a video statement on his Telegram channel. (06:27 GMT) A Russian state TV channel has aired videos on social media of two Americans who went missing last week while fighting alongside the Ukrainian army, stating they had been captured by Russian forces. Joe Biden had said on Friday he did not know the whereabouts of Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, both US military veterans. (06:35 GMT) Shelling has trapped 77 miners in a coal mine in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine after power to the mine was cut off, Russia's state RIA news agency has reported. "As a result of shelling by [Ukrainian forces], power to the Zasyadko mine in Donetsk was cut off, 77 miners remain underground," RIA said, citing the Russian-backed separatist region's territorial defence. There was no immediate reaction from Kyiv. Ukraine routinely denies carrying out any attacks on the two regions that comprise the Donbas, the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, where separatists seized large swaths of land in 2014. (08:08 GMT) Ukraine plans to resume peace talks with Russia by the end of August, when counter-attack operations have been carried out. The country will be in a better position to negotiate, Kiev's chief negotiator David Arakhamia told an interview with US broadcasters Voice of America. He believes Ukraine will conduct an operation with counter-attacks in different places, he said without giving details. (09:21 GMT) It is important Britain continues to show it is supporting Ukraine for the long haul, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said, warning of a risk of "Ukraine fatigue" as the war drags on. "The Russians are grinding forward inch by inch and it is vital for us to show what we know to be true which is that Ukraine can win and will win," Johnson told reporters on his arrival back in Britain from a visit to Kyiv. (09:33 GMT) Ukrainian authorities say that "fierce battles" with Russia are raging in villages outside the eastern city of Severodonetsk, which Moscow's forces have been trying to seize control of for weeks. "Now the most fierce battles are near Severodonetsk. They [Russia] do not control the city entirely," the governor of the eastern Lugansk region, Sergiy Haiday, said on Telegram. "In nearby villages there are very difficult fights, in Toshkivska, Zolote. They are trying to break through but failing," he said. "Our defenders are fighting Russians in all directions. Recently, they shot down a plane and took captives." He added that Lysychansk, a Ukrainian-controlled city across a river from battered Severodonetsk, was being "heavily shelled". (11:11 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the war-damaged southern city of Mykolaiv for the first time since the Russian invasion in a rare trip outside Kyiv. (13:59 GMT) Seventy-seven miners have been rescued after being trapped underground during a power outage and shelling of territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, local officials said. The miners were underground when power was lost in the Zasyadko coal mine in Ukraine's Donetsk region but all were now safe and no-one was injured, according to a statement by local separatist officials. (14:40 GMT) Lithuanian authorities say a ban on the transit through their territory to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad of goods that are subject to EU sanctions will take effect from Saturday. The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and the ban would cover around 50 % of the items that Kaliningrad imports. (15:20 GMT) Ukraine's defence intelligence directorate has said five Ukrainian civilians had been returned in a five-for-five prisoner swap with Russia. It did not say whether the exchanged Russians were combatants. (16:15 GMT) Russia is sending a large number of reserve troops to Severodonetsk from other battle zones to try to gain full control of the frontline eastern city, the governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region Serhiy Haidai has said. (17:48 GMT) A big explosion rocked an area near the besieged Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk and a large orange-coloured cloud could be seen rising into the air, a Russian-backed representative has said. (17:06 GMT) Several Russian missiles hit a gasworks in the Izium district in eastern Ukraine, Kharkiv region governor Oleh Synehubov has said. "A large-scale fire broke out, rescuers localised the fire." (17:50 GMT) Three Russian missiles destroyed a fuel storage depot in the eastern Ukrainian town of Novomoskovsk, sending three people to hospital, the head of the regional administration Valentyn Reznichenko has said (18:30 GMT) The spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says Russian forces were actively on the offensive across Kharkiv, Severodonetsk and Sloviansk. Oleksandr Shtupun said that the Russian military had used artillery shelling across various settlements towards Kharkiv. He added that Russians used mortars, artillery and rocket-propelled grenade launchers against various settlements in the direction of Sloviansk. Meanwhile in Severodonetsk, "the enemy continues to fire from artillery and rocket artillery in the areas of the settlements of Met'olkine, Bila Hora and Ustynivka," Shtupun said. (19:12 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has inspected a building in Odesa damaged by a Russian missile strike killing eight people. (19:47 GMT) UK Prime Minister Johnson has warned allies to prepare for a long war in Ukraine, urging sustained support for Kyiv or risk "the greatest victory for aggression" since World War II. In an article for The Sunday Times, Johnson said Ukraine's foreign backers should hold their nerve to ensure it has "the strategic endurance to survive and eventually prevail". (20:20 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is urging Russia to ease the global food crisis by helping to facilitate grain shipments from blockaded Ukrainian ports. "You have to hope for the world's sake that an agreement is reached," Scholz told the dpa news agency, referring to continuing negotiations about establishing an export corridor across the Black Sea. "Russia must enable safe passage and at the same time give credible assurances that it will not use the corridor for an invasion," he told dpa. aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-115 20220619 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/18/lithuania-enforces-eu-sanctions-on-goods-to-russias-kaliningrad Lithuanian authorities have banned the transit through their territory of goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad that are subject to European Union sanctions, according to the national rail service. The enclave - home to the Russian Baltic Fleet and a deployment location for Moscow's nuclear-capable Iskander missiles - is sandwiched on the Baltic coast between Lithuania and Poland, both NATO members, and has no land border with Russia. The transit ban could increase already high levels of tension between Russia and NATO. News of the impending ban came on Friday in a video message posted by Kaliningrad's governor Anton Alikhanov. Alikhanov said the ban would cover between 40 and 50% of the items that Kaliningrad imports from and exports to Russia through Lithuania as the EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology. (03:19 GMT) Serhiy Haidai, governor of Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, has told the AFP news agency that Russian forces are "shelling our troop positions 24 hours a day". "There's an expression: prepare for the worst and the best will come by itself," Haidai said from the town of Lysychansk, where preparations for street fighting are under way: soldiers digging in, putting up barbed wire and police using burned-out vehicles to slow traffic on roads. (04:15 GMT) The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces says Ukrainian forces have suffered a military setback in Metolkine, to the southeast of the city of Severodonetsk. But the military said Ukrainian forces had stopped the Russian advance near the village of Syrotyne. (04:55 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that the war in Ukraine could last years as he called for state-of-the-art weaponry for Ukrainian troops. "We must prepare for the fact that it could take years. We must not let up in supporting Ukraine," he told Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/19/uk-nato-warns-of-long-ukraine-war-as-zelenskyy-visits-frontlines (05:11 GMT) Two top Ukrainian commanders who defended the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol have been transferred to Russia for investigation, according to Russia's state news agency TASS. Citing an unnamed Russian law enforcement source, TASS said on Saturday that Svyatoslav Palamar, a deputy commander of the Azov battalion, and Serhiy Volynsky, commander of the 36th Marine Brigade, had been moved to Russia. (06:58 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen up at 41.7 million cubic metres (mcm) from 41.4 mcm on Saturday. (07:47 GMT) The industrial city of Sievierodonetsk, a prime target in Moscow's offensive to seize full control of Luhansk - one of the two provinces making up the Donbas - faced heavy artillery and rocket fire again, the Ukrainian military has said. "The situation in Sievierodonetsk is very difficult," said Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian-appointed governor of Luhansk, adding that Russian forces, using drones for air reconnaissance, were adjusting strikes quickly in response to defence changes. (07:52 GMT) The Ukrainian president promises to retake areas of southern Ukraine occupied by Russian troops. <== meaning Crimea ? "We will not hand over the south to anyone," Zelenskyy said in an overnight video address, shortly after returning from a visit to the southern front lines. He vowed to take back "everything that belongs to us." (07:57 GMT) The situation north of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is quite difficult as Russian forces have been trying to get closer to shell the city again, an advisor to Ukraine's interior minister, Vadym Denysenko, has said. (08:14 GMT) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck is planning additional measures to reduce gas consumption and replace supplies in view of lower gas deliveries from Russia, according to plans seen by dpa news agency. The use of gas for power generation and industry is to be reduced and the filling of storage facilities is to be prioritized ahead of the winter. (09:11 GMT) Ukrainian and Russian units fighting in the Eastern Donbass region are likely suffering desertions in recent weeks, UK Defence Ministry reports on the basis of information from the British intelligence services, adding that the Russian morale "highly likely remains especially troubled". "Cases of whole Russian units refusing orders and armed stand-offs between officers and their troops continue to occur," read the statement. "The Russian authorities likely struggle to bring legal pressure to bear on military dissenters, hampered by the invasion's official status as a 'special military operation' rather than as a war," it added. (09:45 GMT) Days after Russia slashed supplies to Italy, Eni was announced as a partner in Qatar Energy's project to expand production from the world's biggest natural gas field. Eni joins France's TotalEnergies, which has a 6.25% share worth an estimated $2 billion in the $28 billion North Field East project. More partners are set to be announced. (10:29 GMT) Russia's Iskander missiles hit a Kharkiv tank repair plant in Ukraine, the Russian defence ministry has said. The ministry also said it had destroyed 10 howitzers and up to 20 military vehicles in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv that had been supplied by Western countries over the past 10 days. (11:18 GMT) Russia says its offensive against Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine is proceeding successfully after it took control of a district on the outskirts of the city. "The offensive in the Severodonetsk direction is developing successfully," Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a video statement. He said the settlement of Metyolkine, on the eastern outskirts of the city, had been taken. TASS reported that many Ukrainian fighters had surrendered there. Konashenkov said long-range Kalibr cruise missiles hit a command centre in the Dnipropetrovsk region, killing Ukrainian generals and officers. (14:02 GMT) The UN World Food Programme has said it has been forced to reduce food rations for refugees in east and west Africa due to a surge in demand and insufficient funding. (14:48 GMT) Italian foreign minister Luigi Di Maio has accused his own 5-Star Movement party of undermining government efforts to support Ukraine, Reuters reported. The internal party feuding also creates problems for prime minister Mario Draghi as he faces an important vote in parliament on Tuesday over Ukraine, with some 5-Star members looking to limit Italy from sending further weapons to Kyiv. (15:26 GMT) The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Ukraine, Osnat Lubrani, has said that Russia's war on Ukraine has been marred by incidents of conflict-related sexual violence. In a statement, Lubrani said that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has verified cases of sexual violence against both women and men in Ukraine. (16:30 GMT) Germany will restart coal-fired power plants in order to conserve natural gas, the country's economy minister has said. (17:18 GMT) Ukraine has celebrated the release of a Ukrainian medic whose footage was smuggled out of the besieged city of Mariupol by an Associated Press team, and was released by Russian forces, three months after being taken captive. Paievska's release was greeted across Ukraine due to her longstanding reputation as a veteran medic who has trained the country's volunteer medical force. She founded a group of medics called Taira's angels and had served as a contact point between the military and civilians in frontline towns. Paievska recorded more than 250 gigabytes of her team's efforts over two weeks to save the wounded, including both Russian and Ukrainian soldiers. She transferred the clips to an Associated Press team, the last international journalists in Mariupol, one of whom fled with it embedded in a tampon on March 15. (17:44 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War has said that "Russian forces will likely be able to seize [the industrial city of] Severodonetsk in the coming weeks, but at the cost of concentrating most of their available forces in this small area". (18:15 GMT) The United Kingdom will change visa rules to allow unaccompanied Ukrainian minors to enter the country, The Times has reported. The existing rules bar children under 18 who are without a parent or guardian from traveling to the UK. (19:21 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has adopted a slew of new laws on Sunday, including a ban on public performances of music "of the Russian region" as well as publications imported from Russia and Belarus. (23:52 GMT) Ukraine's deputy prosecutor general has said Kyiv has launched 19 criminal proceedings against Russian soldiers for the rape of at least 14 women in the temporary occupied territories. 20220620 (00:52 GMT) Gennady Burbulis, a top aide to former Russian President Boris Yeltsin who helped prepare and sign the 1991 pact that led to the formal breakup of the Soviet Union, has died. He was 76. As secretary of state and first deputy chairman of the government from 1991-1992, Burbulis was instrumental in steering the new, post-Soviet Russian state. With Yeltsin, he was a signatory for Russia to the agreement reached on December 8, 1991, with the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus to disband the Soviet Union. The pact was signed in the Belovezha forest, in what is now Belarus. Burbulis is the third key player to the agreement who has died in the past several weeks. Former Ukrainian President Leonid Kravchuk and former Belarusian President Stanislav Shushkevich both died in May. (01:25 GMT) Ukrainian fighters who surrendered to Russian-backed troops in the settlement of Metyolkine, which Moscow says its forces now control, are testifying against colleagues holed up in a chemical plant in the eastern city of Severodonetsk, Russia's state news agency Tass has reported. (01:28 GMT) Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering a summit with leaders of South Korea, Australia and New Zealand on the sidelines of a June NATO meeting in a show of solidarity against a more assertive China, the Yomiuri daily has reported. Leaders of the four Asia-Pacific nations have been invited to the NATO meeting in Madrid, where members are aiming to deliver a message of international solidarity on the Ukraine crisis. (02:10 GMT) Russia has promised to continue gas shipments to Hungary and that Moscow's state energy giant Gazprom would fulfil its contractual obligations to the country, Budapest's foreign minister has said in an interview on public service radio. Peter Szijjarto said on Sunday that Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller and Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had both assured him of this in a phone call. The minister did not say when the phone call took place. (02:19 GMT) Russian forces several times shelled a town in Ukraine's border region Sumy on Sunday, damaging at least 10 private buildings, the regional governor has said. "They fired mortars at residential areas of the town of Seredyna Buda. At least 10 private houses of civilians and outbuildings were damaged. One house was destroyed by fire," Dmytro Zhyvytskyi said on Telegram. (02:27 GMT) The United Kingdom must have a military capable of fighting in Europe and defeating Russia, the new head of the British army was quoted as telling troops by local media. Patrick Sanders, who took command of the British army this month, told his troops, according to the i newspaper on Sunday: "I am the first Chief of the General Staff since 1941 to take command of the Army in the shadow of a land war in Europe involving a continental power." (03:10 GMT) A residential area was damaged and smoke filled a local market after heavy shelling in the Kuibyshevskyi district of the Ukrainian town of Donetsk on Sunday - now held by Russian-backed separatists. "You couldn't say where they were shelling or what they were shelling, it was coming and coming down on us non-stop," said Olga Karagodina, a local shop owner. (06:13 GMT) Russia's air forces are underperforming in Ukraine, and Moscow's campaign is relying more than planned on exhausted ground troops and advanced cruise missiles, which it is running low on, the UK's ministry of defence has said. The inadequacy of Russia's air forces is one of the most important factors limiting its success in Ukraine, the ministry said in an intelligence briefing on Twitter, adding that the forces were being "risk-averse .. rarely penetrating deep behind Ukrainian lines." "While Russia has an impressive roster of relatively modern and capable combat jets, the air force has also almost certainly failed to develop the institutional culture and skill-sets required for its personnel to meet Russia's aspiration of delivering a more Western-style modern air campaign." (06:24 GMT) Ukraine is not a suitable candidate for European Union membership, the speaker of Russia's parliament has said. "Total corruption, rampant crime, oligarchic power and a ruined economy are the characteristics of modern Ukraine. Europe understands this very well ... but the desire to weaken Russia prevails," Viacheslav Volodin wrote on Telegram. Volodin said the EU is ready to give Ukraine candidate status because Washington and Brussels want "to keep hostilities going". "The result for Ukraine will be sad. The decision-making centre will be officially transferred to Brussels. It will finally lose its independence." (07:48 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says Russia's blockade of the export of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain is a "war crime". (08:05 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says Berlin supports Poland and Romania in adapting their railways to enable the export of millions of tonnes of grain stuck in Ukraine due to a Russian sea blockade. (PJB: or "due to Ukrainian mines.") (09:06 GMT) Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine say they have taken control of a village beside the main southern road towards Severodonetsk. Vitaly Kiselev, an assistant to the self-styled interior minister of the self-proclaimed Russian-backed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying the village of Toshkivka, about 25 kilometres south of Sievierodonetsk, had been seized. (09:08 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says that Moscow should not negotiate with Washington on nuclear disarmament until the United States "crawls" back to talks. "We don't have any relations with the United States now," Medvedev said in a Telegram post. "They are at zero on the Kelvin scale... There is no need to negotiate with them [on nuclear disarmament] yet. This is bad for Russia. Let them run or crawl back themselves and ask for it." (09:41 GMT) How did the Russia-Ukraine war trigger a global food crisis? https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/6/18/explainer-how-did-russia-ukraine-war-trigger-a-food-crisis (09:55 GMT) The governor of Russia's western region of Bryansk says that Ukrainian shelling has wounded one civilian in a border town. Alexander Bogomaz said in a Telegram post that the individual, an electrician, was wounded amid strikes in Suzemka. The shelling also damaged a house and destroyed a power transmission facility, he claimed. He added the strikes in Bryansk, which borders Ukraine, began early on Monday before being "quickly subdued". (10:22 GMT) Ukrainian forces have struck drilling platforms in the Black Sea owned by a Crimean oil and gas company, the head of the Russian-annexed region has said. Three people were wounded and a search was under way for seven workers from the Chernomorneftegaz energy company, Sergei Aksyonov said in a post on Telegram. He gave no details of what weapons were used in the alleged attack. There was no immediate response to the claims from Kyiv, and Al Jazeera could not independently verify Aksyonov's report. (10:48 GMT) Ukrainian troops have "broken" Russian forces' "first line of defence" in the largely-occupied southern region of Kherson, according to a local official. Serhiy Hlan, an aide to the governor of Kherson, said in televised remarks that Ukrainian forces were advancing in the delta of the Dnieper River and had destroyed Russian military stores in the town of Nova Kakhovka. Kherson - a key gateway to Crimea - was seized by Russian troops early in Moscow's invasion. (10:56 GMT) Russia has demanded that Lithuania immediately lift a ban on the transit of some goods to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. The Russian foreign ministry told the Lithuanian envoy in Moscow that if cargo transit between the Kaliningrad region and the rest of Russia through Lithuania was not restored, Moscow would respond to protect its interests. Lithuanian authorities banned the transit of goods that are sanctioned by the EU across its territory. (11:20 GMT) Ukrainian troops have "lost control" over the village of Metolkine, near the embattled city of Severodonetsk, Luhansk's Ukrainian governor Serhiy Haidai says. (11:47 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have struck an airfield in Ukraine's southwestern Odesa region, destroying two Bayraktar drones and a drone control station. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said a high-precision Oniks missile was used to target the Artsyz airfield. Ukraine's military had earlier said its air defence system deterred two attempted attacks on the Odesa region, destroying incoming missiles. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the claims made by either side. (12:26 GMT) Germany will host a meeting on the mounting food crisis caused by the war in Ukraine with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken among those attending, a government spokesman has said. (12:55 GMT) Two United States citizens who had been fighting alongside Ukrainian troops appear to have been detained in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), according to a CNN report. Russian forces were believed to have captured 27-year-old Andy Huynh, who had previously served in the US Marines, and Alexander Drueke, 39, formerly of the US Army. They had gone missing in Kharkiv on June 9. In an interview with the pair, aired by a pro-Russian Serbian nationalist YouTube channel over the weekend, an individual behind the camera can be heard saying "here in Donetsk" while asking a question. (13:26 GMT) Lithuania's ban on the transit of goods to the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad is only affecting items sanctioned by the EU, the Lithuanian foreign ministry has told the head of Russia's diplomatic mission in Vilnius. Lithuania has not imposed "unilateral, individual or additional" restrictions, the ministry said in a statement. Banned goods include coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology. (14:19 GMT) Explosions have rocked Odesa after reported Ukrainian strikes on drilling platforms in the Black Sea owned by a Crimean oil and gas company. A spokesman for Odesa's regional administration confirmed to the Reuters news agency there had been blasts in the southwestern city, but gave no further details, including on whether there had been any casualties. Oleksiy Honcharenko, a legislator from Odesa, meanwhile said the city appeared to have come under attack in what he described as "revenge for our morning shelling of oil rigs near Crimea." (14:26 GMT) A Ukrainian court has banned the political party of a Ukrainian oligarch who is a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The justice ministry announced in a Facebook post that the Eighth Administrative Appeals Court had outlawed the Opposition Platform - For Life party, the second-largest in parliament, and nationalised all of its assets and properties. The justice ministry added that a total of 11 pro-Russian political parties have now been banned "for undermining Ukraine's sovereignty". (15:03 GMT) The deposed mayor of Russian-occupied Melitopol, in southeastern Ukraine, has claimed that Syrian fighters have been spotted in the city. Ivan Fyodorov said in televised remarks that Syrian nationals "dressed in the uniform of the Russian Federation" were seen at a military base where explosions were heard on Sunday evening. He provided no further details or evidence for his claims. (15:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Africa is being held "hostage" by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which has spurred fears of a food crisis on the continent. (15:54 GMT) Ukraine's military says a food warehouse in Odesa has been destroyed by a Russian missile attack. The Operational Command "South" said Russian forces fired 14 missiles at southern Ukraine during a three-hour barrage "in impotent anger at the successes of our troops." It added that no civilians were killed in the attack. Explosions rocked the southwestern port city after the Russia-installed head of the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, said Ukrainian forces had attacked drilling platforms owned by a Crimean oil and gas company in the Black Sea off Ukraine's southern coast. (16:25 GMT) US President Joe Biden has said he is not likely to visit Ukraine when he travels to Europe later this month for summits with Washington's allies. (16:28 GMT) Ukraine's grain exports will increase to 2 million tonnes in June from 1.7 million tonnes in May and reach the maximum volume that Ukraine can ship by land routes, First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy has said. He added that Ukrainian seaports, which have been blocked by Russia since it invaded Ukraine, were capable to exports 5 million tonnes a month. (16:35 GMT) Tens of thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets in support of the country's membership to the European Union, days after the European Commission recommended deferring Tbilisi's candidacy. Waving Georgian and EU flags, an estimated 60,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Georgian parliament for the "March for Europe". The country's leading pro-democracy groups said they initiated the rally to "demonstrate the commitment of the Georgian people to its European choice and Western values". (16:46 GMT) Denmark's energy agency has said it has activated the first step of a three-stage emergency gas supply plan, which effectively means a tighter monitoring of the market, to prepare for possible disruptions of natural gas from Russia. (16:48 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin fears the "spark of democracy" spreading to his country, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, adding that he was trying to divide Europe and return to a world dominated by spheres of influence. (PJB: he's claiming NATO is not a "sphere of influence" ...) (17:03 GMT) The Netherlands has said it would activate the "early warning" phase of an energy crisis plan and lifted a cap on production by coal-fired power plants as it seeks to reduce reliance on Russian gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine. (17:20 GMT) Three people were injured and seven more are missing after Ukraine forces fired on Black Sea drilling platforms off the coast of Crimea, a Russian official has said. "Unfortunately, we can confirm that there are three injured and seven missing; we guarantee that the search will continue," Moscow-appointed Crimean governor Sergei Aksionov said on his Telegram account. (17:55 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Americans captured in Ukraine were "mercenaries" engaged in illegal activities and should take responsibility for their "crimes", RIA news agency has reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was also quoted as saying that the detained men were not covered by the Geneva Conventions as they were not regular troops. They had shot at Russian servicemen and put their lives in danger. (19:16 GMT) American basketball player Brittney Griner who has been detained in Russia faces criminal prosecution, Russia's state RIA news agency has cited the Kremlin's spokesperson as saying. "Why should we call her a hostage? She broke the Russian law, now she faces criminal prosecution," RIA cited Dmitry Peskov as saying in an interview with American MSNBC television. "It's not about being taken hostage." (19:40 GMT) Russian troops have entered the industrial part of the heavily besieged city of Severodonetsk, according to Luhansk Ukrainian regional governor Serhii Haidai. The Azot chemical plant is the only part of the area not yet taken by Russian troops, Haidai wrote on Telegram. The villages nearby are also under constant fire. (19:45 GMT) Russia has blamed the "destructive" stance of the West for soaring grain prices that have sparked fears of a global food crisis. "Concerning the possibility of famine, more and more experts are leaning towards a pessimistic scenario... and that is the fault of Western regimes, which act as provokers and destroyers," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. According to Zakharova, the West has made "systematic mistakes" in its agricultural policy planning and has caused global inflation with its "short-sighted" financial and monetary mechanisms created during the COVID-19 pandemic. (23:32 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry will on Tuesday summon the European Union's ambassador to Moscow over Lithuania's ban on the transit of goods under EU sanctions through Kaliningrad, the governor of Kaliningrad said on Monday. "This is, of course, a situation, that can be resolved by diplomatic means," Anton Alikhanov told Russian television. (23:44 GMT) US Actor Ben Stiller visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday, telling him: "You're my hero." "You're amazing. You quit a great acting career for this," Stiller told Zelenskyy. 20220621 Ukrainian authorities would scatter in 24 hours without NATO's support, says Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin emphasized that the Ukrainian authorities keep their money on foreign bank accounts and their families are far from Ukraine https://tass.com/politics/1468767 (00:49 GMT) The Russian co-winner of last year's Nobel Peace Prize, journalist Dmitry Muratov, has sold his prize medal for $103.5 million at an auction on to raise money for displaced children affected by Russia's invasion. (01:25 GMT) A 'civil society group' has sharply criticised the Kimberley Process (KP), a coalition created to prevent the use of gems to fund conflict, for resisting efforts to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as this week's international conflict diamond meeting began in Botswana. In the run-up to the meeting, Ukraine, the European Union, Australia, Britain, Canada, the United States and civil society groups were pushing to place Russia on the agenda, as well as to broaden the KP's definition of conflict diamonds to include state actors using the stones to fund acts of aggression. Russia's partly state-owned company Alrosa is the world's largest producer of rough diamonds. Russia, backed by Belarus, Mali, Central African Republic (CAR) and Kyrgyzstan, objected to the proposals, dashing any hopes of action by the KP, which makes decisions by consensus. (01:52 GMT) The coming week is to be decisive for Russian efforts to take the eastern city of Severodonetsk, the Institute for the Study of War has cited Ukrainian officials as saying. (02:19 GMT) A referendum on Ukraine's occupied region of Kherson becoming a part of Russia will be held this autumn, the Moscow-backed self-proclaimed authorities of the region have said, according to Russia's RIA news agency. (02:24 GMT) A US citizen was killed in combat in Ukraine last month, according to an obituary and the State Department, after he joined thousands of foreign fighters who have volunteered to help Ukraine fend off Russian forces. Stephen Zabielski, 52, was killed in fighting on May 15, according to an obituary published in The Recorder, an upstate New York newspaper, earlier this month. Media reports of his death circulated on Monday. (02:38 GMT) Moscow is holding more than 1,500 Ukrainian civilians in Russian prisons, Ukraine's deputy prime minister has said, according to Ukrinform. "They are in Rostov, Kursk, they are in jail, they are being held as prisoners of war, although they should not be," Iryna Vereshchuk said. (05:44 GMT) Russian forces relentlessly shelled the eastern town of Lysychansk throughout the day on Monday, but the night, relative to two "heavy" nights that came before, was reasonably quiet, Luhansk's governor said. In the city of Severodonetsk, across the river, Haidai said "fierce fighting" was continuing in the industrial zone. All critical infrastructure has been destroyed, and there is no centralised water, electricity or gas, he said. (05:56 GMT) Ukraine's coastal defences have largely neutralised Russia's ability to establish control in the north-western Black Sea, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. Ukraine's forces reportedly destroyed a Russian naval tug delivering weapons and personnel to Snake Island with Western Harpoon anti-ship missiles last week, the first successful use of the weapons, the ministry said. (06:17 GMT) Russian forces overnight shelled and destroyed a school in the town of Adviivka in the Donetsk region, the governor has said. "This is the third school destroyed by the Russians in Avdiivka," Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram. "In total, the invaders destroyed about 200 schools in the Donetsk region." (06:46 GMT) Lithuania is aggravating the global food crisis by banning the rail transit of EU-sanctioned through its territory, to Kaliningrad, the spokesman for Russia's foreign ministry has said. "These are not only deliveries from Russia to the territory of EU countries. These are transit deliveries through the territory of the European Union ... including to ports that then served various regions of the world," Maria Zakharova said on the Soloviev LIVE on program Tuesday. "That is, a country of the collective West, a country that is a member of NATO, a country that is a member of all Euro-Atlantic ties today creates additional difficulties against the background of the fact that this community blames a country that has nothing to do with food security problems," Zakharova said. Sandwiched between European Union and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, Kaliningrad receives supplies from Russia via rail and gas pipelines through Lithuania. (07:28 GMT) The British Military Intelligence says Ukrainian forces last week claimed their first successful use of Western-donated Harpoon anti-ship missiles to engage Russian forces. "The target of the attack was almost certainly the Russian naval tug Spasatel Vasily Bekh, which was delivering weapons and personnel to Snake Island in the north-western Black Sea," the defence ministry said in its daily Twitter update. (07:48 GMT) Moscow says Russian television is now broadcasting in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, an area where Russia already introduced the ruble and began distributing its passports. Russia's army said its forces have "reconfigured the last of the seven television towers in the Kherson region to broadcast Russian television channels" for free. (08:02 GMT) The Polish football association (PZPN) says it will not consider defender Maciej Rybus for the World Cup in Qatar after he signed a new contract with a Russian club. The left-back, who has 66 caps to his name, has spent the past five years in Russia with Lokomotiv Moscow and moved to their city rivals - Spartak Moscow - on a free transfer on June 11. (08:06 GMT) Sweden's energy agency says it has activated the first step of a three-stage emergency gas supply plan for Western and Southern parts of the country to prepare for possible disruptions of natural gas from Russia. The move was made after neighbouring Denmark, which supplies Sweden with piped gas, issued a similar warning on Monday. (08:32 GMT) Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, has arrived in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to discuss national security, state news agency RIA reports. The trip comes amid a row between Russia and NATO member Lithuania, which stopped the transit of European Union-sanctioned goods to the Russian territory. (09:17 GMT) The website of British newspaper The Telegraph has been blocked in Russia, data from state regulator Roskomnadzor shows. (10:04 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane reporting from the German capital, Berlin says Moscow sees Lithuania's ban on transit good to Kaliningrad as illegal and could retaliate. "From the Lithuanian and EU perspectives what's been done by the Lithuanian government is not some sort of a unilateral action against Russia and Russian interests rather it is the decision to implement the sanctions at an EU level that the EU decided to impose on certain Russian items. The Russian government disagrees and is particularly angry about it." Kane added. (10:09 GMT) The European Union ambassador to Russia says a blockade of Russia's Kaliningrad region is out of the question as the transit of non-sanctioned goods there continues. (10:23 GMT) Moscow says it will respond shortly to Lithuania's ban of certain goods transiting from mainland Russia to its Kaliningrad exclave, Interfax news agency reported citing Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. "Russia will certainly respond to such hostile actions. Relevant measures are being worked out in the interdepartmental format and will be taken in the near future," Interfax cited Patrushev as saying. He said that the counter-measures would have a serious negative impact on the Lithuanian population. (11:28 GMT) Vladimir Putin says Moscow will further strengthen its armed forces. "We will continue to develop and strengthen our armed forces, taking into account potential military threats and risks," Putin said in televised comments. He added that Russia's newly tested Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads and decoys, would be deployed for duty by the end of the year. (12:02 GMT) FIFA says it is extending the right of foreign players and coaches to suspend contracts with clubs in Russia and Ukraine until June next year. FIFA and European football ruling body UEFA have banned Russian teams from all international competitions. (12:07 GMT) In a public display of force, Russia's newest heavy long-range missile blasted off on Wednesday from a test silo in Plesetsk, western Russia. Russian media said it flew nearly 6,000km before hitting targets in Kamchatka on the other side of the vast country. The Sarmat Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, or ICBM, has been in development for years and is designed to replace the older Soviet legacy S-18 missiles. These ICBMs were meant to fly around the planet showering strategic targets with multiple nuclear weapons in a nuclear war that no one wanted to fight. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/4/22/russias-sarmat-and-chinas-yj-21-what-the-missile-tests-mean (12:10 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its missiles struck an airfield near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, Russian news agencies reported. It said it had carried out the attacks in response to a Ukrainian attack on gas production platforms in the Black Sea. (14:06 GMT) EU ministers have backed granting war-torn Ukraine "candidate status" to join the bloc, in advance of a summit expected to formally greenlight the move later this week, France's Europe minister said. Clement Beaune said after a meeting with his counterparts that there was "a total consensus on moving these issues forward, and in particular for Ukraine the possibility of confirming candidate status as soon as possible". (14:08 GMT) Ukraine said it had "finally" deployed an advanced German artillery system, in the latest delivery of the long-range, precision weapons that it has been calling for. "Panzerhaubitze 2000 are finally part of 155 mm howitzer arsenal of the Ukrainian artillery," Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote on social media, thanking his German counterpart Christine Lambrecht. (14:45 GMT) A Turkish military delegation will travel to Russia this week to discuss details of a possible sea corridor in the Black Sea for Ukrainian grain exports, Turkish broadcasters have said, citing sources from Turkey's presidency. Broadcaster Haberturk said a four-way meeting between Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the United Nations would be held in Istanbul within 10 days, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres could join the meeting. The sources cited by Haberturk said three corridors would be created under the plan at four separate ports in Ukraine's Black Sea city of Odesa, and that both Ukrainian and Russian food products would be shipped from there. They said 30-35 million tonnes of grain were expected to be shipped from there in 6-8 months. (15:58 GMT) The United States disagrees "vigorously" with the Russian position that the US citizens captured in Ukraine are not covered by the Geneva Conventions, a senior Department of State official has said, adding that Washington has conveyed its stance on the issue to the Russian government. (17:17 GMT) Russian forces have captured several settlements near the embattled cities of Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk in the Luhansk region, the regional governor and Ukraine's general staff has said. Luhansk Governor Serhiy Gaidai told Ukraine's national broadcaster that Russian forces had captured the settlement of Toshkivka to the south of Sievierodonetsk, confirming previous reports. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/21/russian-forces-have-seized-frontline-donbas-village-official (18:51 GMT) The US has said it stood firmly behind Lithuania and NATO commitments to defend it after Russia warned the EU member country over restrictions on rail transit. "We stand by our NATO allies and we stand by Lithuania," State Department Spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. "Specifically our commitment to NATO's Article Five - the premise that an attack on one would constitute an attack on all - that commitment on the part of the United States is ironclad." (18:53 GMT) At least 15 civilians were killed in Ukraine's Kharkiv region by Russian shelling, regional governor Oleh Synegubov said in an online posting. After weeks of relative calm, Russians have intensified shelling of the region. Synegubov said six people had died in and around Kharkiv and another six in Chuhuiv, some 40km southeast of Kharkiv, while three had died in Zolochiv, 40km to the northwest of the city. (19:48 GMT) Estonia summoned the Russian ambassador to protest the violation of its national airspace by a Russian helicopter on June 18, the Baltic nation's foreign ministry said in a statement. (20:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will pay an official visit to Iran on Wednesday, the state-owned Tass news agency has said, citing Russia's ambassador in Vienna. It did not give further details. Last month, Moscow said Russia and Iran - which are both under Western sanctions and sit on some of the world's largest oil reserves - had discussed swapping supplies for oil and gas as well as setting up a logistics hub. (23:39 GMT) The Luhansk region, where fighting is raging in the key city of Severodonetsk and surrounding areas, is "the toughest area right now", Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. (23:51 GMT) Russia laid down a curtain of fire in Luhansk Tuesday, where pockets of resistance are denying Moscow full military control of the region. "Today everything that can burn is on fire," Serhiy Haidai, the governor of the Luhansk region, told The Associated Press news agency. 20220622 (00:01 GMT) A large fire remained uncontrolled at a gas processing factory on Tuesday in the Izyum district in eastern Ukraine, after it was hit by several Russian missile attacks last week. (01:16 GMT) Italy's Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio has said he was leaving the 5-Star Movement to form a new parliamentary group backing the government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi. Di Maio's move comes after he accused 5-Star leader and former Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of undermining government efforts to support Ukraine and weakening Rome's standing within the European Union. (01:28 GMT) A court in the Russian capital has extended the arrest of a municipal legislator charged with discrediting the country's military after his criticism of Russia's military action in Ukraine. Moscow's Meshchansky District Court ordered Alexei Gorinov to be kept in custody pending his trial. Gorinov, a member of the municipal council of Moscow's Krasnoselsky District, has remained in jail since he was arrested in April after speaking out against Russia's invasion during the council's session in March. (01:54 GMT) A former commander of US ground forces in Europe has described the battles in Ukraine's east and southeast as a "heavyweight boxing match" in which "there has not yet been a knockout blow." Severodonetsk, Popasna, Dibrivne (near Izium), Rubizhne and Zaporizhia "have all seen this punch-counterpunch action," retired Lieutenant General, Mark Hertling, wrote on Twitter. "It's a heavyweight boxing match. In 2 months of fighting, there has not yet been a knockout blow. It will come, as RU forces become more depleted." (02:22 GMT) Russia on Wednesday marks the anniversary of the day Nazi Germany's forces invaded the Soviet Union in World War Two, with President Vladimir Putin due to lay flowers to honour the dead. Germany's surprise attack, under Operation Barbarossa, was launched on June 22, 1941. The "Day of Remembrance and Sorrow" is also commemorated in Ukraine and Belarus, then part of the Soviet Union, as the attacks targeted the cities of Kyiv, Moscow and Brest (formerly Brest Fortress). But it is unclear whether Ukraine will commemorate this day as it has in the past. (02:48 GMT) The prime minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel visited Kyiv on Tuesday and toured the nearby towns of Bucha and Borodyanka, telling Ukraine: "Luxembourg stands by your side." (04:36 GMT) Indonesian President Joko Widodo will visit both Ukraine and Russia next week to meet his counterparts and push for a peaceful resolution to the ongoing conflict, his foreign minister Retno Marsudi has said. (05:08 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, says his office hasn't received any requests from Washington about the two Americans captured in Ukraine, Moscow's state TASS news agency reports. Antonov's comments came after US State Department Spokesman Ned Price said that Washington had been in touch with Russian authorities about the two US citizens, who were reportedly being held in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic. (05:28 GMT) Russia is highly likely preparing to deploy a large number of reserves to the front lines of the Donbas, the UK's defence ministry has said, as heavy shelling continues in the east, around the Severodonetsk area. (07:46 GMT) Members of the Russian delegation to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) were denied British visas to attend the next session, Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of Russian upper house's international affairs committee. (08:01 GMT) A fire at Russia's Novoshakhtinsk refinery in the Rostov region began after two Ukrainian drones were spotted over the plant, TASS cited an unidentified source in the local authorities. "One of them made an impact, crashing into a heat transfer unit, after which the blaze started. The second one flew away," the source told TASS. The local emergency service said the blaze has been put out, Interfax news agency reported. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/22/russian-oil-refinery-near-ukraine-says-it-was-hit-by-drone-attack The refinery is in SW Russia, just 8km from the border with Ukraine. (08:48 GMT) Moscow's response to Lithuania's ban on the transit of goods sanctioned by the EU to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad will not be exclusively diplomatic but practical in nature, the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. "One of the main questions has been about whether the response would be exclusively diplomatic. The answer: no," Maria Zakharova said at her weekly briefing. "The response will not be diplomatic but practical." Zakharova would not elaborate on the nature of the practical measures Russia planned to take against Lithuania. (09:11 GMT) Seven Russian missiles hit the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, regional governor Vitaliy Kim has said. He did not provide further details on casualties or damages. (09:59 GMT) The Kremlin said the EU sanctions that led Lithuania to impose a ban on the transit of some goods from mainland Russia to the exclave of Kaliningrad were "absolutely unacceptable", and that Moscow was working on retaliatory measures. (10:00 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will travel to Indonesia to take part in a meeting of the G20 foreign ministers on July 7-8. The minister will have several bilateral talks on the sidelines of the meeting, which is preparatory to the 2022 G20 summit at the presidential level, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing in Moscow. Specifically, Lavrov will meet with his Chinese, South African, Brazilian, and Mexican counterparts and with the leadership of invited international organizations, she said. (10:38 GMT) Russia and the United States were exchanging official signals on the issue of American fighters in Ukraine, RIA news agency reported, quoting Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov. Interfax cited him as saying that Moscow did not see Washington's readiness to deal with the issue seriously. (11:08 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has accused Germany of anti-Russian sentiment in a statement on the anniversary of the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi troops in 1941. "Russophobic hysteria is systematically fuelled by almost daily public attacks against our country by members of the German government," the ministry said, adding that authorities in Berlin undermine the process of "historical reconciliation" between Russians and Germans after World War II. (11:31 GMT) Citing emergency services, TASS news agency reported that four people were killed after a shell detonated at an ammunition depot in Russia's Vladimir region. (11:49 GMT) Russia may cut off gas to Europe entirely as it seeks to bolster its political leverage amid the Ukraine crisis, the head of the International Energy Agency said on Wednesday, adding that Europe needed to prepare now. (13:22 GMT) Ukraine needs massive financial help to rebuild after the devastation wrought by Russia's invasion, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, saying the reconstruction would be a "task for generations". (13:56 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on Wednesday establishing temporary procedures to fulfil foreign debt obligations, the Interfax news agency reported, as investors keep a close eye on a potential default. (15:47 GMT) Estonia has alleged that Russia was engaging in escalatory actions ahead of next week's NATO summit, including alleged missile simulations and airspace violations. It also referenced Russia's threat this week against Estonia's fellow Baltic state Lithuania over its restriction of rail traffic to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. (17:19 GMT) State-backed Russian hackers have engaged in "strategic espionage" against governments, think tanks, businesses and aid groups in 42 countries supporting Kyiv, Microsoft has said in a report. "Since the start of the war, the Russian targeting (of Ukraine's allies) has been successful 29% of the time," Microsoft President Brad Smith wrote, with data stolen in at least one-quarter of the successful network intrusions, "As a coalition of countries has come together to defend Ukraine, Russian intelligence agencies have stepped up network penetration and espionage activities targeting allied governments outside Ukraine," Smith said. (18:34 GMT) The Petrovskiy television centre in the Ukrainian separatist-held city of Donetsk has been badly damaged by shelling and broadcasting has been interrupted, the Russian state news agency TASS cited the local Donetsk news agency as saying. The broadcast tower is still standing but part of its equipment has been damaged, while some equipment has been moved out, according to the Donetsk news agency. (19:34 GMT) Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said Britain "fully supports" Lithuania's decision to ban the transit of Russian goods sanctioned by the European Union through its territory. (20:04 GMT) Britain's defence intelligence service believes that Russia's momentum in the war in Ukraine will slow in the next few months as its army exhausts its resources, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told a group of European newspapers. In comments released by Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Johnson said President Putin's forces were pushing forward in the eastern Donbas region, wreaking destruction but at a heavy cost in soldiers and weapons. (23:54 GMT) Russia commemorated the 81st anniversary of Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union on Wednesday, with Russian President Vladimir Putin laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Kremlin wall. Hitler's forces launched surprise attacks on Kyiv, Moscow and Belarusian Brest on June 22, a day that marks the start of what Russia calls the Great Patriotic War and is today known in the country as Day of Remembrance and Sorrow. 20220623 (01:03 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov arrived in Iran on Wednesday, Iranian state TV reported, as world powers and Tehran are struggling to revive their 2015 nuclear pact amid stalled negotiations. (01:55 GMT) Russian attacks on Tuesday and Wednesday on Kharkiv have killed at least 25 people, according to the regional governor. (02:34 GMT) Moscow's considerable air and artillery attacks are aimed at destroying the entire Donbas region, Zelenskyy has said as he urged Ukraine's allies to accelerate the shipment of heavy weapons to match Russia on the battlefield. (02:55 GMT) Russian forces have surrounded Ukraine troops south of Lysychansk, the Moscow-backed militia of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has said, according to Russia's state news agency TASS. The LPR said on Wednesday that about 1,300 Ukrainian soldiers and "foreign mercenaries" had fallen into a "tight ring" of Russian forces in the area of Hirske and Zolote, located south of Lysychansk, TASS reports. TASS also quoted a source from the LPR saying that its forces had taken the village of Volcheyarovka, some 12km southwest of Lysychansk. If true, Lysychansk would be at greater risk of being cut off. (04:20 GMT) Residents of Kaliningrad, sandwiched between EU and NATO members Poland and Lithuania, have mixed views about whether Lithuania's transit ban on EU sanctioned goods would affect the region. "In grocery retail, the situation is calm, we do not have an increase in turnover compared to the data of a week or a month ago", the deputy CEO of "SPAR Kaliningrad" chain of grocery stores, Alexey Elaev, told Reuters. He added that these sanctions did not apply to food products, as well as a significant range of household non-food products. The EU sanctions list notably includes coal, metals, construction materials and advanced technology, and the ban would cover around 50% of the items Kaliningrad imports. (04:49 GMT) The conflict in Ukraine has "sounded an alarm for humanity," Chinese leader Xi Jinping has said, but gave no indication on how it could be resolved. "The Ukraine crisis has again sounded the alarm for humanity. Countries will surely end up in security hardships if they place blind faith in their positions of strength, expand military alliances, and seek their own safety at the expense of others," Xi said, according to state media. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/23/russia-ukraine-war-chinas-xi-says-alarm-for-humanity (05:20 GMT) The fight for the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk is "entering a sort of fearsome climax", an advisor to Zelenskyy, Oleksiy Arestovych, has said, as Russian forces intensify their push to take the Donbas. (05:53 GMT) Russian forces are putting Ukraine's troops in the Lysychansk-Sieverodonetsk area under "increasing pressure," the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. Russian forces have advanced more than 5km towards the southern parts of Lysychansk, the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing, adding that some Ukrainian units had withdrawn, likely to avoid being encircled. (06:14 GMT) A British man sentenced to death by a Russian proxy court for fighting in Ukraine has been told the execution will be carried out, his family have told the BBC. Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner were sentenced by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The BBC says Aslin's family said they had spoken to him in a phone call in which he said he had been told "time is running out" by his captors. Aslin also reportedly told his family his captors said there had been no attempt by UK officials to negotiate on his behalf. (06:17 GMT) Germany will enter Phase 2 of its three-stage emergency gas plan on Thursday, a source close to the matter told Reuters. The alarm stage, planned for when the government sees a high risk of long-term supply shortages of gas, enables utilities to pass on high prices to customers and thereby help to lower demand. However, Germany's network regulator will not yet trigger a clause that would allow companies to pass on the gas price increases, sources close to the matter told Reuters. (07:58 GMT) A dozen European Union countries have been affected by cuts to gas supply from Russia, EU climate policy chief Frans Timmermans has said. (08:01 GMT) Bulgaria's block on North Macedonia's progress to join the European Union is a "disgrace", Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama has said as he arrived for a special Balkans summit with EU leaders. "It's a disgrace that a NATO country, Bulgaria, kidnaps two other NATO countries, namely Albania and North Macedonia, in the midst of a hot war in Europe's backyard with 26 other EU countries sitting still in a scary show of impotence," Rama told reporters. EU member Bulgaria in 2020 blocked the start of accession talks with North Macedonia over a dispute relating to history and language. Albania is also being held back because the EU has linked its progress to that of North Macedonia. (08:09 GMT) Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said Turkey is taking seriously claims that Ukrainian grain was stolen by Russia and is investigating those allegations. In a joint news conference with British Foreign Minister Liz Truss in Ankara, Cavusoglu said Turkey would not allow grains stolen by Russia or any other country to be brought to Turkey. (08:50 GMT) Explosions have been heard in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych has said. "Go to the shelters. Be extremely careful!," Senkevych said on messaging app Telegram. He did not specify the location of the blasts but said the city was being hit by artillery fire. (08:55 GMT) Countries in Asia, Africa and the Middle East have refused to isolate Moscow, despite the EU's lobbying efforts. India's balancing act of appeasing both Russia and the West has caught the EU off guard. The African Union has also not bought into the EU's efforts to isolate Russia. www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/23/why-global-south-nations-stay-neutral (09:15 GMT) Britain has introduced a new tranche of trade sanctions against Russia, a notice published on the government website has said. The notice listed new measures including prohibitions on the export to Russia of a range of goods and technology, the export of jet fuel, and the export of sterling or EU denominated banknotes. (09:43 GMT) "We must not fool ourselves: the cut in gas supplies is an economic attack on us by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin," German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said in a statement. Lower gas flows sparked warnings that Germany could fall into recession if Russia supplies halted altogether. "It is obviously Putin's strategy to create insecurity, drive up prices and divide us as a society," Habeck added. "This is what we are fighting against." (PJB: more like "for" than "against", no ?) (09:46 GMT) The Russian finance ministry has said it fulfilled its obligations on two issues of dollar-denominated eurobonds "in full" by sending 12.51 billion roubles ($234.5m) in coupon payments to the National Settlement Depository (NSD). The ministry said the payments were on eurobonds maturing in 2027 and 2047. "Thus, obligations on servicing the state securities of the Russian Federation were fulfilled by the finance ministry in full." (09:52 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said it used high-precision weapons to hit Ukrainian army fuel tanks and military equipment near the southern city of Mykolaiv, the Interfax news agency reported. (10:16 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia is a very reliable energy supplier to Europe and "strictly fulfils all its obligations". Peskov told a daily conference call with reporters that Germany had been informed about the "service cycles" of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, which is due to undergo maintenance from July 11 to 21. Gas flows through the Nord Stream 1 undersea pipeline from Russia to Germany have been falling. Russia said a technical issue caused by sanctions forced the state-owned Gazprom to reduce the flow, while Italy and Germany said this was a pretext to send less gas. (11:39 GMT) The European Parliament has adopted a resolution with 529 votes in favour to 45 against and 14 abstentions that calls on heads of state - who hold their summit on Thursday and Friday - to grant EU candidate status to Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova "without delay". They should do the same with Georgia "once its government has delivered" on the priorities indicated by the European Commission, the parliament said in a statement. "Ukrainians, Moldovans and Georgians deserve to live in free, democratic and prosperous countries that are proud and committed members of the European family," it added. (12:03 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has intensified his criticism of Israel's refusal to sanction Russia during an address to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. (12:11 GMT) High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the United States have arrived in Ukraine, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. "Thank you to my US colleague and friend Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for these powerful tools! Summer will be hot for Russian occupiers. And the last one for some of them," he said on Twitter. UKRAINE WAR US rockets for Ukraine ( see 22020531 at 20:41 ) (12:49 GMT) Ukrainian troops may need to retreat from the front-line city of Lysychansk to avoid encirclement after Russian forces captured two settlements to its south, Governor Haidai has said. "In order to avoid encirclement, our command could order that the troops retreat to new positions," he said on national television. "All of Lysychansk is within reach of their fire. It is very dangerous in the city." (13:57 GMT) President Putin has said an issue of concern is the "ill-conceived, selfish actions of individual states" - in his speech at the 14th BRICS summit, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The event, which is being held virtually, is hosted by President Xi Jinping of China. "Only on the basis of honest and mutually beneficial cooperation can we look for ways out of the crisis situation that has developed in the world economy due to the ill-conceived, selfish actions of individual states, which, using financial mechanisms, in fact, spread their own mistakes in macroeconomic policy to the whole world," the Russian news agency RIA Novosti quoted Putin as saying. (14:22 GMT) The Australian city of Melbourne is considering using a purpose-built quarantine hub to house hundreds of refugees fleeing war-torn Ukraine and Afghanistan. The largely vacant $200m Centre for National Resilience opened as a 500-bed site in February to house unvaccinated international travellers, before the state dropped its seven-day quarantine requirement. The centre would only house refugees temporarily as more permanent accommodation is sought. The plan is to house only some of about 500 refugees coming to Australia from Afghanistan and about 200 from Ukraine. (14:50 GMT) German chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned that the European Union must ready itself for expansion as the bloc paves the way for Ukraine to join. "We need to set the conditions that are necessary for Ukraine to continue its promising road ahead and at the same time we need to understand that we need to make ourselves ready for expansion," he said, as reported by Reuters. Scholz said that in order for a larger union to work, more decisions should be made by majority, instead of requiring unanimity. (15:27 GMT) Telecoms equipment maker Cisco will wind down its business in Russia and Belarus, the company told Reuters on Thursday, as the pace of Western companies departing accelerates. The US company stopped business operations, including sales and services, in the region in March. (15:57 GMT) The European Union and Norway have agreed to cooperate to bring more gas from Western Europe's biggest producer to the EU's 27 countries, nearly half of which are now grappling with cuts to Russian gas supplies. According to Reuters, the EU imports roughly a fifth of its gas from Norway, compared with the 40% it got from Russia before Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Russia has been cutting gas supplies to countries refusing to pay it in roubles. (17:22 GMT) Ukrainian troops may need to pull back from the key frontline city of Lysychansk to avoid being encircled after Russian forces captured two villages to its south, regional governor Serhiy Gaidai has said on national television, Reuters reported. (17:46 GMT) The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has issued statement re-affirming its decision that Ukraine will not be able to host the Eurovision song contest in 2023. (18:16 GMT) The United States is expected to provide an additional $450m in security assistance to Ukraine, including more long-range rocket systems, US officials have told Reuters. The officials said an announcement was expected later on Thursday and the latest package is expected to include four additional High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). (18:41 GMT) The European Union has approved the application of Ukraine to become a candidate country for admission to the 27-strong bloc. EU leaders meeting in Brussels have followed the recommendation of the European Commission, which was made on Friday 17 June. The accession process to the EU can be lengthy. Until today the official list of candidate countries included Albania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Turkey. Turkey gained candidate status in 1999, the Republic of North Macedonia in 2005. (19:32 GMT) The UK government has updated the list of goods and services that are banned from being exported to Russia. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/notice-to-exporters-202218-introduction-of-additional-sanctions-against-russia/nte-202218-introduction-of-additional-sanctions-against-russia (20:09 GMT) Kyiv said it has formally filed a case against Russia at the European Court of Human Rights to end "the mass and gross human rights violations" by Moscow's forces during the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported. The move is considered symbolic, given that on June 7 the Russian parliament approved two bills ending the court's jurisdiction in Russia. (23:38 GMT) A triumphant Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the European Union for granting Ukraine candidate status, saying this was the beginning of Europe's new history. (23:46 GMT) Moldovan President Maia Sandu has said the European Union's move to grant her nation candidacy status was a historic day, adding: "We have a difficult road ahead, which will require a lot of work and effort". (23:47 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said she was convinced Ukraine and Moldova would move as swiftly as possible to implement necessary reforms. "I am deeply convinced that our decision that we have taken today strengthens us all. It strengthens Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia in the face of Russian aggression," she said. "And it strengthens the European Union because it shows once again to the world that the European Union is united and strong in the face of external threats." <== external? (23:55 GMT) Zelenskyy has promised not to rest until Russia's defeat and full membership of Ukraine in the European Union had been secured. "We can defeat the enemy, rebuild Ukraine, join the EU, and then we can rest," he said in a low voice. 20220624 (00:04 GMT) The United States will send another $450 million in military aid to Ukraine, including some additional medium-range rocket systems, to help push back Russian progress in the war, officials have announced. The latest package includes four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, which will double the number they have now. All four were prepositioned in Europe, and training on those systems has already begun with the Ukrainian troops who will use them, said Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, Anton Semelroth, a Pentagon spokesman. The first four HIMARS that the US previously sent have already gone to the battlefield in Ukraine and are in the hands of troops there. According to the Pentagon, the aid also includes 18 tactical vehicles that are used to tow howitzers, so the weapons can be moved around the battlefield, as well as 18 coastal and riverine patrol boats, thousands of machine guns, grenade launchers and rounds of ammunition, and some other equipment and spare parts. (00:38 GMT) The US welcomes Turkey's involvement in brokering an agreement to get grain out of Ukraine, John Kirby, the national security spokesman, said. (00:41 GMT) Canada's Senate has passed Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's budget, adopting a long list of measures which includes the power to confiscate and sell assets seized in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (00:46 GMT) Germany could sustain itself for two and a half months of average winter if its natural gas storage facilities were to be 100% full, the head of Germany's network agency has said, adding that Europe's biggest economy needs additional suppliers and must save gas. (00:54 GMT) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has said it would loan Moldova 300 million euros ($316 million) to help it withstand energy supply disruptions compounded by Russia's war in Ukraine. The loan to the pro-Western government of President Maia Sandu will be provided in two tranches - 200 million euros to avoid disruptions and a further 100 million euros to build up a strategic reserve in Ukraine or Romania. (01:34 GMT) The United Kingdom is willing to assist with demining operations off Ukraine's southern coast and is considering offering insurance to ships to move millions of tonnes of grain stuck in the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. (01:43 GMT) Russian forces are aiming to capture another settlement near the city of Severodonetsk, Ukraine's general staff has said. After taking control of the villages of Loskutivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka near Lysychansk on Thursday, Russians are set on taking Syrotyne, on the outskirts of Severodonetsk, according to Ukraine's army. Syrotyne is near the settlement of Metolkine, which Russian forces took control of earlier in the week. (01:48 GMT) US Senator Marco Rubio on Thursday asked the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct a safety review of Russian airlines and alert Americans to the risks of Russian-administered aircraft continuing to operate in international airspace. Sanctions imposed by Europe, the United States and others have denied Russia access to new planes, spare parts and maintenance services and forced Russia's aviation industry to cut back on flights. (02:16 GMT) The Kremlin spokesman has said that Russia's defence ministry is carefully recording each use of weapons provided by the United States to Ukraine to ensure they aren't being used to strike inside Russia, state media channel RT has reported. (03:03 GMT) The Russian embassy in Canada has responded with scorn to social media remarks by Germany's ambassador to Ottawa which claimed Russia was using energy as a weapon. "This is a rough road our country will have to walk," Germany's Sabine Sparwasser wrote on Twitter after Europe's biggest economy moved to phase two of its gas emergency plans in the wake of Russia slashing supplies. "Russia is using energy as a weapon against Europe." Russia's embassy countered that Europe had backed itself into a corner with its ban on Russian energy. (03:13 GMT) Russia's power grid told Litgrid, its counterpart in Lithuania, that it has canceled the planned isolation operation test of the electricity network of the Kaliningrad exclave, Litgrid has said. The test, which was due to begin on Saturday, would have involved Kaliningrad region disconnecting from the common grid of Baltic states, Russia and Poland for eight hours to test its capacity to operate independently, Litgrid said. Three similar tests were conducted in 2019-2021, (04:06 GMT) Ukrainian authorities are likely setting conditions to prepare for the ultimate loss of both key Luhansk cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, but this outcome would not represent a turning point in the war, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said (04:13 GMT) Germany should explore all options to increase domestic natural gas output including fracking, the chief executive of German energy provider E.ON has said, as Berlin triggered the "alarm stage" of its emergency gas plan in response to falling Russian supplies. (04:55 GMT) The Russian air force is likely struggling to support its Ukraine offensive with sufficient aircrew, the United Kingdom's ministry of defence has said, citing recent Ukrainian information about a captured pilot flying a Russian plane who confessed to being a military contractor with the private Wagner army. "Ukrainian forces have announced that the pilot of a Russian Su-25 FROGFOOT ground attack aircraft shot down on 17 June was captured shortly afterwards," the defence ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. "The pilot has confessed to being a former Russian air force Major, who had taken employment as a Wagner military contractor and had flown several missions during the conflict," it said, adding that this indicated a lack of sufficient aircrew in the Russian air forces. (05:18 GMT) Russian forces have taken the village of Mykolaivka, around 25km south of the key city of Lysychansk, the governor of Luhansk has said. (05:51 GMT) Ukrainian troops will "have to be withdrawn" from the mostly Russian-occupied battleground city of Severodonetsk, the Luhansk governor said on television on Friday. "Remaining in positions smashed to pieces over many months just for the sake of staying there does not make sense," Serhiy Haidai said. (06:42 GMT) Germany is heading for a gas shortage if Russian gas supplies remain as low as they are now, and certain industries would have to be shut down if there is not enough come winter, the economy minister has said. "Companies would have to stop production, lay off their workers, supply chains would collapse, people would go into debt to pay their heating bills, that people would become poorer." (06:57 GMT) German consumers could see a doubling or tripling of their energy costs, which, in some cases, are already between 30 and 80% higher due to price increases from last fall, the head of the Bundesnetzagentur network regulator, has told broadcaster ARD. (07:20 GMT) Gazprom - Russian gas producer - says its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.1 million cubic metres (mcm) on Friday versus 42.6 mcm on Thursday. An application to supply gas via another major entry point, Sokhranovka, was again rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. (07:39 GMT) Germany is planning to provide several billion dollars in tax relief to energy-intensive industry in the coming two years, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reports, citing a finance ministry paper. The aid would amount to some $3.05bn annually in the years 2023 and 2024, Sueddeutsche reported. (08:11 GMT) Kazakhstan's President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is publicly refusing to recognise Moscow-backed separatist regions in Ukraine. "If the right to self-determination is implemented worldwide, there will be over 600 nations instead of the 193 states that are currently UN members. Of course, that would be chaos," Tokayev said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/24/whats-behind-kazakhstan-not-recognizing-ukraines-separatists (08:28 GMT) Moscow's foreign ministry says it blames Washington for a Lithuanian ban on sanctioned goods crossing from the Russian mainland to the exclave of Kaliningrad. In a statement, the ministry also said that it was "impossible" to hold expert level consultations with Washington on a number of bilateral issues that had been due to take place in the near future. (09:07 GMT) The deputy head of the Russian-installed authority in Kherson region says a senior official of the administration has been killed in an apparent assassination. Dmitry Savluchenko, head of families, youth and sports department of the Kherson military-civilian administration, was killed in a bomb blast, the deputy head told Reuters news agency. (09:17 GMT) The German Economy Ministry is considering converting parts of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into a connection for a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Baltic Sea coast, magazine Der Spiegel reports. The ministry is looking at possibly expropriating the part of the pipeline system located on German territory and cutting it off from the rest of the pipeline, Spiegel added. (09:36 GMT) The head of the United Nations says the world faces a "catastrophe" because of the growing shortage of food around the globe. Antonio Guterres said the war in Ukraine has added to the disruptions caused by climate change, the coronavirus pandemic and inequality to produce an "unprecedented global hunger crisis" already affecting hundreds of millions of people. (10:39 GMT) Oleksiy Babchenko - head of Hirske municipality, says Russian forces have "fully occupied" the district in eastern Luhansk region. "Unfortunately, as of today ... the entire Hirske district is occupied," Babchenko said on a television broadcast. "There are some insignificant, local battles going on at the outskirts, but the enemy has entered." (10:49 GMT) Russia's finance ministry says it has sent a coupon payment of 8.5 billion roubles ($159m) on a dollar-denominated Eurobond issue to the National Settlement Depository, as the prospect of a sovereign default draws ever closer. "Obligations on servicing the state securities of the Russian Federation were fulfilled by the finance ministry in full," the ministry said in a statement. The Eurobond in question matures in 2028. Similar coupon payments were made on Thursday on bonds maturing in 2027 and 2047. (11:33 GMT) Industry minister Jozef Sikela says gas shipments coming from Russia into the Czech Republic are stable but need monitoring. Sikela said Prague could not rule out that shipments could fall or completely stop in the future. (11:53 GMT) Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi says G7 foreign ministers agree that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had brought about the current global food crisis, and Moscow was responsible for the matter. (12:07 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says Russian forces are seeking to surround the embattled city of Lysychansk and are mounting assaults on its sister city of Severodonetsk to establish full control. The region's governor said earlier that Ukrainian troops would "have to be withdrawn" from Severodonetsk and that they had been ordered to take up new positions. Defence ministry spokesperson Oleksandr Motuzyanyk declined to comment on the governor's remarks and told reporters at a briefing in Kyiv that the information was "closed" to the public. (13:59 GMT) Russia is trying but has been unable to target Western weapons flowing into Ukraine, including longer-range systems that Kyiv hopes will be decisive on the battlefield, a senior US defense official has said. (14:01 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency is increasingly concerned about the welfare of Ukrainian staff at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, it has said, adding that it must go there as soon as possible. "The IAEA is aware of recent reports in the media and elsewhere indicating a deteriorating situation for Ukrainian staff at the country's largest nuclear power plant," a statement by the Vienna-based United Nations agency said. It added that it was "increasingly concerned about the difficult conditions facing staff..., and it must go there as soon as possible to address this and other urgent issues". "The situation at this major nuclear power plant is clearly untenable. We are informed that Ukrainian staff are operating the facility under extremely stressful conditions while the site is under the control of Russian armed forces," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said. (14:03 GMT) Poland and the Baltic states want to see a stronger NATO defensive presence in the Suwalki Gap, the stretch of land that separates the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from Belarus, the Polish prime minister has said. "We are going to seek the reinforcement of this corridor... in our talks with our partners from NATO," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference in Brussels after a European Union summit. (14:13 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged music fans at the Glastonbury Festival to "spread the truth about Russia's war" on his country. (16:35 GMT) Ukraine will need at least a decade to clear all the mines and explosives from its land and territorial waters once its war with Russia is over, an emergency services official has said. Ukraine has managed to clear 620 square kilometres of land that were littered with thousands of explosive devices, including 2,000 bombs dropped from the air, but nearly 300,000 square kilometres are still seen as "contaminated", the official said. (17:39 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has condemned the decision by Brussels to grant Ukraine official EU candidate status as a move to "contain Russia" geopolitically. The decision "confirms that a geopolitical monopolisation of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) space is continuing actively in order to contain Russia," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. (17:41 GMT) Ukraine needs "fire parity" with Russia in order to stabilise the difficult situation in the country's eastern region of Luhansk, Ukraine's top general told his US counterpart during a phone call. "We discussed the operational situation and the delivery flow of international technical assistance," Ukraine's General Valeriy Zaluzhniy wrote on the Telegram app after a phone call with US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley. https://www.dw.com/en/vitali-klitschko-fake-tricks-berlin-mayor-in-video-call/a-62257289 Berlin Mayor Franziska Giffey spoke for 15 minutes with a man posing as Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. But then the suspicion arose that a counterpart was a deepfake. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/russia-ukraine-crisis-in-maps-and-charts-live-news-interactive 20220625 (07:11 GMT) Ukrainian forces have been ordered to withdraw from the key battleground city of Severodonetsk after weeks of fierce street fighting, in order to limit further casualties and regroup. Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said that "it is now a situation where it makes no sense to hold out in battered positions". (07:17 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he feared Ukraine could face pressure to agree to a peace deal with Russia that was not in its interests, due to the economic consequences of the war in Europe. "Too many countries are saying this is a European war that is unnecessary ... and so the pressure will grow to encourage - coerce, maybe - the Ukrainians to a bad peace," he told broadcasters in the Rwandan capital, Kigali, where he was attending a Commonwealth summit. (07:38 GMT) The British defence ministry says Russia likely withdrew several generals from key command roles in the Ukraine conflict this month. "Since the start of June, the Russian high command has highly likely removed several generals from key operational command roles in the war in Ukraine," the ministry said in its daily Twitter update. They include the commander of Airborne Forces, General-Colonel Andrei Serdyukov, whose 30-year-long service has been "dogged with allegations of corruption and brutality". (07:50 GMT) A Russian strike on the Yavoriv military facility in western Ukraine has wounded four people, Lviv governor Maksym Kozytskyy has said in a video post. Six missiles were fired from the Black Sea, with four hitting the base and two being intercepted and destroyed before hitting the target, according to Kozytskyy. An attack on the military training facility in March killed 35 people and wounded at least 130, according to Ukrainian officials. The 360-square-kilometre compound, also known as the International Peacekeeping and Security Center, has long been used to train Ukrainian military personnel, often with instructors from the United States and other NATO countries. (08:08 GMT) Dozens of Russian missiles have rained down on military facilities in western and northern Ukraine, local officials said. Six missiles were fired from the Black Sea at the Yavoriv base in the Lviv region in western Ukraine, governor Maxim Kozytskyi said in a video posted online. Vitaliy Bunechko, governor of the Zhytomyr region in the north of the country, said strikes on a military target killed at least one soldier. "Nearly 30 missiles were launched at one military infrastructure facility very near to the city of Zhytomyr," Bunechko said, adding that nearly 10 missiles had been intercepted and destroyed. In the Chernihiv region, also in the north, governor Vyacheslav Chaus said the small town of Desna, which is home to a training centre for Ukraine's infantry forces, had come under fire. Chaus did not specify what had been hit, but said there had been "infrastructure damage." There were no casualties, he added. (08:36 GMT) Russia has launched artillery and air strikes on the twin cities of Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, hitting a chemical plant where hundreds of civilians are trapped, a Ukrainian official has said. (08:59 GMT) Ukraine's northern border region of Chernigiv came under "massive bombardment" fired from the territory of Russia's ally Belarus, the Ukrainian army has said in a statement. "Around 5:00 o'clock in the morning (0200 GMT) the Chernigiv region suffered a massive bombardment by missiles. Twenty rockets, fired from the territory of Belarus and from the air, targeted the village of Desna." (09:19 GMT) Russian authorities have removed a Polish flag from a memorial commemorating the thousands of Poles killed by the Soviet Union, amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Warsaw over the Ukraine conflict. The mayor of Smolensk city confirmed the removal of the flag from the Katyn memorial in western Russia. "There cannot be Polish flags on Russian monuments. Even less so after the frankly anti-Russian comments by Polish political leaders," Andrei Borisov said on social media platform VKontakte. "The culture ministry of the Russian Federation made the right decision by removing the Polish flag. Katyn is a Russian memorial." (09:39 GMT) Russian forces are attempting to blockade the city of Lysychansk from the south, Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Luhansk, has said on Facebook. Russian moves to cut off Lysychansk will give Ukrainian troops retreating from nearby Severodonetsk little respite as Moscow focuses all efforts on capturing all of the eastern Donbas region, comprising Luhansk and Donetsk provinces. (10:05 GMT) Russia says its troops have killed "up to 80" Polish fighters in "precision strikes" in eastern Ukraine. "Up to 80 Polish mercenaries, 20 armoured combat vehicles and eight Grad multiple rocket launchers were destroyed in precision strikes on the Megatex zinc factory in Konstantinovka" in the Donetsk region, the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. (10:07 GMT) Ukraine's intelligence service has said that Russia was aiming to drag Belarus into the war, after missiles were fired from Belarusian territory into the border region of Chernihiv. "Today's strike is directly linked to Kremlin efforts to pull Belarus as a co-belligerent into the war in Ukraine," the intelligence service, which is part of the defence ministry, said on Telegram. (10:29 GMT) US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems are already working and hitting targets in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine, the country's top general has said. "Artillerymen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine skilfully hit certain targets - military targets of the enemy on our, Ukrainian, territory," Chief of Ukraine's General Staff Valeriy Zaluzhnyi wrote on the Telegram app. (10:32 GMT) Ukraine stands with Moldova in response to renewed threats from Russia, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said, after Moscow warned of negative consequences over the two countries becoming candidates for EU membership. "We stand with the people and the government of friendly Moldova amid renewed threats coming from Moscow," Kuleba said on Twitter. (11:23 GMT) The mayor of Ukraine's Severodonetsk says Ukrainian troops have "almost left" the strategic front-line city after holding out for weeks against advancing Russian forces. Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk did not confirm whether a full withdrawal was under way. (12:13 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has issued a demand for clarification after a slew of deep fake videos fooled mayors in European capitals into thinking they were talking with him. https://www.dw.com/en/vitali-klitschko-fake-tricks-berlin-mayor-in-video-call/a-62257289 "This is criminal energy. It must be urgently investigated who is behind it," Klitschko said in a video shared by Germany's Bild newspaper. "Several mayors in Europe have been contacted by a fake Klitschko who has said absurd things," Klitschko said, adding that official talks would be organised only through official channels in Kyiv. (13:25 GMT) President Joe Biden has left the White House for a week of diplomacy in which he hopes to reinforce the Western alliance against Russia and look to challenges from China. Biden was headed first to a luxurious castle in Germany's Alps for a G7 summit with leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan. Next week he flies to Madrid for a NATO summit. (13:58 GMT) Russian troops and allies entered Lysychansk and street fighting is underway in the eastern Ukrainian city which neighbours its strategic twin Severodonetsk, pro-Moscow separatists said. "The people's militia of the Lugansk People's Republic and the Russian army have entered the city of Lysychansk," a representative for pro-Russian separatists, Andrei Marochko, said on Telegram. "Street fighting is currently taking place," he added. (14:27 GMT) The Ukrainian mayor of Severodonetsk has said Russian forces had fully occupied the city. "The city is now under the full occupation of Russia. They are trying to establish their own order, as far as I know they have appointed some kind of commandant," Mayor Oleksandr Stryuk said on national television. (14:58 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko have discussed the global fertiliser supply situation at a meeting. "I would like to talk to you in terms of meeting global market needs," Putin said in footage from the meeting posted on social media by a reporter from state broadcaster Russia 1. (15:16 GMT) Russian and pro-Russia forces have taken control of the Azot chemical plant in Severodonetsk and "evacuated" more than 800 civilians sheltering there, pro-Moscow separatists have said. (15:45 GMT) Ukraine is regrouping its forces from the rubble of the city of Severodonetsk to higher ground in neighbouring Lysychansk to gain a tactical advantage over Russia, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency has said. (16:25 GMT) Moscow will deliver missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus in the coming months, President Vladimir Putin has said. "In the coming months, we will transfer to Belarus Iskander-M tactical missile systems, which can use ballistic or cruise missiles, in their conventional and nuclear versions," Putin said in a broadcast on Russian television. (16:57 GMT) THE LISTENING POST: Ukraine-Russia: A prolonged propaganda war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4FAuHCSSCI (17:36 GMT) US President Biden and his G7 counterparts will agree on an import ban on new gold from Russia as they broaden sanctions against Moscow for its war against Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters news agency. According to the source, the US Treasury Department will issue a determination to prohibit the import of new gold into the U.S. on Tuesday, in a move aimed at further isolating Russia from the global economy by preventing its participation in the gold market. (18:07 GMT) Russian forces have established full control over the Ukrainian city of Sievierodonetsk, Russia's Interfax new agency cited the defence ministry as saying. Ukrainian officials said earlier in the day that their troops had withdrawn from the city after a prolonged battle. Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv said Russia's takeover of Severodonetsk was a significant development in the war, being described by some as the "biggest defeat" for Ukraine since Mariupol. Severodonetsk Mayor Striuk has said civilians had started to evacuate the Azot chemical plant, where several hundred people had been hiding from Russian shelling. (19:52 GMT) Geopolitical security analyst and an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute Samuel Ramani says that while Russia is succeeding with its offensive in eastern Ukraine, the next stages might be more difficult. "I think once Luhansk falls to Russia, it's gonna be harder for them in the next few stages," he said from London, UK via Skype. "They've not been able to prove to be able to bombard a major city into submission ... they repeatedly failed to cross the Siverskyi Donets river - which is important for the Donbas campaign. Severodonetsk gives them a hold over that river but moving armoured personnel ... and other equipment across has been very difficult for them." (20:10 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine would win back all the cities it had lost to Russia, including Severodonetsk. (20:54 GMT) Leaders of the Group of Seven rich democracies are having "very constructive" discussions on a possible cap on Russian oil imports, a German government source said has said shortly before the start of the G7 summit, according to Reuters. 20220626 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-indonesia-leader-to-visit-kyiv-moscow (02:00 GMT) The leaders of the G7 are gathering in southern Germany, seeking emphatic backing for Ukraine against Russia's invasion while grappling with the intensifying global fallout of the war. "The main message from the G7 will be unity and coordination of action... That's the main message, that even through difficult times... we stick to our alliance," an EU official told Reuters. (03:26 GMT) Indonesian President Joko Widodo says he will urge his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to open room for dialogue during a peace-building mission to the warring countries and ask Russia's Putin to order an immediate ceasefire. (04:27 GMT) Several explosions were heard in the Shevchenkivskiy district of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said. (06:20 GMT) In a late night video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that in the previous day 45 Russian missiles hit wide areas, including the northern, southern and western parts of the country. He described the strikes as intended for "not just the destruction of our infrastructure," but also as "very cynical, calculated pressure on the emotions of our people." (06:29 GMT) A Russian missile strike that hit Kyiv was intended to "intimidate Ukrainians" in the days leading up to a NATO summit, the city's mayor Vitali Klitschko said. * A nine-story residential building was damaged from the 1st to 9th floor; * The blast occurred at around 6.30am (03.30 GMT); * Rescue operations are underway and it seems there are victims; * About 19 emergency units are currently working on the site. (07:49 GMT) Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected Russian troops stationed in Ukraine, TASS news agency reported citing the ministry. The ministry in Moscow released a video showing the commander stepping off a plane in dark green military fatigues and then conferring with military officials. (08:46 GMT) So far 25 residents have been pulled out from the rubble after a Russian missile hit a residential building in central Kyiv, its mayor said. Vitali Klitschko said that four people were hospitalized, including a seven-year old girl. (08:56 GMT) Explosions were heard in the central Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, regional governor Oleksandr Skichko said on the Telegram app. Two Russian missiles hit near the central Ukrainian city of Cherkasy, killing one person and wounding five others, regional authorities said. "Today, the enemy launched missile attacks on the Cherkasy region. There are 2 strikes near the regional center. One dead and five wounded. Infrastructure damaged," Governor Ihor Taburets said on Telegram. (09:09 GMT) US President Joe Biden told Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz that the West must stay united against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (09:21 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said G7 countries must respond to new missile strikes against Ukraine by imposing further sanctions on Russia and providing more heavy weapons to Ukraine. (07:42 GMT) European Council President Charles Michel has condemned Russia's "hunger games," saying that the Kremlin is "solely responsible for the global food crisis causing suffering in the poorest countries and low-income households." (13:28 GMT) About 1,000 people began a protest in the southern German town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, against the G7 summit that is being held nearby in Elmau, Bavaria. The rally was accompanied by a massive police contingent. In total, some 18,000 police officers are deployed in the region for the summit. The demonstration focused on the climate and fears that the Ukraine war will escalate. "We will not let them destroy our planet and our future," a rally spokesperson said, in comments directed at the politicians meeting nearby. (14:16 GMT) Russia said its early morning strike on the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, had hit a missile factory. The Artyom factory "was the target, as military infrastructure" the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, adding that damage to a nearby residential building was caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile. (15:27 GMT) Vitali Klitschko said Sunday's Russian strikes on Kyiv was a "symbolic attack" in the run-up to the NATO summit that us due to take place on Tuesday. Speaking to Al Jazeera, Klitschko said the attack on Kyiv was reminiscent of the ones that took place during the visit of the United Nations secretary-general in late April, who went on to describe the conflict as a "senseless war". (15:45 GMT) Pro-Russian separatists said they have evacuated 250 more people from the air-raid shelters of the Azot chemical factory in Severodonetsk after Ukraine gave up the city. Some 200 civilians, including young children, had been brought out of the plant on Saturday, the Luhansk separatist representative in Moscow, Rodion Miroschnikon said on Telegram. However, it was unclear where they had been taken. There had also been mention of a far greater number of evacuees but no clearer information was available. (16:18 GMT) Ukrainian forces have attacked a drilling platform in the Black Sea owned by a Crimean oil and gas company, Tass news agency cited local officials as saying, the second strike in a week. The platform is operated by Chernomorneftegaz, which Russian-backed officials seized from Ukraine's national gas operator Naftogaz as part of Moscow's annexation of the peninsula in 2014. (16:43 GMT) Vladimir Putin will visit two small former Soviet states in central Asia this week in what would be the Russian leader's first known trip abroad since ordering the invasion of Ukraine. Pavel Zarubin, the Kremlin correspondent of the Rossiya 1 state television station, said Putin would visit Tajikistan and Turkmenistan and then meet Indonesian President Joko Widodo for talks in Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/26/vladimir-putin-to-make-first-foreign-trip-since-launching-ukraine (20:21 GMT) France has become the latest country to reconsider its energy options because of the war in Ukraine. The energy transition ministry announced it was considering reopening the station at Saint-Avold in eastern France during the northern winter, "given the situation in Ukraine" and its effect on the energy markets. "We are keeping open the possibility of being able to put the Saint-Avold station back in action for a few hours more if we need it next winter," said a ministry statement, confirming a report on RTL radio. (77:77) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/26/thousands-demonstrate-in-madrid-ahead-of-nato-summit Thousands demonstrate in Madrid ahead of NATO summit Thousands of anti-NATO demonstrators rallied in Madrid on Sunday before a summit of the Western military alliance in the Spanish capital this week. Demonstrators called for US-led NATO to be dissolved and for military bases maintained by the United States in Spain to be closed. Banners with the words "No to NATO, No to War, For Peace" were held as they marched through the city. The Spanish government banned another rally planned for Wednesday, the first day of the NATO summit, on security grounds. "Tanks yes, but of beer with tapas," sang demonstrators, who claimed an increase in defence spending in Europe urged by NATO was a threat to peace. "I am fed up [with] this business of arms and killing people. The solution they propose is more arms and wars and we always pay for it. So no NATO, no [army] bases, let the Americans go and leave us alone without wars and weapons," said Concha Hoyos, a retired Madrid resident. NATO is expected to consider the bid, opposed by alliance member Turkey, for Finland and Sweden to join. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-asks-for-modern-air-defence-system-liveblog (23:23 GMT) Ukraine needs a modern air defence system to deter Russian missiles, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, after a weekend that saw Moscow step up attacks across Ukraine. "Missiles also hit the Mykolaiv region, the Chernihiv region, Odesa, Cherkasy. Artillery and mortar shelling did not stop in the Kharkiv region, in the Sumy region, in Donbas, in the south of our state," he said in his nightly address, adding that Russia had fired 62 missiles at Ukraine within 24 hours. "Part of the missiles were shot down. But only part. We need a powerful air defence - modern, fully effective. Which can ensure complete protection against these missiles ... And partners need to move faster if they are really partners, not observers." (23:32 GMT) Ministers from European Union countries will meet this week to attempt joint plans to fight climate change. The previously scheduled meeting by EU energy ministers will also give them a chance to discuss emergency plans to reduce gas demand, which Brussels is expected to draw up in coming weeks in case of further cuts in supply from Russia. The energy ministers' meeting on Monday, and environment ministers' meeting the following day, are expected to agree on common positions on proposed laws to meet a 2030 target to cut net emissions by 55% from 1990 levels. The laws would expand renewable energy, revamp the EU carbon market and ban sales of new cars running on fossil fuels from 2035. Brussels says the energy supply crisis this year caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine means the 27 EU countries should move even faster to wean themselves off fossil fuels. But the threat of an economic slump from surging energy prices has also made some countries more cautious about swift change that they fear might bring more disruption. (23:53 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will attend a round of talks with the leaders of Sweden and Finland, as well as NATO on Tuesday ahead of the summit in Madrid, Turkish Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin has said. 20220627 (01:26 GMT) Russia has missed the deadline on payment of its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century as the 30 day grace period on about $100 million of two bond payments due May 27 expired on Sunday. The deadline is considered an event of default if missed, according to Bloomberg. (01:36 GMT) NATO leaders will urge Turkish President Erdogan to lift his veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join the military alliance when they meet for a three-day summit on Tuesday, as the West strives to send Russia and China a signal of resolve. Taking place in the shadow of Russia's war in Ukraine, the Madrid gathering comes at a pivotal moment for the transatlantic bond after failures in Afghanistan and internal discord during the era of former US President Donald Trump, who threatened to pull Washington out of the nuclear alliance. (01:49 GMT) President Joe Biden thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his leadership saying it was "in no small part because of you" that the West had stuck together against Russia four months after the invasion of Ukraine. "You've done an incredible job," Biden said at the G7 summit on Sunday. (03:54 GMT) The United States is likely to announce this week the purchase of an advanced medium to long range surface-to-air missile defence system for Ukraine, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Sunday. Washington is also expected to announce other security assistance for Ukraine, including additional artillery ammunition and counter-battery radars to address needs expressed by the Ukrainian military, the source added. (04:11 GMT) Some Taiwanese holders of Russian Eurobonds have not received interest due on May 27 after a grace period expired on Sunday evening, two sources told Reuters. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last Wednesday to launch temporary procedures and give the government 10 days to choose banks to handle payments under a new scheme, suggesting Russia will consider its debt obligations fulfilled when it pays bondholders in roubles. (05:22 GMT) The conflict in Ukraine will continue to dominate the agenda on the second day of a three-day summit of G7 leaders in southern Germany on Monday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set to join talks via video link. (05:40 GMT) More than 100 bodies have been found in one house in the Russian-occupied city of Mariupol, the mayor's adviser has said. "When examining buildings in the Lioberezhny district, in a house hit by an air bomb at the intersection... more than 100 bodies of those who died from the bombing were found. The bodies are still under the rubble. The occupiers do not plan to seize and bury," Piotr Andryushchenko wrote on Telegram. (06:00 GMT) Russia trying to regain momentum on Izium axis: UK A week of consistently heavy shelling suggests Russia is trying to regain momentum on the northern Izium axis, the UK's defence ministry has said. The ministry's latest intelligence briefing said Russia's campaign would increasingly rely on different units of reserve forces in the coming weeks. They include Russia's Combat Army Reserve, which consists of part-time volunteers with units typically ear-marked for rear area security tasks. Then there is the Human Mobilisation Resource, which the ministry said is a sizeable pool of all veterans who have served in the regular military in the last five years, adding that "Russian authorities are likely using volunteers from this category to fill out the third battalions within regular brigades." "Despite a continued shortfall in the number of deployable reservists for Ukraine, the Russian leadership likely remains reluctant to order a general mobilisation," the ministry said. (07:48 GMT) Germany's Energy Minister Robert Habeck says a price cap on Russian energy imports pushed for by the United States would only be effective with sufficient support internationally. European Union Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson says the bloc's energy ministers will discuss options for how they could jointly curb gas demand, as the bloc grapples with cuts to Russian supplies and prepares for possible further supply shocks. (08:36 GMT) Serhiy Gaidai, the governor of the Luhansk region which includes Lysychansk, says civilians should urgently evacuate the city which is being attacked by Russian forces. "The situation in the city is very difficult," Serhiy Gaidai wrote on the Telegram messaging app. (09:22 GMT) A European official who spoke to Reuters news agency says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy asked for anti-aircraft defence systems, more sanctions on Russia and security guarantees as he addressed leaders of the Group of Seven summit. (09:41 GMT) Governor of Kharkiv Oleh Sinehubov says constant shelling by Russian forces killed two women and wounded five people in the region. Sinehubov said the deaths occurred in the northern Chuguevsky district that borders Russia. He said an attack by Russian troops near the towns of Dementiivka and Pitomnik was repelled. (09:59 GMT) Moscow says it rejects claims that it has defaulted on its external debt for the first time in more than a century. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia made bond payments due in May but the fact they had been blocked by Euroclear because of Western sanctions on Russia was "not our problem." (11:06 GMT) G7 leaders say they are seriously concerned over Russia's plans to deliver missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to Belarus in the coming months. "We urge Russia to behave responsibly and exercise restraint," the leaders of the world's top industrialised nations said in a statement. "In this regard we express serious concern after the announcement by Russia that it could transfer missiles with nuclear capabilities to Belarus." (11:08 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will travel to Tajikistan on Tuesday, his spokesman says, his first trip abroad since Moscow launched its military operation in Ukraine. "A working visit by President Putin is scheduled for tomorrow in Tajikistan," Dmitry Peskov said. Putin is also expected in Turkmenistan on Wednesday for a summit of countries bordering the Caspian Sea. (11:32 GMT) Leaders of the Group of Seven wealthy democracies say they will stand by Ukraine "for as long as it takes" by cranking up sanctions on Russia and backing security commitments for Kyiv in a post-war settlement. "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military and diplomatic support and stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes." (12:14 GMT) Italian PM Mario Draghi says G7 countries are united with Ukraine because a defeat in its war against Russia would be a defeat for all democracies. "We are united with Ukraine, because if Ukraine loses, all democracies lose. If Ukraine loses, it will be harder to argue that democracy is an effective model of government," Draghi was quoted as saying. (13:30 GMT) The US is planning to send Ukraine sophisticated anti-aircraft missiles to defend against Russian attacks, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said. Sullivan said additional aid being prepared due to "urgent need" also included artillery ammunition and counter-battery radar systems, which are used to pinpoint the source of enemy artillery firing. ~/photos/events/20220627_weapons_us_is_sending_to_ukraine.png (13:34 GMT) Moldova's president has said during a visit to Ukraine that her country is "fragile and vulnerable" and needed help to remain "part of the free world". President Maia Sandu said Moldova, a former Soviet republic of 2.6 million people that borders Ukraine, wanted to determine its own future. "Moldova is a fragile and vulnerable country," she said. "Ukraine and Moldova need help. We want this war [in Ukraine] to stop, this Russian aggression against Ukraine to be stopped as soon as possible. We want to stay part of the free world." (13:39 GMT) Russian hacker group Killnet has claimed responsibility for a DDOS cyber attack on Lithuania, saying it was in response to Vilnius's decision to block the transit of some goods sanctioned by the European Union to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. (13:43 GMT) NATO will increase the strength of its rapid reaction force nearly eightfold to 300,000 troops as part of its response to an "era of strategic competition," the military alliance's secretary-general has said. The NATO reaction force currently numbers around 40,000 soldiers which can deploy quickly when needed. It will be a topic at a summit of NATO leaders in Madrid later this week. (13:45 GMT) Zelenskyy has asked the Group of Seven rich nations to further squeeze Russia by capping prices of oil exported by Moscow. (14:04 GMT) Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have granted Morocco permission to speak with Saaudun Brahim, a Moroccan citizen sentenced to death for fighting with Ukrainian forces, the RIA Novosti agency has reported on Monday citing a top official in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). (14:15 GMT) Russian troops have killed more than 40 Ukrainian soldiers in the Mykolaiv region in south-eastern Ukraine, the Defence Ministry in Moscow has said. Russia's forces also destroyed military equipment near the village of Vysunsk on Sunday, the ministry said. A total of 24 command posts were destroyed in several areas, it said, although the information could not be independently verified. Moscow also confirmed missile attacks on Kiev on Sunday, but denied having hit a residential building, saying the attack was aimed at the Artem arms factory. (14:53 GMT) The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office has said that at least two people have been killed and 20 wounded in the Russian missile strike that hit Kremenchuk shopping mall in central Ukraine. Kyrylo Tymoshenko said nine of the wounded were in a serious condition. (15:18 GMT) Russia has declared eight Greek diplomats "personae non gratae" and has given them eight days to leave the country, the Russian foreign ministry has said. (15:38 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro have discussed global food security and confirmed their intention to strengthen their strategic partnership, the Kremlin said. Putin assured Bolsonaro in a phone call that Russia would fulfil all its obligations to supply fertilisers to Brazil. (15:56 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has played down expectations of a breakthrough ahead of talks with Turkey on the eve of a NATO summit this week, as the country continues to block a bid by Sweden and Finland to join the alliance. Stoltenberg said in a Brussels press conference he "will not make promises" ahead of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson on Tuesday. (16:03 GMT) Biden has raised the tariff rate on certain Russian imports to 35 % as a result of suspending Russia's "most favoured nation" trading status over its war in Ukraine, according to a proclamation issued by the White House. An annex listing the products subject to the higher duty was not immediately available. (16:10 GMT) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has drawn parallels with the allies' victory over Nazi Germany as he defended the West's backing for Ukraine as a price "worth paying". (16:21 GMT) Sweden will continue to take a firm stance on terrorism and will not be a safe haven for extremists, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has said. "Our stance regarding PKK is crystal clear. It is listed as a terror organisation in the European Union, and is regarded as such by Sweden", she said, adding new and tougher anti-terrorist legislation was under way. (16:22 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said at a summit of the Group of Seven rich democracies there would be no return to times before Russia's attack on Ukraine, which has ushered in long-term changes in international relations. "When the situation changes, we have to change," Scholz said in a televised statement at the end of the second day of the G7 summit taking place in a castle resort in the Bavarian Alps. Scholz, who is hosting this year's gathering, said that the G7 leaders had held constructive discussions with the guest nations on Monday - India, Indonesia, Senegal, South Africa and Argentina - which he labeled "democracies of the future". (16:31 GMT) Turkey's security concerns on Nordic membership bids are legitimate and must be addressed, Stoltenberg has said. Speaking at a joint press conference with Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson, ahead of the NATO summit in Madrid, Stoltenberg said "no ally has suffered more at the hands of terrorists ... including grievous attacks by the terrorist group PKK." (16:33 GMT) Canada has announced more measures including additional sanctions and a ban on the export of technologies that could help improve Russia's defense manufacturing capability. The new sanctions would target six individuals and 46 entities linked to the Russian defence sectors, 15 Ukrainians supporting Russia, and 13 individuals and two entities in Belarus, according to a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office. Canada also intends to introduce sanctions against Russian state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents and entities. (16:59 GMT) At least 11 people were killed in a Russian missile strike on the shopping mall in Kremenchuk, regional governor Dmytro Lunin has said. (18:12 GMT) Speaking at a joint briefing with his Moldovan counterpart Maia Sandu, Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will respond to any attempted attacks from the territory of a Russian-backed breakaway region outside the control of Moldova's capital, Chisinau. After Sandu visited Kyiv and its suburbs, Zelenskyy said that any attempts to strike Ukraine from Transnistria, which broke off from Moldova in 1992 and continues to host Russian troops, would be "a mistake on a global scale". "These people from the temporarily occupied territories of Moldova should know that for us it will not be a blow, but a mere slap in the face and we will respond to this slap in the face with a blow," Zelenskyy said. (19:31 GMT) The Foreign Ministry in Greece has slammed Russia's decision (15:18 GMT) to expel eight Greek diplomats as a "decision without a foundation". (19:35 GMT) Russia must answer for the deadly missile strike on a crowded Ukrainian shopping centre, France's Foreign Ministry has said, condemning the attack. (19:39 GMT) Turkish defence firm Baykar has said it will donate three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to Ukraine, after a crowdfunding campaign there raised enough funds to buy "several" of the Bayraktar TB2 model. The TB2 has been hugely popular in Ukraine, where it helped destroy Russian artillery systems and armoured vehicles. It even became the subject of a patriotic expletive-strewn hit song in Ukraine that mocked Russian troops, with the chorus "Bayraktar, Bayraktar". Baykar said the crowdfunding campaign in Ukraine had reached the milestone in a few days and that business leaders as well ordinary people contributed to the fund. (20:57 GMT) Ukraine has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council over recent Russian raids on civilian targets, the presidency of the UN body has said. The missile attack on a shopping centre in Kremenchuk "is the main focus" of the meeting, set for Tuesday at 19:00 GMT, said a spokesperson for the Albanian mission, which currently holds the rotating Security Council presidency. (23:42 GMT) The toll from Russia's missile raid on a shopping mall in the city of Kremenchuk has risen to 16 dead and 59 wounded, the head of Ukraine's emergency services has said. "The Russian state has become the largest terrorist organisation in the world. And this is a fact. And this must be a legal fact. And everyone in the world must know that buying or transporting Russian oil, maintaining contacts with Russian banks, paying taxes and customs duties to the Russian state means giving money to terrorists," Zelenskyy said. (23:45 GMT) Any encroachment on the Crimea peninsula by a NATO member state could amount to a declaration of war on Russia which could lead to "World War Three," Russia's former president, Dmitry Medvedev, has been quoted as saying. "For us, Crimea is a part of Russia. And that means forever. Any attempt to encroach on Crimea is a declaration of war against our country," Medvedev told Argumenty i Fakty, a news website owned by the city of Moscow. "And if this is done by a NATO member-state, this means conflict with the entire North Atlantic alliance; a World War Three. A complete catastrophe." <== true. 20220628 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/28/russia-ukraine-live-news-kremenchuk-death-toll-climbs-to-16-liveblog (01:06 GMT) The new United States ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, has been officially sworn into office by Vice President Kamala Harris, following her Senate confirmation in May. (01:09 GMT) US President Joe Biden plans to announce an extension of some of the increased US troop presence in Poland and changes to US deployments in several Baltic nations that he authorised ahead of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NBC News has cited officials as saying. The changes to the US troop footprint could affect countries such as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, NBC reported. (01:15 GMT) Moscow police have reportedly detained one of the few politicians openly opposing the Kremlin's war in Ukraine who remains in Russia. Ilya Yashin, a municipal deputy, was taken into custody while he walked with a journalist friend in a Moscow park, she said. (01:54 GMT) The self-proclaimed ambassador to Russia from the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) says that units of Ukraine's army have been seen leaving the town of Lysychansk, Russia's state news agency TASS has reported. (02:06 GMT) The president of the European Council has condemned the "horrendous and indiscriminate" attack on the shopping centre in Kremenchuk. (02:21 GMT) American basketball start Brittney Griner has been ordered to stand trial by a court near Moscow on cannabis possession charges, about four and a half months after her arrest at an airport while returning to play for a Russian team. (03:00 GMT) Moscow's deputy ambassador to the United Nations has accused Ukraine of orchestrating the attack on the shopping centre in Kremenchuk to ensure attention ahead of the NATO summit to be held on Tuesday and Wednesday. "Looks like we are dealing with a new Bucha-style Ukrainian provocation," Dmitry Polyanskiy wrote on the Twitter. (03:46 GMT) Russian troops together with allies from the Moscow-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) have occupied part of the Lysychansk Oil Refinery, TASS news agency has quoted a source close to the LPR as saying. The source also reporting said that fighting continues in the west of the refinery. (04:18 GMT) The death toll from the attack in Kremenchuk has climbed to 18, with 36 missing, governor of the Poltava region has said. (04:34 GMT) The US ambassador to the United Nations has called Russia's attack on the Kremenchuk shopping centre "absolutely sickening", adding that the body's security council would meet on Tuesday to "discuss Russia's atrocities against civilians". "We must continue to hold Russia accountable," Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield wrote on Twitter. (05:59 GMT) Russia deployed the core elements of six different armies in the battle for Severodonetsk, but achieved only "tactical success," the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said, adding that Russian forces are "increasingly hollowed out." (06:24 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's Luhansk region says Russian forces are storming the town of Lysychansk from the western and southwest. "They are trying to block the city from this side and take over the transport connection with Donetsk region," Serhiy Haidai said. (07:24 GMT) Michelin, French tyre maker, says it intends to transfer its activities in Russia to local management by the end of the year. "Michelin now confirms that it is technically impossible to resume production, due in particular to supply issues, amid a context of general uncertainty", the company said in a statement. (08:30 GMT) The G7 countries will commit up to $5 billion to improve global food security, a senior US official has said, as the group responds to worries in developing nations about the threat of hunger triggered by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (08:52 GMT) The Russian military has said it struck a weapons depot in central Ukraine the previous day and the resulting explosions hit a closed shopping mall. The strike hit "a depot with weapons and ammunition from the USA and European countries in the vicinity of the Kremenchuk automobile factory", the army said in a statement. "The explosions of ammunition for Western weapons sparked a fire in the nearby shopping mall, which was not operational at the time." (09:27 GMT) The G7 has condemned "Russia's war of aggression" in Ukraine, saying it is "dramatically aggravating" the global hunger crisis, which is expected to leave about 323 million at risk of food insecurity. (09:45 GMT) Russia has placed an entry ban on Biden'swife Jill and daughter Ashley, its foreign ministry has said. The president himself and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, as well as hundreds of legislators, are already on the blacklist. The Foreign Ministry said Russia had in total placed new bans on 25 US nationals, including well-known professor Francis Fukuyama, for having taken "Russophobic" positions. (10:14 GMT) US President Joe Biden will meet Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan at this week's NATO summit in Madrid where the alliance will discuss the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the White House has said. Analysts believe the meeting between Biden and Erdogan could play a crucial role in lifting Turkey's resistance to bids by Sweden and Finland to join the Western defence alliance in response to the war. (10:48 GMT) G7 leaders have ended their meeting in Germany with a united stance to support Ukraine for "as long as necessary", while exploring far-reaching efforts to cap Kremlin income from oil sales that are financing its invasion. The final statement left out key details on how the fossil fuel price caps would work in practice, but set up more discussion in the weeks ahead to "explore" measures to cap imports of Russian oil at an undetermined level. During the three days of meetings, leaders also agreed on a ban on imports of Russian gold and to step up aid to countries hit with food shortages by the blockade on Ukraine grain shipments through the Black Sea. (11:38 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has urged leaders of the bloc heading to a summit in Madrid to keep up their backing for Ukraine as it faces an onslaught from Russia. "It is extremely important that we are ready to continue to provide support because Ukraine now faces a brutality which we haven't seen in Europe since the second world war," Stoltenberg said ahead of the gathering in Spain. (12:00 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron told the G7 summit that he backed the idea of a cap on Russian oil prices, saying he felt that some were making money out of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Some producers and speculators are making a lot of money with the current war," said Macron. Macron added he favoured a Russian gas cap, which could be easier to implement compared with a Russian oil cap, and that an alliance of buyers needed to be widened for a Russian oil cap to work. (13:34 GMT) Russian hacker group Killnet told Reuters news agency that it was continuing a major cyber attack on Lithuania in retaliation for Vilnius's decision to cease the transit of some goods under European Union sanctions to Russia's Kaliningrad exclave. Lithuania's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte told reporters in Vilnius her government institutions are working 24 hours per day to "fix the problems as they are found". "This is not the first attack. We have experienced many cyber attacks beginning with February 24", she said, referring to the day of Russia's invasion into Ukraine. (13:55 GMT) Draghi has said it may soon be possible for cereal exports to resume from Ukraine, alleviating shortages that are particularly affecting poor countries. Draghi said it was not necessary for mines to be fully cleared from Ukraine's ports and that "there are corridors" in place to potentially allow cargo ships to operate. A final green light from the Kremlin was required for exports to resume, and this "should come soon," Draghi told reporters. Draghi said the Indonesian presidency of the Group of 20 nations has ruled out in-person participation by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the November meeting of the group in Bali. (14:13 GMT) NATO does not see China as an adversary but it is concerned about Beijing's ever closer ties with Moscow since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. (14:51 GMT) The leaders of Finland and Sweden met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of a NATO summit in Madrid to try to get him to drop objections to them joining, Swedish and Finnish officials have said. (15:29 GMT) Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and Patrick Sanders, a general and the army's most senior officer, have warned that UK armed forces must "mobilise" in response to the threat posed by Russia, with the army's new chief invoking the Allies' struggle against Nazi Germany. Wallace, who has been in post for three years, also suggested the government will need to further boost defence spending to meet the heightened threat. "There's a very real danger that Russia will lash out against wider Europe, and that in these days of long-range missiles and stealth, distance is no protection," he told an audience at military think-tank the Royal United Services Institute. (16:14 GMT) Rescue workers searched for people under rubble in the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro after a Russian missile strike in the region, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk region has said. The official, Valentyn Reznychenko, said that railway infrastructure and an industrial enterprise had been damaged in the city and that a services company was burning. (16:17 GMT) Bulgaria will expel 70 Russian diplomatic staff, the EU country's prime minister has announced, the biggest number ordered out in one-go from the Balkan nation. (16:19 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that talks over Sweden and Finland's membership in NATO with Turkey will be "difficult" but said "progress" had been made. "Finland and Sweden, breaking decades of historic neutrality, are now wanting to join. It will be a difficult conversation," he told reporters on the plane taking him to Madrid for a NATO summit. (18:02 GMT) Germany and the Netherlands will deliver six additional howitzers to Ukraine, the defence ministers of both countries said on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Madrid. Each country will provide three of the artillery weapons, Germany's Christine Lambrecht and Kajsa Ollongren from the Netherlands told reporters, on top of 12 howitzers the countries have already sent to Ukraine. (19:04 GMT) NATO leaders will formally invite Finland and Sweden to join the alliance Wednesday after Turkey inked a deal to drop its objections, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said. "I'm pleased to announce that we now have an agreement that paves the way for Finland and Sweden to join NATO. Turkey, Finland and Sweden have signed a memorandum that addresses Turkey's concerns, including around arms exports, and the fight against terrorism," Stoltenberg said after crunch talks in Madrid. (19:06 GMT) Turkey "got what it wanted" from Sweden and Finland before agreeing to back their drives to join the NATO defence alliance, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's office said. "Turkey has made significant gains in the fight against terrorist organisations," said the Turkish statement, adding: "Turkey got what it wanted." (20:23 GMT) A senior United States administration official says Washington did not offer any concessions to Turkey to coax it to accept the deal to drop its opposition to Finland and Sweden joining NATO, according to the AP news agency. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said that US President Joe Biden made a deliberate choice to keep the US from being a party to the negotiations. (23:16 GMT) "We need to act urgently to do everything to make Russia stop the killing spree," Zelenskyy said in a virtual address to the UN Security Council. He warned that otherwise, Russia's "terrorist activity" will spread to other European countries and Asia, singling out the Baltic states, Poland, Moldova and Kazakhstan. "Putin has become a terrorist," he said. "Daily terrorist acts, without weekends. Every day they are working as terrorists." Zelenskyy also urged Russia's expulsion from the 193-member United Nations, citing Article 6 of the UN Charter which states that a member "which has persistently violated the principles contained in the present Charter may be expelled from the organisation by the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council." (23:23 GMT) Russia's deputy UN ambassador has told the UN Security Council that there was no Russian strike on the shopping centre in Ukraine's central city of Kremenchuk, which officials say killed at least 18 people and wounded 59 others. Dmitry Polyansky said Russian precision weapons struck hangars in the Kremenchuk road machinery plant with weapons and ammunition from the United States and Europe destined for Ukrainian troops in eastern Donbas. The shopping centre was some distance away but the detonation of ammunition "created a fire which then spread to the shopping centre." (23:29 GMT) Ukraine is being turned into "anti-Russia" at the behest of some Western countries, Russia's deputy envoy to the UN has told the Security Council. Dmitry Polyansky said that by supplying weapons to Ukraine, Western nations were prolonging the time when Ukraine's leaders "will sit down at the negotiating table with a realistic position rather than with slogans". "We began a special military operation in order to stop the shelling of Donbas by Ukraine and so that the territory of this country, which has been turned into anti-Russia at the behest of a number of Western countries, as well as its nationalist leadership, ceases to pose a threat to Russia or the inhabitants of the south and southeast of Ukraine." "And until those goals are achieved, our operation will continue." (23:36 GMT) Zelenskyy has shared security camera footage of the moment the Kremenchuk shopping mall was hit by a Russian missile raid on Monday and said the attack was done deliberately. Moscow says that it had struck a nearby arms depot and falsely claimed that the mall was empty. Zelenskyy's nighttime address decried what he said were Russia's lies. (23:58 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence spending is projected to reach 2.3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) this year due to increased military support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion of that country, the government has said in a statement. 20220629 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/29/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-calls-putin-a-terrorist-liveblog (00:07 GMT) Turkey has lifted its veto over Finland and Sweden's bid to join the Western alliance after the three nations agreed to protect each other's security, ending a weeks-long drama that tested allied unity against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (00:47 GMT) Australia is considering reopening its embassy in Kyiv, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said, as it looks to join several of its allies who have resumed operations after removing its diplomats over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We would like to have a presence on the ground there to assist and to be able to provide that on-ground presence," Albanese told reporters in Madrid ahead of the NATO summit. (01:56 GMT) Canada will provide an extra 151.7 million Canadian dollars ($118m) to Ukraine for humanitarian, development and security support, according to a statement from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office. Canada will also give Ukraine a loan of $200 million Canadian dollars ($155m) through the International Monetary Fund to help meet its urgent liquidity needs. (02:02 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, in Germany to attend the Group of Seven leaders summit, has said that Japan will extend an additional $100 million in humanitarian aid to Ukraine. (02:10 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia is trying to build relations with the Taliban and wants to see all the ethnic groups in Afghanistan take part in running the country. Putin's statement Tuesday came in a meeting with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan during the Russian leader's first trip abroad since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict. Tajikistan, which hosts a Russian military base, has a long and porous border with Afghanistan and is wary that Islamic radicalism could seep into the country. (02:44 GMT) Russia's deputy envoy to the UN has criticised Albania's presidency of the Security Council for allowing Zelenskyy to speak via video link and "at the last minute," which the envoy said violated standard practice, Moscow's state TASS news agency reports. "We are seriously concerned over the stance of the Albanian presidency with regard to participation of President Zelenskyy of Ukraine in this meeting. There have been no consultations with all council members on this issue. The delegations were confronted with this fact at the last minute. This violates the existing practice and working methods of the Security Council," Dmitry Polyansky told the council on Tuesday. (03:28 GMT) US President Joe Biden's administration has added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting Russia's military and defence industrial base. (03:34 GMT) Western sanctions against Russia will only end when Putin accepts that his plans in Ukraine will not succeed, Germany's chancellor has said. "All the sanctions we imposed over Crimea are still there. All the sanctions we imposed because of the Russian-incited uprising in Donbas are still there. And the same will go for the decisions taken now, which are much more severe," Olaf Scholz said at the closing news conference of the three-day G7 summit in Germany. (05:25 GMT) The situation in Lysychansk is reminiscent of Severodonetsk when Russian forces had started storming the city, the governor of Luhansk has said, adding that Russia is firing on locals using cluster bombs. The Russian army continues trying to surround Lysychansk from the southwest settlements of Vovchoyarivka and Verkhnokamyanka, he said. (05:42 GMT) A referendum for the mostly occupied Donetsk region to be absorbed into Russia will be held on September 11, the adviser to the mayor of Mariupol has said. (05:54 GMT) There is a realistic possibility the missile that hit the shopping centre in Kremenchuk was intended for a nearby target, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. "Russia's inaccuracy in conducting long range strikes has previously resulted in mass civilian casualty incidents, including at Kramatorsk railway station on 9 April 2022," the ministry said in a recent intelligence briefing. "Russian planners highly likely remain willing to accept a high level of collateral damage when they perceive military necessity in striking a target." The ministry also said Russian forces had advanced a further 2 km from the Lysychansk oil refinery, south of the town, towards Lysychansk since June 25. (06:21 GMT) Russia-installed officials in Ukraine's occupied Kherson region say their security forces had detained Kherson city mayor Ihor Kolykhayev on Tuesday after he refused to follow Moscow's orders, while a Kherson local official said the mayor was abducted. (06:39 GMT) Defence minister Ben Wallace said on Wednesday that the United Kingdom will need to bolster its spending on defence if it wanted to maintain a global leadership role after 2024, when his department's current budget allocation will be reviewed. (07:40 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin would not have started the war in Ukraine if he was a woman, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said. "If Putin was a woman, which he obviously isn't, but if he were, I really don't think he would've embarked on a crazy, macho war of invasion and violence in the way that he has," Johnson told German broadcaster ZDF. Putin's invasion of Ukraine is "a perfect example of toxic masculinity", he said, calling for better education for girls around the world and for "more women in positions of power". (07:44 GMT) NATO allies will continue to supply Ukraine with weapons in its war against Russia for as long as necessary, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said as he arrived for the second day of a NATO summit in Madrid. "The message is: We will continue to do so - and to do this intensively - for as long as it is necessary to enable Ukraine to defend itself." (08:04 GMT) Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said NATO was meeting in Madrid "in the midst of the most serious security crisis we have faced since the Second World War." The war in Ukraine has already triggered an escalation in NATO's forces in eastern Europe and allies are expected to agree to increase the rapid reaction force nearly eightfold, from 40,000 to 300,000 troops by next year. (08:46 GMT) Sweden and Finland have realised that they need NATO as a guarantee "for the future of their children, for peace and security for themselves," German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has told Al Jazeera. (08:51 GMT) The United States is changing its force posture in Europe based on threats coming from Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, US President Joe Biden has said at the NATO summit in Madrid. He confirmed the US will raise the number of destroyers in Spain to six from four and said Washington will send two additional F-35 squadrons to Britain and establish the 5th Army headquarters in Poland. (09:00 GMT) Indonesian President Joko Widodo has started a visit to Ukraine intended to help rekindle peace talks with Russia and explore ways to free up exports of grain to global markets. President Widodo, better known as Jokowi, and his wife arrived in the capital Kyiv by train, according to the Indonesian presidential website. Jokowi is the chair of the G20 and one of six world leaders the United Nations appointed as "champions" of a Global Crisis Response Group (GCRG), formed to address the threat of hunger and destitution posed by the war. (09:12 GMT) Russia's Supreme Court has postponed for the second time a hearing on whether to designate Ukraine's Azov Regiment, which defied besieging Russian forces for weeks in Mariupol, as a terrorist entity. A court official said the hearing, first set for May 26, has been rescheduled for August 2. No reason was given. If the Supreme Court designates the Azov Regiment as a terrorist entity, it could pave the way for some of the men to face trial, as members of the Russian parliament have demanded. (09:22 GMT) Turkey has said it will seek the extradition of 33 "terror" suspects from Sweden and Finland under a deal that paved the way for Ankara to back the Nordic countries' NATO membership bids. (09:42 GMT) Norway has said it will donate three multiple-launch rocket systems to Ukraine, following similar decisions made by Britain, Germany and the US. (09:47 GMT) Moscow's military-civilian administration in Ukraine's Kherson region says it is preparing for a referendum on joining Russia, an official in the administration has told Reuters. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-backed administration, said a date had not yet been picked, but that he expected the vote in "the coming half year". Kherson, a port city on the Black Sea, was occupied during the first week of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (09:57 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Russia views plans by Sweden and Finland to join NATO "negatively", Interfax has reported. Russian state news agency RIA also quoted Ryabkov as saying that NATO expansion is "destabilising" and does not add to the security of members of the alliance. (10:03 GMT) Russia says Norway is barring food shipments to Spitsbergen, the largest island in Norway's Arctic Ocean archipelago Svalbard, where Russia engages in regional commercial activities. Konstantin Kosachev, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee in the upper house of parliament, said on Telegram that the food is intended for Russians working in a mining village. (10:14 GMT) The Russian Elites, Proxies, and Oligarchs Task Force (REPO) has said in a joint statement that it had blocked $30bn in assets of Russian oligarchs and officials and immobilised $300bn owned by the Russian central bank. They have also detained at least five luxury yachts and frozen opulent real estate owned by the country's billionaires. (11:04 GMT) United States President Joe Biden's administration has added five companies in China to a trade blacklist for allegedly supporting Russia's military and defence industrial base. The US Department of Commerce, which oversees the blacklist, said the targeted companies had supplied items to Russian "entities of concern" before the February 24 invasion, adding that they "continue to contract to supply Russian entity listed and sanctioned parties". The agency also added another 31 entities to the blacklist from countries that include Russia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan and Vietnam, according to the Federal Register entry. Of the 36 companies added, 25 had China-based operations. (11:09 GMT) The World Bank has approved a $130m loan to Tunisia to finance vital soft wheat imports and provide emergency support to cover barley imports for dairy production. (11:19 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told NATO leaders that Ukraine needs modern weapons and more financial aid in its fight against Russia's invasion. "We need much more modern systems, modern artillery," Zelenskyy told a NATO summit in Madrid via video link. (11:30 GMT) The United Kingdom has announced a new round of sanctions that included Vladimir Potanin, Russia's second-richest man. "Today's sanctions show that nothing and no one is off the table, including Putin's inner circle," a UK government spokesperson said in a statement. Potanin is the co-owner of Russian mining giant Norilsk Nickel. Forbes magazine lists him as the second-richest individual in Russia with a fortune estimated in 2021 at $27bn. (11:35 GMT) Russia may start buying the currencies of "friendly countries" and use those holdings to influence the exchange rate of the dollar and euro, as a means of countering sharp gains in the rouble, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said. (11:41 GMT) Moscow has said the NATO summit in Madrid is proof that the alliance is seeking to contain Russia and that it is using Finland and Sweden's NATO bids as a "destabilising" factor. "The summit in Madrid confirms and consolidates this bloc's policy of aggressive containment of Russia," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, Russian news agencies reported. "We consider the expansion of the North Atlantic alliance to be a purely destabilising factor in international affairs." (11:52 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told NATO leaders the ongoing conflict is "a war for the right to dictate conditions in Europe - for what the future world order will be like". (11:55 GMT) The war in Ukraine is putting millions more people at risk of undernourishment, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have said. "With food security already under pressure the consequences would be dire, especially for the most vulnerable," OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said during a presentation of the FAO/OECD Agricultural Outlook 2022-2031. (12:11 GMT) A number of private and public institutions in Norway have been subjected to a so-called distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyberattack in the last 24 hours, the Norwegian NSM security authority has said. "A criminal pro-Russian group appears to be behind the attacks," NSM said in a statement. (12:29 GMT) Russia has said it will not be intimidated by US military reinforcements in Europe as tensions spiral over Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine. "I think that those who propose such solutions are under the illusion that they will be able to intimidate Russia, somehow restrain it - they will not succeed," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told reporters. "We have the capabilities and resources," Ryabkov added, threatening retaliation. "Now what is happening will certainly lead to compensatory measures on our part." (12:37 GMT) A court in Moscow has rejected a prominent Russian opposition figure's appeal of the 15-day jail sentence he received on charges of failing to obey police. Ilya Yashin, who has publicly criticised Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, was detained late Monday in a Moscow park. Police said he grabbed an officer by his uniform and insulted police, which he denied. (12:44 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said Moscow is not in diplomatic contact with Canada and Germany over repairs to a turbine that Moscow has cited as its reason for cutting gas flows to Europe via a pipeline. "There are no contacts through diplomatic channels, neither with Canada nor with Germany, over the issue of a turbine which is being upheld by Canadian authorities," Zakharova told a briefing. Russia's state-controlled Gazprom has cut the capacity along the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to just 40% of usual levels this month, citing the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada. (12:48 GMT) The European Union's executive branch made a fresh 3.5 billion euros ($3.7bn) from regional development funds available to host Ukrainian refugees after some 6.2 million people fled to the bloc. (12:53 GMT) NATO has declared Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to its members' peace and security in its new strategic blueprint, a document that reaffirms NATO's values and purpose. Ukraine praised NATO for having a "clear-eyed stance" on Russia and for inviting Finland and Sweden to join the military alliance, and called for an "equally strong and active position on Ukraine" to protect Euro-Atlantic security. "We welcome a clear-eyed stance on Russia, as well as accession for Finland and Sweden. An equally strong and active position on Ukraine will help to protect the Euro-Atlantic security and stability." (PJB: note "Euro-Atlantic", quoted from the 20080403 Bucharest summit_) (13:59 GMT) Russian lawmakers have passed legislation that broadens the definition of "foreign agents," a label used to crack down on Kremlin critics. According to the new legislation, anyone "under foreign influence" or receiving support from abroad - not just foreign money - can now be declared a "foreign agent" in Russia. Such individuals will be prohibited from teaching in public schools and organising public events, among other activities. (14:40 GMT) Global exports of semiconductors to Russia have plummeted by 90% since the United States and allies slapped export controls on Moscow over its war on Ukraine, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said. Raimondo, speaking at an annual Commerce Department conference, also said that controls placed on Russia's aerospace sector were hammering its ability to generate revenue and support military aviation. "Russia may be forced to ground between half and two-thirds of its commercial aircraft in the next four years in order to cannibalize them for spare parts," she added. (15:02 GMT) Ukrainian intelligence said that 144 Ukrainian soldiers, including scores of defenders of the Azovstal steelworks in the southern port city of Mariupol, had been freed in a prisoner swap with Moscow. (15:31 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Indonesia's visiting President Joko Widodo that he will attend the upcoming G20 summit in Bali depending on who else is attending. "Certainly I accept the invitation. Ukraine's participation will depend on the security situation in the country and on the composition of the summit's participants," Zelenskyy said following their talks in Kyiv, in an apparent reference to Russian President Putin's attendance. (15:53 GMT) Russia's top diplomat told the secretary general of the United Nations that the country was ready to coordinate efforts to reduce the threat of a global food crisis, the Russian foreign ministry said. Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also told Antonio Guterres in a phone call that Moscow was committed to fulfilling its grain and fertiliser export obligations. (16:23 GMT) Moscow ally Syria has recognised the independence of eastern Ukraine's two separatist republics, making it the first state other than Russia to do so. "The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to recognise the independence and sovereignty of both the Lugansk People's Republic and the Donetsk People's Republic," a source at Syria's foreign ministry told the official SANA news agency. (17:10 GMT) Russian forces are battling to surround the Ukrainian military's last stronghold in the long-contested eastern Donbas province. Ukrainian troops are fighting to prevent their encirclement as Russian forces push towards two Luhansk province villages south of the city of Lysychansk. (17:40 GMT) President Joe Biden has announced the deployment of United States military reinforcements across Europe in an effort to counter Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/29/nato-summit-biden-us-military-reinforcements-europe-russia-ukraine-war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrTaNgY_NKQ (18:33 GMT) China is not NATO's adversary but it does represent serious challenges, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said . "We now face an era of strategic competition ... China is substantially building up its forces, including in nuclear weapons, bullying its neighbours, including Taiwan," Stoltenberg said. "China is not our adversary but we must be clear-eyed about the serious challenges it represents." (19:01 GMT) Theresa Fallon, the director at the Centre for Russia Europe Asia Studies, said that Russia might escalate its offensive on Ukraine, as it contends with the expansion of NATO. "There is concern that Russia will escalate the war on Ukraine even further," Fallon told Al Jazeera, speaking from Brussels. "We're seeing an awful war of attrition in Ukraine. No one wants to see a NATO-Russia conflict, so I think Russia is trying to ramp it up as much as possible." (19:26 GMT) Russian President Putin still wants to seize most of Ukraine, but his forces are so degraded by combat that they likely can only achieve incremental gains in the near term, Avril Haines, the top US intelligence officer said. "We perceive a disconnect between Putin's near-term military objectives in this area and his military's capacity, a kind of mismatch between his ambitions and what the military is able to accomplish," she told a Commerce Department conference. "In short, the picture remains pretty grim and Russia's attitude toward the West is hardening," Haines added. "We think he has effectively the same political goals that we had previously, which is to say that he wants to take most of Ukraine." (20:01 GMT) Lysychansk "is constantly being shelled with large calibres. The fighting is continuing at the outskirts of the city. The Russian army is trying to attack constantly," regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram. "Now there is a peak of fighting. The frequency of shelling is enormous." (20:31 GMT) President Putin said Russia would respond in kind if NATO set up infrastructure in Finland and Sweden after they join the US-led military alliance. Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying he could not rule out that tensions would emerge in Moscow's relations with Helsinki and Stockholm over their joining NATO. (20:46 GMT) President Zelenskyy has announced the end of diplomatic ties between Kyiv and Damascus after Moscow ally Syria recognised the independence of eastern Ukraine's two separatist republics. "There will no longer be relations between Ukraine and Syria," Zelensky said in a video posted on Telegram, adding that the sanctions pressure against Syria "will be even greater". (23:20 GMT) The United Nations atomic watchdog has said it has again lost its connection to its surveillance systems keeping track of nuclear material at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, Europe's largest, which the watchdog wants to inspect. (23:24 GMT) Indonesian President Joko Widodo has offered to "deliver a message" from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Russian leader Vladimir Putin to try to boost peace hopes. "Even though it's very hard to achieve, I expressed the importance of a peaceful resolution. I offer to deliver a message from President Zelenskyy to President Putin that I'll meet soon," Widodo - known as Jokowi - said. He also confirmed Indonesia's contribution to medical and infrastructure aid to Kyiv. (23:27 GMT) Canada has signed an agreement to work with Latvia and NATO partners to lead efforts to form a "combat capable" brigade in Latvia, Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand has said. (23:35 GMT) US President Joe Biden has thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for striking a deal with Finland and Sweden that has paved the way for the two Nordic countries to soon become NATO candidates. (23:43 GMT) NATO has agreed to put more than 300,000 troops at high readiness from 2023, up from 40,000 presently. The new military lineup is designed to better counter Russia, the country the alliance has designated as posing the greatest threat. The move replaces the NATO Response Force, which was for years the first to respond to any Russian attack or other crisis 20220630 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-nato-responds-to-new-security-reality-liveblog (00:29 GMT) The United Kingdom will provide another 1 billion pounds ($1.2bn) of military support to Ukraine, its government has said, as NATO branded Russia the biggest "direct threat" to Western security. The funding will go towards boosting Ukraine's defence capabilities, including air defence systems, uncrewed aerial vehicles, new electronic warfare equipment and thousands of pieces of equipment for Ukrainian soldiers. (01:31 GMT) Hundreds of Ukrainian troops have completed military training in the United Kingdom, including on the Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) the UK government is supplying to help counter Russian artillery tactics. Ukrainian troops were filmed earlier this week loading and firing 105mm light guns during exercises in Salisbury, England - one part of a British-led programme that has been undertaken by more than 450 Ukrainian armed forces with support from New Zealand. MLRS systems were also shown in use. (01:45 GMT) Evidence suggests twin Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted a theatre being used as a shelter in the city of Mariupol, rights group Amnesty International have said in a report. The report condemned the attack as a war crime. Amnesty said there was no evidence that the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theatre was a base of operations for Ukrainian soldiers and every indication that it was a haven for civilians seeking protection from weeks of relentless shellings and airstrikes. Using satellite imagery from that morning, Amnesty determined the sky was consistently clear enough for any pilot to see the word "CHILDREN" written in giant Cyrillic letters in the building's front and back. (02:07 GMT) Kyiv Symphony Orchestra performed at Madrid's Prado Museum during a dinner hosted by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday. NATO leaders and officials, including UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, stood and listened to the orchestra, then gave them a standing ovation. Some orchestra members payed homage to their homeland, by wearing Ukraine heart badges on their suit jackets and having Ukraine flags on their instruments. (02:14 GMT) Russia's President Putin has denied that Moscow's forces were responsible for the missile raid on a crowded shopping centre in the Ukrainian town of Kremenchuk earlier this week, in which at least 18 people were killed and many remain missing in the rubble. "Our army does not attack any civilian infrastructure sites. We have every capability of knowing what is situated where," Putin told a news conference in the Turkmenistan capital of Ashgabat (02:31 GMT) The lower house of Russia's parliament has approved the critical second reading of a proposed law that would allow the banning of foreign news media in response to other countries taking actions against Russian news outlets. (03:09 GMT) Attempts to evacuate residents from the frontline eastern city of Lysychansk are continuing, Ukrainian authorities say. Around 15,000 people remain in the city, which is the focus of Russia's attacks. (03:19 GMT) NATO has agreed to a long-term financial and military aid package to modernise Ukraine's largely Soviet-era military. (03:34 GMT) A former US soldier captured in eastern Ukraine has said he did not fire a single shot while fighting for the Ukrainian side, in a plea for leniency from Russian-backed separatist authorities who will determine his fate. In a video interview with Russia's RIA state news agency released on Wednesday, Alexander Drueke said his fighting experience in Ukraine was limited to the day he was captured outside Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. "My combat experience here was that one mission on that one day," said Drueke, looking haggard. "I didn't fire a shot. I would hope that would play a factor in whatever sentence I do or don't receive." (04:23 GMT) British entrepreneur Richard Branson has visited Zelenskyy in Ukraine's capital on Wednesday. "My main purpose in going to Kyiv was to meet and listen to Ukrainians, to understand their fears and concerns and also to learn what business, in partnership with civil society and governments, can do to support Ukraine most effectively," Branson said in a statement on social media. "We talked about maintaining global attention to the war in Ukraine, as well as prospects for cooperation in the postwar reconstruction of Ukraine", Zelenskiy said in a statement on social media on Wednesday. (04:37 GMT) South Korea's president has warned NATO leaders of the threat to universal values at a time of new conflict and competition, a reference to Russia's aggression in Ukraine and China's engagement with Russia, a South Korean official told Reuters. President Yoon Suk-yeol became the first South Korean leader to attend a NATO summit, joining national NATO leaders as an observer at a meeting in Spain as Russian forces intensified attacks in Ukraine. "As a new structure of competitions and conflicts is taking shape, there is also a movement that denies the universal values that we have been protecting," Yoon said in a speech on Wednesday, according to a South Korean official. "He was referring to the Ukraine war, and as most other participating countries did, he raised concern about Russia's responsibility for the war and China's responsibility in the international community," the official, who declined to be identified, said on Thursday. Yoon's speech was not made public. (04:58 GMT) Russian forces are continuing to attack communities in and around the Kryvyi Rih district of Dnipropetrovsk, the regional governor has said. An attack destroyed a warehouse in the town of Zelenodolsk, containing 40 tonnes of grain, causing a fire, Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. (05:14 GMT) Trade through Lithuania to the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad could return to normal within days, two sources familiar with the matter have said, as European officials edge towards a compromise deal with the Baltic state to defuse a row with Moscow, Reuters reports. Kaliningrad, which is bordered by European Union states and relies on railways and roads through Lithuania for most goods, has been cut off from some freight transport from mainland Russia since June 17 under sanctions imposed by Brussels. But many in Europe fear an escalation after other restrictions pushed Russia to default on its debt. European officials are in talks about exempting the territory from sanctions, which have hit industrial goods such as steel so far, paving the way for a deal in early July if EU member Lithuania drops its reservations, said the people, who declined to be named because the discussions are private. (05:23 GMT) The Russian installed ambassador to Moscow from the so-called Luhansk People's Republic has said that Russian forces with local separatists have taken full control of the Lysychansk oil refinery, RIA news reports. "The territory of the largest oil refinery in Ukraine... has completely come under the control of allied troops," Rodion Miroshnik said. Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had defeated a battalion of Ukrainian troops near the Lysychansk oil refinery, according to RIA. (05:55 GMT) Ukrainian forces continue to hold their positions in Lysychansk while ground combat is focused around the oil refinery, 10 kilometres south-west of the city centre, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. "Russian forces continue to pursue an approach of creeping envelopment from the Popasna direction, removing the need to force a major new crossing of the Siversky Donets River in this sector," the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing on Twitter. "At the operational level, Russian forces continue to make limited progress as they attempt to encircle Ukrainian defenders in northern Donetsk Oblast via advances from Izium," it added. (06:53 GMT) A ship carrying 7,000 tonnes of grain has sailed from Ukraine's port of Berdyansk, currently controlled by Russian forces, the region's Moscow-appointed official said on Thursday. "After numerous months of delay, the first merchant ship has left the Berdyansk commercial port, 7,000 tonnes of grain are heading toward friendly countries," Evgeny Balitski, the head of the pro-Russia administration, said on Telegram. Russia's Black Sea ships "are ensuring the security" of the journey, he said, adding that the Ukrainian port had been de-mined. Ukraine officials have accused Russia of stealing "several hundred thousand tonnes" of grain in Ukrainian areas under Russian occupation and selling it, while Russia has denied the claims. (07:32 GMT) The US Treasury Department has announced the transfer of $1.3bn in economic aid to Ukraine as part of the initial $7.5bn promised to Kyiv by the Biden administration in May. (07:54 GMT) A technical problem with the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline reported by Russia is merely a pretext, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said. (08:06 GMT) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) says it has issued an order to Russia to ensure that the death penalty is not carried out against two Britons who were captured while fighting for Ukraine. Earlier this month, a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine sentenced British citizens Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner to death, accusing them of "mercenary activities". The ECHR said it had issued an order for interim measures, telling Russia it "should ensure that the death penalty imposed on the applicants was not carried out; ensure appropriate conditions of their detention; and provide them with any necessary medical assistance and medication". (08:22 GMT) The United Kingdom has said it will deploy military specialists to Bosnia and Herzegovina to counter Russian influence and to "reinforce the NATO Mission and promote stability and security" in the country. (08:28 GMT) Sweden's defence ministry has said the country will send more anti-tank weapons and machine guns to Ukraine. The arms package, which also includes equipment for mine clearing, is valued at around 500 million Swedish crowns ($49m), the ministry said. (08:55 GMT) Russian forces have withdrawn from Snake Island off Ukraine's coast in the Black Sea as a "gesture of goodwill", the country's defence ministry says. The ministry said the move showed Russia is not impeding United Nations efforts to organise a humanitarian corridor to export agricultural products out of Ukraine. (09:03 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the NATO summit in Madrid, says there has been "significant action" at the meeting. "The United States is going to set up a new headquarters in Poland and are bolstering their defences across the countries of the NATO alliance that are closest to Russia," Bays said. "And it looks pretty certain now ... that there will be 32, not 30 NATO members with Sweden and Finland joining." (09:16 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has rejected British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's charge that if he were a woman he would not have invaded Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference in the early hours of Thursday during a visit to Turkmenistan, Putin pointed to former British leader Margaret Thatcher's decision to send troops into the Falklands as a rebuttal of Johnson's theory. (09:20 GMT) Norway is not blocking Russian access to the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, only applying international sanctions, the Nordic country's foreign minister has told the Reuters news agency. Anniken Huitfeldt's remarks came after Russia on Wednesday accused Norway of disrupting the delivery of critical supplies and threatened retaliation against Oslo over access to Svalbard, citing unspecified "retaliatory measures" unless it resolved the issue. Svalbard, midway between Norway's north coast and the North Pole, is part of Norway, but Russia has the right to exploit the archipelago's natural resources under a 1920 treaty, and some settlements there are populated mainly by Russians. (09:35 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces destroyed a Ukrainian military control centre near the central city of Dnipro in a missile strike on Tuesday. (10:05 GMT) Pope Francis has implicitly accused Russia of "armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism" in Ukraine, calling the conflict a "cruel and senseless war of aggression". Both Russia and Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox Christian but there is a sizeable Catholic minority in Ukraine. The pope also told his Orthodox visitors, in a clear reference to Russia, that all needed "to recognise that armed conquest, expansionism and imperialism have nothing to do with the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed". (10:38 GMT) Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted the country's defence ministry as saying that more than 6,000 Ukrainian servicemen have been captured or surrendered since the beginning of the war. (10:40 GMT) The deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council has warned that sanctions against Moscow could be a justification for war. "I would like to point out once again that under certain circumstances such hostile measures can also qualify as an act of international aggression. And even as a casus belli [justification for war]," Dmitry Medvedev, a former Russian president, said. Medvedev was once seen as a liberal but has emerged as one of the most hawkish proponents of the war, delivering a series of scathing denunciations of the West. (11:20 GMT) Captured members of Ukraine's armed forces who served in the Azov Regiment will face trial, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament has said. "These nationalists, who hands are covered in blood, are not humans. They are awaiting trial," said Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, in a Telegram post. The Azov Regiment played a prominent role in the defence of Ukraine's southeastern port city of Mariupol from Russian forces for months before being encircled and eventually laying down their arms. (11:46 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the NATO summit in Madrid, says the alliance's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg painted a "very grim picture" of the global security situation during his address to reporters on the final day of the conference. "He [Stoltenberg] compared it with the time of the Cold War ... and said we live in a more dangerous and more unpredictable world," Bays said. "He then added it could get worse, with a possible full-fledged conflict between Russia and the NATO countries, but he said that is why the alliance has acted has it has to strengthen itself ... to protect the allies," he added. "What we have seen in recent days is a bolstering of the forces that NATO has closest to Russia - there are six battlegroups in the countries that are closest to Russia." (12:28 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Berlin is ramping up its military capabilities as fast as it can amid Russia's offensive. "For Germany, this means that we will continue to expand our contribution on land, at sea and in the air," Scholz told reporters at the NATO summit. Germany will permanently maintain a regional marine commando in the Baltic Sea, a tank division with 15,000 soldiers and 20 naval units, he added. (13:01 GMT) A Ukrainian military official says Russian equipment on Snake Island has been destroyed. Oleksii Hromov, a brigadier general in Ukraine's armed forces, told a news conference that as of yet there were no Ukrainian forces stationed on the Black Sea outpost, but claimed there would be forces deployed to the island soon. He added that Ukraine's military would do everything possible so ships carrying grain could pass through the Black Sea and said there were currently no plans to withdraw from the eastern city of Lysychansk, which Russian forces are trying to encircle. (13:14 GMT) US President Biden says the US and its NATO allies will support Ukraine for "as long as it takes" as it faces down Moscow's offensive. Biden also said Washington will announce a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $800m in the coming days. (13:37 GMT) Russia's foreign minister says a new "iron curtain" is descending between Russia and the West. "It's practically already coming into place. Let them just behave carefully," Sergey Lavrov said of Western countries during a press conference. (13:51 GMT) The UN's humanitarian coordinator in Ukraine has warned that millions of people inside the country are now in need of humanitarian aid as Russia continues to press on with its offensive. "Almost 16 million people in Ukraine today need humanitarian assistance: water food, health services," Osnat Lubrani told a news conference. (14:07 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has urged Sweden and Finland to honour a deal they signed with Ankara in order to win its support for their joining of NATO, saying the agreement needs to be fully implemented otherwise ratification of the pair's membership bids will not be sent to the Turkish parliament. "We have strongly emphasised the message that we expect genuine solidarity from our allies, not only in words but also in action," Erdogan told reporters at the NATO summit, which previously saw the Nordic countries formally invited to join the US-led military bloc. Erdogan cited a pledge by Stockholm to extradite 73 "terrorists" as part of the promises made to Ankara and described the signing of the trilateral accord as recognition of his government's sensitivities around "terrorism" and a "diplomatic victory" for Turkey. (14:32 GMT) President Joko Widodo has warned global food supply issues will not improve if Russian fertiliser and Ukrainian wheat are unavailable to global buyers. Speaking during a news conference alongside Russia's Putin, the Indonesian president also said he had urged G7 leaders to ensure sanctions on Russia do not affect food and fertiliser supplies. (14:42 GMT) Russia, China and the Nordic duo: Key points from NATO summit https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/30/nato-summit-key-points-explainer 'Threat' from Russia * NATO leaders said Russia has violated the "norms and principles that contributed to a stable and predictable European security order" and that the bloc "cannot discount the possibility" of attack on members' territory. * The alliance called Russia the "most significant and direct threat" to its security, warning of Moscow's military build-up in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean Sea regions; military integration with Belarus; and nuclear modernisation and "signalling". * NATO also said it "does not seek confrontation and poses no threat" to Russia, stressing it will respond to threats in a "united and responsible way" and will keep channels of communication open. NATO to 'significantly strengthen' forces * NATO leaders said "no one should doubt our strength and resolve to defend every inch of allied territory", pledging to "significantly strengthen" its deterrence and defence postures. * The bloc said it will strengthen its "combat-ready forces" and prepositioned equipment, as well as better integrate different countries' defence capabilities and streamline decision-making to "rapidly reinforce any ally, including at short or no notice". * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the bolstering of forces will mostly take place along the bloc's eastern flank near Russia, with so-called "high-readiness troops" increased to 300,000 from the current number of 40,000. * Joe Biden also announced that his country would boost its military presence in Europe, including surging troops to Romania, creating a new US base in Poland, sending two F-35 squadrons to the United Kingdom, and stationing air defence systems in Italy and Germany. * The alliance pledged to boost its technological development and invest in the "ability to prepare for, deter, and defend against the coercive use of political, economic, energy, information and other hybrid tactics by states and non-state actors". 'Challenge' from China * NATO heads said China's "stated ambitions and coercive policies challenge our interests, security and values", adding Beijing uses political, economic and military "tools" to increase its influence, while remaining "opaque about its strategy, intentions and military build-up". * The alliance said China is working to "subvert the rules-based international order, including in the space, cyber and maritime domains". It noted particular concern about China and Russia's "deepening partnership" and "mutually reinforcing attempts" to undercut international norms. 'Open-door policy' * NATO reaffirmed its "open-door policy", officially inviting Finland and Sweden to join the bloc after Turkey dropped its opposition. * It also said it will continue to bolster its partnerships with Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Ukraine "to advance our common interest in Euro-Atlantic peace, stability and security". * They called an independent Ukraine "vital" for stability in the Euro-Atlantic region. 'Conflict, fragility and instability' in MENA region * The bloc said security challenges, coupled with climate change, food insecurity and health emergencies, in North Africa, the Sahel and the Middle East provides fertile ground for "non-state armed groups, including terrorist organisations" and "destabilising and coercive interference" by strategic competitors. * Spain's Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said NATO could intervene in Mali if needed, with the alliance referencing "terrorism" among "hybrid threats" that hostile powers could use to undermine its stability. Climate change, emerging technology * The NATO leaders also addressed climate change as the "defining challenge of our time", saying it exacerbates conflict, fragility and geopolitical competition. * They warned of malign actors operating in cyberspace, "disruptive technologies" that could change the face of conflict, and adversaries "investing in technologies that could restrict our access and freedom to operate in space". (15:09 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied that Moscow is blocking Ukrainian grain exports and questioned the impact of missing Ukrainian agricultural goods on the world food market. "We do not prevent the export of Ukrainian grain. The Ukrainian military has mined the approaches to their ports; no one prevents them from clearing those mines and we guarantee the safety of shipping grain out of there," Putin said at a news conference in Moscow, speaking alongside visiting Indonesian President Joko Widodo. Putin also repeated Russia's assertion that Western sanctions are to blame for problems with the global food market and rising prices. But he downplayed Ukraine's impact on the global market, saying there were only five million tonnes of wheat currently stuck in the country. (15:41 GMT) Russia's Interfax news agency has quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as saying that attempts to limit the price of Russian oil could lead to "disbalance" in the market and push prices higher. (16:17 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry has announced that it has cut diplomatic ties with Syria, a day after the Syrian presidency officially recognised the "independence" of the two breakaway regions of Luhansk and Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. (17:14 GMT) Ukraine has begun exporting electricity to the European Union, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and the EU Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen announced on Thursday. "Just three months after receiving the energy certification, the long-awaited export of Ukrainian electricity to Europe has begun! Today, from the first hour of the night, such exports went to Romania. The initial volume is 100 MW," Shmyhal said in a Facebook post. (18:28 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry said it has summoned the British ambassador in Moscow, Deborah Bronnert, to protest against Boris Johnson's "offensive" comments regarding Russia and Vladimir Putin. A strong protest was expressed to the ambassador over "the frankly boorish statements of the British leadership regarding Russia, its leader and official representatives of the authorities, as well as the Russian people", it said in a statement. The ministry said Russia had told her it objected to British statements containing "deliberately false information, in particular about alleged Russian 'threats to use nuclear weapons'". (18:35 GMT) Russia is using inaccurate missiles from old Soviet stocks for more than 50% of its strikes in Ukraine and the rate of the strikes has more than doubled in the last two weeks, Ukrainian brigadier general Oleksii Hromov said on Thursday. His analysis diverged from that of some Ukrainian politicians who accuse Russia of deliberately striking civilians to sow panic. "The enemy's targets remain military facilities, critical infrastructure and industry, transport networks. At the same time, the civilian population is suffering significant losses due to (poorly targeted) strikes." (19:58 GMT) The United States on Thursday blocked a US-based company worth more than $1bn linked to Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov, saying the Putin ally used it to funnel and invest shadowy funds. The Department of the Treasury said that Kerimov, a billionaire active in Russian politics, secretly managed the Delaware-based Heritage Trust, which put its money into a number of large public companies, AFP reported. Heritage Trust, set up in 2017, brought money into the United States through shell companies and under-the-radar foundations established in Europe, Department of the Treasury officials said. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, in newly updated figures, ranked Kerimov as the world's 127th richest person with a worth of $13.3bn. (20:27 GMT) President Macron has announced that France will deliver six CAESAR howitzers and armoured vehicles to Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent reports. (23:19 GMT) A leading economic expert in Russia has been detained on embezzlement charges as part of a high-profile case that some observers saw as linked to purges targeting members of the country's liberal elite. Investigators accused Vladimir Mau, the rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, embezzling funds from the institution, a leading school for public servants. Mau denied the charges. (23:28 GMT) Moscow kept up its push to take control of the city of Lysychansk on Thursday, the last remaining Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. Ukraine said the Russians were shelling Lysychansk and clashing with Ukrainian defenders around an oil refinery on its edges. 20220701 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/ukraine-russia-live-news-moscow-claims-its-forces-in-lysychansk-liveblog (00:00 GMT) Russia is ready to fulfil Indonesia's demand for fertilisers,Putin told reporters after meeting with Indonesia's President Widodo in Moscow on Thursday. Putin also said that Russia intends to honour its obligations under contracts for supply of energy, food and fertilisers abroad. (00:40 GMT) Plans by Finland and Sweden to join the NATO alliance send a clear signal to Russia that Putin's strategies are wrong and self-defeating, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. "He (Putin) achieved to have countries, which up to now have had a more careful and withdrawn approach toward the alliance, decide to join it," Macron said at a NATO summit news conference in Madrid on Thursday. Macron also said France would soon deliver six further CAESAR guns to help Ukraine in its fight against Russia. "The fight for Ukraine, although Ukraine is not a member of NATO, is our fight." (00:46 GMT) A Russian missile struck a multi-story apartment building in Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa early on Friday, killing at least 10 people, a local official Serhiy Bratchuk said. (01:17 GMT) Zelenskyy has said the launching of power transmissions to Romania was the start of a process that could help Europe reduce its dependence on Russian hydrocarbons. (01:30 GMT) The local council in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has become the first to ban a branch of the Orthodox church that was until last month directly affiliated with Moscow. According to Lviv mayor Andriy Sadovyi, the unanimous council vote to prohibit the activity of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) - with longstanding ties to Moscow - was "political" and without legislative effect, as rules on religious organisations are made at the national level. (01:39 GMT) Russia will create a firm which will take over all rights and obligations of the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company amid Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, a decree signed by President Putin said on Thursday. Sakhalin Energy Investment Company is a consortium for developing the Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project in Russia's Far east. (02:05 GMT) Putin has fired back at leaders of the Group of Seven for mocking his macho image, saying that if they undressed, it "would be a disgusting sight anyway" regardless if it was "from top or from the bottom." Speaking at a news conference during a visit to Turkmenistan on Wednesday, Putin advised leaders to refrain from alcohol abuse and to do exercise. (02:09 GMT) Ukraine has received a 446.8 million euro ($467.8m) loan from the World Bank with 424.6 million euros ($444.6m) of it guaranteed by the United Kingdom, the Finance Ministry has said. (02:35 GMT) The United States has not seen PRC (People's Republic of China) evade sanctions or provide military equipment to Russia, a senior US official has said, adding that enforcement measures taken earlier in the week targeted certain Chinese companies, not the government, Reuters reports. The Commerce Department added five companies in China to a trade blacklist on Tuesday for allegedly supporting Russia's military and defence industrial base as Moscow carries out its war in Ukraine. US officials have warned of consequences, including sanctions, should China offer material support for Russia's war effort, but have consistently said they have yet to detect overt Chinese military and economic backing of Moscow. (03:58 GMT) The toll from the missile strike that hit a nine-story building in Odesa early Friday has risen to 14 people dead and 30 wounded, according to Ukraine's Ministry for Internal Affairs. The strike at about 1am in a village in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi region of Odesa, the ministry said on Twitter. A second missile that hit Odesa's Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district has killed three people, including one child, and injured one other person, Ukraine's Ministry of Internal Affairs says. The second missile hit a three-story and a four-story building of a recreation centre, the ministry said. (06:10 GMT) Russian forces have captured part of the Lysychansk oil refinery, some 17km southwest of the city, the governor of Luhansk has said. "The occupiers are storming the Lysychansk oil refinery, holding the north-western and south-eastern parts of the plant," Serhiy Haidai wrote. (06:38 GMT) Russia withdrew its troops from Snake Island due to their vulnerability to Ukrainian strikes, as well as their isolation - as Ukraine's anti-ship missiles often prevented Russian naval vessels from resuppling the island - rather than Moscow's claimed "gesture of good will," the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. (07:54 GMT) The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has urged Ukraine to press forward with anti-corruption reforms on the path to EU membership. "You have created an impressive anti-corruption machine," she told the lawmakers by video link. "But now these institutions need teeth, and the right people in senior posts." (08:51 GMT) Timeline: Week 18 of Russia's war in Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/ukraine-war-timeline (09:30 GMT) Russia's threat to sever diplomatic ties with Bulgaria in response to its decision to expel 70 Russian diplomats is unjustified, the EU has said. The bloc said in a statement that Bulgaria's action was "fully in line with international law", as the diplomats of the Russian embassy were acting in violation of international treaties. Bulgaria's outgoing prime minister on Thursday called on Russia to withdraw its diplomatic ultimatum, which included a threat to close Russia's embassy in the Balkan nation. (09:43 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said political pressure from the West is pushing Russia to accelerate its integration with neighbouring Belarus. His remarks came after Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu last week said the two countries must take urgent joint measures to improve their defence capabilities and troops' combat-readiness. (09:59 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed reports from Ukrainian officials that Russian missiles struck residential areas in Odesa early on Friday morning and reiterated its claim that Moscow does not target civilians. "I would like to remind you of the president's words that the Russian Armed Forces do not work with civilian targets," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on a conference call with reporters. (10:26 GMT) Thousands of troops have died, billions of dollars worth of military hardware have been used and entire cities have been subjected to relentless bombardment - but more than four months on, Russia's fierce military campaign in Ukraine continues unabated. Now, forecasts about when the war will end differ widely. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned it could last for years, while Western intelligence agencies have reportedly said Russia's combat capabilities could be depleted in the coming months. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/when-will-war-in-ukraine-end (11:29 GMT) The trial of US professional basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Russia in February after authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, has begun in Moscow. www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/brittney-griner-trial-begins-russia (13:21 GMT) Finland and Turkey did not discuss the extradition of any specific individuals or groups of people during negotiations at the NATO summit in Madrid this week, Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has said. "We agreed that now we have a signed a text and everything that we have signed is in the text," Haavisto told a news conference in Helsinki, referring to a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Thursday. "We did not, in Madrid, discuss about any individuals or any listings [with Turkey]," he added. (14:20 GMT) Ukrainian borshch soup culture added to UNESCO heritage list The United Nations cultural agency has inscribed the culture of cooking borshch soup in Ukraine on its list of endangered cultural heritage. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/unesco-ukraine-borshch (15:06 GMT) Norway's prime minister has pledged one billion euros ($1.04bn) of support to Ukraine for the rest of 2022 and 2023. (15:38 GMT) Albania's prime minister says his government is in talks with NATO to build a naval base at Porto Romano, a port under construction on its Adriatic coast. Edi Rama told a news conference that Porto Romano, situated close to the coastal town of Durres and intended as the country's biggest port, would have a commercial section as well as a military naval base. He said the base would be built and co-financed by NATO and Albania, which became a member of the security alliance in 2009. Back in May, Rama said his government was also offering NATO its Pashaliman naval base some 200km south of Tirana. Pashaliman was set up by Moscow as a submarine base in the 1950s to host 12 submarines near Vlore, where the Adriatic and Ionian Seas meet. (18:57 GMT) Ukraine exported eight% more grain and pulses in the 2021-22 financial year, which finished at the end of June, compared to the previous year, the Ministry of Agriculture in Kiev has announced. Some 48.5 million tons was exported, an increase from 44.7 million tons in 2020-21 (19:43 GMT) The US has said it will provide Ukraine with $820 million in new military aid, including new surface-to-air missile systems and counter-artillery radars to respond to Russia's heavily reliance on long-range strikes in the war. (20:13 GMT) Ukraine's nuclear power operator said on Friday it had re-established its connection to surveillance systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest, which is occupied by Russian forces. (20:46 GMT) Bakhmut resident Viktor Rosenberg told Al Jazeera the roof of his home was hit by rockets causing the ceiling to collapse. "There is a lot of rubble. I am 81-years-old. There is no one to help," he said. Volunteers were helping elderly people evacuate the town which lies some 70 kilometers from the strategic city of Severodonetsk, which Russia captured last week. (20:59 GMT) The Ukrainian army has accused Russia of carrying out attacks using incendiary phosphorus munitions on Snake Island, just a day after withdrawing its forces from there. "Russian air force SU-30 planes twice conducted strikes with phosphorus bombs on Zmiinyi island," it said in a statement, using the Ukrainian name for Snake Island. 20220702 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/2/ukraine-russia-war-live-news (05:49 GMT) Powerful explosions have rocked the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the mayor said, a day after authorities said at least 21 people were killed when Russian missiles struck an apartment building near the Black Sea port of Odesa. "There are powerful explosions in the city! Stay in shelters!" Mykolaiv mayor Oleksandr Senkevich wrote on the Telegram messaging app. It was not immediately known what caused the explosions. (06:29 GMT) Ukraine has requested that Turkey detain and arrest the Russian-flagged cargo ship Zhibek Zholy carrying a cargo of Ukrainian grain taken from the Russian-occupied port of Berdyansk, according to a Ukrainian official and document seen by Reuters. (06:45 GMT) The latest in a litany of horrors in Ukraine came this week as Russian firepower rained down on civilians in a busy shopping mall far from the front lines of a war in its fifth month. It was "maybe a symbolic attack" as the Group of Seven leading economic powers and then NATO leaders prepared to meet and apply further pressure on Moscow, he said. At least six people were killed in the Kyiv strike, which pummeled an apartment building. (07:07 GMT) Russian state media has reported two British men have been captured by Moscow's forces in separatist-held Ukraine and charged with being mercenaries. Cambridgeshire aid worker Dylan Healy, 22, and military volunteer Andrew Hill have been charged with carrying out "mercenary activities", officials in the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic said, according to Tass. The outlet reported both men were refusing to co-operate with investigators. It comes after a video shown on Russian television in April featured a man speaking with an English accent who appeared to give his name as Andrew Hill from Plymouth. (07:14 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom has said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.15 million cubic metres (mcm) compared with 42.1 mcm on Friday. An application to supply gas via the Sokhranovka entry point had again been rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. (07:43 GMT) The chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, has inspected divisions of Russian troops involved in Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine, the defence ministry said. The ministry published still photographs of Gerasimov at work. It was not immediately clear when the visit took place or if Gerasimov had visited Ukraine itself. (07:53 GMT) The United States has said it will send Ukraine two NASAMS surface-to-air missile systems, four counter-artillery radars, and about 150,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition to assist Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion. The Pentagon on Friday said the additional material will come as part of the latest US assistance package for Ukraine, announced by Joe Biden at a gathering of NATO leaders and expected to total about $820m. The package announced on Thursday will also reportedly include more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/2/us-to-send-ukraine-advanced-surface-to-air-missile-systems --- https://www.dw.com/en/ukraines-envoy-to-germany-irks-israeli-polish-governments-with-wwii-comments/a-62335288 Andriy Melnyk, Ukraine's outspoken ambassador to Germany, drew the ire of Poland, Israel, and Jewish groups on Friday when he defended Ukrainian nationalist leader Stepan Bandera in an interview. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera Melnyk has made himself one of the most well-known ambassadors in Berlin, appearing regularly on talk shows and speaking his mind about the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He was particularly strident in his criticism of the time it took for the German government to agree to send heavy weapons to Ukraine. In an interview with German journalist Tilo Jung on Thursday, Melynk defended the World War II-era figure, saying that "Bandera was not a mass murderer of Jews and Poles," arguing that there was no evidence for such accusations. (09:02 GMT) Ukraine's army has accused Russia of carrying out attacks using incendiary phosphorus munitions on Snake Island, just a day after Moscow withdrew its forces from the rocky outcrop in the Black Sea. Two sorties of Russian Su-30 fighter jets dropping phosphorus bombs were flown over the island from the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, said on Telegram on Friday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/1/ukraine-says-russia-dropped-phosphorus-bombs-on-snake-island (10:01 GMT) Russian forces destroyed five Ukrainian army command posts in the Donbas and in the Mykolaiv region with high-precision weapons and also struck three storage sites in the Zaporizhia region, the defence ministry has been quoted as saying. The ministry, cited by Russian news agencies, also said the Russian air force had struck a Ukrainian weapons and equipment base at a tractor factory in Kharkiv, in northeast Ukraine. (11:05 GMT) Russian trikes on a southern resort town left 21 dead and dozens wounded after missiles slammed into flats and a recreation centre in Sergiyvka, 80km south of Black Sea port Odesa. (11:28 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces have shared footage of what it said was an explosion at Russian army warehouses in eastern Ukraine. The video showed what appeared to be a powerful explosion with fire and smoke rising into the sky. (12:45 GMT) Ukrainian separatists backed by Russia say they have "completely" encircled the key city of Lysychansk in the eastern Luhansk region. "Today the Lugansk popular militia and Russian forces occupied the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lysychansk is completely encircled," Andrei Marotchko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, told TASS. Across the Donets River, the Russians captured the neighbouring city Severodonetsk last week. (13:34 GMT) Andrew Hill, from Plymouth, and Dylan Healy of Huntingdon were reported to have been charged with "forcible seizure of power" and undergoing "terrorist" training, according to a state news agency in Russian-controlled Donetsk. "We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilians for political purposes and have raised this with Russia," said a statement released by the British Foreign Office. "We are in constant contact with the government of Ukraine on their cases and are fully supportive of Ukraine in its efforts to get them released. Two more Britons and a Moroccan man were sentenced to death on identical charges by the authorities in Russian-controlled Donetsk. (13:53 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed fears that Western countries are experiencing "Ukraine fatigue". Britain's prime minister, Boris Johnson, warned against what he called "Ukraine fatigue" setting in around the world after visiting Kyiv. (14:26 GMT) The Ukrainian army on Saturday rejected claims that Moscow-backed separatists and Russian forces had surrounded the key eastern city of Lysychansk, but said heavy fighting was ongoing on its edges. (15:41 GMT) Russia remains a "reliable producer and supplier of grain, fertilisers and energy", Putin has assured Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a phone call, Putin said "systemic mistakes made by a number of countries" have disrupted trade in food products and caused price increases, Russia's Tass news agency reported. India, which has not joined international sanctions against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, depends on Moscow for imports of grain, fuel and military hardware. (16:20 GMT) Leaders from dozens of countries and international organisations will gather on Monday and Tuesday in the Swiss city of Lugano to discuss rebuilding Ukraine, hoping to draw up a "Marshall Plan" for the country's reconstruction despite the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine. The plan would "absolutely" have to include an environmental component, said Virginijus Sinkevicius, the European Union commissioner for the environment. He spoke of the mass destruction of forests, land covered with mines and trenches, chemical pollution spread by munitions, and contaminated waterways and soil. (17:59 GMT) The European Union is preparing an emergency plan to help member states cut back on Russian energy. "We need a good, common plan that the energy flows, or the gas flows, where it is needed most," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. The new measures - due by mid-July - will build on May's REPowerEU plan to abandon Russian energy sources because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. That plan allotted nearly $312bn to promote energy efficiency and increased use of renewables. At the end of May, the EU agreed to halt seaborne imports of Russian oil within months, with some exceptions. The bloc imported 35% of its oil from Russia in 2020, and the import ban "will effectively cut around 90% of oil imports" from Russia by the end of 2022, according to von der Leyen. (19:47 GMT) References to Nazism in articles about Ukraine on Russian websites surged to "unprecedented levels" when Russia invaded the country, according to a New York Times report. Putin has falsely claimed that Ukraine is run by "neo-Nazis" and that Russia is trying to "liberate" and "de-nazify" the country. According to the Times, Russian media has been instrumental in spreading false claims and propaganda in the war, including articles that falsely claim Ukrainian Nazis have used civilians as human shields and are planning the mass murder of Russians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stepan_Bandera https://www.dw.com/en/ukraines-envoy-to-germany-irks-israeli-polish-governments-with-wwii-comments/a-62335288 20220703 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/3/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-fired-missiles-on-belarus (00:15 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says his army had shot down missiles fired into their territory from Ukraine and vowed to respond "instantly" to any enemy strike. "We are being provoked," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by state news agency Belta. "I must tell you that around three days ago, maybe more, they tried to strike military targets in Belarus from Ukraine," he said. "Thank God, our Pantsir anti-air systems intercepted all the missiles fired by the Ukrainian forces." Ukraine last week said missiles fired from Belarus had struck a border region inside its territory. Lukashenko denied his country was seeking to intervene in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but issued a warning aimed at Kyiv and its Western allies. "As I said more than a year ago, we do not intend to fight in Ukraine," he said. "We will only fight in one case. If you... enter our land, if you kill our people, then we will respond," he added, warning that Belarus would reply "instantly" to an enemy strike on its soil. (01:38 GMT) Fearing Russia might cut off natural gas supplies, the head of Germany's regulatory agency for energy has called on residents to save energy and to prepare for winter, when use increases. Federal Network Agency President Klaus Mueller urged house and apartment owners to have their gas boilers and radiators checked and adjusted to maximize their efficiency. "Maintenance can reduce gas consumption by 10% to 15%," he told Funke Mediengruppe, a German newspaper and magazine publisher. https://www.dw.com/en/germany-consumers-urged-to-save-gas-amid-fears-of-russian-cut-off/a-62336187 (02:32 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called for international aid to help rebuild his devastated country once the war is over, sounding a rare hopeful note after four months of brutal conflict. (03:28 GMT) An adviser to Zelenskyy has conceded that the city of Lysychansk, Ukraine's last big bastion in the eastern province of Luhansk, could fall to the Russians. "This is indeed a threat. We shall see. I do not rule out any one of a number of outcomes here. Things will become much more clear within a day or two," said Oleksiy Arestovych. "If Lysychansk is taken, strategically it becomes more difficult for the Russians to continue their offensive. The front lines will be flatter and there will be a frontal attack rather than from the flanks." (03:16 GMT) A Russian official says blasts in the city of Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine, resulted in a fire in a residential building. At least three people have been killed and dozens of residential buildings were damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod, according to the local governor. Vyacheslav Gladkov said that at least 11 apartment buildings and 39 private residential houses were destroyed. "What appears is that somewhere around 25 missiles were fired towards the airport which is a Russian base in Belgorod. It appears that some of those missiles may have hit a residential area. That's certainly what the media is saying ..." Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher said, reporting from Kyiv. (03:48 GMT) A US-backed campaign is giving Russians access to anti-censor software to dodge Moscow's crackdown on dissent against its invasion of Ukraine, reports the AFP news agency. Groups involved in the campaign told AFP that the US government-backed Open Technology Fund is paying out money to a handful of American firms providing virtual private networks (VPNs) free of charge to millions of Russians, who can then use them to visit websites blocked by censors. Tech firms Psiphon and nthLink have also been providing sophisticated anti-censorship applications to people in Russia, with OTF estimating that some four million users in Russia have received VPNs from the firms. Psiphon saw a massive surge in Russian users, with the number soaring from about 48,000 a day prior to the February 24 invasion to more than a million a day by mid-March, said a company senior advisor Dirk Rodenburg. The firm's tools in Russian now average nearly 1.5 million users daily, he added. (06:29 GMT) Ukrainian forces have hit a Russian base with more than 30 strikes in the Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol in the region of Zaporizhia, according to the city's exiled Ukrainian mayor, Ivan Fedorov. Russia's RIA news agency also reported that Ukraine had hit the area of Melitopol where the city's airport is located. It cited local Russian-appointed official Vladimir Rogov as saying that the Ukrainian strikes partially damaged houses in the airport area, without causing any casualties. (09:09 GMT) Ukrainian separatists backed by Russia say they had "completely" encircled the key city of Lysychansk in the eastern Luhansk region. "Today the Luhansk popular militia and Russian forces occupied the last strategic heights, which allows us to confirm that Lysychansk is completely encircled," Andrei Marotchko, a spokesman for the separatist forces, tells the TASS news agency. (10:02 GMT) Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Putin that "as a result of successful military operations, the armed forces of the Russian Federation, together with units of the People's Militia of the Luhansk People's Republic, have established full control over the city of Lysychansk", according to Russian news agencies. Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Kyiv, says if the capture of Lysychansk is confirmed, it would mean that the Russians have control of the whole of the Luhansk region. "Add that to the gains that the Russians already made in Donetsk, that means that the whole of the Donbas area would be under Russia's control," he said. (12:31 GMT) The eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk is hit by powerful shelling from multiple rocket launchers and many people are killed and wounded, according to the city's Mayor Vadim Lyakh. "There are 15 fires. Many killed and wounded," Lyakh wrote on Telegram. He said it was the most powerful shelling of the city recently. (13:19 GMT) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited Irpin on Sunday saying it was "devastating" to see residential buildings destroyed from the result of shelling. it "a war crime." "And here we have what - clearly a residential building. Another one just behind it. Brutally assaulted. You know, this is a war crime, "he said. (14:17 GMT) Moscow has accused the Western nations of preventing peace negotiations with Ukraine and thus dragging out the war. "Now is the moment when Western countries are betting everything on a continuation of the war," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told state television, German news agency DPA reported. Under the leadership of the United States, the West was not allowing Ukrainians "to think about peace, nor to talk about it, nor to discuss it," Peskov said. ( See: https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3014.html ) (14:45 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 130 aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-130 (15:40 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov has expressed thanks to US President Joe Biden and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin for the latest military aid package. The US said it would supply Ukraine with National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) as part of an $820m package. (16:24 GMT) Australia will provide Ukraine with 34 additional armoured vehicles and prohibit the import of Russian gold import, Reuters reports. Speaking at a news conference in Kyiv alongside President Zelenskyy, Prime Minister Albanese said Australia would also impose sanctions and travel bans on 16 more Russian ministers and oligarchs, bringing the total number of Russian individuals sanctioned by Canberra to 843. Albanese said Australia would give Ukraine 14 more armoured personnel carriers and 20 Bushmaster vehicles. (16:52 GMT) Michael Clark, a visiting professor at King's College London says that while Russia's capture of Lysychansk is a win for Moscow, it will continue to face significant pushback from the Ukrainians. "But if you look at their ambitions, they were much greater, even in the Donbas ... They are taking a very small bite which gives them Luhansk. But they have not yet got Donetsk which is the bigger oblast. They have some of it, but not all of it. They will have to take Sloviansk and Kramatorsk," he told Al Jazeera. (17:12 GMT) Russian President Putin's decision to invade neighbouring Ukraine has been made well in advance, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has claimed. "I think the decision to - to do this war was taken one year before it started or possibly earlier, because he [Putin] prepared for it," the German leader said in an interview with US broadcaster CBS published in its entirety on Sunday. "And so he will be able to continue with the war really a long time," Scholz added. ( See: https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3014.html ) (17:26 GMT) Ukraine's military command has said its soldiers had retreated from the strategic eastern city of Lysychansk after weeks of fierce fighting with Russian troops. "The continuation of the defence of the city would lead to fatal consequences. In order to preserve the lives of Ukrainian defenders, a decision was made to withdraw," it said in a statement posted on social media. Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy denied that Russian forces have fully seized the last Ukrainian stronghold in Luhansk province. The city of "Lysychansk is still being fought for," he told a news conference with Australia's Prime Minister Albanese. (19:00 GMT) Two Russian aircraft departed Bulgaria on Sunday with scores of Russian diplomatic staff and their families amid a mass expulsion that has sent tensions soaring between the historically close nations, a Russian diplomat Filip Voskresenski said. (19:20 GMT) At least six people have been killed in the eastern Ukrainian city Sloviansk after it was hit by Russian shelling from multiple rocket launchers, local officials said. (20:02 GMT) Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Kyiv, said that while the takeover of Lysychansk by Russian forces was a "big strategic win" for Moscow in the battle for the eastern Donbas region, the large number of resources Russia deployed in the region may mean its forces are weaker elsewhere. (20:27 GMT) President Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from Lysychansk but pledged to restore control over the city thanks to the military's tactics and the prospect of new, improved weaponry. "If the commanders of our army withdraw people from certain points at the front, where the enemy has the greatest advantage in firepower, and this also applies to Lysychansk, it means only one thing," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "That we will return thanks to our tactics, thanks to the increase in the supply of modern weapons." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/4/russia-ukraine-war-zelenskyy-pledges-to-regain-lysychansk (23:39 GMT) The Russian army shelled the eastern towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk on Sunday, as well as the city of Kharkiv, with multiple launch rocket systems as well as Soviet Smerch rockets, Zelenskyy has said, adding that Russia has enough weapons to destroy every city in Ukraine. (23:50 GMT) Turkish customs authorities have detained a Russian cargo ship carrying grain that Ukraine says is stolen, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey has said. "We have full co-operation. The ship is currently standing at the entrance to the port, it has been detained by the customs authorities of Turkey," Ambassador Vasyl Bodnar said on Ukrainian national television on Sunday. 20220704 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/4/ukraine-russia-live-news-six-killed-in-eastern-town-sloviansk (00:42 GMT) The president of Belarus - Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin's closest ally - has said his ex-Soviet state stands fully behind Russia in its military drive in Ukraine. Addressing a ceremony marking the anniversary of the World War Two liberation of Minsk by Soviet troops on Sunday, Alexander Lukashenko, in power since1994, said he had thrown his weight behind Putin's campaign against Ukraine "from the very first day" in late February. "Today, we are being criticised for being the only country in the world to support Russia in its fight against Nazism. We support and will continue to support Russia." (01:01 GMT) The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2022) beginning on Monday in Lugano will discuss how to rebuild Ukraine, bringing together a Ukrainian delegation with representatives of other countries, international organisations and civil society. The UK said it was working with Ukraine and others to host next year's conference, and it would sit on a supervisory board to help coordinate between Ukraine and its allies on recovery measures. An office will be set up in London. (01:24 GMT) Germany is discussing security guarantees for Ukraine with its allies in preparation for a time after the war, but these will not be the same as for a member of the transatlantic alliance, the German chancellor has said. "We are discussing with close allies the question of the security guarantees we can give. This is an ongoing process. It is clear that it will not be the same as if someone were a member of NATO," Olaf Scholz told the broadcaster ARD on Sunday. (01:56 GMT) Zelenskyy has praised Israel's High Court after it rejected a government cap on the number of Ukrainian refugees allowed to enter the country. (04:37 GMT) The Reuters news agency says the European Investment Bank is proposing a funding structure previously used during the COVID-19 pandemic to help rebuild Ukraine with up to 100 billion euros ($104.3 billion) of investment. Citing an official document, Reuters said the EU-Ukraine Gateway Trust Fund (E-U GTF) would seek to have an initial 20 billion euros in contributions from EU countries and the EU budget in the form of grants, loans and guarantees. The guarantees in particular would have a multiplier effect, leading to infrastructure projects totalling some 100 billion euros, the document said, about half of Ukraine's more immediate needs. (07:29 GMT) Russia will shift the main focus of its war in Ukraine to trying to seize all of the Donetsk region after capturing neighbouring Luhansk, the Luhansk region's governor has said. Serhiy Gaidai told Reuters in an interview that he expected the city of Sloviansk and the town of Bakhmut in particular to come under attack as Russia tries to take full control of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. (08:24 GMT) Western envoys in China have criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, with the US ambassador saying China should not spread Russian "propaganda", in an unusual public forum in a country that has declined to condemn Moscow's attack. Speaking at the World Peace Forum, organised by the Tsinghua University, US ambassador Nicholas Burns called the Russian war against Ukraine "the greatest threat to global world order". Burns said he hoped China's foreign ministry spokespeople would stop repeating "Russian propaganda" blaming NATO for the war. "I hope foreign ministry spokespersons would also stop telling lies about American bioweapons labs, which do not exist in Ukraine," he said. (08:51 GMT) The French government has said it will suspend expulsions of foreign students fleeing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a sensitive issue that has seen European countries accused of racist double standards. "We have introduced a moratorium for students until September," a government source told AFP. (09:01 GMT) Russian cosmonauts aboard the International Space Station have celebrated Russia's capture of the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, a significant milestone for Moscow in the war. Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, described Moscow's capture of the Luhansk region as "a liberation day to celebrate both on Earth and in space". The agency posted pictures of cosmonauts Oleg Artemyev, Denis Matveev and Sergey Korsakov smiling as they held up flags of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine, the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic and Donetsk People's Republic. (09:42 GMT) Russia needs to wait and see how proposals to cap the price of Russian oil exported abroad are finalised, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told reporters. Commenting on reports that Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida had proposed capping Russian oil's purchase price at around half the current purchase price, Peskov said that other countries may disagree with Tokyo's cap level proposals. (11:13 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Russian troops on "liberating" the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, a significant milestone for Moscow in its military campaign. In a televised meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin said the troops involved in the operation to capture the region should rest but that other military units should continue fighting. (11:15 GMT) The Ukrainian flag has been raised again on Snake Island in the Black Sea, a Ukrainian military spokeswoman said, after Russian troops withdrew from the strategic outpost last week. (11:34 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow would respond in kind to Bulgaria's expulsion of 70 Russian diplomats. (11:35 GMT) Turkey has halted a Russian-flagged cargo ship off its Black Sea coast and is investigating a Ukrainian claim that it was carrying stolen grain, a senior Turkish official has said. Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said on Sunday the Zhibek Zholy ship was detained by Turkish customs authorities. Ukraine previously asked Turkey to detain the vessel, according to an official and documents viewed by Reuters. (11:51 GMT) What is life like in Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/4/whats-life-like-in-russia-occupied-parts-of-ukraine (12:11 GMT) Ukraine has renewed its invitation for Pope Francis to visit Ukraine, urging the pontiff to continue praying for its people, a Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman said. "It is time to deepen connections with those who sincerely desire it. We renew the invitation to Pope Francis to visit our country and urge you to continue praying for the Ukrainian people," Oleg Nikolenko said when asked for comment about an interview the pope gave to the Reuters news agency. The pope said in the interview that he hoped he would be able to go to Moscow and Kyiv after a trip to Canada as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine. (13:49 GMT) Speaking to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in southern Switzerland, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Ukraine's recovery "is already estimated at $750bn. We believe that the key source of recovery should be the confiscated assets of Russia and Russian oligarchs." (13:52 GMT) Lithuania has taken delivery of a Bayraktar combat drone from Turkey after hundreds of Lithuanians clubbed together to buy it for Ukraine, the defence ministry has said. In the end, Turkish manufacturer Baykar said in June it would donate the drone for free, with Lithuania's government committing to spend 1.5m euros of the crowdfunded money to arm it and the rest of the nearly 6m euros collected going towards humanitarian help for Ukraine. (13:58 GMT) Britain has said it would introduce new economic, trade and transport sanctions on Belarus over the country's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new package will include import and export bans on goods worth around 60 million pounds including on exports of oil refining goods, advanced technology components and luxury goods, and imports of Belarusian iron and steel. Britain will also ban more Belarusian companies from issuing debt and securities in London. Britain has added the names of six individuals and one company to its list of people and businesses who are subject to an asset freeze following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (15:17 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that alternative routes to retrieve grain stuck in Ukraine will need to be looked at if the Bosphorus strait in Turkey cannot be used to move it. (15:18 GMT) Russia needs to help pay for the damage it has inflicted on Ukraine during its "appalling war" while Kyiv also needed help to revive its battered economy, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss told Reuters news agency. Britain is looking at legislation to seize assets from people responsible for the war, Truss said. (16:26 GMT) The European Union will set up a reconstruction platform to coordinate the rebuilding of Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said. The platform will be used to map investment needs, coordinate action and channel resources, von der Leyen told the Ukraine Recovery Conference. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/4/european-union-to-set-up-platform-for-ukraine-war-reconstruction (18:43 GMT) British citizen Aiden Aslin, sentenced to death by a court in the Russian-backed breakaway Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, has submitted an appeal, the Russian Interfax agency reported. (23:26 GMT) The Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has visited Kyiv on Monday to meet with Ukraine's President, with the two parties signing a joint statement on defence and energy cooperation. (23:34 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces were undeterred in their efforts to "break" Moscow's will to pursue a nearly five-month war, Zelenskyy has said, as Russia's Vladimir Putin has hailed his military's victory in the gruelling battle of Luhansk. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine respond, push back and destroy the offensive potential of the occupiers day after day. We need to break them. It is a difficult task. It requires time and superhuman efforts. But we have no alternative." (23:37 GMT) Serhiy Haidai, the Ukrainian governor of the Luhansk region, has acknowledged his entire province was now effectively in Russian hands but told the Reuters news agency: "We need to win the war, not the battle for Lysychansk ... It hurts a lot, but it's not losing the war." (23:48 GMT) Ukraine is holding talks with Turkey and the United Nations to secure guarantees for grain exports from Ukrainian ports, Zelenskyy has said. 20220705 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/5/ukraine-russia-live-news-kyiv-prepares-for-donetsk-battles-liveblog (01:02 GMT) Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson has given Zelenskyy a letter written in 1711 by King Charles XII - previously kept in her country's national archives - in which the king instructs the Swedish ambassador in Constantinople to recognise the Zaporizhzhian Sich as an independent state. The Zaporizhzhian Sich was as a semi-autonomous quasi-state of the Cossacks, a predominantly eastern Slavic group originating in the steppes of Ukraine, that existed between the 16th to 18th centuries. It centred around the region spanning the lower Dnieper river, where Ukraine's current Zaporizhia region is located. (01:14 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin would not congratulate his US counterpart Joe Biden on Monday's US Independence Day because of Washington's "unfriendly" actions towards Moscow, the Kremlin has said. "Congratulations this year can hardly be considered appropriate," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. (01:23 GMT) Putin has likely directed his troops to take an "operational pause" after they captured Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. After congratulating his troops on taking the Luhansk region, Putin said the forces participating in the recent gains should "absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness." (01:31 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the IOC for supporting a ban on Russian teams and athletes competing in most Olympics sports, ahead of a court hearing Tuesday to challenge the ruling in international soccer. (01:35 GMT) Zelenskyy's office has detailed the toll on Ukrainian sport during the Russian invasion, now in a fifth month. A total of 89 athletes and coaches have died "as a result of hostilities," 13 more have been captured by the Russians, and "more than a hundred thousand Ukrainian athletes do not have the opportunity of training," Zelenskyy has said. (02:23 GMT) The United Kingdom is proposing a new law that will require social media companies to proactively tackle disinformation posted by foreign states such as Russia, the government has said. The law would tackle fake accounts on platforms such as Meta's Facebook and Twitter that were set up on behalf of foreign states to influence elections or court proceedings, the government said. (02:27 GMT) Ukraine now says no troops yet on recovered Snake Island to raise its flag. "The flag has been delivered to the island by helicopter," Ukrainian media quoted Natalia Humeniuk as telling CNN television. "It will await the arrival of troops and will then be hoisted." Homeniuk said her original remarks to reporters should be viewed "metaphorically". No troops had landed on the island and "No one is taking any risks for the sake of a media photo." (02:51 GMT) The Russian-installed head of the occupied city of Enerhodar, home to the Zaporizhia Power Plant, says the city plans to provide electricity supplies to the annexed territory of Crimea once damage to the plant is restored, Russia's state news agency TASS reports. (03:04 GMT) Dozens of mainly elderly people in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk queued up for hours on Monday to receive milk, bread and other groceries from World Central Kitchen. Many are fearful Russian forces will try to seize all of the Donetsk region after capturing Luhansk last week, Reuters reports. Bakhmut, Sloviansk and nearby Kramatorsk lie southwest of Lysychansk, and are the main urban areas holding out against Russian forces in Donetsk (03:31 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will fly to Hanoi on Tuesday for a two-day visit to Vietnam before heading to a G20 meeting later this week in Indonesia, the Vietnamese government has said. The visit at the invitation of Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son comes as the two nations mark the 10th anniversary of their "comprehensive strategic partnership", the government said in a statement . Russia is Vietnam's biggest arms supplier and its companies are involved in several major energy projects in the country. (04:07 GMT) Moscow's capture of the Luhansk region is "the last victory for Russia on Ukrainian territory," an advisor to the head of Ukraine's president's office has said. "These were medium-sized cities. And this took from 4th April until 4th July - that's 90 days. So many losses...," Oleksiy Arestovych said in an online post. Arestovych said besides the battle for Donetsk, Ukraine was hoping to launch counter offensives in the south of the country. "Taking the cities in the east meant that 60% of Russian forces are now concentrated in the east and it is difficult for them to be redirected to the south," he said. "And there are no more forces that can be brought in from Russia. They paid a big price for Severodonetsk and Lysychansk." (05:13 GMT) Russian missiles struck the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv on Tuesday morning, the mayor Oleksandr Senkevich said as air raid sirens were activated across the city. (05:28 GMT) Phan Thị Kim Phuc, now 59, the girl in the famous 1972 Vietnam napalm attack photo, has escorted 236 refugees from Ukraine on a flight from Warsaw to Canada. Phuc's iconic Associated Press photo in which she runs with her napalm-scalded body exposed, was etched on the private nongovernmental organisation plane that flew the refugees to the city of Regina, the capital of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, on Monday. (05:44 GMT) Russia's capture of the Luhansk region was relatively quick and showed better coordination than in its earlier offensives, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. "Unlike in previous phases of the war, Russia has probably achieved reasonably effective co-ordination between at least two groupings of forces, the Central Grouping likely commanded by General-Colonel Alexandr Lapin and the Southern Grouping probably under the recently appointed General Sergei Surovikin," the ministry said. In its latest intelligence briefing, the ministry said Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from the area "in good order" as they had been stationed at an outward "bulge" in Severodonetsk and Lysychansk, which allowed Russian troops to more easily attack from three sides. (06:05 GMT) Major Asian buyers of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) say they have not yet received a request to pay for supplies in Russian roubles after a senior manager at gas producer Gazprom floated a proposal to expand the payment scheme. The rouble payment proposal comes just days after Russia moved to seize operations of the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant in retaliation for Western sanctions, raising supply concerns for top buyers such as Japan and South Korea. Kirill Polous, a deputy department head of Russian gas producer, said Gazprom has proposed expanding its rouble-for-gas scheme to include LNG, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday. (06:13 GMT) At least 345 children have died in Ukraine as a result of Russia's invasion and 644 have been wounded, the prosecutor general's office has reported. (06:24 GMT) Belarus says it is freezing foreign shareholdings in 190 Belarusian companies, including the software engineering company EPAM Systems and Lukoil Belarus, in response to Western sanctions for its support of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and human rights violations. (06:56 GMT) The governor of the now Russian-occupied Luhansk region says Russian forces are continuing to shell populated areas. "In the recently occupied territories, the Russians establish their own rules; tell nonsense about the opening of schools from September 1, [and] the rapid restoration of communications," Haidai wrote on Telegram. "This is all a lie, the same thing happened in Mariupol - everyone saw how water ran through the destroyed houses. The only thing the Rashists are capable of is terrorising the local population," he added, using the popular term for "Russians" in Ukraine. He said Russian forces had started looking for "activists" and "military families" to collaborate with them against Ukraine. (08:22 GMT) Ukrainian forces are taking up new defensive lines in Donetsk, where they still control main cities, after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed victory in neighbouring Luhansk province. Putin told his troops to "absolutely rest and recover their military preparedness" ahead of a renewed offensive on the industrial region. Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk, said the towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk have been shelled overnight. "They are now also the main line of assault for the enemy," he said of the towns. "There is no safe place without shelling in Donetsk region." (08:35 GMT) The amount of Russian gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and deliveries through Ukraine have decreased while eastbound gas flows via the Yamal pipeline to Poland from Germany have stopped, operator data showed. Russian gas producer Gazprom said last month capacity through the pipeline would be cut to only 40% of capacity due to the delayed return of equipment being serviced by Germany's Siemens Energy in Canada. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline will undergo regular annual maintenance from July 11 to July 21, when flows usually fall to zero, raising concern over how promptly they will resume afterwards. (08:38 GMT) IKEA will open for business for a final time in Russia, with customers permitted to buy goods in an online-only fire sale, before the Swedish furniture company winds down its operations. "From July 5 for a few weeks you can buy IKEA goods only on ikea.ru," IKEA said on its Russian website. "Goods will be on sale for as long as they are in stock." IKEA said last month it would sell factories, close offices and reduce its 15,000-strong workforce in the country as it did not expect to resume sales in the foreseeable future. (08:40 GMT) Russia has said it is investigating the torture of Russian soldiers held prisoner in Ukraine and recently released as part of a prisoner swap with Kyiv in late June. The Russian committee said Moscow's soldiers told investigators about "the violence they had suffered". According to its statement, one of the soldiers said Ukrainian medics treated him without anaesthetic and that he was "beaten, tortured with electricity in captivity". (08:51 GMT) An official from Russia's powerful FSB security services has taken over the government of the Moscow-occupied Kherson region in southern Ukraine, Kremlin-installed authorities have said. Sergei Yeliseyev, until now the deputy head of government in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, "became head of the government in the Kherson region", Vladimir Saldo, who heads the Russian occupational administration, said. "Ukraine is forever in the past for the Kherson region. Russia is here forever." (08:59 GMT) Allies of Ukraine meeting in Switzerland are due to adopt a declaration spelling out the principles and priorities of rebuilding the war-shattered country, estimated to cost at least $750bn. The principles include partnership between Ukraine and its international supporters and a focus on domestic reforms. "Efficient and transparent governance by Ukraine and effective and nimble coordination between donors and with the government are critical for the recovery," Alfred Kammer, the director of the International Monetary Fund's European department, told the conference. (09:22 GMT) The Kremlin says no decision has been made on whether to switch sales of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) to roubles, its official currency. Speaking to reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no presidential orders were currently planned on the proposal, which would see certain countries pay for LNG in roubles. Russia's Gazprom could propose expanding its roubles-for-gas scheme for pipeline gas to include LNG, the Interfax news agency quoted a senior manager as saying on Monday. (09:24 GMT) Russian-imposed authorities in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, which is partly under Russian control, say an agreement has been reached to sell grain abroad, mainly to the Middle East. The countries involved are mainly Iraq, Iran and Saudi Arabia, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Russian-installed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region. (09:46 GMT) Finland has seized nearly a 1,000 freight cars belonging to Russian companies as a result of European Union sanctions, according to Finnish state-owned rail operator VR and a letter from Russia's rail monopoly seen by the Reuters news agency. VR's spokeswoman Taina Kuitunen confirmed by email that there were "around 800 units of sanctioned [freight] cars in Finland at the moment" and the company sought to return the non-seized ones to Russia as soon as possible. (10:07 GMT) Ukraine's Maryna Viazovska has paid tribute to those suffering in her war-torn country as she became the second woman to be awarded the Fields medal, known as the Nobel prize for mathematics. Viazovska, a 37-year-old Kyiv-born maths professor, received the prestigious award alongside three other winners at a ceremony in Helsinki. The International Congress of Mathematicians, where the prize is awarded, was initially scheduled to be held in Russia's second city Saint Petersburg and initiated by President Vladimir Putin. (11:14 GMT) Russian politicians have given the first stamp of approval to two bills enabling the government to oblige businesses to supply goods to the military and request their employees to work overtime. Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov told parliament the moves were driven by the need to support the military at a time when Russia's economy was under "colossal sanctions pressure" from the West, more than four months into what it calls its special military operation in Ukraine. (11:18 GMT) A Russian-flagged cargo ship at the centre of a fight over grain between Kyiv and Moscow has remained anchored off Turkey's Black Sea coast four days after its unexpected arrival. Ukraine alleges that the Zhibek Zholy vessel had set off from its Kremlin-occupied port of Berdyansk after picking up illegally seized wheat. Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, told Al Jazeera that Kyiv had presented evidence to authorities in Ankara and that an investigation was under way. Moscow concedes that the 7,000-tonne vessel was sailing under the Russian flag but denies any wrongdoing. (11:31 GMT) The mayor of a city in the path of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region has warned residents to evacuate ahead of an expected assault. "It's important to evacuate as many people as possible," Sloviansk Mayor Vadim Lyakh said, adding that shelling damaged 40 houses on Monday. Russian forces are pounding Sloviansk with "massive" shelling, its mayor has said, as the eastern Ukrainian city becomes Moscow's next target in its campaign in the Donbas region. "Sloviansk! Massive shelling of the city. The centre, the north. Everyone, take shelter," Vadim Lyakh wrote on Facebook. (11:32 GMT) NATO allies have signed off on the accession protocols for Sweden and Finland, sending the membership bids of the two nations to the alliance capitals for legislative approvals - and possible political trouble in Turkey. NATO accession must be formally approved by all 30 member states, which gives each a blocking right. (11:42 GMT) Forces of the Russian-backed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics are moving towards the Donetsk region, TASS has reported. The Russian state news agency cited Donetsk People's Republic leader Denis Pushilin as the source of the information. Though Russia took the final Ukrainian strongholds in Luhansk region last week, Kyiv still controls about 45% of the neighbouring Donetsk region. (11:56 GMT) Russia has claimed some of the weapons the West sent to Ukraine are ending up on the black market across the Middle East. Speaking in televised remarks, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine had received more than 28,000 tonnes of military cargo so far. "According to information at our disposal, some of the foreign weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are spreading across the Middle Eastern region and are also ending up on the black market," Shoigu said, without providing any details to back up his claim. (12:02 GMT) The United Nations' food agency, or FAO, has said it received $17m from Japan to address grain storage problems in Ukraine and increase its exports as global food prices remain near-record levels amid war in the country. The funds would help Ukraine, the world's fourth largest grains exporter, store produce from the current July to August harvest in plastic sleeves and modular storage containers, FAO said. (12:21 GMT) Phosphorus bombs: What you should know about Russia's alleged use https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/5/phosphorus-bombs-explainer (12:55 GMT) The speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament has asked a senior legislator to look into scrapping a treaty that establishes the country's maritime border with NATO member Norway. Responding to comments in parliament accusing Norway of blocking food deliveries destined for Russian-populated settlements on the Svalbard archipelago, State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin asked the head of the chamber's international affairs committee to look into "denouncing" the treaty. The treaty, which was signed in 2010, aimed to put an end to disputes between Russia and Norway in the Barents Sea, the part of the Arctic Ocean adjoining the northern coasts of Norway and Russia. (14:40 GMT) Appeals by Russia and its ally Belarus against bans from the world ice hockey championship following the invasion of Ukraine have been rejected by the international governing body. The decision "was not a sanction but was a safety policy" and also "the safety policy was not discriminatory and was proportionate," the International Ice Hockey Federation disciplinary board has ruled. (16:04 GMT) The UN rights chief has condemned Russia's "senseless war" in Ukraine as she demanded an end to the "unbearable" civilian suffering unleashed by the invasion. Michelle Bachelet called for an immediate end to hostilities and redress for the war's victims, in her final appearance before the UN Human Rights Council. "As we enter the fifth month of hostilities, the unbearable toll of the conflict in Ukraine continues to mount," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said. Arbitrary detention of civilians has become widespread in parts of Ukraine held by Russia's military and affiliated armed groups, with 270 cases documented, the U.N. human rights chief said on Tuesday, announcing plans to boost monitoring in the country. The findings were based on information from monitors' field visits and interviews conducted with just over 500 victims and witnesses of human rights violations, as well as other sources of data, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. "Despite restrictions on access, we have documented 270 cases of arbitrary detention and enforced disappearance. Eight of the victims were found dead." (17:17 GMT) Former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's Russian-backed government collapsed in 2014 after Ukrainians protested against his decision not to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union. Sviatoslav Yurash had returned to Ukraine from studying international relations at the University of Calcutta, in India, to join what became known as the Euromaidan revolution. Then just 17 years old, Yurash became head of public relations for the activist group Euromaidan. (17:56 GMT) Western powers are calling on international sport federations to remove state-affiliated Russians and Belarusians over the Ukraine invasion. In a joint statement, 35 nations from the West plus Japan and South Korea reiterated a March 8 call for no international sporting events to take place in Russia or Belarus and for their citizens to be banned from international competitions. In fresh recommendations, the 35 nations called for Russian and Belarusian governing bodies to be suspended from international sport federations. (18:20 GMT) The governor of the Donetsk regional administration has told reporters on Tuesday that citizens must evacuate the region to save lives, and enable the Ukrainian army to better defend towns. "Once there are less people, we will be able to concentrate more on our enemy and perform our main tasks" said Pavlo Kyrylenko, while speaking at a press conference in Kramatorsk. The governor said that 350,000 citizens remain in the Donetsk region; adding that the population of areas controlled by the Ukrainian government was 1.6 million in peacetime. (19:11 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he intends to "intensify" negotiations with Russia and Ukraine in the hope of reaching a deal on a United Nations plan to export Ukrainian grain to world markets. Erdogan made the comments during a joint news conference with Italy's prime minister, Mario Draghi. Turkey is working with the UN, Ukraine and Russia on a UN plan that would allow millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain sitting in silos to be shipped through safe corridors in the Black Sea. "We will intensify our talks within a week or 10 days and try to reach a result," he told reporters. (20:05 GMT) US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price has said he does not expect any meeting between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at this week's meeting of G20 foreign ministers in Bali. "I'm not in a position to walk through the choreography, but I certainly would not expect any meeting between Secretary Blinken and Foreign Minister Lavrov." (23:24 GMT) At least two people were killed and seven injured after Russian forces struck a market and a residential area in Sloviansk on Tuesday, local officials have said. A Reuters news agency reporter on the scene saw yellow smoke billowing from an auto supplies shop, and flames engulfing rows of market stalls as firefighters tried to extinguish the blaze. It was not immediately clear what munitions had been used in the attack on the front-line city in the Donetsk region, or how many people had been at the market when it was hit. (23:38 GMT) Russian troops are engaged in heavy fighting and making their way into Ukraine's Donetsk region after taking control of the last two towns in neighbouring Luhansk, the regional governor of Luhansk has said. (23:45 GMT) An air alert rang out across almost all of Ukraine on Tuesday night, Zelenskyy said, as he again called for a modern modern anti-missile system. 20220706 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/6/ukraine-russia-live-news-moscow-takes-no-breaks-says-zelenskyy-liveblog (00:56 GMT) Shares of Japanese trading firms Mitsui & Co and Mitsubishi Corp dropped more than 4% on Wednesday after former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev made comments threatening the loss of oil and gas supply to Japan. Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold stakes of 12.5% and 10%, respectively, in the Sakhalin-2 project. (01:12 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met with leaders in Mongolia during a trip to Asia to seek support amid his country's diplomatic isolation by the West and punishing sanctions. Lavrov met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh and paid a courtesy call on President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh on Tuesday, Mongolian state media reported. (01:25 GMT) The West is seeking to turn Ukraine "into an openly Russophobic, neo-Nazi state, a military foothold" that would threaten Russia's security, Moscow's foreign minister was quoted by state news agency TASS as saying. "We are interested in making the facts about how the representatives of the Kyiv regime behaved and continue to behave in Ukraine available to the broad world community," Lavrov said. "Unfortunately the West is doing everything to block the work of the media, which provide objective information about what is happening," he said, without offering any evidence. (01:44 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will call on G20 nations this week to put pressure on Russia to support United Nations efforts to reopen sea lanes blocked by the Ukraine conflict and repeat warnings to China not to support Moscow's war effort, diplomats have said. Blinken heads to Asia on Wednesday for a meeting of Group of 20 foreign ministers in Bali on Friday. His trip will include his first meeting with Chinese counterpart Wang Yi since October, but no meeting is expected with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. (02:53 GMT) A top US diplomat has urged Ukraine's allies to help the war-battered country meet its "immediate and urgent" needs - not only longer-term rebuilding - as scores of countries wrapped up a two-day conference aimed at helping Ukraine recover from Russia's war, when it ends one day. Scott Miller, the US ambassador to Switzerland, added a dose of urgency to the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Lugano, at which the Ukrainian prime minister a day earlier presented a $750 billion plan to help his country both recover now - where possible - as well as in the immediate aftermath of the war and over the long term. "While we recognise the importance of preparing for Ukraine's future, all of us must also deliver on our commitments to provide Ukraine its immediate and urgent needs," said Miller, one of many government envoys who decried Russia's war and detailed their support for Ukraine. (03:10 GMT) The president of Switzerland has cautioned Western allies about the legal complexities of using frozen Russian assets to help pay for Ukraine's reconstruction, saying "the right of property is a fundamental right - is a human right". Ignazio Cassis made his comments to reporters at the end of the Ukraine Recovery Conference, after Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal voiced hopes to lock down and use an estimated $300 billion to $500 billion in Russian-owned assets that have been frozen in many Western banks to help pay for rebuilding Ukraine. The Swiss leader said fundamental rights can at times be violated - as was done in some cases during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic - "but we have to create the legal base" for such moves first. "You have to ensure the citizen is protected against the power of the state." Switzerland has frozen 6.3 billion Swiss francs (about $6.5 billion) in Russian assets. (04:14 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has called on all parties in the world to make efforts to protect international laws as "the world is evolving in a complicated manner". Lavrov was speaking through a translator at a meeting with his Vietnamese counterpart Bui Thanh Son in Hanoi. His comments come as Western countries have accused Russia of breaching international law through its invasion of Ukraine. (05:09 GMT) Russian troops, from the eastern and western groups of forces, are likely around 16 kilometres north from the city of Sloviansk, in the Donetsk region, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. Sloviansk has been bracing for an incoming battle as Russian forces advance into the Donetsk region after capturing Luhansk. "With the town also under threat from the central and southern groups of forces, there is a realistic possibility that the battle for Sloviansk will be the next key contest in the struggle for the Donbas." (06:04 GMT) Ukraine's army is holding back Russian forces on the border of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, the Luhansk governor has said, with significant losses among Moscow's troops. "Every day, the Russians receive an order to advance further, but they do not always carry it out, because the losses in personnel are very significant," Serhiy Haidai said on Telegram. (07:55 GMT) Flows of Russian gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have returned to levels seen in recent weeks, after a dip a day earlier, while eastbound flows via the Yamal remain at zero, according to operator data. Physical flows to Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline across the Baltic Sea stood at 29,268,783 kilowatt-hours per hour (kWh/h) on Wednesday morning, back in line with volumes above 29,000,000kWh/h seen for much of the past three weeks, operator company information showed. Flows briefly dropped on Tuesday to below 26,000,000kWh/h, although this was in line with lower nominations, or customer demand. (08:08 GMT) Austria is following through on a "use it or lose it" threat to eject Russia's Gazprom from its large Haidach gas storage facility for systematically failing to fill its portion of the capacity there, according to the government. "If customers do not store [gas] then the capacity must be handed over to others. It is critical infrastructure. We need it now in such a crisis. That is exactly what is happening now in the case of Gazprom and its storage at Haidach," Energy Minister Leonore Gewessler told a news conference, adding that gas regulator e-Control had started the process of ejecting Gazprom. (08:19 GMT) A long-delayed gas pipeline between Greece and Bulgaria aimed at helping Sofia cut its reliance on Russian gas has been completed and can start commercial operations this month, according to Greece's energy minister. The Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria (IGB), which has hit several administrative hurdles in recent years, is important for the energy security of Bulgaria, which has been cut off Russian gas for refusing to pay in roubles following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The 220 million euros ($226m) pipeline will carry gas from the northern Greek city of Komotini to Stara Zagora in Bulgaria and be linked to another pipeline carrying Azeri gas. (09:22 GMT) Japan has taken a "very unfriendly" position toward Russia which does not help to develop ties in either trade and economy or the energy sector, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (09:29 GMT) Britain has added two Russian individuals to its sanctions list, subjecting them to an asset freeze and travel ban. The sanctions list was updated to add Denis Gafner and Valeriya Kalabayeva - both of whom Britain said were involved in spreading disinformation and promoting Russian actions in Ukraine. (10:05 GMT) Russia's Lavrov has said that the publication of a call between President Emmanuel Macron and Russian leader Vladimir Putin is a breach of "diplomatic etiquette". "Diplomatic etiquette does not provide for unilateral leaks of (such) recordings," Lavrov said on a trip to Vietnam. Lavrov added that Russia had nothing to be ashamed of from the content of the conversation between the two leaders. The details of the confidential call days before Moscow's military operation in Ukraine were revealed by the broadcaster France 2 in a documentary on the French president's handling of the conflict. (10:38 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said reports the Russian-flagged cargo ship Zhibek Zholy is detained in the Turkish port of Karasu on suspicion of carrying stolen Ukrainian grain are false. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Alexei Zaitsev said Zhibek Zholy, which Ukrainian authorities have said is carrying grain from the occupied port of Berdyansk, was "undergoing standard procedures". Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said on Sunday that Turkish authorities had detained the Zhibek Zholy. Reuters previously reported that Ukraine had asked Turkey to arrest the ship. (10:59 GMT) Ukraine expects a grain harvest of at least 50 million tonnes this year, which is "not bad given all the difficulties," according to the country's first deputy agriculture minister. Ukraine, a major global grain grower and exporter, harvested a record 86 million tonnes of grain in 2021. (11:24 GMT) Ukraine has 11 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas in underground storage versus a government target of 19 bcm, according to the head of its gas transmission system operator. "This winter will probably be the most difficult in our history," Sergiy Makogon, chief executive of the transmission system operator, told a news briefing. Makogon said before Russia's invasion Ukraine used around 30 bcm a year of gas but that he expected consumption would shrink to around 21-22 bcm a year. (11:33 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said his government will not fold after the resignation of two of his most senior ministers and a string of more junior officials in protest at his leadership. Johnson told lawmakers that the economy was facing tough times and Russia's invasion of Ukraine represented the worst war in Europe in 80 years. "That is exactly the moment that you'd expect a government to continue with its work, not to walk away, and to get on with its job," Johnson said in Britain's parliament. (11:55 GMT) Russia's armed forces have destroyed two advanced US-made HIMARS rocket systems and their ammo depots in eastern Ukraine, according to the Russian defence ministry. The ministry said Russia had destroyed two launchers for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that the US and its allies have been supplying to Kyiv. It also said Russian forces destroyed two ammunition depots storing rockets for the HIMARS near the frontline in a village south of Kramatorsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region - the main focus for Russian troops following the capture of Luhansk over the weekend. (12:52 GMT) The EU has set out a harder focus on energy amid Russia's war in Ukraine, as the Czech Republic presented its priorities upon taking over the bloc's presidency. "We need to prepare for further disruptions of gas supply, even a complete cut-off from Russia," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen told the European Parliament. Her commission is set to unveil an emergency plan on energy supply security on July 20 that would help redirect gas flows within the EU to "where it is most needed". (13:35 GMT) Russia's parliament has rushed through two bills imposing strict controls on the economy, requiring businesses to supply goods to the armed forces and obliging employees at some firms to work overtime. "In the context of operations carried out by the armed forces of the Russian Federation outside of Russia, including on the territory of Ukraine, there is a need to repair weapons, military equipment and provide the armed forces with material and technical means," says an explanatory note to one of the bills. (14:09 GMT) 8.793 million people have crossed the border from Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24, UNHCR the UN refugee agency has said. (15:50 GMT) Russia has pocketed $24 billion from selling energy to China and India in just three months following its invasion of Ukraine, showing how higher global prices are limiting efforts by the US and Europe to punish President Vladimir Putin. (PJB: note "pocketed", not "sold" ... ) https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/7/6/russia-pockets-24b-from-selling-energy-to-china-india (15:51 GMT) The port of Mariupol in Russian-controlled territory of Ukraine is operating at full capacity, the TASS news agency reported, citing port officials. Russia captured Mariupol on Ukraine's southern coast in May after months of fierce fighting for control of the city. (17:50 GMT) Germany must implement the transition to green energy faster because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, adding that Russia was using energy as a political weapon. "Energy policy is not just a question of price. Energy policy is also security policy," Scholz said at an event hosted by the Renewable Energy Association. "That's why we now have to turbo charge the expansion of renewable energy." (17:53 GMT) French oil and gas firm TotalEnergies has said it had pulled out of a Russian oil project. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, TotalEnergies announced it would reduce its activity in Russia and booked a $4.1bn impairment charge on one of its key gas projects in the country. (23:12 GMT) Ukraine has so far staved off any significant Russian advance into the north of its Donetsk region, but pressure is intensifying with heavy shelling on the city of Sloviansk and nearby populated areas, the Ukrainian military has said. (23:15 GMT) The city of Sloviansk has been shelled for the last two weeks, its mayor has said. "The situation is tense," Vadym Lyakh told a video briefing. (23:19 GMT) Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, is being subjected to "constant" longer-range Russian shelling, its mayor has said. South of Kharkiv, the governor of Dnipropetrovsk said that the region had been battered by missiles and shelling. (23:24 GMT) Ireland's prime minister has said Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a gross violation of international law and that there would be "no hiding places" for those committing war crimes. (23:32 GMT) The southern coast port of Mykolaiv was heavily shelled on Wednesday, its mayor has said, while air alarms were activated several times in the city on Thursday morning. "There are no safe areas in Mykolaiv," Oleksandr Senkevych told a briefing. The city has already shed about half of its pre-war population of 500000. (23:39 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Western artillery received by Ukraine had "finally ... started working very powerfully". "Its accuracy is exactly as needed. Our defenders inflict very noticeable strikes on depots and other spots that are important for the logistics of the occupiers," he said in his nighttime address. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had spoken Wednesday with his German and United States counterparts, where he noted the importance of continuing military aid was discussed. 20220707 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/7/ukraine-russia-live-news-strikes-on-kharkiv-mykolaiv-donetsk-liveblog (00:45 GMT) US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have spoken with the wife of US basketball player Brittney Griner, who is detained in Russia, the White House has said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/6/biden-speaks-with-wife-of-basketball-star-detained-in-russia (01:06 GMT) Prices rose across the Russian economy in the week to July 1 for the first time since late May when a surging rouble and a drop in consumer demand led Russia to record weekly deflation, data published on Wednesday showed. Russia's consumer price index rose 0.23% during the seven-day period, the Rosstat state statistics service said - an increase from its flat reading a week earlier and three consecutive weeks of falling prices in late May and early June. So far this year, prices have jumped 11.77%, Rosstat said, far above the central bank's inflation target of 4% (01:36 GMT) Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong has urged China to exert its influence on Russia to halt the war in Ukraine. In a speech in Singapore on Wednesday night, Wong said it was vital that powerful countries should "exert their influence" on Putin to end the conflict. "This includes China, as a great power, a permanent member of the [United Nations] Security Council, and with its 'no-limits partnership' with Russia," Wong said. "Exerting such influence would do a great deal to build confidence in our own region. (01:54 GMT) Lithuania's defence minister has shared a photograph of the Turkish Bayraktar drone that was bought from funds raised by Lithuanians for Ukraine. "Last hours of Bayraktar 'Vanagas' in Lithuania," Arvydas Anusauskas said on Twitter. "Very soon it will be delivered to Ukraine". Ukraine has bought more than 20 Bayraktar TB2 armed drones from Turkish company Baykar in recent years and ordered another 16 on January 27. That batch was delivered in early March. (02:29 GMT) Zelenskyy has told Ukrainians his troops are advancing in areas of the country occupied by Russian forces, particularly in the southern regions of Kherson and Zaporizhia. (03:44 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has flown into Indonesia's resort island of Bali for a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, which is set to be overshadowed by tensions triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Germany's foreign minister Annalena Baerbock has said Russia must not be allowed to use the G20 meeting as a platform given its war in Ukraine. Australia's foreign minister Penny Wong has called Russia's war in Ukraine "immoral" ahead of the G20 meeting in Indonesia. (05:29 GMT) A Russian-flagged cargo ship, the Zhibek Zholy, which was suspected of carrying "stolen" Ukrainian grain, left the Turkish northwest port of Karasu late on Wednesday, Refinitiv ship tracking data has shown. On Sunday, Ukraine's ambassador to Turkey said Turkish authorities had detained the ship. Ukraine had previously asked Turkey to arrest the ship. (05:58 GMT) Heavy shelling occurred along the front line in the Donetsk region on Wednesday, but Russian forces made few advances, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. The defence ministry said this was likely due to the fact the Russian units, involved in last week's gains in the Luhansk region, were "reconstituting". (06:20 GMT) This week's G20 meeting of foreign ministers in Bali cannot be business as usual due to the situation with Russia, a senior US State Department official has said. The United States wants to make sure nothing from the G20 lends legitimacy to what Russia is doing in Ukraine, the official said, adding the meeting would be a good opportunity to drive the food security agenda forward. (07:48 GMT) Russia's propaganda apparatus is preparing to exploit coming divisions in European public opinion as inevitable cracks in the support for the Ukrainian war effort appear, a US intelligence firm has said. The longer the war goes on the more it will "further strain the relationship between Western populations and their governments", Recorded Future, a private US threat assessment firm based in Massachusetts, said in a report. "Over time, this will likely result in a natural dwindling of support for the Western coalition resulting from both exhaustion with the war and a lack of appetite for long-term economic pain," "Blowback on sanctions" could be a key trigger for shifting views. (08:15 GMT) Finland's parliament has voted in favour of legislation that would allow barriers on the country's border with Russia and enable the closure of the 1,300-km frontier from asylum seekers in case of exceptional circumstances. The bill on preparedness, while contested in terms of European Union asylum rules, was passed by a supermajority that allows parliament to fast-track laws, amid fears Russia could retaliate over Finland's plans to join the NATO military alliance. It will also allow the government to decide to build fences or other barriers near Finnish borders and direct all asylum applications to one or several border crossings, such as an airport. (08:19 GMT) Russia has said it will be difficult to exchange prisoners with the United States and suggested Washington be silent about the fate of Brittney Griner, the US basketball player detained in Russia on drugs charges. Referring to a letter that US President Joe Biden that NBC news reported he intends to send to Griner, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that "hype" around the case does not help, and that "this kind of correspondence does not help". Griner was arrested on February 17 at Moscow's Sheremteyevo airport, after cannabis-infused vaporiser cartridges were allegedly found in her luggage. She faces ten years in prison on drugs charges. (09:16 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko says "we regret that Russia's ship Zhibek Zholy... was allowed to leave Karasu port despite criminal evidence presented to the Turkish authorities." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/7/the-battle-for-ukrainian-grain-the-case-of-the-zhibek-zholy (09:19 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said a Russian warplane struck Ukraine's Snake Island in the Black Sea overnight, shortly after Ukrainian troops claimed to have raised their flag over the island. Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian President's chief of staff, posted a video on Twitter of three soldiers raising a large Ukrainian flag on the island, from which Russian forces withdrew on June 30 after coming under heavy bombardment from Ukrainian artillery. At the Russian defence ministry's daily briefing, spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said that part of the Ukrainian detachment on the island was "destroyed". (09:43 GMT) Russian legislators approve legislation to create a patriotic youth movement reminiscent of Soviet-era youth organisations that will be headed by President Vladimir Putin. The movement will aim to enhance Russian values among children from the age of six. "The state must create conditions that contribute to the comprehensive spiritual, moral, intellectual and physical development of children, to the learning of patriotism, civil responsibility and respect for adults," the authors of the legislation said. (09:48 GMT) Civilians are being evacuated from the flashpoint eastern city of Sloviansk as Russian forces continue their relentless offensive in the Donbas region at the heart of the war. Sloviansk mayor Vadym Lyakh says 23,000 people out of a pre-war population of 110,000 have yet to leave but that people are being bussed out every day. (10:01 GMT) Russia's parliament has introduced harsh prison terms for cooperating with foreigners and calling to undermine national security. In a bill harkening to the Soviet era, establishing and maintaining "confidential" cooperation with a foreigner or international organisation and helping them act against Russia's interests will be punishable by up to eight years in prison. Public calls to act against Russia's security will be punished by up to seven years in prison. (10:03 GMT) The Kremlin has said it hoped that "more professional people" would come to power in the UK after the BBC reported Boris Johnson will resign as Conservative party leader. "We would like to hope that some day in Great Britain more professional people who can make decisions through dialogue will come to power," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (10:21 GMT) Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has met Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Bali for talks ahead of a G20 ministerial meeting overshadowed by Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (11:51 GMT) A Russian raid has killed at least one person and wounded several others in Kramatorsk, an administrative centre of Ukraine's eastern region under Russian attack. Russia has set its sights on Kramatorsk, the regional administrative capital of Donetsk region, and its twin city Sloviansk as it steps up its offensive in Ukraine's war-torn east. (11:56 GMT) A Russian missile has hit a tanker that has been drifting in the Black Sea for over four months and had been carrying diesel, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported, citing Ukraine's military which called the ship an "ecological bomb". The Moldova-flagged tanker Millennial Spirit has now been struck twice since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Ukraine's southern military command said when the vessel was struck the first time it had more than 500 tonnes of diesel on board. Since then, it had been drifting without a crew. (12:33 GMT) Kazakhstan's president has ordered officials to find oil export routes bypassing Russia in a move that risks deepening tensions that have emerged between the two countries over Ukraine. Kazakhstan has already seen two notable interruptions to its crude exports via a pipeline that unloads at the Russian Black Sea port of Novorossiysk in the months since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February. The route accounts for around three quarters of Kazakhstan's total oil exports and the stoppages have triggered speculation that the Kremlin might be punishing its Central Asian ally for its neutral stance on Ukraine. (12:52 GMT) Russian politicians are celebrating the downfall of Boris Johnson, casting the British leader as a "stupid clown" who had finally got his just reward for arming Ukraine against Russia. "He doesn't like us, we don't like him either," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said shortly before Johnson stood in Downing Street to announce his resignation. Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska said on Telegram that it was an "inglorious end" for a "stupid clown" whose conscience would be blighted by "tens of thousands of lives in this senseless conflict in Ukraine". "The clown is going," Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's lower house of parliament, said. "He is one of the main ideologues of the war against Russia until the last Ukrainian. European leaders should think about where such a policy leads. (12:56 GMT) In his speech announcing he was stepping down as Conservative Party leader but planned to stay on as prime minister until a replacement was picked, Johnson addressed the people of Ukraine, pledging that the United Kingdom would "continue to back your fight for freedom for as long as it takes". Johnson's support of Ukraine has been so staunch that he has been affectionately known as "Borys Johnsoniuk" by some in Kyiv. He sometimes ended his speeches with "Slava Ukraini" - or "glory to Ukraine". (13:53 GMT) American basketball player Brittney Griner has pleaded guilty in a Russian court to drugs charges and could face up to 10 years in prison, a Reuters news agency journalist reported from the courtroom. "I'd like to plead guilty, your honour. But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law," Griner said, speaking English which was then translated into Russian for the court. "I'd like to give my testimony later. I need time to prepare." (14:28 GMT) Russian forces now occupy about 22% of Ukraine's farmland since the invasion, impacting one of the major suppliers to global grain and edible oils markets, NASA has said. Satellite data analysed by scientists at the US space agency shows that Russia's occupation of eastern and southern Ukraine gives it control of land that produces 28% of the country's winter crops, mainly wheat, canola, barley, and rye, and 18 % of summer crops, mostly maize and sunflower. (15:01 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called Britain's leader Johnson to express his "sadness" over the UK leader's resignation as Conservative leader and impending departure as prime minister, Kyiv said. (15:17 GMT) The Ukrainian army claims it has regained control of the symbolic Snake Island in the Black Sea, after raising its flag there this week following the withdrawal of Russian forces. (16:46 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has met with two US senators in Kyiv, according to a statement from his office, which published images of the president with United State Senators Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. Zelenskyy spoke with them about Ukraine needing more air defenses before the scheduled start of its school year in September. "We must ensure such a level of security in the sky (so) that our people are not afraid to live in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said. (16:46 GMT) Zelenskyy has met with two US senators in Kyiv, according to a statement from his office, which published images of the president with United State Senators Lindsey Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut. Zelenskyy spoke with them about Ukraine needing more air defenses before the scheduled start of its school year in September. (17:23 GMT) Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher speaking from Kyiv says some of UK leader Johnson's critics in Downing street felt he used the war in Ukraine to "distract" from the problems at home. "There were those in the United Kingdom who believed that Boris Johnson's trips to Kyiv and also his phone calls to President Solinsky as some sort of political cover to use that to distract from problems at home." (17:42 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that if the West wanted to defeat Russia on the battlefield, it was welcome to try. Russia was just getting started in Ukraine, Putin said in a hawkish speech to parliamentary leaders, and the prospects for any negotiation would grow dimmer the longer the conflict dragged on. "Today we hear that they want to defeat us on the battlefield. What can you say, let them try," Putin said in televised remarks to parliamentary leaders. "We have heard many times that the West wants to fight us to the last Ukrainian. This is a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but it seems that everything is heading towards this. (18:16 GMT) Vladimir Putin on Thursday warned Kyiv and its Western allies that Moscow has not even started its military campaign in Ukraine "in earnest." "Everyone should know that we have not started in earnest yet," he told senior lawmakers. "At the same time we are not refusing to hold peace negotiations but those who are refusing should know that it will be harder to come to an agreement with us" at a later stage. (19:15 GMT) United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi has warned that Ukraine faces tremendous challenges after invading Russian forces destroyed thousands of homes while also traumatising residents, separating families and creating widespread anxiety during the conflict. "This war is also having a ripple effect, a global ripple effect around the world. Inflation, high prices, food shortages that are creating deep food insecurity in many parts of the world - in the Middle East, in Africa and Asia, even as far as Latin America - and energy challenges. So, all these impacts, all these effects of the Russian invasion and of the war in Ukraine, happen in places where there were already big humanitarian crises, big refugee crises." (19:40 GMT) NATO's Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana has said Western Balkan countries don't face an "imminent threat" from the war in Ukraine, and are of strategic interest to the Western alliance. "We have a strategic interest ... in the Western Balkans. I want to send a message of hope for all the people to the Western Balkans that ultimately all of us will find ourselves in the European and Euro-Atlantic family," (20:15 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he is determined that Germany will keep supporting Ukraine despite growing economic problems at home. (23:12 GMT) The White House has reaffirmed Washington's "strong alliance" with the United Kingdom, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation on Thursday. During a briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the United States and the UK will continue to work together on a range of issues, including support for Ukraine against "Putin's brutal war". 20220708 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/8/ukraine-russia-live-news-donetsk-locals-brace-for-more-attacks-liveblog (00:58 GMT) Ukraine's chief negotiator, Mykhailo Podolyak, has dismissed Putin's comments in which the Russian leader warned that if the West wanted to attempt to beat Russia on the battlefield, "the the last Ukrainian", it was welcome to try, but this would bring tragedy for Ukraine. (01:11 GMT) Speaking in barely a whisper in a video message issued on Instagram, Zelenskyy said he wanted to share his thoughts at one minute to midnight after 134 days of war. "We are Ukrainians, simple people, good people, peaceful people who have found themselves at the top of the world news as super heroes. But at what a price! All we wanted to do was live - free and in our own country." "But God has his own plan. And if the dragon that had half the world trembling is to be slain and if it befalls us to be the underdog who was given three days to survive and now we are fighting for the fifth month, that means we are able to do it." (01:55 GMT) Antonio Guterres has called for "multilateralism" between nations and blocs around the world to deal with ongoing issues including the coronavirus pandemic, climate change and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Our world is in big trouble. We still have the COVID among us," Guterres said. "Conflicts are multiplying and we have now the dramatic impact of the Russian invasion in Ukraine that has led to, independently of the suffering of the Ukrainian people, to a terrible crisis, both in food, in energy and in finance." "No country can solve these problems alone. We need more than ever, multilateralism, but not any kind of multilateralism, because no organisation can also solve the problems of this world alone. We need the networked multilateralism and the partnership between the EU and the UN is a fundamental pillar of this networked multilateralism," he said in New York. (02:01 GMT) China and Russia have maintained normal exchanges and promoted cooperation in various fields and cast aside any "interference", showing the "strong resilience" and "strategic resolve" of their relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Thursday. China will also support all efforts conducive to the peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis, Wang told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a meeting on the sidelines of a G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, according to a statement from the Chinese foreign ministry. (02:19 GMT) Brazil's president has said that the economic sanctions imposed by the West against Russia had not worked. "The economic barriers that the United States and Europe imposed against Russia did not work," Jair Bolsonaro told supporters, adding that his position towards Putin and the war "was one of balance". Bolsonaro said that stance had allowed him to acquire fertilisers, a key input for Brazil's vast agricultural sector, from Russia. He also said Russia shared Brazil's concerns over "sovereignty" of the Amazon.The president has often described criticism by other nations of his stewardship of the rainforest as an infringement on Brazil's sovereignty. Bolsonaro's comments are likely to go down badly with the United States and many European countries, which have previously criticised Brazil's engagement with Russia. In June, Bolsonaro and Putin discussed global food security in a phone call, and confirmed their intention to strengthen their strategic partnership. (02:46 GMT) Indonesia's top diplomat has called on the G20 to "find ways to move forward" and end the war in Ukraine sooner rather than later during a speech to open the meeting of foreign ministers from the group. "It is our responsibility to end the war sooner than later and settle our differences at the negotiating table, not at the battlefield," Retno Marsudi said. (03:09 GMT) The audience of the G20 meeting was heard shouting "When will you stop the war?" on the arrival of Russia's Lavrov. Another shouted "Why wouldn't you stop the war?" as Lavrov shook hands with Indonesia's foreign minister. Underlining tensions in the buildup, Indonesia's Retno said earlier that G7 counterparts had informed her they could not join Thursday's welcome dinner where Lavrov was present, decisions the host nation understood and respected. (03:30 GMT) Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashiis stayed away from the G20 reception in view of the international community's opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a government spokesperson has said. (05:05 GMT) China's military recently held multi-unit joint combat readiness exercises, patrols and combat drills in the sea and airspace around Taiwan, the Eastern Theatre Command of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has said in a statement, as a senior US senator visited Taipei for a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen. The exercises were organised in response to "collusion and provocations" by the United States and Taiwan, Wu Qian, spokesman for China's ministry of defence said, according to the ministry's official Weibo account. (05:22 GMT) While Russia's operative goal in Ukraine's Donbas has shifted to capturing Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Moscow's more immediate "tactical objective" is likely to be the town of Siversk, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. "Russia is likely concentrating equipment on the front line in the direction of Siversk, approximately 8km west of the current Russian front line," the ministry said. (05:35 GMT) A senior US Senator has told journalists in Taiwan he believes "the world has changed" following Russia's actions in Ukraine. "We all have to put ourselves in a position that we can make sure we defend the freedom we all believe in," Rick Scott said after meeting with Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen. Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said Scott's visit to Taiwan had seriously undermined Sino-US relations and escalated tensions in the Taiwan Strait. "The Chinese People's Liberation Army is ready for war at all times, and will take all necessary measures to resolutely thwart the interference of external forces and the secessionist attempts of 'Taiwan independence', and resolutely defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity," Wu said. (05:50 GMT) Russia is ready to negotiate with Ukraine and Turkey about grain but it is unclear when such talks might take place, Sergei Lavrov has said. (06:06 GMT) A senior Russian lawmaker has said that Moscow would take control of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in which ExxonMobil, Japan's SODECO and India's ONGC Videsh are partners, a week after taking over the neighbouring Sakhalin-2. (06:08 GMT) Russia's Lavrov has dismissed what he cast as the West's "frenzied" criticism of the war in Ukraine at the G20 meeting, scolding Russia's rivals for scuppering a chance to tackle global economic issues. "During the discussion, Western partners avoided following the mandate of the G20, from dealing with issues of the world economy," Lavrov said. He said the West's discussion "strayed almost immediately, as soon as they took the floor, to the frenzied criticism of the Russian Federation in connection with the situation in Ukraine. 'Aggressors', 'invaders', 'occupiers' - we heard a lot of things today," Lavrov said. (06:46 GMT) Russian forces continue to mercilessly shell areas of the Luhansk region to make their advance into Donetsk, the Luhansk governor has said. "From all types of heavy weapons, they do not stop firing on Bilohorivka and Zolotarivka," Serhiy Haidai said about two villages near the border. (07:02 GMT) The Federation Council, the upper chamber of Russia's parliament, has barred UK diplomats, including the ambassador, from accessing its building, Russian news agencies report. (07:52 GMT) Speaking at the G20 meetings, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed Russia directly and called on Moscow to let Ukrainian grain out to the world, a Western official has said. "He addressed Russia directly, saying: 'To our Russian colleagues: Ukraine is not your country. Its grain is not your grain. Why are you blocking the ports? You should let the grain out,'" said the official who did not want to be otherwise identified. (08:52 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov walked out of the Group of 20 session as his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock was criticising Moscow over the Ukraine war, diplomats have said. Diplomats said Lavrov later also left an afternoon session before a virtual appearance by Ukraine's foreign minister and was not present as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned Russia in the closed-door meeting in Bali. (09:06 GMT) More than four months of war has destroyed countless cities and towns in Ukraine. Its allies, though, want to start rebuilding as soon as possible. More than 40 nations and international organisations have outlined priorities for the reconstruction of Ukraine. They met in the Swiss city of Lugano, and agreed on the Lugano Principles. But it's no small task. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal estimates rebuilding costs will reach $750 billion. With the war still raging, isn't this discussion a little premature? (09:36 GMT) Russian forces have destroyed two British-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missile systems in Ukraine's Odesa region overnight, Russia's defence ministry has said in a briefing. The US-designed missile systems are one of several weapons supplied to Ukraine by NATO countries since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. (10:16 GMT) A Moscow court sentenced a city councillor to seven years in prison for denouncing President Vladimir Putin's Ukraine intervention, an AFP news agency reporter has said. Alexei Gorinov, 60, was found guilty of spreading "knowingly false information" about the Russian army in Ukraine. He appeared in court with a poster that read: "Do you still need this war?" (10:22 GMT) Russia will defeat Ukrainian forces in the whole of the eastern Donbas region and is unlikely to withdraw from a vast swath of land across Ukraine's southern coast, Russia's ambassador to London told the Reuters news agency. "We are going to liberate all of the Donbas," Andrei Kelin told Reuters in an interview in his London residence. Sooner or later, Kelin said, Ukraine would have to decide: strike a peace deal with Russia or "continue slipping down this hill" to ruin. (13:30 GMT) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador says his administration would maintain its neutral stance on the Ukraine-Russia conflict after his upcoming meeting with US President Joe Biden. Lopez Obrador was asked a series of questions at a news conference about how his visit next week to Washington could affect Mexico's position on the conflict. He said Mexico would stay neutral, and that he hoped there would be a ceasefire. (14:22 GMT) The West's plan to isolate Russia at the G20 summit over Russia's military offensive in Ukraine did not work out, the foreign ministry has said. "The G-7's plan to boycott Russia at the G-20 has failed," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on messaging app Telegram. She also accused Germany's foreign minister of "lying" after Annalena Baerbock criticised Moscow for blocking dialogue with international partners. (16:23 GMT) Russia warned Lithuania and the EU on Friday that it could adopt "harsh measures" against them if the transit of some goods to and from the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad did not resume. In a statement, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said, "If the situation does not stabilise in the coming days, then Russia will take harsh measures against Lithuania and the European Union." The issue has taken "too long to resolve", she added. (16:37 GMT) Canada has announced new sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, targeting the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, and other individuals accused of spreading disinformation. The new package targets 29 individuals accused of being "state-sponsored disinformation and propaganda agents" and 15 Russian government-controlled entities "involved in disinformation efforts", according to a statement by Canadian foreign minister, Mélanie Joly. Sumbatovich Gasparyan, the head of the international department of the Russian state-owned media outlet RT, is among those newly sanctioned. The latest announcement brings to more than 1,150 the total number of individuals and entities in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus that Canada has sanctioned since the beginning of the war. (17:00 GMT) A Ukrainian regional official has warned of deteriorating living conditions in Severodonetsk, which was captured by Russian forces two weeks ago, saying is without water, power or a working sewage system while the bodies of the dead decompose in hot apartment buildings. (17:47 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainians feel "personal gratitude" towards Boris Johnson for the support he gave them during the war with Russia. The British prime minister's resignation announcement had been "the main topic in our country", Ukraine's president said. "We all heard this news with sadness," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after Johnson announced his resignation Thursday. "Not only me, but also the entire Ukrainian society, which is very sympathetic to you." Since the Russian invasion began on February 24, Johnson has pledged $2.8bn of military aid to Ukraine, including armoured vehicles and anti-tank missiles. He also dispatched economic support, guaranteeing millions in World Bank loans for the country. (19:07 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of possible "catastrophic consequences" of Western sanctions on the global energy market. "Continuing to use the politics of sanctions can lead to even more serious, without exaggeration, catastrophic, consequences on the world energy market," he said during televised government meeting. (19:50 GMT) The US will send another $400 million in military equipment to Ukraine, including four more advanced rocket systems, a senior defense official has said, in an effort to bolster Ukrainian efforts to strike deeper behind Russian frontlines in the eastern Donbas region. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/8/us-to-send-more-himars-advanced-rocket-systems-to-ukraine (20:11 GMT) Ukraine's president has thanked his counterpart Joe Biden for "continuing effective support" for his country in its fight against Russia, including new supply of HIMARS launchers. 20220716 A Ukrainian-owned Antonov cargo-plane was carrying 11.5 tons of explosive weapons "manufactured in Serbia", when it crashed in Northern Greece, killing all the eight crew and causing hours of fires and explosions. Apparently it was bound for BanglaDesh, with stopovers in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. This is hard to analyse... Ukraine and Jordan are American puppets, but Serbia and BanglaDesh are not. It seems surprising that Ukraine did not need the weapons itself. It might make more sense if it was operated by someone in the Russian part of Ukraine ... 20220717 UK defence ministry say that 50,000 Russian troops have been killed in Ukraine, a third of its armed forces, and that Russia is resorting more and more to civilian conscripts to replace them, Zelensky has fired the and the prosecuter-general 20220718 (23:45 GMT) The United States will keep up intelligence exchanges with Ukraine despite recent personnel changes in Zelenskyy's inner circle, the US State Department has said. Zelenskyy sidelined his childhood friend as head of Ukraine's security service and another close ally as top prosecutor in Kyiv's biggest internal purge of the war, citing their failure to root out Russian spies. 20220719 (00:14 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has arrived in Tehran in the early hours of Tuesday, ahead of talks with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Erdogan and Putin will meet in Tehran to discuss a deal aimed at resuming Ukraine's grain exports through the Black Sea and Erdogan's threat to launch another operation in northern Syria, which Moscow opposes. (00:47 GMT) Ukraine's state oil and gas company Naftogaz is working with the government to raise $8bn in funds to buy an additional four billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas to get through the 2022-23 heating season, its CEO Yuriy Vitrenko said. (01:11 GMT) United States intelligence was vital in building support for Ukraine ahead of Russia's invasion earlier this year, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. "You had confidence long before it happened that President Putin planned to launch this second military assault on Ukraine," Blinken told employees at the Department of National Intelligence. "The fact that we were able, and you were able, to get to a place where we could downgrade and declassify an unprecedented amount of intelligence, made all the difference in building that coalition so that we were ready to go on day one and we had the world with us," he said. (01:27 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expanded the shake-up of his security services by suspending 28 more officials. The suspensions came a day after he dismissed two senior officials over allegations their agencies harboured "collaborators and traitors". (02:05 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine's armed forces inflicted "significant" losses on Russian logistics in the occupied territories. (02:43 GMT) Putin's effort to shield ethnic Russians from high levels of mobilisation may trigger resistance in some ethnic enclaves that are disproportionately bearing the burden of war, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. ISW previously noted the prevalence of non-ethnic Russian battalions fighting in Ukraine, which include troops from Chechnya, South Ossetia, Tuva, Tartarstan, Bashkortostan, and Chuvashia and others. In its latest campaign assessment, the ISW pointed to Russian Telegram channel Rybar's recently released report about an anti-war organisation comprised of activists from the Tuvan ethnic minority enclave. (03:20 GMT) Russian forces have kept up their bombardment of cities across Ukraine, with intense shelling of Sumy in the north, cluster bombs targeting Mykolaiv and a missile attack in Odesa in the south, authorities have said. A Russian missile raid injured at least four people in Odesa, burned houses to the ground and set other homes on fire, Oleksii Matsulevych, a spokesperson for the regional administration, said on his Telegram channel. (05:15 GMT) Greece has protested to Ukraine and Serbia for not being informed in a timely manner about the munition cargo of a plane that took off from Serbia but crashed near the Greek city of Kavala while en route to Bangladesh, local sources have said. (06:14 GMT) Russian forces shelled the southern district of Nikopol and its neighbouring district of Kryvirizky (Kryvyi Rih) in the Dnipropetrovsk region overnight, the regional governor has said. (06:47 GMT) The Russian-installed head of the military-civil administration of Ukraine's occupied Kherson region has said that almost all "sabotage intelligence groups" in Kherson have been "destroyed". "Regarding the sabotage and intelligence groups, the attempt on me, my colleagues, the murders of my colleagues, I will say frankly: almost all groups have been destroyed, their accomplices are in prisons," Russia's state news agency TASS quoted Kirill Stremousov as having said. (08:16 GMT) Germany's chemical industry has already done everything it can to conserve gas use, chemical association VCI has said, warning that the only steps left for the industry would be to scale back or abandon production altogether. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/19/gazprom-tells-european-buyers-gas-supply-halt-beyond-its (09:23 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its forces destroyed ammunition depots in Ukraine's southern Odesa region that were storing weapons supplied to Kyiv by the United States and European countries. The ministry did not say how many depots it had destroyed or what weapons were being stored there, and the claim could not be immediately independently verified. Ukrainian officials had said earlier on Tuesday that a Russian missile attack had injured at least four people in the Dachne village in Odesa. (10:09 GMT) The European Commission has proposed spending $512 million (500 million Euroes) to finance joint defence purchases among member states to replenish weapons stocks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. EU countries "have drawn on their stocks of ammunition, light and heavy artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank defence systems, and even armoured vehicles and tanks," European Commissioner Thierry Breton said. "This has created a de facto vulnerability that now needs to be addressed urgently," he said. (10:28 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has dismissed the domestic security chief and prosecutor general, two days after President Zelenskyy suspended them saying they had failed to root out employees collaborating with Russia. Ivan Bakanov was fired from his position leading Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) by a comfortable majority, several legislators said on the Telegram messaging app. The head of Zelenskyy's political faction said Iryna Venediktova had also been voted out as prosecutor general. (11:59 GMT) The Russian invasion of Ukraine has destroyed and uprooted the ethnic Greek minority in the southeastern Donetsk region, the third largest ethnic group in the area after Ukrainians and Russians. aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/19/how-russia-decimated-mariupols-greek-diaspora (12:40 GMT) Ukrainian shelling of a hydroelectric power station in Russian-controlled territory in southern Ukraine could lead to a complete shutdown of navigation on the Dnieper River, the country's largest waterway, the TASS news agency has reported, citing Russian-installed authorities in the occupied Kherson region. Russian forces took the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in the Kherson region just north of Russian-annexed Crimea in the first days of Russia's invasion. (13:45 GMT) A Russian natural gas embargo would cause deep recessions in Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Italy unless countries can cooperate more to share alternative supplies, the International Monetary Fund has said. IMF researchers in a blog posting predicted that some countries could face shortages of as much as 40 % of their normal gas consumption in the event of a total cut-off of Russian gas. Hungary would suffer the most economically from such an embargo, with a reduction of more than 6 % in gross domestic product, while Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Italy could see GDP shrink by 5 % if alternate gas supplies, including liquefied natural gas, is impeded from flowing freely to where it is needed. (14:22 GMT) The CEO of Turkey's Baykar, which makes the drones being widely used by Ukraine against Russian forces, has ruled out supplying the Bayraktar TB2 to Moscow. In an interview with CNN on Monday, Haluk Bayraktar said Ukraine is "under very heavy aggression and disproportionate attacks". When pressed by CNN presenter Julia Chatterley, who repeatedly asked, "Would you supply Russia?", Bayraktar responded, "We have not delivered or supplied them with anything, [and] we will as well never do such a thing because we support Ukraine, support its sovereignty, its resistance for its independence." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/19/turkish-firm-wont-supply-uavs-widely-used-by-ukraine-to-russia (15:02 GMT) Ukraine has joined the US-aligned International Energy Agency as an association country, the watchdog announced, binding Kyiv closer to the mostly Western countries which oppose Russia's invasion. The Paris-based IEA consists of 31 big energy consuming member countries but not Russia and has a second tier of 11 so-called association states such as China, India and Indonesia. (15:59 GMT) A panel of retired military leaders from the United States, Canada and the Netherlands will advise a pro-Ukraine campaign on the procurement of protective gear for Ukrainian defence forces, a Canada-based nonprofit group has said. The panel of four includes former commander of US forces in Afghanistan David Petraeus and former NATO commander Wesley Clark, as well as former Dutch defence chief Dick Lodewijk Berlijn, according to the Ukrainian World Congress (UWC). (16:44 GMT) The EU is preparing to carve out exceptions in its sanctions against Moscow that would unblock assets at Russian banks linked to trade in food and fertiliser according to a document, AFP news agency has reported. Member countries "want to make it abundantly clear that there is nothing in the sanctions that is slowing the transport of grain out of Russia or Ukraine," an EU diplomat told AFP on condition of anonymity. (18:09 GMT) Another six French-made Caesar artillery guns promised to Ukraine by President Emmanuel Macron in June are "on their way" to the war-torn country, France's foreign minister has said. "Twelve of the guns, prized for their accuracy and mobility, have already been delivered to Ukraine and "the six others are on their way," Catherine Colonna told a Senate commission. "At the national level, France is fully committed even though we communicate less than others what we are doing," Colonna added. "We made the decision to not communicate all of our military contribution." (18:51 GMT) Gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline have showed a rise in flows ahead of the scheduled end of annual maintenance on Thursday, as the operator carried out pressure tests. Hourly flows through the pipeline, the main source of natural gas fuelling Europe's largest economy, Germany, have been at zero since July 11, when 10 days of maintenance began. (19:10 GMT) Russian forces have made further gains in terrain in the fighting around the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, according to Ukrainian sources. "The enemy has carried out an assault in the Pokrovskoe area, achieving partial success, and is entrenching itself on the southern edge of the locality," the Ukrainian general staff said in its situation report. Pokrovskoe is a settlement 10 kilometres east of the important transport hub of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The line Siversk-Soledar-Bakhmut is considered Ukraine's next line of defence in front of the major cities of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk. (19:33 GMT) US President Biden and first lady Jill Biden have welcomed the first lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, to the White House for a visit in advance of her address to Congress on Wednesday. In May, Jill Biden had previously made a surprise visit to Ukraine, visiting her counterpart and a school that was sheltering displaced Ukrainians. (19:54 GMT) Russian President Putin has said Moscow and Turkey were "satisfied" by their meeting in Istanbul last week where the sides discussed grain exports via the Black Sea. Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations are expected to sign a deal later this week aimed at resuming the shipping of grain from Ukraine across the Black Sea. (23:54 GMT) Zelenskyy fires another top official Zelenskyy says he has dismissed a deputy head of the domestic security service (SBU) and appointed several new regional heads for the unit, two days after he suspended the domestic security chief and prosecutor general for failing to root out Russian spies. "The renewal of the vertical power of the state is in progress. Today I appointed new heads of regional offices of the Security Service of Ukraine in the Zakarpattia, Poltava, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk and Kharkiv regions. I also dismissed one of the deputy heads of the Security Service of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. (23:55 GMT) Russian President Putin has said Moscow did not see any desire from Ukraine to fulfil the terms of what he described as a preliminary peace deal agreed to in March. Putin, speaking to reporters in televised comments after a visit to Iran, said Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates were offering to mediate between Russia and Ukraine. Asked about a possible meeting with Zelenskyy, Putin said Kyiv had not stuck to the terms of a preliminary peace deal he said had been "practically achieved" in March. "The final result of course ... depends on the willingness of the contracting parties to implement the agreements that were reached. Today we see the powers in Kyiv have no such desire." 20220720 (00:37 GMT) Putin has said it is the West's own fault the flow of Russian natural gas to European customers has dwindled and warned that it could continue ebbing. Speaking to Russian reporters in Tehran, Putin said the amount of gas pumped through the Nord Stream pipeline to Germany will fall further from 60 million to 30 million cubic meters a day, or about one fifth of its capacity, if a turbine isn't quickly replaced. The Russian leader also warned the West that its plan to cap the prices of Russian oil as part of its sanctions over Ukraine will destabilise the global oil market and make prices soar. "We are hearing some crazy ideas about restricting the volumes of Russian oil and capping the Russian oil price," he said. "The result will be the same - a rise in prices. Prices will skyrocket." (00:44 GMT) The Belarusian finance ministry has said Western sanctions that have limited Minsk's ability to deal in foreign currencies are pushing the country into default despite Minsk being able to service its debts. Belarus did not pay the coupon on its 2027 Eurobond due on June 29. Following the expiry of a 14-day grace period, global rating agency Fitch on Monday downgraded Belarus' long-term foreign currency rating to "restricted default" from "C". Minsk had said earlier that it was ready to pay the external obligations in the local currency, the Belarusian rouble. "A paradoxical situation is emerging. There is an issuer - the Ministry of Finance, which is ready to work directly with the (bond) owners in order to fulfil obligations, despite the existing restrictions on making payments through international payment systems," the ministry said in a statement. (00:53 GMT) Portugal's Sines port is ready to start onward shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG), which arrives in large tankers and will be transferred to smaller vessels to head to other European states, a government spokesman has said. (01:09 GMT) Albania and North Macedonia began membership talks with the European Union on Tuesday, overcoming a series of obstacles thrown up by EU governments despite an original promise to begin negotiations in mid-2018. The start of formal negotiations to allow the two Balkan countries to eventually join the world's largest trading bloc are a breakthrough but have revealed the EU's lack of appetite for further enlargement, particularly in northern Europe. Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Montenegro, Albania and North Macedonia have all been promised a place in the EU, once they fulfil tough economic, political, military, social and legal reforms. (03:34 GMT) Russia's ambassador to North Korea has suggested the country's construction workers can be sent to occupied Donbas to help rebuild. Alexander Matsegora told the Russian Izvestia newspaper that the North Koreans were "highly qualified, hard working and ready to work in the most difficult conditions". North Korea recognised the Kremlin-backed Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics as "independent" last week. (03:57 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says Russian nationalist and pro-war voices calling for what Moscow calls a "special operation" in Ukraine to be redesignated a war have reached a "crescendo". The US-based think tank says nationalist pro-military bloggers want the Kremlin to expand its war aims, and mobilise the state fully for war. The ISW report is on Twitter. (05:01 GMT) Russia is laying the groundwork for the annexation of Ukrainian territory, according to the White House. John Kirby, the chief spokesman for the National Security Council, says Moscow is preparing to install proxy officials, establish the rouble as the default currency and force residents to apply for citizenship. (05:51 GMT) Russia's offensive in Ukraine's Donbas region continues to make minimal gains as Ukrainian forces hold the line, the British military intelligence has said. The Antonovskiy bridge over the Dnieper River, one of two road crossing points over which Russian troops can supply or withdraw forces in the territory, is likely still usable. "It is highly likely that the bridge remains usable - but it is a key vulnerability for Russian Forces," it said in a regular bulletin. The authorities in the Russian-occupied Kherson region reported the bridge had been hit on July 19. (06:43 GMT) Syria has announced it is severing ties with Ukraine in support of its close ally Russia, saying the move was a response to a similar move by Kyiv. "The Syrian Arab Republic has decided to break diplomatic relations with Ukraine in conformity with the principle of reciprocity and in response to the decision of the Ukrainian government," a foreign ministry official, who was not identified, told the state news agency SANA. Ukraine already announced it was severing ties late last month after Syria recognised the Russian-backed breakaway republics of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine. (07:09 GMT) The European Union will set out emergency plans to reduce gas demand within months, warning countries that without deep cuts now they could struggle for fuel during winter if Russia cuts off deliveries, according to a draft of the EU plan seen by Reuters. EU officials said the target would be for a 10-15% cut in gas use. The proposal, which could change before it is published, proposes a voluntary target for countries to cut their gas demand over the next eight months. It could be made legally binding in a supply emergency, despite resistance from countries including Poland who feel their contingency plans do not need intervention from Brussels. (07:38 GMT) Ukraine intends to postpone repayment of its Eurobonds and payments of interest on them for 24 months from August 1, according to a government resolution. The government instructed the finance ministry to hold negotiations with creditors on deferring payments by August 15 and promised additional interest on postponed payments. (07:53 GMT) Ukrainian forces have struck and seriously damaged a bridge that is key for supplying Russian troops in southern Ukraine, a regional official has said. Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Moscow-backed temporary administration for the Russia-controlled southern Kherson region, said the Ukrainian military struck the bridge across the Dnipro River with missiles 11 times. (08:19 GMT) Eastbound gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany have fallen while nominations for Russian gas flows into Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point remained steady, operator data has shown. Exit flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border stood at 2,527,804 kWh/h on Wednesday morning versus levels around 4,000,000 kWh/h the previous day, according to data from pipeline operator Gascade. (09:14 GMT) Russia's communications watchdog has said it is taking steps to punish the Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, for violating Russian law around the conflict in Ukraine. In a statement, Roskomnadzor said that Wikipedia still hosted "prohibited materials, including fakes about the course of the special military operation on the territory of Ukraine", and that search engines would be used to inform users that Wikimedia violated Russian law. (09:33 GMT) The deputy chairman of Russia's central bank says it has proposed limiting access to foreign stocks for retail investors who have not passed a qualification test. Philip Gabunia also said more than five million people in Russia have assets on their accounts frozen as a result of sweeping Western sanctions designed to punish Russia for what it terms its "special military operation" in Ukraine. (09:47 GMT) The governor of Russia's western Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, says Kyiv's forces have shelled a border crossing in the area. Roman Starovoit said in a Telegram post that border guards had suppressed the attack with "return fire". He added there were no casualties as a result of the shelling but said three settlements had been left without electricity because of damage inflicted on power lines. (10:00 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops fighting in Ukraine, according to his ministry. The ministry shared footage of Shoigu meeting with military commanders and said he had received details concerning the current situation on the frontline from the head of the Zapad military group, Andrei Sychevy. The ministry also said Shoigu had given orders to commanders telling them to destroy Ukrainian drones operating near Russia's borders and do more to prevent Kyiv's forces from shelling areas they had lost control of. (10:15 GMT) Authorities in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), a Moscow-backed breakaway region in eastern Ukraine, have ordered the establishment of an 18-person embassy in Russia, according to a report by Russia's TASS news agency. TASS cited the LPR government as saying the move would see "employees of the LPR foreign ministry's overseas facilities" stationed in Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin formally recognised the LPR and another breakaway region in eastern Ukraine - the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) - as independent just days before ordering Moscow's forces into Ukraine on February 24. (23:25 GMT) The United States estimates that Russian casualties in Ukraine so far have reached about 15,000 killed and perhaps 45,000 wounded, the director of the CIA has said, cautioning that Kyiv has endured significant losses as well. "The latest estimates from the US intelligence community would be something in the vicinity of 15,000 [Russian forces] killed and maybe three times that wounded. So a quite significant set of losses," William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. (23:29 GMT) Russia will not export oil to the world market if the price is capped below the cost of production, the Interfax news agency has quoted Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak as telling Russian television. (23:56 GMT) NATO forces from 19 countries were in Grafenwoehr, Germany on Wednesday for a multinational artillery exercise. According to organisers, around 2,400 troops from the United States, United Kingdom, and across Europe took part in the Dynamic Front 22 exercises aiming to "increase readiness, lethality and interoperability" in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 20220721 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/20/russia-ukraine-live-news (00:32 GMT) The head of Germany's energy regulator has said the Nord Stream 1 pipeline would resume at around 30% capacity when its maintenance period ends on July 21. Federal Network Agency chief Klaus Mueller said Russia's Gazprom had renominated the gas flows to around 530 gigawatts hour per day. (01:14 GMT) Moscow-installed officials in Ukraine's occupied south-eastern city of Enerhodar have started handing out Russian passports to local residents, Russia's state news agency RIA has reported. (01:42 GMT) Ukraine's western creditor governments have urged bondholders to accept Kyiv's request for a two-year delay on its debt payments and said they would suspend payments owed to them. The Ukrainian government published a resolution on Wednesday saying it would ask international bondholders to agree to a two-year delay on its debt payments so it can focus its dwindling financial resources on repelling Russia. (02:12 GMT) China appears determined on using force in Taiwan, with Russia's experience in Ukraine affecting Beijing's calculations on when and how - not whether - to invade, the head of the CIA has said. Bill Burns said that China likely saw in Ukraine that "you don't achieve quick, decisive victories with underwhelming force." (02:21 GMT) The head of the United Nations body promoting development is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine have led to "an unprecedented reversal" of decades of progress in combatting global poverty and hunger, and ensuring quality education for children everywhere. (02:25 GMT) Russia's central bank will allow banks from designated "unfriendly countries" to trade between foreign currencies on the Russian forex markets, the regulator has said. Moscow has labelled countries that hit it with sanctions as "unfriendly" - a list that includes the entire European Union, United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Australia and others. The bank also abolished a 30% limit on advance payments to non-residents on import contracts for some services - part of currency controls introduced after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, triggering a raft of Western sanctions. (02:39 GMT) US President Joe Biden has said that military officials believe it's "not a good idea" for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to visit Taiwan at the moment. Biden's comments in an exchange with reporters came a day after the Chinese Foreign Ministry said it would take "resolute and strong measures" should Pelosi proceed with reported plans to visit Taiwan in the coming weeks. (05:10 GMT) Several cities in the Donetsk region were shelled on Wednesday, the regional governor has said, and two schools were destroyed. The schools were destroyed in the cities of Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka, Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram. (05:22 GMT) Natural gas has started flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe after a 10-day shutdown for maintenance, the operator said, but the gas flow was expected to fall well short of full capacity. (06:25 GMT) Russian forces are likely closing in on Ukraine's second biggest power plant at Vuhlehirsk, 50 kilometres northeast of Donetsk, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. (08:18 GMT) UK Foreign Secretary and leadership candidate Liz Truss says she does not support the direct involvement of British troops in Ukraine. (08:18 GMT) Swiss-Swedish engineering giant ABB said it will quit Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine and the related international sanctions against Moscow. Russia accounts for only one or two% of ABB's overall annual turnover and the decision to pull out will have an estimated financial impact in the second quarter of around $57m, the group calculated. (09:28 GMT) Ukraine's central bank has devalued the official hryvnia exchange rate to protect its foreign reserves as Russia's invasion ravages the economy. The National Bank of Ukraine said in a statement that it was devaluing the official exchange rate from 29.25 hryvnia to the dollar to 36.57 hryvnia in order to boost the competitiveness of Ukrainian products and boost economic stability while the war continued. (09:44 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down a Ukrainian SU-25 military plane near Kramatorsk in eastern Ukraine. (10:05 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there has been no contact with the United States over peace talks with Ukraine. "The American administration forbids its wards in Kyiv to even think about talks with us, and evidently forces them to fight to the last Ukrainian," Zakharova told reporters. Peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have been frozen since early April, when ceasefire talks brokered by Turkey in Istanbul collapsed. (10:25 GMT) The Kremlin said that Moscow hopes that Britain's next prime minister will adopt a level-headed position towards Russia. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "We hope that the future prime minister of Great Britain will lean towards more balanced rhetoric towards our country." Former finance minister Rishi Sunak and foreign secretary Liz Truss will battle it out to become Britain's next prime minister after they won the final lawmaker vote, setting up the last stage of the contest to replace Boris Johnson. (10:46 GMT) The UK will send scores of artillery guns and more than 1,600 anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in the latest supply of Western arms to help bolster its defence against Russia, UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. The uplift comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson last month promised another 1 billion pounds ($1.2bn) of military support to Ukraine. Wallace said the UK would also provide counter-battery radar systems, hundreds of drones and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition. The UK has already supplied Ukraine with a range of military equipment, including almost 7,000 anti-tank weapons, hundreds of missiles and armoured fighting vehicles, and has also been training Ukrainian soldiers. (11:22 GMT) Gas delivery problems caused by EU restrictions, says Kremlin The Kremlin said gas delivery problems to Europe were caused by sanctions that create "technical difficulties", as the Nord Stream pipeline reopened after maintenance but with a reduced flow. "Any technical difficulties linked to this are caused by those restrictions that European countries introduced themselves," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He said accusations that Moscow was using gas deliveries as political blackmail were "completely" unfounded. (11:39 GMT) HSBC has agreed to sell its Russian business to Expobank, signing a deal shortly before Moscow said it would move to block the sale of foreign banks' Russian businesses in retaliation for restrictions imposed on its own lenders. "Following a strategic review, HSBC has signed an agreement to sell 100 % of its participating interests in HSBC Bank (RR) LLC to Expobank JSC," a spokesperson for the bank told Reuters by email. Completion of the deal would represent HSBC's formal exit from Russia but the bank said the transaction was still subject to regulatory approvals in Russia. (12:01 GMT) The Kremlin says President Putin is in good health, dismissing what it called false reports he was unwell. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/21/kremlin-says-putin-healthy-dismisses-illness-rumours (12:15 GMT) Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto will travel to Moscow on Thursday to discuss purchasing more Russian gas on behalf of his country, Hungary's ruling Fidesz party said. Moscow will "consider" Budapest's request for more gas this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said, as Russia seeks to develop its "strategic" ties with Hungary. (14:55 GMT) Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has said Russia, Ukraine and the West must agree to halt the Ukraine conflict to avoid the "abyss of nuclear war" and insisted Kyiv should accept Moscow's demands. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/21/ukraine-war-must-end-to-prevent-nuclear-war-abyss-lukashenko (15:33 GMT) Russia has restored critical gas supplies to Europe through Germany via the Nord Stream pipeline after 10 days of maintenance. Klaus Mueller, head of Germany's energy regulator, said gas flows were n track to return to 40% of the pipeline's capacity, the same reduced level as before the maintenance work. "But given the missing 60% (of supply) and political instability, there is no reason to sound the all-clear," he tweeted. (17:18 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will travel to Istanbul on Thursday, a UN spokesperson said as UN and Turkish officials seek to get a deal with Russia and Ukraine in writing to resume Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports. (19:52 GMT) University of Birmingham Professor Stefan Wolff says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comments that Moscow's military goals go beyond the Donbas region must be taken "very seriously". "This is not the first time that Russia has made similar claims. Three months ago, Russia revealed the so-called 'stage two' of its 'special military operation' ... that actually included not only those two regions [Donestsk and Luhansk] that Lavrov has emphasised as part of Russia's aspirations ... but in fact, the entire Black Sea coast of Ukraine, stretching all the way to Moldova," he told Al Jazeera from Birmingham. "So, I think this is still very much on the Russian agenda. And we need to take these claims very seriously." (20:20 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that the latest round of European Union sanctions were illegitimate and would have "devastating consequences" for security and parts of the global economy. "The European Union is continuing to drive itself into a dead end with enviable persistence," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. 20220722 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/22/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-closing-in-on-power-plant (06:38 GMT) Russian forces appear to be closing in on Ukraine's second-biggest power plant in a bid to seize critical infrastructure, Britain has said. In a daily intelligence update, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Ukrainian forces were continuing to repel an assault on the Vuhlehirsk power plant, 50km northeast of Donetsk. (07:46 GMT) Warsaw's defence minister has said Poland will buy 48 FA-50 fighter jets, the first instalment of 180 K2 Black Panther tanks and howitzers from South Korea, as the country seeks to strengthen its army because of the war in Ukraine. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has raised security fears among many former eastern bloc countries. (08:04 GMT) Britain will supply dozens of artillery guns, hundreds of drones and hundreds more anti-tank weapons to Ukraine in the coming weeks, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said. Wallace announced in an update to Parliament that more than 20 M109 155 millimetres self-propelled guns and 36 L119 105mm artillery guns will soon reach Ukraine. Counter-battery radar systems and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition for Kyiv's existing Soviet-era artillery will follow, he added. London will also send more than 1,600 more anti-tank weapons in the coming weeks, along with drones, including hundreds of loitering aerial munitions. (08:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its forces destroyed four US-supplied HIMARS rocket systems between July 5-20. "Four launchers and one transport-loading vehicle for the US-made multiple launch rocket systems [HIMARS] were destroyed," the ministry said in a daily briefing. The claim came two days after Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said none of the HIMARS systems supplied to Kyiv by Washington had been "eliminated". (09:26 GMT) The goal of Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria to become a part of Russia remains unaffected by the war in neighbouring Ukraine, the region's foreign minister has told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. "The vector of Transnistria has remained unchanged throughout the republic's existence - reflected in the results of the referendum on September 17, 2006, where it is clearly stated: independence with free accession to the Russian Federation," RIA quoted Vitaly Ignatiev as saying. (09:57 GMT) A breakaway region of eastern Ukraine have blocked access to the search engine Google, citing alleged "disinformation". In a message posted on his Telegram channel, Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), accused Google of promoting "violence against all Russians" and said that its "handlers from the US government" were to blame. (10:11 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu will be in Turkey to sign a UN-backed deal with Ukraine over grain exports, the Kremlin has said. The deal is expected to be formalised in Istanbul, at the Dolmabahce Palace offices, on Friday at 13:30 GMT. Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, says the grain deal between Russia and Ukraine is expected to include a number of specific items relating to oversight. "The first is the establishment of a joint control and coordination centre in Istanbul to audit the safety of this export mechanism from Ukraine to world markets," Koseoglu said. "Another detail will concern the inspection of ships, as Russia is concerned that weapons might be brought via ships to Ukraine and Ukraine is concerned about the safety of its grain deliveries to world markets," she added. (10:59 GMT) Stella Nordhagen, a senior technical specialist at the Switzerland-based Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition non-profit organisation, says the anticipated grain deal between Ukraine and Russia is "good news for ... food security". "This will make a difference, it is an important deal ... but at the same time, we need to make sure that it is followed through on," Nordhagen told Al Jazeera from Geneva. "And we also need to recognise that at this point it probably won't be enough on its own to stem the global food insecurity crisis," she added. (11:12 GMT) Uniper has received 15 billion euros ($15.2bn) in guarantees and equity after the German government stepped in to save the gas importer that is the biggest casualty of Europe's energy crisis so far. The state bailout caps weeks of intense negotiations between Germany and Finland, which controls Uniper's majority shareholder Fortum. It provides a lifeline after falling Russian gas supplies drained the company's finances. (11:29 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has warned any "provocations" by Russia over a deal to reopen Ukrainian ports for grain exports will be met with a military response from Kyiv. "1. Ukraine does not sign any documents with Russia. We sign an agreement with Turkey and the UN and undertake obligations to them. Russia signs a mirror agreement with Turkey and the UN," Podolyak tweeted. (13:01 GMT) The Kremlin has rejected a report that a turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline taking gas from Russia to Germany is stuck in transit. The Reuters news agency reported on Thursday that Moscow had not yet given the go-ahead to transport the turbine back to Russia, citing two people familiar with the matter. (13:38 GMT) The governor of Russia's central bank has said Moscow will not supply oil to countries that decide to impose a price cap on the commodity. (14:16 GMT) The UN's secretary-general has praised the grain export deal agreed to by Russia and Ukraine, saying the move will offer "relief" to the world. "Today there is a beacon on the black sea, a beacon of hope, a beacon of possiblity, a beacon of relief in a world that needs it more than ever," Guterres said at a ceremony in Istanbul. (14:38 GMT) Russia and Ukraine have signed a deal on resuming grains exports from the latter's Black Sea ports. Officials from the warring countries signed the deal separately, carefully avoiding sitting at the same table and any shaking of hands at the ceremony in Istanbul held to mark the agreement. (15:03 GMT) Reclusive Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich was seen attending the grain deal signing ceremony in Istanbul. It was not immediately clear what role the former Chelsea Football Club owner was playing at the event, but Kyiv and Moscow have both previously indicated he was operating as a broker between the two sides earlier in the war. (15:07 GMT) Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the UN, says Washington will work to hold Russia accountable for implementing the agreement reached on resuming Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports. The US also wants China to stop stockpiling grain and offer more to meet global humanitarian aid needs, James O'Brien, head of the US Department of States Office of Sanctions Coordination, told reporters. (15:13 GMT) The G7 will be watching closely to ensure a deal to resume Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea does not "put Ukraine further at risk of being further invaded and attacked by Russia," Canada's prime minister has said. (15:16 GMT) Russia's defence minister has said that Moscow will not "take advantage" of the de-mining and opening of Ukrainian ports as part of a UN-brokered deal to restart vital grain exports from the country. "Russia has taken on the obligations that are clearly spelled out in this document. We will not take advantage of the fact that the ports will be cleared and opened. We have made this commitment," Sergei Shoigu said. (15:36 GMT) The United Kingdom's foreign secretary Liz Truss has said Russia's actions must "match its words" after Moscow and Kyiv reached an agreement on resuming grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports. (17:18 GMT) Boris Johnson spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday, telling the Ukrainian president that UK support will "not waver" regardless of who becomes the next prime minister. (18:50 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said a ceasefire with Russia without reclaiming occupied territory would only prolong the war. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Friday, he warned that a ceasefire that allows Russia to keep Ukrainian lands seized since the invasion in February would only encourage an even wider conflict, giving Moscow a much-needed opportunity to replenish and regroup for the next round of fighting. (19:06 GMT) The US has signed off on an additional $270m in military aid to Ukraine, including four new HIMARS precision rocket systems. The new aid will total the number of M142 HIMARS sent to Ukraine to 20. The White House also said that the new military package will also include 500 new Phoenix Ghosts, small and highly portable drones that detonate on their target, as well as 36,000 rounds of artillery ammunition. (20:28 GMT) Russian investigators have launched a criminal investigation into a pregnant city councillor in Siberia who is one of the last allies of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny still in the country, AFP reported. Criminal proceedings were launched against Helga Pirogova for spreading "disinformation" concerning Russia's military. Pirogova is an independent member of the city council in Novosibirsk, Russia's third-largest city. The 33-year-old has spoken up against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and faces up to three years in prison if convicted. She was briefly detained on Thursday and according to her supporters, Pirogova is in her fourth month of pregnancy. 20220723 (07:06 GMT) Thirteen Russian missiles have hit a military airfield and railway infrastructure in Ukraine's central Kirovohrad region, killing and wounding a number of people, the local governor said. (07:11 GMT) Credit rating firms Fitch and Scope have downgraded Ukraine two days after the war-ravaged country requested a debt payment freeze. The firms cut the country's long-term foreign currency rating to a "C" grade - just one step from default - with both also signalling that a default now looked likely. (07:14 GMT) Heavy fighting has been taking place in the last 48 hours as Ukrainian forces continued their offensive against Russia in Kherson province, west of the Dnieper river, according to British military intelligence. Russian forces are using artillery fire along the Inhulets river, a tributary of the Dnieper, the UK's Ministry of Defence said. "Supply lines of the Russian forces west of the river are increasingly at risk," the ministry said in an intelligence update. It added that additional Ukrainian strikes have caused further damage to the key Antonivka bridge, though Russia has conducted temporary repairs. (09:16 GMT) The African Union has hailed a landmark deal between Ukraine and Russia that will allow Kyiv to resume exports of grain through the Black Sea and relieve a global food crisis. "The Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat welcomes the signing by Russia and Ukraine of agreements," a statement said. (09:36 GMT) The European Union needs a new strategy on the war in Ukraine as sanctions against Moscow have not worked, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban says. The strategy should aim for peace instead of winning the war, Orban said in a speech in Romania. (10:02 GMT) Russian missiles have hit infrastructure in Ukraine's port of Odesa, a day after Russia and Ukraine signed a deal to reopen Black Sea ports to resume grain exports, the Ukrainian military said. "The enemy attacked the Odesa sea trade port with Kalibr cruise missiles; 2 missiles were shot down by air defense forces; 2 hit the infrastructure of the port," the Operational Command South wrote on Telegram. (10:16 GMT) Ukraine has called on the United Nations and Turkey to ensure that Russia fulfills its commitments under the agreement for a safe corridor for grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, according to the foreign ministry. Russian missiles hit infrastructure in Ukraine's port of Odesa on Saturday, a day after Russia and Ukraine, with mediation by the United Nations and Turkey, signed a deal to reopen Black Sea ports to resume such exports. (11:10 GMT) The US ambassador to Kyiv said that Moscow should be held to account for what she said was an "outrageous" Russian strike on the port city of Odesa on Saturday. (11:18 GMT) Portugal is analysing the citizenship applications of two Russian oligarchs - one of whom is under US sanctions, the government has said, as a law granting passports to descendants of Sephardic Jews faces growing scrutiny. Russian-Israeli diamond oligarch Lev Leviev and Russian property developer God Nisanov are the latest high-profile Russians known to have applied for citizenship under the legislation. (12:46 GMT) Ukraine is still preparing to restart grain exports from its Black Sea ports despite a Russian missile strike that hit the port of Odesa on Saturday, according to Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. (13:16 GMT) Two 'Russian' (?) missiles hit the port of Odesa but caused no significant damage, public broadcaster Suspilne reports, quoting the Ukrainian military. A pumping station was hit and the attack caused a small fire that damaged houses around the port, the spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, Natalia Humeniuk, was quoted as saying. The grain storage area was not hit, she added. No casualties have been reported. (15:30 GMT) Ukraine has struck a bridge in the occupied Black Sea region of Kherson, targeting a Russian supply route as Kyiv prepares for a major counteroffensive, a Ukrainian regional official said. The attack hit the Daryivskyi bridge across the Ingulets river used for supplies by Russian troops, days after a key bridge over the nearby Dnieper was hit, said an adviser to the region's governor who is on Ukrainian-held territory. (15:31 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "unequivocally condemns" reported strikes on Ukraine's Odesa port, a UN spokesperson has said, adding that all parties in the Russia-Ukraine war had committed to a deal on Friday for the export of grains from Ukrainian ports. (15:31 GMT) The US Department of State says two Americans have died in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. "We can confirm the recent deaths of two US citizens in the Donbas region of Ukraine. We are in touch with the families and providing all possible consular assistance," a Department of State spokesperson said. The Department of State said it had no further information "out of respect to the families during this difficult time". (15:31 GMT) Turkey's defence minister says Russian officials have told Ankara that Moscow had "nothing to do" with attacks on Ukraine's Odesa port. <== "In our contact with Russia, the Russians told us that they had absolutely nothing to do with this attack, and that they were examining the issue very closely and in detail," Defence Minister Hulusai Akar said in a statement. "The fact that such an incident took place right after the agreement we made yesterday really worried us," he added. <== (16:29 GMT) Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has called for US-Russian peace talks to end the war in Ukraine. <== Orban has condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, but maintains an ambiguous position on the conflict. "We're sitting in a car with four flat tyres," he said. "A new strategy is needed, which should focus on peace negotiations instead of trying to win the war," Orban added. (17:32 GMT) UK foreign secretary Liz Truss called a Russian attack on the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Odesa "absolutely appalling" and "completely unwarranted". Truss said the attack, just a day after a deal between Ukraine and Russia to unblock grain exports, showed that Russia's Vladimir Putin could not be trusted. (18:20 GMT) Oleksiy Goncharenko, a Ukrainian MP representing Odesa, says Moscow is behind the strikes that hit Odesa, accusing Russia of "lying" about the attack. "They are lying all the time. Four missiles, the most powerful and the most precise of all Russian missiles, attacked Odesa," Goncharenko told Al Jazeera from Washington, DC. (19:31 GMT) Ukraine's former minister of trade and agriculture, Tymofiy Mylovanov, says it could take up to six months to ship out all the grain stacked in silos in the country. (20:36 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry urged citizens in a key area seized by Russia to reveal where Moscow's troops were living and who among the local population was collaborating with the occupying authorities. The statement by the ministry's defence intelligence directorate was aimed at people in and around the southern city of Enerhodar, which is home to a major nuclear power station. "Please let us know as a matter of urgency the exact location of the occupying troops' bases and their residential addresses ... and the places of residence of the commanding staff," it said, adding that exact coordinates were desirable. (23:55 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Russia's attacks on Odesa after a deal was reached to transport grain from there have destroyed the possibility any agreements with Moscow. "Today's Russian missile attack on Odesa, on our port, is a cynical one, and it was also a blow to the political positions of Russia itself. If anyone in the world could still say that some kind of dialogue with it, with Russia, some kind of agreements are needed, see what is happening," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. "Today's Russian Kalibr missiles have destroyed the very possibility for such statements." He also said the Odesa Art Museum had been damaged by the attack. (23:55 GMT) Ukrainian forces are gradually moving into the eastern Kherson region, which was taken by Russia at the start of the war, Zelenskyy has said. 20220724 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/23/russia-ukraine-live-news-no-deals-with-moscow-kyiv-says (00:02 GMT) Antony Blinken has said that Washington strongly condemns the Russian missile attack on Saturday against Odesa and that Moscow bears responsibility for deepening the world's food crisis. The attack "undermines work of the UN, Turkey and Ukraine to get critical food to world markets" Blinken said in a statement. (00:25 GMT) The United Kingdom's prime minister took part in a training exercise with visiting Ukrainian troops in Yorkshire. In a video released by Downing Street on Saturday Boris Johnson, wearing a camouflage jacket, throws a dummy grenade and is shown how to use various weaponry. "I've been meeting some of the 400 Ukrainian troops who are here being trained by our forces, getting ready to go fight in Ukraine," Johnson said in the video. "That's part of a huge commitment we've made to train Ukrainian forces. We want to train about 10,000 of them over the next four months." (00:35 GMT) A senior US congressional delegation met with Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Saturday and promised to try to ensure continued support in the war against Russia. The delegation - which included Representative Adam Smith, chair of the House Armed Services Committee - is the latest in a series of high-profile American visitors to Ukraine. (00:58 GMT) A branch of Ukraine's army, Operational Command South, has released a video it says shows the aftermath of Russia's missile strikes on Odesa. The video shows firefighters battling blaze on an unidentified boat, flames and black smoke billowing from the vessel. Al Jazeera was not able to independently verify the authenticity of the video and the date it was filmed. (01:16 GMT) The European Union is seeking additional gas supplies from Nigeria as the bloc prepares for potential Russian supply cuts, the deputy director general of the European Commission's energy department has said. Matthew Baldwin was speaking in Nigeria where he held meetings with officials from Africa's largest oil producer this week. He was told that Nigeria was improving security in the Niger Delta and planned to reopen the Trans Niger pipeline after August, which would yield more gas exports to Europe. Oil and gas output in Nigeria is being throttled by theft and vandalism of pipelines, leaving gas producer Nigeria LNG Ltd's terminal at Bonny Island operating at 60% capacity. The EU imports 14% of its total LNG supplies from Nigeria and there is potential to more than double this, Baldwin told Reuters by phone. "If we can get up to beyond 80%, at that point, there might be additional LNG that could be available for spot cargoes to come to Europe," Baldwin said. (02:07 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief has said that the bloc condemns Moscow for its missile strike on Odesa's seaport. "Striking a target crucial for grain export a day after the signature of Istanbul agreements is particularly reprehensible and again demonstrates Russia's total disregard for international law and commitments," Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter. (02:13 GMT) Turkey's president has said that his country would continue diplomatic efforts until peace is achieved between Russia and Ukraine. (02:20 GMT) The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine's occupied Kherson region has announced it is establishing an election commission to hold elections and a referendum on the region becoming part of Russia. The deputy head of the administration, Yekaterina Gubareva, said uniting the region with Russia would get Kherson out of a "wild field", Russia's state news agency RIA has reported. "The lands of Novorossia were developed under Catherine II. Then it was a 'wild field' after the Russian-Turkish war. There were no people, no roads. Absolutely nothing. A few centuries later, history repeats itself," Gubareva wrote on Telegram. (02:50 GMT) A Canadian and Swedish man were killed alongside two Americans while fighting in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, POLITICO has reported. The four foreign fighters were killed on July 18 when a Russian tank opened fire during a battle at the frontline in the Donetsk region, POLITICO cited their commander as saying. Ruslan Miroshnichenko told POLITICO that the men were part of a special operations force in the Territorial Defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Their unit has been based near Siversk, but they had been deployed to the village of Hryhorivka to try to slow Russia's advance. The US Department of State confirmed the deaths of the two Americans on Saturday but said that it would offer no more information out of respect for their families. POLITICO reported the names of the men as given by Miroshnichenko. (04:55 GMT) Kherson residents have been called on to remain silent about the progress of Ukraine's counteroffensive in the region until Ukrainian authorities release official statements, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has noted. "Ukrainian forces are likely preparing to launch or have launched a counteroffensive in Kherson Oblast as of July 23, but open-source visibility on the progress and tempo of the counteroffensive will likely be limited and lag behind events," the ISW said in its latest campaign assessment. The ISW said it would "report on the progress of any Ukrainian counteroffensives to the best of its ability within these constraints". (06:16 GMT) The United Kingdom says Russia's claim it has expanded its war aims beyond the Donbas region is "almost certainly not true". The UK's defence ministry noted Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's recent comments in which he said Russia had expanded the scope of its "special military operation" beyond Ukraine's Donbas region to include areas such as the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. "This is almost certainly not true. Russia has not 'expanded' its war; maintaining long-term control of these areas was almost certainly an original goal of the invasion," the ministry said. "There is a realistic possibility that Lavrov made the comments to pave the way for referenda to take place in occupied territories beyond Luhansk and Donetsk," it added. (06:39 GMT) North Korea has accused the United States of manufacturing biological weapons in Ukraine, echoing a Russian claim dismissed by the United Nations in March, CNA has reported. Washington "set up many biological labs in tens of countries and regions, including Ukraine, in disregard of the international treaties", CNA said, citing the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). KCNA reportedly said these laboratories had been "detected" by Russia. (06:48 GMT) Some 358 children have been killed in Ukraine and more than 684 injured as a result of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office has said. (08:08 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Russian forces had hit a Ukrainian military boat in the port of Odesa in Ukraine with high-precision missiles. The Ukrainian military had said Russian missiles hit the crucial southern port on Saturday, threatening a deal signed just one day earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war. (08:15 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials as his country seeks to break diplomatic isolation and sanctions by the West over its invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov landed in Cairo late Saturday, the first leg of his Africa trip that will also include stops in Ethiopia, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), according to Russia's state-run RT. The Egyptian foreign Ministry said Foreign Minister Sameh Shukry was holding talks with Lavrov Sunday morning. (09:55 GMT) In addition to targeting a military boat in the port of Odesa, Russia's defence ministry said it had also destroyed US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles. "A docked Ukrainian warship and a warehouse with US-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles were destroyed by long-range precision-guided naval missiles in Odesa seaport on the territory of a ship repair plant," Russian news agencies quoting the defence ministry said. The attack on the southern port took place on Saturday, a day after a deal was signed earlier to unblock grain exports from Black Sea ports and ease global food shortages caused by the war. (13:38 GMT) A Ukrainian official has said that the country's southern region of Kherson, which fell to Russian troops early in their February invasion, would be recaptured by Kyiv's forces by September. "We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers' plans will fail," Serhiy Khlan, an aide to the head of the Kherson region, said in an interview with Ukrainian television. The Ukrainian army, emboldened by deliveries of Western-supplied long-range artillery, has been clawing back territory in the southern Kherson region in recent weeks. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/12/ukraine-strikes-russian-held-kherson-as-kyiv-plans-counterattack (14:42 GMT) Russia's top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has offered reassurances over Russian grain supplies to Egypt during his visit to Cairo. "We reaffirmed the commitment of Russian grain exporters to meet all their commitments," Lavrov said in a press conference with Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry. "We discussed specific parameters of cooperation in this area, agreed on further contacts between the relevant ministries, and we have a common understanding of the causes of the grain crisis," he added. (15:42 GMT) A Canadian citizen died in Ukraine, Canada's foreign ministry spokesperson has said, adding that further details will not be shared due to privacy considerations. "Global Affairs Canada is aware of the death of a Canadian in Ukraine. Consular officials are in contact with the family and are providing consular assistance," the spokesperson said. This comes a day after two United States citizens were confirmed dead in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, according to the US Department of State. No further details on the circumstances of their deaths were provided. (15:53 GMT) A survey of 3,500 companies in Germany has found that 16% of them are cutting production, or partially discontinuing business operations, due to soaring energy prices. (17:47 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that Moscow's military goals in Ukraine go beyond the eastern Donbas region. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4twF4uF89nc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92QEVY4QMjM (17:53 GMT) At least 183 religious sites in Ukraine have been fully or partially ruined since war began, the Kyiv Independent reports, citing figures from the State Service for Ethnic Affairs and Freedom of Conscience. Five of these are Muslim, five Judaic, and the other 173 are Christian, the report added. (18:15 GMT) Ukraine's health ministry says at least 18 medical personnel have been killed and nearly 900 medical facilities damaged or destroyed by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a Facebook post, the health ministry said that over 50 medical workers had been wounded by Russian attacks. The post also said that 123 medical facilities in Ukraine were totally destroyed by the invasion, while another 746 needed repairs. (18:29 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says, in contrast to earlier statements, that Russia is seeking to overthrow the Ukrainian government. "We will definitely help the Ukrainian people to free themselves from the regime that is absolutely anti-people and anti-history," Lavrov said in Cairo. The Russian and Ukrainian people would live together in the future, he said. (19:55 GMT) Ukraine will continue to do all it can to inflict as much damage on its enemy as possible, Zelenskyy has said in his nightly video address. "Even the occupiers admit we will win," he said as he hailed the upcoming day of Ukrainian statehood, July 28, a new annual holiday that Zelenskyy announced in August last year. "We hear it in their conversations all the time. In what they are telling their relatives when they call them." <== Like every day in the last months, Zelenskiy said that Ukraine was not letting up: "We do everything to inflict the highest possible damage on the enemy and to gather for Ukraine as much support as possible." (23:54 GMT) As the war entered its sixth month on Sunday, there was no sign of a let-up in the fighting. The Ukrainian military reported Russian shelling in the north, south and east, and again referred to Russian operations paving the way for an assault on the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. The military said in an evening briefing note that the Russians continue efforts to assert control of the area around the Vuhlehirska power plant, which is 50km northeast of Donetsk city. The note listed several dozen settlements along the entire front line which it said had been shelled by Russia in the past 24 hours, as well as other areas of Ukraine that came under shelling including its second-largest city Kharkiv. (23:54 GMT) Lavrov has said that any ships coming to Ukrainian ports to pick up additional grain would be "inspected to make sure they don't bring any weapons". In an address to the Arab League in Cairo, Lavrov said that any ships carrying weapons would be "detrimental to the continued conflict". 20220725 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/24/russia-ukraine-live-blog-no-let-up-as-war-enters-sixth-month (00:34 GMT) The head of Russia's investigative committee says Moscow has charged 92 members of Ukraine's armed forces with crimes against humanity and proposed an international tribunal backed by countries including Bolivia, Iran and Syria. The government's Rossiiskaya Gazeta quoted committee head Alexander Bastrykin as accusing "more than 220 persons, including representatives of the high command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as commanders of military units that shelled the civilian population". 01:08 GMT) Ukraine's military has said 66 Russian army personnel were killed in fighting over the past 24 hours, according to the Interfax news agency. "The overall result for the combat day shows that the enemy army has been reduced by 66 Russian fighters, five tanks, two Gvozdika self-propelled howitzers, the Fagot anti-tank missile system, three armoured units and nine vehicles," Interfax quoted Operational Command South as having said on Sunday evening. Interfax also reported the military saying they destroyed a Russian command and observation post as well as several ammunition depots. (01:47 GMT) Polish volunteer fighter, Tomasz Walentek, has died in the Donbas, according to Poland's Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organisation. (02:24 GMT) Former United States Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger, has advised Ukraine and the West not to cede any Ukrainian territory occupied since the start of the war to Russia in any future peace negotiations to end the conflict. In May, Kissinger drew backlash from Ukrainian officials, including President Zelenskyy, after he suggested at the World Economic Forum in Davos that Ukraine should cede territory to make peace with Russia. (02:59 GMT) Russia's shutdown of the offices of the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) in the country would harm relations between Moscow and Israel, Israel's caretaker prime minister has said. The Russian Justice Ministry last week called for the dissolution of the Jewish agency, which handles the emigration of Jews to Israel, for alleged violations of Russian law. A court in Moscow will begin a hearing over the ministry's request on July 28. (05:18 GMT) Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair thousands of combat vehicles damaged in action in Ukraine, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. In its latest briefing, the ministry said UK intelligence had recently identified a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment facility near Barvinok, in Russia's Belgorod region, about 10 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. "At least 300 damaged vehicles were present, including main battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and general support trucks," the ministry said. (05:55 GMT) Germany is back on the path of decent gas injection levels, and the task is now to reach its target of 75% gas storage levels by September 1, the head of the country's network regulator has said. Klaus Mueller, head of the Bundesnetzagentur regulator, added that gas importer Uniper had also ended withdrawals from storage. (07:57 GMT) Germany's interior and social affairs ministers are travelling to Ukraine for talks about post-war reconstruction and the investigation of war crimes. (08:23 GMT) The Kyiv museum staff who stayed to protect cherished artefacts https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/7/24/the-kyiv-museum-staff-who-stayed-to-protect-cherished-artefacts-2 (08:41 GMT) A referendum on Ukraine's occupied southeastern Zaporizhia region joining the Russian Federation will most likely take place in September, alongside a similar vote in occupied Kherson, a local Moscow-installed official has told Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. (09:50 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed an ammunition depot for US-made HIMARS rocket systems in Ukraine's western Khmelnytskyi region. Moscow has previously said it has destroyed several of the HIMARS systems supplied to Ukraine by the US, contradicting claims made by Kyiv and Washington. (09:58 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Russian strikes on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa "should not affect" a UN-brokered deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock grain exports from the country. "These strikes are connected exclusively with military infrastructure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, two days after Moscow hit the port. "They are in no way related to infrastructure that is used for the export of grain. This should not affect - and will not affect - the beginning of shipments," he added. (10:24 GMT) Ukrainian forces have destroyed 50 Russian ammunition depots using HIMARS rocket systems, according to the country's defence minister. (10:39 GMT) A repaired turbine will be installed at a compressor station of the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline once it is returned from maintenance in Canada and natural gas will then be supplied in "corresponding volumes", the Kremlin has said. "The turbine will be installed after all the formalities are complete ... And the gas will be pumped in the corresponding volumes, the volumes which are technologically possible," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that there was more Nord Stream 1 equipment that needed repairing and Siemens Energy, the company which is servicing the facilities, was aware of that. (11:24 GMT) France is against setting uniform targets for the reduction of gas consumption in Europe amid a looming energy crisis, officials from the country's energy ministry have said. The future targets must notably take into account the export capacities of each country, the officials added, ahead of a meeting of European energy ministers on Tuesday in Brussels. (12:04 GMT) Senior Ukrainian government officials have told reporters they hope the first grain shipment under a UN-brokered agreement would leave the port of Chornomorsk this week, and that all ports under the deal could function within two weeks. (12:44 GMT) Ukraine has received three Gepard anti-aircraft tanks from Germany, according to the country's defence minister. "Today the first three Gepards officially arrived," Oleksii Reznikov told Ukrainian television, adding that tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition had also been delivered. Kyiv is expecting to receive 15 of the tanks in total from Berlin, Reznikov said. (14:48 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom has said it is halting one more turbine along the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline for maintenance work, a move that will result in a reduction of flows. Gazprom said that due to the turbine stoppage, daily production capacity at the Russian Portovaya compressor station will be cut to 33 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas per day from 04:00 GMT on Wednesday, down from its full capacity of more than 160mcm per day. The move will see flows drop to half of their current, already reduced, levels. (15:23 GMT) There is no technical reason for a further reduction in gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, a spokesperson for Germany's economy ministry has said. "We have taken note of the announcement," the ministry spokesperson said. "According to our information, there is no technical reason for a reduction in deliveries." (15:57 GMT) The volume of corporate loans in foreign currency fell by $2.5bn in Russia in June, its central bank has said, but rouble loans led to 0.1 % growth in the overall corporate credit portfolio. (16:31 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said Moscow's overarching goal is to topple the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking to envoys at an Arab League summit in Cairo on Sunday, Lavrov said Moscow is determined to help Ukrainians "liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime". "Russian and Ukrainian people would continue to live together, we will certainly help Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical," he said, AP reported. (18:02 GMT) The Ukrainian government has criticised Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov's trip to several African countries, with a senior official calling it "the quintessence of sadism". (18:22 GMT) Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar has told Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov that it is important for the first grain shipments to begin as soon as possible. (18:45 GMT) The US has donated some half a million COVID-19 vaccine doses to Ukraine today, the US Department of State said on Twitter. (19:46 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is waging an "overt gas war" against Europe, which he said must "hit back" with tougher sanctions. 20220726 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/25/russia-ukraine-live-news-search-for-chuhuiv-survivors-continues (00:09 GMT) Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Monday becoming the first Latin American president to make the trip to the war torn country. (00:21 GMT) Russia's attack on the Ukrainian port of Odesa casts doubts on a grain deal, the White House has said. It added that the United States would continue to explore options with the international community to increase Ukraine exports through overland routes. (00:30 GMT) Moscow could try to skew the forthcoming Italian national election by spreading fake news on social media to favour pro-Russian parties, the head of Italy's centre-left Democratic Party (PD) has said. Enrico Letta, who is trailing a right-wing alliance in the polls, said he wanted Italian intelligence agencies and the European Union's disinformation unit to monitor the two-month election campaign and prevent outside interference. (00:41 GMT) A South Carolina man serving as a medic in the Ukrainian military was identified by his commanding officer over the weekend as one of two Americans killed in action last week. Luke "Skywalker" Lucyszyn, a 31-year-old Myrtle Beach resident, died on July 18 in the eastern Donbas region after he was knocked unconscious by an artillery attack and fatally shot by a Russian tank, his commander, Ruslan Miroshnichenko, wrote on Facebook. The US State Department confirmed the deaths of two Americans in Ukraine on Friday but did not release their names or further details. Family and friends have confirmed reports that Lucyszyn was one of the men who died. Miroshnichenko identified the other American as Bryan Young; additional information about Young was not immediately available on Monday. 01:28 GMT) Austria is on track to reach its target of topping up its natural gas storage to 80% of capacity by the start of the country's winter heating season, the energy minister has said. (01:43 GMT) The Czech Republic's gas stores are 80% full, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said, as the country and other European Union member states continue to boost storage to protect against risks of a halt to Russian supplies. (01:48 GMT) Turkey's president has said that Ankara expects Kyiv and Moscow to keep to their responsibilities under a deal they signed regarding the export of Ukrainian grains. (02:04 GMT) Russia has reportedly intensified airstrikes on settlements in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, officials say. Russian air attacks continue increasingly in the cities of Bakhmut, Kramatorsk, Chasiv Yar, Sloviansk and Kostyantynivka, as well as surrounding villages. (02:14 GMT) Russian gas giant Gazprom has sharply increased pressure in the pipeline that delivers Russian gas to Europe without prior notice, the Ukrainian state pipeline operator company has said. Such pressure spikes could lead to emergencies, including pipeline ruptures, and pipeline operators are obliged to inform each other about them in advance, the Ukrainian company said. (02:27 GMT) A large influx of migrants in recent days is putting the tiny southern Italian island of Lampedusa under strain, with its reception centre - equipped to handle a maximum of 350 people - crowded by more than 1,800, Anadolu Agency reports. (03:34 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has offered Washington's assistance in building ties between Armenia and Azerbaijan, encouraging a permanent settlement between the ex-Soviet rivals two years after a Russian-brokered truce. In separate calls with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, Blinken said that the two nations have a "historic opportunity to achieve peace in the region". (04:15 GMT) Energy ministers from European Union countries are set to approve a weakened emergency proposal to curb their gas demand on Tuesday, with opt-outs allowing them to follow different national paths to prepare for Russian supply cuts. (04:24 GMT) A huge fire broke out at an oil depot in the Budyonnovsk district of the Russian-occupied, so-called Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine after Ukrainian troops shelled the territory, Russia's TASS news agency has reported, quoting a reporter at the scene. No casualties or injuries have been reported so far due to the fire, which was tens of metres high, TASS added. (04:53 GMT) The first six Stormer HVM (high-velocity missile) air-defence systems have arrived in Ukraine from the United Kingdom and are being used on the front line, Ukraine's military has said, issuing a video of the systems which has been shared by Ukrainian media. "The British 'invisible' Stormer HVM air defence systems can 'see' enemy attack aircraft at a distance of up to 18 km," Operational Command South said in a Facebook post. (05:12 GMT) Russia almost certainly perceives Ukraine's anti-ship missiles as a key threat which is limiting the effectiveness of Moscow's Black Sea Fleet, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. (05:37 GMT) The United Kingdom has said there was "no indication" that a Ukrainian warship and a stock of anti-ship missiles were at the dockside in Odesa port on Sunday, after Russia earlier said it had destroyed those targets with high-precision missiles. The Ukrainian military has said two Kalibr missiles fired from Russian warships hit the area of a pumping station at the Odesa port and two others were shot down by air defence forces. (07:41 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said it is up to the Ministry of Justice to decide the fate of the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel, an organisation that helps Jews emigrate to Israel. The Ministry of Justice earlier requested the liquidation of the Russian branch of the Agency. The move comes as relations have frayed between Israel and Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. (07:52 GMT) Spain expects EU member countries to reach an agreement to cut natural gas use during the winter by less than the 15% previously proposed by the European Commission - and on a voluntary basis, Energy Minister Teresa Ribera has said upon arriving at the energy meeting in Brussels. (08:04 GMT) US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was arrested in Moscow shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has arrived in a Russian court where her trial is set to resume. (09:11 GMT) A European Union proposal for countries to curb their gas demand by 15% will not be sufficient to get through the third-quarter of the year in the face of continued cuts to Russian gas supply, Irish environment minister Eamon Ryan has said. (09:43 GMT) Ukraine has said that Russian forces have launched multiple missile attacks at targets on the Black Sea coast near the southern port city of Odesa and in Mykolaiv. The attacks come days after Russian raids hit the port of Odesa, threatening to chill a breakthrough deal to resume exports of grain from Ukraine disrupted by Moscow's invasion. "A massive missile attack, with the use of aircraft, was launched from the Black Sea on the south of Ukraine," the country's southern military command said on Facebook. President Zelenskyy also published a video on Instagram showing debris scattered around heavily damaged houses in Zatoka, a popular resort village to the west of Odesa. (09:59 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its military has destroyed eight missile and artillery arms depots in the Mykolaiv region, according to Interfax agency. The statement comes after Ukraine reported multiple missile strikes in Mykolaiv and in the southern port city of Odesa. (10:38 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said Russia hopes a gas turbine for the Nord Stream 1 pipeline will be installed "sooner rather than later", but has not yet arrived after maintenance in Canada. The statement comes after Russian energy giant Gazprom announced it was lowering gas supplies to Europe to just 20% of its capacity, citing maintenance. The EU has repeatedly accused Russia of resorting to energy blackmail, while the Kremlin says the shortfalls have been caused by maintenance issues and the effect of Western sanctions. "Yes, indeed, there are some defects with the turbines. The turbine has not arrived after a major maintenance, it's on its way. We hope that it will happen... sooner rather than later," Peskov said, adding that another turbine has also some defects. "The situation is critically complicated by the restrictions and sanctions, which had been imposed against our country," Peskov said, adding that Nord Stream 1 would have worked normally without the sanctions. (11:25 GMT) Brittney Griner: What you should know about Russia’s drug laws www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26/russias-drug-laws-tool-to-silence-critics (11:32 GMT) A joint coordination centre (JCC) for Ukrainian grain exports under a UN-brokered deal will be opened in a ceremony in Istanbul on Wednesday, Turkey's defence ministry has said. (11:48 GMT) Russia has decided to quit the International Space Station (ISS) "after 2024", the newly-appointed chief of Moscow's space agency has told President Putin. "Of course, we will fulfil all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made," Roscosmos chief Yury Borisov said in comments released by the Kremlin. (12:20 GMT) The United Kingdom has sanctioned Kremlin-imposed officials in the Luhansk and Donetsk provinces in eastern Ukraine as well as 29 regional governors across Russia in response to Moscow's invasion. Vitaly Khotsenko and Vladislav Kuznetsov, the Russia-imposed prime minister and first deputy chairman of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, were among the 42 new designations, which also included Russia's minister and deputy minister of justice, and two nephews of Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was himself sanctioned by the UK in March. (12:55 GMT) A deal brokered by European Union countries to curb their gas use should yield enough gas savings to last through an average winter, if Russia were to fully cut supplies in July, the bloc's energy chief Kadri Simson has said. (13:42 GMT) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a meeting with his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on August 5, Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. The two leaders will discuss regional problems and bilateral relations, Interfax news agency said. (14:28 GMT) Hungary has criticised a European Union proposal to reduce gas consumption as "unenforceable" after the bloc's energy ministers approved the plan. "This is an unjustifiable, useless, unenforceable and harmful proposal," Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Hungary was the only member state to oppose the plan, which passed with a majority vote. (15:27 GMT) Russia will hold wide-ranging military drills in the country's east as it continues regular troop training despite the action in Ukraine, Russia's Defence Ministry said. The ministry said the Vostok 2022 (East 2022) exercise scheduled for August 30 to September 5 will involve troops on manoeuvres at 13 firing ranges of the Eastern Military District. It added that units of airborne troops, long-range bombers and military cargo planes will also be involved in the war games. (16:07 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says he hopes that Finland and European Union countries would not halt tourist visas for Russians, adding Russia was ready to respond in kind should that happen. Peskov's comments came after Finnish political parties spoke in favour of halting tourist visas to all Russians. "It would very bad, I repeat once again, naturally, it would provoke an imminent backlash from Moscow," Peskov told reporters. (17:15 GMT) EXPLAINER: What is Nord Stream 1 and why is it crucial to Europe? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26/explainer-nord-stream-1-gas-pipeline-russia-germany-europe (17:38 GMT) Former NASA astronaut and International Space Station commander Leroy Chiao believes that Russia may not follow through on its announcement that it will pull out of the ISS program in 2024. "Its nice to think they [Russia] are going to build their own space station but frankly they don't have the money for it. They don't have the budget. And even back when we began the ISS program with Russia - fully financed by the US - it still took them seven years to develop and build their core module and put it into orbit," Chiao told Al Jazeera from Houston. "I don't think they're gonna get a space station up there in a couple of years. And even if they had the money, it would take a lot longer. So if they're willing to walk away from their human spaceflight program, then they'll quit the ISS. But frankly I don't think they're ready to do that," he added. (18:18 GMT) The M142 HIMARS, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems supplied to Ukraine by the United States, have become a symbol of Russian vulnerability. In the occupied southern Kherson oblast, posters appeared in July featuring a picture of a HIMARS system and words threatening retribution on the Russians for "looting, killing, rape, destruction". Now, the Eastern European countries most worried about a future Russian attack are arming themselves. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26/the-russians-have-nothing-equivalent-how-himars-help-ukraine <== "The agreement to unblock Odesa would have been impossible without HIMARS. It's now very clear that the war will end earlier if we arm Ukraine faster," Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on July 22, referring to Russia's agreement to allow Ukrainian grain shipments through the Black Sea. "The Baltics will become a single theatre of war for Russia," <=== said Estonian defence minister Kusti Salm, explaining the regional coordination on defence procurements. Latvia and Estonia have talked about acquiring the latest, 300km ATACMs (Army Tactical Missiles) for their launchers. From the Estonian border, these would easily be able to strike St Petersburg. <=== From Latvia, they would be able to hit halfway to Moscow, impeding any invasion force long before it reached the border. From the Polish and Lithuanian borders, they could strike almost anywhere on the territory of Belarus, Moscow's only regional ally, whose territory was used as a marshalling ground to attack Kiyv. (19:16 GMT) The United States has voiced regret about Russia's announcement that it would exit the International Space Station after 2024 and said it was taken by surprise. (19:33 GMT) Russia's economy appears to be weathering the storm of Western-imposed sanctions better than expected, as it benefits from high energy prices, the IMF has said. (20:35 GMT) Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has said he saw no reason to criticise Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine, extolling Russian-African friendship during the visit of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov. Speaking alongside Lavrov, who is on a four-nation African tour seeking support for Moscow at a time of confrontation with Western powers, Museveni praised Russia as a partner in the struggle against colonialism going back a century. (23:56 GMT) Russia targeted Ukraine's southern Black Sea regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv with air raids Tuesday, hitting private buildings and port infrastructure with missiles fired from long-range bomber aircraft, the Ukrainian military has said. In the Odesa region, buildings in coastal villages were hit and caught fire, Ukraine's Operational Command South said on Facebook. A Ukrainian air force spokesperson said long-range Russian Tu-22M3 bombers and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter jets launched the attacks from the Black Sea. 20220727 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/26/russia-ukraine-live-blog-kyiv-accuses-moscow-of-price-terror (00:23 GMT) The International Monetary Fund has again cut global growth forecasts, warning that downside risks from high inflation and the Ukraine war were materialising and could push the world economy to the brink of recession if left unchecked. (00:33 GMT) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has presented Zelenskyy with the Sir Winston Churchill Leadership Award, drawing comparisons between the two leaders in times of crises. (00:50 GMT) The US economy is plagued by inflation and suffering from fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine - but it's not in recession. That's the message from White House officials. (01:10 GMT) The US State Department has said it was taken by surprise by Russia's announcement that it plans to pull out of the International Space Station (ISS) and called it an "unfortunate development." (01:15 GMT) The White House's national security spokesperson has said that topics for an upcoming phone call between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping are expected to include tensions over Taiwan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (01:27 GMT) Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska has been featured on the latest cover of Vogue Magazine's digital edition, with the story offering a heartfelt profile of the longtime comedy writer's ascent into the public eye. (01:48 GMT) Almost 40,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in the war in Ukraine, Zelenskyy has said. "This number is already almost 40,000 - that is how many killed people the Russian army has lost since February 24. And tens of thousands more were wounded and maimed," he said in his nightly address. (02:06 GMT) Russia has not formally notified the United States of its intention to withdraw from the International Space Station, but the White House is exploring options to mitigate its impact, spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said. During a briefing for reporters, Jean-Pierre said the US will continue to work with ISS partners focused on the safety of its operation and that of its astronauts. (02:34 GMT) The Pentagon formally approved in late June a plan to help treat wounded Ukrainian troops at a US military hospital in Germany, a defence official has said. Ukrainian troops would be treated at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center if needed, the official said. Adjacent to the Ramstein Air Base southwest of Frankfurt, it is the largest US military hospital outside the continental United States. (02:43 GMT) United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen highlighted a proposed price cap on Russian oil in a phone call with the United Kingdom's Finance Minister Nadhim Zahawi, a move to reduce the effect of the war in Ukraine on global energy prices. (03:57 GMT) Ukraine aims to strike a deal for a $15-20bn programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) before year-end to help shore up its war-torn economy, the country's central bank Governor Kyrylo Shevchenko has told the Reuters news agency. Ukraine faces a 35-45% economic contraction in 2022 and a monthly fiscal shortfall of $5bn and is heavily reliant on foreign financing from its Western partners. A $20bn program would be the second-largest currently active loan from the IMF after Argentina. (04:09 GMT) Ukraine's Naftogaz has become the first Ukrainian government entity to default since the start of the Russian invasion, after the state energy firm said it would not make payments on international bonds before the Tuesday expiry of a grace period. The default may accelerate repayments on the two other Naftogaz bonds but does not trigger a sovereign default by the government. (04:16 GMT) Russia's efforts to "absorb" Ukrainian territories are "null and void", the spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign ministry has told the Reuters news agency. (04:26 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has criticised Russia's influence in Africa, deeming it a "preoccupation" for the continent's people, during an official visit in Cameroon. (05:29 GMT) A tongue-in-cheek petition to give the United Kingdom's outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson Ukrainian citizenship and make him the country's prime minister has garnered more than 2,500 signatures hours after being put up on Ukraine's official petitions site on Tuesday. (05:50 GMT) Moscow-installed authorities in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Kherson have closed the city's only bridge across the Dnieper River after it came under fire from US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), according to Interfax and TASS reports. The Antonovsky bridge has been closed for civilians but its structural integrity has not suffered from the shelling, Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed city administration, told Interfax. (06:31 GMT) Six people have been wounded in a missile attack on the city of Kharkiv, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on Wednesday. Terekhov said two S-300 missiles hit the city's industrial district in the early hours, and rescuers were searching for victims in the rubble. (06:37 GMT) Zelenskyy has nominated Andriy Kostin, a lawmaker from the president's Servant of the People party, to be the country's next prosecutor general. (06:44 GMT) Russian private military company Wagner has likely made tactical advances around the Vuhlehirska Power Plant and the nearby village of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. The ministry added that some Ukrainian forces had likely withdrawn from the area. (07:27 GMT) Italian energy company Eni has said it would receive about 27 million cubic metres of gas from Russia's Gazprom, down from the daily average volumes of approximately 34 million cubic metres in recent days. State-controlled Russian giant Gazprom has said flows through its Nord Stream 1 pipeline will fall from Wednesday because it needed to halt the operation of a gas turbine at a compressor station on instructions from an industry watchdog. (07:59 GMT) The Philippines has scrapped a deal to buy 16 Russian military transport helicopters because of fears of US sanctions, the Associated Press has reported, citing Philippine officials. A former Philippine defence secretary, Delfin Lorenzana, said the 12.7 billion peso ($227m) deal to acquire the Mi-17 helicopters had been cancelled. The decision to buy the helicopters was approved last month by former President Rodrigo Duterte, before their terms in office ended on June 30, the news agency reported. (08:20 GMT) Sweden has not yet extradited suspects Turkey seeks over "terrorism-related" charges, despite the Nordic country's pledge to do so in return for Ankara's backing for its NATO membership bid, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said. Finland and Sweden applied to join the transatlantic military alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but were initially met with opposition from Turkey, which accused the Nordic countries of supporting groups it deems to be "terrorists". (09:10 GMT) At least one person has been killed by a Russian strike on a hotel in the town of Bakhmut, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, according to local authorities. (09:41 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko has warned that a UN-brokered deal to unblock Ukrainian grain exports could collapse if obstacles to Russia's agricultural exports are not promptly removed, according to a report by the Interfax news agency. Interfax cited Rudenko as saying that grain shipments from Ukraine's Black Sea ports would resume soon, and that he hoped the grain deal would hold. (09:45 GMT) Iran will soon start accepting payments made with Russia's Mir bank cards, a top official has been quoted by Russia's RIA news agency as saying, making it the latest country to adopt the Russian-made alternative to Visa and Mastercard. "i think this payment system will be activated in Iran soon," RIA quoted the Iranian deputy foreign minister for economic diplomacy, Medhi Safari, as saying. (10:20 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom is supplying as much gas to Europe as possible, the Kremlin has said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that sanctions-driven technical issues with equipment were preventing Gazprom from exporting more. "Gazprom supplies as much as needed and possible. We know that technical possibilities for supplies have decreased now," he said. ~/photos/events/20220728_nord_stream_1_pipeline.png (10:37 GMT) Russia's state-controlled media outlet Russia Today has lost its court fight against a European Union ban imposed in March over its alleged spreading of disinformation about the war in Ukraine. The Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe's second-highest, upheld the EU decision in a ruling issued on Wednesday and dismissed the broadcaster's arguments that the ban curtailed its freedom of expression. In response, the Kremlin said the EU court's decision was "extremely negative" and warned Moscow would take similar measures against Western media in response. The EU sanction, which applies to RT's English unit and operations in the UK, Germany, France and Spain, means RT content cannot be broadcast or disseminated by EU operators. (11:20 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has approved the appointment of legislator Andriy Kostin as the country's new prosecutor general. The prosecutor general's office said in a Telegram post that 299 officials in the 450-seat legislature had endorsed Kostin's appointment. (11:42 GMT) Ukraine's navy says work has resumed at three Black Sea ports designated as export hubs under a recently brokered grain deal with Russia. "In connection with the signing of the agreement on the unblocking of Ukrainian ports for the export of grain, work has resumed in the ports of Odesa, Chernomorsk and Pivdennyi [Yuzhny]," the Ukrainian navy said in a Telegram post. "The departure and arrival of ships to seaports will be carried out by forming a caravan that will accompany the lead ship," it added. (11:46 GMT) Turkey has formally opened a joint coordination centre to oversee Ukrainian grain exports under a UN-backed deal aimed at resuming shipments from the war-torn country's Black Sea ports. Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar unveiled the monitoring centre in Istanbul at a ceremony held five days after Moscow and Kyiv signed the accord. (12:07 GMT) Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom has halved the amount of natural gas flowing through a major pipeline from Russia to Europe to 20% of capacity. Data on the Nord Stream website and the head of Germany's network regulator, Klaus Mueller, confirmed the reduction. (13:39 GMT) John Stawpert, manager for environment and trade at the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS), says there are about "100 ships stranded in the ports of the north and western Black Sea" but that not all of them will be able to transport Ukrainian grain to global markets. "Of those [ships], about 50 will be able to carry this grain out," Stawpert told Al Jazeera from London, where the ICS is headquartered. "How we crew them remains a question that needs to be answered," he added. (13:46 GMT) Gazprom's deputy CEO has said the company has still not received a Siemens turbine used at Nord Stream 1's Portovaya compressor station that has been undergoing servicing in Canada. Vitaly Markelov blamed Siemens, which is servicing the turbine, for the delay, saying that there were sanctions risks associated with the machinery. (14:52 GMT) Ukraine may have many years to wait before joining the European Union, but the war-battered country has been granted a place alongside members of the bloc at "Mini-Europe", an open-air theme park of famous European landmarks. Set among more than 300 miniature models and scenes in the park in Brussels, Belgium, visitors this week will see depictions of refugees fleeing Ukraine following Russia's invasion in February, and trucks taking medical and food aid into the country. The centrepiece is a model of the independence monument in Kyiv's Maidan Square surrounded by people with Ukrainian and EU flags, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy handing over Ukraine's formal application for membership of the bloc. (15:37 GMT) Italy has enough gas supplies to avoid a supply crunch until the end of the coming European winter if Russia were to turn off the taps, according to the country's ecological transition minister. Italy has been building up storage and hopes to have facilities filled to 90% or more of capacity by the end of the year or before. Roberto Cingolani said such storage would be sufficient until February if Russia shuts off all gas exports to Europe at the start of winter. (15:52 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has branded Russia "one of the last imperial colonial powers" over its invasion of Ukraine. (17:36 GMT) The leader of pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine's Donetsk region called for Moscow to conquer cities across Ukraine. Denis Pushilin said on the messaging app Telegram: "Today the time has come to liberate Russian cities, founded by Russians: Kyiv, Chernigiv, Poltava, Odessa, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Lutsk." (17:38 GMT) The Czech government has backed allowing its fighter jets to protect neighbouring Slovakia's air space from September, the Defence Ministry has said. Slovakia has sought help from its NATO allies as it looks to ground its Russian-made MiG-29 fighter jets in August under long-standing plans to modernise the military. Slovak government officials have said the old jets could be sent to neighbouring Ukraine to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia's invasion. From September, the Czech army's Gripen JAS-39 fighter jets will provide air policing for Slovakia until at least the end of 2023, the Czech Defence Ministry said. Poland is also expected to take part, it said. (18:27 GMT) A police officer in the Russian-occupied city of Kherson was killed by an explosive device planted by the Ukrainian "resistance movement" and another was injured, Ukraine's defence ministry has said. The reported killing is the latest in a series of attacks on local officials in regions captured by Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February. "The resistance movement clears Kherson of traitors," the ministry's defence intelligence directorate said in a statement. The device was set off by radio control on a street just north of the city centre, it said. (18:29 GMT) Russian space officials told their US counterparts that Moscow expects to remain on the International Space Station at least until the country's own outpost in orbit is built in 2028, NASA's space operations chief told Reuters news agency. (19:16 GMT) Ukrainians face dangerous challenges to export grain https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjLbvz5DtnU (19:18 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he will speak to his Russian counterpart for the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, but would narrowly focus the call to priorities including the release of detained Americans. The phone call "in the coming days" with foreign minister Sergey Lavrov "will not be a negotiation about Ukraine", Blinken told reporters. (19:23 GMT) The US has offered a deal to Russia aimed at bringing home WNBA star Brittney Griner and another jailed American, Paul Whelan, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. The statement marked the first time the US government has publicly revealed any concrete action it has taken to secure the release of Griner, who was arrested on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport in February and testified on Wednesday at her trial. Blinken did not offer details on the proposed deal, which he said was offered weeks ago, and it is unclear if it will be enough for Russia to release the Americans. (20:43 GMT) The fate of Ukraine's second-biggest power plant was hanging in the balance after Russian-backed forces claimed to have captured it intact, but Kyiv did not confirm its seizure, saying only that fighting was under way nearby. Seizing the Soviet-era coal-fired Vuhlehirsk power plant in eastern Ukraine would be Moscow's first strategic gain in more than three weeks. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/27/russian-forces-ukraine-both-claim-control-of-vital-power-plant (20:46 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will up its export of electricity to the European Union as the bloc faces an energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion. (20:49 GMT) Volkswagen is looking to sell its car assembly plant in the Russian city of Kaluga and a Kazakh carmaker could be a potential buyer, Russia's Vedomosti newspaper reported. Vedomosti, citing an unnamed source familiar with the company's intentions, said Volkswagen would finalise its plans for the facility by the end of the year. (23:51 GMT) Russian forces are undertaking a "massive redeployment" of troops to two southern regions of Ukraine, Kherson and Zaporizhia, in what appears to be a change of tactics by Moscow, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office has said. Oleksiy Arestovych said in a YouTube interview that Russian forces had taken over Ukraine's second-biggest power plant. Russian-backed forces had earlier announced the capture of the Soviet-era, coal-fired Vuhlehirsk plant in eastern Ukraine. 20220728 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-redeploying-troops (00:12 GMT) Lavrov has said Moscow supports Ethiopia's efforts to stabilise its internal political situation in remarks that sought to draw a contrast with what he presented as meddling by the West. (00:26 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the world is waiting to see if Russia follows through on its grain deal with Ukraine. (00:37 GMT) The Kremlin has said that the European Union had understood how essential to Russia the issue of goods transit to the country's Kaliningrad exclave is. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said developments around the exclave were "positive", after a deal with the EU to unblock transit to Kaliningrad. (00:59 GMT) The United Kingdom's National Grid has said there could be periods where electricity supply is tight this winter, given uncertainty over supplies of Russian gas to Europe, but that it expects to be able to meet demand. "While Britain is not reliant on Russian gas to the extent that the rest of Europe is, it is clear that the cessation of flows of gas into Europe could have knock-on impacts, including very high prices," National Grid's Electricity System Operator (ESO) said in an early winter outlook published on Thursday. (02:13 GMT) The United Kingdom's national security adviser has said Russia's invasion of Ukraine was part of a pattern of Moscow acting "deliberately and recklessly to undermine the global security architecture". "That's a pattern that includes the illegal annexation of Crimea, the use of chemical and radiological weapons on UK soil, and the repeated violations that caused the collapse of the INF [Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces] Treaty," Sir Stephen Lovegrove told the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC in a speech that called for a more integrated way to control arms proliferation. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9RIZy7nWUY United States nuclear arms race (02:20 GMT) Ukraine will boost its electricity exports to the European Union, Zelenskyy has said, adding this would generate foreign currency revenues and increase cashflow to Ukrainian utilities hit by a drop in domestic electricity since the Russian invasion. And Zelenskyy has promised to rebuild Antonivskyi bridge in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, after it was struck by Ukrainian forces with what a Moscow-appointed local administrator said were US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS). (03:00 GMT) Blinken has said that the war in Ukraine has "profoundly" weakened Russia despite Moscow's insistence that it is thriving politically and economically. The growing strength of NATO, global condemnation of Russia's invasion and overwhelming sanctions all prove to "refute" the Kremlin, Blinken said in a press briefing. (04:34 GMT) The mayor of Ukraine's port city of Mykolaiv has once again reported "powerful explosions", in a Telegram post that has become a nearly daily occurrence. (04:38 GMT) Stephen Lovegrove, has warned of the growing risk of nuclear confrontation with Russia and China, amid a breakdown in the backdoor communication channels that helped maintain peace during the Cold War. Speaking in Washington, DC, the United Kingdom's national security adviser said the lack of dialogue was taking place at a time when there were not only a "broader range" of strategic risks, but also more "pathways to escalation" as a result of advances in science and technology, the proliferation of weapons, and increasing rivalry in areas such as space. (04:54 GMT) Russian missiles have reportedly struck infrastructure in the Kyiv region, according to the governor. "This morning, the enemy launched a rocket attack on one of the communities of the Vyshgorod district," Oleksiy Kuleba wrote on Telegram. The Vyshgorod region is directly north of Ukraine's capital. (05:28 GMT) Russian forces attacked the town of Chuhuiv in the Kharkiv region on Thursday morning, the mayor has said, adding that there are an unconfirmed number of casualties. (05:35 GMT) The United Nations Security Council has been unable to agree on a statement welcoming last week's deal to get grain and fertiliser moving from Ukraine and Russia to millions of hungry people around the world, Norway's UN ambassador has said. (05:39 GMT) Ukraine's counteroffensive in the Russian-occupied Kherson region is gathering momentum, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. "Ukraine has used its new long range artillery to damage at least three of the bridges across the Dnipro River which Russia relies upon to supply the areas under its control," the ministry said in its latest intelligence briefing. (07:19 GMT) Four people have been killed in east Ukraine's Donetsk and another 11 wounded between 08:00 local time on Wednesday and 08:00 on Thursday, according to a message posted on Telegram by Russian-backed separatists. Separatist authorities have accused Ukraine of shelling Donetsk city on multiple occasions, including at a bus stop earlier this month. Donetsk city has been controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014, while Ukrainian forces continue to hold positions on the city's outskirts. (08:18 GMT) The US-based Institute for the Study of War has said one of Russia's ethnic republics is forming "volunteer" units for deployment to Ukraine. The Mari El Republic, established for the Indigenous Mari people and situated north of Kazan, formed and deployed two volunteer battalions named "Iden" and "Poltysh" to training grounds on July 27 and is currently forming a third battalion named "Akpatr", the ISW said in its latest assessment. (09:18 GMT) Russian-installed officials in southern Ukraine say 21 "accomplices" of the Ukrainian army and security services have been detained in the Moscow-occupied region of Kherson and the partially controlled region of Zaporizhia. (09:30 GMT) Ukraine's envoy to Turkey has expressed "sadness" over a chant of "Vladimir Putin" that rang out at a Champions League qualifying round football match in Istanbul on Wednesday. Images on social media showed a section of Fenerbahce supporters singing the Russian president's name in response to Dynamo Kyiv's first goal against the Turkish team. (09:40 GMT) Negotiations between Moscow and Washington on exchanging prisoners are ongoing, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman has said. "A concrete result has not yet been achieved," Maria Zakharova said in a statement. (11:05 GMT) A senior Ukraine military official has said Moscow's forces struck a military base north of the capital Kyiv, in a rare admission of a successful Russian attack on Ukrainian military infrastructure. Oleksiy Gromov told reporters that Russian forces had fired "six Kalibr cruise missiles on a military base in Lyutizh" at around 0200 GMT from the Crimea peninsula. One building was destroyed and two were damaged in the attack on the town some 30 kilometres orth of the capital. Gromov also reported attacks on Ukraine's northern region of Chernigiv, with shells fired from neighbouring Belarus, an ally of Moscow. He added there were "losses" among Ukrainian troops. (11:47 GMT) Russia's media regulator Roskomnadzor has filed a lawsuit to revoke the registration of the independent Novaya Gazeta newspaper, according to documents published on a court website. Novaya Gazeta, edited by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Dmitry Muratov, suspended operations in the country in March after being forced to remove material from its website on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (12:19 GMT) Ukraine's second-biggest city has been hit by a barrage of Russian shelling, leaving residents little hope for a return to normalcy. "We have nine districts in the city and they are all being bombed with varying intensity and at different times. So you can't say anywhere in Kharkiv is safe," Mayor Igor Terekhov told AFP. (12:49 GMT) Ukraine has appointed experienced investigator Oleksandr Klymenko as the head of its Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office, responding to a European Union request as the embattled nation seeks EU membership. (13:38 GMT) A Russian court fined former state TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova $822 for "discrediting Russia's armed forces" in social media posts in which she publicly opposed Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine-born Ovsyannikova rose to prominence in March after holding up an anti-war placard on the Vremya nightly news programme, where she worked as an editor, Reuters reported. (14:11 GMT) 'Without changing [NATO's] strategy, there is not going to be peace' in Ukraine: Orban. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has said Ukraine cannot defeat Russia under NATO's current strategy of support. <=== "This war in this form cannot be won," Orban said, speaking to journalists alongside Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer in Vienna. Orban said that NATO countries' strategy of supporting Ukraine with weapons and training "has shown until now that it will not lead to success." <=== "Without changing the strategy, there is not going to be peace," he said, warning that, without peace in Ukraine, all of the European Union will "be pushed into a war situation". <=== (14:36 GMT) German government under pressure for stance on Russia sanctions The German government's hard line on Russia over the Ukraine war is coming under pressure at home amid growing worries about soaring energy prices and possible gas shortages in Europe's largest economy come winter. Until now, all mainstream parties have backed the tough Western sanctions imposed on Russia after it invaded its neighbour. In recent weeks though, some conservatives have voiced scepticism about the West's strategy. And while opinion polls show that more than two-thirds of Germans still back sanctions, about half think these are hurting Germany more than Russia. "Our entire economic system is in danger of collapsing. If we are not careful, Germany could become de-industrialised," Michael Kretschmer, conservative leader of the eastern Saxony region, told Die Zeit newspaper in an interview printed on Thursday. (15:14 GMT) ArcelorMittal, the world's number-two steel maker, has said its profits fell in the second quarter, weighed down by inflation and Russia's war in Ukraine. The group said in a statement that its performance was "overshadowed by the outbreak of war in Ukraine, where we have steel and mining operations". In the second quarter, net profit eased by 2% to $3.9bn, AFP reported. (15:28 GMT) Ukraine is celebrating the "Day of Ukrainian Statehood" today - for the first time ever. In a speech published on the presidential site on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country will "celebrate at the time of such a brutal war - in the sixth month of it. After eight years of war in Donbas. But we will celebrate, despite all, because Ukrainians cannot be broken." Unlike the country's independence day, which falls on August 24, the symbolic Day of Ukrainian Statehood will connect Ukrainians through their experiences, culture and an identity that Zelenskyy described as dating back more than a millennium. On Thursday, Zelenskyy addressed citizens saying that the history of Ukraine's statehood can be described in one sentence: "We existed, exist and will exist!" (16:05 GMT) More than 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or injured since the Kremlin launched an invasion of Ukraine on February 24, according to US intelligence estimates. A congresswoman who recently visited Ukraine confirmed that the estimate had emerged in a briefing from the Department of State, Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Speaking to CNN, Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin said: "We were briefed that over 75,000 Russians have either been killed or wounded [in Ukraine], which is huge...over 80% of their land forces are bogged down, and they're tired," she said. (17:13 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that it is in talks with the US on a possible prisoner swap, but he said at a news briefing on Thursday that "there are no agreements in this area yet." (17:44 GMT) Estonia has said it would block Russian nationals from obtaining temporary residence permits or visas to study in Estonia. (18:18 GMT) A US-sanctioned Syrian ship has docked in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli carrying barley and wheat that the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut said had been stolen by Russia. Reuters reported that the Laodicea docked in Tripoli on Wednesday, according to shipping data website MarineTraffic. The Laodicea is one of a trio of ships owned by the Syrian port authority that Ukraine says have been transporting wheat plundered from stores in Ukrainian territory recently overtaken by Russia. All three ships have been sanctioned by the United States since 2015. (18:36 GMT) Figures cited by the US on Russian dead and injured amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine are "fake", says the Kremlin. "After all, these are not data from the US administration, but publications in newspapers," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. "In our time, not even the most solid newspapers are afraid to spread all kinds of fakes. Unfortunately, this is a practice we are seeing more and more often." (19:10 GMT) UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has said he is hopeful that the first shipment of grain from a Ukrainian Black Sea port could take place as early as Friday, but "crucial" details for the safe passage of vessels are still being worked out. (20:18 GMT) The German city of Hanover has banned hot water in public buildings and has introduced measures to reduce heating amid the gas crisis, according to the mayor's office. 20220729 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/29/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-wagner-firm-deployed-in-e-ukraine (05:58 GMT) Russian private military firm Wagner has likely been allocated responsibility for specific sectors of the front line in eastern Ukraine, Britain's defence ministry said in an intelligence update. (06:04 GMT) Russia's Sakhalin Energy Investment Co has asked its liquefied natural gas (LNG) customers to make payments via a Moscow unit of a European bank and is negotiating to switch payment currencies away from US dollars, two sources familiar with the matter said. (06:46 GMT) Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace said Russia is failing in "many areas" in its war in Ukraine and President Putin might seek to change strategy again. (07:41 GMT) Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine say that at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war captured during the fighting for Mariupol have been killed by Ukrainian shelling. Daniil Bezsonov, a spokesman for the Russia-backed separatists in the Donetsk region, said that at least 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 130 were injured on Friday when Ukrainian shelling hit a prison in the town of Olenivka. The Ukrainian troops were taken prisoner after the fierce fighting for Ukraine's Azov Sea port of Mariupol, where they holed up at the giant Azovstal steel mill for months. (08:27 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine struck a prison in separatist-held territory with US-made HIMARS rockets, killing 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war and leaving 75 wounded, Russian news agencies reported. "A missile strike from the US-made multiple launch rocket system (HIMARS) was carried out on a pre-trial detention centre in the area of the settlement of Olenivka, where Ukrainian military prisoners of war, including fighters from the Azov battalion, are being held," the defence ministry said in its daily briefing. As a result of the attack, "40 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 75 wounded," and eight prison staff were also injured, it added. (08:45 GMT) Russian raids on the heavily bombed Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv near the country's southern front line killed four people and wounded seven more, the regional governor has said. (09:25 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow would soon propose a time for a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in which Blinken has said he wants to discuss an exchange of prisoners held in Russian and US jails. (10:08 GMT) Ukraine's military denied carrying out an attack on a prison in separatist-held territory that Russia's defence ministry said killed 40 Ukrainian prisoners of war, and blamed it on Russian forces. (10:35 GMT) An appeals court in Kyiv has reduced to 15 years the life sentence of a Russian soldier convicted in the first war crimes trial since Russia began its war on Ukraine in February. Critics said the sentencing of Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old contract soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian and was convicted in May, was unduly harsh, given that he confessed to the crime, said he was following orders and expressed remorse. (11:05 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country is ready to start grain shipments from Black Sea ports and is awaiting a signal from the United Nations and Turkey to start the shipments. Zelenskyy's office said the president had visited the Black Sea port of Chornomorsk, which has been blockaded by Russia, to see preparations for the shipments under a UN-brokered agreement signed in Turkey last week. (11:44 GMT) Putting the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline into operation was not an option as this would only play into the hands of Russian President Putin, the German economy minister has said. "That is why, in my view, it would be wrong and is not an option," Robert Habeck said in a conversation with representatives of a glass company in the state of Thuringia. (12:03 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to work "to ease the effects" of the war in Ukraine during talks in Paris, the French presidency said. (13:35 GMT) More than 18 civilians have died, and numerous more have been injured, in the last two days, according to local officials. There were 10 deaths and 25 injuries reported in Donetsk, the province's military governor, Pavlo Kyrylenko said, blaming Russian shelling on numerous communities. Meanwhile, two deaths were reported in the eastern city of Kharkiv in an attack that left eight dead. And, in Mykolaiv five people died and seven were injured when a bus stop came under fire. In areas controlled by pro-Russian separatists, officials reported one dead and 28 injured. (13:41 GMT) A summer of bomb threats frightens Moldova as war rages nearby. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/29/a-summer-of-bomb-threats-frightens-moldova-as-war-rages-nearby (13:53 GMT) Egypt will consider sending agricultural inspectors to Ukrainian ports to inspect wheat cargoes bound for Egypt, the head of the Egyptian agricultural quarantine, Ahmed el-Attar, has told Reuters. Egypt has cancelled contracts for a total of 240,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat that were booked by its state grains buyer for February and March delivery but never loaded due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, two people with knowledge of the matter said. The country typically sends inspectors from the quarantine to check cargoes at their port of origin before ships set sail. (14:22 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry has condemned an attack on a prison in territory held by Russian-backed separatists and appealed to the International Criminal Court over what it said were Russian war crimes. (15:33 GMT) The US has imposed new sanctions on two Russian individuals and four Russian entities, the Treasury Department's website has shown. (15:36 GMT) The deputy chief of staff to Zelenskyy has said there are already 17 ships ready to move goods from ports in Odesa. Kirill Tymoshenko said 16 of the ships were loaded with a total of 580 tonnes of grain. (16:26 GMT) Gazprom's senior manager has said that the delivery of the Nord Stream 1 gas turbine to Germany from Canada after maintenance was not in line with the contract. Vitaly Markelov, Gazprom's deputy chief executive, also said that Siemens Energy, which is servicing the Nord Stream 1 equipment, succeeded in fixing only a quarter of the faults found. EU nations agree to ration gas as Russia cuts supply further https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZQQXQPAvus (16:53 GMT) Ukrainian intelligence services say a deadly attack on a prisoner of war camp in eastern Ukraine was a targeted explosion by Russian forces. "The explosions occurred in a newly constructed building specially prepared for the Azovstal prisoners," the Ukrainian side claimed in a statement. Azovstal is the steelworks in Mariupol where Ukrainian soldiers had holed up before submitting to Russian captivity. (17:10 GMT) The Ukrainian embassy in Beirut has said that a judge in Ukraine has issued a ruling to seize a Syrian vessel docked in Lebanon and the cargo on board after an investigation. In a statement to Reuters, the embassy added that in the case of confiscation of the cargo of the ship, Ukraine is ready to negotiate with Lebanon regarding the terms of its transfer to Lebanon. (17:21 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he had a "frank and direct" conversation with Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and told his counterpart that Russia must fulfil commitments it made as part of the deal on the export of grain from Ukraine. Blinken said he also told Lavrov that "the world will never recognise annexation" of parts of Ukraine seized by Russian troops and that Russia would face additional costs. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has told Blinken that Washington is not living up to promises regarding the exemption from sanctions for the supply of food from Russia, Moscow has said. A Russian foreign ministry read-out of the call also said Lavrov told Blinken that Russia would achieve all the goals of its "special military operation" in Ukraine and said Western arms supplies would only drag out the conflict. (19:05 GMT) Russia is preventing humanitarian aid being brought to the occupied regions of Ukraine, United Nations representatives have said at a briefing in Kyiv. Saviano Abreu, from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that humanitarian access to areas of Ukraine not controlled by the Ukrainian government is "extremely difficult," if not impossible. "People in these regions, in the Donbas, in the south of Ukraine, they are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance," he said. (19:09 GMT) NATO's newest member North Macedonia is handing over several Soviet battle tanks to Ukraine as it prepares to modernise its defences in line with Alliance standards, the defence ministry has said. North Macedonia would otherwise have discarded the tanks, but Ukraine needs them, the ministry statement said. North Macedonia still has about 30 Soviet T-72 main battle tanks, but the number being given to Ukraine was not specified. (19:13 GMT) China has accused the US of double standards at the UN for challenging Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan while emphasising the principle of sovereignty for Ukraine after Russian forces invaded. A day after Chinese leader Xi Jinping warned US President Joe Biden in a phone call against playing with fire over Taiwan, Deputy UN Ambassador Geng Shuang reinforced the message during a meeting on Ukraine at the 15-member UN Security Council. (19:23 GMT) Japanese foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has said that Russian aggression needs to go down in history as a "clear failure" otherwise other countries will attempt to change the status quo by force. (19:50 GMT) Siemens failed to return the Nord Stream gas turbine to Russia on time after a mandatory repair, Gazprom deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov has said. "We expected to get it back in May. This engine has not returned to Russia so far. Due to anti-Russian sanctions and without the consent of Gazprom, it was sent from Canada not to Russia, but to Germany," Markelov said. Only one of six main gas pumping units at the Portovaya compressor station are currently operational, he said. (19:51 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is seeking access to the site of a deadly attack on a facility holding Ukrainian prisoners of war and has offered to help evacuate the wounded, it has said. 20220730 Is the world edging towards an 'accidental' nuclear war? UK National Security Adviser warns of warfare due to communication breakdown between the West, Russia and China. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHyimZlahAs (06:28 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has condemned the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces and their proxies in Ukraine. (06:30 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the deaths of dozens of prisoners in a Russian-held jail showed there should be clear legal recognition that Russia was a state sponsor of "terrorism". (06:32 GMT) Russian-installed authorities in newly occupied territories in southern Ukraine are under pressure and possibly preparing to hold referendums on joining Russia later this year, according to Britain's military. (07:11 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom has said its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.1 million cubic metres, a daily level that has remained unchanged since Thursday. An application to supply gas via the Sokhranivka entry point was rejected by Ukraine, Gazprom said. (07:39 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom has said it stopped supplying neighbouring Latvia with gas, accusing it of violating conditions for gas withdrawal. The move comes a day after Latvian energy firm Latvijas Gaze said it was buying gas from Russia and paying in euros rather than the roubles required when trading with Gazprom. (08:26 GMT) The Ukrainian military has said it had killed scores of Russian soldiers and destroyed two ammunition dumps in fighting in the Kherson region, the focus of Kyiv's counter-offensive in the south and a key link in Moscow's supply lines. Rail traffic to Kherson over the Dnipro River had been cut, the military's southern command said, potentially further isolating Russian forces west of the river from supplies in occupied Crimea and the east. Ukraine has used Western-supplied long-range missile systems to badly damage three bridges across the Dnipro in recent weeks, cutting off Kherson city and - in the assessment of British defence officials - leaving Russia's 49th Army stationed on the west bank of the river highly vulnerable. (09:07 GMT) An appeals court in Kyiv has reduced to 15 years the life sentence of a Russian soldier convicted in the first war crimes trial since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Critics said the sentencing of Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old contract soldier who pleaded guilty to killing a civilian and was convicted in May, was unduly harsh, given that he confessed to the crime, said he was following orders and expressed remorse. (09:39 GMT) Russia is "running out of steam" in its assault on Ukraine, the chief of Britain's MI6 foreign intelligence agency, Richard Moore, according to a brief comment on social media. (10:23 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has announced sanctions against 32 officials and journalists from New Zealand for supporting what it called the country's "Russophobic agenda". The list includes Shane Arndell, deputy chief of the naval forces, and Wellington Mayor Andy Foster, among other officials. (13:23 GMT) The European Central Bank has raised interest rates for the first time in more than a decade. Europe is struggling to put out fires hurting its economy on several fronts. But it is the rising cost of heating homes and feeding families that many Europeans probably find most worrying. Annual inflation in the European Union reached almost 9% in June. Inflation and an energy crunch, what's next for Europe's economy? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6DQJytGGYI (13:48 GMT) Sixteen ships loaded with grain were set to depart from the Ukrainian port of Odesa, as tensions flair up again about a missile attack that killed dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/30/several-ships-loaded-with-grain-ready-to-leave-ukraines-odesa (14:20 GMT) Ukrainian officials have denounced a call by Russia's embassy in the United Kingdom for fighters from the Azov regiment to face a "humiliating" execution. "Azov militants deserve execution, but death not by firing squad but by hanging, because they're not real soldiers. They deserve a humiliating death," Moscow's diplomatic mission wrote on Twitter overnight. (14:48 GMT) Maritime expert and lawyer Ahmet Yucel Alibeyer says the biggest concern in restarting grain shipments was "maritime and technical security", including the possibility of Russia's navy getting access to Ukrainian ports. (15:33 GMT) The president of Turkish football club Fenerbahce has insisted that they would not apologise after their fans chanted Vladimir Putin's name during a match against Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday. "We're not going to apologise to Ukraine," Fenerbahce boss Ali Koc said. "It's up to the Ukrainian ambassador and the foreign minister's spokesperson to apologise to us after their inappropriate remarks." (16:35 GMT) Relatives of captured Ukrainian soldiers have held a demonstration in Kyiv, demanding information on the situation of their loved ones. (18:06 GMT) Spain's prime minister has expressed support for Bosnia to become a candidate for European Union membership amid fears that uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine could fuel instability in the ethnically torn Balkan nation that went through a devastating conflict in the 1990s'. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came to Sarajevo from Serbia, where he kicked off his tour of the Balkan region on Friday. Sanchez will also travel to Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania. (20:20 GMT) The Ukrainian government has decided on a mandatory evacuation of people in the region around the eastern city of Donetsk, scene of fierce fighting with Russia, President Zelenskyy has said. In a late-night address, the Ukrainian president also said the hundreds of thousands of people still in combat zones in the larger Donbas region needed to leave. 20220731 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/7/31/ukraine-latest-updates-russia-invites-experts-for-probe (07:04 GMT) Russia has invited experts from the UN and the Red Cross to investigate the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners in a jail held by Moscow-backed separatists, the defence ministry said. In a statement, the ministry said it was acting "in the interests of conducting an objective investigation" into what it called an attack on the jail earlier in the week. The separatists put the death toll at 53 and accused Kyiv of hitting the prison with rockets. Ukraine's armed forces denied responsibility, saying Russian artillery had targeted the prison to hide the mistreatment of those held there. (07:10 GMT) Russian gas producer Gazprom says its supply of gas to Europe through Ukraine via the Sudzha entry point was seen at 42.2 million cubic metres (mcm), up from 42.1mcm a day earlier. (07:23 GMT) A drone attack on the Russian fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol wounded five people, the Russian-annexed city's Mayor Mikhail Razvozhayev has said. "This morning, Ukrainian nationalists decided to spoil the Day of the Russian Fleet" being celebrated on Sunday, he said on Telegram, adding that five people, including employees of the army staff, had been wounded. A senior official in Russian-annexed Crimea accused Ukraine of carrying out a drone attack before planned celebrations to mark Russia's Navy Day, injuring five and forcing the cancellation of festivities. "An unidentified object flew into the courtyard of the fleet's headquarters," Mikhail Razvozhayev, governor of Sevastopol, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet, wrote on the Telegram messaging application. (08:01 GMT) Zelenskyy has warned that thousands of people, including children, were still in the region's battleground areas, with six civilians killed and 15 wounded on Friday, according to the Donetsk governor. "There's already a governmental decision about obligatory evacuation from Donetsk," Zelenskyy said, underscoring authorities' calls to leave the besieged region in recent weeks. (08:19 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine's harvest could be half its usual amount this year due to the Russian invasion. (08:40 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said the Russian navy would receive hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles within the next few months and that the area of their deployment would depend on Russian interests. Speaking on Russia's Navy Day in the former imperial capital of St Petersburg, Putin praised Tsar Peter the Great for making Russia a great sea power. Putin did not mention Ukraine directly. (09:00 GMT) Ukraine has denied carrying out a drone attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea, that Russian officials said wounded six personnel. (09:13 GMT) The possibility of the first grain-exporting ship leaving Ukraine's ports on Monday is high, a spokesperson for President Tayyip Erdogan has said. (09:28 GMT) Authorities in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv have said that widespread Russian bombardments overnight had left at least one person dead, as Moscow continued to pummel the sprawling front line. "Mykolaiv was subjected to mass shelling today. Probably the strongest so far," the city's mayor Oleksandr Senkevych wrote on Telegram. "Powerful explosions were heard after one in the morning and around five in the morning." The governor of the region - where Ukrainian forces are looking to launch a major counter-offensive - said that according to preliminary information one person had been killed and two wounded in the strikes. Attacks also pounded the northeastern regions of Kharkiv and Sumy, near the front line with the Russian forces. (10:03 GMT) The founder and owner of one of the largest Ukrainian agriculture companies, Nibulon, Oleksiy Vadatursky, and his wife were killed in a Russian attack on the Mykolaiv region, Governor Vitaliy Kim has said. Nibulon, with its headquarters in Mykolaiv, specialises in the production and export of wheat, barley and corn, and it has its own fleet and shipyard. Zelenskyy has called the death of Oleksiy Vadatursky, the founder and owner of agriculture company Nibulon, "a great loss for all of Ukraine". He said in a statement the businessman had been in the process of building a modern grain market involving a network of transhipment terminals and elevators. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/1/did-russia-deliberately-kill-vadatursky-ukraines-grain-tycoon (10:55 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 158 aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-158 (11:04 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has signed a new naval doctrine which cast the US as the main rival and set out Russia's global maritime ambitions for crucial areas such as the Arctic and in the Black Sea. Speaking on Navy Day in St Petersburg, founded by Tsar Peter the Great, Putin praised Peter for making Russia a great sea power and increasing the global standing of the Russian state. After inspecting the navy, Putin made a short speech in which he promised what he touted as Russia's unique Zircon hypersonic cruise missiles, cautioning that Russia had the military clout to defeat any potential aggressors. The new 55-page naval doctrine sets out the broad strategic aims of the navy, including its ambitions as a "great maritime power" which extend over the entire world. An image of Russian President Vladimir Putin is displayed as U.S. President Joe Biden speaks about gas prices. (13:56 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says it is still waiting to access prisoners of war (POWs) who were injured in an attack on a prison camp in Olenivka, in the separatist-held region of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. "To be clear, our request to access the POWs from Olenivka yesterday has not been granted," the ICRC delegation in Ukraine said on Twitter. "Granting ICRC access to POWs is an obligation of parties to conflict under the Geneva Conventions." (14:18 GMT) Russian forces have fired up to 50 shells in residential areas of Nikopol, a city in southern Ukraine, Dnipropetrovsk Governor Valentyn Reznichenko has said on its Telegram channel. One person was wounded in the attack, Reznichenko said. (15:44 GMT) Although Vladimir Putin announced a new naval doctrine set to boost Russia's maritime presence, the Russian navy will struggle to compete with the US and NATO fleets, an analyst has told Al Jazeera. "The Russian navy, surface navy at least, is outnumbered four to one by NATO European members alone and by far more by the American navy - so in terms of numbers, there is no context," Anatol Lieven, senior research fellow on Russia and Europe at the the Quincy Institute of Responsible Statecraft, said. "Where Russia is equal to the US is in nuclear weapons, which is why President Putin repeatedly emphasises Russia's missile technology because this is the one area in which Russia is still a superpower," he added. "The Russian navy has always been considered to have had a relatively high morale and good commanders but it cannot realistically fight NATO ... The only area where the navy is actually in action is in the Black Sea and Russia cannot reinforce the navy in the Black Sea," Lieven said. (16:39 GMT) United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has condemned the attack on Olenivka detention facility calling it "unconscionable". "As are reports of barbaric treatment of Ukrainian POWs [prisoners of war] by Russia's forces," Brink said on Twitter. "We will continue to pursue accountability and give Ukraine what it needs to defend itself against Moscow's horrific aggression," she added. (17:08 GMT) Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa, said that there is a "very high likelihood" that grain ships will be allowed to leave Ukraine to reach Istanbul, Turkey. "The Turkish presidential spokesperson said those ships have a very high likelihood to leave tomorrow," said Hendren, adding that a captain he had spoken to said he had been told to prepare to follow a pilot ship on Monday to go to Istanbul through the newly created safe channels. 20220801 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/1/ukraine-russia-live-first-grain-shipment-to-depart-odesa-port (05:43 GMT) Turkey's defence ministry says the first shipment of Ukrainian grain will leave the port of Odesa at 05:30 GMT. "The departure of the cargo ship Razoni flying the flag of Sierra Leone and loaded with maize will leave the port of Odessa bound for Lebanon at 08:30 [05:30 GMT]." (05:51 GMT) The United Kingdom says foreign companies holding UK property must identify their true owners in an official register as part of a crackdown on Russian oligarchs and corrupt elites laundering illicit wealth. The "Register of Overseas Entities", which became active on Monday, is part of a wider economic crime law enacted this year in an effort to stop the flow of illicit Russian cash into London following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (06:21 GMT) Britain says Russia has continued to attempt tactical assaults on the Bakhmut axis in eastern Ukraine over the last four days, but has only managed to make slow progress. Britain said that Russia was probably adjusting the operational design of its Donbas offensive and had likely identified its Zaporizhzhia front as a vulnerable area in need of reinforcement. (06:48 GMT) Authorities say at least six people were wounded after a small explosive device carried by a makeshift drone blew up at the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on the Crimean Peninsula. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the drone explosion in a courtyard at the naval headquarters in the city of Sevastopol. But the seemingly improvised, small-scale nature of the attack raised the possibility that it was the work of Ukrainian fighters trying to drive out Russian forces. A Russian lawmaker from Crimea, Olga Kovitidi, told the Russian state news agency RIA-Novosti that the drone was launched from Sevastopol. She said the incident was being treated as a terrorist act, the news agency said. (06:48 GMT) Turkey's defence ministry says the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain has set off from the port of Odesa. The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, Razoni, left for Lebanon, the ministry said. A statement from the United Nations said the Razoni is carrying more than 26,000 tonnes of maize. Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar says the first ship carrying grain to leave Ukraine under a safe passage agreement will anchor off the coast of Istanbul around 12:00GMT on Tuesday for a joint inspection. As part of the grain deal, a Joint Coordination Centre was set up in Istanbul with personnel from the United Nations, Russia, Ukraine and Turkey. Ukraine's foreign minister has hailed the departure of the first shipment of grain from Odesa's port since the start of Russia's invasion in late February as a "relief for the world". (08:45 GMT) Russia celebrated its Navy Day holiday on Sunday with naval parades in various cities. President Vladimir Putin attended the main event in Saint Petersburg, the country's second-largest city. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/8/1/photos-putin-attends-parade-as-russia-celebrates-navy-day (09:39 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that its forces have destroyed two United States-made HIMARS rocket systems in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, and a launch system for Harpoon anti-ship missiles in the southwestern Odesa region, according to a report by the country's Interfax news agency. (09:34 GMT) The Kremlin has welcomed news of the first shipment of grain from Odesa as "very positive" news. "As for the departure of the first ship, this is very positive. A good opportunity to test the effectiveness of the mechanisms that were agreed during talks in Istanbul," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, citing the deal reached by Russia and Ukraine last month on resuming exports from the latter's Black Sea ports. "Let's hope that all the agreements will be implemented from all sides, and that the mechanism will work effectively." (09:58 GMT) The United Kingdom's foreign secretary has hailed the first grain shipment from the Ukrainian port of Odesa an "important first step", and called on Moscow not to "weaponise global food supplies". "These ships must receive safe passage. There must be no repeat of Russia's shelling of the port of Odesa," Liz Truss said in a statement posted on Twitter. (10:27 GMT) Romania's military has carried out a controlled explosion of a naval mine that had drifted close to the country's Black Sea shore, the country's defence ministry says. The ministry said the mine defused on Sunday, the second handled by the Romanian military since March, was drifting some 2 nautical miles (3.7km) off the country's shoreline. Mines began floating in the Black Sea after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams have been defusing those drifting in their waters. Russia and Ukraine accuse each other of planting them. (10:38 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the departure of the first ship carrying grain from Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa to global buyers since Russia launched its offensive, his spokesman says. (11:14 GMT) The European Union has sent Kyiv 1 billion euros ($1bn) in financial aid to support its budget and help it tackle the financial consequences of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's prime minister says. "The 1 billion euros is a part of a large package of support for Ukraine ... totaling 9 billion euros. The funds will help finance priority budgetary needs," Denys Shmygal wrote in a Telegram post. (12:12 GMT) Russia-annexed Crimea has harvested its largest crop of grains since the collapse of the Soviet Union, according to the region's agriculture ministry. The ministry said more than 2 million tonnes of grains had been harvested before drying and cleaning, adding that farmers have already taken grain from 95% of the harvesting area. It said the haul marked the largest crop since Soviet times, when Crimea harvested 2.2 million tonnes of grain in 1989. (12:39 GMT) Ukraine has received a batch of four more United States-made high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), the country's defence minister says. (13:20 GMT) Russian lawmakers have introduced a bill to the lower house of the country's parliament banning the adoption of Russian children by citizens of "unfriendly countries". Russia's list of unfriendly countries was expanded after many nations imposed sanctions in response to Russia's deployment of troops to Ukraine in February. It currently includes the United States, United Kingdom, all European Union member states, and Japan and South Korea. (13:47 GMT) The United States is ready to outline a new nuclear arms deal with Russia, President Joe Biden has said. Speaking ahead of global nonproliferation discussions at the United Nations on Monday, Biden also called on Moscow to demonstrate its ability to negotiate with Washington over the issue in good faith. (14:04 GMT) There is little Russia can do to help with urgent repairs required to the malfunctioning Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline equipment, the Kremlin's spokesman has said, following further falls in Gazprom production and exports. "There are malfunctions which require urgent repairs and there are certain artificial difficulties which were caused by sanctions," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "This situation needs a fix and Russia has a little ability to help here," he added. Russia cut gas supplies via Nord Stream 1, its main gas pipeline to Europe, to just 20% of capacity last week, saying that a turbine sent to Canada for maintenance had not been returned and other equipment also needed repair. (14:34 GMT) Moscow has announced sanctions against 39 officials, business people and journalists from the United Kingdom, barring them from entering Russia for supporting the "demonisation" of the country and its international isolation. The list published by Russia's foreign ministry includes opposition Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and former prime minister David Cameron. Their names are added to those of more than 200 other Britons whom Russia has already banned, including most of the UK's leading politicians. (14:53 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned the world is "one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation". "We have been extraordinarily lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy. Nor is it a shield from geopolitical tensions boiling over into nuclear conflict," Guterres said at the start of a conference of countries belonging to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). "Today, humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation," he added, before calling on nations to "put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons." Guterres's comments came at the start of the 10th review conference of the NPT, an international treaty that came into force in 1970 to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. The meeting, held at the UN's headquarters in New York City, has been postponed several times since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will run until August 26. (15:16 GMT) Russia's president has warned there can be "no winners" in a nuclear war and said such a conflict should never be started. "As a state party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and one of its depositaries, Russia is consistently complying with the letter and the spirit of the Treaty," Putin said in a letter to participants of a conference on the treaty in New York City. "We proceed from the fact that there can be no winners in a nuclear war and it should never be unleashed, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community," he added. (15:52 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has pledged Paris will donate a mobile DNA lab to Kyiv in a show of support aimed at ensuring alleged war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine do not go unpunished. (16:43 GMT) The European Union has started to disburse another billion-euro loan to Ukraine, with the first 500 million euros ($513 million) issued on Monday. (17:16 GMT) Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has urged all nuclear states to conduct themselves "responsibly" in non-proliferation efforts at a time when he said the road to a world without nuclear arms had become much more difficult. (18:29 GMT) Ukrainian farmers are holding back on orders for rapeseed to sow for next year's harvest as Russia's invasion continues to disrupt agricultural activity, French seed group Vilmorin has said. Rapeseed is one of the first major arable crops to be sown in Europe after summer harvesting and demand from Ukrainian growers so far was "relatively sluggish", Vilmorin's Chief Executive Franck Berger said. "Some farmers are cautious about their capacity to carry out sowing," he said during a presentation of full-year sales. (19:22 GMT) Austria has made progress in weaning itself off Russian natural gas and boosting gas storage, the government said on Monday. Environment Minister Leonore Gewessler said dependence on Russian gas had fallen to less than 50% from up to 80% previously, which had made Austria one of the countries in Europe most exposed to Russian gas flows. (19:55 GMT) The United States has announced a new tranche of weapons for Ukraine's forces, including ammunition for increasingly important rocket launchers and artillery guns. The new $550m package will "include more ammunition for the high mobility advanced rocket systems otherwise known as HIMARS, as well as ammunition" for artillery, National Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. The assistance includes 75,000 rounds of 155mm artillery ammunition, the Pentagon said in a statement. "To meet its evolving battlefield requirements, the United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with key capabilities," the statement said. (20:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that it was "too soon" to celebrate the shipment of grain which left a port in Odesa earlier on Monday. 20220802 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/russia-ukraine-crisis-in-maps-and-charts-live-news-interactive https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/2/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-moscow-using-nuclear-shield-us (06:59 GMT) Nuclear threats emanating from the war in Ukraine as well as in Asia and the Middle East have put the world "just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation", the UN secretary-general has said. Antonio Guterres issued the dire warning at the opening of a long-delayed meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and eventually achieving a nuclear-free world. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/1/un-chief-warns-world-is-one-step-from-nuclear-annihilation (07:05 GMT) The United States has accused Russia of using Ukraine's biggest nuclear power plant as a "nuclear shield" by stationing troops there, preventing Ukrainian forces from returning fire and risking a terrible nuclear accident. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US was "deeply concerned" that the Zaporizhzhia plant, which Russia was accused of firing shells dangerously close to in March, was now a Russian military base used to fire on nearby Ukrainian forces. (07:09 GMT) Explosions were heard overnight in the southern city of Mykolaiv, its mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych has said on his Telegram channel. "Around 4 in the morning in Mykolaiv, powerful explosions rang out in several districts of the city," Sienkevych said. Initial reports suggested one person was injured, he added. (08:18 GMT) One vessel each day is expected to leave from Ukrainian ports to export grain as long as an agreement that ensures safe passage holds, a senior Turkish official told Reuters news agency. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/22/ukraine-grain-export-deal-what-you-need-to-know (08:42 GMT) Turkey's representative at the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul has said that the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since "Russia's" blockade was expected to anchor at Istanbul on Tuesday night. (09:34 GMT) More than 10 million people have fled Ukraine towards neighbouring countries since Russia invaded the country in late February, the UN Refugee Agency reports. (10:11 GMT) German utility Rheinenergie, the energy supplier to the city of Cologne, says prices to some customers would more than double from October 1, due to a 450% jump in gas procurement costs. Rheinenergie said it was raising natural gas prices to 18.30 euro cents per kilowatt hour (Kwh) from 7.87 cents currently. (10:50 GMT) The Kremlin says talks scheduled for Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will address, among other things, the Turkish-brokered deal to unblock Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a call that the talks will address how effectively the deal, which must be renewed after 120 days, is working. (11:06 GMT) The mandatory evacuation of the eastern Donetsk region has started, Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk has said. (11:36 GMT) Russia's Supreme Court has designated the Azov Regiment - a former volunteer battalion that was incorporated into Ukraine's army - a "terrorist" group, allowing for lengthy jail terms for its members, Russian news agencies reported. (11:44 GMT) The Kremlin says that if the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty expired without a replacement in 2026 then it would have a very negative effect on global security. (11:52 GMT) In March, President Vladimir Putin honoured Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov with the Hero of Russia award posthumously and used the opportunity to celebrate Russia's ethnic diversity. Gadzhimagomedov, a senior lieutenant from Dagestan, had served in Russia's airborne troops and died in combat in the first days of Russia's war on Ukraine. "I am a Russian man," said Putin, as he announced the top honorary title. "But when I see examples of heroism like this young man, Nurmagomed Gadzhimagomedov - a native of Dagestan, a Lak by ethnicity, our other soldiers, I want to say: 'I am a Lak, I am a Dagestani, I am a Chechen, Ingush, Russian, Tatar, Jew, Mordvin, Ossetian'." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/2/racist-federation-russias-minorities-complain-of-racism (12:14 GMT) Lebanon's top prosecutor has lifted his seizure order on a ship docked in Lebanon accused by Ukraine of carrying stolen flour and barley and allowed it to sail after finding "no criminal offence committed", a senior judicial source told Reuters. The ship, the Laodicea, remains unable to sail for the time being due to another seizure order issued by a judge in the northern city of Tripoli, where the ship is docked, on Monday, the source said. (13:26 GMT) Russia backed China over an expected visit to Taiwan by US Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, warning Washington that such a provocative trip would put the United States on a collision course with Beijing. "We cannot say for sure right now whether she will or will not get there, but everything about this tour and the possible visit to Taiwan is purely provocative," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Maria Zakharova, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman, said the expected visit was a provocative attempt by Washington to pile pressure on China - with whom Russia has forged a strong partnership in recent years. "The USA is a state provocateur," she said. "Russia confirms the principle of 'one China' and opposes the independence of the island in any form." (14:14 GMT) The British government said it had sanctioned two former board members of oil company Rosneft: Didier Casimiro and Zeljko Runje. (14:16 GMT) Canada has said it was imposing more sanctions on Russia that would impact 43 military officials and 17 entities. Canada has imposed sanctions on more than 1,150 individuals and entities in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24. (14:19 GMT) The US Commerce Department will add 25 Airbus airplanes operated by Russian airlines believed to violate US export controls as part of the Biden administration's sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the agency told Reuters news agency. The 25 Airbus A320, A321 and A330 airplanes are operated by Ural Airlines, S7 Airlines, Red Wings, Yamal Airlines, Nordwind, and I-Fly. The orders aim to deny the airlines access to refueling, spare parts and maintenance services. "The United States and our partners applied sweeping, powerful export controls to industry sectors - such as aerospace - that Russia leverages to sustain its military aggression," said Commerce Department Export Enforcement chief Matthew Axelrod in a statement provided to Reuters. "Today's identification of 25 foreign-produced aircraft further degrades Russian airlines' ability to operate their fleets of both U.S. and EU airplanes." (16:36 GMT) Ukraine has recaptured 53 settlements in the mostly Russian-occupied southern region of Kherson since the start of Moscow's invasion, the regional governor has said. (16:38 GMT) The United States has issued a fresh round of sanctions on Russia, including against metals company MMK, as well as a reported associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a notice published on the US Department of the Treasury website. The sanctions target Publichnoe Aktsionernoe Obschestvo Magnitogorskiy Metallurgicheskiy Kombinat (MMK) and Alina Kabaeva, who reportedly is in a relationship with Putin. The Russian president has denied any such ties. (17:52 GMT) Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz has laid out a new debt payment freeze plan, a week after becoming the first government entity to default since the start of the Russian invasion in late February. With one proposal already rejected by bondholders, Naftogaz's plan offered additional incentives, including added interest payments, in a bid to secure backing for a two-year moratorium on debt payments. The solicitation, made by Naftogaz through its financial arm Kondor Finance, includes deferral of principal payments for two years on notes due on 2022, 2024 and 2026. (17:59 GMT) A Nord Stream 1 gas turbine that has become the focus of a deepening energy row with Russia is in Germany after undergoing maintenance in Canada, and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit it on Wednesday, according to Siemens Energy. Russia has cited problems with the turbine as the reason for cutting gas supply via Nord Stream 1 - its main gas link to Europe. "He (Scholz) will, together with our CEO Christian Bruch, take a look at the turbine serviced in Canada for the Nordstream 1 gas pipeline, which is ready for onward transport to Russia," Siemens Energy said in an invitation to the event. (18:40 GMT) The first grain-carrying ship to leave Ukrainian ports in wartime has safely anchored off Turkey's coast. The first ship, the Razoni, carrying 26,527 tonnes of corn to Lebanon, anchored near the Bosphorus entrance from the Black Sea at around 1800 GMT, some 36 hours after departing from Ukraine's Odesa port. (19:21 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked his government to look into whether same-sex marriages should be legalised but said there would be no move as long as the war with Russia continued. Kyiv has increased support for LGBTQ+ rights since Western-backed leaders came to power in 2014. Parliament passed legislation in 2015 to ban discrimination in the workplace, but it does not allow for same-sex marriage. (20:14 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that despite US supplies of rocket artillery, Kyiv's forces could not yet overcome Russian advantages in heavy guns and personnel. "This is very much felt in combat, especially in the Donbas. ... It is just hell there. Words cannot describe it." --- https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/02/jeremy-corbyn-urges-west-to-stop-arming-ukraineJeremy Corbyn has urged western countries to stop arming Ukraine, and claimed he was criticised over antisemitism because of his stance on Palestine, in a TV interview likely to underscore Keir Starmer's determination not to readmit him to the Labour party. --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/2/russia-accuses-us-of-direct-role-in-war-in-ukraine Russia has accused the United States of direct involvement in the Ukraine war, as the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain to world markets since Moscow's invasion continued its passage to Lebanon without problems. Moscow said on Tuesday it was responding to comments by Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, about the way Kyiv used US-supplied long-range HIMARS rocket launch systems based on what he called excellent satellite imagery and real-time information. Skibitsky told the UK's Telegraph newspaper there was consultation between US and Ukrainian intelligence officials before attacks and that Washington had an effective veto on intended targets, though he said US officials were not providing direct targeting information. Russia's defence ministry, headed by a close ally of Vladimir Putin, said the interview showed that Washington was directly involved despite repeated assertions that it was limiting its role in the conflict to arms supplies because it did not want a direct confrontation with Moscow. "All this undeniably proves that Washington, contrary to White House and Pentagon claims, is directly involved in the conflict in Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement. "It is the Biden administration that is directly responsible for all Kyiv-approved rocket attacks on residential areas and civilian infrastructure in populated areas of Donbas and other regions, which have resulted in mass deaths of civilians." 20220803 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/3/russia-ukraine-war-latest-updates-kherson-crimea-railway-strike (06:45 GMT) A rail link connecting Kherson with Crimea is "highly unlikely" to remain operational due to a Ukrainian attack on a Russian ammunition train, the UK Ministry of Defence says. In its daily briefing it also said there will "likely" be an increase in civilians attempting to flee Kherson and the surrounding areas as hostilities continue and food shortages worsen. "This will create pressure on transport nodes and routes, likely resulting in measures to control movements being implemented," the ministry said in its daily brifing. (06:46 GMT) The deal between Moscow and Kyiv to unblock Ukrainian grain exports may offer a way forward to a possible ceasefire in the five-month conflict, says former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, a friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (07:06 GMT) Russian forces have hit several districts in the northeastern Kharkiv region overnight, its governor said. "Residential buildings and commercial buildings were damaged," Oleh Sinegubov said on his Telegram channel, adding that there were no victims. Sinegubov also said Russian soldiers tried to advance in Dementiivka and Kochubeivka, both towns bordering Russia, but were pushed back by Ukrainian forces. (07:10 GMT) The US has not offered Russia to resume talks on the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, the Interfax news agency quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying. (07:47 GMT) As the world's biggest soft drinks makers cut their Russian ties, local producer Chernogolovka is aiming for a 50% share of the country's $9bn market, its boss told Reuters. (07:59 GMT) Ukraine's president has urged Beijing not to back Moscow over its invasion, saying it is "important" for Kyiv that China remains neutral, at a minimum. "As for now, China is balancing and indeed has neutrality and, I will be honest, this neutrality is better than China joining Russia," Zelenskyy said during a video link address to 21 Australian universities during an online discussion hosted by the Australian National University in Canberra. "It's important for us that China wouldn't help Russia," he added. China has refused to criticise Russia's war in Ukraine or even to refer to it as an invasion, while also condemning US-led sanctions against Russia and accusing the West of provoking Moscow. (08:15 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has blamed Russia for delays in the return of a Nord Stream 1 turbine serviced in Canada. "It [the turbine] can be transported and used at any time," Scholz said during a factory visit to Siemens Energy in Muelheim an der Ruhr. "The non-fulfilment of the gas supply contracts has no technical reasons whatsoever," he added. (08:20 GMT) A team of inspectors has boarded the first grain-carrying ship to leave Ukrainian ports in wartime before it continues to its final destination in Lebanon under a United Nations-brokered deal that aims to ease a global food crisis. The Sierra Leone-flagged cargo ship, Razoni, departed from Ukraine's Odesa port on the Black Sea early on Monday carrying more than 26,000 metric tonnes of corn. It anchored at the entrance of the Bosphorus on Tuesday night. (09:16 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a depot containing weapons supplied by Poland in Ukraine's western Lviv region. (10:14 GMT) Ukraine has asked Lebanon's top prosecutor to reopen an inquiry into a ship Kyiv says was carrying stolen grain that remains docked in Lebanon pending a seizure order. Ukraine says the Syrian-flagged ship in the northern Lebanese port of Tripoli is carrying some 10,000 tonnes of flour and barley allegedly plundered by Russia following its February invasion and picked up from Russian-occupied Crimea. (11:23 GMT) A Russian foreign ministry official has said the era of constructive cooperation between Moscow and Western countries is "irrevocably over", regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine. "Regardless of the duration and outcome of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, we can already state now that the thirty-year era of generally constructive, though not problematic, cooperation with the West is irrevocably over," Alexey Drobinin, the director of the foreign policy planning department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said in an article published in the ministry's International Affairs journal. Drobinin added that Russia has entered an "acute phase of confrontation with an aggressive alliance of unfriendly states led by the United States". (11:39 GMT) Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled energy giant, is awaiting documents that will allow the return of the serviced Nord Stream 1 gas turbine from Germany, the Kremlin has said. Russia has cut gas supplies via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to just a fifth of its capacity, citing technical issues with gas turbines supplied by Siemens Energy. The first turbine, at the centre of an energy standoff with the West, is being held up in Germany following servicing in Canada. Russia said that documents are needed to show it does not come under Western sanctions. Earlier on Wednesday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Russia had no reason to hold up the return of the turbine. (12:25 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Ukraine has accused Kyiv's forces of repeatedly using Western arms to attack Europe's largest nuclear power plant, which is now controlled by Moscow's troops. Yevgeny Balitsky, the head of the Russian-installed administration of the Zaporizhia region, said that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was due to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. There was no immediate comment from the IAEA on Balitsky's claim. "We are ready to show how the Russian military is guarding the plant, and how Ukraine, which receives weapons from the West, uses those weapons including drones to attack the nuclear power plant," Balitsky said. The Zaporizhzhia plant, which has two of six reactors operating, has been the subject of repeated warnings from Ukraine, the West and Russia. It was shelled on March 4 in an attack Russia and Ukraine blamed on each other. (13:15 GMT) The US Senate is set to ratify NATO membership for Finland and Sweden, a crucial step towards swiftly expanding the transatlantic military alliance in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (13:25 GMT) Switzerland's Federal Council has imposed further sanctions against Russia over the war in Ukraine, in line with the European Union's latest measures on gold and gold products. The Council said that it had made two new exceptions with respect to transactions related to agricultural products and oil supplies to third countries, which the EU has as well, in order to avoid any disruptions in payment channels. (14:29 GMT) Russia has started creating a military strike force aimed at taking President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine's military has said, as it warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in the country's south. (15:05 GMT) Italy's parliament has given its final approval to a bill ratifying the accession of Finland and Sweden to the NATO military alliance. Countries seeking to join the NATO alliance must have their membership applications approved by all 30 existing member states, and ratified by the countries' respective parliaments. (15:40 GMT) The spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has welcomed the Razoni's progress towards Lebanon following checks in Turkish waters. (15:44 GMT) Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, has arrived in Myanmar on an official visit that Moscow said will include discussions with the military government on security and economic issues. (16:39 GMT) Russian energy giant Gazprom has said that delivery of a turbine needed to keep gas flowing to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was "impossible" due to sanctions on Moscow. "Sanctions regimes in Canada, in the European Union and in Britain, as well as the inconsistencies in the current situation concerning the contractual obligations of (turbine maker) Siemens make the delivery impossible," Gazprom said in a statement. (17:10 GMT) President Zelenskyy has thanked Estonia's visiting foreign minister for his country's support for Ukraine, including the country's help with reconstruction projects. "I also want to thank you for the fact that Estonia has always supported Ukraine's future among the EU members, and Estonia is one of, unfortunately, not all countries that has always supported Ukraine's entry into NATO," he added. (17:45 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said he will launch a fact-finding mission into an attack in the front-line Ukranian town of Olenivka that killed prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists. Russia and Ukraine both requested an investigation, he told reporters. He said the terms of reference for the mission, which would need agreement from Russia and Ukraine, were being prepared. (18:17 GMT) Ukraine has dismissed comments by ex-German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder that Russia wanted a "negotiated solution" to the war and said any dialogue would be contingent on a Russian ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian troops. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak described Schroeder as a "voice of the Russian royal court" and made clear that the grain agreement would not lead to negotiations. "If Moscow wants dialogue, the ball is in its court. First - a cease-fire and withdrawal of troops, then - constructive (dialogue)," Podolyak wrote on Twitter. (19:09 GMT) Russian deputy defence minister Alexander Fomin said on Wednesday that Kyiv and Moscow have exchanged prisoners and the bodies of those killed in the conflict 27 times since the war began. (20:15 GMT) US oil producer Exxon Mobil is in the process of transitioning its 30 % stake in a Russian oil development "to another party", according to a Wednesday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. 20220804 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/4/russia-ukraine-live-news-several-regions-shelled-moscow (05:59 GMT) Kyiv has warned that Moscow could be preparing new offensive operations in southern Ukraine, namely targeting President Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih. According to the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Russian forces are engaged in considerable military activity, firing from tanks, "barrel and rocket artillery" in several parts of the country. Zelenskyy's hometown lies about 50km from the southern front line. (06:31 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed for direct talks with China's Xi Jinping as he urged Beijing to use its political and economic influence on Russia to help end the war in his country. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/4/zelenskyy-urges-chinas-xi-to-help-end-russias-war-in-ukraine (06:48 GMT) Officials from the United States believe Russia is working to fabricate evidence concerning last week's deadly strike on prison housing prisoners of war in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine. Russia has claimed that Ukraine's military used US-supplied rocket launchers to attack the prison in Olenivka, a settlement controlled by the Moscow-backed Donetsk People's Republic. (07:49 GMT) The governors of Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk have reported that their regions had been shelled overnight by Russian forces. No civilian casualties were reported, but civilian infrastructure and houses had been damaged, the governors said. (08:00 GMT) With the first ship carrying Ukrainian grain continuing to sail to Lebanon, Turkey's foreign minister said that the grain export deal signed in Istanbul had to be "sustainable" and could be the basis for a "comprehensive ceasefire" to end the war in Ukraine. "It has to be sustainable, and the duration of this agreement is for four months," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a joint news conference with his Malaysian counterpart Saifuddin Abdullah in Kuala Lumpur. 10:52 GMT) Russia should not be allowed to win the war in Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. "It's in our interest that this type of aggressive policy does not succeed," Stoltenberg said in a speech in his native Norway. "If President Putin even thinks of doing something similar to a NATO country as he has done to Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine, then all of NATO will be involved immediately," he continued. To prevent Moscow from succeeding, NATO and its member countries may have to continue to support Ukraine with arms and other assistance for a long time to come, Stoltenberg added. (11:21 GMT) The European Union intends to put together another financing package for Ukraine by September that will amount to about $8.15bn (eight billion euros), a German government source said. Part of the package would be made up of grants that do not have to be repaid while another part will consist of loans, a government official told journalists. The envisaged aid should support the Ukrainian government's budget, while military, humanitarian and reconstruction aid would be financed from other sources. (11:45 GMT) Moscow has said a Norwegian consul could no longer stay in Russia after she was filmed declaring "I hate Russians" during an angry outburst at a hotel reception. "After what happened, Elisabeth Ellingsen's presence in Russia is impossible," the foreign ministry said in a statement. The Norwegian diplomat was recorded insulting Russians at a hotel reception in the Arctic city of Murmansk. The video was posted over the weekend by the Mash Telegram channel, reputed to be close to the Russian security services, and sparked an outcry in the country. "I hate Russians ... Just give me a room ... I'm used to clean rooms. I'm from Scandinavia," Ellingsen was recorded as saying in English. (13:40 GMT) Ukrainian forces have exposed civilians to Russian attacks at times by basing themselves in schools, residential buildings and other places in populated areas, according to Amnesty International. <== In a report released Thursday, Amnesty said its researchers between April and July "found evidence of Ukrainian forces launching strikes from within populated residential areas, as well as basing themselves in civilian buildings in 19 towns and villages" in three regions of the country. Amnesty also said it found Ukrainian forces using hospitals as military bases in five places, which the human rights group called "a clear violation of international humanitarian law". <== (14:21 GMT) The prime minister of Estonia has announced that all remaining monuments in the country dating back to the Soviet era will be removed. According to Kallas, there are still between 200 and 400 Soviet-era monuments in Estonia. (15:19 GMT) A Russian court has sentenced US basketball star Brittney Griner to nine years prison on drugs charges, after finding her guilty of narcotics possession and smuggling for bringing cannabis-infused vape cartridges into Russia. (15:53 GMT) Canada will send up to 225 personnel to the United Kingdom to train Ukrainian military recruits, starting with the first troops next week, Canadian defence minister Anita Anand has said. Since 2015, the Canadian Armed Forces has trained more than 33,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel, but paused aspects of the training effort since February. "We have now entered a new and very dangerous phase of this conflict with (Russia) engaging in a protracted attempt to inflict long-term damage on Ukraine and its people," Anand said in Toronto. (16:42 GMT) Top Ukrainian officials have rejected a report by Amnesty International that Kyiv's military tactics put civilians at risk, calling it "unfair". Amnesty, Zelenskyy said, had sought to offer "amnesty [to] the terrorist state and shift the responsibility from the aggressor to the victim". "There is no condition, even hypothetically, under which any Russian strike on Ukraine becomes justified. Aggression against our state is unprovoked, invasive and terrorist," he added. "If someone makes a report in which the victim and the aggressor are supposedly equal in some way ... then this cannot be tolerated." (17:16 GMT) Russian forces have shelled a Ukrainian city close to Europe's biggest nuclear power plant Thursday, reinforcing warnings from the UN nuclear chief that the fighting around the site could lead to a disastrous accident. Dnipropetrovsk's regional governor said Russia fired 60 rockets at Nikopol, across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which has been under Russian supervision since Moscow's troops seized it early in the war. Some 50 residential buildings were damaged in the city of 107,000, and residents were left without electricity, Valentyn Reznichenko wrote on Telegram. (18:55 GMT) The German cabinet has agreed to introduce a planned levy on gas consumers from October to help suppliers hit by soaring gas import prices caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the economy ministry revealed. "The temporary levy is a result of the crisis caused by Russia. It is not an easy step to take, but a necessary one to guarantee heating and energy supply in private households and the economy," said economy minister Robert Habeck in a statement. (19:26 GMT) EU member states have slapped sanctions on Ukraine's deposed pro-Russian former President Viktor Yanukovych and his son Oleksandr for their alleged role in threatening Ukraine's security. (19:45 GMT) Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna reporting from the White House in the United States, says the Biden administration had a "bulk of [US] public support" to pursue all avenues to secure basketball star Brittney Griner's release from Russia, including a prisoner swap. (20:34 GMT) African nations are free to buy grain from Russia but could face consequences if they trade in US-sanctioned commodities such as Russian oil, the US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said. (20:45 GMT) According to the White House, new intelligence suggests Russia is working to fabricate evidence concerning last week's deadly attack on the Olenivka Prison housing prisoners of war in a separatist region of eastern Ukraine. 20220805 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/5/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukrainian-grain-shipments-continue (06:52 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has said that Moscow is ready to discuss prisoner exchanges with Washington through an existing diplomatic channel agreed on by Putin and US President Joe Biden. "We are ready to discuss this topic, but within the framework of the channel that was agreed upon by Presidents Putin and [Joe] Biden," Sergey Lavrov said during a visit to Cambodia. "If the Americans decide to once again resort to public diplomacy ..., that is their business and I would even say that it is their problem," he added. (08:37 GMT) Three more ships carrying Ukrainian grain have left the country's Black Sea ports and are headed to Turkey for inspection, Turkey's defence ministry has said. Two of the vessels - the Turkish-flagged Polarnet and the Maltese-flagged Rojen - departed from the Chornomorsk port. The other, the Panama-flagged Navi Star, left from Odesa's port. Combined, the vessels are loaded with more than 58,000 tonnes of corn and are heading for Turkey, Ireland and the United Kingdom. (09:02 GMT) Russian and pro-Russian forces have taken full control of Pisky, a village on the outskirts of the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Russia's TASS news agency has reported, citing separatist forces. (09:26 GMT) Erdogan and Putin will meet in Russia's Black Sea city of Sochi on Friday after Ankara helped broker a grain shipment deal between Moscow and Kyiv, and as a new Turkish military intervention in Syria remains a possibility. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/4/turkeys-president-erdogan-will-meet-with-russias-putin (10:20 GMT) Russia has declared 14 Bulgarian diplomats as persona non grata, the country's foreign ministry says. Bulgaria earlier this summer expelled 70 Russian diplomatic staff over espionage concerns and set a cap on the size of Moscow's representation as relations between two countries that were once close allies fractured over the war in Ukraine. (10:31 GMT) Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Kyiv, says the "big question" concerning the grain export deal is whether Russia will do anything to interfere with the passage of ships out of Ukraine's Black Sea ports under the United Nations-brokered agreement. "They have already struck the port of Odesa [on July 23] and nearby a couple of other times, and while Russia gets to export its own food under this agreement - there are no sanctions on food exports from Russia - it is really a win for Ukraine," Hendren said, noting Kyiv would generate billions of dollars from its own grain exports. "That [money] will go towards helping Ukraine's depressed economy, but also to the war effort and that doesn't help Russia at all," he added. "So it will be interesting to see if there are any Russian air strikes [or other attacks] ... to deter ships from leaving Ukraine's ports throughout the coming months." (12:10 GMT) Russia has banned investors from so-called "unfriendly countries" from selling shares in key energy projects and banks until the end of the year, stepping up pressure in the sanctions stand-off with the West. (13:54 GMT) A leading Russian hypersonics expert has been arrested on suspicion of treason, according to a report by the country's state-controlled TASS news agency. Andrei Shiplyuk heads the hypersonics laboratory at the Novosibirsk Institute of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, according to the institute's website, and has in recent years coordinated research to support the development of hypersonic missile systems. TASS cited one of Shiplyuk's colleagues as saying searches had been conducted at the institute. Last month Dmitry Kolker, another Novosibirsk-based physicist, died of pancreatic cancer shortly after being arrested on suspicion of treason. (14:07 GMT) An unusually long curfew will be imposed in Ukraine's southern front-line city of Mykolaiv from late on Friday to early Monday morning as local authorities attempt to catch people collaborating with Russia, the region's governor has said. Mykolaiv, which has been shelled throughout Moscow's months-long invasion, lies close to Russian-occupied parts of the strategically important region of Kherson, where Ukraine plans to conduct a counteroffensive. (15:28 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear power company says a high-voltage power line at the country's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been hit by Russian shelling. Energoatom said that the plant, which is Europe's largest and is currently occupied by Russian forces, is still functioning as usual and that no radioactive discharges had been detected despite the alleged attack. It said a decision had been taken to disconnect one of the reactors from the network because of damage to a 330 kilowatt high-voltage power distribution line linking the plant to the Zaporizhzhia thermal power station. The statement came shortly after the Russian-installed administration in Ukraine's occupied southeastern city of Enerhodar said two power lines supplying electricity to a 750 kW open switchgear had been cut as a result of a Ukrainian raid. The city administration said that a fire had broken out on the plant's premises and that firefighters at the scene were being hampered by the threat of rain as the power lines remained live. (15:49 GMT) Ukraine's finance ministry says the country's government has signed a 200 million euro ($203m) loan agreement with Italy, adding the funds will go to the state budget to finance teacher salaries. The ministry said in a statement that Italy would provide funds for 15 years at a zero interest rate, helping the Ukrainian government maintain financial stability despite a sharp fall in budget revenue amid growing spending caused by the war. (17:42 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have agreed to switch part of payments for Russian gas to the rouble currency, Interfax news agency has reported, citing Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. (17:49 GMT) Russia says it has imposed entry bans on 62 Canadian citizens including government officials, in the latest retaliatory move against Western nationals. (18:43 GMT) Russia has accused the government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy of committing acts of "nuclear terrorism" after strikes hit close to the Zaporizhzhia power plant. "Ukrainian armed units carried out three artillery strikes on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and the city of Energodar," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. (19:07 GMT) Amnesty says it 'fully stands by' report on Ukraine criticised by Kyiv Amnesty International has said it stands by its accusation that Ukraine is endangering civilians by creating army bases in residential areas to counter Russian forces, after a report from the rights group prompted a furious response from Kyiv. "The findings... were based on evidence gathered during extensive investigations which were subject to the same rigorous standards and due diligence processes as all of Amnesty International's work," the organisation's Secretary General Agnes Callamard told AFP. Callamard expressed concern that the Ukraine government's "reaction risks chilling legitimate and important discussion of these topics." Andriy Zagorodnyuk, an analyst at Ukraine's Centre for Defence Strategies, told Al Jazeera that the report contained "some facts" but placed them out of context. "In some villages the military took schools and used them for military purposes, but what it doesn't say is that none of these schools are working," he said. (20:59 GMT) Turkey's Fenerbahce has been handed a one-game partial stadium closure, suspended for two years, and fined 50,000 euros ($50,900) by UEFA after their fans chanted Vladimir Putin's name during a Champions League match. Supporters of the Turkish club sang the name of Putin after Vitaliy Buyalskyi's goal for Dynamo Kyiv in the Ukrainian club's 2-1 extra-time victory, which dumped the Turks out of the Champions League last month. (22:47 GMT) Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of striking Europe's largest nuclear site, causing a reactor stoppage. Russian troops have occupied the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine since the early days of their invasion and Kyiv has accused them of storing heavy weapons at the site. Moscow, in turn, has accused Ukrainian forces of targeting the plant. 20220806 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/6/russia-troops-massing-in-anticipation-of-kyiv-counteroffensive (07:13 GMT) The UK's defence ministry says Russian forces are almost certainly massing in the south of Ukraine, anticipating a counteroffensive or preparation for a possible assault. Long convoys of Russian military trucks, tanks, towed artillery and other weapons continue to move away from Ukraine's Donbas region and are headed southwest, the ministry said on Twitter. Battalion tactical groups (BTG), which comprise between 800 and 1,000 troops, have been deployed to Crimea and would almost certainly be used to support Russian troops in the Kherson region, the update said. (07:35 GMT) Ukraine says it could start exporting wheat from this year's harvest from its sea ports in September under a landmark deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations. Kyiv hopes in several months to increase shipments of grain through the route to between three million and 3.5 million tonnes per month from the one million tonnes expected in August, Ukraine's deputy agriculture minister Taras Vysotsky said. Such volumes will allow Ukraine to receive enough funds so it does not have to reduce its sowing plans, Vysotsky said. (07:53 GMT) Oksana Pokalchuk - the head of Amnesty International's Ukraine office - says she has resigned, accusing the rights organisation of parroting Kremlin propaganda in a controversial report that criticised the country's military response to Russia's invasion. Amnesty sparked outrage in Ukraine when it released a report on Thursday accusing the Ukrainian military of endangering civilians by establishing bases in schools and hospitals, and launching counterattacks from heavily populated areas. "If you don't live in a country invaded by occupiers who are tearing it to pieces, you probably don't understand what it's like to condemn an army of defenders," Pokalchuk said on social media, announcing her resignation. (08:37 GMT) Washington says a senior US Treasury Department official Elizabeth Rosenberg will visit Indonesia and Singapore next week to talk with counterparts about the potential price cap on Russian oil exports planned as a response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (09:08 GMT) The Moscow Exchange says it will not be able to meet a promise to allow access to its stock market next week to clients from "friendly" jurisdictions, those which have not deployed sanctions against Russia. In July, the exchange said non-residents from countries that have not imposed sanctions would be permitted to trade on its stock and derivatives markets from August 8. But in a statement issued late on Friday, the exchange said it needed more time to prepare for access to the stock market. It cited a decree signed earlier in the day by President Vladimir Putin, which banned investors from so-called unfriendly countries from selling shares in key energy projects and banks until the end of the year. (10:02 GMT) Kyiv says Russian troops are fiercely attacking Bakhmut, a cornerstone of the defence system around the last Ukrainian-held urban area in the eastern Donbas region. Pro-Russian rebels had reported the day before that there was fighting already inside the city area. (11:25 GMT) Authorities in Mykolaiv say a strict two-day curfew has begun late on Friday in the southern city. Regional governor Vitaly Kim said the curfew will help authorities find people they believe are helping Russia. (12:13 GMT) Germans will have to save at least 20% of their energy consumption to avoid a gas shortage by December due to falling Russian gas flows, Germany's network regulator head Klaus Mueller says. (13:38 GMT) Parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant have been "seriously damaged" by attacks that forced one of its reactors to shut down, the plant's operator has said. The attacks on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in south Ukraine on Friday "seriously damaged" a station containing nitrogen and oxygen and an "auxiliary building", Energoatom said on the Telegram messaging service. (13:45 GMT) The EU's top diplomat has hit out at Russia after attacks damaged Europe's largest nuclear site. "The EU condemns Russia's military activities around #Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant," Josep Borrell wrote on Twitter. "This is a serious and irresponsible breach of nuclear safety rules and another example of Russia's disregard for international norms." Borrell insisted that the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, be given access to the plant, which is under Russian control. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attacks. (14:24 GMT) Senior Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak says North Macedonia has agreed to supply tanks and planes to Ukraine to help fend off Russia's invasion. (15:51 GMT) An official with the Russian occupying authorities in Ukraine's Kherson region has been gravely wounded after an assassination attempt, local Moscow-backed authorities have said. Russian state news agency TASS quoted an anonymous official in Russia-occupied Kherson as saying the attack targeted the deputy chief of the Kakhovka district, some 80km east of Kherson city. "Vitaly Gur has been the victim of an assassination attempt at his home. He is in hospital with multiple gunshot wounds, in a critical state," the source said, without providing further details. (16:09 GMT) The Ukrainian ambassador to the Vatican has invited Pope Francis to visit the war-torn country in advance of a scheduled three-day trip to Kazakhstan on September 13. (16:43 GMT) Ukraine's State Security Service (SBU) says it detained two men it accused of being Russian intelligence agents responsible for identifying targets for Russian missile attacks that wrecked shipbuilding infrastructure in the southern port city of Mykolaiv. The two men "collected and transmitted intelligence to the enemy about important infrastructure facilities, fuel depots, the deployment and movement of personnel and equipment of [Ukraine's] Armed Forces", the SBU said in a post on messaging app Telegram. (16:57 GMT) The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has sounded an alarm about the situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant after shelling damaged parts of the compound on Friday. (18:56 GMT) The first shipment of Ukrainian grain since Russia's invasion will no longer arrive in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli on Sunday as planned, Ukraine's embassy in Beirut has told AFP. "Tomorrow's arrival of [the] Razoni ship is postponed," the embassy told the news agency in a message, without specifying the reason for the delay. An official following the shipment said the vessel might not dock in Lebanon if the cargo's owner manages to sell it elsewhere. (19:00 GMT) A foreign-flagged ship has arrived in Ukraine for the first time since the war started and will be loaded with grain, Ukrainian infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has said. The Barbados-flagged general cargo ship Fulmar S docked in the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk. (06:52 GMT) The head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog says he is "alarmed" by Friday's shelling at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Europe's largest such facility. Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for the attacks. (06:57 GMT) Vitaly Gura, an official with the Russian occupying authorities in Ukraine's Kherson region, has died after an assassination attempt, local Moscow-backed authorities say. Gura, the deputy chief of the Kakhovka district, "died of his injuries", local official Katerina Gubareva said on Telegram. He was attacked at home on Saturday morning and was gravely wounded by bullets, a source in the Russian-backed administration told TASS news agency. Kakhovka is about 80km east of Kherson city. (07:27 GMT) Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov says the second caravan of ships with Ukrainian agriculture products sailed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Sunday as part of a deal to unblock Ukrainian sea exports. He tweeted that four bulk carriers - Mustafa Necati, Star Helena, Glory and Riva Wind - were loaded with almost 170,000 tonnes of grain. (08:25 GMT) UK's defence ministry says the poor performance of Russia's armed forces during its invasion of Ukraine has been costly to its military leadership. In an intelligence update posted on Twitter, the ministry said it was highly likely that the poor showing resulted "in the dismissal of at least six Russian commanders". "The commanders of Russia's Eastern and Western Military Districts have highly likely lost their commands," the statement said. "These dismissals are compounded by at least 10 Russian generals killed on the battlefield in Ukraine. The cumulative effect on consistency of command is likely contributing to Russian tactical and operational difficulties." (09:21 GMT) Ukraine is supplied largely by western weapons and has little ammunition to spare. So, its military has teamed up with a video game maker. In the past month, soldiers have been training on virtual firing ranges. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ackgv_gmGnQ (09:51 GMT) Former Russian Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich has been re-elected for a second term as president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE), defeating a Ukrainian who had criticised him over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. Dvorkovich, deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2018, received 157 votes in his favour and 16 against at FIDE's general assembly in Chennai, India, the international governing body said. Dvorkovich, FIDE president since October 2018, ran against Ukraine's Andrii Baryshpolets, who criticised him for his ties with the Russian leadership as a former high-ranking official. Ahead of the vote, Dvorkovich argued that he had taken a stance on the situation in Ukraine. "I took a strong position on the tragic events in Ukraine as well as supported FIDE Council decisions regarding scaling down Russia's involvement in FIDE," he said. (10:11 GMT) The scheduled arrival on Sunday of the first grain ship to leave Ukraine and cross the Black Sea under a wartime deal has been delayed, a Lebanese minister and the Ukraine embassy said. The ship left Odesa last Monday with Ukrainian corn and later passed inspection in Turkey. It was supposed to arrive in the northern port of Tripoli at about 10am (07:00 GMT) on Sunday. According to MarineTraffic, the ship on Saturday changed its status to "order", meaning the ship was waiting for someone to buy the corn. (10:40 GMT) Tariq Rauf, nuclear arms control specialist, says Moscow may have captured Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest - to provide electricity to Ukrainian regions that it occupies. "We really do not know what the situation is at Zaporizhzhia power plant. Why will the Ukrainian shell it when they have their own people there? And similarly, why will the Russian shell it when they have their soldiers and technical experts there? IAEA need to be given the permission to send a technical team to find out what the facts really are on the ground," he said. (13:17 GMT) The first cargo vessel since the Russian invasion has arrived at the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Chornomorsk for the future transportation of grain to international markets, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Infrastructure. (13:48 GMT) UK-based rights group Amnesty International has apologised for "distress and anger" caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians that infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and triggered the resignation of Amnesty's Kyiv office head. The rights group published the report on Thursday saying the presence of Ukrainian troops in residential areas heightened risks to civilians during Russia's invasion. "Amnesty International's priority in this and in any conflict is ensuring that civilians are protected. Indeed, this was our sole objective when releasing this latest piece of research. While we fully stand by our findings, we regret the pain caused." (16:40 GMT) The inspectors from Turkey, Ukraine, Russia, and the UN have inspected ships exporting grain from Ukrainian ports. As part of a recent grain export deal signed by the three countries and the UN, the Liberian-flagged ship Osprey S anchored off the north of Istanbul. The ship is scheduled to depart for the Chornomorsk port of Ukraine. Also, the Maltese-flagged ship Rojen, carrying 13,000 tons of corn from Chornomorsk en route to the UK, also anchored off Istanbul on Saturday evening before getting inspected on Sunday. In addition to the two ships, the teams also inspected the Turkey-flagged Polarnet vessel that arrived off the coast of Istanbul with 12,000 tonnes of corn. (19:27 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that if Russia proceeded with referendums in occupied areas of his country on joining Russia, there could be no talks with Ukraine or its international allies. "If the occupiers proceed along the path of pseudo-referendums they will close for themselves any chance of talks with Ukraine and the free world, which the Russian side will clearly need at some point," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. Russian and Ukrainian officials held several sessions of talks soon after Russian forces launched their invasion of Ukraine. But no meetings have been held since late March, with each side blaming the other for the halt to contacts. 20220808 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/8/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-un-demands-access-nuclear-plant (06:41 GMT) Two more ships, carrying corn and soybeans, departed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports on Monday, Turkey and Ukraine said, taking the total to ten since the first ship sailed last week under a deal with Russia to unblock Ukrainian grain exports. The Sacura, which departed from Yuzni, is carrying 11,000 tonnes of soybeans to Italy, Turkey's defence ministry said, while the Arizona, which left Chornomorsk, is carrying 48,458 tonnes of corn to Iskenderun in southern Turkey. (06:42 GMT) Ukrainian forces have again shelled the Antonovsky bridge in the Russian-controlled region of Kherson, damaging construction equipment and delaying its reopening, Russia's Interfax news agency has reported. (07:00 GMT) Russia is highly likely deploying anti-personnel mines along its defensive lines in the Donbas region of Ukraine, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has said, without citing evidence. In Donetsk and Kramatorsk, Russia has highly likely attempted the employment of PFM-1 and PFM-1S scatterable anti-personnel mines, commonly called the "butterfly mine", the ministry said in its latest intelligence update, describing the weapons as "deeply controversial" and "indiscriminate". (07:55 GMT) Ukraine's infrastructure minister, Oleksandr Kubrakov, has confirmed that Pivdennyi, the third Ukrainian port included in an export deal brokered by Turkey and the UN, has resumed operations. The Sacura, one of two ships that left Ukraine on Monday carrying corn and soybeans, departed from Pivdennyi. <== but see (06:41 GMT) (08:03 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, one of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, has accused the United States and Western nations of harbouring long-term plans against his country. "The goal is the same: to destroy Russia," he was quoted as saying by Russian state-owned news agency TASS. (08:07 GMT) Ukraine's creditors will vote this week on a government proposal to defer payments on the war-torn country's international bonds for 24 months, as Kyiv hopes to swerve a $20 billion messy default. (08:32 GMT) The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, hit by shelling over the weekend, is operating "in normal mode," Russia's Interfax news agency has quoted the Russian-installed head of the region's local administration as saying. "We have information from the military and representatives of Russia's Rosatom, who are here, just watching the situation. We have information from them that everything is operating in normal mode," Yevgeniy Balitsky, head of the Russian-installed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, said. (08:42 GMT) Finland has registered a record number of asylum seekers following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, outstripping a previous high figure recorded during the 2015 refugee crisis, the country's authorities have said. "By August 4, those fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian military attack had submitted 35,074 applications for temporary protection," the Finnish Immigration Service said in a statement. It added that one third of those fleeing Ukraine were children. The previous record in the Nordic country, which borders Russia, was about 32,000. (09:05 GMT) The head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company has called for the Zaporizhzhia plant to be made a military-free zone and said there should be a team of peacekeepers deployed at the site. Energoatom President Petro Kotin made the comments on Ukrainian television after Kyiv and Moscow accused each of shelling the nuclear power plant, which is Europe's largest and is currently occupied by Russian forces, during the weekend. (09:15 GMT) Ukrainian forces conducted long-range strikes on Russian troop bases and two key bridges across the Dnieper River overnight, the country's military has said. The strikes hit the only two crossings Russia has to the pocket of southern Ukrainian territory it has occupied on the western bank of the river, Natalia Humeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command, said. "The results [of the strikes] are rather respectable, hits on the Antonovsky and Kakhovskyi bridges," she said on Ukrainian television. Ukrainian forces also struck multiple military bases in Ukraine's Russian-occupied southern city of Melitopol in the early hours of Monday using US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), killing troops and destroying hardware, its exiled mayor said. (09:28 GMT) Russia's Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange (SPB) will restart full trading in hundreds of foreign equities on Wednesday, expanding access for Russians to buy and sell international shares. From 10am Moscow-time (07:00 GMT) on Wednesday, investors will be able to trade shares of approximately 200 foreign companies, including Apple and Tesla, popular stock choices among Russian retail investors, the exchange said in a statement. Previously, trading was restricted to the afternoon session. (09:43 GMT) Moscow has said that Western countries with influence over Ukraine should push Kyiv to stop shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. "We expect the countries that have absolute influence on the Ukrainian leadership to use this influence in order to rule out the continuation of such shelling," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "The shelling of the territory of the nuclear plant by the Ukrainian armed forces is a potentially extremely dangerous activity ... fraught with catastrophic consequences for a vast area, including the territory of Europe," he added. Al Jazeera's John Hendren, reporting from Kyiv, says there is a "complex situation" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. "Russian forces took over the plant early in the war, in March, but while it has Russian security around it ... the staff working there are Ukrainians who are operating essentially, if not literally, at gunpoint," Hendren said. "And to put it all into context, the area which the plant sits in is a really hotly fought zone right now. Ukraine's military is trying to push towards the [occupied] city of Kherson - that is near where this plant is, and that means there is going to be heavier and heavier fighting and the risk just grows." Ukraine's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog, has accused Russian forces of attempting to cause electricity blackouts in southern Ukraine by shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant complex. (10:42 GMT) The Kremlin has said there is currently no basis for a meeting between Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart. In response to a question about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's offers to broker peace talks between the pair, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call that Putin and Zelenskyy could meet only after negotiators from both sides had "done their homework". "This is missing, so there are no necessary prerequisites for the meeting," he said, claiming the Ukrainian delegation had "gone off the radar". (11:17 GMT) Germany says it stands by Russia sanctions despite gas crisis "We face difficult months ahead ... but it is clear that we stand firmly on the side of Ukraine and we stand behind the sanctions that we agreed together with the European Union and the international community," the spokesperson told a news conference in Berlin. The spokesperson also ruled out approving the shelved Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. (12:05 GMT) The Russian-installed head of Ukraine's occupied Zaporizhia region has signed a decree providing for a referendum on joining Russia, according to reports by Russian media outlets. Yevgeniy Balitsky signed the document at an event held in the southeastern city of Melitopol attended by hundreds of representatives from across the Russian-occupied region, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. (12:20 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear power company has accused Russian forces in control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) of having mined the plant, citing a statement by the Russian military general in control of troops at the site. The power company also quoted Major General Valeriy Vasyliev as saying that Russian troops had "planted mines in all the important facilities" at the plant. (13:22 GMT) A European Union plan to cut gas consumption across the bloc by 15 % to cope with an energy crisis spurred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine is set to come into effect on Tuesday 20220809 (13:30 GMT) Russia is ready to facilitate a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the country's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted its permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna as saying. (13:53 GMT) A Ukrainian court has sentenced a Russian soldier Mikhail Kulikov to 10 years in jail after finding him guilty of violating the laws and customs of war by firing a tank at a multi-storey apartment block, according to an interior ministry official. (14:22 GMT) More than 450 foreign-made components have been found in Russian weapons recovered in Ukraine, evidence that Moscow acquired critical technology from companies in the United States, Europe and Asia in the years before the invasion, according to a new report. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/8/russian-weapons-in-ukraine-powered-by-western-parts-rusi The parts were made by companies that included US-based Texas Instruments and Advanced Micro Devices, as well as Cypress Semiconductor, which is now owned by Infineon AG, a German company, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) investigation found. (14:41 GMT) A Turkish-flagged ship that was among several vessels to leave Ukraine under a deal to unblock grain supplies and stave off a potential global food crisis has become the first to arrive at its final destination. The Polarnet docked at Turkey's Derince port in the Gulf of Izmit on Monday after setting off from Chornomorsk on August 5 laden with 12,000 tonnes of corn. (15:21 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Russia must not be allowed to bully Ukraine, warning it will be "open season" around the world unless Moscow's invasion is checked. "If we allow a big country to bully a smaller one, to simply invade it and take its territory, then it's going to be open season, not just in Europe but around the world," Blinken said during a visit to South Africa. (15:40 GMT) Russia has accused Kyiv of trying to "take Europe hostage" by shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it wanted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit the plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility but that Kyiv was blocking a potential visit. The site is in Russian-controlled territory but is manned by Ukrainian staff. "They are taking the whole of Europe hostage and are not against setting fire to it for the sake of their Nazi idols," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. (16:48 GMT) Russian banks that have their foreign currency funds frozen due to western sanctions can suspend operations in such currencies with their corporate clients, according to a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin. (17:09 GMT) Russia said it had notified Washington it was suspending on-site inspections under a strategic arms reduction treaty with the United States. The Russian foreign ministry said facilities that are subject to inspections under the New START treaty will be "temporarily" exempt from such inspections. (17:11 GMT) The United States will provide $1bn in security assistance for Ukraine, the single largest package using the president's drawdown authority, including munitions for long-range weapons and armored medical transport vehicles, acting Pentagon spokesman Todd Breasseale has said. The package adds to about $8.8bn in aid the United States has given Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24. It includes munitions for HIMARS, NASAMS surface-to-air missile system ammunition and as many as 50 M113 armored medical transports. (17:12 GMT) The World Bank has announced it was mobilising another $4.5bn in financial support for war-torn Ukraine. (17:13 GMT) The United Nations, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine issued long-awaited procedures for merchant ships exporting Ukrainian grain and fertiliser through the Black Sea, according to a document seen by Reuters news agency. (17:33 GMT) Russia has suffered between 70,000 and 80,000 casualties, either killed or wounded, since its invasion of Ukraine began, the Pentagon's Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, Colin Kahl, has said. (17:48 GMT) A US judge has authorised US prosecutors to seize a $90m Airbus plane owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Andrei Skoch, federal prosecutors in Manhattan have said. (19:20 GMT) The United States has pledged a new round of military and financial aid to Ukraine as Kyiv continues to battle Russian forces in the east and south of the country. The Pentagon announced $1bn in military aid, and separately the World Bank said it was providing $4.5bn in budgetary assistance to the Ukrainian government, financed by the US government. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/8/us-announces-fresh-military-and-financial-aid-for-ukraine 20220809 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/9/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-kyiv-claims-advances-towards-izium (06:36 GMT) Russia continued to focus on reinforcing its defences in southern Ukraine over the weekend, while also maintaining attacks on Kyiv's positions in the Donetsk region in the east, Britain has said. Bakhmut has been Moscow's most successful axis in eastern Ukraine's Donbas over the last 30 days, although Russia has only managed to advance about 10km in the region, the British defence ministry said in a regular intelligence update. "In other Donbas sectors where Russia was attempting to break through, its forces have not gained more than 3km during this 30 day period; almost certainly significantly less than planned," the update said. (06:40 GMT) The head of Germany's network regulator has welcomed the European Union's gas emergency plan, which has come into effect, in comments to the ZDF broadcaster. "If all countries in Europe save gas, this can stabilise the price, so to speak, maybe even reduce it, and contribute to making sure that there is enough gas supply for us to make it through the autumn and winter," Bundesnetzagentur President Klaus Mueller said. (06:43 GMT) Around Kharkiv in the northeast, Ukrainian troops captured the town of Dovhenke from Russian forces and were advancing towards Izyum, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych says in a video posted on YouTube. The daily battlefield report from Ukraine's military general staff said towns north, east and southeast of Kharkiv came under tank, artillery and rocket fire. "The situation is very interesting. Ukraine's forces are moving very successfully. Attempts by Russia to regain lost ground were not successful. Ukraine may end up encircling them," Arestovych said. (07:24 GMT) In a growing challenge to Russia's grip on occupied areas of southeastern Ukraine, guerrilla forces loyal to Kyiv are killing pro-Moscow officials, blowing up bridges and trains, and helping the Ukrainian military by identifying key targets. The spreading resistance has eroded Kremlin control of those areas and threatened its plans to hold referendums in various cities as a move toward annexation by Russia. "Our goal is to make life unbearable for the Russian occupiers and use any means to derail their plans," said Andriy, a 32-year-old coordinator of the guerrilla movement in the southern Kherson region. The resistance group he is affiliated to called Zhovta Strichka - or "Yellow Ribbon" - takes its name from one of the two national colors of Ukraine, and its members use ribbons of that hue to mark potential targets for guerrilla attacks. (07:49 GMT) Germany's economy will lose more than 260 billion euros ($265bn) in added value by 2030 due to the Ukraine war and high energy prices, spelling negative effects for the labour market, according to a study by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB). In comparison with expectations for a peaceful Europe, Germany's price-adjusted gross domestic product (GDP) will be 1.7% lower next year and about 240,000 fewer people will be in employment, said the study. (08:24 GMT) Anti-aircraft defences around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant will be strengthened following days of reported shelling on the site, the RIA Novosti news agency has quoted a Russian-installed separatist official as saying. (09:32 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call for a travel ban on all Russians as irrational, saying that Europe would ultimately have to decide if it wanted to pay the bills for Zelenskyy's "whims". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said there was no chance Russians could be isolated from the rest of the world. In an interview with The Washington Post, Zelenskyy had called on Western leaders to stop allowing Russians to travel to their countries as punishment for President Vladimir Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-167 (11:01 GMT) More than 10.5 million people have crossed the border from Ukraine since Russia's invasion on February 24, the United Nations Refugee agency UNHCR has said on its website. (11:04 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said that Russian forces had destroyed an ammunition depot storing US-made HIMARS missiles and M777 howitzers near Uman in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency has reported. (11:13 GMT) The flow of natural gas from Russia to Latvia resumed on August 5, a week after it was halted by Russian exporter Gazprom, data from transmission system operator Conexus Baltic Grid (CBG) has shown. Gazprom on July 30 said it had stopped sending gas to Latvia after accusing the Baltic country of violating supply conditions. On Monday, the flow from Russia to Latvia measured 43,393 megawatt hours (MWh) per day, according to CBG. (11:38 GMT) Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad is bumping up against quotas imposed by the European Union for sanctioned goods that it can import across Lithuania from mainland Russia or Belarus, the region's governor has said. Kaliningrad Governor Anton Alikhanov estimated that the limits permit Russia to ship about 500,000 tonnes of sanctioned goods in total in both directions each year. But he said some quotas had already been reached, making it impossible, for instance, for Kaliningrad to import cement from Belarus - which used to account for about 200,000 tonnes a year. Moscow says trade with its outlying territory should not be subject to limits. "Today, we have already exhausted the limits set by Europeans for the transportation of goods by rail: for instance, certain kinds of iron, steel, oil products, fertilisers, antifreeze and timber," Russian news agencies quoted Alikhanov as saying. (11:59 GMT) An Iranian satellite launched by Russia blasted off from Kazakhstan and reached orbit amid controversy that Moscow might use it to boost its surveillance of military targets in Ukraine. (12:12 GMT) The French military has banned Russian nationals from visiting the Chateau de Vincennes, a medieval fortress and tourist attraction on the edge of Paris, due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, officials have said. Once the residence of French kings and among Europe's best-preserved monuments of its kind, the castle is, for the most part, open to the public, including for tours, concerts, theatre plays and other events. (13:27 GMT) Russian oil flows through Slovakia have been halted by Ukraine's UkrTransNafta after a payment for transit made by Russia's Transneft was returned to the company, according to Slovakia pipeline operator Transpetrol. (14:03 GMT) France has said that a ban on Russian nationals entering military installations was applied too rigidly when two Russian visitors were turned away at the Chateau de Vincennes, a medieval fortress and tourist attraction on the edge of Paris. (14:52 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that explosions at a Russian military airbase in Crimea were caused by a detonation of aviation ammunition and that there had been no casualties, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. It said there had been no attack and no military equipment had been damaged, after loud explosions and black smoke rising from the direction of a Russian military airbase at Novofedorivka on the annexed Crimean peninsula were reported. Videos purportedly captured at the scene, some of them posted on social media and shot from nearby tourist beaches, showed a plume of smoke. The videos could not immediately be verified. (16:09 GMT) One person has been killed and five others injured by a blast at a military airbase at Saky in the Russian-controlled Crimean Peninsula, according to Crimean authorities. <=== The Moscow defence ministry said earlier that the explosion had been a detonation of aviation ammunition, not the result of any attack. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/9/large-explosions-rock-russian-military-air-base-in-crimea If the base was, in fact, struck by the Ukrainians, it would mark the first known major attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014, and a significant escalation of the conflict. The headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol was hit by a small-scale explosion delivered by a makeshift drone last month in an attack blamed on Ukrainian saboteurs. Aksyonov said ambulances and medical helicopters were sent to the Saki airbase and the area was sealed off within a radius of five kilometres. (16:52 GMT) Russia has banned imports of agriculture products from 31 of 34 regions of Moldova starting from August 15, according to its agriculture safety watchdog. (17:38 GMT) The head of Ukraine's state nuclear power firm has warned of the "very high" risks of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the Russian-occupied south and said it was vital Kyiv regains control over the facility in time for winter. (18:42 GMT) US President Joe Biden has signed the ratification documents to accept Sweden and Finland into NATO, bringing the northern European countries closer to becoming members of the alliance. Biden said the US was the 23rd country to formally approve the countries' membership bids. The US Senate had overwhelmingly backed expanding NATO to include Finland and Sweden in a 95-1 vote last week. All 30 NATO allies are expected to okay their applications. (20:32 GMT) Ukrainian authorities have held a burial ceremony for 15 bodies found in Bucha four months after Russian forces withdrew from the area. (20:40 GMT) The United States has announced that it would provide $89m to Ukraine for removing land mines put in place by Russian forces. The money will support 100 demining teams as well as the training and equipping of more Ukrainian personnel to undertake the risky work across the estimated 16 million hectares (39.5 acres) of territory that Kyiv says has been mined by the Russians. "Russia's unlawful and unprovoked further invasion of Ukraine has littered massive swaths of the country with landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices," the US Department of State said. 20220810 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/10/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-dnipropetrovsk-attacks-kill-several-people (07:18 GMT) Thirteen people have been killed in Russian shelling overnight in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, not far from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to a local official. (07:22 GMT) Russia has "almost certainly" established a major new ground forces formation to support its offensive in Ukraine, according to the UK's Ministry of Defence. This unit, called the 3rd Army Corps (3 AC), is based out of the city of Mulino, east of Russia's capital Moscow, the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. (07:23 GMT) EU member states will not be allowed to import any more coal from Russia after the transitional period for the bloc's embargo ends at midnight on Wednesday. The embargo was part of the fifth sanctions package agreed by the EU in April and will be in full force from Thursday onwards. The European Commission said in April the coal embargo could cost Russia some $8bn annually. (07:44 GMT) Ukraine's grain, oilseed and vegetable oil exports rose 22.7% in July compared with June, totalling 2.66 million tonnes exported, according to the country's agriculture ministry. It added that July's volume of exports included 412,000 tonnes of wheat, 183,000 tonnes of barley, 1.1 million tonnes of corn, 362,100 tonnes of sunseed and tonnages of other commodities. (08:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is being made into an action figure by a product design company in Brooklyn, New York. FCTRY launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund production less than two weeks ago. It hit its $30,000 funding goal in just three hours and has since gone on raise more than $120,000. For every figure of the Ukrainian leader sold, $1 goes to Kyiv. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/8/10/new-york-company-raises-120k-to-make-zelenskyy-action-figure (08:42 GMT) Crimea's regional ministry of health has said that one person was killed and at least 13 others wounded by a series of explosions on Tuesday at a Russian airbase on the annexed Black Sea peninsula, according to a report by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. "As of 8.30am (05:30 GMT), as a result of an incident in the urban-type settlement of Novofedorivka, Saki district, 13 people were injured and one person died," RIA Novosti quoted the ministry as saying. Russia has said the explosions were detonations of stored ammunition, not the result of an attack. Kyiv, for its part, has suggested the blast could be down to Russian incompetence or an attack by partisans. (09:03 GMT) As the war in Ukraine grinds on, the Kremlin's presumptuous plans to seize Kyiv and replace President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government with pro-Kremlin puppets have not been realised. High levels of motivation among Ukrainian troops, along with the increasing supply of Western-made weapons, are seen as Ukraine's main advantage. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/9/what-makes-ukrainian-soldiers-tick (09:20 GMT) Al Jazeera's John Hendren, speaking from Kyiv, says there were "about a dozen different blasts" reported in the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula on Tuesday. "Russia says the blasts were linked to a problem with storing ammunition," Hendren said, noting Moscow was keen to portray the incident as an "accident". "[Meanwhile], the Ukrainian side denies any responsibility for the explosions and has speculated they were perhaps carried out by [anti-Russian] saboteurs," he added. If Kyiv's forces were, in fact, responsible for the blasts, it would be the first known big attack on a Russian military site on the Crimean Peninsula by Ukraine. <== (09:32 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a German-supplied Gepard anti-aircraft system in use by Ukrainian troops in the country's southern Mykolaiv region. In its daily briefing, the ministry also said it had shot down three Ukrainian warplanes in the area, as well as seven US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) missiles in the neighbouring Kherson region. (09:39 GMT) A new buyer is being sought for the first grain shipment to leave Ukraine under the terms of a UN-brokered deal on resuming exports after the original Lebanese buyer cancelled its order. The Sierra Leone-flagged vessel Razoni left the port of Odesa, in southwestern Ukraine, at the beginning of August carrying 26,000 tonnes of corn and had been expected to dock in the Lebanese port of Tripoli at the weekend. But now the keenly anticipated shipment is looking for a new buyer after the shipping agent agreed to a request to cancel the original order in the light of the long delay in delivery. (09:57 GMT) Denmark will send military instructors to the UK to train Ukrainian soldiers and also aims to train Ukrainian officers in Denmark, the Danish defence minister has told the country's Jyllands-Posten newspaper. "Within a short time, Denmark is sending 130 military instructors to a British training project," Morten Bodskov said in an interview published on Wednesday, adding the instructors would teach Ukrainian soldiers with zero to limited military experience how to conduct urban combat and tactical operations. Denmark will also train Ukrainian military personnel on Danish soil, Bodskov said, noting the first step would be to educate military officers. (10:07 GMT) The State Emergency Service of Ukraine has released several images showing the devastating effect of alleged Russian attacks on the town of Marhanets, in central-eastern Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. The pictures show a damaged residential building, school and public space. Valentyn Reznichenko, Dnipropetrovsk's governor, said 12 people were killed in the town as a result of the Russian shelling. (10:23 GMT) Ukraine has declared that oil flows through the southern leg of the Druzhba pipeline will resume later today if it receives payment for transit being made by Slovak refiner Slovnaft, Slovakia's economy minister has said. Richard Sulik told a televised news conference that the interruption to flows last week occurred because a Western bank refused to process a transit payment made by Russia to Ukraine. The southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline takes Russian oil through Ukraine to the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/9/russian-oil-transit-via-ukraine-halted-due-to-western-sanctions (10:47 GMT) The G7 Group of Seven industrialised nations has condemned Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and called on Moscow to immediately hand back full control of the facility to Ukraine. (10:55 GMT) The head of Ukraine's state nuclear power firm has warned of the "very high" risks of shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the country's Russian-occupied south. Energoatom President Petro Kotin told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday that shelling at the facility last week by Russian forces had damaged three lines that connect the Zaporizhzhia plant to the Ukrainian grid and said that Russia wanted to sever the facility's connection to Ukraine's grid and instead link it up to the Russian one. Some of the shelling landed near storage facilities for spent fuel, an area that has 174 containers of highly radioactive material, he added, warning of the dangers of them being hit. (11:44 GMT) Russia's state-controlled pipeline transport company Transneft has said it plans to resume oil pumping through the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline today at 16:00 Moscow time (13:00 GMT), according to a report by Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. RIA reported that Ukraine confirmed that it had received payment for Russian oil transit through its territory to Hungary and Slovakia According to Transneft, Ukraine halted oil shipments via the southern section of the Druzhba pipeline last week after Western sanctions prevented it from accepting transit fees from Moscow. The northern leg of the pipeline, which runs through Belarus to Poland and Germany, was not affected by the stoppage. (12:32 GMT) Russian authorities have raided the home of a former state TV journalist who quit after making an on-air protest against the war in Ukraine, according to her lawyer. Dmitry Zakhvatov told the independent news site Meduza that authorities had also launched a case against Marina Ovsyannikova under a new law, enacted after the February 24 invasion of Ukraine, that penalises statements against the military. A conviction is punishable by up to 15 years in prison. He added the case was likely linked to a protest Ovsyannikova staged last month, holding a banner that said, "[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is a killer, his soldiers are fascists." (13:03 GMT) Shrouded in secrecy for years, Russia's Wagner Group opens up https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/10/wagner-private-group-now-an-extension-of-russias-military (13:39 GMT) Ukraine's air force has said that nine Russian warplanes were destroyed in the explosions that rocked a Russian air base in the annexed Crimean Peninsula on Tuesday. The air force's claim, posted on Facebook alongside the overall losses Kyiv says Russia has suffered during the war, came amid speculation the blasts were the result of a Ukrainian attack that would represent a significant escalation in the conflict. The explosions, which killed one person and wounded 14 others, according to Crimea's governor, sent tourists fleeing in panic as plumes of smoke towered over the nearby coastline. The Russian-appointed governor of Crimea has said one person was killed and 14 others wounded during a series of blasts at a Russian air base on the annexed peninsula. Sergei Aksyonov said in a Telegram post that 252 people had also been moved to temporary accommodation facilities following the blasts on Tuesday. He added that Russia's Investigative Committee, a powerful federal body charged with investigating major crimes, was undertaking inspections of the Saky base on the Black Sea as part of an investigation into the explosions there. (14:36 GMT) Russian oil flows via the southern leg of the Druzhba pipeline have resumed to Slovakia and are expected to reach Hungary on Thursday, Hungarian oil group MOL has said. MOL had earlier said that supplies of the energy source from Russia should resume after it paid transit fees owed to Ukraine. Slovak refiner Slovnaft, a unit of Hungary's MOL, said flows to the Czech Republic had not yet restarted, however. (14:46 GMT) China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the "main instigator" of the conflict. In an interview with Russian state news agency TASS published on Wednesday, China's ambassador to Moscow accused Washington of backing Russia into a corner with repeated expansions of the NATO transatlantic military alliance. <=== "As the initiator and main instigator of the Ukrainian crisis, Washington, while imposing unprecedented comprehensive sanctions on Russia, continues to supply arms and military equipment to Ukraine," Zhang Hanhui was quoted as saying. <=== (15:21 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has urged European Union and G7 countries to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens, citing what he said was their support for the invasion of Ukraine. "Russians overwhelmingly support the war on Ukraine. They must be deprived of the right to cross international borders until they learn to respect them," Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. (15:34 GMT) Ukraine's overseas creditors have backed its request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20bn in international bonds, according to a regulatory filing, a move that will allow the war-torn country to avoid a debt default. (17:55 GMT) Oil shipments from Russia through a critical pipeline to several European countries resumed after a problem with payment for transit was resolved, Slovakia's economy minister Richard Sulik said on Wednesday. (18:30 GMT) Ukraine hit on one of two bridges across the Dnipro river in the Russian-occupied south and added to damage that was inflicted by earlier attacks, the southern military command has said. The strikes on the Kakhovskyi bridge aim to create problems for Russian logistics, the command said in a Facebook post. The bridge is "unfit for use", it said. (18:58 GMT) Alleged Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut have killed at least six people and left three others injured, the regional governor claimed. (19:33 GMT) Hundreds join anti-Gazprom protest in Bulgarian capital Hundreds of Bulgarians have demonstrated in the capital Sofia, voicing fears that the country's caretaker government could break with the policies of its pro-Western predecessor and revert to close energy ties with Russia. Many in European Union and NATO member Bulgaria fear that the previous, pro-Western government was toppled in June because of its hard stance against Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its refusal to pay Russian energy giant Gazprom in Russia's currency the ruble. "We refuse to be dependent on Gazprom and finance Putin's outrageous war!" read one of the banners at the protest. Atanas Sharkov, one of the protest organizers, called on President Rumen Radev, who bears direct responsibility for the actions of the caretaker government, to guarantee that previous decisions will not be revised. ( note: "Hundreds" ! ) (19:58 GMT) An top UN official has said the first wartime wheat from Ukraine should ship next week under a landmark deal also signed by Russia aimed at tackling the global food crisis. (20:20 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces will respond to the Russian shelling of the town of Marhanets, which killed 13 people and wounded 10 on Wednesday, President Zelenskyy has said in a video address. The Ukrainian leader also said Ukraine needed to consider how to inflict as much damage as possible on Russian forces and thereby shorten the war. 20220811 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/11/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-fighting-rages-in-eastern-town-of-pisky (06:07 GMT) Heavy fighting raged around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pisky as Russia pressed its campaign to seize all of the industrialised Donbas region. An official with the Russia-backed Donetsk People's Republic said Pisky, on the front lines just 10km northwest of provincial capital Donetsk, was under the control of Russian and separatist forces. "It's hot in Pisky. The town is ours but there remain scattered pockets of resistance in its north and west," the official, Danil Bezsonov, said on the instant messaging service Telegram. Ukrainian officials denied that the heavily fortified town, a key to the defence of Donetsk, had fallen. (06:31 GMT) Russia has long considered the defence industry to be one of its most important export successes. But the British ministry of defence said that Russia's military industrial capacity is "under significant strain", and that the credibility of many of its weapon systems has been undermined by their association with Russian forces' poor performance in the Ukraine war. (08:43 GMT) A grain-carrying ship that was scheduled to depart from Ukraine's Chornomorsk port under a UN-brokered deal was unable to set sail due to bad weather conditions, Turkey's defence ministry said. (09:10 GMT) As the 24th week of the Russia-Ukraine war grinds on, both parties appear stuck in a military deadlock. Ukraine's counteroffensive in the southern Kherson region has not made any territorial advances and Russia's offensive in the eastern Donetsk region seems to have sputtered to a halt despite daily shelling, bombings and attempts at attacks along the entire front. Some military experts believe the two sides have effectively fought each other to a standstill. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/ukraine-struggles-to-retake-kherson-before-russia-annexes-it (09:34 GMT) Latvian MPs have adopted a statement declaring Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism" and said its actions in Ukraine constituted "targeted genocide against the Ukrainian people". (09:58 GMT) Denmark says it will increase its financial aid to Ukraine by $113.6m, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told an international donor conference attended by several European defence ministers in Copenhagen. Russia has condemned a resolution by Latvia's parliament that designated Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism". "Considering that there is no substance, except for animalistic xenophobia, behind this decision, it is necessary to call the ideologues nothing more than neo-Nazis," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram. (10:37 GMT) The UK will supply Ukraine with more multiple-launch rocket systems that can attack targets up to 80km away. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/uk-ministers-say-russia-has-failed-as-west-pledges-more-aid Ben Wallace said Russia's invasion had "faltered" and was "starting to fail" as 26 countries agreed to give more financial and military aid to Ukraine at a conference in Copenhagen on Thursday. (11:00 GMT) Russia said it has turned down a Swiss offer to represent Ukrainian interests in Russia and Moscow's interests in Ukraine because it no longer considers Switzerland a neutral country. Switzerland has a long diplomatic tradition of acting as an intermediary between countries whose relations have broken down, but Foreign Ministry spokesman Ivan Nechayev said this was not possible in the current situation. "The Swiss were indeed interested in our opinion on the possible representation of Ukraine's interests in Russia and Russia's in Ukraine," Nechayev told reporters. "We very clearly answered that Switzerland had unfortunately lost its status of a neutral state and could not act either as an intermediary or a representative. Bern has joined illegal Western sanctions against Russia." (11:46 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Western nations to provide more money to help its military keep on fighting nearly five-and-a-half months after Russia's war on its neighbour began. (12:22 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate end to military activity near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, Europe's largest. "I am calling on the military forces of the Russian Federation and Ukraine to immediately cease all military activities in the immediate vicinity of the plant and not to target its facilities or surroundings," he said in a statement. (13:38 GMT) McDonald's Corp has announced it is planning on reopening its restaurants in Ukraine during the next few months, in an early sign of Western businesses returning to the country as the conflict continues. (13:55 GMT) New satellite images released by Planet Lab have confirmed that a Russian airbase in Crimea, Saki, in Novofedorivka, was heavily damaged on Tuesday. It is unclear what caused simultaneous explosions to occur. Western military experts said the scale of the damage and the apparent precision suggest Ukraine may have used new military assets. (eg: HIMARS ?) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/1/what-is-himars-the-advanced-rocket-system-us-is-sending-ukraine Kyiv did not confirm attacking the facility. "Officially, we are not confirming or denying anything; there are numerous scenarios for what might have happened ... bearing in mind that there were several epicentres of explosions at exactly the same time," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters in a message. Russia has denied aircraft were damaged and said explosions were accidental. (14:33 GMT) Ukraine's special envoy for the Middle East has warned Arab countries against "Russian meddling in regional affairs", accusing Moscow of sending mercenaries to the region in order to plan "coups" and "plunder these countries' wealth". Maksym Subkh addressed the Arab League by video conference just weeks after the group hosted Russia's foreign minister and also blamed Moscow for preventing Ukrainian wheat deliveries to the region. (14:53 GMT) Ukraine state energy company Energoatom has said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex was shelled again, putting the blame on Russian forces that seized the area in March. Energoatom said the plant's area was hit five times, including near the site where radioactive materials are stored, but that nobody was injured and the situation at the plant remained under control. But "Zelenskyy's militants once again struck the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and territory near the nuclear facility," Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Moscow-installed regional administration, said on Telegram. (14:58 GMT) The head of the Moscow-installed regional administration in Zaporizhzhia has said radiation levels around the nuclear plant remained normal after Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of hitting the facility. "No contamination has been recorded at the station, radiation levels are normal," Yevgeny Balitsky said on Telegram. (15:06 GMT) Estonia has decided to bar Russian citizens in possess of tourist visas from entering the country as a consequence of the war in Ukraine. The European Union, of which Estonia is a member, banned air travel from Russia after it invaded Ukraine. Russians could still travel by land to Estonia and take flights to other European destinations from there. (15:13 GMT) Canada has announced it will boost a more-than-$6bn annual foreign aid budget to help the most hard-hit countries in Africa and the Middle East respond to the global food crisis. (15:21 GMT) Former Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova has been placed under house arrest for two months after being charged with spreading fake news about Russia's armed forces, Interfax news agency has reported. (15:25 GMT) A reserve officer of the German armed forces has been put on trial for allegedly passing sensitive information to the Russian foreign intelligence service GRU between 2014 and 2020. The 65-year-old is on trial at the Dusseldorf Higher Regional Court, and if convicted, he could face up to 10 years in prison. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/germany-puts-reserve-officer-on-trial-over-spying-for-russia (15:44 GMT) Shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has damaged "several radiation sensors", Ukraine's nuclear agency has said. Energoatom said the new attacks were close to one of the Russian-controlled Ukrainian plant's six reactors and there was "extensive smoke", adding that "several radiation sensors are damaged". (16:01 GMT) Western countries have committed more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.55 billion) in cash, equipment and training to boost Ukraine's military capabilities in its war against Russia, Danish defence minister Morten Bodskov has said. The money, which was pledged by a group of 26 countries at a conference in Copenhagen, will be used to supply existing weapons, missiles and ammunition, increase weapon production for Ukraine, train Ukrainian soldiers, and de-mine war-torn areas in Ukraine. (16:22 GMT) The UN chief Antonio Guterres has again called for an immediate end to all military activity around Europe's largest nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, warning that any damage could lead to "catastrophic consequences" in the region and beyond. (16:34 GMT) Ukraine's interior minister has said Ukraine is making contingency plans to face any scenario at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, including evacuating people from the area. (16:38 GMT) Belarus has said blasts heard overnight at one of its military bases 30km from Ukraine were caused by a "technical incident". At least eight explosions were heard after midnight near Zyabrovka military airport, according to reports on Telegram messenger. The incident occurred after powerful explosions rocked Russia's Saky airbase earlier this week in Russian-ruled Crimea, which Moscow had termed an accident. (17:00 GMT) Ukraine is aiming to evacuate two-thirds of residents from areas it controls in the eastern battleground region of Donetsk before winter, partly out of concern people will not be able to stay warm amid war-damaged infrastructure, the deputy prime minister has said. The government plans to evacuate some 220,000 people out of approximately 350,000, including 52,000 children, Iryna Vereshchuk told a news conference. (19:03 GMT) WHO says attacks on medical facility depriving Ukrainians of healthcare. WHO said 6.2 million people had crossed to Europe as refugees, while 6.6 million were internally displaced inside Ukraine as of July 23. (20:19 GMT) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has demanded access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "as soon as possible" to ascertain its safety after multiple strikes hit the compound. "I ask that both sides cooperate... and allow for a mission of the IAEA to proceed as soon as possible," Rafael Mariano Grossi said in an address to the UN Security Council. Grossi said the IAEA had received updates by both Ukraine and Russia, but that the information provided was often contradictory. (20:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the international community to "react immediately" to force Russian forces to leave the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that has been shelled in recent days. (20:33 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United Nations has accused Ukraine of "criminal attacks" on the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that are "pushing the world to the brink of a nuclear catastrophe." "We repeatedly warned our Western colleagues that if they didn't talk some sense into the Kyiv regime, then it would take the most monstrous and irrational steps, the consequences of which will reverberate far beyond the borders of Ukraine," Vasily Nebenzya said in an address to the UN Security Council. "Unfortunately that is what is now happening," he said. (20:35 GMT) Oil flows have resumed from Russia to Hungary and Slovakia via the Ukrainian section of the Druzhba oil pipeline, Ukraine's Naftogaz has said, days after they were suspended over payment issues. Naftogaz's JSC Ukrtransnafta pipeline operator said it resumed operations upon receiving payment from Hungarian oil company MOL on Wednesday evening. Ukraine had halted Russian oil shipments via Druzhba on August 4, after Western sanctions prevented it from receiving transit fees from Moscow. (20:45 GMT) UN chief Antonio Guterres has called for military activity around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power complex to end as the UN Security Council met to discuss the situation. "The facility must not be used as part of any military operation. Instead, urgent agreement is needed at a technical level on a safe perimeter of demilitarization to ensure the safety of the area," Guterres said in a statement. The United States backed the call for a demilitarised zone around the plant, US under-secretary for arms control and international security, Bonnie Jenkins, told the Security Council. She said a visit by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "cannot wait any longer." 20220812 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/12/russia-ukraine-live-news-first-export-of-ukraine-wheat (05:51 GMT) Two ships have departed from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, according to Turkey's defence ministry, bringing the total number of vessels to leave the country under an UN-brokered deal to 14 and marking the first export of wheat. (07:43 GMT) A European bank has agreed to process a payment for the transit of Russian oil through Ukraine, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing Slovak refiner Slovnaft and another source familiar with the matter. The payment, if confirmed by all parties, would be a step to restoring oil flows to the Czech Republic after a week-long outage and also create conditions for future payments for transit to the region. (07:45 GMT) Russia's state-controlled pipeline transport company Transneft has said that payment for oil transit to the Czech Republic via Ukraine has been made, according to a report by the country's RIA Novosti news agency. (08:21 GMT) Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD) says it has filed a lawsuit at the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to overturn European Union sanctions imposed on the country over its invasion of Ukraine. (09:00 GMT) Blasts this week at the Russian-operated Saky military airfield in the annexed Crimean Peninsula led to the loss of eight Russian combat jets, the United Kingdom's defence ministry has said. While the jets only represent a fraction of the Russian navy's overall Black Sea aviation fleet, the force's capability in the region would be "significantly degraded" by the losses since the Saky base is used as a primary operational site, the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. It added that while the base airfield probably remained operational, its dispersal area was believed to have suffered serious damage. (09:36 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told government officials to stop talking to reporters about Kyiv's military tactics against Russia, saying such remarks were "frankly irresponsible". "War is definitely not the time for vanity and loud statements. The fewer details you divulge about our defence plans, the better it will be for the implementation of those defence plans," Zelenskyy said in an evening address on Thursday. (10:03 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry says its forces have destroyed a US-made AN/MPQ-64 radar system in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. In its latest daily briefing, the ministry also said Russian troops had shot down two US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) missiles. (10:17 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United Nations has said the country does not support the proposal to create a demilitarised zone around Ukraine's occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "The demilitarisation of the station can make it vulnerable to those who want to visit it. No one knows what their goals and objectives will be. We cannot rule out any provocations, terrorist attacks on the station, which we must protect," Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Vassily Nebenzia as telling reporters. His remarks came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for an "urgent agreement" on "a safe perimeter of demilitarisation" at the Zaporizhzhia plant to ensure its safety. (10:48 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister says Kyiv has received a shipment of M20 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS) from the UK. (11:14 GMT) Former Russian leader Dmitry Medvedev has issued a veiled threat to Ukraine's Western allies, who have accused Moscow of creating the risk of a nuclear catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, saying "accidents can happen at European nuclear plants too". Ukraine has accused Russia of firing at Ukrainian towns from the site in the knowledge that Ukrainian forces could not risk returning fire. It says Moscow has shelled the plant and surrounding areas itself while blaming Ukraine. Russia says it is Ukraine that has shelled the plant. "They [Kyiv and its allies] say it's Russia. That's obviously 100% nonsense, even for the stupid Russophobic public," Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in a Telegram post. "They say it happens purely by chance, like 'We didn't mean to,'" he added. "What can I say? Let's not forget that the European Union also has nuclear power plants. And accidents can happen there, too." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/what-happens-if-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-explodes (11:54 GMT) A potential new gas connection between Spain and France could be ready to operate in less than a year's time, Spain's energy minister Teresa Ribera has said, if France and other European countries agree on the project. (13:10 GMT) Ukraine's security agencies have called for the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send representatives to locations where Russia is holding Ukrainian prisoners of war. The request follows earlier allegations by Kyiv that Moscow's forces have tortured and executed prisoners, including by staging an explosion in late July in a Ukrainian POW camp in Olenivka. Moscow claims Ukraine shelled the facility, killing more than 50 Ukrainian troops being held there. (13:44 GMT) What will 'referendums' in occupied Ukraine's occupied regions look like? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/what-will-referendums-in-occupied-ukraine-regions-look-like (14:48 GMT) Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder is suing the country's parliament in a bid to restore special privileges he was stripped of in May, according to his lawyer. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/12/germanys-ex-chancellor-schroeder-sues-parliament-over-privileges (15:16 GMT) Russia is considering buying the currencies of "friendly" countries such as China, India and Turkey to hold in its National Wealth Fund (NWF), having lost the ability to buy dollars or euros due to sanctions, its central bank has said. (15:55 GMT) Russian oil flows to the Czech Republic through the Druzhba pipeline are set to resume within hours after transit fee payments were unblocked, Slovak pipeline operator Transpetrol has said. On Tuesday, Russia's state-controlled pipeline transport company Transneft said supplies via the pipeline had been suspended to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia since August 4 because Western sanctions prevented paying transit fees to Ukrainian transit company Ukrtransnafta. (16:21 GMT) India has said there was no pressure on it from Western countries or anywhere else over its energy purchases from Russia. (16:56 GMT) Rockets have been fired in the town of Kramatorsk overnight, Ukrainian authorities have said. It was reported that 11 rockets hit the area. According to authorities, residential buildings were damaged but there were no civilian casualties. (17:33 GMT) Russia's gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 4% in the second quarter compared with the same period a year earlier, as economic sanctions by the West take their toll on the economy, the national statistics agency has said. (18:24 GMT) Ukraine's military said its artillery hit a Russian ammunition depot near a key bridge in the south on Friday and added it now had the ability to attack nearly all of Moscow's supply lines in the occupied region. The military said the attack killed 11 Russian soldiers in the depot in the village of Vesele, about 130km down the vast Dnipro River from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Natalia Humeniuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, said Ukraine has nearly all of Russia's southern supply routes under "fire control," meaning that Ukraine is able to hit them with ranged weapons at will. (19:02 GMT) The first Africa-bound grain ship since Russia's invasion of Ukraine docked in Pivdennyi port on Friday, Ukraine's infrastructure minister said. "The cargo ship Brave Commander arrived at the Pivdennyi Sea Port. Very soon [Ukrainian] grain will be delivered to Ethiopia," infrastructure minister Oleksandr Kubrakov wrote on Twitter. (19:45 GMT) Some 27% of Ukraine's territory will need to be cleared of mines and explosives, according to the latest estimates by the ecology ministry nearly six months since Russia began its invasion and bombardment of its neighbour. (20:10 GMT) Czech oil transit company Mero has said Russian oil supplies via the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline were back to normal after an eight-day suspension due to sanctions. Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft said on Tuesday that deliveries to the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia through Ukraine had been halted on August 4. Transneft said sanctions slapped on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine prevented it from paying transit fees to Ukraine which stopped the oil transport as a result. 20220813 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/13/russia-ukraine-live-news-us-calls-for-protection-of-foreign-pows (06:08 GMT) The United States is concerned by reports that British, Swedish and Croatian nationals were being charged by "illegitimate authorities in eastern Ukraine", Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. "Russia and its proxies have an obligation to respect international humanitarian law, including the rights & protections afforded to prisoners of war," Blinken wrote on Twitter on Friday. (06:10 GMT) Securing a new $5bn loan from the IMF would help reassure Ukraine's other creditors that the war-torn country's macroeconomic situation was under control, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief economic adviser has told Reuters news agency. Additional financing from the IMF for about 18 months could serve as the anchor for a larger package of $15-20bn to help Ukraine weather the economic crisis caused by Russia's war, the adviser, Oleg Ustenko, said. He said Ukrainian officials were in touch with the global lender about the potential request, adding that the goal should be to move forward as quickly as possible. The IMF declined to comment. (06:21 GMT) The two primary road bridges giving access to the pocket of Russian-occupied territory on the west bank of the Dnieper in Kherson Oblast are now probably out of use for the purposes of substantial military resupply, the British military intelligence has said. Even if Russia manages to make significant repairs to the bridges, they will remain a key vulnerability, the UK's Ministry of Defence said. "Ground resupply for the several thousand Russian troops on the west bank is almost certainly reliant on just two pontoon ferry crossing points," the ministry said in an intelligence update. (07:00 GMT) Two more ships carrying sunflower seed and corn sailed from Ukrainian ports, Turkey's national defence ministry said. The Barbados-flagged ship Fulmar S, carrying 12,000 tonnes of corn, left the Chornomorsk port for Iskenderun, Turkey. The other ship, Marshal Islands-flagged Thoe, sailed from the Chornomorsk port with 3,000 tonnes of sunflower seed for Tekirdag in northwestern Turkey. (07:37 GMT) Any possible seizure of Russian assets by the United States will completely destroy Moscow's bilateral relations with Washington, said a senior foreign ministry official. "We warn the Americans of the detrimental consequences of such actions that will permanently damage bilateral relations, which is neither in their nor in our interests," Alexander Darchiev, the head of the North American Department at the Russian foreign ministry, told TASS. It was not immediately clear which assets he was referring to. Darchiev also said the US influence on Ukraine had increased to the degree that "Americans are increasingly becoming more and more a direct party in the conflict". (08:51 GMT) Ukraine's health minister has accused Russian authorities of committing a crime against humanity by blocking access to affordable medicines in areas its forces have occupied since the war began last February. In an interview with The Associated Press, Ukrainian Health Minister Viktor Liashko said Russian authorities repeatedly have blocked efforts to provide state-subsidized drugs to people in occupied cities, towns and villages. (10:16 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says for the war to end, his country would seek the return of Crimea as well as the punishment of Russian leaders who began the war. "Russia started war against Ukraine in 2014 with Crimea seizure," Podolyak tweeted. "Obviously, it must end with Crimea liberation and legal punishment of 'special military operation' initiators." (11:03 GMT) Russian forces have taken full control of Pisky village in Ukraine's Donetsk region, the Interfax news agency reports citing the Russian defence ministry. The ministry also said Russian forces had destroyed a US-supplied HIMARS rocket system near Ukraine's Kramatorsk and a depot with ammunition for the system, Interfax reported. (13:53 GMT) Ukraine has said that those dismayed by Volodymyr Zelenskyy's call to Western countries to ban Russian tourists should "direct their complaints to the Kremlin". (14:19 GMT) Russia is readying itself for a prolonged war in Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank. The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) reported that the Kremlin initiated the "industrial mobilisation" of the defence enterprises in early August, banning some employees and the entire leadership at the Russian state industrial conglomerate company Rostec from taking vacations. The GUR added that the Military-Industrial Commission of the Russian Federation, chaired by Russian President Vladimir Putin, is preparing to change the state budget by early September to boost industrial spending by approximately $10bn to support war efforts. (14:57 GMT) The Netherlands has joined the UK-led training programme for the Ukrainian military. (16:14 GMT) Ukraine's military command has said that "fierce fighting" continued in Pisky, an eastern village which Russia had earlier in the day said it had full control over, Reuters reported. (16:58 GMT) Ukraine's defence intelligence agency has warned of new "provocations" at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, as both sides traded accusations of shelling Europe's largest nuclear facility, Reuters reports. The exiled mayor of the town where the plant is located, Dmytro Orlov, who evacuated to Kyiv-controlled territory in April, wrote on Telegram that local residents had informed him of renewed Russian shelling in the direction of the town's industrial zone and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on Saturday. It was not clear if any shells hit the grounds of the plant. Local Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces were shelling the plant. <== "According to witnesses, explosions can be heard again in the town," Rogov said, adding that shells had landed in the vicinity of the power station, without specifying if it had hit the plant's territory. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/13/russians-damaging-or-occupying-nuclear-plant-are-targets-kyiv Zelenskyy has said that his army is targeting Russian soldiers occupying a nuclear power plant in the south of the country. "Every Russian soldier who either shoots at the plant, or shoots using the plant as cover, must understand that he becomes a special target for our intelligence agents, for our special services, for our army," Zelenskyy said in an address on Saturday evening. <== (18:12 GMT) The Estonian prime minister, Kaja Kallas, has again complained that the lack of comprehensive Schengen zone travel restrictions for Russians puts an "unfair" burden on countries neighbouring Russia, reiterating calls on the EU to introduce visa bans for Russian nationals. (19:23 GMT) Global rating agencies S&P and Fitch have lowered Ukraine's foreign currency ratings to selective default and restricted default as they consider the country's debt restructuring as distressed, Reuters reported. Earlier this week, Ukraine's overseas creditors backed the country's request for a two-year freeze on payments on almost $20bn in international bonds. The move will save Ukraine some $6bn on payments according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Battered by Russia's invasion, which started on February 24, Ukraine faces a 35-45% economic contraction in 2022 and a monthly fiscal shortfall of $5bn. 20220814 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/14/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-kyiv-targets-russians-at-zaporizhzhia (06:22 GMT) Kyiv and Moscow are blaming each other for shelling around Europe's largest nuclear power facility, which is in Russia's control and has come under fire repeatedly in the past week. (06:24 GMT) A crowd of people gathers in the eastern Finnish city of Imatra on a bridge overlooking Imatrankoski rapids, one of the Nordic country's most popular natural attractions. At the same time every day, the river's almost century-old dam is opened and water rushes under the bridge, to the sound of music by Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It is quite popular with Russian tourists. But since the end of July, the city of Imatra has started the show by playing the Ukrainian national anthem, to protest against the Russian invasion. "This is bad for the Russians who love Finland," says Mark Kosykh, a 44-year-old Russian tourist visiting Imatra with his family. "But we understand the government of Finland," he says. (07:05 GMT) Russia's priority over the past week has likely been to reorient units to strengthen its campaign in southern Ukraine, the British military intelligence has said. Russian-backed forces of the self-proclaimed people's republics in the Donbas continued to attempt assaults to the north of Donetsk city, according to the intelligence update. Heavy fighting has focused on the village of Pisky, near the Donetsk airport, the British Ministry of Defence said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter. It also said the Russian assault "likely" aims to secure the "M04 highway", the main approach to Donetsk from the west. (07:41 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 172 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-172 (08:41 GMT) A senior Russian official said Moscow had told Washington that if the US Senate passed a law singling out Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism", diplomatic ties would be badly damaged and could even be broken off. Alexander Darchiev, head of the ministry's North American Department, was quoted as saying US influence on Ukraine had increased to the degree that "Americans are increasingly becoming more and more a direct party in the conflict". The United States and Europe, wary of being dragged directly into the war, have refused Ukraine's request to establish a no-fly zone to help it protect its skies from Russian missiles and warplanes. (09:27 GMT) The first ship to depart Ukraine under a UN-brokered deal was approaching the Syrian port of Tartous on Sunday, two shipping sources have told Reuters. The Razoni set sail from Ukraine's Odesa port on August 1 under the deal between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. The cargo had been headed for Lebanon, but the the Ukrainian embassy said the original buyer refused delivery of the 26,000 tonnes of corn and the ship then sailed to Turkey. (10:09 GMT) German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has written to the European Commission seeking permission to waive value-added tax on a new gas price levy for a limited period of time, a copy of his letter seen by Reuters shows. Germany's gas market operator is set to announce on Monday the size of the levy, which Berlin is imposing on all gas consumers to spread the additional cost of gas imports. The levy is aimed at helping Uniper and other importers cope with soaring prices due to reduced Russian export flows, but it would add to already sky-high energy prices and inflationary pressures for customers. (11:58 GMT) A Russian diplomat has called on Ukraine to offer security assurances so that international inspectors could visit the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that has come under fire. Russia's envoy to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, called on Ukraine to "stop shelling" the plant to allow an inspection mission from the International Atomic Energy Agency. "It is important that the Ukrainians stop their shelling of the station and provide security guarantees to members of the mission. An international team cannot be sent to work under continuous artillery shelling," he was quoted as saying by TASS. (16:02 GMT) Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding has invested in Russian energy groups Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil between February 22 and March 22, according to a post on Twitter. The Kingdom Holding investments fall within the company's 12.8 billion riyal ($3.4bn) three-year investment programme, the company added. Kingdom Holding said it invested 1.37 billion riyals in Gazprom and 196 million riyals in Rosneft on February 22, and 410 million riyals in Lukoil from February 22 to March 22. (16:52 GMT) Iran's leading automaker is seeking to prioritise exports to Russia, its CEO has said, as both countries reel under Western economic sanctions. (17:36 GMT) The risk of disaster at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops is "increasing every day", according to the mayor of the city where the facility is located. (18:43 GMT) Ukraine has said Russian troops who crossed the Dnipro river during their offensive in the southern Kherson region were facing growing difficulties after strategic bridges - two for road traffic and another carrying a railway - were damaged. They have been bombarded repeatedly in recent weeks. (20:18 GMT) Dozens of countries as well as the European Union have demanded the immediate withdrawal of Russian troops from the occupied nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. "The stationing of Russian military personnel and weapons at the nuclear facility is unacceptable," a joint statement signed by the US, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Japan and New Zealand among 41 countries said. 20220815 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/15/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-russia-steps-up-assault-in-donetsk (07:44 GMT) Ukrainian forces have reported heavy Russian shelling and attempts to advance on several towns in the country's eastern region of Donetsk, which has become a key focus of the near six-month war, but say they had repelled many of the attacks. The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces also reported Russian shelling of more than a dozen towns on the southern front - particularly in the mainly Russia-controlled Kherson region, where Ukrainian troops are steadily recapturing territory. Particularly heavy fighting has focused on the village of Pisky, near Donetsk airport. (07:45 GMT) New Zealand is sending 120 military personnel to the United Kingdom to help train Ukrainians in front-line combat, its government has said. The deployment will enable two infantry training teams to equip about 800 Ukrainian personnel with the core skills to be effective in combat, including weapon handling, combat first aid, operational law and other skills, the government said. (07:46 GMT) Several major Wall Street banks have begun offering to facilitate trades in Russian debt in recent days, according to bank documents seen by the Reuters news agency, giving investors another chance to dispose of assets widely seen in the West as toxic. (07:48 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told North Korean leader Kim Jong Un that the two countries will "expand the comprehensive and constructive bilateral relations with common efforts", Pyongyang's state media has reported. (08:20 GMT) Russian gas flows to Europe via some major pipeline routes (Nord Stream 1, Yamal-Poland, Velke Kapusany) appear to be steady, operator data shows. (08:47 GMT) The risk of disaster at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant occupied by Russian troops is "increasing every day", the mayor of the city where the facility is located has warned. (10:34 GMT) Mason Richey, an associate professor of international politics at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies in Seoul and specialist on North Korea, says Moscow and Pyongyang appear to believe "they need each other and have something to offer to one another". "Both Moscow and Pyongyang are under extensive sanctions, and in the case of North Korea, have been for a long time now. So both of these countries have been limited with respect to how they can interact with the international economic community," Richey told Al Jazeera from the South Korean capital. "In the case of North Korea, they can send workers for instance to Russia, notably in the far east, and Russia will be an additional import/export market or one that would be larger if they were to extend their economic relationship," he added. "This is important for North Korea not only as a source of financial stability and international currency but also as a source of diversification away from too much reliance on China. And in the case of Russia, they could gain workers for the far east, and it [North Korea] is also an important import-export market for them as well. "After the Ukraine invasion, Russia could also use other partners not only for the direct economic exchange but also because of the geostrategic implications of ... a bloc of authoritarian states who are pushing back against the West." (11:49 GMT) What will 'referendums' in Ukraine's occupied regions look like? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/what-will-referendums-in-occupied-ukraine-regions-look-like (12:25 GMT) Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding Company, the investment firm controlled by billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, quietly invested more than $500m in three major Russian energy companies between February and March, regulatory filings have revealed. Kingdom in February invested in global depository receipts of Gazprom and Rosneft worth 1.37 billion Saudi riyals ($365m) and 196 million riyals ($52m) respectively, filings showed on Sunday as part of a lengthy disclosure of recent investments. The firm also invested 410 million riyals ($109m) in Lukoil's US depository receipts between February and March. It gave no reason for any of its specific investments. (12:49 GMT) President Putin says Moscow is ready to offer modern weapons to its allies, adding it values its ties with countries in Latin America, Asia and Africa. (13:18 GMT) Russia will do "everything necessary" to allow specialists from the United Nations nuclear watchdog to visit the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, a spokeswoman for the country's foreign ministry has said. (14:36 GMT) Three civilians have been killed and two others wounded by an explosive device while swimming in the Black Sea in Ukraine's southwestern region of Odesa, according to local police. Police said the accident happened on Sunday when several people working on a construction site ignored barriers and warning signs on the beach and went swimming in the sea in the Belhorod-Dnistrovskyi district. "In the water, as a result of an explosion of an unknown object, three men aged 25, 32 and 53 years old ... were killed," the police said in a written statement. The statement added that another man and a woman had been wounded. Ukrainian authorities closed sea beaches this summer amid Russia's invasion. Ukraine's military also planted mines along the coast in case of a Russian amphibious assault, cordoning off beach entrances with red and white tape. (15:13 GMT) Russia's space agency has unveiled for the first time a physical model of what a planned new Russian-built space station will look like, suggesting Moscow is serious about abandoning the International Space Station (ISS) and going it alone. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/26/russia-to-quit-international-space-station-after-2024 (15:19 GMT) Austria commits to neutrality, even as Russia destroys Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/15/austrian-neutrality-in-light-of-the-ukraine-war (15:58 GMT) The first grain ship to leave Ukraine under a wartime deal has had its cargo resold several times and there is now no information about its location and cargo destination, the Ukrainian embassy in Beirut has said. The Sierra Leone-flagged ship Razoni, which left Odesa on August 1 and moved through the Black Sea carrying Ukrainian corn, later passed inspection in Turkey. (16:58 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said while there was room for a European-level debate on banning Russian tourists, it was important not to make life harder for Kremlin opponents to flee Russia. "What is important for us is that we understand there are a lot of people fleeing from Russia because they disagree with the Russian regime," he said following a meeting with leaders of the Nordic countries in Oslo. (17:08 GMT) The United Nations has said "it has in Ukraine the logistics and security capacity to be able to support any IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from Kyiv, should both Russian and Ukraine agree." (17:54 GMT) A Russian-backed separatist court in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk has charged five foreign nationals captured fighting with Ukrainian forces with being mercenaries on Monday, saying three could face the death penalty, according to Russian media. U.K. national John Harding, Croatian Vjekoslav Prebeg and Swedish citizen Mathias Gustafsson, who were captured in and around the port city of Mariupol, face a possible death sentence, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported. TASS cited the judge as saying that the trial would resume in early October. (18:17 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has held a phone call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss conditions for safe functioning of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the ministry. (19:22 GMT) Norway is delivering all the gas it can to Germany, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere. (20:08 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said a United Kingdom reconnaissance aircraft violated the Russian air border near the Cape Svyatoy Nos, located between the Barents Sea and the White Sea in northwestern Russia. A Russian fighter jet forced the UK aircraft out of its airspace, <=== the ministry added in a statement. 20220816 (06:10 GMT) Ukraine has called for new sanctions on Russia and highlighted the risks and consequences of a catastrophe at Europe's biggest nuclear plant, where fresh shelling nearby has reignited a blame game between both sides. (06:12 GMT) Munitions exploded during a fire at an arms depot in the town of Mayskoye in Russian-annexed Crimea, the Russian defence ministry has said, adding that there were no serious casualties in the explosion The fire erupted at about 6:15am local time (03:15 GMT) at a military storage site near the village of Mayskoye in the Dzhankoi district, causing ammunition to detonate, the ministry said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies. (06:55 GMT) The ship Brave Commander has left the Ukrainian port of Pivdennyi, carrying the first cargo of humanitarian food aid bound for Africa from Ukraine since Russia's invasion. (07:01 GMT) The United Nations has the logistics and security capabilities to support a visit by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, a spokesman has said. UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric also said: "The UN secretariat has no authority to block or cancel any IAEA activities." (07:26 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Western countries are seeking to extend a "NATO-like system" into the Asia-Pacific region. Delivering the welcome address at the Moscow international security conference, Putin said the United States was trying to "drag out" the conflict in Ukraine, and that US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan earlier this month had been "a thoroughly planned provocation". (07:33 GMT) Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said Russia does not need to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Speaking at the Moscow international security conference Shoigu alleged that Ukrainian military operations are being planned by the United States and the United Kingdom, and that NATO had increased its troop deployment in Eastern and Central Europe "several times over". (07:39 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 174 aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-174 (09:05 GMT) A court in Russia has fined streaming company Twitch 2 million roubles ($33,000) for publishing "unreliable information" about alleged war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, Interfax reported. Earlier, the messaging service Telegram was fined 4 million roubles ($66,000) for refusing to delete content related to the conflict in Ukraine. (10:47 GMT) Finland will reduce the number of visas issued to Russians to 10% of the current amount, foreign minister Pekka Haavisto has said. He said the Finnish foreign ministry will cut the number of available visa application appointments from September 1, which will effectively lead to fewer visas issued to Russians. (10:56 GMT) Plumes of black smoke were seen at a Russian military airbase near the settlement of Gvardeyskoye in the centre of Russian-controlled Crimea, Russia's Kommersant newspaper has reported. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement in a recent series of blasts in Crimea. (12:26 GMT) Swiss chocolate maker Lindt & Spruengli has decided to exit the Russian market because of the invasion of Ukraine, the company said. The company, famous for its Lindor chocolate balls and golden foil-wrapped Easter rabbits, had decided in March to close its shops and suspend deliveries to Russia temporarily. (12:42 GMT) Swedish furniture giant IKEA has decided to liquidate its Russian unit, limited-liability company IKEA Dom, further scaling back its operations after more than 10 years in the country, a corporate record has shown. (13:35 GMT) Estonia has removed a Soviet-era World War II memorial from Narva, a city with a large Russian-speaking minority, accusing Russia of using such monuments to stir up tensions. (13:50 GMT) A Russian court has fined streaming service Twitch two million Russian roubles ($33,000) for hosting a short video containing what it calls "fake" information about alleged war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, local news agencies said. (14:58 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry has said Britain had requested permission for its RC-135 spy plane to fly over Russia, a move it termed "a deliberate provocation". (15:20 GMT) Germany secured a commitment on Tuesday from key gas importers to keep two floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals fully supplied from this winter in a bid to cut reliance on Russian fuel, as Moscow warned that sky-high gas prices may jump again. (15:53 GMT) Germany has sent troops to Bosnia and Herzegovina to join the European Union's peacekeeping mission for the first time in 10 years as concerns mount about instability from the Ukraine war spilling over to the Western Balkans. Germany will deploy some 30 troops in total to Bosnia by mid-September, returning to the force that it had left at the end of 2012 (16:33 GMT) More than half a million tonnes of grain have been exported from Ukraine across the Black Sea since the beginning of August, the United Nations has said. (16:55 GMT) Poland's prime minister on Tuesday said France and Germany were running the European Union like a "de facto oligarchy," ignoring voices, such as Poland, that had long warned of Russian expansionism. "Many European leaders let themselves be seduced by Vladimir Putin. They are now in shock," Mateusz Morawiecki wrote in an op-ed for French daily Le Monde. "The return of Russian imperialism should come as no surprise to us," he said. (17:34 GMT) Volodymyr Zelensky, his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and UN chief Antonio Guterres will meet in Lviv, Ukraine, on Thursday, the United Nations has announced. Guterres will then visit the port city of Odessa on the Black Sea on Friday before heading to Turkey. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/26/unesco-designates-odesa-as-world-heritage-site-amid-war-threats (18:35 GMT) Latvia plans to further tighten its rules for issuing and renewing residence permits to Russian and Belarusian citizens. Temporary residence permits issued to citizens of both countries will generally no longer be renewed in future, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said after a government meeting on Tuesday. There would be some rare exceptions, he added. (18:59 GMT) Ukraine's nuclear agency Energoatom has reported what it called an "unprecedented" cyberattack on its website, but said its operations had not been disrupted. "On August 16, 2022, the most powerful cyberattack since the start of the Russian invasion occurred against Energoatom's website," the agency said on Telegram. It "was attacked from Russian territory", it added. (19:32 GMT) Finland will slash the number of visas issued to Russians from September 1, the Finnish foreign ministry said in a statement, amid a rush of Russian tourists bound for Europe. Finnish land border crossings have remained among the few entry points into Europe for Russians after a string of Western countries closed their airspace to Russian planes. (20:39 GMT) Jailed Moscow critic Alexei Navalny has called for systematic punitive measures against Russian oligarchs supporting Russian President Putin and his military operation in Ukraine. In a lengthy social media post, he said that Western sanctions by the United States, European Union or the United Kingdom have only targeted 46 of the Forbes list of Russia's 200 richest people. "That doesn't sound very much like an all-out war on Putin's oligarchs to me," Navalny said. (06:48 GMT) Donetsk separatist leader Denis Pushilin has expressed hope that his Moscow-backed republic and North Korea could achieve "equally beneficial bilateral cooperation agreeing with the interests" of their people, North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said Wednesday. The message, sent to Pyongyang on Monday, comes as North Korea is believed to be considering sending labourers to work on restoration projects in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. (06:56 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Ukrainians to stay away from Russian military bases and ammunition stores, after a series of explosions Russia has blamed on "sabotage". (07:09 GMT) The first shipment of grain to leave Ukraine under a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey in late July, appears to have ended up in Syria, satellite images from Planet Labs PBC analysed by The Associated Press show. (07:36 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 175 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-175 (08:22 GMT) Two civilians have been killed and seven wounded in shelling by Russian forces in the last 24 hours in the Donetsk region, according to governor Pavlo Kyrylenko. The deaths were reported in Adiivka and in Zaitseve. The Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War has said Russia has launched offensive operations around Bakhmut, southwest of Avdiivka, and southwest of Donetsk City, in the Donetsk region in recent days. (10:23 GMT) The top official in Russian-annexed Crimea has said Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had arrested the members of a six-person "terrorist" cell, a day after explosions rocked one of Russia's military bases there. "All of them are detained. The activities of the terrorists were coordinated, as one would expect, from the territory of the terrorist state of Ukraine," Sergei Aksyonov, the official, said on the social messaging app, Telegram. Aksyonov said the suspects were members of the group Hizb ut-Tahrir, which is banned in Russia. An FSB statement did not say whether the detained individuals were linked with explosions on Tuesday at a base in Dzhankoi in northern Crimea and last week at a Russian military base in western Crimea. However, it mentioned Dzhankoi, along with the city of Yalta, as the two locations where the alleged cell had been 'neutralised'. (11:33 GMT) The Russia-appointed regional leader in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, has said detonations at an ammunition depot near Dzhankoi have continued into Wednesday. Aksyonov said the last explosions were at about 8:15am local time (05:00 GMT) and two fires were still burning, according to the Associated Press news agency. He said efforts were under way "to get all the machinery off the ground and finish extinguishing fires" by the afternoon. (12:05 GMT) Moscow's defence ministry has said a senior official has met with the head of the Palestinian Authority's security forces, Major General Nidal Abu Dukhan, and discussed possible military and intelligence cooperation. The talks, which occured on the sidelines of Russia's Army-2022 forum, come as Moscow has increasingly sought allies around the world in the face of Western isolation. Russia has supported the Palestinian drive for statehood but a new alliance could threaten Moscow and Israel's historically strong ties. (12:30 GMT) Russia forecasts its average export gas price will more than double this year to $730 per 1,000 cubic metres before gradually falling until the end of 2025 amid a decrease in pipeline gas exports, according to an economy ministry forecast seen by Reuters news agency. Gas prices have surged as a result. (12:41 GMT) Germany's domestic intelligence service has said expects to see more Russian propaganda and espionage activities in the coming months. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution said in a statement that Russia is using issues relating to Europe's energy supply in particular as a "lever". "Russian propaganda is likely to proliferate within extremist circles and fuel conspiracy narratives with the aim of driving a wedge into our society," the statement said. (12:53 GMT) Russia's Black Sea fleet, which is based in annexed Crimea, has named Viktor Sokolov as its new commander, RIA news agency has cited sources as saying. (14:06 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official has called for Moscow's main bridge connecting the Kremlin-controlled Crimea to the Russian mainland to be "dismantled," in the wake of several attacks on the peninsula. The 19-kilometre bridge inaugurated in 2018 by Russian President Vladimir Putin is Moscow's key military and civilian land corridor to the peninsula, which it grabbed from Ukraine in 2014. "The bridge is an illegal object," presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said on social media. It "must therefore be dismantled. Not important how - voluntary or not", he added, implying the Kerch bridge could become a military target for Ukrainian forces. (16:22 GMT) Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz has said its bondholders had rejected its latest proposal to suspend debt payments. Naftogaz, which accounted for almost 17% of Ukraine's total state budget revenue last year, has fallen into default after failing to make several interest payments last month. (16:53 GMT) It is "urgent" the UN's atomic watchdog IAEA be allowed to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine that is under Russian military control, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said. (18:37 GMT) Ukrainian authorities performed disaster response drills following repeated shelling at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the largest of its kind in Europe. As part of the emergency drills, Ukrainian first responders donned full protective gear and then dealt with a man pretending to be a victim. After the team carried out a radiation scan they laid the patient on a stretcher, covered him in shiny silver film and then put him into an ambulance. The first responders were themselves then checked for radiation before being hosed down and disposing of their gear. The drills will be repeated in the coming days, authorities said. (19:56 GMT) Ukraine's Zelenskyy has said in nightly address that the Russian military must withdraw from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "without any conditions". Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian diplomats and scientists "are now working on sending an IAEA mission" to the plant and "only absolute transparency and controllability can guarantee a gradual return to regular nuclear safety". (20:14 GMT) Russian shelling of a residential district in the Ukraine city of Kharkiv killed six people and injured 16, regional governor Oleh Synehubov has said. (20:21 GMT) Higher oil export volumes, coupled with rising petrol prices, will boost Russia's earnings from energy exports to $337.5bn this year, a 38% rise from 2021, according to an economy ministry document seen by the Reuters news agency. The jump in revenues, if it materialises, will help shore up Russia's economy in the face of waves of Western sanctions. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/8/17/russia-sees-38-rise-in-energy-export-earnings-this-year-reuters 20220818 (06:11 GMT) Four people have been killed and 20 others were wounded in a pre-dawn shelling of a residential area in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, Oleh Synehubov, the regional governor said. A day earlier, six people died and another 16 were wounded in a Russian rocket attack on the city. (06:52 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said that its forces did not have heavy weapons deployed at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, accusing Kyiv of preparing a "provocation" at the station. "Russian troops have no heavy weapons either on the territory of the station or in areas around it. There are only guard units," the ministry said in a statement. Pointing to accusations that Russian forces have been shelling Ukrainian positions from territory of the nuclear power station, the ministry said Kyiv was planning a "provocation" during a visit to Ukraine by UN chief Antonio Guterres that would see Moscow "accused of creating a man-made disaster at the plant". (07:24 GMT) Myanmar said it plans to import Russian gasoline and fuel oil to ease supply concerns and rising prices, a military government spokesperson said, the latest developing country to do so amid a global energy crisis. (07:47 GMT) Here are the key events from Thursday, August 18: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-176 (10:13 GMT) Russia has warned of the risk of a man-made nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and accused Ukraine of planning a "provocation" there on Friday during a planned visit by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The plant, near front lines, has come under fire repeatedly in recent weeks, with Ukraine and Russia blaming each other for the shelling. The Russian defence ministry accused Ukraine of trying to stage a "minor accident" at the plant in southern Ukraine in order to blame Russia. (11:10 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that three MiG-31E warplanes equipped with Kinzhal hypersonic missiles have been relocated to its Kaliningrad region, Interfax reported. Russian state-owned news agency RIA cited the ministry as saying that the MiG jets would be on round-the-clock duty. Kaliningrad, a Russian Baltic coast exclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania, became a flashpoint after Lithuania moved to limit goods transit to the region through its territory, with Russia promising retaliation. (11:21 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine may be shut down if Ukrainian forces continue shelling the facility, something Kyiv has denied doing. (11:24 GMT) Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo said UN chief Antonio Guterres has arrived in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv ahead of his meeting with the Ukrainian and Turkish presidents. (11:38 GMT) Two Russian fighter jets are believed to have violated Finnish airspace, Finland's defence ministry said, as the Nordic country seeks NATO membership following Moscow's war on Ukraine. "Two Russian MIG-31 fighters are suspected of having violated Finnish airspace in the Gulf of Finland off Porvoo," the ministry said in a statement. The Finnish Air Force sent up "an operational flight mission" to identify the aircraft, it said, adding that the Finnish Border Guard had started "a preliminary investigation". The incident occurred at 9:40am (0640 GMT) and lasted about two minutes as the jets flew westward for about one kilometre, a defence ministry spokesman told AFP. (12:25 GMT) Dozens of relatives of Ukrainians imprisoned in Russia held a protest in Lviv where President Zelenskyy was meeting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The protesters held up banners calling for help and denounced the lack of action from international organisations. (12:32 GMT) Estonia has repelled a wave of cyberattacks by Killnet which came shortly after its government opted to remove Soviet monuments in a region with an ethnic Russian majority. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/18/estonia-says-it-repelled-cyber-attacks-claimed-by-russian-group (13:33 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that Moscow would only use its nuclear arsenal in "emergency circumstances" and that it has no interest in a direct confrontation with NATO and the United States. Speaking at a media briefing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Ivan Nechaev said nuclear weapons would be used solely as a "response" measure. "Russian military doctrine allows a nuclear response only in response to the threat of mass destruction, or when the very existence of the state is threatened," he said. "That is, the use of a nuclear arsenal is possible only as part of a response to an attack in self-defence and only in emergencies." (14:10 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it was engaged in "quiet diplomacy" with the United States regarding a potential prisoner swap that would include basketball star Brittney Griner. (14:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has urged the United Nations to ensure security at the Zaporizhzhia power plant, where increased fighting has raised fears of a nuclear incident. (14:40 GMT) Denmark expects to invest 40 billion Danish crowns ($5.47bn) in new warships as the NATO member seeks to bolster its maritime security in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the defence ministry has said. As part of the investments due over the next 20 to 25 years, a partnership with the country's maritime industry was launched, aiming to develop and build the new warships in Denmark, Minister of Defence Morten Bodskov said in a statement. (15:05 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and UN chief Guterres have met Turkish President Erdogan in the western city of Lviv. (15:50 GMT) A Russian cargo ship allegedly carrying stolen Ukrainian grain has reached Syria, Kyiv's embassy in Beirut said Thursday, the latest in a series of contested shipments arriving in the war-torn country. (16:20 GMT) Turkey and Ukraine have signed a document agreeing to help rebuild Ukraine's infrastructure, including roads and bridges. The document was signed by Minister of Infrastructure of Ukraine Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Trade of the Republic of Turkey Mehmet Mus. The bridge connecting Bucha and Irpin destroyed at the beginning of the Russian invasion is considered to be the first major piece of infrastructure earmarked to be restored as part of the agreement. (16:40 GMT) Turkey's President Erdogan on Thursday threw his country's support behind Ukraine and warned of the danger of "another Chernobyl" disaster erupting at a nuclear power plant held by invading Russian forces. (17:10 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Thursday for the demilitarisation of the vast nuclear power plant held by Russia in southern Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, and said he was gravely concerned by the situation in and around it. (17:58 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said he agreed the parameters of a mission of the International Atomic Energy Agency to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at talks with the U.N. secretary-general and Turkey's leader. (18:25 GMT) Moscow has deployed three MiG-31 fighter jets armed with hypersonic missiles to its Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. (18:55 GMT) Al Jazeera's Resul Sardar reporting from Istanbul says Turkey has a lot at "stake" amid its mediating efforts between Russia and Ukraine, and fears it will be forced to choose a side if the war continues. "If the war lingers on, it will eventually face a hard situation of making painful choices in between Kyiv and Moscow," Sardar said. "And that is definitely something that Turkey doesn't want - because in such a case, it feels that it will be dragged into conflict with Russia, particularly in the areas that there is a delicate balance between Turkey and Russia - such as Syria, Libya, the eastern Mediterranean bases, Nagorno Karabakh and the Black Sea." (19:22 GMT) The inhabitants of two villages in southern Russia near the Ukrainian border were evacuated on Thursday after a nearby ammunition storage depot caught fire but no one was hurt, an official said. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod region, said in a statement that emergency services were investigating the cause of the fire near the settlements of Timonovo and Soloti, 15km from Ukraine. He did not give details. (20:10 GMT) A Ukrainian TV host has crowdfunded a gift to help Ukraine's armed forces beat back Russia's invasion - usage rights to a radar satellite that can see through clouds. TV star Serhiy Prytula and Finnish satellite company ICEYE OY confirmed the deal in separate statements. "The contract signed with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation will initially provide the Government of Ukraine with the full capabilities for one of ICEYE's satellites already in orbit," the company said. "In addition, ICEYE will provide access to its constellation of SAR satellites, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive radar satellite imagery on critical locations with a high revisit frequency," it said on its website. 20220819 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/19/ukraine-latest-updates-us-readies-800m-security-aid-for-kyiv (06:35 GMT) The economic outlook for Germany, Europe's largest economy, is gloomy due to energy price rises and supply chain disruptions, the German finance ministry has said in its August monthly report. (06:36 GMT) A total of 17 people have been killed and 42 were injured in two separate Russian attacks on the major northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to the regional governor. (06:43 GMT) President Joe Biden's administration is readying about $800m of additional military aid for Ukraine and could announce it as soon as Friday, three sources familiar with the matter have told the Reuters news agency. Biden would authorise the assistance using his Presidential drawdown authority, which allows the president to transfer excess weapons from US stocks, the sources said (07:42 GMT) The Russian rouble firmed to a near four-week high against the dollar in early trade, supported by month-end tax payments that boost demand for the Russian currency, while shares in fertiliser producer PhosAgro surged after strong results. (08:20 GMT) Eurasian Resources Group (ERG) has halted iron ore supplies to Russia's Magnitogorsk Iron and Steel Work (MMK) from its giant Kazakh operation due to Western sanctions against the Russian company, according to ERG Chairman Alexander Mashkevich. (09:04 GMT) Ukraine's Energoatom state nuclear company has said Russian forces planned to switch off the functioning power blocks at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and to disconnect them from the Ukrainian power grid. In a statement, Energoatom said it believed that Russia, which controls the power plant in southern Ukraine, was preparing to conduct a "large-scale provocation" there. Moscow itself accused Kyiv of preparing a "provocation" at the site on Thursday. (09:38 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has rejected a proposal by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to demilitarise the area around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, saying it would make the facility "more vulnerable". Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that Russia's military presence at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine is a guarantee against what he called a "Chernobyl scenario", referring to the 1986 nuclear catastrophe. (11:12 GMT) The residents of two villages in Russia's Belgorod region on Ukraine's northeastern border have been evacuated after a fire at a munitions depot near the village of Timonovo. The fire is the latest in a series of destructive incidents on Russian-occupied territory in Ukraine or inside Russia itself. Roughly 1,100 people live in the villages of Timonovo and Soloti, about 25km from the Ukrainian border. There were no casualties in the late Thursday blaze, the Belgorod region's governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. (11:36 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is visiting the Black Sea port of Odesa during his visit to Ukraine, focusing on a deal to allow Ukrainian grain to be shipped to world markets. Guterres and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a high-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in eastern Ukraine. Earlier this year, the UN and Turkey brokered an agreement clearing the way for Ukraine to export 22 million tonnes of corn and other grain stuck in its Black Sea ports since the Russian invasion. Guterres says there is still much more to do to ensure full global access to Ukrainian food products and Russian food and fertilisers after a UN-brokered food export deal. "This is an agreement between two parties locked in bitter conflict. It is unprecedented in scope and scale. But there is still a long way to go on many fronts," he said. (13:27 GMT) Guterres has said the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant should not be cut off from Ukraine's grid. "Obviously the electricity from Zaporizhzhia is Ukrainian electricity ... This principle must be fully respected," he said during a visit to Odesa. Ukrainian energy operator Energoatom said earlier on Friday Moscow was planning to cut electricity produced at the nuclear site. (13:38 GMT) Russia's state communications watchdog Roskomnadzor says it is taking punitive measures against a string of foreign IT companies, including TikTok, Telegram, Zoom, Discord and Pinterest. In a statement, Roskomnadzor said the measures were in response to the companies' failure to remove content flagged as illegal and would remain in place until they complied. (14:18 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron have discussed the situation in Ukraine in a phone call, Moscow says. According to a Kremlin readout of the call, Putin said shelling of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which he blamed on Kyiv, created the risk of "large-scale catastrophe". Both leaders agreed on the need to send a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the plant. Russia has agreed to send a mission of experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the Elysee has said. Putin and Macron have called for independent inspections at the Moscow-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "as soon as possible" to "assess the real situation on the ground", the Kremlin has said in a statement. "The Russian side confirmed its readiness to provide the Agency inspectors with the necessary assistance," the statement said. Putin "stressed that the systematic shelling by the Ukrainian military of the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant creates the danger of a large-scale catastrophe that could lead to radiation contamination of vast territories". The call between France's president and his Russian counterpart was justified in view of the serious safety risk affecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, an Elysee official told journalists in a briefing. Putin spoke to Macron about continuing obstacles to supplying Russian food and fertiliser products to world markets. (14:23 GMT) A further 10 cargo ships are being loaded with grain in Ukrainian Black Sea ports and being prepared for shipment under a food export agreement brokered last month, Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov has said. (15:42 GMT) Explosions were reported overnight near military bases deep within Russian-held areas of Ukraine and inside Russia's territory. Maximilian Hess, of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, told Al Jazeera Ukraine's ability to ratchet up its attacks in Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was seized by Moscow in 2014, is "symbolically very important". Militarily, the analyst said, Ukrainian forces are aiming to weaken Russia by hitting ammunition depots and taking out a number of planes before launching a counteroffensive north of the Dnieper River. "Whether the Ukrainians can do that after these attacks remains to be seen," Hess added. "They may lack the forces to push those advantages on the ground." (16:10 GMT) The US has announced a new $775m package of defence equipment and ammunition for Ukraine, including HIMARS missiles, artillery, and mine-clearing systems. (16:40 GMT) Nord Stream gas deliveries to Europe will be halted from August 31 to September 2 for "maintenance", Russian energy giant Gazprom has said, raising the spectre of winter energy shortages in Europe. "It is necessary to carry out maintenance every 1,000 hours" of operation, Gazprom said in a statement. The Nord Stream 1 pipeline under the Baltic Sea was shut for 10 days on July 11 to undergo annual maintenance. Gazprom also cut flows to Germany via the vital pipeline by some 40% in June, blaming the absence of a Siemens gas turbine that was undergoing repairs in Canada. European gas prices have soared to a new record high at the close of trading, after Russia's Gazprom announced that the Nord Stream pipeline would be closed for maintenance at the end of the month. The Dutch TTF Gas Futures contract jumped to a closing high of 257.40 euros ($258.30) amid fears of winter energy shortages after Gazprom said deliveries via the Nord Stream pipeline would be halted from August 31 to September 2 due to maintenance work. ( PJB: and this is ten days ? ) (17:00 GMT) Ukrainian rights group Truth Hounds has asked Switzerland to investigate an alleged attack on a Swiss photojournalist by Russian troops in Ukraine earlier this year. Switzerland's Office of the Attorney General was asked to probe an attack on Swiss freelance journalist Guillaume Briquet in southern Ukraine in March as a possible war crime, according to the Swiss-based Civitas Maxima, a legal group that helped it file the complaint. "This is the first criminal complaint received in this context," the Office of the Attorney General told AFP in a statement, stressing that receiving a complaint did not automatically mean it would launch an investigation. The complaint would "now be examined according to usual procedure". (17:28 GMT) Finland has said it will host a meeting with Sweden and Turkey later this month after Ankara voiced its opposition to the Nordic countries' NATO bids. "Representatives of Finland, Sweden and Turkey will meet in Finland in August," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told reporters. He did not provide a date, but Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu previously said the three would meet on August 26. (17:58 GMT) A top Treasury Department official is set to make his first official trip to India since the start of the war in Ukraine, amid tensions over India's neutral stance on the Russian invasion. Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Adeyemo will travel to Mumbai and New Delhi next week for meetings with officials from the Prime Minister's Office, the finance ministry, the Reserve Bank of India, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. 20220820 (07:52 GMT) The last week has seen only minimal changes in territorial control along the front line, a UK Ministry of Defence Intelligence update has said. In the Donbas, after small advances from early August, Russian forces have approached the outskirts of the town of Bakhmut, but have not yet broken into the built-up area, the ministry said in its report. (08:06 GMT) Two more ships carrying grain have left Ukraine's Chornomorsk port, Turkey's Defence Ministry said on Saturday, bringing the total number of vessels to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a UN-brokered grain export deal to 27. The Zumrut Ana and MV Ocean S, which are authorised to depart on Aug. 20, were loaded with 6,300 tonnes of sunflower oil and 25,000 tonnes of wheat respectively, the joint coordination centre set up to enable safe passage said in a statement, Reuters reported. The Authority said Ukrainian-origin food would be delivered to France, Sudan, Turkey and the Netherlands. (08:48 GMT) A drone was shot down over the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in annexed Crimea on Saturday, a local official has said. "The drone was shot down just above the fleet headquarters" in the city of Sevastopol, city governor Mikhail Razvojaev wrote on Telegram, blaming the attempt on Ukrainian forces. "It fell on the roof and caught fire," he said, adding that there was no major damage or victims, AFP reported. It was the second attempted attack against the fleet headquarters in less than a month. On July 31, a drone attack in the headquarters courtyard wounded five people and led to the cancellation of celebrations that had been planned for Fleet Day. (09:16 GMT) China's imports of Russian coal jumped 14% in July from a year earlier to their highest in at least five years, as a looming EU ban over the war forced Moscow to sell at a discount to buyers like China and India. Russia remained China's top oil supplier for a third month. (09:31 GMT) European budget carrier Wizz Air has suspended plans to resume flights from the Russian capital of Moscow to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, amid mounting criticism over the relaunch decision this month. In Friday's statement deferring the flights until further notice, Wizz Air made no mention of the social media backlash, which included some calls to boycott the airline, but referred only to "industry supply chain limitations", Reuters reported. (09:45 GMT) Russia has reported fresh Ukrainian drone attacks, a day after explosions erupted near military bases in Russian-held areas of Ukraine and Russia itself, apparent displays of Kyiv's growing ability to pummel Moscow's assets far from front lines, Reuters reported. The latest incidents followed huge blasts last week at an air base in Russian-annexed Crimea. In a new assessment, a Western official said that incident had rendered half of Russia's Black Sea naval aviation force useless in a stroke. <=== Russia's RIA and Tass news agencies, citing a local official in Crimea, said it appeared Russian anti-aircraft forces had been in action near the western Crimean port of Yevpatoriya on Friday night. Video posted by a Russian website showed what appeared to be a ground-to-air missile hitting a target. Reuters was unable immediately to confirm the video's veracity. Tass cited a local official as saying Russian anti-aircraft forces knocked down six Ukrainian drones sent to attack the town of Nova Kakhovka, east of the city of Kherson. Ukraine says retaking Kherson is one of its main priorities. Separately, an official in Crimea said defences there had downed an unspecified number of drones over the city of Sevastopol. (10:04 GMT) Zelenskyy has promised that every Russian strike on his country would be answered. (11:02 GMT) The United States is planning to buy about 150,000 metric tonnes of grain from Ukraine in the next few weeks for an upcoming shipment of food aid from ports no longer blockaded by war, the World Food Programme chief has told The Associated Press news agency. The final destinations for the grain are not confirmed and discussions continue, WFP chief David Beasley said. But the planned shipment, one of several the UN agency that fights hunger is pursuing, is more than six times the amount of grain that the first WFP-arranged ship from Ukraine is now carrying towards the Horn of Africa, where people are at risk of starvation. (11:32 GMT) Olaf Scholz has praised Alexey Navalny on the second anniversary of the jailed Russian opposition politician's attempted poisoning. The German chancellor also criticised Russia's clampdown on freedom of speech, Reuters reported. (12:08 GMT) The Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's region of Zaporizhzhia is exporting up to 7,000 tonnes of grain per day, Russian-installed authorities there have said. (14:01 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that governments and the private sector should cooperate to bring Russian food and fertilisers, as well as Ukrainian grain to world markets under a deal agreed last month. (14:41 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has accused Ukraine of poisoning some of its servicemen in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia in late July. An adviser to Ukraine's interior ministry said in response that the alleged poisoning could have been caused by Russian forces eating expired canned meat. The Russian defence ministry said a number of Russian servicemen had been taken to a military hospital with signs of serious poisoning on July 31. Tests showed a toxic substance, botulinum toxin type B, in their bodies, it said. (15:31 GMT) US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo has told Turkey's Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's war in Ukraine, according to the Treasury Department. (18:36 GMT) A Panama-flagged bulk carrier ship, the Navi Star, has arrived at Ireland Foynes Port delivering 33,000 tonnes of Ukrainian corn. Ukraine's ambassador to Ireland, Larysa Gerasko, said she was happy Ireland had received the shipment of very, very important grain. (19:06 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the UN is working with the US and EU to overcome obstacles to Russian food and fertilisers reaching world markets. He said those countries that imposed sanctions on Russia had made clear that the measures did not apply to food and fertilisers, but added there had nevertheless been a "chilling effect" on exports. "There are a certain number of obstacles and difficulties that need to be overcome in relation to shipping... to insurance and... finance," Guterres told a news conference alongside Turkey's Defence Minister Hulusi Akar. (19:31 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to Ireland has said her country had proved itself a reliable partner under a UN-backed deal allowing grain exports as a shipment arrived in the southern Irish port of Foynes. The vessel, the Panama-flagged Navi Star carrying 33,000 tonnes of grain, arrived in Ireland after leaving southern Ukraine's main port of Odesa two weeks ago. (19:49 GMT) Russian-installed officials have reported new shelling near the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. Critical safety and control systems were not damaged, said the Russian military administration in the city of Energodar, where Europe's largest nuclear power plant is located. Vladimir Rogov, a representative of the Russian authorities, accused Ukraine of "nuclear terrorism". NATO-supplied munitions were fired from the opposite bank of the Dnieper River and hit the site in the vicinity of an administration building, Rogov said, adding four projectiles were registered. 20220821 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/21/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-zelenskyy-urges-vigilance-over-russian-attacks (06:15 GMT) Fresh blasts have hit Crimea and a missile wounded 12 civilians near a nuclear power plant in the south. Four children were among the wounded in the missile strike in Voznesensk, 30 km from the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant, said the governor of the Mykolaiv region. (06:44 GMT) Ukraine's Oleksandr Usyk has beaten Britain's Anthony Joshua in a surprise split points decision and retained his WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO world heavyweight boxing belts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/21/ukraines-usyk-beats-joshua-retains-heavyweight-belts (07:01 GMT) A car belonging to the daughter of famous Russian political scientist and philosopher Alexander Dugin has exploded in Moscow, according to media reports. Darya Dugina's car exploded on Mozhaysky highway around 9.45 p.m. local time, with witnesses claiming the blast rocked the vehicle in the middle of the road and scattered debris. Preliminary reports said she died instantly. There was no official confirmation or information on the cause of the explosion. It was unclear if the explosion was an assassination attempt targeting her father, who has been described as the "brain" of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (07:11 GMT) US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo told Turkey's Deputy Finance Minister Yunus Elitas that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department has said. In a phone call, the two also discussed ongoing efforts to implement and enforce sanctions against Russia, the department said in a statement. (07:27 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that governments and the private sector should cooperate to bring Russian food and fertilizers as well as Ukrainian grain to world markets under a deal agreed last month. (07:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 179 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-179 (08:35 GMT) Shelling has intensified around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia power plant in Ukraine in recent days, raising fears of a disaster at Europe's largest nuclear facility. Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the attacks. Russia controls the facility but Ukraine is operating it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ooAMfR7PrQ (09:52 GMT) Four more ships carrying foodstuffs have left Ukraine's ports, Turkey's defence ministry says. That brings the total number of vessels to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports under a United Nations-brokered grain export deal to 31. (10:53 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its sea-based Kalibr missiles destroyed an ammunition depot containing missiles for US-made HIMARS rocket systems and other Western-made anti-aircraft systems in Ukraine's Odesa region. The ministry also said it destroyed two M777 Howitzers in combat positions in the Kherson region, and a fuel depot in the Zaporizhia region that it said was storing more than 100 tonnes of diesel. (12:08 GMT) A regional head of Ukraine's SBU intelligence services has been found dead at his home in central Ukraine, the prosecutor general's office said. Oleksandr Nakonechny was found by his wife with gunshot wounds in a room of their apartment in the city of Kropyvnytskyi late on Saturday after she heard gunfire, the office said on Telegram. Police have opened an investigation into the death, but made no further comments. A local politician, Andrii Lavrus, wrote on Telegram that Nakonechny had shot himself. The information could not be immediately confirmed. Nakonechny has headed the SBU in the Kirovohrad region since January 2021. (13:38 GMT) Albania has said it is investigating why two Russians and a Ukrainian broke into a military factory in its central town of Gramsh. "In view of the broad regional context and the geopolitical context, this cannot be dismissed as just as an ordinary, civilian incident, but we cannot rush to conclusions," Defence Minister Niko Peleshi said. The defence ministry said late on Saturday that two of its soldiers had been slightly injured while detaining the intruders, who had entered the grounds of the Gramsh military factory and were attempting to take photos. The ministry's website says the plant now provides manufacturing services for the defence industry. (13:44 GMT) German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has ruled out extending the lifespan of the country's three remaining nuclear power plants, saying it would save at most two% of gas use. "It is the wrong decision given the little we would save," Habeck said. The plants are due to be shut down by the end of the year under legislation introduced by the government of former Chancellor Angela Merkel following the meltdown at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in 2011. (15:00 GMT) Russian authorities have launched an investigation into the death of the daughter of Russian political scientist and philosopher Alexander Dugin, who was killed after her car exploded on Mozhaysky highway in Moscow. Samuel Ramani, an analyst at the Royal United Service Institute (RUSI) told Al Jazeera that Dugin had likely been the target of the assassination rather than his daughter. (16:05 GMT) Ukraine's top presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has denied his country's involvement in the death of Darya Dugina, the daughter of Putin supporter Alexander Dugin. "I confirm that Ukraine, of course, had nothing to do with this because we are not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation, and definitely not a terrorist state," Podolyak told Ukrainian TV. photo caption: "daughter of ultra-nationalist Russian ideologue Alexander Dugin" (16:32 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the leaders of the United States, France and Germany have stressed the importance of ensuring the safety of nuclear sites in Ukraine in a call, Johnson's office said. The joint call between the leaders of the United States, France, Germany and the United Kingdom is likely to have addressed the implications for NATO of an accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Al Jazeera correspondent Patty Culhane said from Washington. "Article 5 says a direct attack on one NATO member country is a direct attack on all of its members," Culhane said. "Would a radioactive cloud be considered a direct attack on a country?" Western leaders are also likely to have discussed the potential uses of Russian military trucks stationed inside the compound whose pictures have been circulated on social media, Culhane added, as well as the call between the presidents of France and Russia in which the latter agreed to an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission at the plant. 20220822 (00:02) https://tass.com/world/1496773 Roger Waters, one of the founders of the British rock band Pink Floyd, has been blacklisted by Ukraine's notorious website Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) over his statements about Crimea. According to a statement on the website, its administrators interpreted the musician's remarks about Crimea as "an attack on the territorial integrity of Ukraine." The website quotes Waters' statement the administrators consider "threatening Ukraine's security": "I know that Sevastopol is very important to Russia and the Russians. There are many treaties and papers under which Russia has all rights to this city. The change of power in Ukraine with Washington behind it simply provoked Moscow into further action." Earlier, Waters, in an interview with CNN, said that US President Joe Biden was committing a crime by fueling the conflict in Ukraine. <=== (06:41 GMT) Russia continues with its assault on eastern and southern regions in Ukraine, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily update that Russian forces had inflicted damage from artillery and multiple rocket launcher systems in the areas of Soledar, Zaytseve and Bilogorivka settlements in the eastern Bakhmut region. (06:49 GMT) Russia's offensive operations in eastern Ukraine have "likely exhausted the limited momentum they gained at the end of July and are likely culminating", Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War has said in a daily update. (06:55 GMT) The Russian military has said it destroyed an ammunition depot in Ukraine that stored missiles for US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) used by Ukrainian forces. Russian Defence Ministry chief spokesman, Igor Konashenkov, made the claim during a briefing on Sunday, saying the depot was in Maiorske, in the Odesa region, and that it was hit with high-precision, long-range Kalibr missiles. (07:00 GMT) Germany is well-positioned to get through the coming winter without taking drastic measures, but nonetheless faces a difficult time and must prepare for Russia to tighten gas supplies further, Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said. (08:33 GMT) Ukraine's president has warned of the potential for more serious attacks by Russian forces ahead of Ukraine's 31st anniversary of independence from Soviet rule. (07:41 GMT) Former National Basketball Association (NBA) player Dennis Rodman has said he will travel to Russia to help Brittney Griner, a star professional women's basketball player arrested and subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia on drug charges after authorities found cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage. Rodman, who played professionally from 1986 to 2000, is known for his eccentricities and has self-styled as a "basketball ambassador". He has most notably built a relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and made several trips to the country. (08:46 GMT) A luxury yacht formerly owned by sanctioned Russian businessman Dmitry Pumpyansky will be sold at auction on Tuesday after the billionaire failed to repay JPMorgan Chase & Co. a loan, according to an auctioneer's website. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/8/22/super-yacht-seized-from-russian-businessman-to-be-auctioned (09:03 GMT) Russia might take the provocative step of putting Ukrainian soldiers on trial as Kyiv marks 31 years of independence for the war-ravaged country next week, Ukraine's president has warned. Zelenskyy cited media reports that Russia was preparing to put Ukrainian fighters captured during the siege of Mariupol on a public trial to coincide with the independence anniversary on Wednesday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/22/zelenskyy-warns-russia-against-show-trial-of-ukrainian-soldiers (10:49 GMT) Ukraine's agricultural exports are likely to rise to about 4 million tonnes in August thanks to a UN-brokered agreement that unblocked the country's Black Sea ports, Denys Marchuk the deputy chair of the Ukrainian Agrarian Council has said. (10:59 GMT) A senior Russian diplomat has ruled out the possibility of a diplomatic solution to end the war in Ukraine in the immediate future. Gennady Gatilov, Russia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, told the Financial Times newspaper that Moscow and Kyiv had been "very close" to an agreement on pausing the conflict during negotiations hosted by Turkey in April. But he accused the US and other Western supporters of Kyiv of pressing Ukraine to walk away from discussions over a possible ceasefire. "Now, I do not see any possibility for diplomatic contacts," Gatilov said. "And the more the conflict goes on, the more difficult it will be to have a diplomatic solution." He added it was impossible to forecast how long the war could last given the failure to restart peace talks and continued Western military backing for Kyiv. They [Kyiv and its Western supporters] will fight until the last Ukrainian," Gatilov said. (11:35 GMT) Russian oil firm Lukoil says it has bought Russian Premier League football club Spartak Moscow, as well as the Moscow stadium where it plays its home matches. (11:43 GMT) Two US Air Force B-52 bomber jets are set to fly over the Balkans in a show of "commitment" to Washington's NATO allies in Europe. The two jets will conduct low-approach flyovers over the government building in North Macedonia's Skopje and Skanderbeg Square in Albania's Tirana, the US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement. They will also fly down the coast of Montenegro and Lovrijenac in Croatia's Dubrovnik. (12:00 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has accused Ukrainian secret services of carrying out the weekend murder of Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue. Dugina, the daughter of Alexander Dugin, whom some analysts have described as President Vladimir Putin's "brain", was killed on Saturday when a suspected explosive device blew up the Toyota Land Cruiser she was driving, according to Russian investigators. Ukraine has denied involvement in the incident, but the FSB said the attack was carried out by a Ukrainian woman born in 1979 whom it named. The agency alleged the individual had fled Russia for Estonia after the killing. It also said she and her teenage daughter had first arrived in Russia in July and spent a month preparing for the attack by shadowing Dugina. (12:27 GMT) Ireland's foreign ministry says it has reopened the country's embassy in Kyiv after it was shut due to Russia's invasion. (13:03 GMT) Bulgaria will have to hold talks with Russia's Gazprom to resume gas deliveries that were halted in April, the country's interim energy minister has said. "Given the demands of business and the trade unions, in reality, talks with Gazprom to renew supplies are inevitable," Rossen Hristov the country's interim energy minister has said. (13:26 GMT) Nearly 9,000 Ukrainian military personnel have been killed in the war with Russia, according to the head of Ukraine's armed forces. The toll given by General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi appeared to be the first provided by Ukraine's military top brass since Russia's invasion on February 24. (13:56 GMT) Russia's parliament the State Duma has announced that it will hold a special meeting on Thursday to discuss the situation concerning the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. (14:22 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed the accusation by Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that Ukrainian intelligence services had orchestrated the killing of Darya Dugina, the daughter of an ultranationalist Russian ideologue. (14:34 GMT) Local authorities in Kyiv have banned large public events, rallies and other gatherings related to Ukraine's Independence Day anniversary due to the possibility of Russian rocket attacks, according to a document published by the region's military administration. (15:17 GMT) At least 972 children in Ukraine have been killed or wounded since the beginning of Russia's offensive, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). (15:46 GMT) Russia's Gazprom says it has accepted a request by Moldovan gas distribution company Moldovagaz to postpone a deadline for the payment of an advance until September 1. (15:52 GMT) Russia has requested a United Nations Security Council meeting on Tuesday regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southeastern Ukraine, according to a report by Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency. (17:10 GMT) Russia is trying to get Ukraine into new talks to buy time to regroup so it can launch a new offensive, a Ukraine presidential adviser has said. For weeks now, the Kremlin has been "trying to convince Ukraine to enter into negotiations", Mykhaylo Podolyak told the AFP news agency, as the sixth month of the war draws to a close. During such talks, Moscow wanted to "freeze the conflict while preserving the status quo in the occupied Ukrainian territories", he added. (17:14 GMT) The top official in the Russian-controlled city of Sevastopol in Crimea said that an anti-air defence system had been triggered nearby fter Russian media reported that explosions were heard in the city. In a statement posted on the social messaging app Telegram, Sevastopol's Russian-appointed governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said that an object had been shot down. Ukraine has hinted at involvement in the incidents but has not directly claimed responsibility. (18:01 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers from the Azov regiment who were taken prisoner by Russia after the battle for Mariupol have said they were beaten during their captivity. (19:18 GMT) The State Department's spokesperson has said the United States unequivocally condemns the intentional targeting of civilians anywhere, when asked about the killing of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a Russian ultra-nationalist, in a car bomb attack near Moscow. (19:53 GMT) The United States has rebuffed Ukraine's demand for a blanket visa ban on Russians, saying Washington would not want to close off pathways to refuge for Russia's dissidents and others who are vulnerable to human rights abuses. 20220823 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/23/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-moscow-targets-zaporizhia-region (06:16 GMT) Ukraine said Russia fired artillery and conducted air attacks in several towns in the Zaporizhia region. (06:46 GMT) Exports of key Ukrainian agricultural commodities have fallen by almost half since the start of the Russian war earlier this year compared with the same period in 2021, according to data from the agriculture ministry. Agricultural exports between February 24 and August 15 this year fell to 10 million tonnes from about 19.5 million in the same period last year, the ministry data showed. The same period saw Ukraine exporting 3.8 million tonnes of corn, 1.4 million tonnes of sunflower seeds, almost one million tonnes of sunflower oil and about 640,000 tonnes of wheat, the ministry data showed. (07:41 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda has arrived in Kyiv to discuss further support for Ukraine including military aid for the country invaded by Russia, the head of his office Pawel Szrot said. (07:44 GMT) The US State Department has issued a security alert warning that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch attacks against Ukraine's civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. The US Embassy in Kyiv urged US citizens still in Ukraine to depart the country immediately. "If you hear a loud explosion or if sirens are activated, immediately seek cover," the State Department said in its alert. "If in a home or a building, go to the lowest level of the structure with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings." <=== good advice (07:56 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 181 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-181 (08:14 GMT) A total of 33 cargo ships carrying about 719,549 tonnes of foodstuffs have left Ukraine under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock Ukrainian sea ports, the Ukrainian agriculture ministry said.` (08:30 GMT) Ukraine football season kicks off amid threat of Russian attacks https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2022/8/23/russia-ukraine-war-new-football-season-starts (08:45 GMT) The success achieved in integrating refugees from the war in Ukraine should serve as an example for the future, the German government's commissioner for integration told dpa. Immediate access to the labour market and integration courses, coupled with assistance from Germany's government employment offices, meant that the arrivals had gone well, Reem Alabali-Radovan said. "This should be a blueprint for our migration and integration polices, so that we become an immigration and integration country in line with the times," she said. (09:25 GMT) Hundreds gathered for the Moscow funeral of Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultranationalist intellectual Alexander Dugin who was killed in a car bombing that Russia blames on Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/23/will-darya-duginas-killing-influence-the-russia-ukraine-war (09:57 GMT) Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo said that Ukrainians are concerned and remain guarded ahead of their country's Independence Day on Wednesday, fearing Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure. (10:43 GMT) The UN human rights office has expressed concern about plans by Russian-backed authorities to try Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in the port city of Mariupol, saying such a process could itself amount to a war crime. (11:07 GMT) Three people were killed in a series of attacks on Donetsk, which has been under the control of Russian-backed separatists since 2014, the Russian-installed mayor of Donetsk said in a post on his Telegram channel. A separatist official said at least one of the shells used in the attack was fired from a US-made HIMARS artillery system, Russian state news agencies reported. (11:30 GMT) European Unions members Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which all share a border with Russia, may stop Russian tourists from entering their countries if the EU does not enact a union-wide ban, Lithuania's foreign minister said. (11:43 GMT) Germany has registered almost a million refugees from Ukraine since the conflict with Russia began in February, the interior ministry said. A total of 967,546 people fleeing the war have entered Germany at least temporarily, 36% of them children, the ministry said in a statement. Approximately 97% are Ukrainian nationals. Among the adults, three in four are women and around 8% are over the age of 64. (12:01 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy opened the Crimea Platform, an international conference on Crimea, by saying Kyiv would restore Ukrainian rule over the Russia-annexed region. <=== Ukraine's Zelenskyy in an address to the Crimea Platform Summit has promised to do all he can to win back the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia seven years ago and urged international allies to support the effort. "I know that Crimea is with Ukraine and is waiting for us to return. I want everyone to know that we will be back. When we return and correct everything that the occupiers did on our Ukrainian peninsula," Zelenskyy said in his address. "The whole world needs to win in the fight against Russian aggression to overcome terror and return predictability and security to our region in Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to free Crimea from the occupation; where aggression began, there it will end." (PJB: NATO will destroy the Russian Black Sea Fleet - their main goal) (13:22 GMT) A $75m superyacht linked to a sanctioned Russian steel billionaire Dmitry Pumpyansky has been auctioned in Gibraltar, court sources said, in what is understood to be the first sale of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. (14:10 GMT) Ukraine has launched the 2022 Premier League season with tributes paid to those fighting in the war, but spectators barred from the stadiums. The opening match at Kyiv's Olympic Stadium saw two teams from the war-torn east of the country, Shaktar Donetsk and Metalist 1925, play in an empty 65,000-seat arena, where the game ended 0-0. (14:56 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken with his French counterpart Catherine Colonna on the expected visit of independent inspectors to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. (15:28 GMT) Ukraine has accused Moscow of organised illegal mass adoptions of Ukrainian children after transferring them from occupied territories to Russia. Since the beginning of the war, Kyiv has been accusing Moscow of "deporting" Ukrainians, saying Ukrainians from occupied territories have been forced to go to Russia rather than other regions of Ukraine. (16:25 GMT) UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeated assurances of British support to Ukraine in its fight with Russia. Speaking at the Crimea Summit, Johnson also said "we will never recognise Russia's annexation of Crimea or any other Ukrainian territory". (17:41 GMT) INTERACTIVE: Six months on, the Russia-Ukraine war mapped out in video https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2022/8/23/russia-ukraine-war-after-six-months-explained-in-maps (18:23 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda has called for the elimination of the Baltic Sea gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, Nord Stream 2. There can be no return to normality in relations with Moscow, Duda said at the so-called "Crimea Platform" in Kyiv. Therefore, a new policy is required to dispose of Nord Stream 2, Duda said, according to Polish news agency PAP. Poland and other eastern EU countries long criticised the Russian-German project as giving the Kremlin leverage over Europe and putting the continent's energy security at risk. (18:58 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has warned that a potential uptick in Russian shelling of Ukraine would not change Kyiv's approach to the war, as Ukrainian retaliation would only get stronger in the future. "If they strike us in these cities, they will receive strikes in return, very powerful strikes in return. I want to say that these retaliatory strikes will grow every day and become more powerful." (19:17 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog will visit the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine within days if talks to gain access succeed, it said in a statement. "I'm continuing to consult very actively and intensively with all parties," the International Atomic Energy Agency's statement quoted IAEA chief Rafael Grossi as saying. "The mission (to Zaporizhzhia) is expected to take place within the next few days if ongoing negotiations succeed." (19:50 GMT) Ukrainian Member of Parliament Ivanna Klympush Tsintsadze says the support of Kyiv's Western partners was vital in stopping Russia from occupying its territory, despite noticing a level "tiredness" in some countries as the war goes on. (20:15 GMT) Germany will supply Ukraine with a further 500 million euros ($500m) in military aid, most of it earmarked for delivery next year, a government spokesman has said. The equipment will include three IRIS-T anti-aircraft systems, "around a dozen armed recovery vehicles, 20 rocket-launchers mounted on pick-ups ... precision munition and anti-drone equipment," the spokesman told AFP news agency. Most of it will be delivered in 2023, he added. (20:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey, reporting from the United Nations headquarters, says the UN was "gravely concerned" about the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as Russia and Ukrainian forces continue fighting near the facility. "The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA did say that the situation is highly volatile and fragile and obviously a strike at the wrong part of the plant could be very dangerous," she said from New York. "He said in his last briefing to the UN Security Council that the reactors at the plant are well protected and appear to be functioning normally but did warn that their damage would have dramatic consequences, not only for the area, but far beyond it." 20220824 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/24/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-kyiv-fears-independence-day-attacks 06:40 GMT) Norway and the United Kingdom will jointly supply micro drones to Ukraine to aid in its war with Russia, the Norwegian defence ministry has said. The cost of the Teledyne Flir Black Hornet drones, used for reconnaissance and target identification, will be up to $9.26m (90 million Norwegian crowns), the ministry said in a statement. (06:44 GMT) President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce roughly $3bn in additional aid to train and equip Ukrainian forces to fight for years to come, officials in the United States have said. The officials told The Associated Press news agency that the package will fund contracts for as many as three types of drones and other weapons, ammunition and equipment. (06:49 GMT) International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi has said the UN nuclear watchdog hopes to gain access to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine within days. (07:36 GMT) Ukraine's president has promised in an Independence Day address that his country will fight Russia's invasion "until the end" and will not be making "any concession or compromise". "We don't care what army you have, we only care about our land. We will fight for it until the end," Zelenskyy said in a video address. (07:54 GMT) Russia's defence minister has said that the slowing pace of his country's offensive in Ukraine was a deliberate choice to reduce civilian casualties. "Everything is being done to avoid casualties among civilians. Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but we are doing this deliberately," Sergei Shoigu told a meeting of defence ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Uzbekistan. (08:29 GMT) Alexander Dugin has been described by some as Vladimir Putin's "brain", but dismissed by others as a "harmless cult figure" with little influence on the Russian president. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/23/who-is-russian-ultranationalist-alexander-dugin (08:49) List of key events, day 182 https://www.aljazeera.com/features/longform/2022/8/24/older-ukrainians-on-six-months-of-war (09:01 GMT) Pope Francis has called for "concrete steps" to end the war in Ukraine and avert the risk of a "nuclear disaster" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Speaking at his weekly general audience, the head of the Catholic Church went off script to condemn wars as "madness" and, referring to Darya Dugina, said the woman killed by a car bomb near Moscow was among "innocents" killed because of war. (09:28 GMT) A video published on social media appears to show Russian opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman being arrested at his home in what is the latest apparent move by the Kremlin to punish critics of the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. Video of the arrest shows Roizman, a former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, being taken away by law enforcement officials. Roizman is seen in the video telling reporters that he was being investigated under a law against discrediting the armed forces, according to Reuters. He said he was being arrested "basically for one phrase, 'the invasion of Ukraine'". (09:37 GMT) Macron warns of 'sacrifices' ahead after 'end of abundance' President Emmanuel Macron has warned that France faces "sacrifices" in a new era marked by climate change and instability caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I believe that we are in the process of living through a tipping point or great upheaval. Firstly because we are living through ... the end of what could seem like the end of abundance," he said during a televised address to his cabinet. Referring to the war in Ukraine, Macron added: "Our system based on freedom in which we have become used to living, sometimes when we need to defend it, it can entail making sacrifices." (09:54 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has offered his congratulations to the people of Ukraine as the country marks its Independence Day. "I am convinced that today's contradictions will not be able to destroy the centuries-old foundation of sincere good neighbourly ties between the peoples of our two countries," Lukashenko said in a statement. "Belarus will continue to stand for the preservation of harmony, the development of friendly, mutually respectful contacts at all levels," he added. (10:13 GMT) Timeline: Six months of Russia's war in Ukraine <==== !! https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/24/timeline-six-months-of-russias-war-in-ukraine (11:02 GMT) French firm TotalEnergies has denied a newspaper report which has said gas condensate converted into jet fuel and delivered by a company it co-owns with Russia's Novatek might have supplied Russian army bases. "No, TotalEnergies does not produce kerosene for the Russian army," the company said in a statement. The Le Monde newspaper report was based on energy market data. (11:44 GMT) US President Joe Biden has announced what he called the "biggest tranche of security assistance to date" for Ukraine, amounting to about $2.98bn in weapons and equipment. "This will allow Ukraine to acquire air defense systems, artillery systems and munitions, counter-unmanned aerial systems, and radars to ensure it can continue to defend itself over the long term," he said in a statement marking Ukraine's Independence Day. Washington has so far provided about $10.6bn in military aid to Ukraine. (12:00 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican has criticised Pope Francis for referring to Darya Dugina, the daughter of prominent Russian ultranationalist Alexander Dugin, as an innocent victim of war. (12:46 GMT) The United Kingdom imported no fuel from Russia in June for the first time since records began 25 years ago, as sanctions on Moscow in response to its invasion of Ukraine helped drive a 97% fall in imports of Russian goods, official data has shown. The UK government has banned the import of some Russian products and hiked tariffs on others as part of its economic sanctions package. It has also said it will phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022. (13:10 GMT) The head of Russia's state nuclear energy agency has held a meeting with the chief of the UN's nuclear watchdog to discuss an anticipated inspection of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) agency Rafael Grossi and Rosatom chief Alexei Likhachev met in Istanbul on Wednesday, the Russian nuclear energy agency said in a statement. (13:19 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has dismissed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's Independence Day greeting, branding it "cynical" and blasting Minsk for allowing Russia to stage attacks from its territory. "Lukashenko truly believes the world does not notice his participation in crimes against Ukraine," Podolyak tweeted. (13:48 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from the White House, says the latest US package of military aid for Ukraine is the "biggest ... in isolation so far" since Russia launched its invasion in late February. "It will include anti-armour and anti-aircraft missiles to use against Russian tanks ... it will also allow for the acquisition by the Ukrainian military of air defence systems, artillery systems and munitions," Halkett said. "But the real important thing to note about this is this is a real shift in posture ... it is buying and purchasing for the long term," she added. "Initially, what US security assistance [for Ukraine] was focused on was immediate needs. In other words, the Pentagon supplied what it had in stock, and shifted it over as quickly as possible. "But now, what this is going to be is the utilising of [US] Department of Defense contracts to purchase for the long term." (13:56 GMT) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has promised a further package of military support for Ukraine after meeting with Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The 54 million pound ($63.5m) package will include 200 drones and loitering munitions to enable the Ukrainian military to better track and target invading Russian forces, Johnson's office said in a statement. (15:22 GMT) Two employees of Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been detained for passing information to Ukrainian authorities, Russia's National Guard has said. (15:51 GMT) EU defence ministers will discuss options to set up a military training mission for Ukrainian forces at an August 29-30 meeting in Prague, the bloc's foreign policy chief has said. "As EU, we have to see what else we can do in terms of support to Ukraine and increasing the cost of this war for Russia," Josep Borrell said in a blog to mark Ukraine's Independence Day, six months after Russia invaded the country. "We will discuss this ... in Prague next week, including on the issue of visas for Russian citizens and a possible EU training mission for Ukrainian armed forces." (15:53 GMT) European Union countries should agree upon a cap on the price of gas imported from Russia to help ease the burden of rising prices on businesses and households, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi has said. "The Italian government has pressed hard at the European level for a maximum ceiling on the price of Russian gas that we import," Draghi told a conference in the Italian town of Rimini. (16:32 GMT) There have been 473 verified attacks on healthcare in Ukraine since Russia invaded six months ago, which have killed nearly 100 people, according to the WHO. The World Health Organization's Europe chief Hans Kluge branded the attacks "unconscionable". As well as the 98 people known to have been killed in verified attacks on healthcare, at least 134 others were wounded, the WHO's figures showed. (16:50 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called the six-month anniversary of the start of Russia's war in Ukraine a "sad and tragic milestone". (17:41 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has told the United Nations Security Council that Russia "should unconditionally stop nuclear blackmail" and "completely withdraw" from an atomic plant in Ukraine. (18:24) Pope Francis and the head of the Russian Orthodox church, who backs the war in Ukraine, will not meet when both men attend a gathering of religious leaders in Kazakhstan next month, the RIA news agency has cited a senior Orthodox official as saying. Francis, due to be in the capital Nur-Sultan from September 13 until 15 to attend the VII Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions, has said in several recent interviews he hopes to meet Patriarch Kirill when in Kazakhstan. But Bishop Anthony, the Russian church's second-most powerful bishop, told RIA there was no question of the two religious leaders meeting on the sidelines. (18:59 GMT) At least 15 people have died and 50 more have been wounded when Russian forces launched a rocket attack on a Ukrainian railway station, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In a video address to the United Nations, Zelenskyy said the rockets had hit a train in the town of Chaplyne, some 145km west of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Four carriages were on fire, he said. (20:31 GMT) Consumer prices in Russia have declined for the seventh week running, as the rouble's appreciation in the past few months and a drop in consumer demand slow the pace of price growth, although households' expectations of future inflation increased. The consumer prices index dipped 0.15% in the week to August 22 after easing 0.13% a week earlier, the federal statistics service Rosstat said. Russians focus closely on inflation among economic trends as rising prices eat into living standards. Annual inflation reached 15.1% in July, far above the central bank's 4% target. 20220825 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/25/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-rescuers-search-rubble-chaplyne-attack (06:48 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 183 aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-183 (07:12 GMT) Russia is probably prepared to exploit any Ukrainian military activity near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) for propaganda purposes, the British Ministry of Defence has said in its daily update. While Russia maintains the military occupation of ZNPP, the principal risks to reactor operations are likely to remain disruption to the reactors' cooling systems, damage to its backup power supply, or errors by workers operating under pressure. (07:41 GMT) The French Transport Minister Clement Beaune has called for an investigation into whether French oil major TotalEnergies was involved in supplying jet fuel to the Russian military through a local joint venture. Le Monde newspaper reported on Wednesday that TotalEnergies was involved in supplying gas condensate to make jet fuel that may have been used by Russian warplanes in Ukraine via the French firm's stake in a venture with Russia's Novatek. (08:04 GMT) UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to halt attacks on Ukraine and said the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant must be demilitarised. (09:10 GMT) Russia has widely used cluster bombs in Ukraine, causing hundreds of civilian casualties and damaging homes, schools and hospitals, the Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) said in an annual report. Ukrainian forces appear to also have used cluster munitions several times, the monitoring group added. Neither Russia nor Ukraine has joined the convention prohibiting the use, transfer, production and stockpiling of cluster bombs, which has 110 states as parties and 13 other signatories. (09:45 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu discussed the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant with his French counterpart by telephone, the ministry said. (10:04 GMT) The US State Department has condemned plans by Russian-backed authorities to put on trial Ukrainian prisoners of war in the southern port city of Mariupol, saying Russia would try to deflect responsibility for the war on its neighbour. (10:24 GMT) The European Union has condemned Russia's deadly bombardment of a railway station in Ukraine and warned those "responsible for Russian rocket terror will be held accountable". (10:33 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it had killed Ukrainian troops in a railway station attack in central Ukraine that Kyiv said left 25 people, including children, dead. "As a result of a direct hit by an Iskander missile on a military train at the Chaplyne railway station ... more than 200 servicemen of the reserve of Ukraine's Armed Forces and 10 units of military equipment en route to the combat zone in Donbas were destroyed," the ministry said in its daily briefing. Moscow also said it had destroyed eight Ukrainian fighter planes in raids against airbases in Ukraine's Poltava and Dnipropetrovsk regions. That would be one of the heaviest losses for Ukraine's air force in recent weeks. (11:07 GMT) A former mayor of Russia's fourth-largest city has been escorted by police to a Yekaterinburg court before the start of a hearing amid accusations of discrediting the country's military. On Wednesday, police arrested Yevgeny Roizman, 59, who served as the mayor of Yekaterinburg from 2013 to 2018, following searches at his apartment and office. (11:29 GMT) Safety systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine were activated, the RIA news agency reported, after power cuts were reported across swaths of Russian-controlled territory. Outages were reported in parts of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, while Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine shelled the plant, Europe's largest nuclear power facility. (11:47 GMT) The United Kingdom will share technical expertise with Ukraine as part of a new package of support to help the country rebuild its infrastructure and transport network following Russia's war which began earlier this year, the government has said. British experts will offer technical knowledge in airport, runway and port reconstruction, and will help identify training opportunities for aviation staff, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in a statement. (12:02 GMT) Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to increase the strength of the Russian armed forces from 1.9 million to 2.04 million, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. The figure, which includes an increase of 137,000 military personnel taking it to 1.15 million, comes into effect on January 1. (13:38 GMT) Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant under occupation by Russian troops was disconnected from the national power supply, the state energy operator has said. (13:47 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog is "very, very close" to being able to go to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, its chief Rafael Grossi told France 24 TV. Asked if talks about gaining access to the facility had succeeded, in which case he has said his agency would go within days, Grossi said, "We are very, very close to that." (14:34 GMT) Latvia has dismantled a Soviet-era monument in its capital city Riga following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, despite protests from the Baltic state's ethnic Russian minority to keep it. Demolition machinery was used to remove the 79-metre (259-foot) World War II memorial, which has become a rallying point for the Kremlin's supporters in Latvia, AFP news agency reported. Built in 1985, the Monument to the Liberators of Soviet Latvia and Riga from the German Fascist Invaders had featured statues of soldiers and a woman surrounding a central obelisk. (15:28 GMT) Spain's parliament approved the minority government's energy-saving decree, ratifying a set of unpopular measures in force since August 10 that the administration says has already cut electricity consumption. (15:49 GMT) A Russian court has placed opposition politician Yevgeny Roizman under conditions similar to house arrest as he awaits trial on charges of "discrediting" the Russian army. One of the last opposition figures still in the country who is not behind bars, the former mayor of the Urals city of Yekaterinburg was detained for his comments about Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine. (16:31 GMT) The last regular power line supplying electricity to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine is working again after having been cut earlier, the UN nuclear watchdog has said, citing Ukraine. "Ukraine told the IAEA that the ZNPP, Europe's largest nuclear power plant, at least twice lost connection to the power line during the day but that it was currently up again," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement, adding that information on the direct cause of the outage was not immediately available. (18:09 GMT) Russia should agree to a demilitarised zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine and allow international officials to assess its safety, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said. "Russia should agree to the demilitarised zone around the plant and agree to allow an International Atomic Energy Agency visit as soon as possible to check on the safety and security of the system," Jean-Pierre said. She said the plant had come up in a call between US President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, scheduled to mark Ukraine's independence day on August 24. (18:12 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA could travel to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the coming days, Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko has said. (19:26 GMT) Ukraine's capital renamed 95 streets as part of a drive to purge Russian and Soviet place names, Kyiv's mayor announced a day after Ukraine marked 31 years of independence. Since Russia invaded in February, Ukraine has accelerated what it calls "derussification", a campaign to shed the legacy of hundreds of years of rule by Moscow. (19:27 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency and other world bodies need to act much faster to force Russian troops to leave the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. The world narrowly avoided a radiation accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear station in Ukraine after power was cut to the two remaining working reactors, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said fires in the ash pits of a coal power station near the complex had disconnected the reactors from the power grid. The company blamed Russian "invaders" for the disconnection. Zelenskyy said back-up diesel generators had immediately kicked in to ensure continuous power supply. Electricity is used for cooling and safety systems at the nuclear plant. "If the diesel generators had not turned on ... if our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already been forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident," he said in an evening address. 20220826 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-says-world-avoided-disaster (05:59 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces struck a railway station in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing 200 Ukrainian military personnel, confirming an attack which Kyiv said killed 25 civilians as the nation marked its Independence Day. The ministry said an Iskander missile hit a military train at Chaplyne station that was to deliver arms to Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region. Ukrainian officials said civilians were killed when a house and the station were hit and five train carriages went up in flames. Moscow denies those allegations. (06:04 GMT) The last regular line supplying electricity to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) is working again after being cut on Thursday, the UN's nuclear watchdog has said, an outage that underlined the potential peril fighting near the site poses. Ukrainian state nuclear company Energoatom said on Thursday that fires broke out in the ash pits of a coal power station near the Zaporizhzhia reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, disrupting lines linking the plant to Ukraine's power grid. The last electricity supply to the plant was restored later in the day, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement. (07:03 GMT) Japan's biggest power generator JERA has signed a deal with the new operator of the Sakhalin-2 energy project in Russia to maintain its long-term contract to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG), a spokesperson for the Japanese company has said. The main conditions such as volume, price and payment currency remained the same as the previous contract, the spokesperson told the Reuters news agency. (07:45 GMT) Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden are expected to meet at an undisclosed location in Finland later on Friday to discuss security concerns that Ankara raised as a precondition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the NATO military alliance. Finland's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pekka Haavisto said earlier the first meeting between officials would aim to establish contacts and set goals for cooperation that the three countries agreed to by signing a memorandum of understanding at NATO's Madrid summit at the end of June. The two Nordic countries applied for NATO membership in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine but were faced with opposition from Turkey which accused them of imposing arms embargoes on Ankara and supporting groups it deems "terrorists". Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has demanded Sweden and Finland extradite suspects Turkey seeks over "terrorism"-related charges while the Nordic countries argue they did not agree to any specific extraditions by signing the memorandum. (08:41 GMT) All six reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine are still disconnected from the country's electricity grid, Ukraine's state nuclear company has said. (08:45 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 184 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-184 (09:07 GMT) Washington's warning to Turkey that its companies risk being sanctioned if they do business with sanctioned Russian individuals and firms is "meaningless," Turkish finance minister Nureddin Nebati has said. The United States Treasury warned both the country's largest business group TUSIAD and the finance ministry this month that Russian entities and individuals were attempting to use Turkey to bypass Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its offensive in Ukraine. (09:24 GMT) After half a year of fighting, Russia has sunk deeper and deeper into a quagmire. Five key military takeaways: https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/8/24/six-months-of-war-in-ukraine-five-key-military-takeaways (09:43 GMT) Belarusian SU-24 warplanes have been re-fitted to carry nuclear armaments, the country's president has said. Speaking to reporters, Alexander Lukashenko said that he had previously agreed the move with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Belarus does not have its own nuclear weapons but relies financially and politically on Moscow, its close ally. (10:01 GMT) Ukraine has begun trying to resume operations at two reactors at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine, according to a regional official. Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhia region, said in televised remarks that the plant's sixth reactor was working at 10 % of capacity. (10:07 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a United States-made M777 howitzer which it claims was used by Ukrainian troops to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. In its daily briefing, the ministry said that the howitzer had been destroyed west of the town of Marhanets, in Ukraine's central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. (10:42 GMT) In Ukraine, Army SOS, an activist-led NGO, has been converting Android-based tablets into smart units with automated precision guidance. Via specialised software named Kopriva (nettle), the devices can be transformed from their regular functions to calculate the distance to targets and direct shots of each type of artillery used in the Ukrainian military. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/26/how-ukraine-turns-cheap-tablets-into-lethal-weapons (11:12 GMT) Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled energy giant, has said that Russian gas storage was 91.4-percent full as of August 24. The level of Russian gas storage before the winter heating season has been watched closely since Moscow said the need to fill domestic storage is to be prioritised over gas exports. (11:43 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom says that one reactor at the Zaporizhzhia plant has been reconnected to the Ukrainian energy grid. (12:23 GMT) Timeline: Six months of Russia's war in Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/24/timeline-six-months-of-russias-war-in-ukraine (13:20 GMT) Russia is wasting large volumes of natural gas by burning it in a huge orange flare near the Finnish border at a time when it has sharply cut deliveries to the EU, analysts have told the Reuters news agency. Rystad, an energy consultancy based in Norway, described Moscow's move as an environmental disaster - with about 9,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted every 24 hours - and estimated the amount of gas being burned off into the atmosphere was equivalent to about 0.5% of daily EU needs. The spectacular flare can be seen in satellite images of Portovaya, the site of a compressor station for the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea to Germany. (14:00 GMT) French firm TotalEnergies, which is facing criticism over its various business ties with Russia, has announced it will sell its stake in Terneftegaz, a joint venture with Novatek. "On August 26, 2022, TotalEnergies and Novatek signed the final sale and purchase agreement of TotalEnergies' 49% interest in Terneftegaz. Closing is expected in September 2022, subject to customary conditions," the company said in a statement on Friday. The company's statement added that the divestment had been planned before the controversy emerged and that it had sent a request to approve the deal to Russian authorities on August 8. The Le Monde newspaper report - which TotalEnergies rejected as false - was based on energy market data. It said the fuel might have been used at two Russian army bases which non-governmental organisations have accused of housing aircraft used to strike civilian targets in Ukraine. (14:10 GMT) Officials from Turkey, Finland and Sweden have agreed to keep meeting in the coming months to discuss security concerns that Ankara raised as a precondition for allowing the two Nordic countries to join the NATO military alliance. Officials from the three countries held their first such meeting on Friday in the southern Finnish city of Vantaa, near the capital, Helsinki. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy adviser has said Finland and Sweden are receptive to Turkey's security demands after the three countries held talks over the Nordic nations' NATO bids. 14:27 GMT) European Union energy ministers will convene for an urgent meeting as soon as possible to discuss the energy crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said. Approved by European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen, the move comes as the 27-nation bloc is trying to shed dependence on supplies of Russian oil and gas. The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU, and it has already scheduled a regular meeting of the energy ministers for October. Jozef Sikela, the country's industry minister, warned separately on Friday that the bloc was in "an energy war with Russia" which he said was "damaging the whole European Union". (15:28 GMT) The deputy chief of traffic police in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Berdiansk has died in hospital after being wounded in a bomb blast, according to local Moscow-installed officials. In a statement posted on Telegram, the Russian-installed Berdiansk authorities said Alexander Kolesnikov had been killed in a "terrorist attack" that they blamed on "the Kyiv regime". Berdiansk, a port of about 100,000 people on the Azov Sea, was captured by Russia in late February. The incident there was the latest in a series of apparent assassinations of Russian-backed officials in occupied areas of Ukraine. (15:57 GMT) Authorities have begun distributing iodine tablets to residents near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in case of a radiation leak, amid mounting fears that the fighting around the complex could trigger a catastrophe. Continued shelling was reported in the area overnight, and satellite images from Planet Labs showed fires burning around the complex - Europe's biggest nuclear plant - during the last several days. Iodine tablets, which help block the absorption of radioactive iodine by the thyroid gland in a nuclear accident, were issued in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is about 45km from the plant and remains under Ukrainian control. (16:15 GMT) A top UN aid official has issued an urgent appeal for guarantees from Russia to allow safe passage of humanitarian aid to Ukraine before winter. (16:22 GMT) Russia's capabilities in the north are a strategic challenge for NATO and the alliance needs a strong allied presence in the Arctic region, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said during his Canada visit. (17:24 GMT) Ukrainian rocket fire has hit an important bridge used by Russian occupying forces in the southern Kherson region and put it out of action, Ukraine's southern military command said. "Rocket artillery units continued to conduct missions, including ensuring control over the Daryivskiy bridge. Its operation is currently halted," the southern command said in a statement. There was no immediate comment from Moscow. The Daryivskiy bridge, which spans nearly 100 metres, is the only Russian-controlled crossing across the Inhulets River, a tributary of the vast Dnieper. (18:56 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom has said that a second reactor at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been reconnected to the Ukrainian grid. (20:11 GMT) A US citizen has recently died in Ukraine, a State Department spokesperson has said, adding that officials are in touch with the family and are providing consular assistance. (20:12 GMT) Ukraine has now exported one million tonnes of agricultural products from its Black Sea ports under the terms of a grain deal brokered by Turkey and the United Nations, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. In an evening address, Zelenskyy said 44 ships had been sent to 15 nations. A further 70 applications for ships to be loaded had been received, he added, reiterating that Kyiv's goal was to export three million tonnes a month. 20220827 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-says-1m-tonnes-of-food-exported (06:18 GMT) Russia has blocked agreement on the final document of a four-week review of the UN treaty considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament, which criticised its military takeover of Europe's largest nuclear plant soon after Russian troops invaded Ukraine. Igor Vishnevetsky, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Non-Proliferation and Arms Control Department, told the delayed final meeting of the conference reviewing the 50-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) that unfortunately there is no consensus on this document. He insisted that many countries - not just Russia - didn't agree with "a whole host of issues" in the 36-page last draft. The NPT, which 191 signatories review every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. (06:45 GMT) Russia has probably stepped up attacks along the Donetsk sector of the Donbas region over the last five days in a move that could be aimed at sucking in Ukrainian troops and foiling a counter-attack, according to Britain's defence ministry. There has been intense fighting near the towns of Siversk and Bakhmut which are located north of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, the ministry said on its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter. (07:20 GMT) The situation at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine remains very risky and dangerous, even though the facility's two working nuclear reactors were reconnected on Friday, President Zelenskyy said. (07:58 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 185 aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-185 (08:37 GMT) Three more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish national defence ministry said. (09:50 GMT) Britain's defence ministry says it is giving six underwater sonar-powered drones drones to Ukraine to help clear its coastline of mines and make grain shipments safer. The lightweight autonomous vehicle is designed for use in shallow coastal environments, operating effectively at depths of up to 100 metres to detect, locate and identify mines using an array of sensors so the Ukrainian navy can destroy them. (10:16 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant complex three times in the last 24 hours. (11:34 GMT) There is a risk of a radioactive leak at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - Europe's largest - which is occupied by Russian troops, Ukraine's state energy operator has said. Energoatom said Moscow's troops had "repeatedly shelled" the site of the plant in southern Ukraine over the past day, while Russia's defence ministry claimed Kyiv's troops were responsible. (12:09 GMT) Russian forces fired missiles and artillery on Ukrainian-held areas across the river from Europe's largest nuclear power plant, authorities said, as concern persisted about safety at the Russian-controlled plant after it was temporarily knocked offline. Grad missiles and artillery shells hit the cities of Nikopol and Marhanets, each about 10km and across the Dnieper River from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, said Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. (12:50 GMT) Merchant sailors will be allowed to leave Ukraine if they receive approval from their local military administrative body, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a move that could ease the process of shipping grain from the country's ports. The change would cover male crew members of sea and river vessels, as well as students who need to undertake practical training on board ships, he added. The decision is likely to ease a shortage of sailors able and willing to crew ships coming into and out of Ukraine to export grain via an internationally brokered corridor. (13:32 GMT) Ukraine's military command has said its forces beat back assaults by Russian forces in the direction of Soledar, Zaitseve and Mayorsk in the Donetsk region, Reuters reported. (13:56 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it destroyed a large ammunition depot in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region that contained US-made HIMARS rocket systems and shells for M777 Howitzers, Reuters reported. The Russian Air Force shot down a MiG-29 aircraft in the eastern Donetsk region, the ministry said in its daily briefing, and destroyed another six missile and artillery weapons depots in the Donetsk, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions. (14:50 GMT) A Russian S-300 rocket has hit a residential area in Kharkiv, leaving one person wounded, according to local police. The rocket hit a street in Kharkiv's historical district early on Saturday, leaving a large crater and damaging residential buildings. (15:42 GMT) Slovakia has agreed to have fellow NATO states Czech Republic and Poland police its skies as Bratislava withdraws its Soviet-made MiG-29s from service, potentially freeing up the old jets to send to Ukraine. Slovakia, with a population of 5.4 million, has already donated an S-300 air defence system, Mi-series military helicopters, self-propelled howitzers and Grad multiple-rocket launcher rockets. This week it said it would send 30 tracked infantry fighting BVP-1 vehicles. (16:04 GMT) Vladimir Putin has signed a decree allowing Ukrainian passport holders who have entered Russia since its invasion in to live and work in the country indefinitely. Up until now, Ukrainians could only stay in Russia for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period. To stay longer or to work, one had to get special authorisation or a work permit. The new measure allows Ukrainian citizens and people from Ukraine's separatist eastern regions that Russia recognises as independent to work in Russia without a work permit and to live in the country "without a time limit", AFP reported. To be eligible, applicants will have to be fingerprinted, photographed and undergo a test for drugs and any infectious diseases. In July, the Kremlin made it easier for Ukrainians to receive Russian nationality, a measure denounced by Kyiv. (16:39 GMT) Kazakhstan, a neighbour and ally of Russia, has suspended all arms exports for a year, its government said on Saturday, amid conflict in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Moscow. The former Soviet republic - which also has active economic ties with Kyiv - has avoided taking sides in the Ukrainian crisis while calling for its peaceful resolution. Kazakhstan produces a wide range of military equipment including boats, armoured and artillery vehicles, machine guns, night visors, grenades, torpedoes and protective gear. The government has not said these items were being exported. (17:56 GMT) In European Union countries, anxiety over gas and oil supply has sent prices soaring. Both Germany and France reported that they expected electricity prices next year to increase tenfold over those this year. (18:40 GMT) Putin signed a decree introducing financial benefits for people who left Ukrainian territory to come to Russia, including pensioners, pregnant women and disabled people. Monthly pension payments of 10,000 roubles ($170) will be given to people who have been forced to leave Ukraine since February 18. Disabled people will also be eligible for the same monthly support, while pregnant women are entitled to a one-off benefit. The decree says the payments will be made to citizens of Ukraine and the self-styled Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics - two breakaway Russian-backed entities in eastern Ukraine that Moscow recognised as independent in February in a move condemned by Ukraine and the West as illegal. On February 18, Putin ordered every person who arrived in Russia from Donetsk and Luhansk to be given a payment of 10,000 roubles ($170), Reuters reported. (19:57 GMT) Dell Technologies Inc has said it ceased all Russian operations after closing its offices in mid-August, the latest in a growing list of Western firms to exit Russia. (20:47 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that "evil will not have the last word" in the conflict in Ukraine. She was speaking at an event at the Taize Christian religious community in eastern France, and said she was quoting the words of Brother Alois, the prior of the community. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiz%C3%A9_Community 20220828 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/28/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-shelling-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant (09:25 GMT) Ukraine and Russia have again blamed each other for shelling at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which continues to pique concerns of a wide-scale crisis. Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said on Saturday Russian troops had again shelled the grounds of the plant in the preceding 24 hours, saying the damage was "currently being ascertained". Russia's defence ministry, meanwhile, accused Ukrainian forces of shelling the complex three times in 24 hours. It said four shells hit the roof of a building storing "168 assemblies of US Westinghouse nuclear fuel". (09:34 GMT) Fighting has continued in the south and the east of Ukraine, with Ukrainian forces pushing ahead with a counteroffensive centred around the city of Kherson, which was captured by Russian troops shortly after the invasion was launched on February 24. Ukrainian strategy has focussed on destroying four bridges Russian forces must hold to supply Kherson, located at the southern end of the Dnieper River. In the eastern Donbas region, Russian forces were continuing to target the strategic city of Bakhmut, which was shelled again on Saturday, according to a Ukrainian military report. (09:43 GMT) The Russian defence ministry says it has destroyed a large ammunition depot in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region that contained US-made HIMARS rocket systems and shells for M777 Howitzers. (09:48 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence says it is unclear how Russia will achieve an announced large increase in its armed forces, but the boost is unlikely to substantially increase its combat power in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last week to increase the size of Russia's armed forces to 2.04 million from 1.9 million as the war in Ukraine enters its seventh month. (09:54 GMT) Australia's defence minister has said he aims to deepen defence ties with France, Germany and the UK during his visits to the countries this week. The trip, beginning on Monday, will be Richard Marles's first since centre-left Labor won a general election in May. "My visit to Europe comes at a time when the war in Ukraine has shown the importance of increasing cooperation with like-minded partners, both in Europe and the Indo-Pacific," he said. (10:37 GMT) Fighting has continued overnight near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to local Ukrainian officials. In Nikopol, heavy firing during the night left parts of the city without electricity, said Valentyn Reznichenko, governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Rocket strikes damaged about a dozen residences in Marhanets, according to Yevhen Yevtushenko, the administrative head for the district that includes the city of about 45,000. The city of Zaporizhzhia, about 40km upriver from the nuclear plant, also came under fire during the night, wounding two people, city council member Anatoliy Kurtev said. (11:10 GMT) The Russian air force has struck workshops at a Motor Sich factory in the Zaporizhia region of Ukraine where helicopters were being repaired, Russian state news agency RIA has quoted the defence ministry as saying. The defence ministry also said Russian forces destroyed fuel storage facilities in Ukraine's Dnipro region which supplied the Ukrainian army in the Donbas region, Interfax news agency reported. (12:01 GMT) European Union foreign ministers are set to unify behind suspending the bloc's preferential treatment of Russians applying for visas, according to the Financial Times. The move comes amid pressure from some countries, including Poland and the Czech Republic, who have already stopped issuing visas to Russian tourists. However, Russians can still enter the Schengen zone through other countries and travel to those who have stopped issuing visas. The foreign ministers plan to initially give political support to suspending a 2007 deal between the bloc and Russia, which would create more document requirements, longer wait times and higher fees for Russian tourists applying for visas, three officials told the newspaper. There is no consensus on what steps the bloc would take beyond that, with several countries, including Germany, opposing an outright ban. (12:39 GMT) The Ukrainian and Russian officials both say there has been no increase in radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant following the latest shelling around the Russian-occupied site. (13:45 GMT) Bangladesh is set to import 500,000 tonnes of wheat at the rate of $430 a tonne from Russia in a government-to-government deal as it battles to secure supplies amid surging prices, two government officials with direct knowledge of the matter have said. The deal with Russia will be signed in a few days and the shipment will take place in phases by January, one of the officials said. (15:16 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Russian forces have turned the Zaporizhzhia plant into a military base, putting the whole continent at risk, and has no business being there. 15:58 GMT) Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer has called on the European Union to decouple electricity prices from those of gas to keep them from rising further due to ripple effects of the Ukraine war. (16:45 GMT) Russia has once again accused Ukraine of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, claiming a pipeline had been damaged in the latest attacks. Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said Ukraine continued its "provocations", suggesting it aimed to create "the threat of a man-made nuclear disaster". <== He reported that at least nine missiles had been fired, saying that three of them had landed in an area where nuclear fuel and radioactive waste was stored. Konashenkov continued, saying that technical personnel were monitoring the situation, and that radiation levels at the plant remained normal. (17:58 GMT) Germany is replenishing its gas stocks more quickly than expected despite drastic Russian supply cuts and should meet an October target early, the government has said. Last week, Germany's energy regulator the Federal Network Agency said the country was unlikely to meet its goals. But the government said energy-saving measures in recent weeks and massive purchases of gas from other suppliers saw "significant progress" made. (18:28 GMT) European Union member states are preparing to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement with Russia over the Ukraine war, the Financial Times has reported. EU foreign ministers are set to give the suspension political backing at a two-day informal meeting in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, the British newspaper said, citing three officials involved in the talks. (19:14 GMT) The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which 191 signatories review every five years, aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, promote complete disarmament and promote cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Russia on Friday prevented the declaration's adoption, saying it took issue with "political" aspects of the text, a step criticised by Washington. "After weeks of intensive but productive negotiations, the Russian Federation alone decided to block consensus on a final document," at the conclusion of the four-week NPT review conference, US Department of State Deputy Spokesman Vedant Patel said in a statement. He said Moscow's move was done "in order to block language that merely acknowledged the grave radiological risk at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine". <== (19:41 GMT) Ukrainian troops say they have attacked three Russian command posts and at least two ammunition depots in the Kherson region, in the country's south. The Ukrainian army's Operational Command South said their forces killed 11 Russian soldiers and destroyed 11 rocket launchers, three armoured vehicles and a self-propelled howitzer. Russian-appointed administration chief Vladimir Leontyev confirmed the Ukrainian attacks to Russian state agency Ria Novosti, saying the city of Nova Kakhovka had been shelled four times. 20220829 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/29/russia-ukraine-live-news-un-says-mission-on-way-to-ukraine-plant (06:41 GMT) The United Nations nuclear watchdog will inspect the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine this week, it said on Twitter. The mission led by IAEA chief Rafael Grossi will assess any damage from recent shelling near the plant, which Russia and Ukraine have blamed on each other. (06:47 GMT) Russian forces have pounded Ukrainian towns across the river from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, officials said, while Russia's defence ministry reported more Ukrainian shelling at the plant over the weekend. Nine shells fired by the Ukrainian artillery landed on the plant's ground, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. (06:49 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence has said it is unclear how Russia will achieve an announced large increase in its armed forces, but the boost is unlikely to substantially increase its combat power in Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin signed a decree last week to increase the size of Russia's armed forces to 2.04 million from 1.9 million as the war enters its seventh month. The UK ministry said in a regular update on the war that it was not clear if this would be achieved by recruiting more volunteers or by increasing conscription. (06:54 GMT) European Union defence and foreign ministers will discuss options to set up a military training mission for Ukrainian forces at a meeting in Prague this week. (07:42 GMT) Europe could face several winters of gas shortage as a result of the Russian supply cuts, Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden told a news conference in Norway. (08:05 GMT) Ericsson has said it will gradually wind down business activities in Russia over the coming months as the Swedish telecom equipment maker completes its customer obligations. The company, which suspended its business in Russia indefinitely in April, said it has about 400 employees in Russia and it would provide financial support to affected employees. (08:33 GMT) A Russian-installed official in eastern Ukraine has said that authorities would ensure the safety of the upcoming International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the TASS news agency reported. The IAEA said it will visit the plant, which is occupied by Russian forces but still managed by Ukrainian staff, this week. The Russian-backed authorities in the region said on Monday they have not been informed about details of the visit, TASS reported. (08:41 GMT) The Group of Seven's Non-Proliferation Directors' Group on has welcomed a trip by the UN nuclear watchdog to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and reiterated concerns about the safety of the plant under the control of Russian armed forces. (09:00 GMT) A top Russian diplomat has said that Moscow welcomes the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) upcoming mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in Russian-occupied territory of eastern Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's permanent representative to the international organisations in Vienna said Russia had made a significant contribution to the visit, which the IAEA said will take place this week. (09:42 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 187 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-187 (09:55 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said Russian forces shot down a Ukrainian drone which was trying to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Russian news agencies reported. The defence ministry said there was no serious damage and radiation levels were normal. It said the drone had been shot down near the facility's nuclear waste enclosure. (10:07 GMT) Russia is trying to prevent European nations from filling their gas storages enough to cope with the coming winter, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, speaking to an oil and gas conference in Norway via video link. (10:40 GMT) The European Union is planning to suspend an agreement that eases the path for Russians to apply for visas to travel to the bloc, an EU diplomat has told reporters. "We cannot continue the visa policy as it has been up to now," he said, requesting not to be named, before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague. (11:07 GMT) Hungary will continue talks with Russia on additional gas supplies and expects to reach a deal with Gazprom to increase supplies further from next month, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. Szijjarto met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow last month, seeking 700 million cubic metres of gas on top of an existing long-term supply deal with Russia. Gazprom started to increase gas supplies to Hungary this month, adding to previously agreed deliveries via the TurkStream pipeline. (12:13 GMT) Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, has been hit with cluster munitions, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. As a result, a building and the headquarters of the regional administration in the city centre were damaged. No casualties were immediately reported. (13:59 GMT) Ukrainian forces have started a long-awaited counteroffensive to regain territory in the south seized by Russian forces since their invasion six months ago, the country's southern command spokeswoman has said. "Today we started offensive actions in various directions, including in the Kherson region," Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne cited Natalia Humeniuk as saying. She declined to give details of the counteroffensive, saying Russian forces in southern Ukraine remained "quite powerful". Humeniuk also said that Ukraine had struck more than 10 ammunition dumps in the past week, adding they had "unquestionably weakened the enemy". The governor of Ukraine's Russian-annexed Crimea Peninsula, Sergei Aksyonov, dismissed her announcement as "another fake of Ukrainian propaganda". Crimea is adjacent to the Kherson region. (14:35 GMT) Radiation levels at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are normal and the situation at the site is under control, the RIA Novosti news agency cited Russian-installed officials as saying. The Russian-installed administration said earlier that Ukrainian forces had hit with an artillery raid the roof of a building used to store reactor fuel. (15:02 GMT) Austria says it is preparing to pump billions of euros into the electricity company that supplies much of Vienna after a price surge in power markets left it unable to afford the guarantees needed to cover market transactions. Wien Energie, which is owned by the city of Vienna, asked the federal government for help at the weekend and the city has identified an "acute financing need" of 6 billion euros($6bn), the finance ministry said in a statement. (15:46 GMT) Nations that are members of the International Energy Agency (IEA) could release more oil from strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) if they find it necessary when the current scheme expires, the head of the agency Fatih Birol has said. "In the absence of (western) companies, in the absence of the technology providers, in the absence of service companies, it will be much harder for Russia to maintain the production," IEA chief Fatih Birol told Reuters. Russian domestic demand has so far remained robust, and the country also offers large discounts to non-European buyers, Birol said on the sidelines of a conference in Stavanger in southern Norway. (17:25 GMT) The White House has said that Russia should agree to a demilitarized zone around the Ukrainian nuclear plant that has become a dangerous frontline in the ongoing war. A controlled shutdown of the plant would be the safest option, he said. (17:56 GMT) Russian defence ministry says that Ukraine's troops have attempted offensive in southern Mykolaiv and Herson regions, sustaining significant casualties, RIA news agency reported "Enemy's offensive attempt failed miserably," it said. (18:08 GMT) Germany faces the "bitter reality" that Russia will not restore gas supplies to the country, the German economy minister has said, ahead of planned halt by state energy giant Gazprom of exports to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. (20:11 GMT) Ukrainian forces launched a barrage of rockets at the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka, leaving it without water or power, officials at the Russian-appointed local authority told RIA news agency. The town lies just to the east of the city of Kherson, the target of a major counteroffensive that Ukraine launched earlier in the day. 20220830 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-fighting-rages-in-kherson (11:23 GMT) A surge in fighting on the southern front line and a Ukrainian claim of new attacks on Russian positions fed speculation on Tuesday that a long-expected counteroffensive to try to turn the tide of war has started. Officials in Kyiv, though, warned against excessive optimism in a war that has seen similar expectations of changing fortunes before. Attention centred on potential damage Ukraine might have inflicted on Russian positions around the port city of Kherson, a big economic hub close to the Black Sea and one of Moscow's prized possessions since it started the invasion just over half a year ago. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/30/ukraine-launches-counterattack-to-reclaim-russia-occupied-kherson (11:24 GMT) EU ministers on Tuesday debated ways to ramp up weapons production, boost military training for the Ukrainian armed forces and inflict a heavier toll on Russia. "We are depleting our stocks. We are providing so many capacities to Ukraine that we have to refill our stocks," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in the Czech capital, Prague, where he is chairing two days of talks between the bloc's defence and foreign ministers. The aim among defence ministers is to work out how best to pool military material and resources and also to buy ammunition and weapons in bulk such as air defence systems which Ukraine continues to need. They will also discuss what role the 27-nation bloc could play in training new Ukrainian recruits on European soil, as casualties mount and deplete the army of experienced soldiers who could otherwise providing training. (11:28 GMT) As war drags on, Ukraine's postal service perseveres https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/30/as-war-drags-ukraines-postal-service-perseveres (11:50 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday condemned the demolition of Soviet-era monuments in the Baltic states as "Russophobic" and said that they would affect bilateral relations. In a strongly worded statement, Moscow also accused Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia of xenophobia and discrimination, saying they were treating ethnic Russian minorities as "second-class people". "What is happening now in the Baltic states is unacceptable for us and will certainly affect the state of bilateral relations with these countries, which are already in complete decline," the ministry said. (12:15 GMT) Russian state prosecutors have requested 24 years in prison for treason for former journalist Ivan Safronov, state-owned news agency TASS reported, citing Moscow City Court. Safronov covered military affairs for the Vedomosti and Kommersant newspapers before becoming an aide to the head of Russia's space agency two months before his arrest in July 2020. Russian state prosecutors have requested a 24-year prison sentence for former journalist Ivan Safronov in his trial for treason, state news agency TASS quoted Moscow City Court as saying. (12:48 GMT) Germany and France have warned against a European Union ban on tourist visas for Russians, saying it would be counterproductive, highlighting divisions within the 27-nation bloc as foreign ministers prepared to discuss the measure. Eastern and Nordic countries strongly back such a ban, saying travel to the EU is a privilege, not a right, and that allowing Russians to party on European beaches at a time when their country has invaded Ukraine is unacceptable. (13:36 GMT) A vessel carrying wheat from Ukraine to the drought-stricken Horn of Africa has docked, the United Nations said, the first to make the journey since the Russian invasion six months ago. The vessel Brave Commander is carrying 23,000 tonnes of grain and will soon be followed by another carrying 7,000 tonnes, the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said. (14:58 GMT) Ukraine will request the UN's cultural watchdog to add the historic port of Odesa to its World Heritage List of protected sites as Russia's invasion continues, the agency has said. (15:15 GMT) Government measures to ensure gas supplies during the winter have prepared Germany to deal with further curbs in Russian deliveries, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, a day before Moscow is due to cut off gas delivery for three days. (15:56 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has met a team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in advance of its long-awaited visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. 16:50 GMT) Russian shells rained on the eastern Ukrainian town of Druzhkivka on Tuesday, destroying two schools and a sports facility, AP news agency reported The schools were destroyed just two days before the beginning of the academic year in Ukraine. Classes have been moved online as a result of the war, now in its sixth month. (17:30 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry has said in a memo that since the start of August, Russia had made "significant efforts" to reinforce troops on the western bank of the Dnieper River which splits Kherson city. (17:55 GMT) France wants to look into building a pipeline from the Iberian Peninsula to the south of France in a bid to open up new energy sources in the absence of natural gas from Russia. (18:28 GMT) Russian authorities are investigating Ilya Ponomaryov, a former lawmaker turned Ukraine-based Kremlin critic, for spreading "fakes" about the Russian army, TASS news agency cited a Moscow court as saying. Ponomaryov has come under increased pressure in Russia since becoming the only lawmaker in the 450-strong lower chamber of parliament, the Duma, to vote against the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. (18:55 GMT) The United States is concerned about India's plans to participate in joint military exercises with Russia, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said. The military exercises are expected to include China, India, Belarus, Mongolia, Tajikistan and other countries. Jean-Pierre told reporters that the US was concerned about any country participating in military exercises with Russia while it is at war with Ukraine. (19:35 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it would fully suspend gas deliveries to major European utility Engie from Thursday in a dispute over contracts, a move which will deepen concerns about Europe's winter energy supply. Europe is already on notice that Gazprom will shut off the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline to Germany from August 31 to September 2 for maintenance, and there is some concern that Moscow, which has cut the pipeline's supply to just 20% of capacity, may step up pressure by delaying the restart. In a statement, Gazprom said Engie had not paid in full for July deliveries of gas. "In this regard, Gazprom Export notified Engie of the complete suspension of gas supplies starting from September 1, 2022, until the moment it receives full payment for the gas it has supplied," it said. (19:50 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US Senators Rob Portman and Amy Klobuchar in Kyiv on Tuesday. (20:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler speaking from Paris said the banning of Russian citizens from the EU was a "very contentious" issue as EU foreign ministers gathered in Prague expressed different points of view on the subject. Butler said in the end the countries are likely to come up with a compromise to settle the issue that "basically means not a full ban, but that's making it much harder for Russians to enter the EU". "So more administration, much more expensive visas, that kind of thing," she added. 20220831 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/8/31/russia-ukraine-latest-updates-iaea-inspectors-head-to-nuclear-plant (05:49 GMT) A team led by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has set off from Kyiv to the Russian-held nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine that has sparked global concern. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's biggest, is on the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and the area has been shelled repeatedly in recent days, with the two sides accusing each other of firing. "We are now finally moving," IAEA chief Rafael Grossi, who arrived in Kyiv on Monday with a 13-strong team, told reporters before heading off. Grossi said the inspectors planned to spend "a few days" at the plant and would report back afterwards. The power plant has been occupied by Russian forces and operated by Ukrainian workers since the early days of the six-month-old war. (05:51 GMT) Ukrainian armoured forces have continued to assault Russia's southern grouping of forces on several axes across the south of the country since Monday, the British defence ministry said. Ukrainian formations have pushed the Russian forces' front line back some distance in places, exploiting relatively thinly held Russian defences, the ministry said. (05:59 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has called on the European Union to ban Russian tourists, describing the measure as appropriate since a majority of Russians supported the country's "genocidal war of aggression" against Kyiv. (06:19 GMT) Russian gas deliveries to Europe via the Nord Stream pipeline have been halted, its operator Entsog said, raising the prospects of recession and energy rationing in some of the region's richest countries. Russian energy giant Gazprom had said that it would stop deliveries for three days between 0100 GMT on August 31 until 0100 GMT on September 3 for maintenance work, further raising tensions on an already taut electricity market. (06:33 GMT) Germany is now better prepared for outages of gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 as its gas storage is nearly 85% filled, Klaus Mueller, president of Germany's network regulator, said on Twitter. "We can take gas from the storage in the winter, we are saving gas (and need to keep doing so!), the LNG terminals are coming, and thanks to Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway (and soon France), gas is flowing," Mueller said on Twitter. (07:45 GMT) Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo said several people were injured after explosions were heard in the Ukrainian-controlled city of Nikopol near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "Ukrainian officials are saying that Russian forces have been shelling all around the area where the IAEA team is expected to pass by," Bo said, speaking from the capital Kyiv. It is also not yet known whether the IAEA inspectors will stay in Nikopol or in Energodar, the town that houses the power plant and is under control of the Russians. "It is interesting what they are going to do once they arrive there: control the damage that has been caused in the plant; talk to Ukrainian technicians who are under control of Russian soldiers and who are handling the every day operations of that plant; and that the safety systems are in place," Bo said. (07:52 GMT) Gazprom is using a mere excuse to switch off natural gas deliveries to its French contractor, the energy minister in Paris said, but added that the country had anticipated the loss of supply. (08:00 GMT) The European Union must not appear to be at discord over eastern European demands for a visa ban on Russian tourists, the bloc's top diplomat warned, urging member states to find common ground. "We will have to reach an agreement and a political decision," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a second day of an EU foreign ministers' meeting in Prague. "I will be working for unity...We cannot afford to appear disunited in such an important thing, which is the people-to-people relations, between the Russian society and the European people." (08:30 GMT) Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are expected to arrive at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine on Thursday morning, the TASS news agency reported, citing Russian-installed authorities in the region. The inspection will take one or two days and six to eight IAEA experts are expected to stay at the plant following the visit, according to the Russian-installed officials in Energodar, the town where the plant is based. (09:01 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 189 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-189 (09:26 GMT) German exports of military equipment have surged this year as Berlin supplies arms to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia's attack, the economy ministry said. By August 24, the value of authorised military exports totalled just under 5.1 billion euros ($5.11bn), up from some 2.9 billion euros at the same time last year, the ministry said. Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised on Monday that Germany would keep up its support for Ukraine "for as long as it takes". (09:43 GMT) Ukraine has accused Russian forces of firing on the town Enerhodar by the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as IAEA inspectors were en route to inspect the facility. (10:04 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said that Ukraine's attempts to mount a counteroffensive in the south of the country had failed, with their forces suffering heavy losses in equipment and men. In its daily briefing, Russia's defence ministry said its forces had shot down three Ukrainian helicopters and that Ukraine had lost four fighter jets during two days of fighting around the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih front line and in other areas of southern Ukraine. (10:33 GMT) Ukrainian forces have had "successes" in three areas of the Russian-occupied region of Kherson, a Ukrainian regional official said, two days after Kyiv announced the start of a southern counteroffensive to retake territory. Al Jazeera's Teresa Bo said that the front line has been very stable for the past weeks. "None of these [Russian and Ukrainian] forces have been able to make any major accomplishments, so we're going to have to see whether Ukraine has enough weapons and manpower to be able to liberate many of those cities that have been occupied by Russia," she said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/31/is-ukraines-counteroffensive-progressing (10:55 GMT) Russia welcomes the idea that IAEA experts could stay at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant on a permanent basis, Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's representative to the international organisation in Vienna, has said. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said the agency hoped to set up a permanent mission at the plant. (11:16 GMT) Russia remains committed to its gas supply obligations but is unable to fulfil them due to Western nations' economic sanctions, the Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. (13:56 GMT) EU top diplomats have agreed to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation agreement for Russian citizens, a decision that comes after some Eastern and Nordic member states had pushed for an outright travel ban. "We have seen a substantial increase of border crossings from Russia into neighboring states. This is becoming a security risk," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on social media. (14:00 GMT) Tehran, Iran - Iran has delivered a so-called "peace initiative" for ending the Ukraine war, proposed by a European leader, to Russia. Standing next to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov during a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian confirmed that he had handed over the European proposal that he said was given to Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/31/iran-delivers-european-peace-initiative-on-ukraine-to-russia (15:27 GMT) Some 55 military and political officials from Canada have been banned from entering Russia, the Russian foreign ministry has said. The tit-for-tat move came in response to sanctions from Canada against Russian nationals, it added. (16:02 GMT) Sweden has provided Ukraine with a new defence aid package containing artillery rounds, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says. (16:33 GMT) The German economy ministry has asked the country's domestic intelligence agency BfV to look into two senior ministry officials over concerns about their possible ties to Russia, Die Zeit weekly reports. Die Zeit did not name the officials. (18:19 GMT) Estonia aims to stop most Russians from entering the country within weeks, if possible acting in concert with its regional partners, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has said. "It takes some time, but I think timing is also critical, looking at these vast numbers of Russian citizens entering," Reinsalu told Reuters in Prague. The minister's comment came after European Union foreign ministers decided to make it more expensive and complicated for Russians to obtain visas to travel to the bloc, but stopped short of agreeing to the EU-wide visa ban that Ukraine and several member states had called for. It is not clear, though, what unilateral measures Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which have land borders with Russia, could take to restrict access to Russian visitors. (16:33 GMT) The German economy ministry has asked the country's domestic intelligence agency BfV to look into two senior ministry officials over concerns about their possible ties to Russia, Die Zeit weekly reports. Die Zeit, citing its own research, said economy ministry officials had approached the BfV earlier in the year about the officials' allegedly pro-Russian stance on issues such as utility Uniper's bailout or state intervention in Gazprom Germania. Die Zeit did not name the officials. (18:19 GMT) Estonia aims to stop most Russians from entering the country within weeks, if possible acting in concert with its regional partners, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu has said. (19:26 GMT) Germany's chief of defence General Eberhard Zorn has warned that the West must not underestimate Moscow's military strength, saying Russia has the scope to open up a second front should it choose to do so. Beyond the army, Russia also has a navy and air force at its disposal, he added, "Most of the Russian navy has not yet been deployed in the war on Ukraine, and the Russian air force still has significant potential as well, which poses a threat to NATO, too." 20220901 (06:29 GMT) Ukrainian officials accused Russia of attacking a city housing Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant ahead of a visit by UN inspectors, as well as the route the investigators planned to take. Since dawn, Moscow's troops "shelled Energodar with mortars and used automatic weapons and rockets," mayor Dmytro Orlov said on Telegram, publishing photos of damaged buildings with spiralling smoke in the Russian-occupied territory. Meanwhile, the mayor of the Zaporizhzhia region said Russian troops were "shelling the pre-agreed route of the IAEA mission from (the city of) Zaporizhzhia to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The UN advance team cannot continue to move due to security reasons". IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said earlier the mission was aware of "increased military activity in the area" but was pressing ahead with its plan to visit the facility and meet its staff on Thursday. "I believe was have to proceed with this. We have a very important mission to accomplish." (06:41 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry has said that Ukrainian "saboteurs" have attempted to seize the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant ahead of a visit by UN inspectors. In a statement, the ministry said up to 60 Ukrainian "saboteurs from the Ukrainian army" had crossed the Dnipro river, which divides territory held by the two sides, in boats at 6am local time (03 GMT). It called the operation a "provocation" aimed at disrupting a planned visit UN nuclear inspectors to the nuclear plant. The ministry said that "measures had been taken" to destroy the opposing troops, including use of military aviation. (07:05 GMT) One of two operational reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant complex has been shut down as the result of Russian shelling, operator Ukrainian state-owned operator Energoatom has said. "As a result of another mortar shelling by Russian ... forces at the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the emergency protection was activated and the operational fifth power unit was shut down," Energoatom wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Energoatom added that "power unit No 6 continues to work in the energy system of Ukraine" and is supplying electricity for the power plant's own needs. (07:50 GMT) The Ukrainian president's chief of staff accused Russia of seeking to "wreck" the IAEA's inspection visit to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, repeating accusations that Russia shelled the plant again on Thursday. (08:05 GMT) Russian-backed separatists have said that 13 emergency service personnel were killed and nine wounded after coming under Ukrainian artillery fire in the village of Rubtsi in the Russian-controlled part of Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine. (08:41 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow was "doing everything" to ensure that the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant could operate safely and to allow visiting inspectors from the IAEA to be able to complete their tasks. Speaking at an event in Moscow, Lavrov said: "We are doing everything to ensure that this station is safe, that it functions safely. And for the mission there to carry out all its plans." Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of shelling the facility on Thursday. Nevertheless, the head of the IAEA said the visit would continue. (08:55 GMT) The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has called for a halt to all military operations around the Russian-held Zaphorizhzhia nuclear power plant, warning the consequences of a strike could be "catastrophic". "It is high time to stop playing with fire and instead take concrete measures to protect this facility and others like it from any military operations," Robert Mardini, director-general of the ICRC, told reporters in Kyiv. (09:04 GMT) A British man has been killed in Ukraine while volunteering as a medic, the foreign ministry has said. The sister of Craig Mackintosh said he had been killed in action on August 24, and has launched an online fundraiser to repatriate his body. (09:11 GMT) Ukrainian students are returning to their classrooms, as just over half of schools in the country reopened to in-person learning. (09:15 GMT) European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen will outline the European Commission's ideas on capping energy prices in a speech on September 14, a senior official has said. (09:27 GMT) UN nuclear inspectors have been held up for three hours by Ukrainian forces as they attempt to reach the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to Washington Post reporter John Hudson, citing an IEAE spokesperson. "Grossi has personally negotiated with Ukrainian military authorities to be able to proceed," the spokesman told Hudson, according to a tweet. (09:35 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog's mission to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is waiting at a Ukrainian checkpoint after fresh shelling around the plant, but remains determined to reach the plant today, a spokesperson has told Reuters news agency. Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom confirmed that the IAEA convoy is at a Ukrainian checkpoint around 20 km from the front line, and is waiting for the situation near the plant to become safer. (09:40 GMT) Russian oil producer Lukoil said Thursday its chairman Ravil Maganov had died following a "serious illness", after Russian media cited sources saying the 67-year-old died after falling out of a hospital window. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/1/lukoil-russian-oil-firm-chief-dies-after-serious-illness Ravil Maganov was chairman of one of the few major Russian companies to call for the end of fighting in Ukraine. (10:09 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has warned that any actions seen as endangering a Russian peacekeeping contingent in a separatist region of Moldova would be considered an attack on Russia itself. Sergey Lavrov's statement in an address at Russia's top foreign affairs school underlined concerns that Moldova's Transnistria region, which borders Ukraine, could be drawn into the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Russia has stationed peacekeepers there since the 1992 end of a three-month war that left Transnistria outside Moldovan control. Russian forces also guard a large ammunition dump in the region. In April, tensions in Moldova soared after a series of explosions in Transnistria. (10:22 GMT) Finland has slashed the number of visas issued to Russian citizens to a tenth of the regular amount, a decision announced in August that went into effect a day after European Union foreign ministers agreed to make it more difficult for Russians to receive visas. On top of its visa decision, the Finnish foreign ministry said the government is currently exploring the possibility of helping Russian human rights defenders, civil society members and journalists critical of the Kremlin by establishing a new kind of humanitarian visa enabling them to access the Nordic country. (10:32 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the funeral of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, on Saturday because of schedule constraints, the Kremlin has said. Putin has called the dissolution of the Soviet Union the "greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century". (11:20 GMT) Red Cross officials have failed to secure access to Ukrainian prisoners of war held in the Russian-controlled town of Olenivka where dozens were killed in an attack in July, the head of the international aid group has said. Ukraine and Russia have traded accusations over the missile attack or explosion in the front-line town of Olenivka in eastern Donetsk that killed prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists. (11:34 GMT) UN IAEA nuclear inspectors have arrived at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia plant in southeastern Ukraine. A Reuters reporter saw the IAEA team arrive at the plant in a large convoy with a heavy presence of Russian soldiers nearby. (11:44 GMT) The Kremlin has denounced a decision by EU foreign ministers to suspend a 2007 visa facilitation deal with Russia over the conflict in Ukraine, which will make visas for Russians travelling to the bloc more expensive, while extending processing times. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned of possible countermeasures. "Another ridiculous decision in a series of ongoing absurdities," he said. (12:34 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his policy of keeping up a dialogue with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, saying that Turkey should not be the only power talking to Moscow and preparations should already be made for a negotiated peace. "Who wants Turkey to be the only world power which continues to talk to Russia?" the president told a meeting of French ambassadors at the Elysee Palace. "We must not give in to any form of false morality, which would leave us powerless," he added. (13:54 GMT) Ukraine may lack 12 million tonnes of regular grain storage capacity by the end of November, a lower estimate compared with projections before the re-opening of the country's Black Sea ports. (14:25 GMT) Russia has launched weeklong war games involving forces from China and other nations in a show of growing defence cooperation between Moscow and Beijing. The Vostok 2022 (East 2022) drills that started on Thursday came amid Russia's all-out war in Ukraine that started on February 24 and while both Russia and China face tensions with the United States. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/1/russias-war-games-with-china-all-you-need-to-know Russian General Staff chief, General Valery Gerasimov, will personally oversee the drills that will involve troops from several ex-Soviet nations, China, India, Laos, Mongolia, Nicaragua and Syria. (15:27 GMT) The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said that he saw what he "needed to see" at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant that was frequently shelled in recent weeks. "I think we were able in these few hours to put together a lot, a lot of information. The key things I needed to see I saw, and your explanations were very clear," Rafael Grossi told Russian media accompanying the IAEA inspection team at the Moscow-controlled atomic plant. The visit from the 14-member expert delegation came after increased fighting delayed the team's progress towards the plant. (15:31 GMT) The head of IAEA says the UN agency will be "staying" at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine that has been frequently shelled. "The IAEA is staying here. Let the world know that the IAEA is staying at Zaporizhzhia," Rafael Grossi told the Russian RIA Novosti news agency during an inspection of the plant, He did not specify how many people will remain on site and for how long. Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom wrote on Telegram that five IAEA representatives will remain on the plant's territory, likely until September 3. (16:27 GMT) The head of Ukraine's state nuclear company says Ukrainian authorities are making "all efforts" to switch back on the plant's fifth reactor after it shut down due to shelling early on Thursday. Speaking to Reuters at a Ukrainian-controlled checkpoint on the road to the plant, chief Petro Kotin said Ukraine's top priority was to demilitarise the plant and the surrounding area, which has seen increased shelling in recent weeks, to avoid a nuclear accident. "If this mission helps to do that, then it will be successful," he added. (18:27 GMT) Vladimir Putin has stressed the importance of teaching a Kremlin-approved version of history, saying many children in eastern Ukraine did not know that Ukraine and Russia had once been part of the same country. On occasion of the so-called "talking about what's important" lesson that starts the school year nationwide, Putin met schoolchildren from all over Russia in a classroom in Kaliningrad and restated his assertion that he had been forced to send troops to defend the Russian-speakers of eastern Ukraine. (19:26 GMT) A cargo ship carrying 3,000 tonnes of corn from Ukraine under a United Nations-brokered export deal has drifted aground in Turkey's Bosporus Strait, halting shipping through Istanbul, according to the governor's office and a shipping firm. The Istanbul governor's office said the 173-metre Lady Zehma was safely grounded and anchored after a rudder failure around 18:00 GMT. No one was hurt and the Turkish Coast Guards was tending to the situation, it said. The Lady Zehma was cleared to depart Ukraine's Chornomorsk port for Ravenna, Italy, with 3,000 tonnes of corn. 20220902 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/2/russia-ukraine-news-live-shelling-continues-near-nuclear-plant (06:30 GMT) Britain's defence ministry says heavy fighting persists in the southern part of Ukraine including shellings in the Enerhodar district, near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. On Thursday, the head of the UN nuclear agency said the "physical integrity" of the nuclear plant had been "violated" following frequent shelling, on his team's first visit to the facility. (06:41 GMT) Norwegian energy firm Equinor says it has completed its exit from Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, delivering on a promise made in February. This marks the first full, orderly exit from Russia by an international oil and gas firm as pressure mounts on others, such as TotalEnergies and Exxon Mobil, to also leave. (07:06 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moldova risks triggering military confrontation with Moscow if it threatens Russian troops in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Russia has stationed peacekeeping troops in Transnistria since the early 1990s, when an armed conflict saw pro-Russian separatists wrest most of the region from Moldovan control. (07:42 GMT) French industrial gases producer Air Liquide says it will complete its withdrawal from Russia this month after it signed an agreement to shift its Russian assets to local management. Air Liquide employs close to 720 people in Russia, which accounts for less than 1% of the group's turnover, the company said. (08:13 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reporting from Kyiv said the situation at the Zaporizhzhia power plant is "volatile" as the two sides in the Ukraine conflict trade blame. "We are hearing that an IAEA [The International Atomic Energy Agency] team has stayed back. We think it is only a few of the total number of 13. They could stay there until Saturday," Elizondo said. "We are also hearing that perhaps they want to set up some sort of permanent presence there at the nuclear power plant. We simply don't know which way it is going to go because it is an unprecedented operation by them. Situation is volatile. This is a situation that is changing not week by week, not day by day, but really hour by hour," he added. (08:29 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear company, Energoatom, says it will be "difficult" for the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to make an impartial assessment of the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant due to Russian interference. Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant could still be important despite the difficulties caused by the Russian presence at the site. (09:10 GMT) Pavel Palazhchenko, Mikhail Gorbachev's interpreter for decades, says the late Soviet leader was traumatised by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Palazhchenko, who worked with the late Soviet president for 37 years and was at his side at numerous US-Soviet summits, spoke to Gorbachev a few weeks ago by phone and said he and others had been struck by how traumatised he was by events in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/2/gorbachev-died-shocked-and-bewildered-by-ukraine-conflict (09:26 GMT) Russian automaker AvtoVAZ says the sales of new cars rose sharply in August as the industry continues to grapple with the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Lada manufacturer said it sold 18,087 passenger cars during the month - up 75.2% from July. Sales were down 7% compared with August 2021. It was the best monthly performance for the car manufacturer since Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February. AvtoVAZ President Maxim Sokolov said sales of two Lada models - the Granta and Niva - had recovered to "pre-crisis levels", which he said was an "important achievement" on the company's road to recovery. (09:37 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says Ukraine is continuing to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, raising the risks of a nuclear catastrophe in Europe. Shoigu accused Ukraine of "nuclear terrorism" and rejected assertions by Kyiv and the West that Russia had deployed heavy weapons at the nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, which has been under Russian control since March. (10:13 GMT) The Kremlin says Moscow will stop selling oil to countries that impose price caps on Russia's energy resources. Moscow said the caps will lead to significant destabilisation of the global oil market. (11:23 GMT) Russian ex-president Dmitry Medvedev said Russia would turn off gas supply to Europe if Brussels pushes ahead with a price cap on Russian gas. Responding to comments by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen about putting a ceiling on the price Europe pays for Russian gas, Medvedev wrote on the Telegram messaging app: "There will simply be no Russian gas in Europe." (11:26 GMT) The Kremlin has said it viewed as "very positive" the arrival of inspectors from the UN atomic agency IAEA at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine "In general, we are very positive about the fact that, despite all the difficulties and problems ... the commission arrived and started to work," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday, adding it was "too early" to evaluate the UN team's work. (11:28 GMT) World food prices have fallen for a fifth consecutive month, partly thanks to the resumption of exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, a UN agency said on Friday. (13:03 GMT) The counterattack launched by Ukraine in the south of the country has largely failed, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has said. "Ukrainian forces continue to launch attempted attacks between Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, as well as in other areas, and the enemy is suffering heavy losses," Shoigu said on the ministry's Telegram channel on Friday. Kyiv's only goal in the offensive is "to create an illusion among Western officials that the Ukrainian army is capable of attacks," he said. Kyiv wants to drive Russian troops stationed west of the Dnieper back behind the river in the Kherson region, Shoigu added. (13:45 GMT) The fifth reactor of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has been reconnected to Ukraine's grid a day after it shut down due to shelling near the site, state nuclear company Energoatom said. "At present two reactor blocks are working at the station, generating electricity for the needs of Ukraine," Energoatom said on Telegram, adding the fifth reactor had been reconnected at 1.10pm local time (10:10 GMT). (14:24 GMT) Vitaliy Kim, the regional governor of the southern region of Mykolaiv, says Russian forces shelled several villages overnight, partially destroying commercial and residential buildings. (14:53 GMT) Europe's energy security is impossible without Russia, the country's State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin says. "Sanctions against our country led to an energy crisis in European states," Volodin said on social media. The EU member states, Volodin added, have two ways out of the current situation: removing sanctions against Russia and launching the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. (15:06 GMT) Russia has said gas deliveries via one of the main supply routes to Europe, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, remained at risk because just one turbine was operational, deepening European concerns as it struggles to secure enough fuel for winter. Nord Stream 1's flows were halted for three days this week for maintenance, with deliveries due to resume on Saturday at 01:00 GMT. (16:05 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers have agreed to implement a price cap on Russian-origin crude oil and petroleum products, they confirmed in a joint statement. The initial price cap will be based on a range of technical inputs and the price level will be revisited as necessary, said the ministers. "We aim to align implementation with the timeline of related measures within the EU´s sixth sanctions package," they added. The move comes a day after Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak warned that Moscow would halt oil and petroleum products supplies to countries deciding to cap the Russian oil price. (16:57 GMT) Russian gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany will remain halted beyond Saturday after an oil leak was detected, the state-owned company Gazprom says. (17:46 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said Russia will find it advantageous to sell oil at a price capped by Western countries because otherwise it would have to shut down production, and its ability to restart output would suffer permanent damage. Yellen told MSNBC in a live interview that the G7's price cap plan would reduce funds available for Moscow's war in Ukraine. (18:26 GMT) International Atomic Energy Agency's chief Rafael Grossi has said that four of the six members of his team will leave next week from the Zaporizhzhia power plant. Grossi spoke in Vienna after completing a tour in certain areas of the Russian-occupied power plant. He also said that the plant it's not fully functioning but not in critical areas. Grossi also described the situation as "extremely complex and challenging," he said. Grossi noted that he was able to inspect everything that his team had requested. (18:28 GMT) Germany says its gas supplies were secure despite a move by Russian energy giant Gazprom to extend a stop to the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, adding to fears of shortages this winter. "The situation on the gas market is tense, but security of supply is guaranteed," a spokeswoman for the economy ministry said in a statement. (20:12 GMT) European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer says Gazprom's complete halt to flows on Nord Stream 1 was made under "fallacious pretenses". "It's also proof of Russia's cynicism, as it prefers to flare gas instead of honoring contracts," he wrote on Twitter. 20220903 aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-192 Energy * Russia scrapped the planned restart of Nord Stream 1, deepening Europe's difficulties in securing winter fuel, after saying it had found faults in the pipeline during maintenance. * G7 finance ministers agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil aimed at slashing revenues for Moscow's war in Ukraine while keeping crude flowing to avoid price spikes, but their statement left out key details. * Ukraine has sharply increased fuel imports in recent months to overcome shortages which hit the country after the Russian invasion, the economy ministry said. Nuclear plant * Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over each others' actions around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as a team of inspectors from the United Nations nuclear watchdog tried to check the safety of the facility. * Ukraine's state nuclear company, Energoatom, said it would be "difficult" for the International Atomic Energy Agency to make an impartial assessment of the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant due to Russian interference. * The fifth reactor at Zaporizhzhia was reconnected to Ukraine's grid on Friday, a day after it shut down due to shelling near the site, Energoatom said. * Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukraine's shelling of the Zaporizhzhia plant was raising the risk of a nuclear catastrophe in Europe. * Ukraine's military said it had carried out strikes against Russian positions in Enerhodar, a town near the Zaporizhzhia plant. The announcement was unusual since the military rarely gives details of specific targets. 20220904 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/4/ukraine-russia-live-updates-berlin-agrees-e65bn-inflation-relief (10:28 GMT) The German government has agreed to a 65-billion-euro ($65bn) plan to ease the pressure on households as Russian gas supplies dwindle and energy bills soar, according to a policy paper seen by the AFP news agency. "Timely and proportionate relief for citizens and businesses is necessary due to the rapidly increasing burden of high energy prices," Germany's coalition partners said in the document, adding that the total package came to "over 65 billion euros". The measures include a one-off payment of 300 euros to millions of pensioners to help them cover rising energy bills. The government will also target students with a smaller one-off payment of 200 euros, and a heating cost payment for people receiving housing benefits. Germany would have sufficient energy to see it through to next year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after Russia stopped supplies of gas to Europe via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Scholz said the government plans to tie certain social benefits to the current or expected inflation rate in the future and will earmark 1.5 billion euros ($1.49bn) for a discounted public transportation offer. Germany's government will use income from windfall taxes to lower end-consumer prices for gas, oil and coal, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, announcing measures to mitigate the effect of rising energy prices on its population. (10:32 GMT) The head of the Russia-appointed administration in Enerhodar city, near the besieged nuclear facility, said it was struck on Sunday by Ukrainian fire. An artillery shell hit the power unit at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, TASS news agency quoted Alexander Volga as saying. ~/photos/events/20220904_ru_shows_IAEA_ukr_shell_at_zaporizhzhia.png (10:34 GMT) The counteroffensive in southern Ukraine is a methodical operation aiming to degrade Russian forces and logistics, rather than one aimed at immediately recapturing large swathes of territory, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych told the Wall Street Journal newspaper. Taras Berezovets, a special forces officer from the Ukraine military, said the counterattack to retake the city of Kherson will likely take months as equipment and logistics are readied. (12:38 GMT) Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has pleaded with Germany for more weapons on a visit there, saying his country needed additional help in its battle against Russia. Shmygal is the first high-level Ukrainian official to visit Germany in months, in a sign of eased tensions between Kyiv and Berlin after a rocky patch. The first stop on his trip was a meeting with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, where Shmygal "discussed the military situation, strengthening sanctions and the need to provide weapons for Ukraine," he said on Twitter. Zelenskyy says he has called on the EU to urgently allocate its next round of aid to Ukraine and pressed for a new wave of sanctions on Russia in a phone call with European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen. "Discussed the allocation of the next tranche of #EU macro-(financial) aid ASAP. Emphasized the need to prepare the 8th package of (Western) sanctions (on Russia), including a ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens," he said on Twitter. (13:34 GMT) Even amid historic tensions between Russia and the West, the Kremlin expects relations to return to normal at some point, according to spokesman Dmitry Peskov. "Every confrontation ends with an easing of tensions, and every crisis situation ends at the negotiating table," Peskov said on state TV, Interfax news agency reported. "That will be the case this time as well." It is likely, he said, that it will not happen so quickly, but it will happen, he said on the TV programme "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin." (13:39 GMT) The Kremlin blames the EU for the suspension of gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, news agency Interfax has reported. Speaking in a television broadcast titled "Moscow. Kremlin. Putin", Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said, "If the Europeans make an absolutely absurd decision, where they refuse to maintain their systems, or rather, systems belonging to Gazprom, then it is not Gazprom's fault but the fault of the politicians who decided about the sanctions." According to Peskov, Europeans are contractually obliged to maintain the systems of the Russian energy giant Gazprom. (13:42 GMT) The leader of Italy's far-right League party, Matteo Salvini, has waded into the discussion about the sanctions the West has imposed on Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine. He says they are not working. "Several months have passed and people are paying two, three, even four times more for their bills," he told RTL radio. "And after seven months, the war continues and Russian Federation coffers are filling with money." (14:20 GMT) Finland and Sweden have announced plans to offer billions of dollars in liquidity guarantees to energy companies in their countries after Russia's Gazprom shut the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, deepening Europe's energy crisis. Finland is aiming to offer 10 billion euros ($9.95bn) and Sweden plans to offer 250 billion Swedish crowns ($23.2bn) in liquidity guarantees. Swedish Finance Minister Mikael Damberg on Sunday said that the guarantees would last until March next year in Sweden and would also cover all Nordic and Baltic nations for the next two weeks only. Without government guarantees, electricity producers could have ended up in "technical bankruptcy" on Monday, Damberg said. (14:29 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has arrived in Berlin for talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Following full military honours at the German Chancellery, the leaders held private talks about the ongoing situation in Ukraine. Shmyhal is the first top-ranking Kyiv official to visit Germany in months. Earlier on Sunday, Shmyhal met German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (14:45 GMT) Some 2,000 mostly Russian-speaking protesters have marched in the western city of Cologne demanding Germany stop supporting Ukraine and drop the sanctions it imposed on Moscow. The rally, organised by Russian-speaking diaspora groups in the city, was met by a few dozen counter-protesters who had also gathered in the shadow of Cologne's hulking Gothic cathedral to express support for Ukraine. (14:53 GMT) Ukraine says it has dispatched its biggest convoy of grain vessels under an UN-brokered deal so far after 13 ships set sail from its ports carrying 282,500 tonnes of agricultural products to foreign markets. (15:09 GMT) While Ukraine's prime minister meets top German officials in Berlin, there is also "the thought that the Ukrainian government is pushing for - if possible - a ban on visas being given to Russians for the EU", Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane said from the German capital. "We know that Mr Scholz is not particularly in favour of such a development at the European level. Certainly, there will be sympathy from Mr Scholz, but maybe not the kind of thing that the Ukrainian prime minister might want," Kane said. (15:11 GMT) The US ambassador in Moscow John Sullivan has left Russia after completing his diplomatic term there, the embassy has said in a statement. The 62-year-old Sullivan was appointed ambassador to Moscow in December 2019. "Following his departure, he will retire from a career in public service that has spanned four decades and five US presidents," the embassy said in a press release. "Elizabeth Rood will assume duties as Charge d'Affaires at US Embassy Moscow until Ambassador Sullivan's successor arrives." (15:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reporting from Kyiv said that Ukraine is offering to give its excess energy supply to Germany to help offset potential shortages. (15:46 GMT) Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmygal has voiced hopes that Germany would become a leading player helping Kyiv to build up its air defences, as he sought more heavy weapons for Kyiv from Berlin. Germany's initial stuttering response on providing military support to Kyiv following Russia's invasion of Ukraine had sparked consternation. But Shmygal acknowledged during his visit that Germany has since significantly stepped up its military aid, with heavy armaments like the tank howitzer 2000 or MARS rocket launchers all "working well on the battle field". The air defence system Iris-T is expected to be delivered in the autumn, he said, adding that Ukraine "hopes that Germany will become one of the leaders in the process of developing Ukrainian air defence". (18:03 GMT) Sixteen houses have been destroyed by Russian strikes overnight Saturday into Sunday in the Ukrainian village of Bezruky, in the Kharkiv region. Local officials said it was the most intense round of attacks since the early days of the war, with the head of Derhachi Hromada administration Vyacheslav Zadorenko alleging that "the enemy used cluster phosphorous munitions on civilian infrastructure". No residents were harmed in the strikes, with many having already evacuated. Some 1,000 people still live in the village, according to officials. (18:35 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has made concrete proposals to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to facilitate the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. He said he could not disclose "all the agreements and all the details of the conversation" but said the two had "discussed all the issues about tanks and about other military systems for Ukraine." (18:37 GMT) European Union countries' energy ministers are set to consider options to rein in soaring energy prices including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, a document seen by Reuters has shown. EU ministers will meet on September 9 to discuss urgent bloc-wide measures to respond to a surge in gas and power prices that is hammering Europe's industry and hiking household bills, after Russia curbed gas deliveries to the bloc. (18:43 GMT) Capping the price of Russian oil, an approach G7 members said they want to pursue "urgently," would be an unprecedented move and one which some analysts say could backfire. www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/4/explainer-capping-russian-oil-prices (19:31 GMT) A senior aide to Zelenskyy has posted an image of soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag over a village he labelled as being in a southern region Kyiv has been targeting in a new counteroffensive. "Vysokopillya. Kherson region. Ukraine. Today," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, wrote in a Facebook post over a photo of three soldiers on rooftops, one of them fixing a Ukrainian flag to a post. (19:46 GMT) The nuclear power plant on the front line of the war in Ukraine has lost external power again, heightening fears of a radiation disaster as fighting continues in the area. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe's largest, had its last remaining main external power line cut off, although a reserve line continued supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said on Saturday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/4/afraid-for-our-lives-ukraine-nuclear-plant-loses-power (20:14 GMT) About 100 German soldiers have arrived in Lithuania after Germany pledged to bolster its presence on NATO's eastern flank. The troops drove off the ferry in the port city of Klaipeda. They were to make up the command unit of a new brigade, a group usually made up of about 4,000 soldiers. "Our message to our allies here, on the eastern flank, is that we are committed to ensuring security," said the brigade's commander, Christian Nawrat. The command unit would remain permanently in the Baltic nation, while combat units would join them for exercises, he said. (20:16 GMT) Zelenskyy says his forces have taken two settlements in southern Ukraine, a third settlement in the east, and additional territory in the east of the country. He did not say precisely where the territories were and provided no timeline. aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-193 20220905 aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-194 Energy * Germany will use income from windfall taxes to lower end-consumer prices of gas, oil and coal, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. * European gas buyers already grappling with record prices face further pain when markets open on Monday after Russia said one of its main supply pipelines to Europe would remain shut indefinitely, sparking fears about energy rationing. * The energy ministers of European Union nations will meet on Friday to discuss urgent bloc-wide measures to rein in soaring energy prices, including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants, Reuters news agency reported, citing a document. * Russia does not support an oil production cut now, and it is likely OPEC+ will keep output steady when it meets on Monday, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the matter. Zaporizhzhia plant * The Russian-controlled nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, in southern Ukraine, continues to supply electricity to the grid through a reserve line despite losing connection to the last main external power line, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency. * An official from the Russian-installed administration in Zaporizhzhia told a radio station the situation was calm around the facility on Sunday after accusing Ukrainian forces of trying to attack it two days in a row. Ukraine says Russia attacked the plant itself. Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed progress in a counter-offensive his country’s forces began last week, thanking troops for taking two settlements in the south and a third in the east, but did not give precise locations. Diplomacy * John Sullivan, the United States ambassador to Russia, ended his tenure in Monday after nearly three years in the role, the US embassy said on Sunday. (11:27 GMT) Novaya Gazeta, one of the last independent news outlets still publishing inside of Russia, has been stripped of its media licence and effectively banned from operating. (11:32 GMT) At least four civilians were killed and seven others were wounded by Russian shelling in the past 24 hours across several regions of Ukraine, Ukraine's presidential office has said. (11:36 GMT) Ukrainian forces have claimed gains in a counteroffensive against the Russian army in southern Ukraine, saying they have recaptured several areas and destroyed targets, including a pontoon bridge. Ukraine's southern command said on Facebook late on Sunday that it also hit an ammunition depot and a Russian army control centre southeast of Kherson, a city taken by Moscow in the early days of the war. The Institute for the Study of War said the counteroffensive "is making verifiable progress in the south and east". "Ukrainian forces are advancing along several axes in western Kherson Oblast (region) and have secured territory across the Siverskyi Donets River in Donetsk Oblast," it said. (11:46 GMT) The Kremlin has said the halt of gas deliveries to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was caused by Western sanctions that prevent the maintenance of its infrastructure. Russian gas giant Gazprom said on Friday that the Nord Stream pipeline due to reopen at the weekend after three days of maintenance would remain shut for repairs after "oil leaks" were discovered in a turbine. (11:49 GMT) The EU has signed a deal to release a further $497m (500 million euros) in planned aid to Ukraine, this time to support housing, education and agriculture. (12:36 GMT) Plans for a referendum for the Moscow-controlled Ukrainian region of Kherson to join Russia have been put on hold, a pro-Kremlin official in the area has said; "We have prepared for the vote, we wanted to hold a referendum in the near future, but because of all the events that are occurring, I think that we will pause for now," Kirill Stremousov said in remarks broadcast by Russia's Rossiya 1 TV channel. (13:41 GMT) A Russian court has sentenced journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in a penal colony after finding him guilty of treason, in one of the most significant prosecutions against a Russian journalist in decades. Safronov, a former military correspondent for Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers, was arrested in 2020 and accused of disclosing classified information. His lawyers said they will appeal the verdict. (14:13 GMT) European stocks tumbled on Monday and the euro hit a new 20-year dollar low on energy crisis fears, after Russia said it would not restart gas flows to Germany and effectively most of the continent. Natural gas prices spiked by almost a third, while oil added to strong gains as The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its Russia-led allies decided at a meeting Monday to lower crude output in a bid to lift prices, the AFP news agency reported. Europe's fast-moving gas crisis sent Frankfurt equities slumping more than 3% before trimming losses, while Paris shed 2% at one stage. The gas crisis also hit the pound, which hit a post-pandemic low of $1.1444, while the euro sank to $0.9878, its lowest since December 2002. The shared eurozone unit has collapsed by about 13% against the dollar since the start of the year, hit also by the US Federal Reserve's more aggressive monetary tightening. (14:46 GMT) Iran says it hopes to see US sanctions eased or lifted to allow it to sell natural gas to Europe, easing the energy crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, prompting European sanctions on Moscow. Iran is engaged in talks with world powers to revive its 2015 nuclear deal which the United States unilaterally abandoned in 2018, with Tehran pushing for the lifting of US economic sanctions. (15:00 GMT) A White House official has accused Russia of using energy as a "weapon" after it stopped pumping gas through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline and said US sanctions on Moscow do not prevent the major supply route to Europe from operating. (15:50 GMT) Final working reactor at Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant disconnected: Ukraine energy operator The final working reactor at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from Ukraine's grid on Monday after Russian shelling disrupted power lines, state energy operator Energoatom said. "Today, as a result of a fire caused by shelling, the (last working) transmission line was disconnected," Energoatom said in a statement on Telegram. "As a result, (reactor) unit No. 6, which currently supplies the (plant's) own needs, was unloaded and disconnected from the grid," it said. "Any repairs of the power lines are currently impossible- fighting is ongoing around the station," he said. (16:34 GMT) Russia has sanctioned US actors Ben Stiller and Sean Penn in response to their public criticism of Moscow's war on Ukraine. (17:07 GMT) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has urged the EU to supply Ukraine with more weapons and equipment to help in its fight against Russia's invasion. Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Shmyhal said, "We need more modern weapons, such as air defence, missile defence and ship defence." Ukraine needed aircraft and more armoured vehicles as there were no signs Russia was willing to end its war, he added. (17:41 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has urged residents of temporarily occupied territories and Russian-occupied Crimea to prepare bomb shelters and stock up on drinking water. Podolyak wrote on Twitter: "We ask residents of occupied territories, including the Crimean peninsula, to follow the officials' recommendations during de-occupation measures."` <=== (19:47 GMT) Two hundred days have passed since WNBA star Brittney Griner was first detained in a Russian airport. (20:34 GMT) The backup power line supplying the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine has been disconnected deliberately to extinguish a fire, but it was not damaged, the UN nuclear watchdog said on Monday, citing information supplied by Ukraine. "The ZNPP continues to receive the electricity it needs for safety from its sole operating reactor," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. "Ukraine informed (the) IAEA that this back-up line will be re-connected once the fire has been extinguished." (20:35 GMT) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/5/russian-gas-flows-halted-until-europe-lift-sanctions Russian gas supplies to Europe will not resume until sanctions against Moscow are lifted, the Kremlin has said. The Kremlin said on Monday the Western sanctions were the sole reason behind Russia's decision to shut the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. Moscow initially said it was shutting the pipeline, which supplies gas to Europe, for maintenance. 20220906 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-195 Energy * The International Atomic Energy Agency is due to issue a report on the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, in southern Ukraine, and brief the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned of a near "radiation catastrophe" as a fire forced the shutdown of the last working reactor at the facility. He alleged that Russian shelling showed Moscow "does not care what the IAEA will say". Ukraine and Russia have each accused the other of risking disaster by shelling near the plant. * European gas prices soared on Monday as Russia kept its main gas pipeline to Germany shut, bringing fears of a bleak winter for consumers and businesses across the continent. * The Kremlin blamed Western sanctions for the pipeline outages, saying they were "causing chaos" in maintenance work. It also warned it would retaliate if the West followed through with the Group of Seven proposal to impose a cap on the price of Russian oil. * European Union energy ministers will meet on September 9 to discuss urgent measures to tackle soaring energy prices, including gas price caps and emergency credit lines for energy market participants. Battlefield reports * Ukraine made its boldest claim yet of success on the battlefield in its week-old counteroffensive against Russian forces in the south. * Ukrainian officials posted an image online of three soldiers raising Ukraine's blue and yellow flag on a rooftop purportedly in Vysokopillia, in the north of Kherson. * Ukraine's southern command said on Tuesday four Russian ammunition depots had been destroyed in three districts of the Kherson region in the previous 24 hours. * In a rare acknowledgement of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, TASS news agency on Monday quoted a Moscow-installed official in the Kherson region as saying plans for a referendum on joining Russia had been put on hold due to the security situation. * United States President Joe Biden on Monday said Russia should not be designated a state sponsor of "terrorism", a label Ukraine has pushed for but which Moscow has warned would rupture US-Russian ties. Policy * Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, approved a new foreign policy doctrine based on the concept of a "Russian World", a notion that conservative ideologues have used to justify intervention abroad in support of Russian speakers. * The 31-page "humanitarian policy", published more than six months into the war in Ukraine, said Russia should "protect, safeguard and advance the traditions and ideals of the Russian World". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/6/russia-ukraine-live-news-un-to-issue-report-on-nuclear-plant (10:53 GMT) Ukrainians are making "real gains" in their counteroffensive, but the fighting is "close and hard", UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. Speaking in the House of Commons about Ukraine's counterattack in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Wallace said: "Ukraine has inflicted serious damage on a range of river crossings with the aim of restricting Russian logistical support". Wallace said Ukrainians are engaging with Russian forces, adding: "They are making real gains but understandably, as we have seen elsewhere in this conflict, the fighting is close and hard and Ukraine are suffering losses associated with an attacking force." (10:54 GMT) Russia's Gazprom gas company has said it will ship 42.2 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine after gas flows were seen as stable, while the Nord Stream 1 pipeline from Russia to Germany remained shut and eastbound gas flows via the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany continued at low levels. Russian flows of gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which runs under the Baltic sea, remained at zero on Tuesday after Russia scrapped the Saturday deadline to resume flows following maintenance. The pipeline historically supplied about a third of the gas exported by Russia to Europe but was running at only 20% capacity before the outage last week. However, the gas pipeline will not resume gas supplies until Siemens Energy repairs faulty equipment, Gazprom's Deputy CEO Vitaly Markelov told Reuters on Tuesday. "You should ask Siemens, they have to repair equipment first," he said on the sidelines of Eastern Economic Forum in the Russian Pacific port of Vladivostok, when asked about when the pipeline could start pumping gas again. (10:59 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog is due to issue a report on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station on Tuesday, a day after shelling cut its electricity supplies for the second time in two weeks and raised fears of a catastrophe. (11:13 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said on Telegram that Ukraine had launched 15 artillery attacks on the city of Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant over the last 24 hours. (11:35 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has attended large-scale military exercises on Tuesday in Russia's far east involving China and other "friendly" countries. Slapped with unprecedented sanctions from Washington and Brussels, Putin has pursued closer ties with countries in Africa, South America and Asia - especially China. By proceeding with the four-yearly Vostok (East) exercises, Putin appeared to be sending a signal that Russia's military can conduct business as usual despite the demands of the Ukraine war, where his forces have suffered heavy losses in men and equipment after occupying nearly a fifth of Ukraine. (11:55 GMT) A day after banning one of Russia's last independent newspapers, Novaya Gazeta, a Moscow court on Tuesday revoked the license of its sister magazine, founded just two months ago. On Tuesday, the same Basmanny District Court, that banned Novaya Gazeta, revoked the license of No (But) publication, because of its failure to appear from 2009, when it was registered, until 2022. (12:48 GMT) Ukraine looks to jokes as latest weapon in the war www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/9/6/ukraine-latest-weapon-in-the-war-jokes (13:07 GMT) In the south-eastern port city of Berdiansk, a car belonging to a local commandant was blown up, said Vladimir Rogov an official in the Russian-backed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region. Artem Bardin has been hospitalised and is in serious condition, Rogov said, adding that after the explosion, there was a shoot-out where at least one person was injured. Authorities have called the incident a "terrorist attack". (14:18 GMT) Russia's Gazprom says it had signed an agreement to start switching payments for Russia's gas supplies to China to yuan and roubles instead of dollars. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said allowing for payments in Russian roubles and Chinese yuan was "mutually beneficial" for both Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Coorporation and would set an example for other companies to follow. (14:24 GMT) The European commissioner for energy says the EU's next steps for addressing the continent's worsening energy crisis following Russia's invasion of Ukraine are expected to be unveiled next week. (14:37 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report finds that there is an urgent need for interim measures to prevent a nuclear accident arising from the damage caused by military means. This can be achieved, the report said, by the immediate establishment of a nuclear safety and security protection zone. While at the plant, the IAEA said the team saw damage to the special building that houses new nuclear fuel and the solid radioactive waste storage facility. The UN nuclear watchdog on Tuesday listed damage to parts of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia power plant and recommended that the conditions Ukrainian staff operating the plant are working in should be improved. "Ukrainian staff operating the plant under Russian military occupation are under constant high stress and pressure, especially with the limited staff available," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. "This is not sustainable and could lead to increased human error with implications for nuclear safety." The report also added: "The situation in Ukraine is unprecedented. It is the first time a military conflict has occurred amid the facilities of a large, established nuclear power program. (15:23 GMT) From blowing up infrastructure and destroying arms depots, to spray-painting messages for the invading Russian forces, partisan activity is increasing in Ukraine, especially in the occupied southern parts. The Free Ukraine Resistance Movement, a citizen-led group, writes on its website: "We've literally ruined Putin's plans to ruin Ukraine from inside ... Even months before the full-scale invasion, [we'd] already started to mobilise and train people for all levels of resistance to defend Ukraine - military, communications, humanitarian help, and diplomacy." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/6/ukraine-partisans-wont-win-war-but-can-wreak-havoc-analysts (15:51 GMT) Zelensky rings the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (virtually) (16:57 GMT) US President Joe Biden has made a final decision against designating Russia as a "state sponsor of terror", White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre has said. The decision was announced a day after Biden said Russia should not be designated a "state sponsor of terrorism", a label Ukraine has pushed for amid Russia's continuing invasion while Moscow has warned it would rupture US-Russian ties. The designation of Russia as a "state sponsor of terror" could delay food exports and jeopardise deals to move goods through the Black Sea, Jean-Pierre said. (17:47 GMT) The Russian-installed commandant of a southern Ukrainian city has died in a blast, a local official told Reuters, the latest in a series of assassinations in occupied areas of southern Ukraine. Vladimir Rogov, an official in the Russian-backed administration of the Zaporizhzhia region, blamed the Ukrainian government for Artyom Bardin's death. Russian media earlier said Bardin was hospitalised and in a critical condition after his car exploded outside the city administration building in Berdiansk, an Azov Sea port of around 100,000 people that was captured by Russian troops in February. The city's deputy chief of traffic police died on August 26 after being wounded in a bomb blast, local officials said. On August 30, Alexei Kovalev, a former lawmaker with Zelenskyy's party turned Russian-backed official in Kherson region, was shot dead. (19:11 GMT) The Ukraine city of Enerhodar, home to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, has been shelled by Russian forces, its exiled mayor has said. "There are explosions in Enerhodar city, provocations continue, there are shellings by the occupants," (19:22 GMT) UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged Russia and Ukraine to agree to a demilitarised perimeter around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. "As a first step, Russian and Ukrainian forces must commit not to engage in any military activity towards the plant site or from the plant site," Guterres told the UN Security Council. "As a second step, an agreement on a demilitarised perimeter should be secured. Specifically, that would include a commitment by Russian forces to withdraw all military personnel and equipment from that perimeter and a commitment by Ukrainian forces not to move into it," he told the 15-member body. (19:43 GMT) Russia has voiced regret that a report by the UN nuclear watchdog warning of risks at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant did not blame Kyiv for shelling the Moscow-occupied site. "We regret that in your report ... the source of the shelling is not directly named," Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya told a Security Council session attended virtually by Rafael Grossi, head of the IAEA. (20:00 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he had "coordinated" with the UK's new Prime Minister Liz Truss "further pressure" on Russia in the seventh month of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (20:47 GMT) The United Kingdom's new Prime Minister Liz Tuss has pledged her full backing to Ukraine in a call to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, shortly after taking office. 20220907 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-an-illegitimate-regime-slams-putin (10:13 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said on Wednesday that its forces had taken the settlement of Kodema in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region from Ukrainian forces. Kodema, which has a population of fewer than 600 people, is claimed by the Russian-backed Donetsk People's Republic as part of its territory. (10:55 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has called Western sanctions imposed on his country following the invasion of Ukraine a "threat to the entire world" while saying efforts to isolate Russia were in vain amid a pivot towards Asia. Putin made the comments during a speech at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Russia's Pacific port city of Vladivostok on Wednesday, shortly before it was announced that the Russian leader would meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, next week in Uzbekistan. Decrying what he described as "sanctions fever" in the West, Putin called the measures "undisguised aggressive attempts to impose behaviour patterns on other countries, deprive them of their sovereignty and subordinate them to their will". The remarks come after the Kremlin on Monday said gas flows via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline to Germany would not resume in full until Western countries lifted sanctions against Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/7/putin-says-impossible-to-isolate-russia-hails-strong-asia-ties (11:25 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Wednesday that Russia had no grounds to review the landmark deal allowing Ukraine to export grain from ports in the Black Sea and that the terms of the wartime agreement were strictly observed. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told the Reuters news agency after President Vladimir Putin said he would discuss amending the deal to limit the countries receiving cargo shipments. (11:52 GMT) The European Commission will propose a price cap on Russian gas, alongside measures including a mandatory EU cut in electricity use during peak hours and a cap on the revenues of non-gas power generators, the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday. (12:09 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he did not think the West's "provocative" policies towards Russia were correct after the European Union (EU) proposed a price cap on Russian gas. Russian President Vladimir Putin had threatened to halt all supplies if the EU took such a step, raising the risk of rationing in some of the world's richest countries this winter. Erdogan was speaking at a news conference with the Serbian president in Belgrade. (12:33 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) report on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant describes the Russian presence at the facility but fails to set out what should happen next, a Ukrainian presidential adviser said on Wednesday. "The key part is missing in [IAEA director general] Mr Grossi's report: There is no definite algorithm of what we must do," Mykhailo Podolyak told Reuters news agency. "It says both sides have to negotiate, but it doesn't say that Russian troops must vacate the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It doesn't mention a 10-15km demilitarisation area," he added. (13:45 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said that Russia was discussing a big new infrastructure project to deliver gas to China via Mongolia, as they look to Beijing to replace Europe as its principal gas customer. (13:54 GMT) Russian forces lost territory on all fronts during the 28th week of the war, as a counteroffensive spread from the southern Kherson region to the eastern and northern fronts of the country, demonstrating Ukraine's ongoing ability to seize the initiative. North Ukrainian forces launched a new counterattack in the northern Kharkiv region on September 6. Despite radio silence from the country's political and military leadership in Kyiv, Ukrainian and Russian military bloggers reported heavy fighting in Verbivka and Balakliia, 70km southeast of Kharkiv city, which Ukraine recaptured in early May. Ukrainian forces appeared to have reclaimed Verbivka, where they posted geolocated footage showing dead Russian soldiers. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/7/ukraine-celebrates-counterattack-success-russia-retaliates (14:33 GMT) The threat of Russia using tactical nuclear weapons "cannot be ignored," and an attack could trigger a limited nuclear war, Ukraine's top military chief said. "There is a direct threat of the use, under certain circumstances, of tactical nuclear weapons by the Russian Armed Forces," Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian army's commander in chief, said in an article published by state news agency Ukrinform. "It is also impossible to completely rule out the possibility of the direct involvement of the world's leading countries in a 'limited' nuclear conflict, in which the prospect of a Third World War is already directly visible," Zaluzhnyi said in the piece, which was co-authored by lawmaker Mykhailo Zabrodskyi. (14:39 GMT) Ukraine's top military chief claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Russian air bases on the annexed peninsula of Crimea, including one that caused devastation at the Saky military facility last month. In an article co-authored by lawmaker Mykhailo Zabrodskyi and published on state news agency Ukrinform, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian army's commander-in-chief, said the attacks had been carried out by missiles or rockets, without elaborating. Ukraine has until now only hinted at its involvement in the Crimea attacks, with one senior official anonymously telling the Reuters news agency that the airbase explosions were the work of Ukrainian saboteurs on the ground. (14:54 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the European Union for confirming five billion euros ($4.97 billion) in macro-financial aid but said the country needed a "full-fledged" programme of financing from the International Monetary Fund. Zelenskyy made the comments in a Twitter post following a conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who he said discussed plans to further strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities. Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the European Union for confirming 5bn euros ($4.97bn) in macro-financial aid but said the country needed a "full-fledged" program of financing from the International Monetary Fund. (15:54 GMT) Shelling has resumed in the area of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, a day after the IAEA report that urged for a safe zone to prevent a catastrophe. Russian forces fired rockets and heavy artillery on the city of Nikopol, on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from the nuclear plant, regional governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. In a Telegram post, Deputy President Iryna Vereshchuk urged residents to leave the area and said, "I appeal to the resident of the districts temporarily not under the control of the government of Ukraine, adjacent to the ZNPP: evacuate! "Find a way to get to controlled territory. We are waiting for you and will help you." (16:56 GMT) Surging energy costs are increasing the number of Europe's small- and medium-sized businesses at risk of collapse and European Union action to cap prices would to help them survive, top officials from the EU's SME association have said. SMEunited President Petri Salminen said retail companies he spoke to in Finland were facing a jump in energy bills from 1,000 euros a month to 10,000 euros a month, making it hard for businesses to remain viable. (16:58 GMT) Russian natural gas deliveries to European Union countries have dropped by 48% so far this year, with the decline totalling 49% if the UK is included, Russian gas giant Gazprom has said. (17:16 GMT) The Netherlands, which has consistently opposed a gas price cap, will support an EU proposal that targets Russian gas specifically, a spokesman for the Energy Ministry told Reuters news agency. The Dutch also favour making a 15% voluntary reduction of natural gas demand in the EU bloc compulsory, said spokesman Pieter ten Bruggencate. Italy is proposing that any price cap on natural gas should be applied to all transactions with delivery at EU hubs and not just to imports from Russia, a document seen by Reuters news agency showed ahead of a key EU summit on energy scheduled for September 9. Under the Italian proposal, "all physical and financial transaction in all European hubs should be subject to the price cap [i.e. imports from Russia but also other imports, including EU domestic gas production, TTF but also other hubs]," the document said. (18:54 GMT) The United States has accused the Kremlin of overseeing so-called "filtration" operations in Ukraine and providing lists of Ukrainians to be forced to move to areas of Russian control, and it demanded Russia halt the practice. "The United States has information that [individuals] from Russia's presidential administration are overseeing and coordinating filtration operations. We are further aware that the Russian presidential administration officials are providing lists of Ukrainians to be targeted for filtration," Department of State spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. "We demand that Russia halt these filtration operations immediately." (19:28 GMT) Norway's prime minister and the head of the European Commission did not discuss setting a price cap for Norwegian gas sold to the EU during talks on Wednesday, the Norwegian government has said. Norway, which is not an EU member, has become the largest supplier of gas to the union after Russia's export cutbacks in the wake of the Ukraine war, giving the Nordic nation record income from its petroleum industry as prices soared. (19:41 GMT) Shelling has damaged a backup power line at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, which has already lost all four of its regular power lines, the UN nuclear watchdog said in a statement. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there was no immediate impact from the damage to one of its three backup power lines because the plant was already disconnected from the grid. Like all nuclear power plants, Zaporizhzhia needs power to keep cooling the nuclear fuel in its reactors and its spent fuel. Its one operating reactor is supplying power but with each external power line that goes down, it loses a line of defence against potential nuclear meltdown. (19:42 GMT) The United Nations and Red Cross (ICRC) must have access to places where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees are held in Russia, UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the Security Council. (20:05 GMT) The United Nations has said that there are credible accusations that Moscow's forces have removed children from Ukraine to Russia for adoption as part of larger-scale forced relocations and deportations. (20:06 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said next year's budget would be a war budget, devoting more than a trillion hryvnias ($27.40bn) to military and security spending. In an evening video address, he also said social obligations such as pensions had to be covered in full. Non-critical expenses must be reduced as much as possible, he added. 20220908 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/8/russia-ukraine-live-news-belarus-war-games-at-poland-border (07:11 GMT) Belarus has launched military exercises by the city of Brest near the Polish border and close to its border with Ukraine. Belarus, a close Russian ally that allowed Moscow to stage part of the invasion of Ukraine from its territory, also launched drills near the capital, Minsk, and the northeast region of Vitebsk, the defence ministry has said. It said the exercises, which are set to last until September 14, will practise "liberating territory temporarily seized by the enemy" and regaining control over border regions. According to the ministry, the level of troops and military equipment involved in the exercise did not require them to provide notice under the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe guidelines. 07:19 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has hailed military successes amid a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region. (07:23 GMT) Germany plans to subsidise a basic level of electricity usage for households and set aside cheaper power for small and medium-sized businesses, according to measures set out in an Economy Ministry paper viewed by Reuters news agency. (07:59 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, are expected to meet next week in Uzbekistan, as Beijing and Moscow ramp up economic cooperation in the face of Western-led censure and sanctions. The meeting is the latest signal of warming ties between China and Russia, which have declared a "no limits" friendship amid mounting economic challenges at home and increasingly strained relations with the US and its allies overseas. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/9/8/xi-and-putin-set-to-meet-for-first-time-since-ukraine-war (08:15 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to meet allies in Germany for a new round of talks on bolstering Ukraine's military. Austin said the talks at the US airbase in Ramstein will aim to underline the "unity and solidarity" of allies. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg will be among the attendees, who include ministers and military chiefs from more than 40 countries. Among the issues to be raised at Ramstein are the challenges of producing and restocking arms, as "there is a significant consumption of munitions in the conduct of this war that's occurring in Ukraine", said top US General Mark Milley. (08:24 GMT) Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo reported that "all early indications" show that Ukrainian forces are being "quite successful" in a surprise counteroffensive in the northeast Kharkiv region. The offensive, which was launched in the last 48 hours, is separate from the two-week-long counteroffensive taking place in the southern Kherson region, which has focused on a "slow and methodical" cutting off of supply lines to Russian troops. "It appears that the Ukrainians have already recaptured several villages and are on the cusp of encircling a very key city of Balakliia" in Kharkiv region, Elizondo said. "This is a city of 25,000 people that was in the hands of the Russians for many months now". (08:31 GMT) The US has approved an additional $675m in military aid for Ukraine, according to US defence secretary Lloyd Austin. Austin made the announcement while opening a meeting of allies at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (09:06 GMT) Russia said on Thursday it was ordering a Romanian diplomat to leave the country in response to the expulsion of one of its diplomats from Bucharest. (09:25 GMT) Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo has said Polish and Ukrainian officials would be watching Belarusian drills near their shared borders "very closely". The exercises, which are set to go on until September 14, are being conducted in the "southwest corner of Belarus, only about 200km east of the Polish capital of Warsaw. And it is only about 300km north of the Ukrainian city of Lviv," Elizondo said. (09:32 GMT) Heavy fighting rages in areas near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine after Kyiv warned that it might have to shut it down to avoid disaster. The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in its daily morning update that some villages and communities near the plant were heavily shelled in the 24 hours into Thursday morning from "tanks, mortars, barrel and jet artillery". (09:56 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced major new military aid worth more than $2bn for Ukraine and other European countries threatened by Russia. Blinken said the Biden administration would provide $2bn in long-term military assistance to Ukraine and 18 of its neighbours, including NATO members and regional security partners "most potentially at risk for future Russian aggression". That is on top of a $675m package of heavy weaponry, ammunition and armoured vehicles for Ukraine alone that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced earlier on Thursday at a conference in Germany. The contributions bring total US aid to Ukraine to $15.2bn since the administration took office. US Secretary of State Blinken has made a surprise visit to Kyiv. Secretary of Defense Austin had announced a separate $675m military package for Ukraine earlier on Thursday. (11:01 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has backed allegations by his Russian counterpart that grains exported from Ukraine under a UN-backed deal are going to wealthy countries, not poor ones. Speaking at a news conference with his Croatian counterpart, Erdogan also said Putin was uncomfortable with these grains going to countries that sanction Russia. On Wednesday, Putin floated adding limits to Ukrainian grain exports. (11:25 GMT) UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has said her government will cap domestic energy prices for homes and businesses to ease a cost-of-living crisis fuelled by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Truss told legislators in Parliament that the two-year "energy price guarantee" means average household bills will be no more than 2,500 pounds ($2,872) a year for heating and electricity. Bills had been due to rise to 3,500 pounds ($4,000) a year from October, triple the cost of a year ago. The government has said the cap will cut the UK's soaring inflation rate by 4 to 5%age points. Inflation hit 10.1% in July and has been forecast to rise to 13% before the end of the year. The government has not said how much the price cap will cost, but estimates have put it at more than 100 billion pounds ($116bn). Truss has rejected opposition calls to impose a windfall tax on oil companies' profits. The cap will be paid for out of Treasury funds and by borrowing. (11:38 GMT) Poland has joined the Baltic states in a common stance on limiting the admission of Russian nationals onto their territories, its government said in a statement. Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia states earlier this week agreed to limit the entry of Russian nationals into their countries. The wider EU has rolled back a special visa arrangement with Russia, creating higher costs and longer waits, but has avoided limiting entry. The countries will turn back all Russian citizens with visas to enter the EU's Schengen open border area. Exceptions will be made for humanitarian and family reasons, truck drivers and diplomats. Russia has said it will not close up to Europe in response to recent European Union curbs on visas for Russians, but that Moscow would take other retaliatory action. (12:50 GMT) The Ukrainian military has said it has ha recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in the northeastern Kharkiv region as part of a counteroffensive against Moscow's forces. Ukrainian "military units have penetrated 50 kilometres beyond the enemy lines. During active operations in the Kharkiv area, more than 20 settlements have been liberated," said Oleksiy Gromov, a senior official in the Ukrainian military. Ukraine has recaptured more than 700sq km of its territory in the east and south during a lightning counteroffensive, a Ukrainian general has said, offering the first official assessment of the operation. (13:28 GMT) Norway has announced that it will give about 160 Hellfire missiles to Ukraine in addition to launching pads and guidance units. Norwegian defence minister Bjorn Arild Gram said his country would also supply Ukraine with night vision equipment, adding that Kyiv had requested the weapons, AP reported. (14:39 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has welcomed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Kyiv as an "important signal" to Ukraine as it pushes on with a counteroffensive against Russia in the south and east of the country. (15:15 GMT) Top US general Mark Milley has said Russia is failing in its invasion of Ukraine, but stressed that the war is not over and Western military aid to Kyiv needs to be sustained. Milley added that Ukrainian forces are using the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to "devastating effect" on Russian forces. "We are seeing real and measurable gains from Ukraine in the use of these systems. For example, the Ukrainians have struck over 400 targets with the HIMARS and they've had devastating effect," he told reporters at Ramstein Air Base in Germany after a meeting of US-allied defence officials to discuss support for Ukraine. "Russian lines of communication and supply chains are severely strained. It is having a direct impact on the Russian ability to project and sustain combat power. Russian command and control in the headquarters have been disrupted, and they're having great difficulty resupplying their forces and replacing their combat losses." (15:34 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Austin has said he expects continued bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine aid. The White House requested additional funds from Congress last week to be allocated for assistance to Ukraine after lawmakers had overwhelmingly approved a $40bn aid package to the Eastern European country earlier this year. (16:08 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned that Ukraine and its supporters face a tough winter in the coming months, but he urged the public in Western nations to keep faith in their efforts, saying that the war is at a critical point as Russia loses some territory. "We need at least to be prepared for this winter, because there is no sign of Russia giving up its goal of taking control of Ukraine," Stoltenberg told The Associated Press news agency. While Ukraine has sought weapons and ammunition, it now needs winter equipment. "Winter's coming, and winter's going to be hard on the battlefield in Ukraine. We know that the size of the Ukrainian army is now roughly three times as big as what it was last winter," Stoltenberg said. "They are in urgent need for more winter uniforms, for generators that create electricity, warmth, and also, of course, tents and other things that can help them through the winter." (16:31 GMT) Milley, the top US general, has said Ukrainian forces are not "particularly overstretched" by the counteroffensive they launched against Russian forces in the east and south of the country. (17:11 GMT) US President Joe Biden has discussed international aid to Ukraine and "the sustained imposition of costs on Russia to hold the Kremlin accountable for its aggression" in a call with allies, the White House has said. (17:56 GMT) The head of Ukraine's atomic energy operator has accused Russia of trying to "steal" Europe's largest nuclear plant by cutting it off from the Ukrainian electricity grid and leaving it on the brink of a radiation disaster. (18:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has paid tribute to Queen Elizabeth II, describing her death as an "irreparable loss" and sending condolences on behalf of Ukrainians to the British royal family. (19:30 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than 1,000 sq km of territory since September 1, gaining control over dozens of settlements as part of a counteroffensive against Russia. Zelenskyyy made the remarks in an evening address. Separately, he released a video in which Ukrainian soldiers said they had taken the key eastern town of Balakleeia. (19:50 GMT) The Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on several Iranian companies, accusing them of involvement in the production and transfer of drones to Russia for its war against Ukraine. The measures by the US Department of the Treasury targeted Safiran Airport Services, a Tehran-based air transportation service provider, as well as three other firms and one individual that it said were involved in the manufacturing of unmanned aerial vehicles. 20220909 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/9/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-forces-takeover-supply-lines (08:53 GMT) Swiftly advancing Ukrainian troops have closed in on the main railway supplying Russian forces in the east, according to Ukrainian officials and analysts. Ukraine has yet to allow independent journalists into the area to confirm the extent of its advances. But Ukrainian news websites have shown pictures of troops cheering from the top of armoured vehicles as they roar past street signs bearing the names of previously Russian-held towns, and Russian forces surrendering on the side of the road. (08:58 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited Kyiv to pledge $2bn in new security aid, including support the Biden administration hopes will bolster a Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at pushing back Russian forces in the south and east. (09:14 GMT) A Russian air attack hit a hospital in Ukraine's northeastern region of Sumy in the morning, destroying the building and causing casualties, the region's governor has said. The official, Dmytro Zhyvytskyi, said the hospital was in the Velyka Pysarivka district, which borders Russia. (09:27 GMT) The head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine Matilda Bogner has old a Geneva press briefing that Russia is not allowing access to prisoners of war, voicing concern as evidence has emerged that some have been subject to torture and ill-treatment. (09:35 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in a video address that Ukrainian troops had "liberated dozens of settlements" and reclaimed more than 1,000 square kilometres of territory in the east and south in the past week. The Kremlin has declined to comment on reports of a successful Ukrainian offensive in the Kharkiv region, referring questions to the Russian Defence Ministry. (09:51 GMT) The Kremlin has said that President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan will discuss the implementation of a deal on Ukrainian grain exports, which both have criticised, when they meet in Uzbekistan next week. Putin said on Wednesday Russia and the developing world had been "cheated" by the terms of the deal and that he would seek amendments before it is due to be extended in November. (10:05 GMT) The European Union will make travelling to the bloc more difficult and expensive for Russians from Monday after it formally backed suspending a visa facilitation agreement over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The Council of the EU, which groups the bloc's member states, adopted a decision to suspend from September 12 the visa deal that has been in force since 2007. (10:39 GMT) European Union energy ministers have been split over whether to cap Russian gas prices, as they met to work out steps to shield citizens and businesses from sky-high energy bills. But ministers arriving for the emergency meeting indicated broad backing for moves to prevent power providers from being crushed by a liquidity crunch and several said it was urgent to decouple the price of gas from other cheaper energy sources. (11:00 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has posted video footage of what it said were troops being sent to the Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces have claimed significant successes in recent days, the Russian state news agency Interfax reported. (11:01 GMT) A draft resolution that diplomats say Poland and Canada have prepared ahead of next week's meeting of the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors calls on Russia to cease all actions at Ukraine's nuclear facilities, the text seen by Reuters shows. The draft text says the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation board "deplores the Russian Federation's persistent violent actions against nuclear facilities in Ukraine, including the ongoing presence of Russian forces and Rosatom personnel at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant" and calls on Russia to immediately cease all actions at Ukraine's nuclear facilities. (12:25 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said President Vladimir Putin's decision to send reinforcements to Ukraine's Kharkiv region underlined the huge losses Russia's forces are taking in its war. "There are a huge number of Russian forces that are in Ukraine and unfortunately, tragically, horrifically President Putin has demonstrated that he will throw a lot of people into this at huge cost to Russia," he said. (12:26 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that its forces had destroyed a US-made HIMARS rocket launcher vehicle in eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region. In a statement on Telegram, the ministry also said it had destroyed a US-made M777 howitzer in Zaporizhia region, in southeastern Ukraine. (12:54 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that Ukrainian forces were having some success in their operations in Kharkiv and Kherson. "We see success in Kherson now, we see some success in Kharkiv and so that is very, very encouraging," Austin said during a news conference with his Czech counterpart in Prague. (13:33 GMT) VNG, one of Germany's biggest importers of Russian natural gas, will get the state support that it has asked for, economy minister Robert Habeck said in Brussels. (13:35 GMT) President Putin has said in televised remarks that Russia would export 30 million tonnes of grain by the end of the year and that he is ready to increase this volume to 50 million tonnes. (13:53 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged allies to supply Kyiv with winter gear such as clothing, tents and generators to enable Ukrainian troops to keep on fighting Russia's invasion in the cold season. Average winter temperatures are below freezing for much of the country and it is not unusual for temperatures to drop to minus 15 degrees Celsius. (13:55 GMT) European Union finance ministers have backed a 5 billion euros ($5bn) loan for Ukraine to help keep its schools, hospitals and other state operations running as it fights against Russia's invasion, the Czech finance ministry has said. The loan, to be backed by guarantees of EU member states, is part of an overall 9 billion euros package announced in May. The first 1 billion euros was fully sent in early August. (14:33 GMT) At least 10 people were wounded when the centre of Ukraine's second city, Kharkiv, was hit by Russian rocket fire, local officials have said, while the president's top aide said the attacks were revenge for Ukrainian success on the battlefield. (14:35 GMT) Poland is interested in buying power from Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in Kyiv after talks with Zelenskyy. An additional 1,000MW of electricity could flow via a power cable linking Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi plant and Poland, a possibility that Morawiecki was referring to. The link, idled since the 1990s, is scheduled to reopen by the end of the year after necessary upgrades. (14:37 GMT) The situation in the Ukrainian city of Enerhodar, where staff operating the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant live, is increasingly precarious, the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA has said, calling for an immediate end to shelling there. "I therefore urgently call for the immediate cessation of all shelling in the entire area," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement, saying shelling had caused a blackout in Enerhodar. "Only this will ensure the safety and security of operating staff and allow the durable restoration of power to Enerhodar and to the power plant." (14:39 GMT) Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz says it has initiated a new arbitration proceeding against Russia's gas giant Gazprom, saying the Russian firm did not pay for the rendered service of gas transport through Ukraine. "We will make Gazprom pay. Naftogaz is also evaluating the possibility of submitting additional requirements," Naftogaz quoted its CEO Yuriy Vitrenko as saying. (14:40 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Kharkiv region has said that civilians are being evacuated from three Russian-held towns in the region that have come under threat from a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Vitaly Ganchev said on state television host Vladimir Solovyov's daily livestream that civilians were being evacuated from the towns of Izyum, Kupiansk and Veliky Burluk. (15:58 GMT) Russia backs a call by UN atomic watchdog chief Rafael Grossi for an immediate stop to shelling at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the nearby city of Enerhodar, its envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency has said. "We fully support the appeal and demand of the #IAEA Director General that shelling of the town of Enerhodar and the #ZNPP must stop immediately," Russian ambassador to the IAEA Mikhail Ulyanov said on Twitter. (16:12 GMT) Zelenskyy is scheduled to speak to US arms makers and military leaders on Wednesday when he is expected to make an appeal for more weapons for his country's defence against Russia, according to an advance notice of the speech seen by Reuters news agency. Zelenskyy was set to speak by video link before a conference hosted by the National Defense Industrial Association in Austin, Texas, in his first-ever speech to the US defence industry. The association's members include Raytheon Technologies Corp and Lockheed Martin Corp, which jointly produce Javelin antitank weapons that have been used by Ukraine. Those companies and other top weapons makers - Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics and L3Harris Technologies - were present at an April meeting called by the Pentagon to discuss Ukraine's weapons needs. (16:26 GMT) Ukraine's advance in the Kharkiv region has been "very sharp and rapid" and Ukrainian forces have recaptured a number of settlements, the Russian-installed administrator of Russian-controlled parts of the region said in a live online broadcast. "The enemy is being delayed as much as possible, but several settlements have already come under the control of Ukrainian armed formations," Vitaly Ganchev, head of the Russian-backed administration in the Kharkiv region, said on state television host Vladimir Solovyov's daily livestream. (17:39 GMT) Some US defence industrial base suppliers would be able to ramp up their weapons production to replenish US stock that was sent to Ukraine, but not all, the US undersecretary of defence for acquisition and sustainment, Bill LaPlante, has said. (18:14 GMT) Russian food and fertiliser exports are "completely in line, or maybe even going up, from its patterns from 2012" and Moscow's complaints that its shipments are being hindered by sanctions are misinformation, a senior US official has said. "We're seeing no disruption in Russia's ability to send food to market," James O'Brien, head of the State Department's Office of Sanctions Coordination, told reporters. "The fertiliser is still reaching markets at the same rate that it always has." (18:41 GMT) Zelenskyy met with the head of Turkish defence firm Baykar and said the company would set up a factory in Ukraine to build unmanned aerial vehicles. "We discussed the details of the construction of the Baykar factory in Ukraine and the production of new goods using Ukrainian components," Zelenskyy said in an online post after meeting Baykar Chief Executive Haluk Bayraktar in Kyiv. Baykar's Bayraktar TB2 drone has been hugely popular in Ukraine, where it helped destroy many Russian artillery systems and armoured vehicles. (19:25 GMT) Ukrainian forces have liberated more than 30 settlements in the Kharkiv region as part of a counter-offensive against Russia, Zelenskyy has said. In a video address, he also said Kyiv's forces were successfully continuing active operations in several areas. (19:52 GMT) Russians have begun voting in the country's first election since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine on February 24. Voters are casting ballots to elect more than 31,000 officials, legislators and local council members across the country's 82 regions. Many opposition politicians have been barred from running in the three-day vote that takes place both at polling stations and online. (20:26 GMT) US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has said there is a need for a broad coalition of partners to help Ukraine recover and rebuild after Russia's invasion, with a focus on near-term, high-impact projects. 20220911 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/10/russia-loses-control-of-key-towns-as-ukrainian-forces-advance Moscow has abandoned its main bastion in northeastern Ukraine, in a sudden collapse of one of the war's principal front lines after Ukrainian forces made a rapid advance. The swift fall of Izyum in Kharkiv province on Saturday was Moscow's worst defeat since its troops were forced back from the capital Kyiv in March. This could prove a pivotal moment in the six-month-old war, with thousands of Russian soldiers abandoning ammunition stockpiles and equipment as they fled. Russian forces used Izyum as the logistics base for one of their main campaigns - a months-long assault from the north on the adjacent Donbas region comprising Donetsk and Luhansk. The state-run TASS news agency quoted Russia's defence ministry as saying it had ordered troops to leave the vicinity and reinforce operations elsewhere in neighbouring Donetsk. The Russian withdrawal announcement came hours after Ukrainian troops entered the city of Kupiansk farther north, the sole railway hub supplying Russia's entire front line across northeastern Ukraine. That left thousands of Russian troops abruptly cut off from supplies along a front that has seen some of the most intense battles of the war. There were signs of trouble for Russia elsewhere along its remaining positions on the eastern front, with pro-Russian officials acknowledging difficulties at other locations. In Hrakove, one of dozens of villages recaptured in the Ukrainian advance, Reuters saw burned-out vehicles bearing the "Z" symbol of Russia's invasion. Boxes of ammunition were scattered along with rubbish at positions the Russians had abandoned in evident haste. ------------------------ aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-200 Fighting * Ukraine's counteroffensive has liberated about 2,000sq km of territory, Zelenskyy said. * Ukrainian forces continued to make significant gains in the Kharkiv region over the last 24 hours, the UK's defence ministry said. * The Russian-installed chief administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Kharkiv recommended all its inhabitants evacuate to Russia "to save lives". * Ukrainian forces established full control over the city of Balakliia, said deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar. * Russia's defence ministry ordered troops to leave the area around the city of Izyum in Kharkiv province, saying they would be sent to reinforce operations elsewhere in neighbouring Donetsk. * Ukrainian troops captured the city of Kupyansk, the sole railway hub supplying Russia's front line across northeastern Ukraine, cutting thousands of Russian troops off from supplies. * Ukrainian police patrolling abandoned towns are finding boxes of ammunition in heaps left behind by Russian soldiers. * Russia's defence ministry said its air force destroyed a Ukrainian radar tracking station in the southern Mykolaiv region and six weapon and missile depots in the eastern and southeastern areas. * "To achieve the stated goals of the special military operation for the liberation of Donbas, it was decided to regroup the Russian troops located in the districts of Balakliia and Izyum for the purpose of increasing efforts in the Donetsk direction," Russia's defence ministry said. Energy * Ukraine's atomic power operator said the last reactor at Europe's largest nuclear power plant has been shut down after it was reconnected to the electricity grid. * Ukraine will look into whether it can urgently supply neighbouring Poland with 100,000 tonnes of thermal coal to help it through the winter, Zelenskyy said. * Zelenskyy said he told French President Emmanuel Macron about the situation at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, calling for it to be "demilitarised". * Russia's Gazprom said it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine. Grain * Britain dismissed as untrue Russian President Vladimir Putin's assertion that only a fraction of grain exported from Ukraine under an international deal was going to poor countries. * Quoting UN figures, the British defence ministry said about 30 % of grain exported under the deal has been supplied to low and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. * Putin said last week that out of 87 ships, only two, carrying 60,000 tonnes of products, had gone to poor countries. Weapons * Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba called for more weapons. "We have demonstrated we are capable of defeating the Russian army. We are doing that with weapons given to us. And so I reiterate: the more weapons we receive, the faster we will win, and the faster this war will end." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/11/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-pushes-major-counteroffensive (08:05 GMT) As the war in Ukraine marks 200 days, the country has reclaimed broad swaths in the south and the east in a long-anticipated counteroffensive that has dealt a heavy blow to Russia. Facing the prospect of a large group of its forces becoming surrounded, Moscow ordered a troop pullback from Kharkiv in a dramatic change of the state of play that posed the biggest challenge to the Kremlin since it launched the invasion on February 24. "The Ukrainian army has taken advantage of the relocation of the bulk of the Russian forces to the south and is trying to direct the course of the war, excelling in manoeuvre and showing great ingenuity," said Mykola Sunhurovskyi, a military expert with the Razumkov Centre, a Kyiv-based think-tank. (08:07 GMT) Operations at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine have been fully stopped as a safety measure as fears of a radiation disaster continue. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/11/last-reactor-at-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-shut-down (08:11 GMT) Ukraine says its forces are working to wrest control of towns and villages around the strategic hub of Izyum from Russian troops as part of a sweeping counteroffensive in the country's east. "Our forces entered Kupiansk. The liberation of settlements in the Kupiansk and Izyum districts of the Kharkiv region is ongoing," the Ukrainian military said in a general battlefield update. (08:13 GMT) In the Kherson region, troops have sought to drive Russian forces from their foothold on the west bank of the Dnieper River, a potential vantage point for a push deeper into Ukraine by Moscow. The city of Kherson, an economic hub at the confluence of the Dnieper and the Black Sea with a pre-war population of about 300,000, was the first main population centre to fall in the war. The counterattack followed methodical strikes on Russian infrastructure and supply lines. Ukrainian forces have used American-supplied HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to pound the two bridges across the Dnieper, forcing Russian troops in the Kherson region to rely on pontoon crossings that also have faced daily strikes. (08:33 GMT) Russia's Gazprom says it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of natural gas to Europe via Ukraine, the same volume as on Saturday. (09:32 GMT) Ukrainian forces have advanced north from Kharkiv to within 50km of the border with Russia and are also pressing to the south and east in the same region, Ukrainian chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has said. His troops have retaken more than 3,000 sq km of territory this month, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. (10:18 GMT) Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov has said recent gains made by Ukrainian troops could pave the way for a further push into the Luhansk region, whose capture Russia claimed at the beginning of June. "If you look at the map, it is logical to assume that the offensive will develop in the direction of Svatovo - Starobelsk, and Sieverodonetsk - Lysychansk." (10:48 GMT) Russian forces are hitting Ukrainian army positions in the Kharkiv region with precision strikes, Russian news agencies have quoted the country's defence ministry as saying. (11:02 GMT) France's transport minister Clement Beaune has said he would sign an agreement with Romania to increase Ukrainian grain exports to developing countries, including to the Mediterranean. (11:08 GMT) A backup power line to the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine has been restored, providing it with the external electricity it needs to cool its reactors, the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA has said. (12:30 GMT) Leading politicians in Germany's governing coalition have called for more support for the Ukrainian military offensive against Russian troops that is currently gaining momentum in parts of the country. "Germany must immediately play its part in Ukraine's successes and supply protected vehicles - the Marder infantry fighting vehicle and the Leopard 2 main battle tank," the chairwoman of the defence committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, told the dpa news agency. (13:59 GMT) Xi Jinping will leave China this week for the first time in more than two years for a trip to Central Asia where he will meet Vladimir Putin. Xi is due on a state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday and will then meet Putin at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's summit in the ancient Silk Road city of Samarkand in Uzbekistan. The meeting will give President Xi an opportunity to underscore his clout while Putin can demonstrate Russia's tilt towards Asia; both leaders can show their opposition to the United States just as the West seeks to punish Russia for the Ukraine war. (14:16 GMT) The UK has dismissed as untrue Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that only a fraction of grain exported from Ukraine under an international deal was going to poor countries. Quoting UN figures, the British Defence Ministry said about 30% of grains exported under the deal has been supplied to low- and middle-income countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. (14:40 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron have discussed the security situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Sunday, Reuters reported. Speaking by phone, the two leaders expressed readiness for a "non-politicised interaction" on the matter with the participation of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), according to the statement published on the Kremlin's website. (15:27 GMT) Russia has been nearly silent about its soldiers being forced to abandon their main bastion in northeastern Ukraine. The swift fall of Izyum in Kharkiv province was Russia's worst military defeat since its troops were forced back from Kyiv in March, Reuters reported. (16:05 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the Kremlin-appointed leader of Chechnya and Putin ally whose troops have been at the forefront of the war in Ukraine, has conceded that the campaign was not going to plan. In an 11-minute-long audio message posted on Telegram Kadyrov said: "If today or tomorrow changes are not made in the conduct of the special military operation, I will be forced to go to the country's leadership to explain to them the situation on the ground." The criticism came after the Russian army's leadership appeared to be caught off-guard by Ukraine's fightback against its invasion in the northeast. (16:39 GMT) Moscow's forces have made a major withdrawal from Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, according to a military map presented by the Russian defence ministry on Sunday. Russia controlled just a sliver of territory in the region's east, behind the Oskil river, the map showed. (17:48 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry tweeted "Ukraine will restore its territorial integrity, including Donbas and Crimea" after the 130th battalion made it to Hoptivka checkpoint, near the Russian border. (18:14 GMT) The governor of the region of Kharkiv has said Russian forces have struck critical infrastructure, leading to blackouts and water cuts in several areas in eastern Ukraine, including Kharkiv. (19:35 GMT) Observers have said that Ukraine's strategic gains in the east have provided an "unwavering" or "doubtful" international community with evidence of its forces' capabilities. "This is a strategic victory for Ukraine - of far greater significance than the defeat of the Russians in Kyiv in March," said Frank Ledwidge of the University of Portsmouth. He told Al Jazeera that it was strategic because it demonstrates that the Ukrainians can impose losses on the Russians. "But it's also a demonstration of their skills and combined arms warfare, and bringing the gear and training they've had over the last few months all together to take back an area of land that's far greater than the Russians have taken since April." "It's very significant and it demonstrates the Ukrainians' capability with deception," he added. "It's an intelligence coup and it's a remarkable display of Russian ineptitude, particularly in the intelligence realm." (20:23 GMT) Russian forces have launched a total of eleven missiles towards the eastern regions of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Air Force announced in a tweet (20:49 GMT) Ukrainian officials have accused retreating Russian forces of launching retaliatory attacks on civilian infrastructure, including a thermal power station in Kharkiv, that the authorities in Kyiv said caused widespread blackouts. Zelenskyy confirmed that Russian attacks caused a total blackout in the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, and partial blackouts in the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions. 20220912 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/12/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-presses-eastern-counteroffensive (08:20 GMT) The UN's acting human rights chief has decried Russia's "intimidation" of domestic opponents to the war in Ukraine, accusing Moscow of undermining fundamental freedoms. Speaking at the opening of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, deputy UN rights chief Nada Al-Nashif decried the "intimidation, restrictive measures and sanctions against people voicing opposition to the war in Ukraine." (08:40 GMT) The UK's defence ministry says Russia has likely ordered the withdrawal of its troops from all parts of Kharkiv that lie to the west of the Oskil River. (09:00 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Kharkiv says Ukrainian forces have outnumbered Russian and pro-Russian forces by eight times during a lightning counteroffensive in the occupied region. Speaking to Russia's state-owned Rossiya-24 television channel, Vitaly Ganchev said Ukrainian forces had captured previously Russian-held settlements in the region's north, breaking through to the border with Russia. He added that "about 5,000" civilians had been evacuated to Russia. (09:09 GMT) Ukraine has accused Russia's military of attacking civilian infrastructure on Sunday in an attempt to exact revenge for Kyiv's rapid counteroffensive operations. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/11/ukraines-east-reports-blackouts-water-cuts-officials (09:21 GMT) Germany's defence minister has ruled out supplying Ukraine with "main battle tanks". "No country has delivered Western-built infantry fighting vehicles or main battle tanks so far," Christine Lambrecht said in Berlin. "We have agreed with our partners that Germany will not take such action unilaterally." (09:37 GMT) The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine says the country's forces have recaptured more than 20 towns and villages in the past 24 hours during their eastern counteroffensive. Russia's ministry of defence acknowledged on Saturday that it had abandoned Izyum, its main stronghold in Ukraine's northeast, and neighbouring Balakliia, in what it called a preplanned "regrouping" to gather forces in the eastern Donetsk region. (10:04 GMT) Ukrainian farmers are likely to cut the winter grain sowing area by at least 30% because of a jump in prices for seeds and fuel combined with low selling prices of their produce, according to the Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC). (10:22 GMT) Russia will achieve the goals of its self-described "special military operation" in Ukraine, the Kremlin's spokesman has said. "The military operation continues," Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters. "And it will continue until the goals that were originally set are achieved," he added. (10:44 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has warned the country needs to secure retaken territory against a possible Russian counterattack on stretched Ukrainian supply lines. "A counteroffensive liberates territory and after that you have to control it and be ready to defend it," Oleksii Reznikov told the Financial Times newspaper, cautioning Kyiv's troops could be encircled by Russian reinforcements if they advanced too far. (10:50 GMT) Norway's prime minister says his country and the EU have agreed to a closer dialogue on proposals to resolve the bloc's energy crisis. "We're going into the talks with an open mind but are sceptical towards a maximum price on natural gas," Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement following talks by phone with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. "A maximum price would not solve the fundamental problem, which is that there is too little gas in Europe." (11:15 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces are conducting air raids on parts of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region retaken by Kyiv's troops during a lightning counteroffensive. The ministry said in its daily briefing that Russian air, rocket and artillery forces were "delivering precision strikes on units and reserves of the Ukrainian armed forces", including in the urban hubs of Kupiansk and Izyum. It added that 250 Ukrainian troops had been killed in the raids. (11:28 GMT) In recent months, Putin's health has been the subject of much speculation, with claims circulating that he may have a serious illness. But so far, no doctor's note has been produced. Meanwhile, analysts gave Al Jazeera their assessment of what could happen next should Putin suddenly depart from office. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/12/what-happens-if-putin-suddenly-dies (11:39 GMT) Ukrainian forces have retaken about 500 square kilometres of territory in the south of the country in the past two weeks as part of a counteroffensive against Russian troops, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command says. (11:44 GMT) Russian shelling has again cut off power and water supplies to Kharkiv, the mayor of Ukraine's second-largest city has said. "Last night's situation is being repeated. Due to the [Russian] strikes ... power and water supplies have halted," Ihor Terekhov said in a Telegram post, adding that emergency services were working to restore the services. Earlier, Kharkiv's regional governor had said 80% of power in the city had been restored following Russian shelling on Sunday, which followed a large Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture territory in the area. (11:50 GMT) At least 1,000 people have been killed in Ukraine's northeastern city of Izyum since Russia launched its offensive in late February, a Ukrainian official Maksym Strelnikov, a member of the city council, has said, two days after Kyiv's forces recaptured the key supply hub from Moscow's troops. (12:55 GMT) A Russian-installed official in southern Ukraine's occupied Kherson region has said there is no reason for concern despite a counteroffensive in the area by Kyiv's troops. "In Kherson, there is no panic," Kirill Stremousov said in a video posted on Telegram. (13:02 GMT) Ukraine and Russia are interested in a proposal put forward by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to create a protection zone around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the agency's chief has said. (13:22 GMT) European leaders have approved an unprecedented combination of energy subsidies and financial measures aimed at making the continent less reliant on Russian coal, oil and gas and, increasingly, it looks as though the political will is stiffening to make that independence permanent. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/12/europe-hopes-to-reap-political-dividends-from-an-expensive-winter (13:48 GMT) The World Health Organization (WHO) expects a rise in COVID-19 in Ukraine to peak in October, possibly bringing hospitals close to their capacity threshold, the UN health agency's director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said. (14:27 GMT) Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is "confidently handling external pressure" from the West over his country's self-described "special military operation" in Ukraine. "I would like to emphasise once again that Russia is confidently coping with external pressure, and in fact, we might say, with financial and technological aggression from some countries," the Russian leader told government officials during a virtual meeting. "The tactics of economic blitzkrieg did not work, this is already obvious to everyone and to them," he added. (14:55 GMT) The speed of the Ukrainian military's counteroffensive in the eastern Kharkiv region has been nothing short of breakneck. But the speed and ease with which Ukrainian troops advanced have also raised questions, particularly over the Kremlin's tactics and Russia's military capabilities. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/12/questions-loom-over-ukraines-counteroffensive-in-kharkiv (15:17 GMT) The White House has promised to keep up support for Ukraine as Kyiv's troops press ahead with a multipronged counteroffensive aimed at recapturing territory seized by Russia. (15:42 GMT) The United Nations has called on European Union countries not to resort to more fossil fuels as they face soaring energy prices amid fears of winter shortages. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/12/do-not-backtrack-on-climate-goals-amid-energy-crunch-un-tells-eu (17:09 GMT) The bodies of four tortured civilians were found in the small town of Zaliznychne, in Kharviv district, after it was liberated by Ukrainian forces, the Kyiv Independent has reported citing the prosecutor general's office. "According to local law enforcement, the victims were allegedly killed by Russian troops during the community's temporary occupation by Russian forces," it added. (19:12 GMT) "We heard the Ukrainians are advancing towards the border and that in some parts they have reached it, but more than that we can tell you that the mood is very upbeat," Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid says from Kharkiv, adding, "It was a huge success for them." "The Ukrainian forces are continuing their counteroffensive but we have very little access if any at all. I believe the thinking among the military is that they will control the message and that the media reporting can only be disruptive," she said. "So what we know is what we get from statements and the last one said the Ukrainian army is in control of Izyum," she said, noting though there were conflicting reports on whether it had taken the whole city or just a part of it. (19:26 GMT) Sergey Markov, former adviser to President Vladimir Putin and director of the Institute of Political Studies, says the Russian army should change its strategy. "On one hand Russia did not give information over this failure because in Russia we had three days of regional elections and the power is not interested in giving negative information to citizens," Markov said. "But on the other hand it's a clear failure and Russia should change strategy. Many analysts here believe that Russia has to escalate its military operation in Ukraine ... Russia's military activities were too polite, too modest," he added. (19:34 GMT) In the Ukrainian city of Izyum, the country's blue and yellow flag has just been raised again over the charred city hall, months after Russian tanks barrelled in. (19:44 GMT) Millions of Russians will no longer be protected by the European Convention on Human Rights, the Council of Europe has said, as Moscow will cease to be a party to the convention on September 16. Marija Pejcinovic Buric, secretary-general of the Strasbourg-based council, said with its departure from the convention, Moscow "will further isolate itself from the democratic world and deprive more than 140 million Russian citizens of the protection offered by the convention". (19:53 GMT) Ukraine claims to have captured many Russian soldiers as part of its lightning advance that forced Moscow to make a hasty retreat. A spokesman for Ukrainian military intelligence said Russian troops were surrendering en masse as "they understand the hopelessness of their situation". A Ukrainian presidential adviser said there were so many POWs that the country was running out of space to accommodate them. ~/photos/events/20220912_donbas_control_map.png (20:00 GMT) The US assesses that Russia has largely ceded its gains near Kharkiv and many retreating Russian soldiers have exited Ukraine, moving over the border back into Russia, a senior US military official has said. (20:20 GMT) President Zelenskyy says Ukrainian forces have recaptured 6,000sq km of territory from Russia in a counteroffensive this month. Ukrainian chief commander General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said on Sunday his troops had retaken more than 3,000sq km this month. 20220913 aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-202 (09:36 GMT) Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar told Reuters on Tuesday that Ukraine's forces are making good progress because they are highly motivated and their operation is well planned. "The aim is to liberate the Kharkiv region and beyond - all the territories occupied by the Russian Federation. Fighting is continuing [in the Kharkiv region]. It is still early to say full [Ukrainian] control has been established over [the] Kharkiv region," Malyar said in an interview. (09:38 GMT) President Zelenskyy has called on the West to speed up deliveries of weapons systems as troops move to consolidate control over the northeastern territory seized back from Russia. (09:38 GMT) In the first response to Ukraine's advances over the weekend in the Kharkiv region, the Kremlin has said that Russia will achieve the goals of its "special military operation". During a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said there were no discussions taking place about the possible demilitarisation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant - one of the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) key recommendations from its visit to the plant. (09:38 GMT) At least 1,000 people have been killed in the last six months in fighting in the Ukrainian city of Izyum but the real figure is probably much higher, a Ukrainian official said, two days after Kyiv's forces recaptured the major supply hub. (10:22 GMT) The Russian military said it had launched "massive strikes" on all front lines in Ukraine after Kyiv's forces made dramatic advances in a counteroffensive. "Air, rocket and artillery forces are carrying out massive strikes on units of the Ukrainian armed forces in all operational directions," the Russian defence ministry said in its daily briefing on the conflict. (10:38 GMT) Britain has not invited representatives from Russia, Belarus and Myanmar to attend Queen Elizabeth's state funeral due to be held next Monday, a Whitehall source said. (10:50 GMT) The official, state-run media in Russia, which dominates in the country, has switched tones several times throughout the Ukraine crisis, from denying the invasion was to take place at all in early February, to praising the "righteous de-Nazification of Ukraine". Overall, compared with the first few months of war, the subject has faded into the background. More airtime is devoted to simple entertainment, as opposed to the persistent political programming seen in February and March. (11:14 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba accused Germany of ignoring Kyiv's pleas for Leopard tanks and Marder infantry fighting vehicles, saying Berlin offered only "abstract fears and excuses" for not providing such military hardware. After Ukraine's foreign minister accused Germany of ignoring their pleas for arms, one of Zelenskyy's advisers, Mykhailo Podolyak, also took a swipe at Germany. On Twitter, Podolyak said, "For six months the allies have been arguing over who will sell tanks to Ukraine. There are no tanks for six months because there is no 'political solution'. Russia continues its terror, people die, time is wasted. Germany, we are waiting for your word." (12:57 GMT) Any damage inflicted on Ukraine's power and heating systems will seriously exacerbate living conditions this winter, especially for an estimated 6.9 million internally displaced people, the United Nations migration agency IOM said. (13:16 GMT) The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine's English language newspaper, has reported, citing Ukrainian intelligence, that the Russians are leaving Crimea. In the tweet, they write: "Ukrainian intelligence: Russian occupiers begin leaving Crimea, southern Ukraine with their families. An "urgent evacuation" of Russian proxies, intelligence officers, and military commanders is taking place, the Main Intelligence Directorate said." (13:46 GMT) An ammonia gas deal that the United Nations is pushing Russia and Ukraine to agree on could stabilise a landmark grain deal, a Western diplomat briefed on the matter told the Reuters news agency. The gas, owned by Russian fertiliser producer Uralchem, would be transported via a pipeline to the Russia-Ukraine border. Once there, it would be bought by US-headquartered commodities trader Trammo, the diplomat said. (14:35 GMT) Since September 6, Ukraine's counter-offensive has recaptured 3,800 square kilometres of territory in its northeastern Kharkiv region, Deputy Minister of Defence Hanna Malyar said. Speaking from the recaptured town of Balakliia, Malyar said that the territory recaptured from Russian forces consisted of more than 300 settlements and approximately 150,000 current residents. (15:48 GMT) Estonian defence minister supplies Ukraine with a modern mobile hospital during a visit to Kyiv. (16:41 GMT) Denmark has agreed to train Ukrainian soldiers on Danish soil, the Ritzau news agency quoted Minister of Defence Morten Bodskov as saying after a meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart in Kyiv. Bodskov could not provide details about the number of Ukrainian soldiers, or timing or location of the training, Ritzau reported. (16:53 GMT) In call with Putin, Scholz demands 'complete withdrawal' from Ukraine German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to stick to a deal on grain exports from Ukraine which Moscow has repeatedly criticised. In a phone call, Scholz urged Putin "not to discredit and continue to fully implement" the grain deal in light of the stretched global food supply, the chancellor's spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said. (17:40 GMT) Norway's Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Thursday will meet gas producers to discuss long-term supply contracts that may help to stabilise prices on gas sales to Europe, he told the country's public broadcaster NRK. "It is not in Norway's interest to have the current instability. I would much rather see those prices to stabilise, preferably at a lower level," he added. (18:11 GMT) The Biden administration is likely to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine in the "coming days", White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. (18:26 GMT) Ukraine has said it feared Russia would step up attacks on its energy system to turn the screws on Kyiv this winter after a series of strikes that caused blackouts, and that it was pleading with Western powers for air defence technology to avert this. Podolyak added that Ukrainians should be prepared for problems with power and heat this winter. (18:51 GMT) Ukrainian repair crews have restored the two main power lines supplying the eastern city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region, power firm Ukrenergo said after Russian shelling caused blackouts. (18:55 GMT) The United Nations is trying to broker a resumption of Russian ammonia exports through Ukraine, a Western diplomat has said, a move that could stabilise a landmark deal allowing Ukrainian food and fertiliser shipments from Black Sea ports. The United Nations has proposed that ammonia gas owned by Russian fertilizer producer Uralchem be brought via pipeline to the Russia-Ukraine border. There it would be purchased by US-headquartered commodities trader Trammo, according to the proposal. (20:39 GMT) International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva has said she and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed a longer-term engagement that could build towards a full-fledged financing programme for Ukraine. She said executive board members were positive about an IMF proposal aimed at expanding emergency aid for countries hit hard by Russia's war against Ukraine, which will provide Kyiv with about the same amount of funding as the $1.4bn it got in March, shortly after the Russian invasion. (20:56 GMT) Annual inflation in Ukraine could rise to 30% next year, an eight-year high, the Interfax-Ukraine news agency cited Finance Minister Denys Shmyhal as saying, as he presented a draft budget dominated by the war with Russia. This would be the highest since the average 48.7 % recorded in 2015. 20220914 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-203 * Ukraine says it has recaptured approximately 8,000 km^2 of its territory from occupying Russian forces in a swift counteroffensive. * The Ukrainian deputy defence minister visited the town of Balakliia on Tuesday and said 150,000 people had been freed from Russian rule in recent days. * Ukraine has made significant progress as it pushes back against Russian forces, but it is not possible to tell if the war is at a turning point, says US President Joe Biden. The United States is likely to announce a new military aid package for Ukraine in the "coming days". * The United Kingdom intelligence agency says Russia has likely used Iranian-made uncrewed aerial vehicles in Ukraine for the first time. * Ukraine expects the number of Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure to increase ahead of winter. * Five civilians were killed in Bakhmut, while 16 were wounded in the Ukraine-controlled part of the Donetsk region, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram. * In the south, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Senkevych reported heavy Russian shelling, which damaged residential buildings in the city. There were no reports of casualties. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/14/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-anticipating-energy-system-attacks (08:34 GMT) Ukraine says it fears Russia will step up attacks on its energy system to turn the screws on Kyiv this winter. The eastern European country often sees temperatures plummet to as low as -15 degrees C in the depths of winter. (08:42 GMT) Ukrainian forces have recaptured about 8,000 square kilometres of territory from Russian forces so far this month, the country's president has said. In a Tuesday evening address, Zelenskyy said "stabilisation measures" had been completed in about half of that area. (09:02 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says Russia has "highly likely" deployed drones in Ukraine for the first time following reports from Kyiv that Ukrainian forces shot down an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) in the country's northeastern Kharkiv region. Ukraine's defence ministry on Tuesday posted images of what appeared to be parts of a destroyed UAV. It said the drone had been "eliminated" near Kupiansk, a town in the Kharkiv region recently recaptured by Ukraine. The device's wingtip appeared to match that of a Shahed-136 UAV, an Iranian-made drone. Ukraine and the United States have accused Iran of supplying drones to Russia, something Tehran has denied. "The loss of a Shahed-136 near the front lines suggests there is a realistic possibility that Russia is attempting to use the system to conduct tactical strikes rather than against more strategic targets farther into Ukrainian territory," the UK's defence ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. (09:44 GMT) The European Union will today propose a raft of measures to tackle the energy crisis, the head of the bloc's executive arm has said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen outlined the proposals - which include propositions on profit-sharing and electricity demand cuts, among other things - in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg before they are expected to be published in full later on Wednesday. (09:55 GMT) The frontline of fighting in eastern Ukraine is approaching the borders of the breakaway, self-proclaimed separatist Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), a senior Russian-backed LPR military commander has said. (10:07 GMT) The Kremlin has played down the impact of dwindling gas sales to Europe on Russia's economy, saying there are plenty of other countries that want to buy its energy resources. "Europe is not the only consumer of natural gas and not the only continent that needs natural gas," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a conference call. (10:23 GMT) Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies think-tank, says Ukraine's recent counteroffensive marks a "very significant" moment in the war. "Ukraine certainly has the momentum for the moment and they have caught the Russians by surprise," Ramani told Al Jazeera. "Russian military experts were warning for weeks that Kharkiv was going to be the most likely centre of vulnerability for the Russians that they [the Ukrainian forces] could blitz," he added, citing the northeastern region where Kyiv's troops have recaptured swaths of territory in recent days. "But the Russian defence ministry didn't listen ... and now Russia's mission is firmly on the defence - for the moment they're trying to avoid defeat rather than trying to pull off a victory." (10:39 GMT) The Kremlin says Ukraine's ongoing ambitions to join the transatlantic NATO military alliance continue to present a threat to Russia's security. In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the idea of Ukraine joining the US-led alliance was "the main threat" to Russia. He added that Kyiv's ambitions emphasised Moscow's "urgent need" to ensure Russia's security and national interests. Before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in late February, Moscow had demanded guarantees from NATO members that Ukraine would never be permitted to join the alliance. <== (10:43 GMT) Zelenskyy has visited Izyum, a key supply hub in the northeastern Kharkiv region recently recaptured by Kyiv's forces, a Ukrainian military brigade said. (11:15 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Kharkiv, in northeastern Ukraine, says the loss of Izyum will be a "huge blow" to Russia. "Izyum is a logistical hub ... and it is from there that Russia was supplying its troops that are further east in the Donbas region ... around places like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk," Abdel-Hamid said. (11:30 GMT) India and France have reiterated calls for negotiation to end the conflict in Ukraine. (12:24 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the country's armed forces for their success in retaking territory from Russian forces in recent days, hailing them as "heroes". (13:02 GMT) The European Commission still wants a European Union price cap on Russian gas, but more work is needed to assess the effects of the measure, the bloc's energy commissioner has said. "We continue to believe that a gas price cap on Russian pipeline imports is warranted, but more work is needed to assess adverse impacts on some member states," Kadri Simson said, adding that Brussels was analysing how a broader price cap on all EU gas imports could work. (14:08 GMT) Pavel Filatyev, an ex-Russian soldier now seeking asylum in France, has told Al Jazeera about his experiences of life on the Ukrainian front lines. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/14/russias-reasons-for-invading-ukraine-nonsense-says-ex-soldier (14:36 GMT) Ukraine's Western government creditors say they have concluded a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on a planned debt service suspension. The group, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States, said in July that they would provide a coordinated suspension of Kyiv's debt servicing to the end of 2023 and potentially for an additional year. With a monthly fiscal shortfall of $5bn, the war-torn country is heavily reliant on foreign financing from Western allies and multilateral lenders including the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. (15:21 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has started his first foreign trip since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic with a stop in Kazakhstan, in advance of a summit in Uzbekistan with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, and other leaders of a Central Asian security group. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/14/chinese-leader-xi-jinping-in-kazakhstan-before-summit-with-putin (17:13 GMT) Russian forces have launched eight cruise missiles against the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih in the Dnipropetrovsk region, aiming to disrupt water supplies, a senior Ukrainian official said. Kirill Timoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, said in an online post that there had been no civilian casualties in the attack. This attack aligns with Ukrainian concern that Russia will continue to target the country's infrastructure in retribution for Ukraine's continued success in recapturing occupied territories. Ukrainian officials say the attacks were directed at hydraulic structures, and the damage to the structures is now causing the water level of the Inhulets river to rise, posing a serious threat to the city. (17:29 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that the United Nations started talks on reopening an ammonia pipeline from Russia to Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says he spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin about Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports and that he was hopeful a UN-brokered deal would be maintained and expanded to include Russian ammonia. (17:34 GMT) Putin has told UN chief Antonio Guterres during a phone call that the "priority" should be to send Ukrainian grain to countries in greatest need, the Kremlin has said. (17:51 GMT) Putin has hailed "constructive cooperation" with the UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA over Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The Kremlin said that in a phone call with UN chief Antonio Guterres, "Vladimir Putin made a positive assessment of the constructive cooperation with the agency." (17:59 GMT) Democratic and Republican US senators have introduced legislation that would designate Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism", a label pushed for by Ukraine but opposed by President Joe Biden's administration. (18:09 GMT) Joe Biden plans to nominate career diplomat Lynne Tracy as US ambassador to Russia, a source familiar with the matter has said. The US ambassador post in Russia has been vacant since September 4, when envoy John Sullivan concluded his tenure there. (18:37 GMT) The prospects for peace in Ukraine are "minimal" at present, the United Nations chief has lamented after a telephone conversation with Putin. "I have the feeling we are still far away from peace. I would be lying if I would say it could happen soon," Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a press conference. "I have no illusion; at the present moment the chances of a peace deal are minimal," he added, noting that even a ceasefire is "not in sight". (19:04 GMT) The Biden administration is discussing with Congress "analogous measures" to impose on Russia in place of those carried by a state sponsorship of terrorism designation, US State Department spokesman Ned Price has said. "We're discussing with Congress analogous measures," Price told a news briefing, noting President Joe Biden's recent statement that he would not approve designating Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism. (20:16 GMT) Floods could hit the city of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine after a Russian strike damaged infrastructure causing the Inhulets River to flood, the Ukrainian presidency has warned. 20220915 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/15/russia-ukraine-live-news-putin-xi-to-discuss-war-at-sco-summit (09:02 GMT) Kryvyi Rih, the largest city in central Ukraine with an estimated pre-war population of 650,000, was hit by eight cruise missiles on Wednesday, officials said. The attacks hit the Karachunov reservoir dam, Zelenskyy said in a video address released early on Thursday. Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the Krivyi Rih military administration, said in a post on Telegram that 112 homes were flooded but that works to repair the dam on the Inhulets river were underway and that "flooding was receding". (09:02 GMT) EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is in Kyiv for meetings with officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, to discuss closer cooperation between Ukraine and the European Union. (09:04 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Uzbekistan on Thursday afternoon. The two leaders are in Samarkand to attend a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security group and are expected to discuss Ukraine and Taiwan. (09:30 GMT) A spokesman for Zelenskyy says the president's car collided with another vehicle early on Thursday after a battlefield visit, but he was not seriously injured. The spokesman added that Zelenskyy was returning to Kyiv from the Kharkiv region after visiting troops in the recaptured city of Izyum when a passenger vehicle collided with his car. The other vehicle's driver received first aid from Zelenskyy's medical team. Medics examined the president, but he had no serious injuries and did not say what injuries the president may have suffered. (09:44 GMT) A delegation of 80 large companies will visit Iran next week, Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported citing Putin. Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are at a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Samarkand, Uzbekistan. Earlier, Iran's foreign minister said Tehran signed a memorandum to join the bloc. (10:22 GMT) Putin and Xi to meet at the meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/15/xi-and-putin-to-discuss-ukraine-taiwan-at-uzbekistan-meeting (10:34 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry said that pipeline exports of ammonia, a crucial component of fertiliser, had been blocked by Ukraine. In a briefing, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there were "no obstacles" to ammonia exports from the Russian side. (11:03 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said if the United States decides to supply Kyiv with longer-range missiles for US-made HIMARS systems in use by Ukraine, it would cross a "red line" and become "a party to the conflict". In a briefing on Thursday, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova added that Russia "reserves the right to defend its territory". (11:36 GMT) Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba tweeted about the missile attack on the water dam in Kryvyi Rih and said: "Russian missile strike on Kryvyi Rih hydraulic structures is a war crime and an act of terror. "Beaten by Ukrainian army on the battlefield, Russian cowards are now at war with our critical infrastructure and civilians. Russia is a terrorist state and must be recognised as such." (11:41 GMT) Russia's president told Chinese leader Xi Jinping that Moscow backs Beijing's "One China" policy, opposes "provocations" by the United States in the Taiwan Strait, and said Russia values China's "balanced position" on Ukraine. Holding their first in-person talks since the start of the Ukraine conflict, Putin took direct aim at the United States, saying: "Attempts to create a unipolar world have recently acquired an absolutely ugly form and are completely unacceptable." (12:57 GMT) The online publishing rights for Russia's most prominent independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, were pulled on Thursday in another blow to the country's media landscape. The respected investigative newspaper, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was co-awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has been pushed towards complete closure in recent months. (13:15 GMT) EU chief Ursula von der Leyen was awarded the First Class of the Order of Yaroslav the Wise during a visit to Kyiv to strengthen relations between Ukraine and the EU. Ukraine gained EU candidacy status in June at the same time as Moldova. (13:45 GMT) Germany will supply two multiple rocket launchers to Kyiv, Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in Berlin. "We have decided to deliver two more MARS II multiple rocket launchers including 200 rockets to Ukraine," she told a conference of the German armed forces, the Bundeswehr. Training the Ukrainian operators is expected to start in September. "On top of this, we will send 50 Dingo armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine," Lambrecht announced, referring to an armoured vehicle that the German military extensively used during NATO's military operation in Afghanistan. (14:12 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU will provide Ukraine with 100 million euros (about $100m) to help rebuild schools in the country following the war. Speaking at a joint news conference with EU commission president Ursula von der Leyen, President Zelenskyy said Ukraine's air defence systems were a priority to protect the country from Russian strikes. Zelenskyy added that Ukraine had not yet received a positive response from Israel on the possible supply of aerial and air defence systems promised previously by Germany, and the United States had not yet arrived in Ukraine. (15:04 GMT) The International Monetary Fund says it could provide about $1.4bn in emergency aid to Ukraine almost immediately if its executive board approves a new "food shock window". The additional funds were discussed earlier this week. (15:37 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors has passed a resolution demanding that Russia end its occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine. The resolution, which says the board calls on Russia to "immediately cease all actions against, and at" the Zaporizhzhia plant and "any other nuclear facility in Ukraine", was passed with 26 votes in favour, two against, and seven abstentions, diplomats said. Russia and China were the only countries that voted against the resolution. (16:51 GMT) President Putin has said he understood China's Xi Jinping's concern about the situation in Ukraine, in what could be a first sign of friction between Moscow and Beijing. The acknowledgement came after a week of stunning Russian losses on the ground. Since Russia's invasion, China has trod a careful line, criticising Western sanctions against Russia but stopping short of endorsing or assisting in the military campaign. "We highly value the balanced position of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukraine crisis," Putin told Xi at their first meeting since the war began. "We understand your questions and concern about this. During today's meeting, we will of course explain our position." (17:30 GMT) Supporting Ukraine comes at a high cost, but "our freedom, the international peace order, and democracy, is priceless," EU chief Ursula Von der Leyen said when asked by Reuters about the potential impact of Europe's unfolding cost of living and energy crises. (18:35 GMT) The European energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine should come as no surprise and is a reminder that governments and companies should have switched more quickly to renewable energy, the chairman of Zurich Insurance says. "There is nothing massively surprising in what is happening now in matters of the price of energy, of geopolitical tension," Michel Lies, who is also steering committee chair of the Insurance Development Forum, told Reuters. (18:54 GMT) President Joe Biden will meet Friday with family members of basketball star Brittney Griner and fellow US citizen Paul Whelan, who have been imprisoned in Russia, the White House has said. "He wanted to let them know that they remain front of mind and that his team is working on this every day," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters (19:09 GMT) It is morally legitimate for nations to supply weapons to Ukraine to held the country defend itself from Russia, Pope Francis has said while returning from a three-day trip to Kazakhstan. (20:28 GMT) The United States will soon announce a new $600 million arms package for Ukraine to help the Ukrainian military battle Russia, US officials have said. Several sources expected the package to contain munitions, including more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). Two of the sources said the package would include ammunition for howitzers. (21:00) www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/15/how-ukrainians-de-russify-themselves-2 In 2012, 40% of Ukrainians considered Russian their mother tongue, while 57% said Ukrainian was their primary language, according to the Ratings Group, an independent pollster. A month after the invasion began, a staggering 76% of Ukrainians said Ukrainian was their primary language, and only one in five said they still mostly spoke Russian, the pollster said on March 25. A third of Russian speakers said they plan to switch to Ukrainian exclusively, it said. 20220916 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/16/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-says-mass-grave-found-in-izyum (08:40 GMT) The head of the UN's food agency David Beasley has warned the world is facing "a global emergency of unprecedented magnitude," with up to 345 million people facing acute food insecurity and 70 million pushed closer to starvation by the war in Ukraine. (08:45 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has praised Ukraine's counteroffensive, hailing the multi-pronged operation as extremely effective, but warned it does not signal the end of the war in the country. "It is of course extremely encouraging to see that Ukrainian armed forces have been able to take back territory and also strike behind Russian lines," Stoltenberg told the United Kingdom's BBC news. "At the same time, we need to understand that this is not the beginning of the end of the war, we need to be prepared for the long haul." (08:47 GMT) 'They ran away': Ukrainians recount hasty Russian withdrawal https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/15/they-ran-away-ukrainians-recount-hasty-russian-withdrawal (09:02 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukrainian forensic investigators have begun examining the mass grave discovered in Izyum. (09:11 GMT) Ukraine says it has found a mass grave containing hundreds of bodies in the northeastern town of Izyum, which was recently recaptured by Kyiv's troops from Russian forces. "Mass graves are being discovered in Izyum after liberation from the [Russians]," the Ukrainian defence ministry tweeted late on Thursday. It said the largest burial site held 440 unmarked graves. (09:22 GMT) A spokesperson for the UN's human rights office has said it plans to send monitors to Izyum to investigate Ukrainian reports of a mass grave there. "They [the monitors] are aiming to go there to try to establish a bit more about what may have happened," Liz Throssell told a press briefing at the agency's headquarters in Geneva, without giving a timeframe. (09:22 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says the Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked private military company, has been "conducting a campaign to recruit Russian convicts for service in Ukraine since at least July". "Prisoners have been offered commutation of their sentences as well as cash incentives," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update, adding the push had been "reinvigorated" of late. "Separately, Russian military academies are shortening training courses and bringing cadets graduation dates forwards. This is almost certainly socadets can be deployed to support the Ukraine operation," the ministry added. (09:29 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has hailed the growing influence of "new centres of power" at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Uzbekistan. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/15/hat-in-hand-putin-meets-xi-at-summit-in-samarkand "The growing role of new centres of power who cooperate with each other... is becoming more and more clear," Putin told the meeting of the regional security group, formed by Beijing and Moscow as a counterweight to the influence wielded by the United States. The Russian leader said Moscow was "open to cooperation with the entire world" and denounced the use of "illegal sanctions", calling for such measures to be reversed. (10:11 GMT) Most of the people buried in the mass grave discovered in Izyum are civilians, Ukraine's police chief has said, based on a preliminary estimate. (10:27 GMT) The prosecutor general of Kherson, a Russian-backed breakaway region in eastern Ukraine has been killed by a bomb blast at his office, according to a report by Russia's Interfax news agency. Interfax quoted an unnamed local emergency services source in the self-proclaimed LPR as saying that preliminary findings suggested Sergei Gorenko had been killed by an improvised explosive device. (11:33 GMT) The head of the Moscow-backed administration in eastern Ukraine's self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) says the breakaway region's prosecutor general and his deputy have been killed by a bomb blast at their offices. "Today, as a result of a terrorist act, Prosecutor-General of the LPR Sergei Gorenko and his deputy Ekaterina Steglenko were killed," Leonid Pasechnik said in a statement posted on Telegram. Pasechnik blamed Kyiv for the attack. (11:42 GMT) The United States has imposed sanctions on a long list of Russian officials and companies, ramping up pressure for the invasion of Ukraine while hoping to hobble any attempt to rebuild its heavily damaged defence sector. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/16/us-targets-russia-tech-industry-ukraine-proxies-with-sanctions (11:57 GMT) Switzerland will temporarily halt the exchange of tax information with Russia and make it harder for Russian citizens to get visas, the country's government has announced. At a meeting on Friday, the cabinet decided to suspend the exchange of tax information with Russia, the Swiss government said in a statement, citing the public policy proviso of the administrative assistance convention in tax matters. It had earlier said it would fully suspend an agreement that eases visa rules for Russian citizens, thus bringing Swiss visa rules for Russians in line with those in the European Union. Switzerland, the world's largest centre for managing offshore wealth, routinely exchanges bank data with other countries on their citizens' Swiss accounts. (12:36 GMT) Germany has taken control of the German operations of Russian oil firm Rosneft to secure energy supplies which have been disrupted after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Rosneft's German subsidiaries, which account for about 12% of oil refining capacity in the country, were placed under the trusteeship of the Federal Network Agency, Germany's economy ministry said in a statement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/16/germany-seizes-russian-oil-firm-rosnefts-refineries (13:19 GMT) India's prime minister has told Putin that now is not a time for war, with food, fertiliser and fuel security among the major concerns of the world at present. Putin has told India's prime minister that he wants the war in Ukraine to end "as soon as possible", adding he understands that India has concerns about the war. (14:36 GMT) Bodies with their hands tied have been unearthed from a mass burial site in the recaptured town of Izyum, in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, according to a regional official. (14:56 GMT) International sanctions on Russia are working and support for Ukraine must continue until it has won the war, Italy's prime minister has said. "Sanctions work. Russian propaganda has tried to show that they do not work, but they do work," Mario Draghi told a news conference. "It is necessary to continue supporting Ukraine until the liberation war is won." (15:25 GMT) Russia's leader has said that 25% of his country's gas supplies to Turkey will be paid for in roubles as part of an agreement on such exports set to come into force soon. (15:43 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said there is evidence that Russian forces committed torture and killed civilians in parts of the country's northeast prior to withdrawing from the territories, likening the aftermath there to the one seen following Russia's pullback from near Kyiv months ago. (16:11 GMT) Putin has called for the resolution of remaining problems for exports of Russian fertilisers and the removal of export restrictions on Belarusian fertilisers caused by Western sanctions. Russian exporters of fertilisers are experiencing problems with freight and insurance, Putin told reporters. (16:14 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that concerns on Ukraine heard by Putin at a summit from Chinese and Indian leaders put pressure on him to end the war. "I think what you're hearing from China, from India, is reflective of concerns around the world about the effects of Russia's aggression on Ukraine, not just on the people of Ukraine," Blinken told reporters. "I think it increases the pressure on Russia to end the aggression." (16:16 GMT) Putin has said there were no plans to adjust Russia's military operations in Ukraine despite a counteroffensive, saying Moscow was in no rush to finish the campaign. "The plan is not subject to adjustment," Putin told reporters during a regional summit in Uzbekistan. "Our offensive operations in Donbas itself do not stop. They are going at a slow pace ... the Russian army is occupying newer and newer territories," Putin said, adding, "We are not in a hurry ... there are no changes." (16:17 GMT) Putin has praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's efforts to end the war in Ukraine, but said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was not prepared to hold peace talks. (16:19 GMT) Putin has accused the West of wanting to break up Russia, adding he sent forces into Ukraine in February to prevent this. Speaking at the SCO summit, and discussing the war publicly for the first time since Ukraine routed Russian troops in the Kharkiv region last week, Putin threatened strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, and said: "We will see how." (16:23 GMT) Putin has denied his country had anything to do with the energy crisis in Europe, and said that if European Union countries wanted more gas, they should ask Ukraine to open gas pipelines, and lift sanctions preventing the opening of the Nord Stream 2 Baltic pipeline. Putin also blamed what he called "the green agenda" for the energy crisis, and insisted that Russia would fulfil its energy obligations. (16:24 GMT) UN member states have voted to make an exception to allow Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy to address next week's General Assembly by video. Of the 193 member states, 101 voted in favour of allowing Zelenskyy to "present a pre-recorded statement" instead of in-person as usually required at the UNGA. Seven members voted against it, including Russia, and 19 abstained. (17:29 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom said urgently needed spare parts and diesel fuel had been delivered to the Zaporizhzhia atomic power station, which is occupied by Russian troops. In a statement, Energoatom said the parts would be used to repair damaged power lines and power generating blocks. Both Moscow and Kyiv regularly accuse each other of shelling the facility, the largest of its kind in Europe. (18:01 GMT) Ninety-nine% of exhumed bodies had signs of violent death, Ukraine's regional administration head said of the mass burial site discovered after Kyiv's forces recaptured the east Ukrainian town of Isyum. "Among the bodies that were exhumed today, 99% showed signs of violent death," Oleg Synegubov, head of Kharkiv regional administration, said on social media. "There's likely more than 1,000 Ukrainian citizens tortured and killed in liberated territories of Kharkiv region", he added. (20:02 GMT) Rosneft has said it could go to court to challenge a decision by Berlin to take the firm's German subsidiary under trusteeship. In a statement, Rosneft said the move was illegal. Germany, citing the need to protect the economy, is taking over the business's Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90% of Berlin's fuel. (20:49 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned what he described as the "atrocities" committed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Izyum, which Kyiv's forces have recaptured from Russian troops. Those responsible "will have to answer for their acts", he tweeted. "There is no peace without justice." 20220917 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/17/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-unlikely-to-halt-ukraine-advance (11:43 GMT) The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its Saturday report that satellite imagery suggested Ukraine troops crossed over to the east bank of the Oskil river in the Kharkiv region, placing artillery there. The river, which flows south from Russia into Ukraine, had been a natural break in the newly emerged front lines since Ukraine launched its push about a week ago. "Russian forces are likely too weak to prevent further Ukrainian advances along the entire Oskil River if Ukrainian forces choose to resume offensive operations," the institute said. (11:45 GMT) Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked the United States for its support after Ukraine received a further $1.5bn in international financial assistance. "The state budget of Ukraine received a grant of $1.5bn. This is the last tranche of $4.5bn aid from the United States from @WorldBank Trust Fund," Shmyhal tweeted. (11:54 GMT) As Ukraine continues offensive operations in the northeast of the country, Russian forces have established a defensive line between the Oskil river and the town of Svatove, British military intelligence said. "Russia likely sees maintaining control of this zone as important because it is transited by one of the few main resupply routes Russia still controls from the Belgorod region of Russia," the defence ministry said in a regular Twitter update. (12:01 GMT) The third vessel charted by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) has left Ukraine's Chornomorsk Black Sea port with about 30,000 tonnes of wheat on board, Ukraine's infrastructure ministry said. "The vessel is headed for Ethiopia. According to UN estimates, Ethiopia is on the verge of a food crisis," the ministry said in a statement. (12:14 GMT) The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, has called for the establishment of an international tribunal for war crimes after new mass graves were found in Ukraine. (12:29 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said its forces had launched raids on Ukrainian positions in several parts of Ukraine, and accused Kyiv of carrying out shelling near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russian forces conducted their strikes in the Kherson, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and Donetsk regions, according to the ministry, which added that Ukrainian forces had carried out an unsuccessful offensive near Pravdyne in Kherson. According to the ministry, two incidents of Ukrainian shelling were recorded near Zaporizhzhia, Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. (12:45 GMT) One person has been killed and two others were injured near the Russian city of Belgorod, not far from the border with Ukraine, the TASS news agency cited local authorities as saying. (13:56 GMT) US President Joe Biden says Putin would change the face of the war if he would consider the use of chemical or tactical nuclear weapons. "Don't. Don't. Don't. You will change the face of war unlike anything since World War II," Biden said during an interview with CBS news. He was asked what would be the consequences if Putin crossed that line. "You think I would tell you if I knew exactly what it would be? Of course, I'm not gonna tell you. It'll be consequential," the president said. "They'll become more of a pariah in the world than they ever have been. And depending on the extent of what they do will determine what response would occur," he added. (14:18 GMT) Ukraine mourns one of its famous ballet dancers who lost his life this week fighting on the front line with a memorial service in the country's National Opera. Oleksandr Shapoval, who died under Russian mortar shelling, was commemorated by soldiers of his unit, honour guards and members of Kyiv's artistic community who laid flowers on his coffin before it was wrapped in a blue and yellow Ukrainian flag. (14:37 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Izyum in northeastern Kharkiv, says the city offers a gruesome picture reflecting the "real tool of this war". "Izyum is now a desolated city, completely destroyed ... there is barely a building that has not at least been damaged, and I am talking about civilian buildings," Abdel-Hamid said. "Certainly a place where you see the real tool of this war, a city that has been besieged, bitterly fought between the two sides, now firmly under the control of Ukrainian forces," she added, noting though that while Ukrainian soldiers are back roaming the streets, there is barely any sign of life. (14:55 GMT) One of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant's four main power lines has been repaired and is once again supplying the plant with electricity from the Ukrainian grid two weeks after it went down, the UN nuclear watchdog has said. "With the main line's reconnection yesterday afternoon, the three back-up power lines are again being held in reserve," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. "The three other main external 750 kv (kilovolt) power lines that were lost earlier during the conflict remain down." (16:18 GMT) Western sanctions are starting to hamper Russia's ability to make advanced weaponry, chair of NATO's Military Committee told Reuters, adding though that the Russian industry could still manufacture "a lot of ammunition". "We now see the first serious signs of that in terms of their ability to produce, for example, the replacement of cruise missiles and more advanced weaponry," Rob Bauer said, noting that some of the components Russia needs for its weapon systems come from the Western industry. "As far as we know, the Russian still have a considerable industrial base and are able to produce a lot of ammunition. And they still have a lot of ammunition," he added. (17:15 GMT) Several villages in the southern region of Mykolaiv were hit by Russian shelling, its governor Vitaliy Kim has said on his telegram channel. The coastal towns of Ochakiv and Bashtanka, including surrounding areas, were hit Friday and Saturday, the official said, adding that one person has died. Ochakiv is now without water and electricity. (18:00 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has pledged to stay the course in his campaign against Ukraine, warning if counterattacks continue a "more serious" military response will be unleashed. Putin remained steadfast despite strong evidence that his forces incurred heavy losses in the Ukraine counteroffensive this month. He accused Ukrainian forces of attempts to carry out "terrorist acts" and causing damage to Russian civilian infrastructure. "We are really quite restrained in our response to this for the time being," Putin said at a news conference on Friday. "If the situation continues to develop in this way, the response will be more serious." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/17/vladimir-putin-warns-of-serious-response-to-terrorist-acts (18:58 GMT) Activists from environmental group Greenpeace have blocked a shipment of Russian gas from unloading at an LNG terminal in northern Finland, the terminal owner and Greenpeace said. The activists demanded Helsinki stop importing Russian gas. "The shipment contained liquefied natural gas coming from Russia," a spokeswoman for Finnish company Gasum that imported the blocked gas, Olga Vaisanen, told AFP. (20:36 GMT) Local media say four explosions were heard in the Russian-occupied Kherson region, according to the Kyiv Independent. "Local residents said that black smoke was rising from the territory of a machine-building plant where a Russian military base is allegedly located," the Ukrainian independent media said. 20220918 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/18/russia-ukraine-live-updates-exhumation-of-graves-in-izyum (11:43 GMT) Five people have died over the past day in Russian attacks in Donetsk, one of the two Ukrainian regions that Russia recognises as sovereign states, Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said. Overnight shelling hit a hospital in the city of Mykolaiv, a significant Black Sea port, regional Governor Vitaliy Kim said. He also said shelling hit other parts of the region, wounding two people. Three people were wounded in night-time shelling of the city of Nikopol, which is across the river from Europe's largest nuclear power station, regional Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said. (11:44 GMT) Valery Marchenko, mayor of Izyum, has told state television that "the exhumation is under way, the graves are being dug up and all the remains are being transported to Kharkiv". He added, "The work will continue for another two weeks, there are many burials. No new ones have been found yet, but the services are looking for possible burials." (11:45 GMT) The Russian army is offering nearly $2,700 a month as an incentive for civilians to fight in Ukraine. Soldiers in camouflage and black masks showed their guns to interested passersby in the southern Russian city of Rostov and handed out colour brochures titled "Military service on a contract - the choice of a real man". The officer in charge said Russians and foreigners aged from 18 to 60 with at least a high school education would be eligible. "Patriotically minded citizens are choosing to sign contracts for three or six months to take part in the special military operation," Major Sergey Ardashev said. (11:55 GMT) Russia has widened its attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine in the past week and is likely to expand its target range further in "a move to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian government and people", the UK's defence ministry said in a brief. "In the last seven days, Russia has increased its targeting of civilian infrastructure even where it probably perceives no immediate military effect," it said. (13:31 GMT) US President Joe Biden urged Russian President Vladimir Putin not to use tactical nuclear or chemical weapons in the wake of setbacks in Ukraine in a clip released by CBS on Sunday. "Don't. Don't. Don't. It would change the face of war unlike anything since World War II," he told the news programme 60 Minutes. (13:49 GMT) Australia will not ban Russian tourists from entering the country as part of sanctions on Russia over its war in Ukraine, Defence Minister Richard Marles has said. Since the start of the conflict, Australia has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individuals and entities, including most of Russia's banking sector and all organisations responsible for the country's sovereign debt. It has also supplied defence equipment and humanitarian supplies to Ukraine, while outlawing exports of alumina and aluminium ores, including bauxite, to Russia. Asked if Australia would also ban Russian tourists, Marles said sanctions were aimed at Russia's government, "not the Russian people themselves". (14:25 GMT) A total of 165 ships with 3.7 million tonnes of agricultural products on board have left Ukraine under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the Ukrainian infrastructure ministry has said. (15:11 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine and a global food crisis aggravated by the war will be the focus of world leaders when they convene at the United Nations in New York this week. "It would be naive to think that we are close to the possibility of a peace deal," said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres before the high-level meeting of the 193-member UN General Assembly, which starts on Tuesday. "The chances of a peace deal are minimal at the present moment," he said. (15:48 GMT) The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, has called for a "special international tribunal" after a mass grave was discovered in Izyum, a town in northeastern Ukraine. (16:12 GMT) Alla Pugacheva, the queen of Soviet pop music, has denounced Russia's war in Ukraine which she said was killing soldiers for illusory aims, burdening common people and turning Russia into a global pariah. Pugacheva, 73, a Soviet and then post-Soviet icon who is probably Russia's most famous woman, requested Russia also class her as a "foreign agent" after her husband, 46-year-old TV comedian Maxim Galkin, was on Friday included in the state's list. (16:49 GMT) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against punishing African nations for maintaining ties with Russia. The Biden administration has put a new focus on Africa after being taken aback by the reluctance of some nations to condemn Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Ramaphosa, however, warned President Joe Biden over a piece of legislation that has passed through the US House of Representatives, which would require a strategy to counter Moscow's role in Africa. "I think it will harm Africa and marginalise the continent," Ramaphosa told reporters after his meetings. "We should not be told by anyone who we can associate with." The legislation, called the Countering Malign Russian Activities in Africa Act, has yet to clear the Senate and US policymakers stress that it does not in itself lay out any repercussions for African countries. (17:10 GMT) US Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has cautioned that it was still unclear how Russia might react to the latest battlefield setbacks in Ukraine and called for vigilance among US troops as he visited a base in Poland aiding Ukraine's war effort. (17:37 GMT) First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska has paid her respects to Queen Elizabeth II lying in state at Westminster Hall, before a reception with Catherine, the Princess of Wales, at Buckingham Palace. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in London for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, has said that mass graves found in Ukraine were evidence of Russia's war crimes and that full accountability for its actions was needed. (18:53 GMT) A group of Sri Lankan nationals freed from custody in Russian-held east Ukraine have said they spent months in captivity being beaten. Police officials said the group had arrived in Ukraine to work and to study in Kupiansk just three weeks before the Russian invasion on February 24. The group tried to flee Kupiansk after Russian forces conquered the town on February 27, but were detained at a Russian checkpoint and driven to Vovchansk. There the six men and one woman say they were imprisoned in a factory compound, beaten, fed little and given restricted access to toilets or washing facilities. They were asked to pay a ransom for their freedom, they said. Serhii Bolvinov, the regional police chief, said the group walked from Vovchansk to safety at a hotel after Ukrainian soldiers freed them from their cells. (19:59 GMT) The European Union's executive arm has proposed suspending $7.5bn in financing for Hungary, as it awaited potential "game-changer" anti-corruption reforms from Budapest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban's government also came under renewed fire for its close ties with Moscow, accused of having dragged its feet on freezing Russian assets since Russia invaded Ukraine. The EU's Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders added to the tensions between Brussels and Hungary on Sunday as he said the government's friendliness with the Kremlin was potentially behind its foot-dragging on implementing anti-Russian sanctions. Reynders said that while the bloc had frozen assets worth $14.5bn following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hungary had only contributed just over $3,000 to the total. In Ukraine, meanwhile, presidential advisor Mykhailo Podolyak described Hungary as a "Trojan horse seeking the collapse of [the] EU at the expense of European taxpayers. (20:32 GMT) Ukrainian forces are not scraping US-provided arms, and instead are reverse-engineering spare parts, and recalling artillery with shrapnel damage to continue the counteroffensive against Russia's invasion. Some members of a roughly 50-member repair team showed reporters images of damaged United States-provided arms, including M777 howitzers, that in the West would have long been considered beyond the scope of repair. Not in Ukraine. Ukrainians are managing to bring these weapons back into battle, thanks to guidance from US forces and manufacturing prowess by Kyiv allowing it to reverse-engineer spare parts. Since the programme began in June, more than a dozen teleconference channels have been set up with over 100 Ukrainian contacts. But priority support is being given to the M777s and to the high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) that have been central to Ukraine's counteroffensive in the seven months since Russian forces invaded. 20220919 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/19/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-says-moscow-struck-nuclear-plant (08:48 GMT) Russian forces have struck the Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant (PNPP) in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, but its reactors have not been damaged and are working normally, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom says. A blast took place 300 metres (330 yards) away from the reactors and damaged power plant buildings shortly after midnight, Energoatom said in a statement. The reported attack, which the company described as an act of "nuclear terrorism", also damaged a nearby hydroelectric power plant and transmission lines. "Currently, all three power units of the PNPP are operating normally. Fortunately, there were no casualties among the station staff," Energoatom said. The PNPP is also known as the South Ukraine Nuclear Power Plant. (08:51 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised there will be no let-up in his country's efforts to regain territory seized by Russian forces. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/19/zelenskyy-promises-no-let-up-in-counter-offensive-against-russia (08:57 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says Russia has "highly likely" lost at least four combat jets in Ukraine within the last 10 days, possibly due to shifts in battlefield strategy triggered by the multi-pronged counteroffensive carried out by Kyiv's forces. (09:03 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said Moscow is ready for talks on a prisoner exchange to free US citizens jailed in Russia, but accused the American embassy of "not fulfilling its official duties" to maintain dialogue. (09:17 GMT) The Kremlin has rejected claims made by Kyiv that Russian forces committed war crimes in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, calling the claims a "lie". (09:35 GMT) United States President Joe Biden says he told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping it would be a "gigantic mistake" to violate sanctions against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/19/gigantic-mistake-biden-warned-chinas-xi-over-aiding-russia (10:47 GMT) Thirteen people have been killed by Ukrainian shelling in the country's eastern, separatist-held city of Donetsk, it's Russian-backed mayor says. In a statement posted on Telegram, Donetsk's separatist mayor Alexei Kulemzin said those killed in the alleged strike on the city's Kuybyshevsky district were all civilians, and included two children. He added the number of wounded was being confirmed. Donetsk city has been controlled by the Russian-backed, self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) since 2014. The Ukrainian army continues to hold positions on Donetsk's outskirts, and the city has come under artillery fire repeatedly in recent months. (11:03 GMT) As the war nears its seventh month, the experiences of injured soldiers paint a picture of the brutal consequences of prolonged fighting as injuries and deaths rise rapidly amidst widespread exhaustion. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/9/19/ukraines-hidden-conflict-wounded-and-wanting-to-return-to-war (11:59 GMT) Four of the five European Union countries bordering Russia began turning away Russian tourists on Monday, saying they should not travel while their country is at war with Ukraine. Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania imposed new restrictions as Finland decided to remain open, though it has cut back the number of consular appointments available to Russian travellers seeking visas. This entry ban is aimed at tourists and excludes Russian dissidents seeking refuge in the EU along with truck drivers, refugees and permanent residents of EU countries as well as those visiting family members. (12:32 GMT) Alla Pugacheva, 73, the queen of Soviet pop music, has denounced Putin's war in Ukraine saying the Russian leader is killing soldiers for "illusory" aims, burdening common people, and turning his country into a pariah state. (12:40 GMT) Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of the Security Council chaired by President Vladimir Putin, has declared, while on a visit to China, that the Kremlin considers strengthening ties with Beijing to be a top policy goal. Just before the invasion, Putin and Xi Jinping declared a "no limits" partnership, though at a meeting last week in Uzbekistan Putin said he understood that the Chinese president had concerns and questions about the conflict. (13:21 GMT) Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine sentenced an employee of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to 13 years in jail on treason charges, Russian news agencies have reported. "A panel of judges found Dmitry Pavlovich Shabanov guilty ... and sentenced him to 13 years in prison," the RIA Novosti news agency reported, quoting the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR). (13:45 GMT) Ukraine's military says its troops have crossed the strategic Oskil River and are preparing an assault on Russia's occupation forces in the eastern Donbas - the region Moscow has promised to conquer. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/19/ukraine-troops-focus-on-donbas-de-occupation-from-russia (14:24 GMT) Germany will supply Ukraine with four more Panzer howitzer 2000 tanks together with an additional ammunition package, the country's defence ministry has said. (14:59 GMT) The Russian army, seeking contract soldiers for what it calls the "special military operation" in Ukraine, is using mobile recruiting trucks to attract volunteers, offering nearly $2,700 a month as an incentive. A special unit stationed one such truck in a central park in the southern Russian city of Rostov on Saturday and removed the sides to reveal a mobile office. Soldiers in camouflage and black masks showed their guns to interested passersby and handed out colour brochures titled "Military service on a contract - the choice of a real man". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/18/russia-turns-to-trucks-and-big-wages-to-woo-volunteer-soldiers (15:38 GMT) The United States Commerce Department has said it will add three Boeing 747 planes operated by Iranian airlines providing cargo services to Russia to a list of aircraft believed to violate US export controls as part of the Biden administration's sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Using commercially available data, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security identified planes operated by Mahan Air, Qeshm Fars Air, and Iran Air flying and transporting goods, including electronic items, to Russia in apparent violation of the Commerce Department's stringent export controls on Russia. These are the first three Iranian planes identified. (16:01 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has summoned the Canadian ambassador and issued a protest over attacks on the Russian embassy in Ottawa, the ministry has said. It said an unknown person threw a Molotov cocktail onto the grounds of the Russian embassy in Ottawa. It also said "aggressive" demonstrators had blocked an entrance to the consular section of the embassy. (16:06 GMT) European electric utility company E.ON has informed the German government of a leak at the Isar 2 nuclear power plant that has not compromised security but could complicate the government's winter energy plan, the environment ministry has said. Isar 2, in the southern state of Bavaria, had been scheduled to go offline at the end of the year under Germany's plan to phase out nuclear power. But the war in Ukraine and the subsequent plunge in energy imports from Russia prompted a policy change, with Germany now planning to keep two of its three remaining reactors, including Isar 2, on standby into next year. The ministry said a weeklong repair period is needed in October at the Isar 2 plant, which is run by E.ON subsidiary PreussenElektra, and where operations would stop completely during repairs. (16:16 GMT) Ukrainian forensic experts have so far exhumed 146 bodies, mostly civilians, at a mass burial site near the town of Izyum in eastern Ukraine - and some bear signs of a violent death, the regional governor has said. (17:03 GMT) German utilities RWE and Uniper are close to striking long-term deals to buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar's North Field Expansion project to help replace Russian gas, three sources familiar with the matter have told Reuters. Talks between Germany and Qatar have been fraught with differences over key conditions such as the length of contracts and pricing but the industry sources, who declined to be named, said the parties were expected to reach a compromise soon. Europe's biggest economy aims to replace all Russian energy imports by as soon as mid-2024, a Herculean effort for a country that mainly relies on natural gas to power its industry. (18:04 GMT) Denis Pushilin, head of the Russia-backed separatist Donetsk region of Ukraine, has called on his fellow separatist leader of Luhansk province to combine efforts aimed at preparing a referendum on joining Russia. (18:42 GMT) French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has said France will be convening a meeting Wednesday with International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Rafael Grossi on the precarious state of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, Europe's largest, which is occupied by Russia. She said Lavrov seemed to be "open to listening to some detailed proposal" by Grossi, who has called for a "nuclear safety and security protection zone" around the Zaporizhzhia plant. (18:45 GMT) France's Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna has accused Russia of waging unjustified aggression against Ukraine "in a very brutal way" with the shelling of civilian targets, violent acts, "rapes, torture and forced liquidation", claiming that "all of these are war crimes". She made the comments at a wide-ranging news conference on the sidelines of this week's gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly in New York. (19:36 GMT) Russian pop singer Alla Pugacheva is coming under pressure from Moscow after voicing criticism of the Kremlin's war on Ukraine. "These poets, harlequins and jugglers just need a chance to sing and dance, to make merry and to take vulgar smart-alecky s***," the head of the Russian president's human rights commission, Valery Fadeyev, said in a post on the commission's website. Pro-Kremlin Russian rap singer Timati also lashed out at Pugacheva, slamming her for lacking patriotism. (19:49 GMT) A backup power line used to supply the Zaporizhzhia plant with electricity for essential operations from the Ukrainian grid was disconnected on Sunday, but the plant remained connected to one of the main power lines restored last week, the UN nuclear watchdog has said. "Last week, we saw some improvements regarding its power supplies, but today we were informed about a new setback in this regard," Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a statement. (19:57 GMT) The Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, is trying to recruit more than 1,500 convicted felons to take part in Russia's war in Ukraine, but many are refusing to join, a senior US defence official has said. (20:16 GMT) The Russian foreign minister has called for "additional contacts between countries" to resolve global problems. Speaking at a briefing for heads of diplomatic missions accredited in Moscow before the 77th UN General Assembly session, Sergey Lavrov stressed that the UN was established to seek collective solutions to global problems. "We are witnessing the accumulation of crisis processes, both associated with economic policy, with the policy in the field of energy supply to mankind, and processes that are directly caused by the undermining of the foundations on which the entire system of globalisation was based," he said. "High-level events are starting this week [in New York], during which tough assessments of various actions of various states will be made - there is no getting away from this." 20220920 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/20/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyivs-forces-prepare-to-retake-luhansk (09:18 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces regained control of Bilohorivka and were preparing to retake all of Luhansk province from Russian occupiers, provincial Governor Serhiy Haidai said. The village is 10km west of Lysychansk city, which fell to the Russians after weeks of grinding battles in July. (09:21 GMT) British Prime Minister Liz Truss will pledge at a UN summit to meet or exceed the 2.3 billion British pounds ($2.6bn) of military aid spent on Ukraine in 2022 in 2023, doubling down on her support for Kyiv after Russia's invasion. (09:23 GMT) A Ukrainian attack on a Russian-controlled village in the Luhansk region killed seven civilians, including three children, on Monday night, Russian-installed officials said on Tuesday. "As a result of artillery shelling by Ukraine's armed forces on the village of Krasnorichenske, seven civilians were killed, including three children." (09:50 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock pledged to support countries hardest hit by the fallout of Russia's invasion of Ukraine as she headed to the UN General Assembly. "The brutality of Russia's war of aggression and its threat to the peace order in Europe have not blinded us to the fact that its dramatic effects are also clearly being felt in many other regions of the world," Baerbock said. (10:26 GMT) Russian-installed officials in the Kherson region of Ukraine have said they have decided to hold a referendum on joining Russia, the head of the area said on Tuesday. The speaker of Russia's parliament also said he would support citizens' decisions if they vote to join Russia. No date was named for the proposed vote. (10:47 GMT) President Vladimir Putin's top allies have said he favoured holding referendums in two eastern Ukrainian regions to formally make them part of Russia, in a move that would escalate Moscow's confrontation with the West. The statement by the former President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, is the strongest sign so far that the Kremlin is considering going ahead with a plan that Ukraine and the West have said would be illegal. (11:04 GMT) Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has announced on Twitter that the EU has proposed five billion euro ($4.9bn) in macro-financial assistance for Ukraine. (11:22 GMT) Russian-installed separatists in the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) passed a law on Tuesday on holding a referendum to join Russia, according to a law published on the LPR head's website. The referendum is expected to take place between September 23 and 27, TASS news agency reported. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it was up to the people living in separatist-controlled areas of Ukraine if they wanted to hold referendums on joining Russia. "From the very beginning ... we've been saying that the peoples of the respective territories should decide their fate." (11:52 GMT) Russian-installed separatists in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) have also announced a referendum on joining Russia on September 23-27, the Interfax news agency reported on Tuesday, citing local officials. Luhansk and Kherson also declared a referendum on joining Russia earlier today. (12:10 GMT) The Chinese yuan is rapidly gaining popularity in Russia amid Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/20/amid-western-sanctions-chinas-yuan-has-its-moment-in-russia (12:28 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin slammed what he described as US efforts to preserve its global domination, saying they are doomed to fail. While receiving credentials from foreign ambassadors to Moscow, Putin said that "the objective development toward a multipolar world faces resistance of those who try to preserve their hegemony in global affairs and control everything - Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa." He added that "the hegemon has succeeded in doing so for quite a long time, but it can't go on forever ... regardless of the developments in Ukraine." "As for Russia, we won't deviate from our sovereign course," Putin said. (13:11 GMT) European diesel buyers are willing to pay more for Russian cargoes than they were in May as traders look to get their hands on supplies in advance of a difficult winter and a global shortage of fuel, industry sources said. "Those that can, will buy Russian and stockpile. Gas-to-oil switching has added to demand and we're switching to winter diesel. This is one of the factors why Russian stuff is not as cheap as it used to be," one European trader said. The EU will stop buying all Russian crude oil delivered by sea from early December and ban all Russian refined products two months later. (13:26 GMT) Vladimir Putin has accused the EU of blocking 300,000 tonnes of Russian fertiliser from reaching the world's poorest countries. "The height of cynicism is that even our offer ... to transfer for free 300,000 tonnes of Russian fertiliser blocked in European ports because of sanctions to countries that need it is still without an answer," he said in televised remarks. (13:48 GMT) The Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Zaporizhia region will hold a referendum on joining Russia between September 23 and 27, the TASS news agency reported, citing an official decree. (14:43 GMT) Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has called for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine while criticising sanctions against Russia over the invasion as he addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Bolsonaro said Brazil does not see unilateral sanctions as the best way to handle the conflict, adding that a solution would only be reached through dialogue and negotiations. (15:10 GMT) Former Soviet state Moldova has selected seven companies to secure gas from next month should supplies from Russia's Gazprom be disrupted, a senior government official said. Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu, who has led Moldova's team of negotiators in talks with Gazprom through a year of price increases, told a Moldovan television programme late on Monday that the Russian giant was "unpredictable". "For now we have chosen seven companies. Gazprom is not among them," Spinu said. (15:34 GMT) Ukraine will push for unprecedented International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank packages worth tens of billions of dollars in the coming weeks to aid its finances, Ukraine's top debt management chief told Reuters news agency. Ukraine estimates it faces a $38bn shortfall next year - money that will need to come either from Western backers or from the multilateral agencies, which are already set to provide about $20bn this year. Yuriy Butsa, the government commissioner for public debt management, explained that the uncertainty over the war's duration and impact on the economy made it difficult to agree on parameters with the IMF. "I'm not sure whether standard tools of the IMF are really designed for this type of situation," he said. "They probably need to introduce a bit of creative thinking," he added, noting the last time Europe saw a war of this magnitude, the IMF was not set up. (15:47 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for a "dignified way out" of the seven-month crisis sparked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Together, we need to find a reasonably practical diplomatic solution that will give both sides a dignified way out of the crisis," he told the opening session of the UNGA. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also spoke to his Turkish counterpart over "current security issues", he wrote in a tweet. (16:16 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko, in a meeting with France's Ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy, warned Paris against the "unacceptable" delivery of weapons to Ukraine. "Attention was focussed on the unacceptability of further pumping Ukraine with Western, including French, weapons that the Kyiv regime uses to shell civilian and infrastructure facilities," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. (16:18 GMT) Russian lawmakers have approved legislation to toughen punishments for soldiers for wartime acts, including desertion and surrender. Under the amendments endorsed by the State Duma, there will be a 10-year prison sentence for desertion, failure to report for military service, and surrender. Looting will be punishable by 15 years in prison, while destruction of weapons carries a maximum term of five years. (16:27 GMT) Any referendums on joining Russia in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories would destroy any remaining window for talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Ukrainian publication Liga.net cited the Ukrainian president's office spokesman as saying. <== "Without the referendums, there is still the smallest chance for a diplomatic solution. After the referendums - no," Liga.net quoted Serhiy Nykyforov as saying. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter later that any referendums should be met by an increase in economic sanctions on Russia and arms supplies to Ukraine, including Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that have a longer range than any known Ukrainian weapon system at present. <== Referendums organised by Russia in territories it occupies in Ukraine are worth nothing and Poland will not recognise the results, the Polish president has said. (16:33 GMT) The US denounced Russia's planned referendums to annex parts of Ukraine as "sham" actions and said it would not recognise the results. "These referenda are an affront to the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity that underpin the international system," said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. "If this does transpire, the United States will never recognise Russia's claims to any purportedly annexed parts of Ukraine," he said. <== (16:35 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has denounced plans by Russian-backed forces to hold referendums in Ukraine, warning that they were yet another escalation of the war brought on by the Kremlin. "Sham referendums have no legitimacy and do not change the nature of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. This is a further escalation in Putin's war," the secretary-general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization wrote on Twitter. "The international community must condemn this blatant violation of international law and step up support for Ukraine," he added. (17:03 GMT) Germany has accused Russia of organising "sham referendums" in the regions of eastern Ukraine to formally annex the occupied territories. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the referendums are a breach of international law and will not be recognised by the international community. (17:05 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron says referendums planned in Russian-occupied Ukrainian regions on joining Russia will not be recognised by the international community. "I think what Russia announced is a travesty," he told reporters at the UN General Assembly, calling it a "new provocation" that "will have no consequence on our own position". "The very idea of organising referendums in regions witnessing war, which are suffering bombings, is the height of cynicism," Macron said. (17:09 GMT) Chilean President Gabriel Boric has called on the UN to take action in stopping the Russian war against Ukraine. (17:12 GMT) Democratic and Republican senators have urged the Biden administration to impose secondary sanctions on international banks to strengthen a price cap G7 countries plan to impose on Russian oil. Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen and Republican Senator Pat Toomey introduced legislation imposing the secondary sanctions, which would target financial institutions involved in trade finance, insurance, reinsurance and brokerage of Russian oil and petroleum products sold at prices exceeding the cap. The two senators are members of the Senate Banking Committee, which oversees sanctions policy. They said the ability to target banks would make it harder for Russia to evade the price cap by making deals with countries not formally participating in the G7 scheme. (17:29 GMT) Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has said his country has emerged as a key player in the Ukraine conflict and the resumption of grain shipments through the Black Sea. "We have proven our stance while we were fighting against the crisis created as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Erdogan said. "We are always underlining the significance of diplomacy in the settlement of the disputes through dialogue." "We are investing tremendous efforts in order to ensure that the war will be finalised by protecting the territorial integrity and the sovereignty of Ukraine once and for all," Erdogan said. (17:37 GMT) Russian aluminium producer Rusal is working on a plan to deliver some aluminium directly to London Metal Exchange (LME) warehouses in Asia, Bloomberg News has reported. Neither Rusal, nor its metal, is under sanctions imposed on other Russian companies. According to Bloomberg News, which cites unnamed sources, Rusal has discussed shipping some aluminium from Russia's far eastern port of Vladivostok to LME warehouses in Asia. Rusal is currently considering delivering a small portion of its production as a pilot test, as it is mindful that large inflows of aluminium into LME inventories could push down prices, the report said. (17:52 GMT) Bosnian Serb separatist leader Milorad Dodik has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, days after he endorsed Moscow's aggression against Ukraine, Russian and Serbian media have reported. During a rare visit to Moscow by a politician from Europe, the Russian president praised his country's "strategic partnership" with Serbia. The visit came amid repeated warnings from the European Union that Serbia must align its foreign policies with the bloc if it really wants to become a member. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/11/this-game-is-up-how-vucic-balances-his-ties-amid-ukraine-war (18:24 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron told the United Nations that Russia's invasion of Ukraine harked back to an earlier age of imperialism. "What we have witnessed since February 24 is a return to the age of imperialism and colonies. France refuses this and will work persistently for peace," he told the UN General Assembly. (19:47 GMT) The European Union strongly condemns Russia's plans to hold referendums in parts of Ukraine and will not recognise the results of the votes, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. "Russia, its political leadership, and all those involved in these 'referenda' and other violations of international law in Ukraine will be held accountable, and additional restrictive measures against Russia would be considered," he said. Borrell said the referendums votes cannot be considered "as the free expression of the will of the people" in these regions. (19:49 GMT) Planned referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine to join Russia are "unacceptable" and Canada would never recognise such territories as part of Russia, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said. "Canada denounces Russia's planned 'referendums' in occupied regions of Ukraine. We will never recognise them," Trudeau said on Twitter. "This is a blatant violation of international law. It is a further escalation of war. And it is unacceptable," he said. --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/20/russias-black-sea-fleet-relocating-some-of-its-submarines-uk Moscow has likely moved its Kilo-class submarines from the Crimean peninsula to southern Russia over fears of them being struck by long-range Ukrainian fire, according to British intelligence. In a daily briefing on Tuesday, the UK's defence ministry said those submarines had "almost certainly" been moved to Krasnodar Krai in mainland Russia, instead at Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krasnodar_Krai --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/20/un-chief-says-world-in-peril-and-paralysed-as-summit-convenes In an alarming assessment, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned world leaders that nations are "gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction" and are not ready or willing to tackle the challenges that threaten humanity's future. "Our world is in peril - and paralysed," 20220921 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/21/russia-ukraine-live-news-putin-orders-partial-mobilisation (08:44 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from Kyiv, says Russia's partial mobilisation, which goes into effect immediately, will probably see reservists "getting a notice within the next 24 hours about them needing to report to military bases to begin training to then go fight in Ukraine". (08:47 GMT) Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said Russia's mobilisation order and push to stage sham referendums in occupied eastern Ukraine is a sign of panic within the Kremlin. (08:57 GMT) Russia's Vesna anti-war movement has called for protests against the Kremlin's partial mobilisation of reserve forces, urging Russians to gather at 7pm (16:00 GMT) for rallies in cities across the country. "No graves!" the organisation tweeted, before listing the locations of the planned protests. (09:03 GMT) Inna Sovsun, a member of Ukraine's parliament, says Russians are "buying all available flights out of the country" following Putin's mobilisation order. "That shows how much they really support the war," Sovsun tweeted. Her remarks came as Google Trends data showed a spike in searches for Aviasales, which is Russia's most popular website for purchasing flights. Direct flights from Moscow to Istanbul in Turkey and Yerevan in Armenia, both destinations that allow Russians to enter without a visa, were sold out on Wednesday, according to Aviasales data. (09:14 GMT) Russian-backed separatists in occupied regions in Ukraine say they plan to hold "referendums'" on becoming part of Russia between September 23-27. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/21/mapping-the-ukraine-regions-voting-on-joining-russia (09:16 GMT) Pope Francis has lamented the war in Ukraine, saying Ukrainians are being subjected to savageness, monstrosities and torture. Speaking at the end of his general audience in St Peter's Square, the Pope, who did not name Russia, said Ukrainians were a "noble" people being martyred. (09:26 GMT) EU member state Latvia, which borders Russia, has said it will not offer refuge to any Russians fleeing Moscow's mobilisation move. (09:33 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a "partial mobilisation" on Wednesday, a move that will see 300,000 Russian citizens in the military reserves called up to serve in Ukraine. The development marked a significant escalation of Russia's war on Ukraine and came just a day after a series of co-ordinated moves towards annexation referendums in Russia-occupied Ukrainian areas. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/21/russias-putin-orders-partial-mobilisation-what-did-he-say (09:53 GMT) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has warned Russia's partial mobilisation of reserve troops will lead to a "massive tragedy". (09:57 GMT) Poland's prime minister has warned that Russia will attempt to destroy Ukraine and change its borders following Moscow's push to stage annexation votes in the territory it occupies and mobilise hundreds of thousands of reserve forces. "We will do all we can with our allies so that NATO supports Ukraine even more so that it can defend itself," Mateusz Morawiecki said in eastern Poland, where he was observing military drills. The exercises, which are scheduled to conclude on Friday, involve thousands of Polish soldiers, as well as troops from the United States and the United Kingdom. (10:00 GMT) Samuel Ramani, a geopolitical analyst from the Royal United Services Institute, has told Al Jazeera that Russian officials hope that even if partial mobilisation does not turn the tide of the war, it will help to "avoid defeats like the withdrawal we saw in Kharkiv a few weeks back." "[The] assessment from the Russian military and Russian lawmakers is that a general mobilisation is not necessary. A general mobilisation would also be much more controversial politically," he said. "Students and conscripts under the age of 27 are not going to be brought into the war - this will only be a mobilisation for reservists. That's a very strategic decision because the popularity of this war among those between the ages of 18 and 30 is significantly less than those in their 40s and 50s." (10:07 GMT) The Moscow-installed administration in Ukraine's occupied southern Kherson province has said parts of the neighbouring Mykolaiv region that are under the control of Russian forces will be incorporated into Kherson province, according to a report by Russia's state-owned TASS news agency. (10:17 GMT) While Moscow-backed separatists in Ukraine vote on whether or not to join Russia later this week, Russian state media has already declared a result. TV presenter Olga Skabeyeva said this morning: "Next week four regions will join Russia", according to Francis Scarr, a BBC journalist who monitors Russian state media. (10:22 GMT) Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based independent defence and military analyst, says Russia's partial mobilisation of reserve troops will "not have much of an effect before winter". "The summer campaign is basically over, the autumn rains have come and will turn the terrain into a sea of mud ... which means that manoeuvrable warfare becomes very tricky ... so there will be a pause on the ground," Felgenhauer said. "And that will give Russia time to gather reserves for the winter when the frost comes and the dirt turns into concrete, and troops can move through fields and dirt roads with tanks and other equipment," he added. (10:30 GMT) Lithuania has raised the readiness level of its army's rapid response force "to prevent any provocations from the Russian side", according to the country's defence minister. (10:34 GMT) Finland is closely monitoring the situation in neighbouring Russia following Putin's mobilisation order, the Nordic country's defence minister has said. (11:02 GMT) The European Union's executive arm says the bloc's member states have been discussing a joint response to the latest developments in Ukraine, warning Moscow there will "be consequences" for its actions. (11:17 GMT) Independent Russian news hosts from Politica Media have told their viewers to "go out and protest" over Moscow's offensive. "Our team will support absolutely any form of protest, and provide help and assistance," they said. Poltica Media live streams its news show on YouTube. (11:20 GMT) Hanna Shelest, the director of Ukrainian think-tank Prism's security studies programme, says Kyiv's forces are pushing to retake as much territory as possible before winter sets in, potentially ushering in a new phase in the conflict. "Ukraine doesn't have any interest in prolonging this war for longer than necessary," Shelest told Al Jazeera from Stockholm, Sweden. (11:46 GMT) Ukraine is beginning work to demine 12,000 square km of territory wrested back from Russian control in the country's northeastern Kharkiv region, an emergency service official Roman Prymush has said. (11:49 GMT) Putin's plan: What does partial mobilisation mean? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/21/partial-mobilisation (12:22 GMT) A large-calibre shell fired by Ukrainian forces has damaged a technical water pipe at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency has quoted the country's defence ministry as saying. The ministry said Ukrainian troops had fired at the facility from positions in the nearby town of Marhanets, RIA reported. It added that Russian forces had "suppressed" the Ukrainian artillery units with return fire. (12:46 GMT) Putin will only give up his "imperial ambitions" that risk destroying Ukraine and Russia if he recognises he cannot win the war, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. "This is why we will not accept any peace dictated by Russia and this is why Ukraine must be able to fend off Russia's attack," Scholz said in his first address to the United Nations General Assembly. (13:01 GMT) Ukraine's president has accused Putin of wanting to "drown Ukraine in blood", including that of his own soldiers, after the Russian leader ordered a partial mobilisation of his country's reserve forces. Speaking to German newspaper Bild, Zelenskyy also promised that Ukrainian efforts to recapture territory seized by Moscow's troops would continue. (13:05 GMT) Mostly small-scale anti-war protests have reportedly taken place in several Russian cities after Putin announced plans to call up 300,000 of his country's reserve forces to fight in Ukraine. (13:33 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has denounced Putin's "dangerous" rhetoric after Russia's leader hinted at a possible use of nuclear weapons over the war in Ukraine. His remarks came just hours after Putin said Moscow would use "all available means" to protect Russia's "territorial integrity". "This is not a bluff," the Russian leader warned. (13:49 GMT) Alexander Titov, a lecturer at Queen's University Belfast who specialises in Russian foreign policy, says that Moscow's mobilisation plans must be seen in tandem with the referendums announced by Kremlin-backed separatists in Ukraine. "I think once those referendums are held, regardless of their legitimacy, Russia will formally annex those territories and after that, the room for negotiation [between Moscow and Kyiv] will be extremely limited," Titov told Al Jazeera. "Russia is mobilising, Ukraine is mobilising. They both have supplies of weapons and so forth. So, it really is turning into a war of attrition which can go on for years rather than [the] one decisive quick victory which was hoped [for] by the Russians in the beginning," he added. ( PJB: more excalation than attrition, I think ... ) (14:31 GMT) The president of the European Council says the European Union will remain "steadfast" in its support for Ukraine amid Russia's move to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reserve troops and oversee annexation votes in occupied territories. (15:19 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukrainian forces feel that the 300,000 reservists being called up by Russia "won't be necessarily well prepared or ... a very good fighting force". "They [Ukrainian forces] say that it doesn't matter how many troops Russia sends to Ukraine if they don't have tanks to drive and missiles to fire, they'll be rendered almost useless," Elizondo said. (15:24 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has described Putin's move to declare a partial military mobilisation as a "mistake", warning it will further isolate Russia. "His decision is bad news for Russian people, young people and will increase isolation of his county", Macron said in New York, where the United Nations General Assembly is meeting. (15:27 GMT) Sarcasm, scepticism in Ukraine over Russia's partial mobilisation https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/21/sarcasm-and-scepticism-in-ukraine-about-russia-mobilisation (15:35 GMT) More than 200 people have been detained across Russia for taking part in protests against Moscow's move to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reserve forces, according to an independent monitoring group OVD-Info. (15:44 GMT) US President Joe Biden has accused Russia of "shamelessly" violating the core tenets of the United Nations charter with its "brutal, needless war" in Ukraine. (16:14 GMT) Russia released 10 prisoners of war captured in Ukraine following mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a Saudi official has said. The list includes American, British, Swedish, Croatian and Moroccan nationals, the official said, adding that a plane carrying the prisoners landed in the kingdom. Russia has released US citizens Alexander Drueke, 39, and Andy Huynh, 27, in a prisoner exchange deal brokered by Saudi Arabia, a family representative told the Reuters news agency. The pair, both from Alabama, were captured in June while fighting in eastern Ukraine. (17:31 GMT) Any threat from Putin to use nuclear weapons is "unacceptable" but Germany will continue to support Ukraine and ( PJB: "and" ? ) try to prevent an escalation in the war between Russia and Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told ARD television. "We are sticking to our balanced, decisive course in supporting Ukraine and preventing an escalation of the war beyond that between Russia and Ukraine. We will continue to do that," Scholz was quoted as saying in an excerpt of the interview to be broadcast later. (17:33 GMT) UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has welcomed the release of five British nationals captured in Ukraine, following mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. (17:34 GMT) European Union foreign ministers will hold an emergency meeting in New York later on Wednesday, diplomats said, after Putin ordered the mobilisation of hundreds of thousands of Russians to fight in Ukraine. (18:29 GMT) The commander of Ukraine's army said his forces would "destroy" invading Russian troops whether they had been deployed voluntarily or as part of a new mobilisation announced by Russia. (19:22 GMT) Turkey has condemned Russia's "illegitimate" plans to hold annexation referendums in four Moscow-controlled regions of Ukraine. "Such illegitimate fait accomplis will not be recognised by the international community," the Turkish foreign ministry said in a statement. (19:46 GMT) While the government in Russia promised that only those with military experience would be called up to fight in Ukraine, in practice nothing legally prevents those without it from also being enlisted. In response, the Spring youth democratic movement called for renewed demonstrations against mobilisation in the centres of Moscow, St Petersburg and all Russian cities. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/21/russians-react-to-putins-partial-mobilisation-plan 20220922 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/22/russia-ukraine-live-news-1400-anti-war-protestors-detained (08:51 GMT) Monitoring group OVD-Info said nearly 1,400 people in 38 Russian cities were detained in anti-war protests on Wednesday. (09:20 GMT) In the largest prisoner swap since the war began, Russia and Ukraine swapped almost 300 people, including 10 foreigners and the commanders who led a prolonged Ukrainian defence of Mariupol earlier this year. The most high-profile prisoner to be released by Ukraine was Viktor Medvedchuk, a confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin. (09:22 GMT) Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that 5,937 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine since the military intervention began in February. In a rare admission of military losses from Moscow, Shoigu said in a televised address: "Our losses for today are 5,937 dead." He added that Russia is "fighting not so much Ukraine as the collective West" in Ukraine. (09:22 GMT) Zelenskyy, in a prerecorded video at the UN General Assembly, called 15 times for the "punishment" of Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/22/russia-must-be-punished-for-its-crime-of-invasion-zelenskyy (09:56 GMT) Russian men rushed for the exits on Thursday after Putin ordered a partial mobilisation. Traffic at border crossings with Finland and Georgia surged, and prices for air tickets from Moscow soared above $5,000 for one-way tickets to the nearest foreign locations. (10:03 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that any weapons in Moscow's arsenal, including strategic nuclear weapons, could be used to defend Ukrainian territories that join Russia. (10:10 GMT) The General Staff of the Ukrainian army tweeted that the army has lost approximately 55,510 personnel, 2,236 tanks and 4,776 armoured personnel vehicles since the start of the Russian invasion. The casualty toll increased by 400 in the past 24 hours. (10:19 GMT) According to President Zelenskyy's representative, Russia has agents in Ukraine's defence sector who pass information to Moscow and allow Russia to anticipate Ukrainian moves on the battlefield. Fedir Venislavskyi told a briefing: "We cannot underestimate the enemy." "Their main intelligence directorate, unfortunately, has many agents, including in our defence sector. I think that they partly understand the next steps of our armed forces that we will see in the near future." (10:29 GMT) The Kremlin said reports of an exodus of draft-age men from Russia after the announcement of a partial mobilisation were "exaggerated". (10:35 GMT) As Russia threatens the use of nuclear weapons as a response to the intervention by the West in the Ukrainian invasion, just how many nuclear weapons does Russia have at its disposal? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/22/infographic-how-many-nuclear-weapons-does-russia-have 1558 deployed strategic 2889 reserve non-deployed 1500 retired (11:04 GMT) British Prime Minister, Liz Truss tweeted: "We will not rest until Ukraine prevails", as she spoke at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday. In her speech, Truss said: "New UK weapons are arriving in Ukraine as I speak." (11:33 GMT) Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have said they are not prepared to automatically offer asylum to Russia's fleeing the partial order to be enlisted. In Latvia, Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics said they would not issue humanitarian or other visas to Russians seeking to avoid mobilisation, citing security reasons. (12:21 GMT) Moscow residents called up as part of Putin's partial mobilisation announcement will be paid an additional 50,000 Russian rubles ($838) a month, following the mayor's decree, the Ria Novosti news agency reported. (12:30 GMT) A blast hit a crowded market in Melitopol, according to Ukrainian and Russian-installed officials, on the eve of referendums that could see four regions effectively annexed by Russia. Ukrainian and Russian-installed officials exchanged blame for the explosion, with Melitopol's exiled mayor Ivan Fedorov saying occupying forces deliberately staged the attack to accuse Ukraine of terrorism. However, Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Russian-installed local administration, said the attack had been carried out by Ukrainian special services to intimidate civilians ahead of the referendums. Melitopol is a Russia-occupied city and municipality in Zaporizhzhia oblast. (13:18 GMT) The Kremlin has denied a report by Novaya Gazeta Europe that an undisclosed clause in President Putin's decree on partial mobilisation provided one million reservists to be enlisted to fight in Ukraine. State news agency RIA Novosti cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as calling the report "a lie". Novaya Gazeta Europe cited an unnamed source in the presidential administration that point 7 of the decree was withheld as "For official use" in Wednesday's public release, allowing armed forces to draft a million personnel. Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday about 300,000 reservists would be called up and that they would be specialists with combat experience. However, no figure appeared in the decree published on official websites. (13:33 GMT) Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko has discussed the possibility of sanctions on Russia's nuclear power supplier Rosatom with US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Ukraine's energy ministry said on Thursday. (14:01 GMT) President Erdogan says the prisoner swap, mediated by Turkey, involving almost 300 people, is an important step towards ending the war. (14:19 GMT) The Berlin Sonntagsblatt reports that Germany is prepared to accept Russian deserters under certain circumstances. According to Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, "As a rule, deserters threatened by severe repression receive international protection in Germany." "Anyone who courageously opposes Putin's regime and therefore puts themselves in the greatest danger can apply for asylum in Germany because of political persecution," Feaser said. (14:54 GMT) For Ukrainian soldiers, the addition of more Russian troops is not seen as much of a threat. However, analysts are more cautious about how Putin's announcement could change the playing field. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/22/how-will-putins-mobilisation-change-the-war-in-ukraine (15:11 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a Security Council meeting on Ukraine that talk of a nuclear conflict is "totally unacceptable." Guterres added that the annexation of a state's territory by another state through the threat or use of force violates the UN Charter and international law. (15:24 GMT) Britain, Poland and Ukraine will develop trilateral cooperation by strengthening their defence capabilities and the NATO Eastern flank, according to a joint statement from their foreign ministers on Thursday. (15:39 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey is deciding whether to stop processing transactions made using Russia's Mir payments system after receiving repeated warnings from the United States. Two of the five Turkish banks processing Mir payments have listened to Washington's warnings and suspended the transactions, seeking further guidance about how sanctions could potentially be applied. Washington has increased pressure on Turkish banks and businesses to comply with sanctions against Russia, warning that Turkish entities risk being exposed to secondary sanctions themselves. (15:58 GMT) Approximately 10,000 volunteers have turned up to enlist for Russia's military campaign in Ukraine without waiting for call-up papers, Russian news agencies reported on Thursday, citing the Russian General Staff. (16:17 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Vladimir Putin of having "shredded" international order "before our eyes". Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting, Blinken said Putin added "fuel to the fire" by announcing further mobilisation of Russian troops, and planning "referendums: in occupied Ukrainian territory. "We cannot - we will not - let President Putin get away with it," he said. (16:23 GMT) Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov walked out of a UN Security Council meeting after accusing Ukraine and its western allies of "impunity" in Donbas. Ukraine and its allies were attempting to "impose on us a completely different narrative about Russian aggression", Lavrov argued. He rejected Western accusations on abuses in Ukraine, calling instead for punishment of Kyiv's government. "The United States and their allies with the connivance of international human rights organizations have been covering the crimes of the Kyiv regime," Lavrov said after the Security Council heard accounts of abuses by Russian forces. (16:44 GMT) Finland is considering ways to sharply reduce Russian tourism and transit through the country, Prime Minister Sanna Marin said. Her remarks came after the Finnish border guard said traffic arriving at the country's eastern border "intensified" overnight after Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial military mobilisation. Some 4,824 Russians arrived in Finland via the country's eastern border on Wednesday, an increase of 1,691 compared with the same day last week, it said. Traffic at the border remained elevated on Thursday, but was under control, it added. (17:05 GMT) The Czech Republic has said it would not issue humanitarian visas to Russians fleeing their homeland to avoid mobilisation, taking a different stance than some of its European Union peers. (17:42 GMT) Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said the UK must be prepared to give "more military assistance" and "more economic support" to Ukraine. (18:10 GMT) Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi has called for "neutrality" and urged Russia and Ukraine to commit to "dialogue without preconditions". Speaking at the UN Security Council, Wang said China supported probes into violations of international humanitarian law, but insisted they should be "objective and fair based on facts rather than an assumption of guilt" and "must not be politicised". (18:34 GMT) NATO has condemned plans to hold "referendums" in Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine, describing them as Moscow's "blatant attempts at territorial conquest". In a statement today, NATO said: "Sham referenda in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine have no legitimacy and will be a blatant violation of the UN Charter." "NATO allies will not recognise their illegal and illegitimate annexation. These lands are Ukraine." (18:52 GMT) Concerned about fighting around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Poland has distributed iodine tablets to regional fire departments to give to people in the event of radioactive exposure, a deputy minister said on Thursday. Iodine is considered a way of protecting the body against conditions such as thyroid cancer in case of radioactive exposure. (19:18 GMT) Many of the Ukrainians exchanged in the largest prisoner swap with Russia since the beginning of the invasion show signs of violent torture, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence has said. Ukraine had announced the exchange of 215 imprisoned soldiers with Russia, including fighters who led the defence of Mariupol's Azovstal steelworks that became an icon of Ukrainian resistance. "Many of them have been brutally tortured," Kyrylo Budanov said during a news conference, without providing further details. Some of the detainees "are in a more or less normal physical condition, except for chronic malnutrition due to bad conditions of detention", Budanov said. (19:56 GMT) Seventeen members of US Congress have told Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to speed up a Pentagon security review of a Ukrainian request for large drones that can be armed, according to a letter seen by Reuters. The Biden administration's plan to sell four such drones to Ukraine hit a snag in June because of a fear the unmanned aerial system's sophisticated surveillance equipment might fall into enemy hands, sources had previously told Reuters. (20:17 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Russians to "protest" against the mobilisation announced by Putin, which sparked small protests and an exodus from the country. Zelenskyy said, "55,000 Russian soldiers died in these six months of war ... Do you want more? No? Then protest. Fight back, run away, or surrender" to the Ukrainian army. More than 1,300 protesters were arrested across Russia on Wednesday. 20220923 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/23/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-held-regions-begin-referendum (06:10 GMT) Moscow-held regions of Ukraine began voting at 05:00 GMT on whether to become part of Russia. The vote is certain to go Moscow's way. That would give Russia the pretext to claim that attempts by Ukrainian forces to regain control are attacks on Russia itself, dramatically escalating the seven-month-old conflict. (06:41 GMT) Traffic into Finland across its southeastern border with Russia continues to be busy, the country's border guard told Reuters, adding that the number of Russian citizens entering more than doubled on Thursday compared with the week before following President Vladimir Putin's order for a partial military mobilisation. (07:21 GMT) Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas told her nation that power blackouts are possible if Russia kicks the Baltic states from the joint power grid. "It would be wise to be prepared for possible power outages - that includes public authorities, companies, and every individual," she added, describing any disruptions as "temporary". (07:48 GMT) Russian President Putin was "pushed" into the war on Ukraine to install a new government in Kyiv, former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi said, in comments likely to concern Western allies ahead of Italy's election. Berlusconi, a personal friend of the Russian leader, downplayed Putin's warmongering instincts after he threatened to use nuclear weapons in the wake of suffering setbacks in Ukraine. "Putin was pushed by the Russian people, by his party, by his ministers to invent this special operation," Berlusconi said, using the official Russian wording for the war. (07:56 GMT) Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke by phone to express their satisfaction over a prisoner-of-war swap between Moscow and Kyiv facilitated by Riyadh, the Kremlin has said. The two leaders expressed "satisfaction in connection with the transfer to Saudi Arabia of foreign citizen prisoners of war ... that took place with the personal mediation of the crown prince", the Kremlin said. (08:16 GMT) Voting has begun in Russian-controlled regions of Ukraine holding referendums that Moscow is expected to use to justify its annexation. aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/20/russia-unfolds-annexation-plan-for-ukraine (08:27 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says Ukrainian forces are "putting pressure on territory Russia considers essential to its war aims" as Kyiv's counteroffensive continues. "In the last three days, Ukrainian forces have secured bridgeheads on the east bank of the Oskil River in Kharkiv Oblast. Russia has attempted to integrate the Oskil into a consolidated defensive line following its forces' withdrawals earlier in the month," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. "To the south, in Donetsk Oblast, fighting is ongoing as Ukrainian forces assault the town of Lyman, east of the Siverskyy Donets River, which Russia captured in May," it added. (08:59 GMT) Uzbekistan's UZCARD system has suspended the processing of payments via Mir cards issued by Bank of Russia's National Payment Card System (NSPK), the chief executive of which has been targeted by US sanctions. (09:20 GMT) The Moscow-backed leaders of the self-proclaimed, breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR) in eastern Ukraine have hailed the beginning of the regions' referendums on joining Russia. "We are returning home," Denis Pushilin, the head of the DPR, said. "Donbas is Russia," he added, citing eastern Ukraine's industrial heartland. (09:36 GMT) Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has reportedly urged Russians not to be afraid of death as Moscow moves to mobilise hundreds of thousands of reserve troops to fight in Ukraine. "Go bravely to fulfil your military duty. And remember that if you die for your country, you will be with God in his kingdom, glory and eternal life," the Nexta media outlet quoted Kirill as saying. (09:48 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has denounced the Moscow-orchestrated votes taking place in occupied regions of Ukraine on whether they should formally join Russia, as illegal. (10:11 GMT) The chair of an independent, UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine says the probe has concluded that war crimes have been committed by Russian forces in Ukraine based on evidence gathered from four regions of the country. "Based on the evidence gathered by the Commission, it has concluded that war crimes have been committed in Ukraine," Erik Mose told the Geneva-based Human Rights Council. (10:22 GMT) "Sham referendums" currently taking place in Ukrainian territories partially occupied by Russia are illegal under international law, the Swiss government has said. (10:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Pokrovsk, a Ukrainian-controlled town in the country's eastern Donetsk region, says it is "very difficult" to determine how the votes in occupied territories are panning out. "We are not allowed in these areas ... but as we understand it ... it is happening in different ways depending on the region," Abdel-Hamid said. "For example in Kherson, we have heard from Russian media that people will go around houses with ballot boxes so that everyone can stay indoors [to vote], because of the insecurity in the area, where a [Ukrainian] counteroffensive is ongoing," she added. "In Zaporizhia, we don't have many details, but the Russians do not control the capital of that region, so it brings into question the point of a referendum there at this moment. (10:38 GMT) The US ambassador to the United Nations Human Rights Council has accused Russia of forcibly deporting between 900,000 to 1.6 million Ukrainians since it launched its invasion, citing unnamed sources. (10:44 GMT) China's foreign minister has told his Ukrainian counterpart that all efforts conducive to a peaceful settlement of the war must be supported, according to reports by Chinese state media. "Sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries must be respected," Wang Yi reportedly told Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, adding that Beijing always stands on the side of peace. (11:24 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 212 aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-212 (11:46 GMT) A spokesperson for Germany's government has said that many Russian reserves being called up to fight in the war in Ukraine do not want to take part in the conflict, adding their reaction was welcome. "Many Russians who are now being called up do not want to take part in this war ... this is a good sign," a government spokesperson told a regular news conference. "A way must be left open for Russians to come to Europe and also to Germany," the spokesperson added. (11:48 GMT) Russia is unlikely to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine unless NATO puts boots on the ground, two retired Russian generals have told Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/23/little-military-sense-for-nuclear-weapons-ex-russian-general (12:00 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said he is not planning a troop enlistment after close ally Russia announced it was calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine. (12:42 GMT) The Kremlin has said it expects the process for four occupied regions of Ukraine to join Russia to proceed quickly in the event referendums there return votes in favour of such a move. (13:16 GMT) Ukrainian officials say 436 bodies have been exhumed from a mass burial site in the eastern town of Izyum, 30 of them with visible signs of torture, according to a report by The Associated Press news agency. (14:09 GMT) Uzbekistan's top religious authority has urged Uzbeks not to get involved in the conflict in Ukraine, saying that doing so was against the Islamic faith after Russia offered fast-track citizenship to foreigners who join its army. The Muslim Board said members of some "terrorist organisations" were recruiting Muslims to fight in the Ukraine conflict under the pretext of "jihad" or holy war. In reality, it said, it was not permissible for a Muslim to participate in any military action except to defend their homeland. Its statement came after Uzbek state prosecutors said this week that citizens fighting in foreign wars would face criminal prosecution under Uzbek law. (14:40 GMT) Ukraine will never forgive Russia for its bloody invasion, journalist and Nobel Peace laureate Dmitry Muratov has said. Muratov, the longtime editor-in-chief of Novaya Gazeta, one of Russia's last independent media outlets, told the Reuters news agency that Ukraine would never agree to peace or to the annexation of any of its territory. "Ukraine will never forgive Russia," Muratov said. (15:17 GMT) Days after Putin made a thinly veiled nuclear threat to Ukraine and its Western allies, Russian officials have played down the warning. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/23/moscow-not-threatening-nuclear-weapons-deputy-foreign-minister (17:05 GMT) NATO will ramp up its help for Kyiv in response to Russia's "sham" referendums in occupied territories of Ukraine, the alliance's Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg, has said. "Our answer, NATO's answer, is to step up support," Stoltenberg told CNN in an interview. (17:11 GMT) The leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrial democracies, condemned Russia's "sham" referendums, saying it was an attempt by Moscow to create a "phony" pretext for changing the status of Ukrainian sovereign territory. "We will never recognise these referenda which appear to be step toward Russian annexation and we will never recognise purported annexation if it occurs." (17:39 GMT) Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard has said he met with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov to discuss a Mexican peace plan for the Ukraine conflict that he presented to the UN General Assembly this week. Mexico has proposed a deal to halt the fighting but Ukraine opposes the plan which it says would be advantageous to Russia. (18:31 GMT) Russia will maintain contact with the United Nations about a deal to export grain from Ukrainian ports, Tass news agency reports citing a senior official who insisted concrete results are needed. It also cited Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin as saying Russia had a positive assessment of the UN's efforts to resume the export of Russian fertilisers. (19:10 GMT) The US is prepared to impose additional economic costs on Russia in conjunction with allies if Moscow moves forward with Ukraine annexation, the White House has said. (20:00 GMT) Kyiv says it has decided to reduce Iran's diplomatic presence in Ukraine over sending weapons to Russia. Ukraine has chosen "to significantly reduce the number of diplomatic personnel of the Iranian embassy in Kyiv", Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement. Earlier on Friday Kyiv said that one civilian was killed during a Russian attack with drones on the southern port city of Odesa and that one Iranian-designed unmanned vehicle was shot down by Ukrainian forces. 20220924 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/24/russia-ukraine-live-blog-russian-air-strikes-kill-at-least-one (09:40 GMT) Russian forces have launched new strikes on Ukrainian cities as Moscow-backed votes continued in occupied regions of Ukraine to pave the way for their annexation by Moscow. (09:41 GMT) Voting continues in the Moscow-backed referendums in occupied Ukrainian areas, dismissed by Kyiv and its Western allies as a sham with no legal force. In the five-day voting in the eastern Luhansk and Donetsk regions and Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in the south that began on Friday, election officials accompanied by police officers carried ballots to homes and set up mobile polling stations, citing safety reasons. The votes are set to wrap up on Tuesday when balloting will be held at polling stations. (09:42 GMT) Russia struck the Pechenihy dam on the Siverskyi Donets river in northeast Ukraine this week using short-range ballistic missiles or similar weapons, the British military has said. The attack on September 21 and 22 followed an earlier one on the Karachunivske dam near Krivyi Rih in central Ukraine on September 15, the UK defence ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin, adding that Ukrainian forces are advancing further downstream along both rivers. (10:08 GMT) Ukraine's 2022 grain harvest could total between 54.1 to 55.7 million tonnes compared with a record 86 million tonnes due to the Russian invasion which has reduced the harvested area, analyst APK-Inform said. The consultancy said in a report that the harvest could include 19 million tonnes of wheat, 30 million tonnes of corn and 5.5 million tonnes of barley. (10:41 GMT) Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo, reporting from Kyiv, says it was "very hard" to get a clear picture of what was happening in the referendums in the Russia-occupied regions. "There are no independent international election monitors. Their media is very tightly controlled ... also it's happening in a war zone," Elizondo said. (11:08 GMT) Vaalimaa Border Control Deputy Chief Elias Laine, a Finnish official at the Russian-Finland border in Vaalimaa has told Al Jazeera there has been "more traffic" at the crossing since Russian President Vladimir Putin's call for a partial mobilisation on Wednesday. "There are no particular restrictions with an external border to the Schengen zone. So we perform thorough checks. Most people are travelling independently on tourist visas," (11:29 GMT) Russia's deputy defence minister Dmitry Bulgakov has been removed from office and transferred to "another post," the defence ministry in Moscow has said. He is to be replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev, who was seen as responsible for the heavy attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol which was captured by Russia at the end of May. (11:55 GMT) Ukraine's decision to downgrade ties over the reported supply of Iranian drones to Russia was regretful, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson has said in a statement. Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani "advised" Ukraine to "refrain from being influenced by third parties who seek to destroy relations between the two countries". (12:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says the general view of Russians on the referendums in occupied regions was that they were a "natural thing to do" - and that the war in Ukraine was to "liberate" Russian communities that feel alien inside Ukraine. "They also say here (in Russia) the initiative and the requests for this referendum came from local communities inside those four regions," he added. (13:29 GMT) NATO says it will never recognise Russia's referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine. The alliance has called on all states to reject what it is calling a blatant attempt at territorial conquest. (13:51 GMT) Up to 100 people from Mariupol have gathered in Kyiv to protest against the Kremlin-organised referendums being held in their hometown over the possibility of Russian annexation. Covered in Ukrainian flags, with posters reading "Russia killed 100 thousand people of Mariupol" and "Mariupol is Ukraine", people who fled their city came to the square near the refugee centre "I am Mariupol". (13:56 GMT) Putin has signed amendments toughening punishment for voluntary surrender and refusal to fight by up to 10 years in prison, just days after ordering a partial mobilisation. A separate law, also signed on Saturday, facilitates access to Russian citizenship for foreigners who enlist in the Russian army, following the mobilisation designed to increase the ranks of his army fighting a military operation in Ukraine. (14:26 GMT) Japan's Mazda Motor Corporation is discussing ending production of its vehicles at a joint venture plant in Vladivostok, eastern Russia, the Nikkei newspaper has reported. The Japanese automaker, which sold 30,000 cars in Russia last year, said in March that exports of parts to the plant were going to end and production would cease when stocks ran out. It operates the plant with Russian automaker Sollers. Mazda has not made a decision about ending car sales and maintenance operations in Russia, the newspaper said. There was no timeframe for stopping production at the Vladivostok plant. (15:30 GMT) Russian authorities have said there is a "significant" influx of cars trying to cross from Russia into Georgia, days after Russia announced partial mobilisation. "There is a significant congestion of private vehicles... around 2,300" waiting to pass one checkpoint along the border, said the local interior ministry in a Russian region that borders Georgia. The ministry urged people "to refrain from travelling" in the direction of Georgia. It added that movement at the checkpoint was "difficult" and that additional traffic officers had been deployed. (16:12 GMT) Six more ships have left Ukrainian ports under the historic Istanbul grain export deal, the Turkish defence ministry has said. (16:17 GMT) North Macedonian Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski has called for a united global stance against Russian aggression in Ukraine. (16:21 GMT) The stridently pro-Kremlin editor of Russia's state-run RT news channel has expressed anger that enlistment officers were sending call-up papers to the wrong men, as frustration about a military mobilisation grew across Russia. "It has been announced that privates can be recruited up to the age of 35. Summonses are going to 40-year-olds," the RT editor-in-chief, Margarita Simonyan, railed on her Telegram channel. "They're infuriating people, as if on purpose, as if out of spite. As if they'd been sent by Kyiv." (16:24 GMT) Russian authorities have detained more than 700 people at protests against partial mobilisation ordered this week by Putin, according to independent monitoring group OVD-Info. (16:34 GMT) The head of the Russian president's human rights commission, Valery Fadeyev, has criticised the military for the mobilisation of reservists to fight in Ukraine. (16:39 GMT) The Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, may debate bills incorporating Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine into Russia on September 29, the TASS news agency has reported, citing an unnamed source. (16:41 GMT) China at the United Nations has urged Russia and Ukraine not to let effects of their war "spill over" and called for a diplomatic resolution. "We call on all parties concerned to keep the crisis from spilling over and to protect the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries," Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in an address at the UN General Assembly. (18:00 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said at the annual gathering at the United Nations that Washington is trying to turn the entire world into its own backyard through sanctions. Lavrov bitterly criticised Western nations for their "grotesque" fear of Russia, telling the United Nations that such states were seeking to "destroy" his country. "The official Russophobia in the West is unprecedented, now the scope is grotesque," Lavrov said in a fiery UN General Assembly speech. "They are not shying away from declaring the intent to inflict not only military defeat on our country but also to destroy and fracture Russia." (18:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey, reporting from the UN in New York, says Lavrov's speech was mostly "directed at the US", which he called the "self-proclaimed master of the world". "He accused Ukraine of threatening Russia's security and the US of using Ukraine to get to Russia," Saloomey said. "He had a long list of grievances against the US, whether referring to their refusal to listen to Russia's concerns about what was happening in former Soviet countries that he claimed Russia had been trying to work with, to the use of sanctions. He called the illegal use of sanctions as being a threat to development in countries around the world. "He accused the West of continuing to block Russian fertiliser from getting out to markets so that farmers around the world can plant crops. This is a concern that the UN has. Western sanctions would argue that their sanctions are not blocking Russia, that the sanctions have been removed." (18:47 GMT) Lavrov has said at the UNGA that Moscow had "no choice" but to take military action in Ukraine. At the heart of his address was a claim that the US and its allies are aggressively undermining the international system that the UN represents - not, as the West maintains, the other way around. "The future of the world is being decided today," Lavrov said, adding, "the question is whether or not it is going to be the kind of order with one hegemon at the head of it." (19:24 GMT) In Russia's far east, fear and defiance against military call-up https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/24/russian-men-flee-country-after-moscow-announces-mobilisation (19:43 GMT) Zelenskyy has made an appeal to Russians, saying their president was knowingly "sending citizens to their death". Zelenskyy called on Moscow's forces to surrender, saying: "You will be treated in a civilised manner ... no one will know the circumstances of your surrender." (20:38 GMT) At least 747 people have been arrested in fresh protests in Russia against the partial mobilisation ordered by Putin. The human rights portal ovd.info reported arrests in a total of 32 cities across the country. These are only the men and women known by name - there could be considerably more people in custody, it said. At least 380 arrests were reported from Moscow and 125 in St Petersburg. 20220925 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/25/ukraine-blog-2 (09:52 GMT) Dozens of pro-Ukrainian demonstrators have gathered in Istanbul to mark the seven months of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/25/pro-ukraine-protest-in-istanbul-marks-seventh-month-of-war (09:57 GMT) Pro-Russian authorities in the occupied southern Ukrainian city of Kherson have accused Kyiv's forces of killing two people, including a former MP, in a missile attack on a hotel. "Today, at around 05:30 [02:30 GMT], the Ukrainian armed forces fired a missile on the Play Hotel by Ribas" in Kherson, the regional Russian-controlled administration said in a statement. "According to preliminary data, two people died in this terrorist act. Rescue workers are still combing the rubble to search for victims." Regional official Kirill Stremousov said Oleksiy Jouravko, a pro-Russian former Ukrainian MP, was among the dead. (10:09 GMT) Russia's two senior-most MPs have addressed a string of complaints about Russia's mobilisation drive, ordering regional officials to get a handle on the situation and swiftly solve the "excesses" that have stoked public anger. Multiple reports have also documented how people with no military service have been issued draft papers - contrary to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu's guarantee that only those with special military skills or combat experience would be called up - prompting even ultra-loyal pro-Kremlin figures to publicly express concern. <== robodebt ? Russia's top two parliamentarians, both close Putin allies, explicitly addressed public anger at the way the mobilisation drive was unfolding. (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin's statements on the possible use of nuclear weapons are "absolutely unacceptable" and Kyiv will not give into it, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. (10:21 GMT) Ukraine says the southern port city of Odesa was attacked by Iranian-made drones overnight, two days after a Russian attack with such a weapon killed two civilians. "Odesa was attacked again by enemy kamikaze drones," said the Ukrainian army's Operational Command South. "The enemy hit the administrative building in the city centre three times," it said in a Facebook message. (10:39 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, citing the Ukrainian government, reports heavy shelling in various areas in the east of the country. "Ukraine says at least 35, what they describe as, settlements have been hit by Russian strikes in the last 24 hours," he said, reporting from Kyiv. (11:34 GMT) A British man Aiden Aslin freed from captivity in eastern Ukraine in a prisoner swap has revealed how his captors stabbed him in the back and forced him to sing the Russian national anthem. (11:41 GMT) Pink Floyd's Roger Waters has lashed out at authorities after his two upcoming concerts in Krakow in Poland were scrapped following criticism from city councillors over his stance on the war in Ukraine. Waters wrote an open letter earlier this month saying the West should stop providing arms to Ukraine, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of allowing "extreme nationalism" in Ukraine and urging him to "put an end to this deadly war". (12:01 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said Ukrainian forces continue with attacks around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in the south of the country, including launching eight "kamikaze drones" at the facility. Russian forces shot down all of the drones outside the territory of the plant, the defence ministry said, and radiation levels remain normal. (12:21 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made an appeal to Russians, saying their president was knowingly "sending citizens to their death". Speaking in Russian, Zelenskyy called on Moscow's forces to surrender, saying: "You will be treated in a civilised manner ... No one will know the circumstances of your surrender." The comments came just hours after Russia passed a law toughening punishments for voluntary surrender and desertion. (12:32 GMT) A group of Sri Lankans held captive by Russian forces in an agricultural factory in eastern Ukraine has alleged torture for months before escaping on foot as the Russians withdrew from the Kharkiv region this month. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/25/sri-lankans-describe-abuse-as-russian-captives-in-ukraine (13:26 GMT) Seven more ships laden with agricultural produce have left Ukrainian ports, the country's infrastructure ministry says, bringing the total to 218 since a UN-brokered corridor through the Black Sea came into force at the start of August. (13:33 GMT) Russian authorities have promised to fix the mistakes in their troop call-up for Ukraine, after public outrage over older and sick people being ordered to report for duty. When President Putin announced a partial mobilisation on Wednesday, he said only people with "relevant" skills or military experience would be concerned. In a rare admission, upper house Speaker Valentina Matviyenko called on all governors who oversee the mobilisation campaigns to avoid mistakes. "This is unacceptable ... Make sure that partial mobilisation is carried out in full and complete compliance with the criteria. And without a single mistake!" she ordered. (14:05 GMT) German utility RWE has signed a deal with Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) to deliver liquefied natural gas by the end of December, as Europe attempts to gain independence from Russian energy. (14:20 GMT) Long lines of vehicles have formed at a border crossing between Mongolia and Russia as people flee the Kremlin's call-up of hundreds of thousands of reservists for the war in Ukraine. More than 3,000 Russians have entered Mongolia via the crossing since Wednesday, most of them men, the head of a checkpoint in the town of Altanbulag told AFP. (14:42 GMT) British Prime Minister Liz Truss has said allies should stand firm on Ukraine, ignoring what she called Russian President Vladimir Putin's "sabre-rattling". (15:02 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford says online reports suggest two explosions took place in the occupied cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol. "The Ukrainian government claims to have Ukrainians working behind enemy lines but it is difficult for us to verify this information," Stratford said. He added that solid photographic evidence pointed to the Antonivskyi Bridge across the Dnieper River in Kherson being hit again. (15:13 GMT) More than 100 people in Dagestan, one of Russia's poorer regions in the North Caucasus, are attempting to block a highway as part of a protest against Putin's mobilisation order. Russian media reported that local police tried to break up the demonstration by firing warning shots in the air. Protesters, the majority of whom were women, chanted "No to war!" at a protest rally in Dagestan's capital Makhachkala. Some of them argued with the police saying it was Russia that attacked Ukraine. Makhachkala,[a] previously known as Petrovskoye (1844-1857), and Port-Petrovsk (1857-1921), or by the local Kumyk name of Anji <== is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Dagestan in Russia. (16:06 GMT) The US would respond decisively to any Russian use of nuclear weapons against Ukraine and has spelled out to Moscow the "catastrophic consequences" it would face, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has said. "If Russia crosses this line, there will be catastrophic consequences for Russia. The United States will respond decisively," Sullivan told NBC's Meet the Press news programme. Sullivan did not describe the nature of the planned US response in his comments on Sunday, but said the US has communicated with Moscow and "spelled out in greater detail exactly what that would mean". (16:22 GMT) Police has clashed with protesters opposing the mobilisation of reservists in the southern Russian region of Dagestan, underscoring the level of discontent with President Vladimir Putin's decision to send hundreds of thousands more men to fight in Ukraine. (17:36 GMT) Russia is likely to change its military tactics in Ukraine, analyst and author Samir Puri told Al Jazeera, turning to more indiscriminate bombardments of parts of Ukraine it has not yet conquered. "At the start of the invasion the Russian forces tried to operate with a bit more finesse," Puri, a senior analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said. "It all failed." One of the reasons was poor logistics, with armed forces advancing without proper lines of supplies and the Russian defence ministry attempting to "bring control to this chaos." "Indeed, Mikhail Mizintsev has been appointed to be responsible for digging in Russian forces for the long haul," Puri said, referring to the long-time army official appointed to replace General Dmitry Bulgakov on Saturday. (17:51 GMT) Several thousand people are protesting in Moldova's capital to demand the resignation of the country's pro-Western government, amid mounting anger over soaring natural gas prices and inflation. (18:02 GMT) Splits have sharpened in Europe over whether to welcome or turn away Russians fleeing conscription, after Moscow rushed to mobilise hundreds of thousands of recruits to fight in Ukraine. German officials held out the possibility of granting asylum to deserters and those refusing the draft and called for a European-wide solution. In France, senators argued that Europe has a duty to help and warned that not granting refuge to fleeing Russians could play into Putin's hands, feeding his narrative of Western hostility to Russia. Other EU countries are adamant that asylum shouldn't be offered. They include Lithuania, which borders Kaliningrad, a Russian Baltic Sea exclave. Its foreign minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, tweeted: "Russians should stay and fight. Against Putin." (18:15 GMT) Bulgarian Russophiles have rallied in near the central town of Kalofer to show their support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, waving flags with the same "Z" symbols painted on Russian military vehicles in Ukraine. The Balkan state - an EU and NATO member with historically close ties to Russia - still has many citizens nostalgic for the former Communist regime. (18:22 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged in an interview that the United States agreed to provide Kyiv with the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS), a sophisticated air defence systems. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASAMS NASAMS is a distributed and networked short- to medium-range ground-based air defense system developed by Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (KDA) and Raytheon. The system defends against unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), helicopters, cruise missiles, unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), and aircraft. (18:56 GMT) Thousands of Hasidic Jewish pilgrims flocked to central Ukraine to mark the Jewish new year, ignoring international travel warnings as Russia struck more targets from the air. The pilgrims, many traveling from Israel and further afield, converged on the small city of Uman, the burial site of Nachman of Breslov, a respected Hasidic rabbi who died in 1810. (20:43 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said heavy fighting in many places along the frontline is yielding some "positive results" for Kyiv. 20220926 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-anti-mobilisation-protests-in-dagestan (08:14 GMT) At least 100 people have been detained at a protest in Russia's Dagestan region opposing Moscow's mobilisation of reserve forces to fight in Ukraine. The protest was among dozens of demonstrations that have broken out across the country since Putin announced the move last week. Public anger has appeared to be particularly strong in poor, ethnic minority-dominated regions like Dagestan, a Muslim-majority area located on the shores of the Caspian Sea in the mountainous north Caucasus. (08:17 GMT) A gunman has been detained after opening fire at a military draft office in Russia's Irkutsk region, the local governor has said. The gunman, who in a video published on social media is seen identifying himself to police officers, opened fire at an enlistment office in the town of Ust-Ilimsk. (08:22 GMT) Ukraine's president says two more mass burial sites containing the bodies of hundreds of people have been discovered in the recaptured northeastern town of Izyum. (08:51 GMT) Two drones launched by Russian forces into Ukraine's Odesa region hit military objects, causing a fire and the detonation of ammunition, Ukraine's southern command has said. "As a result of a large-scale fire and the detonation of ammunition, the evacuation of the civilian population was organised," the command said on Telegram. "Preliminarily, there have been no casualties." (09:00 GMT) A gunman killed nine people, including five children, at a school in Russia on Monday before committing suicide, Russian officials have said. The motive for the shooting in Izhevsk, the capital of the Udmurtia region, about 970 km east of Moscow, was unclear. (09:04 GMT) Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to having founded the Wagner Group private military company in 2014, the first public confirmation of a link he has previously denied and sued journalists for reporting. The Wagner Group, staffed by veterans of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Libya, Syria, the Central African Republic and Mali, among other countries. (09:11 GMT) The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has said he is ready to hold talks with Ukraine and Russia this week on setting up a protection zone at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (09:21 GMT) Japan's chief cabinet secretary says it has decided to ban exports of chemical weapons-related goods to Russia in an additional sanction against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. "Japan is deeply concerned about the possibility of nuclear weapons used during Russia's invasion of Ukraine." (09:41 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 215 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-215 (10:03 GMT) The death toll from a shooting at a school in the Russian city of Izhevsk has risen to 13 people, including seven children, according to national authorities. A further 21 people were wounded in the incident, including 14 children, Russia's Investigative Committee said. Alexander Brechalov, the regional governor, said in a video statement that the-still unidentified gunman shot himself following his rampage. According to the Investigative Committee, the gunman wore a black t-shirt with "Nazi symbols." No other details about the attacker or his motives have been released. Izhevsk, with a population of approximately 640,000 people, is located west of the Ural mountains in central Russia. (10:24 GMT) Sergei Tsekov, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament, the Federation Council, has called for men of fighting age to be barred from exiting the country after Putin's partial mobilisation order sparked an apparent exodus of people seeking to evade being conscripted to fight in Ukraine. (10:35 GMT) Moldova may revoke the citizenship of its nationals who go to fight for Moscow in Ukraine after being called up because they also hold Russian passports, the Reuters news agency has quoted the country's president as saying. (10:57 GMT) The Kremlin says no decision has been taken on closing Russia's borders following an exodus of military-age men since President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilisation of reserve troops last week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also acknowledged that some call-ups had been issued in error, and that mistakes would be corrected. (11:09 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says there is widespread confusion and anger in Russia over the Kremlin's push to reinforce its offensive in Ukraine by calling up hundreds of thousands of reserve troops to fight. "Many people don't understand what is going on - who should go and who shouldn't go," Vall said, adding there had been anti-conscription protests staged across the country in recent days. (11:39 GMT) Concerts by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters have been cancelled by a venue in the Polish city of Krakow after the artist's comments on the war in Ukraine caused a storm of criticism. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/26/polish-venue-cancels-roger-waters-gigs-after-ukraine-comments (11:58 GMT) Hungary's prime minister has criticised European Union sanctions on Russia, saying the moves have "backfired" by driving up energy prices. Viktor Orban told Hungary's parliament that it was no surprise that governments were falling in Europe amid the crisis, referring to the Italian election on Sunday. (12:19 GMT) Hostility towards Russia's troop mobilisation continues as violence broke out in an impoverished ethnic-minority region and a gunman opened fire at a recruitment office, seriously wounding the commandant. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/26/no-to-war-anger-over-troop-conscription-rages-in-russia (13:12 GMT) The United States will provide $457.5m in new civilian security aid for Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. The aid is designed to help Ukrainian law enforcement and criminal justice agencies, Blinken tweeted. (14:07 GMT) A collection of NATO member states has begun two days of training drills in the Baltic Sea region as the transatlantic military alliance moves to shore up its eastern defences in the face of Russia's offensive in Ukraine. Air forces from Hungary, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom are taking part in the exercises. NATO candidate Finland is also involved in the drills. (14:24 GMT) The UK has announced a new raft of sanctions in response to what it described as Russia's "sham" referendums in four occupied regions of Ukraine: Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia. (15:20 GMT) Danish authorities have asked ships to steer clear of a five-nautical-mile radius off the island of Bornholm after a suspected gas leak overnight from the defunct Russian-owned Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The German government said it was working with Danish authorities and local law enforcement to find out what caused pressure in the pipeline to plummet suddenly overnight. Nord Stream 2 had contained some amount of gas sealed inside despite never becoming operational. (15:45 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it had detained a Japanese consul in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok for alleged espionage and declared him persona non grata, according to reports by Russian news agencies. The FSB said the consul was caught receiving secret information on the effect of Western sanctions on the economic situation in Russia's far east. (16:08 GMT) President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday granting Russian citizenship to former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden. Snowden, 39, fled the United States and was given asylum in Russia after leaking secret files in 2013 that revealed vast domestic and international surveillance operations carried out by the US National Security Agency where he was a contractor. US authorities have for years wanted Snowden returned to the United States to face a criminal trial on espionage charges. (16:38 GMT) The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill has said that Russian soldiers killed in the battlefield in Ukraine will be cleansed of all their sins, days after President Vladimir Putin ordered the country's first mobilisation since World War Two. (16:59 GMT) The Netherlands will increase its support to Ukraine and will back new sanctions against Russia, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said on Monday. "More weapons, more sanctions, more isolation of Russia. Due to the mobilisation and sham referendums by Russia," he wrote on Twitter. (17:43 GMT) A number of NATO member states have begun to conduct air force drills in the Baltic Sea. Over the next two days, air forces from Turkey, UK, Germany, Italy and others will take part in military training over water and on land - in an effort to boost eastern defences. "For the first time we are including both air- and surface-based integrated air and missile defence activities in our drills," said exercise planner Squadron Leader Craig Docker from Combined Air Operations Centre Uedem. (18:15 GMT) The US Department of Commerce has said it added a fourth Iranian cargo plane serving Russia to a list of aircraft believed to violate US export controls under Biden administration sanctions. The department added three Iranian cargo planes to the list on Sept. 19. The fourth plane belongs to Saha Airlines, which is owned by Iran's air force, the department said in a statement. The plane added to the list on Monday has flown into Russia without proper Commerce Department authorisation, the statement said. (18:35 GMT) UK Prime Minister Liz Truss has thanked Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for his "personal role" in securing the release of five British detainees held by Russia-backed forces in Ukraine last week, her office said on Monday. In a statement issued after Truss' first call with the Saudi crown prince since she took office, a spokesperson also said she "offered the UK's continued support and encouragement for progress in Saudi Arabia's domestic reforms." (19:01 GMT) The UK's chief of defence staff held talks with the Russian defence attaché at the Ministry of Defence in London. Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and Colonel Maxim Elovik met as part of ongoing efforts to "strengthen military to military channels of communication" with Russia. (19:33 GMT) The Kremlin said on Monday that no decision had been taken on whether to seal Russia's borders to stop an exodus of military-aged men fleeing the country, after days of chaotic scenes during its first military mobilisation since World War II. (20:08 GMT) Ukraine has urged the European Union to support its plans to make the emergency paths for grain exports through the bloc permanent. Ukraine's Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky told EU counterparts and the European Commission his country needed financial support to reduce its reliance on Black Sea exports that Russia had blocked and could hinder again. Kyiv is calling for the EU to invest in at least five border terminals and a pipeline through which sunflower oil would flow. (20:37 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the military situation in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region as difficult and said it was the country's "No 1 goal" because it was the same for Russia. "The situation in the Donetsk region is particularly severe," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "We are doing everything to contain enemy activity. This is our No 1 goal right now because Donbas is still the No 1 goal for the occupiers." Since Russian forces invaded Ukraine in late February, they have occupied nearly all of the Luhansk region and are slowly advancing through the Donetsk region - the two provinces making up Donbas. 20220927 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-annexation-may-be-declared-friday-u (08:54 GMT) Russia's Putin is expected to address both houses of the Russian parliament on Friday and could declare the annexation of the regions, the British Defence Ministry said in a daily intelligence meeting. (08:56 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that Moscow has the right to defend itself with nuclear weapons if it is pushed beyond its limits and that this stance is "certainly not a bluff". His words echoed Putin's partial troop mobilisation speech last week. Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, also warned that Moscow has the right to respond "without much consultation" as tensions rise with the West over annexation referendums held in large swathes of Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. (08:58 GMT) Ukraine's air force's anti-aircraft command says it has shot down four Iranian-made Shahid-136 suicide drones in Odesa. The Black Sea port city has been repeatedly attacked recently. Kyiv and its Western partners claim Russia is using Iranian drones in the war, but neither Moscow nor Tehran have acknowledged this. Ukrainian officials also said that Russian rocket attacks hit the southern areas of Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv overnight, damaging residential buildings and other sites. (09:16 GMT) Sweden's Maritime Authority warned of two leaks on the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in Swedish and Danish waters. Three offshore lines of the Nord Stream gas pipeline system have sustained "unprecedented" damage in one day, Nord Stream AG, the network operator, added. They also said estimating when the gas network system's working capability would be restored was impossible. The leaks were located northeast of the Danish island Bornholm, a Swedish Maritime Administration (SMA) spokesperson told Reuters news agency. But it was not immediately clear what had caused the leaks. (09:26 GMT) The number of Russians arriving in neighbouring Georgia every day has nearly doubled since President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilisation order, officials in Tbilisi said. "Four to five days ago 5,000-6,000 (Russians) were arriving in Georgia daily. The number has grown to some 10,000 per day," Georgia's Interior Minister, Vakhtang Gomelauri, told journalists. (09:35 GMT) The chairman of Russia's Oscar nomination commission has resigned after the country decided not to submit a film to the Academy Awards. In a letter partially published by the TASS news agency, Pavel Chukhrai, whose film The Thief was nominated for an Oscar in 1997, wrote that the country's Film Academy had unilaterally decided not to nominate a film without consulting him. (09:40 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine had caused a dire human rights situation and led to a wide range of rights violations, including extrajudicial killings and torture, that could amount to war crimes, the United Nations human rights office said. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said in a report that it was particularly concerned about torture and the ill-treatment of detainees by Russian forces and affiliated armed groups. Still, it said there had been rights violations by both sides who have denied any allegations. (09:46 GMT) After three offshore Nord Stream pipelines sustained "unprecedented" damage on Tuesday, the Kremlin said it did not rule out sabotage as a reason. Dmitry Peskov told a conference call with reporters when asked if sabotage was the reason for the damage, "No option can be ruled out right now." He also said the Kremlin was very concerned with the situation, which requires a prompt investigation as it was an issue for the energy security for the "entire continent". (10:21 GMT) The Kremlin said that Moscow-controlled regions of Ukraine that voted to join Russia would have "security implications". "The legal situation will radically change from the point of view of international law, and that will also have consequences for security in these territories," Kremlin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Former President Dmitry Medvedev threatened to use nuclear weapons on Ukraine earlier on Tuesday. But Russia's top diplomat, Sergey Lavrov, said on Saturday that regions of Ukraine where referendums are being held would be under Russia's "full protection" if they are annexed. (10:38 GMT) The European Commission said it was premature to speculate on the cause of leaks in the two Nord Stream pipelines. A Commission spokesman told an EU news conference, "At this stage, it's very premature to speculate on what the causes are ... The member states are looking into this issue, we will remain in close contact with them, but it's really not the moment to speculate." (11:29 GMT) 'We must take care of them': Kazakh president on Russians fleeing mobilisation As many flee Russia after a partial troop enlistment order was announced, Kazakhstan is struggling to accommodate tens of thousands of people, officials say. But the Almaty government has no plans to close its border. The sudden influx of Russians, almost 100,000, have crossed the border since the mobilisation announcement, the government said, has left hotels and hostels full and rent skyrocketing. (11:58 GMT) Farmers are among Russians being drafted into the military, Putin told a meeting with officials on Tuesday, signalling potential additional risks for the 2023 grain crop. "I would also like to address regional heads and the heads of agricultural enterprises. As part of the partial mobilisation, agricultural workers are also being drafted. "Their families must be supported. I ask you to pay special attention to this issue," Putin told the televised meeting. Putin also told the meeting that Russia is on track to harvest a record grain crop of 150 million tonnes, including 100 million tonnes of wheat, in 2022. (12:20 GMT) Ukraine's presidential office says at least 11 civilians have been killed and 18 others wounded by the latest Russian shelling. An attack on the town of Pervomaiskyi in the northeastern Kharkiv region killed eight people, including a 15-year-old boy, Ukrainian officials said. (12:47 GMT) Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, said it appears "very likely" that the results of the annexation referendums will be known by Wednesday evening. Ukraine and its Western allies refuse to recognise the polls, which they have described as an illegal Russian move designed to intensify the war. (13:09 GMT) Ukraine urged the European Union to impose economic sanctions on Russia as punishment for staging annexation votes in four occupied regions. (13:53 GMT) First partial voting results from four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine showed 96% of residents in favour of joining Russia, the Kremlin-backed Russian news agency RIA said. Ukraine has repeatedly warned that Russian annexation of additional territories would destroy any chance of peace talks. (14:54 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has tweeted about recent leaks to the Nord Stream pipeline and called them a "terrorist attack". "'Gas leak' from NS-1 is nothing more than a terrorist attack planned by Russia and an act of aggression towards EU," Podolyak wrote. "Russia wants to destabilize [the] economic situation in Europe and cause pre-winter panic. The best response and security investment - tanks for Ukraine. Especially German ones." (15:28 GMT) Following a partial mobilisation ordered by Moscow, the EU border agency Frontex said illegal crossings are likely to increase should Russia decide to close the border to potential conscripts. "Over the past week, nearly 66,000 Russian citizens entered the EU, more than 30% compared to the preceding week. Most of them arrived to Finland and Estonia," Frontex said in a statement. (15:55 GMT) The votes in four occupied regions in Ukraine on annexation by Russia are a "sham" and "a blatant violation of international law," NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg said on Tuesday. Stoltenberg tweeted that he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "and made clear that NATO Allies are unwavering in our support for Ukraine's sovereignty and right to self-defence". "The sham referenda held by Russia have no legitimacy and are a blatant violation of international law. These lands are Ukraine," Stoltenberg said. (16:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had discussed further support of Ukraine's armed forces by NATO member states, in a call with the bloc's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. (16:34 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said his understanding was that leaks detected in the Nord Stream gas pipelines would not have a significant impact on Europe's energy resilience. Blinken said the United States had not yet confirmed initial reports that the leaks could be the result of an attack or sabotage, but said if they were due to sabotage, that would not be in anyone's interests. (16:35 GMT) Germany plans to designate two of its last nuclear power plants, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim, as reserves until April 15, 2023 and will decide whether to extend their lives this year, depending on the nuclear power situation in France, the economy ministry has said. "Today, I have to say that the data from France suggests that we will then call up and use the reserve," Economy Minister Robert Habeck said. (16:38 GMT) Norway will strengthen security at its oil and gas installations in the wake of the gas leaks in the Baltic Sea and the reports of drone activities in the North Sea, the Nordic country's oil and energy minister told news agency NTB. (16:44 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has vowed that the West will never recognise Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territory after Kremlin-installed authorities started claiming victory in annexation votes in regions under Moscow's control. "We and many other countries have already been crystal clear. We will not - indeed, we will never - recognise the annexation of Ukrainian territory by Russia," Blinken told reporters. (16:49 GMT) Gas bubbles from the damaged Nord Stream 2 pipeline measure more than 100m in diameter, the Danish Energy Authority has said. The leak will continue for several days and perhaps even a week, the authority's head told Reuters news agency. Poland said the leaks were caused by sabotage, while Denmark and Russia, which slashed its gas deliveries to Europe after Western sanctions, said sabotage could not be ruled out. None of the countries said who might be behind any foul play. (17:01 GMT) Any use of nuclear weapons by Russia is unacceptable and would have severe consequences, NATO said after an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin issued another stark nuclear warning to Ukraine and the West. (17:15 GMT) The United States welcomes Russians seeking asylum from President Vladimir Putin's "unpopular" war, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said. "We believe that regardless of their nationality, they may apply for asylum in the United States and have their claim educated on a case by case basis," she said. (17:44 GMT) A Swedish seismologist has said he was certain the seismic activity detected at the site of the Nord Stream pipeline gas leaks in the Baltic Sea was caused by explosions and not earthquakes nor landslides. Bjorn Lund, seismologist at the Swedish National Seismic Network at Uppsala University, said seismic data gathered by him and Nordic colleagues showed that the explosions took place in the water and not in the rock under the seabed. (17:48 GMT) Despite Russian threats to Ukraine and NATO about the use of nuclear weapons, the Pentagon has not seen any changes that would lead it to alter the posture of American nuclear forces, a spokesman has said. Pressed on whether there had been any new Russian movements of its nuclear forces, Ryder declined to elaborate beyond saying the United States did not "have any reason to adjust our posture at this stage". (17:49 GMT) Ukraine will not be swayed by any nuclear threats from Moscow or annexation votes held on its territory and will press ahead with its plan to wrest back all its occupied land from Russia, a Ukrainian presidential adviser has said. (17:53 GMT) The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had weeks ago warned Germany about possible attacks on gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, German magazine Spiegel has said, after gas leaks in Russian pipelines to Germany were reported. The German government received the CIA tip, and Berlin assumes a targeted attack on Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, Spiegel reported, citing unnamed sources. A German government spokesperson declined to comment, Spiegel added. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/27/qa-what-is-known-so-far-about-the-nord-stream-gas-pipeline-leak (18:53 GMT) Three explosions were heard, then electricity cut out in Ukraine's second city of Kharkiv. "There are no lights in some parts of the city. Information about casualties is being specified," Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, said in his Telegram channel. He also reported a fourth attack. Terekhov said an infrastructure facility was hit and said authorities were working to restore power as quickly as possible. (20:24 GMT) China's Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun told a Security Council meeting that isolation and sanctions would only "lead to a dead end" after the United States called for the body to condemn Russia's referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine. "Bloc confrontation, political isolation, sanctions and pressurization will only lead to a dead end," Zhang told the council. China has given Russia diplomatic support since Moscow's invasion of neighboring Ukraine, and Zhang repeated Beijing's call for negotiations that "include the respective legitimate concerns" to end the conflict. 20220928 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/28/russia-ukraine-live-news-us-to-denounce-sham-referenda-at-un (08:31 GMT) The United States will introduce a resolution at the UN Security Council denouncing Russia's "sham referenda" in four occupied regions of Ukraine, Washington's ambassador to the world body has said. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the resolution would also call on UN member states "not to recognise any altered status of Ukraine" following the annexation votes. (08:39 GMT) Ukraine will not be swayed by annexation votes held on its territory and will press ahead with its plan to wrest back all territory currently occupied by Russian forces, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said. (08:44 GMT) NATO's secretary-general has attributed recent leaks on two major gas pipelines from Russia to Europe to acts of "sabotage". (08:47 GMT) Norway sees no specific threat to its offshore oil and gas sector following leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea and sightings of drones in the North Sea, the country's prime minister has said. Jonas Gahr Stoere told news agency NTB on Wednesday that Norway, a NATO member, had not asked for military assistance from its allies in the wake of the incidents. (08:50 GMT) Denmark's defence minister has warned there is reason to be concerned about Russia's actions in the Baltic Sea region following several leaks on major gas pipelines which European leaders have attributed to "sabotage". "Russia has a significant military presence in the Baltic Sea region and we expect them to continue their sabre-rattling," Morten Bodskov said in a statement following a meeting with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, in Brussels. (08:57 GMT) The EU has denounced the Russian-engineered referendums held in four occupied regions of Ukraine as "illegal". (09:12 GMT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said he intends to impose new sanctions over Russia's "sham" annexation votes in occupied regions of Ukraine. "Canada does not and will not ever recognise the results of these sham referendums or Russia's attempted illegal annexation of Ukrainian territories," Trudeau said in a statement. (09:29 GMT) The European Union will step up protection of its energy infrastructure following leaks along the Nord Stream gas pipelines, the bloc's foreign policy chief has said. (09:49 GMT) The Moscow-backed leader of the self-proclaimed breakaway Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) in eastern Ukraine has formally asked President Vladimir Putin to incorporate the region into Russia. "Taking into account the fact that the population of the republic approved the decision in the referendum, I ask you to consider the issue of Luhansk People's Republic becoming a part of Russia as a subject of the Russian Federation," Leonid Pasechnik said in a statement posted on Telegram. According to Russia-installed election officials, 98% of the ballots cast in the annexation vote in Luhansk supported the region joining Russia. (09:55 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Russia must press on with its self-described "special military operation" until it takes full control of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. (10:22 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says Russia is "bracing for what's next" following the annexation votes held in four occupied regions of Ukraine. "That is basically the legal procedures to officially annex those four regions," Vall said. Vall said Putin was expected to "officially declare" the annexation of the four regions following those meetings and after Russia's parliament has given its approval for such moves. Reports suggest this could take place before the end of this week. (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed suggestions that Russia was responsible for possible attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines as "stupid". Asked during a daily conference call with reporters about claims Russia might somehow be behind the incidents, Peskov said the suggestions were "quite predictable and also predictably stupid". He added the cause of the leaks needed to be investigated and that the timeline for repair of the damaged pipelines was not yet clear. (10:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that a Ukrainian advance on the Russian-held town of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region has failed, with 70 of Kyiv's troops killed. (11:14 GMT) Germany's navy is helping with the investigation into the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipeline leaks, the country's defence minister has said. Christine Lambrecht said in a statement that the cause and possible perpetrators of the incidents must be uncovered quickly. (11:29 GMT) Norwegian police have reinforced security around the country's oil and gas installations following the suspected sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in Swedish and Danish waters, the national police directorate has announced. The directorate's statement did not provide further specifics regarding the measures introduced. (11:55 GMT) Photos: Russians flee to neighbouring countries amid mobilisation https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/9/28/photos-russians-flee-to-neighbouring-countries-amid-mobilisation ~/photos/events/20220928_traffic_jam_on_russia_georgia_border.jpg (12:27 GMT) Serbia will not recognise the results of referendums held in four regions of Ukraine partly occupied by Russian forces, President Aleksandar Vucic has said. "Serbia ... will not recognise that [referendums] as it adheres to international law, the United Nations Charter and UN resolutions," Vucic told reporters. Serbia, a candidate for EU membership, has warm ties with Moscow. It is solely reliant on Russia for its natural gas supplies and has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow over its offensive, but it has repeatedly declined to support the invasion, too. (12:40 GMT) Moscow-installed officials in Kherson (Vladimir Saldo) and Zaporizhia (Yevgeny Balitsky) appeal to Putin for annexation. Balitsky sent a letter to Putin saying the Kherson residents had decided "to do away with alien values and reunite with their native harbor - Russia" during the region's annexation vote, TASS reported. (13:31 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 217 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-217 (13:41 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Germany will never accept the results of "sham" referendums on joining Russia in occupied regions of Ukraine, according to a government spokesperson. Scholz also said Germany's financial, political and humanitarian support for Ukraine would not waver and it would continue to back Ukraine in defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity, including weapons deliveries. (13:58 GMT) On Moscow's famous Red Square, a stage with giant video screens has been set up, with billboards proclaiming "Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson - Russia!" The site has been readied as Putin reportedly prepares to officially announce the incorporation of the four partially occupied regions in Ukraine into Russia within days. (14:25 GMT) The president of the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has proposed a new package of sanctions on Russia designed "to make the Kremlin pay" for escalating the war in Ukraine with what she called "sham" annexation votes in occupied territory. "We do not accept the sham referenda and any kind of annexation in Ukraine, and we are determined to make the Kremlin pay for this further escalation," Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. The proposed eighth sanctions package includes further import bans on Russian products, expected to deprive Moscow of an additional seven billion euros ($6.7bn) in revenues, and more export bans on key technology used for the military such as aviation items, electronic components and specific chemical substances, von der Leyen announced. Beyond this, the sanctions package will lay the legal basis for an oil price cap and ban EU citizens from sitting on governing bodies of Russian state-owned companies, she said. (15:01 GMT) Authorities in North Ossetia, a Russian region that borders Georgia, have imposed restrictions on cars arriving from other parts of the country as an exodus of military-age men led to a queue of over 3,000 vehicles at a crossing point into Georgia. (15:48 GMT) British Prime Minister Liz Truss has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that the United Kingdom will never recognise Russian attempts to annex its territory, according to a spokesperson for her office. "The prime minister made clear that the UK would never recognise Russian attempts to annex sovereign territory. She reiterated that Ukraine could depend on the UK's support until President Putin was defeated," the spokesperson said following a call between the pair. The two leaders also discussed how to work together to secure gas supplies in the long term, the spokesperson added. (16:11 GMT) Moscow's foreign ministry has said that Russian-occupied regions in Ukraine made a "conscious and free choice" to join Russia. The statement said that an "overwhelming majority" had backed joining Russia, and claimed almost one hundred% backing in the Donetsk region - "99.23%". (16:14 GMT) Poland's Foreign Ministry has condemned referendums in Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia. (16:20 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has sought to rally international support for his country against Russia in a series of calls with foreign leaders, as Moscow looked poised to annex a swath of Ukrainian territory. (16:26 GMT) Finland has shut down a section of one of its main highways for five days for the first time in decades to allow its fighter jets to practice landings and take-offs on a reserve road runway. The reserve road base located in Joutsa, Central Finland, had not been used for decades due to its importance as the main highway connecting the capital Helsinki to the more northern parts of the country. The site was used for an exercise involving some 200 staff and Finland's F/A-18 Hornet fighter jets, older Hawk Mk 51 trainer planes and other military aircraft, the head of Finnish Air Force Academy, Colonel Vesa Mantyla told Reuters. (17:13 GMT) The UN Security Council will meet to discuss the leaks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea, suspected to be sabotage. The deputy head of Russia's UN mission in New York, Dmitry Polyansky, said on Telegram that Russia had called for a special session of the UN Security Council that would be held on Friday. Sweden's foreign minister Ann Linde told a press conference that "the current Security Council president France has informed us today that Russia has requested a meeting about the Nord Stream leaks and this meeting is being planned for Friday." (17:19 GMT) The United States is working with allies and partners to quickly impose severe economic costs on Moscow over "sham" referendums held by Russia in occupied regions of Ukraine, according to the US State Department's head of sanctions coordination. "There will be more packages. We are working on more sanctions," James O'Brien told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. (17:22 GMT) Russia has questioned whether the US caused undersea gas pipeline leaks in Europe that have been blamed on sabotage, in a turn of the tables that US officials bluntly called "ridiculous". President Joe "Biden is obliged to answer the question of whether the US carried out its threat," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on social media. Washington dismissed the suggestion, with a spokeswoman for the National Security Council saying: "We all know Russia has a long history of spreading disinformation and is doing it again here." (17:27 GMT) Denmark has said more than half of the gas in the Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea had leaked into the atmosphere after they were damaged by suspected sabotage. "A clear majority of the gas has already come out of the pipes," head of the Danish Energy Agency, Kristoffer Bottzauw, told a press conference. "We expect the rest to escape by Sunday," he added. According to climate groups, Nord Stream 1 and 2 contained some 350,000 tonnes of natural gas. (17:36 GMT) The United States has announced a new package of arms and supplies for Ukraine worth $1.1 billion for reinforcing Kyiv's forces over the medium and long term. It includes 18 more Himars systems, highly accurate missile systems which the Ukrainians have been using effectively since June to hit Russian arms depots and command posts far behind the front lines, according to a Defense Department statement. (17:46 GMT) Russia's FSB security service is investigating the damage sustained by the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea as "international terrorism", the Interfax news agency has cited the general prosecutor's office as saying. Germany, Denmark and Sweden said attacks caused gas from the two Russian-owned gas pipelines, at the centre of an energy standoff, to pour into the sea. The countries have not said who they suspect of carrying out the attacks. (18:13 GMT) The United States has said it will not recognise Russian-annexed areas across Ukraine amid what the White House called "illegal and illegitimate" referendums that were manipulated by Moscow and would be challenged internationally. "Regardless of Russia's claims, this remains Ukrainian territory." (18:36 GMT) Russia has set up draft offices at border crossings, Russian news agencies said, as long lines of Russians trying to escape being called up to fight in Ukraine continue to clog highways out of the country. North Ossetia restricted many passenger cars from entering its territory and set up a draft office at the Verkhy Lars border crossing, with some media outlets releasing photos showing a black van with "military enlistment office" written on it. Another such draft checkpoint was set up in Russia along the Finnish border, according to the independent Russian news outlet Meduza. (19:18 GMT) A Russian court has remanded three young poets who took part in an event against the mobilisation to fight in Ukraine, with one claiming he was raped by police during arrest. OVD-Info, a non-governmental organisation monitoring human rights issues, said Artyom Kamardin, Egor Shtovba and Nikolay Dainenko were remanded in custody for two months. (19:26 GMT) The ex-Soviet state of Moldova must boost defences because Russia is not respecting its neutrality, pro-Western President Maia Sandu has told national television. "Moldova is a neutral country, ... but now Russia does not respect our neutrality, keeping its military on the territory of Moldova. We therefore need to strengthen our defence capability," Sandu said. Russia has stationed peacekeeping troops in Transdniestria since the early 1990s, when an armed conflict saw pro-Russian separatists wrest most of the region from Moldovan control. Moldova, which borders Ukraine and Romania, applied for European Union membership this year and strongly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. 20220929 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/29/russia-ukraine-live-news-annexed-regions-could-join-by-tuesday-2 (09:35 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War has said Ukrainian soldiers continue to advance around a key northeastern city occupied by Russian forces and may soon encircle it entirely. The institute said a possible collapse of the Lyman pocket would allow Ukrainian troops to "threaten Russian positions along the western Luhansk" region. (09:41 GMT) Sweden's coastguard has discovered a fourth gas leak on the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, a spokesperson told the Svenska Dagbladet newspaper. While the damage to the pipes remains unexplained, the EU suspects sabotage and has promised a "robust" response to any intentional disruption of its energy infrastructure. (09:45 GMT) The number of Russian military-age men fleeing the country likely exceeds the number of forces Moscow used to invade Ukraine in February initially, according to British intelligence. The British defence ministry announced the estimate in its daily intelligence briefing on Thursday amid the Russian push to enlist more troops. The ministry said those who are financially better off and well educated are over-represented among those attempting to leave Russia. (09:55 GMT) The Russian parliament may consider the annexation of the four occupied Ukrainian regions on October 4, three days before President Vladimir Putin's 70th birthday. Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson are the four Russia-occupied regions in Ukraine which Moscow says voted overwhelmingly in favour of annexation. (09:57 GMT) The US is expected to impose economic sanctions on Moscow over "sham" referendums in occupied regions of Ukraine, the State Department has said. (10:00 GMT) Ukrainian authorities have said that Russia has fired missiles at President Zelenskyy's hometown. Military officials said a Russian Kh-59 missile struck Kryvyi Rih on Wednesday night. The Russian fire struck a grain depot while others were shot down. Kryvyi Rih is some 350 kilometres southeast of Kyiv. (10:07 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia will need to keep fighting until it takes control of all of Donetsk; about 40% is still in Ukraine's hands. (10:12 GMT) The damage to the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Germany resembles "an act of terrorism" and requires investigation in cooperation with several countries, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. Suspicions of sabotage emerged after the leaks were detected. Russia denied it was behind the explosions, as did the United States, who said Moscow's suggestion they would damage the pipeline was "ridiculous". (10:18 GMT) Moscow will formally annex four Russia-occupied regions of Ukraine at a Kremlin ceremony on Friday, President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said Thursday. (10:28 GMT) President Putin signed a decree on Thursday authorising the government to ban some Western trucks from crossing Russian territory. The ban, which applies to vehicles carrying goods, comes into force immediately and applies to countries with similar restrictions against Russia due to their invasion of Ukraine. (10:41 GMT) Finland says it will ban most Russian tourists from entering the country starting Friday. The Finnish government announced it would close its border to Russian tourists from midnight local time (9.00 pm GMT). However, entry for family visits, as well as for work and studies, will still be permitted, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference. (11:04 GMT) NATO vowed a "determined response" to the Nord Stream pipeline damage. In a statement, NATO said, "All currently available information indicates that this is the result of deliberate, reckless and irresponsible acts of sabotage." (11:19 GMT) Al Jazeera correspondent Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, said that the leaders of the eastern and southern breakaway Ukrainian regions have landed in Moscow. "Preparations are taking place for the signing ceremony, which will take place sometime tomorrow alongside a public celebration. "All the signs indicate that Russia is determined to take that decision and make it [annexation] a fact." Vall added: "Russia is talking about this as a correction of history, that those regions have been wronged ... and that Russia will take every measure necessary to defend them after the annexation." (11:56 GMT) Italy will not recognise the results of the "illegal" annexation referendums, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. (12:23 GMT) Russia has called for an international investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline gas leaks under the Baltic Sea to be "objective" amid an escalating blame game between Moscow and the West over responsibility for the unexplained damage. Earlier on Thursday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "It's very difficult to imagine that such a terrorist act could happen without the involvement of a state." "This is an extremely dangerous situation that requires urgent investigation," Peskov said. (12:36 GMT) The New York Times has intercepted phone calls by Russian soldiers in Ukraine who spoke about the atrocities committed, including orders to kill civilians and the massacre in Bucha. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/nyt-reveals-details-of-intercepted-russian-soldiers-calls (13:15 GMT) President Zelenskyy has issued a new warning to Russia of a "very harsh" response if Moscow annexed the four regions following what they and the West called "sham referendums" held by Russia at gunpoint. "They [the votes] are worthless and do not change reality. The territorial integrity of Ukraine will be restored. And our reaction to recognition of the results by Russia will be very harsh," Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy has called an emergency meeting of top security and defence officials for Friday, his spokesperson said on Thursday. (13:28 GMT) Could the Ukraine war go nuclear? | The Bottom Line https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNstGpN0V9Y (14:28 GMT) Pope Francis revealed he had a part in releasing about 300 Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, he said in an interview in a Jesuit magazine. (14:58 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says the West stands ready to provoke "colour revolutions" and a "bloodbath" in any country, without naming a specific country. (15:10 GMT) Ukraine's top general Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, and the US Army commander in Europe Christopher Cavoli discussed the war with Russia and assurances of further support from Washington. The generals spoke on the eve of Putin signing documents to proclaim Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions. (15:40 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said that conflicts in countries from the former USSR, including Ukraine, are the result of the collapse of the Soviet Union. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/explainer-why-is-russia-about-to-annex-ukrainian-territories (16:19 GMT) If Russia moves ahead with its plans to annex four Ukrainian regions, it would mark a "dangerous escalation" that would jeopardise the prospects for peace in the region, the UN secretary-general has warned. "Any decision to proceed with the annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine would have no legal value and deserves to be condemned," Antonio Guterres told reporters. "It must not be accepted," he added. Even some of Russia's closest allies - China, India, Kazakhstan, and Serbia - have indicated that they will not recognise the results of the referendums or the annexation. The United Nations, the United States and Ukrainian officials have all decried the process as a "sham". The Group of Seven (G7), an international political coalition comprised of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the US, also condemned Russia's referendums as "illegitimate". (16:35 GMT) Some "unauthorised" drone activities were spotted near one of the offshore oil and gas installations run by TotalEnergies in the North Sea, the petroleum company has said. "There have been observations of unauthorized drone activity at the Halfdan B oil and gas field in the North Sea," a spokesperson said in a written comment, adding the activity had been observed on Wednesday. "We have taken the necessary steps in accordance with our security procedures and are in close dialogue with the authorities." (17:19 GMT) Vladimir Putin is poised to sign formal documents proclaiming Russia's annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, as Moscow faces its worst setbacks of its war with Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/explainer-why-is-russia-about-to-annex-ukrainian-territories (17:28 GMT) Russia is ignoring UN chief Guterres's comment as it is "bracing" for celebrations on the planned annexation of four occupied Ukrainian territories, said Al Jazeera's correspondent Mohamed Val. Earlier the UN secretary-general had slammed Moscow for its decision to annex Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, saying it would mark a "dangerous escalation" and jeopardise peace prospects. "Moscow is in another world ... I am talking from a place where things are seen from a completely different perspective," Val said, reporting from the Russian capital. "Russian are bracing for what they call a correction of history as they think that those places belong to Russia and it was wrong in the first place to let them go," Val said. "I don't think Russia is listening to what Guterres is saying and they believe that the UN is taking one side of the conflict," he added. (17:39 GMT) Speaking at a meeting of Russia's Security Council, President Vladimir Putin says all mistakes made during a partial military mobilisation to reinforce Russia's military operation in Ukraine should be corrected, RIA Novosti news agency reported. He also said that those who had military experience and training in required specialities should be called up first. (18:06 GMT) Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Russia-led Nord Stream 1 offshore gas pipeline, has said it intended to start assessing the damage to the pipeline as soon as it receives the necessary official permits. It said access to the area of incidents will be allowed only after the pressure in the gas pipeline has stabilised and the gas leakage has stopped. The operator added that until the completion of the damage assessment, it is not possible to predict the timeframe for restoration of the gas transmission infrastructure. (19:01 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denounced Russian-backed referendum in Ukraine as an attempted land grab that is illegal and violates international law. "The Kremlin's sham referenda are a futile effort to mask what amounts to a further attempt at a land grab in Ukraine," Blinken said in a statement. "To be clear: the results were orchestrated in Moscow and do not reflect the will of the people of Ukraine." (19:05 GMT) In a call with Russian President Putin, Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressed his Russian counterpart to take steps to reduce tensions in Ukraine and urged him to extend a deal protecting Black Sea grains exports, the president's office said. Erdogan also mentioned Moscow's plans to incorporate four Ukrainian regions into Russia, which Turkey opposes, and he asked Putin to give peace negotiations another chance, according to Ankara's readout of the call. The UN- and Turkey-brokered deal establishing a shipping corridor, allowing Ukrainian grain exports, is set to expire in late November and can be renewed with the backing of Russia and the other three parties to the agreement. (19:07 GMT) Vladimir Putin says the "unprecedented sabotage" against the Nord Stream gas pipelines was "an act of international terrorism," the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin made the remarks in phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He also said it was necessary to fulfil an internationally brokered deal on Ukrainian grain exports, including the removal of barriers for Russian food and fertiliser supplies to the global markets. (19:28 GMT) Thousand of Russians have fled the country since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial military mobilisation last week to boost Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. About 53,000 have crossed into Georgia but Russia has reportedly set up mobilisation offices at the border to intercept them. (19:35 GMT) US President Joe Biden has pledged to "never, never, never" recognise the results of Russian-led referendums in Ukraine, which he said were cooked up by Moscow. 20220930 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/9/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-russia-attack-kills-23-in-zaporizhzhia (07:18 GMT) At least 23 people were killed and 28 wounded in a Russian missile strike that hit a convoy of vehicles carrying civilians near the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor Oleksandr Starukh has said. (07:21 GMT) The EU must find a way to approach gas price caps that all of its 27 member countries can accept, the bloc's energy policy chief has said. (07:47 GMT) The Russian rouble strengthened past 57 to the dollar and stocks opened higher as President Vladimir Putin was set to proclaim the annexation of four Ukrainian regions on Friday. The rouble was 0.7% stronger against the dollar at 56.84, close to the more than two-month high of 56.5450 hit on Thursday. It gained 0.4% to trade at 55.24 versus the euro. It firmed 1.1% against the yuan to 8.034. (08:01 GMT) A Kremlin proxy official in the occupied Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia has blamed Kyiv's forces for a deadly strike on a civilian convoy that killed at least 23 people, denying the Russian army was behind the attack. "The Kyiv regime is trying to portray what happened as shelling by Russian troops, resorting to a heinous provocation," Vladimir Rogov, an official in the region's Russian-backed administration, said on Telegram. "Ukrainian fighters committed yet another terrorist act." (08:05 GMT) Gas leaks along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines are very likely the result of state action, Swedish energy minister Khashayar Farmanbar has said. "It's very likely that it has been done deliberately and not by accident and it's very unlikely it's been done by anybody else than a state without being detected earlier," Farmanbar told reporters before a meeting of European Union energy ministers in Brussels. 08:10 GMT) Russia's top spy has said that Moscow has materials which indicate the West had a role in ruptures to the undersea Nord Stream pipelines that have threatened to put them permanently out of use, according to reports by Russian news agencies. "We have materials that point to a Western trace in the organisation and implementation of these terrorist acts," the Interfax news agency quoted Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's foreign intelligence service, as saying. Naryshkin's remarks are the most direct accusation against the West from a senior Russian official. He did not specify what evidence Russia had. (08:25 GMT) Prime Minister Liz Truss has said the UK will never accept the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia as "anything other than Ukrainian territory". (08:32 GMT) Russia's president has formally recognised the "independence" of the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia and Kherson as Moscow prepares to proclaim the annexation of swaths of Ukrainian territory. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/30/putin-signs-independence-decrees-for-zaporzhia-kherson (08:55 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says medical provision for Russian combat troops in Ukraine is "probably growing worse" as Moscow's offensive grinds on. "Some newly mobilised Russian reservists have been ordered to source their own combat first aid supplies, with the advice that female sanitary products are a cost-effective solution," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. It added that "medical training and first aid awareness is likely poor". (09:23 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from the city of Zaporizhzhia, in Ukraine's partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhia region, says the area struck by an alleged Russian missile strike is well known as a major "transit point". "It is the area where people escaping from occupied areas like Kherson, Luhansk and the southern part of Zaporizhia come out from," Abdel-Hamid said. "It is also the same route that humanitarian aid tries to enter from ... so it is a very known transit point," she added. (09:31 GMT) The Kremlin has warned it will consider attacks against any part of the four regions of Ukraine that it is set to annex as acts of aggression against Russia itself. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters Moscow would "de jure" incorporate parts of Ukraine that are not under the control of Russian forces into Russia itself as part of its move to annex four regions of Ukraine. (09:41 GMT) Norway may impose a ban on Russian tourists similar to the one introduced this week by Finland, the country's justice minister has said. (09:51 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says the Russian capital is being readied for Putin's formal annexation announcement. "Preparations are being made for a big celebration, both an official one inside the Kremlin and a public one in Moscow's Red Square," Vall said. (09:57 GMT) The United States Senate has passed a short-term government funding bill that provides $12.3bn in aid to Ukraine. The legislation, passed by a 72-25 Senate vote on Thursday, is expected to be approved in the House of Representatives before making it to President Joe Biden's desk. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/us-senate-approves-12bn-for-ukraine-in-government-funding-bill (10:20 GMT) The head of the Moscow-backed separatist administration in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region says that Ukrainian forces have "semi-encircled" the Russian-held town of Lyman, in the area's north. In a message posted on Telegram, Denis Pushilin, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), said the villages of Yampil and Drobysheve near Lyman "are no longer fully controlled by us". He described the news of Ukrainian advances in the regions as "alarming", adding that Kyiv was "trying with all its might to blacken" Moscow's anticipated annexation of Donetsk and three other Ukrainian regions later on Friday. (10:36 GMT) Ukraine's president says he has met with the country's military chiefs to discuss "the further plan for liberation" of Russian-occupied territory. (11:02 GMT) At least 25 people were killed and 50 others wounded by Russian missile strikes on a car market on the edge of the city of Zaporizhzhia early on Friday morning, the head of Zelenskyy's office has said. (11:11 GMT) The United Kingdom will "never recognise Russia's illegal annexations in Ukraine", the country's defence secretary has said, pointing out that Moscow does not fully control some of the regions it is poised to seize. "The truth is Russia is losing in Ukraine and their incompetent Generals are sending thousands to their deaths to please President Putin's imperialist fantasy," Ben Wallace tweeted. (11:22 GMT) The speaker of Russia's lower chamber of parliament Vyacheslav Volodin says that Putin has notified the house about plans to admit four regions of Ukraine into Russia - a technical step towards annexation of the territories. (11:36 GMT) Ukraine's president has accused his Russian counterpart of "seeking revenge" for his military failures after a series of missile strikes allegedly carried out by Moscow's forces killed at least 25 people in the Zaporizhia region. "The enemy is raging and seeking revenge for our steadfastness and his [Putin's] failures. He cynically destroys peaceful Ukrainians because he lost everything human long ago," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post. "Bloodthirsty scum! You will definitely answer. For every lost Ukrainian life!" (11:46 GMT) Moscow's impending annexation of four partly Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine marks a dramatic escalation in the conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/29/explainer-why-is-russia-about-to-annex-ukrainian-territories (12:26 GMT) Putin has declared Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia as four "new regions" of Russia, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, following the Moscow-engineered annexation votes in the partly Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. Putin says the residents in the four annexed regions will now be Russia's "citizens forever". "They don't want to see us a free society. They want to see us as a crowd of slaves," he said. "They don't need Russia. We need Russia." Putin has said Russia will defend its new territory with all the means at its disposal, remarks that indicate a major escalation in the war. (12:55 GMT) The president of the European Commission, the European Union's executive arm, has denounced Russia's "illegal" annexation move, saying it "won't change anything". "All territories illegally occupied by Russian invaders are Ukrainian land and will always be part of this sovereign nation," Ursula von der Leyen tweeted. (12:58 GMT) Ukrainians dismiss Russian attempt to annex more of their country https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/30/how-russias-annexation-of-ukrainian-regions-change-the-war (13:01 GMT) Putin has finished his speech and is now signing formal annexation documents alongside the Moscow-appointed leaders of the four Ukrainian territories being seized by Russia. The audience applauded as each representative was introduced to the audience gathered for the lengthy ceremony in Moscow. (13:06 GMT) The European Council, a body comprised of the leaders of the EU's 27 member states, has "unequivocally" condemned Russia's "illegal" annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. "We will never recognise this illegal annexation. These decisions are null and void and cannot produce any legal effect whatsoever," it added. The statement also said EU leaders would "strengthen ... restrictive measures countering Russia's illegal actions" to further increase pressure on Moscow. (13:13 GMT) Putin has accused the United States and its allies of sabotaging the Nord Stream pipelines running from Russia to Europe. "The sanctions were not enough for the Anglo-Saxons: they moved onto sabotage," Putin said during his speech at the annexation ceremony in Moscow. "It is hard to believe but it is a fact that they organised the blasts on the Nord Stream international gas pipelines," he added. (13:20 GMT) Addressing the annexation ceremony in Moscow, Russia's president said the West had turned away from "traditional" and "religious" values. He also asked assembled dignitaries if they wanted "children to be offered sex-change operations", a practice he implied was widespread in Western states. In his two decades in power, Putin has routinely promoted what he says are "traditional values" and suppressed LGBTQ rights. (13:35 GMT) An adviser to Ukraine's president has warned Moscow it will have to appeal to Kyiv for Russian troops to be allowed out of the town of Lyman, in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, if it is concerned about them. "Today RF [the Russian Federation] will have to ask for an exit from Lyman. Only if, of course, those in [the] Kremlin are concerned with their soldiers," Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. His remarks came shortly after the head of the Moscow-backed separatist administration in Donetsk said Ukrainian forces had "semi-encircled" Lyman, in the area's north. (13:41 GMT) Patrick Bury, a senior lecturer in security at the United Kingdom's University of Bath, says Putin did not appear to issue any "new threats" concerning the possible use of nuclear weapons during his lengthy speech at the annexation ceremony in Moscow. "In terms of the threats he's made before regarding these territories and them coming under Russia's nuclear umbrella, there was nothing new, there was no ultimatum to Ukraine, for example," Bury told Al Jazeera. "The security implications now are what does Ukraine do with these oblasts, do they keep attacking? I imagine they will in the short term, and how does Russia respond," he added. (13:48 GMT) Russia's move to annex four Ukrainian regions has "no legal and political value", Giorgia Meloni has said. Meloni, a far-right politician who is widely expected to become Italy's prime minister next month, said in a statement that Putin's move had once again demonstrated his " Soviet-style, neo-imperialist vision that threatens the security of the entire European continent". She also called for Western unity in the face of Moscow's actions. (13:54 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, says Putin's speech was noticeable for "how little Ukraine" was directly mentioned. "Essentially, he [Putin] doesn't feel that Ukraine is that relevant in this conflict, he doesn't see the Russia-Ukraine war as a war of peers; he sees Ukraine as essentially a puppet, a tool of Western ambition," Challands said. (14:16 GMT) Poland and Greece have issued strongly worded statements condemning Russia's annexation of four regions of Ukraine. "The decision is illegal as it violates blatantly international law and it is void," the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement. Poland issued a similar response, with the country's foreign ministry also calling for an increase in military support for Kyiv and more sanctions on Russia. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte has said the Netherlands will never accept Russia's annexation of of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. "The Netherlands will never recognise this annexation, just as we don't recognise the annexation of Crimea," Rutte told journalists at The Hague. (14:27 GMT) Ukraine's president says his country is submitting an "accelerated" application to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance. "We are taking our decisive step by signing Ukraine's application for accelerated accession to NATO," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post issued in the wake of Russia's annexation announcement. Ascension to NATO requires the unanimous approval of all 30 of the alliance's member states. Prior to launching its offensive in late February, Russia had insisted on guarantees from the West that Ukraine would never join NATO. (14:50 GMT) The United Kingdom has imposed new sanctions on Russia in response to its formal annexation of swaths of Ukrainian territory, including measures directly targeting the governor of its Central Bank, Elvira Nabiullina. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) said the UK had also imposed new services and goods export bans, targeted at "vulnerable sectors of the Russian economy". (14:53 GMT) The United States has rolled out new sanctions on more than 1,000 people and firms connected to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, including the governor of its Central Bank and relatives of National Security Council members, in response to Moscow's annexation move. The Treasury Department named hundreds of members of Russia's legislature, leaders of the country's financial and military infrastructure and suppliers for sanctions designations. The Commerce Department added 57 companies to its list of export control violators, and the State Department added more than 900 people to its visa restriction list. (14:56 GMT) The United Kingdom's foreign secretary says he has summoned Russia's ambassador to the country in response to Moscow's formal annexation of vast swaths of Ukrainian territory. "I have summoned the Russian Ambassador, Andrey Kelin, to protest in the strongest terms against Putin's announcement of the illegal annexation of sovereign Ukrainian territory," James Cleverly tweeted. (15:18 GMT) Half of Russians feel anxious, angry about mobilisation: Poll In the poll released by the independent Levada Centre on Thursday, 47% of respondents said they were anxious and scared following President Vladimir Putin's announcement. Another 13% said they felt anger, while 23% expressed pride in Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/30/half-of-russians-feel-anxious-angry-about-mobilisation-poll (15:26 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has said its forces will continue "liberating" territory occupied by Russian troops and that "nothing changes" despite Russia's formal annexation of four regions in the country's south and east. (15:35 GMT) Biden urges world leaders to reject Russia's 'illegal annexation attempts' (15:43 GMT) Sweden's government has added its voice to growing Western condemnation of Russia's annexation of four Ukrainian regions. "It's nothing but a complete farce," Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson told a news conference on Friday. "We condemn the illegal annexation in the strongest terms." (15:48 GMT) The foreign ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) countries have condemned Russia's proclaimed annexation of four Ukrainian regions as a "new low point" in the war and promised to take further action against Moscow. (15:56 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from the city of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine's partially Russian-occupied Zaporizhia region, says local residents completely reject Moscow's annexation move. "Anyone you speak to on this side is rejecting it [the annexation], calling it 'illegal'," Abdel-Hamid said. "There's also the issue about how many people actually voted [in the annexation referendum]," she added. (16:11 GMT) Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's prime minister, has confirmed that Kyiv submitted a formal application to join the NATO military alliance. 'We are defending democracy, the entire civilised world' (16:17 GMT) Vladimir Putin announced the formal annexation of four regions of Ukraine in a speech on Friday. During a 37-minute long speech, he spoke about the break up of the Soviet Union, Western "colonial policy", nuclear weapons, and his view of Western morals. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/30/russia-ukraine-war-putins-annexation-speech-what-did-he-say <=== (16:25 GMT) President Putin has told hundreds of people in Red Square that Russia will be victorious in its war on Ukraine, after announcing the annexation of four regions from the neighbouring country. Also, Putin pledged to "do everything" to "raise the level of security" in the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk - the regions that the Russian president formally annexed earlier this afternoon. "We will do everything to restore the economy and restore infrastructure, build schools, new institutions, hospitals [in those regions]," he said. (16:56 GMT) A decision on Ukraine's request to join NATO must be taken by all members, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. "NATO is not party to the conflict," Stoltenberg said, adding that "a decision on [Ukraine's] membership has to be taken by all 30 allies by consensus." Stoltenberg called Russia's announcement to annex Ukrainian territory the most serious escalation of the conflict since Moscow invaded its neighbour in February. (17:22 GMT) The US has not seen any sign to date that suggest Russia is contemplating using nuclear weapons, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said, despite what he decried as "loose talk" by President Vladimir Putin about their possible use. Blinken also said he would not speculate on Putin's intent but that the US has plans for "every possible scenario, including this one". (17:51 GMT) Germany's embassies in countries neighbouring Russia have seen a surge in visa enquiries from Russian citizens since partial mobilisation for the war in Ukraine began in their home country, a source from the German foreign ministry has said on Friday. Der Spiegel news magazine previously reported that German missions in Yerevan, Astana, Tbilisi, Baku and Minsk had registered thousands of requests for entry permits to Germany since President Vladimir Putin ordered the partial mobilisation on Sept. 21. (18:12 GMT) US President Joe Biden has rejected Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories, warning Russian President Vladimir Putin that the world would not recognise the move. "The United States is never going to recognise this and quite frankly, the world isn't going to recognise it either. "He can't seize his neighbour's territory and get away with it - it's as simple as that," Biden told reporters, adding that Washington and its NATO allies were ready to "defend every single inch of NATO territory". "So, Mr Putin, don't misunderstand what I'm saying, every inch." (19:09 GMT) Ukraine is facing significant risks to energy supplies this winter as demand will grow while power generation may be disrupted by war, the director of the EU energy watchdog has warned. Ukraine's current power production appears to be sufficient to cover its needs after a fall in industrial activity cut consumption by 30%, said Artur Lorkowski, director of the Energy Community (EC) Secretariat. "But I expect the situation may change dramatically, because once the heating season starts consumption will grow," Lorkowski told Reuters. He said Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is currently held by Russia, was cut off from the grid, while some thermal power plants were located in combat areas. (19:44 GMT) The US Congress has approved $12.3bn in aid to help Ukraine battle its invasion by Russia as part of a stopgap spending bill that averts a government shutdown ahead of a midnight deadline. The package includes $3bn for arms, supplies and salaries for Ukraine's military and authorises President Joe Biden to direct the Pentagon to transfer $3.7bn in weapons and other hardware to Ukraine. The so-called "continuing resolution", which passed by 230 votes to 201, with 10 Republicans joining the Democrats, also provides $4.5bn for Kyiv to keep the country's finances stable and keep the government running. (20:11 GMT) Russia has vetoed a Western bid at the UN Security Council to condemn its annexations of Ukrainian territory, with China and India abstaining. Western powers will now seek to pressure Russia through a vote of the General Assembly, which includes all countries, AFP reported. (20:40 GMT) Zelenskyy hails Ukraine's progress in the east, including Lyman Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his country's military achieved "significant results" in the east and mentioned Lyman, a Russian-occupied stronghold that pro-Moscow forces are struggling to keep control of. 20221001 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/1/ukraine-blog-3 (07:46 GMT) Gas has started flowing to Poland through the new Baltic Pipe pipeline from Norway via Denmark and the Baltic Sea, according to the Polish gas pipeline operator. The pipeline is at the centre of Poland's strategy to diversify its gas supplies away from Russia that began years before Moscow's February invasion of Ukraine triggered a global energy crisis. (07:50 GMT) Turkey's foreign ministry has said it rejects Russia's annexation of four regions in Ukraine, adding the decision is a "grave violation" of international law. Turkey, a NATO member, has conducted a diplomatic balancing act since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. (07:53 GMT) The director-general of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been detained by a Russian patrol, according to Energoatom, the state agency in charge of the plant. Ihor Murashov was detained on his way from Europe's largest nuclear plant to the town of Enerhodar at about 4pm (13:00 GMT) on Friday, the company said in a statement. "He was taken out of the car, and with his eyes blindfolded he was driven in an unknown direction," it said. (08:05 GMT) South Korea has said it does not recognise Russia's declared annexation of parts of Ukraine or what Moscow called referendums that took place in those areas. (09:04 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it will ship 41.7 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday versus the 43.7 mcm it said it would ship on Friday. (09:27 GMT) Ukraine has encircled thousands of Russian troops at the eastern town of Lyman, a bastion that is critical for Moscow, in an operation that is still under way, according to a Ukrainian military spokesperson. "The Russian grouping in the area of Lyman is surrounded," said Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern forces. (10:51 GMT) Ukraine says up to 5,500 soldiers could be encircled in the key eastern city of Lyman, Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Sloviansk in the Donetsk region, said. "The town serves as an important transport and logistic hub since May, when it was taken over by Russians," he said. Stratford said a military operation in some of the surrounding villages near Lyman is continuing. (10:53 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency has said it is seeking information about the director-general of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant whom the state-owned company in charge of the plant said was detained by a Russian patrol. "We have contacted Russian authorities and are requesting clarifications." (11:27 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers have clambered onto a vehicle with the Ukrainian flag on the outskirts of the eastern town of Lyman, a longtime Russian bastion that Kyiv says it has encircled, a video posted by the president's chief of staff showed. (12:12 GMT) Italy's Eni has said it not would receive any of the gas it had requested from Russian supplier Gazprom for October 1 Russian gas supplies through the Tarvisio entry point will be at zero for October 1 as Gazprom has said it is not possible to supply gas through Austria, Eni said in a statement on its website. (12:13 GMT) Ukraine's SBU security service has said 20 civilians were killed in Russian shelling of a civilian convoy in the "grey zone" between Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine in late September. Russian-installed officials in Ukraine's east accused Kyiv on Thursday of shelling a convoy of refugees being evacuated from the Kharkiv region and killing approximately 30 civilians, Russian state media reported. It was not immediately clear if they were referring to the same convoy. (12:59 GMT) France could deliver six to 12 new Caesar howitzers, originally destined for Denmark, to Ukraine, according to French newspaper Le Mond. A French defence ministry spokesperson said that while France supports Ukraine the details of this are "not meant to be communicated" when asked to comment on the report. (13:42 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says its forces were "entering" the key town of Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region. (14:14 GMT) Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Gas Interconnector Greece-Bulgaria pipeline in Sofia, chief of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has described the pipeline as a "game changer". "And it means freedom," von der Leyen told an audience which included heads of states and governments from the region. The 182-kilometer (115-mile) pipeline will run from the northeastern Greek city of Komotini, where it is linked to the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline, up to Stara Zagora in central Bulgaria. (14:43 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its troops had withdrawn from the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine to avoid being surrounded by Ukraine's army. "In connection with the creation of a threat of encirclement, allied troops were withdrawn from the settlement of Krasny Liman to more advantageous lines," the ministry said, using the Russian name of the town, the Reuters news agency reported. (15:28 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, head of Russia's region of Chechnya, has said that Moscow should consider using a low-yield nuclear weapon in Ukraine after a significant new defeat on the battlefield. Kadyrov slammed top commanders for their failings and wrote on Telegram, "In my personal opinion, more drastic measures should be taken, right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons." (16:11 GMT) Russia failed to win enough votes for re-election to the United Nation's aviation agency's governing council on Saturday, in a boost for Western powers that wanted to hold Moscow accountable following its invasion of Ukraine. Russia fell short of the votes needed to stay on the International Civil Aviation Organization's (ICAO) 36-nation governing council, during the agency's assembly which runs through October 7 in Montreal. (16:35 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rory Challands reporting from Kyiv said losing Lyman will be a "blow" to Russia's ability to supply other war fronts. "Lyman is a rail hub ... Russia's military relies very heavily on for rail transportation to move troops, to move weaponry, to move supplies around the front lines," he added. "It also provides Ukrainian another launchpad for further offensives into Russian-occupied territories." (16:58 GMT) The Danish Energy Agency says one of two ruptured natural gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea appears to have stopped leaking gas. The agency posted on Twitter that it had been informed by the company operating the Nord Stream 2 pipeline that pressure appears to have stabilised in the pipeline, which runs from Russia to Germany. "This indicates that the leaking of gas in this pipeline has ceased." (17:10 GMT) Russian forces shelled a civilian evacuation convoy in Ukraine's northeast killing 24 people on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. "In the Kupyansk district, a shot-at convoy of cars containing civilians was found. According to preliminary data, 20 people died in the cars," Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov said on the Telegram messenger site. Synegubov put the preliminary death toll at 24 including a pregnant woman and 13 children. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/1/ukraine-says-russians-shell-evacuation-convoy-killing-20 (17:35 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected accommodation facilities for recruits at a military facility outside Moscow, the ministry said. The Defense Ministry shared a video showing Shoigu and Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin visiting the accommodation site, as well as recruits at a shooting exercise. When asked by a journalist if women will be called up for the partial mobilisation ordered last month, Shoigu said: "No. No, this was not in the plans and is not in the plans for the future. We do not plan and are not going to call up women." (17:55 GMT) United Nations inspectors boarded ships anchored off the coast of Istanbul to make inspections as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and joint coordination efforts managed by the United Nations together with Turkey, Russia, and Ukraine. "There are different countries, different perspectives, but these people work together for a same objective", Nissanka said. "So we usually do like three vessels per day," he added. Inspectors representing all parties at the Bosporus in Turkey have been searching vessels entering and leaving Ukrainian ports to ensure no weapons or soldiers are on board, a clause of the agreement signed heavily insisted on by Russia. (18:30 GMT) Germany's Minister of Defence Christine Lambrecht has made a surprise visit to Ukraine, her first since Russia's invasion in February. Lambrecht visited the southern port city of Odesa, the German defence ministry said in a statement, without saying how long the trip had lasted. It added on Twitter that she had met her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov. Germany will deliver the first of four advanced IRIS-T air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming days to help ward off drone attacks, its defence minister, Christine Lambrecht, said during her visit to Odesa. "In a few days, we will deliver the very modern IRIS-T air defence system," she told ARD television. "It is very important for drone defence, in particular." (18:53 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that fighting was continuing in the strategic town of Lyman, despite Russian claims of retreating from the city. "The Ukrainian flag is already in Lyman in the Donetsk region. Fighting is still going on there," Zelenskyy said in a late-night video address. (20:10 GMT) UN nuclear watchdog IAEA chief Rafael Grossi is expected to hold talks in Moscow and Kyiv next week on the creation of a protection zone around the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNPP) in Ukraine, the watchdog said on Saturday. 20221002 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/2/russia-ukraine-live-news-lyman-cleared-of-moscow-forces (10:42 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared the strategic eastern town of Lyman "fully cleared" of Russian forces, a day after Moscow said its troops had decided to withdraw from their months-long stronghold in the north of Donetsk region. (10:46 GMT) Pope Francis has appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, imploring him to "stop this spiral of violence and death" in Ukraine, and denounced what he called the "absurd" risk of nuclear war. Francis made his strongest appeal yet on the seventh-month war as he addressed the public in St Peter's Square. The pontiff also called on Zelenskyy to "be open" to serious peace proposals. He also exhorted the international community to "use all diplomatic instruments" to end this "huge tragedy" and "horror" of war. (10:56 GMT) Powerful supporters of Putin have criticised the military's withdrawal from a city in Ukraine, saying military leaders should be punished for their retreat. "There is a lot of questioning and criticism going on here since the withdrawal from Lyman and now we have these strong statements from no one less than the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a very close ally to Russian President Vladimir Putin," said Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, speaking from Moscow. "He said the army leadership has covered for [an] incompetent general who should now be sent to the front lines to wash his shame off with his blood," he continued, adding that such statements from Putin's allies are seen as an indirect warning from the Russian president himself. (11:12 GMT) Russia has probably suffered heavy losses as its forces retreated from the strategically important eastern Ukrainian town of Lyman, according to British military intelligence. "The force probably experienced heavy casualties as it withdrew along the only road out of the town still in Russian hands." (11:17 GMT) Russia's Constitutional Court has recognised as lawful treaties signed by President Vladimir Putin to annex four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine, according to court documents published online. The court ruled to "recognise ... as corresponding to the constitution of the Russian Federation" accords for Ukraine's Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions to become part of Russia. (11:30 GMT) The head of the IAEA has called for the release of the director-general of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, saying his detention posed a threat to safety and security. A Russian patrol detained Ihor Murashov on September 30, the state-owned company in charge of the plant said, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Russia had confirmed the move. (11:38 GMT) In southern Ukraine, Zelenskyy's hometown Kriyvyi Rih came under Russian attack by a suicide drone that struck a school and destroyed two stories of it, according to Valentyn Reznichenko, the governor of Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. A fire sparked by the drone attack has been put out, Reznichenko said. Russia in recent weeks has begun using Iranian-made suicide drones to attack targets in Ukraine. In southern Ukraine, the Ukrainian air force said Sunday that it shot down five Iranian-made drones overnight, while two others made it through air defences. (11:48 GMT) The presidents of nine NATO countries in central and eastern Europe declared they would never recognise the annexation by Russia of the four Moscow-occupied regions of Ukraine of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. The statement was issued by the presidents of the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. (12:00 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces destroyed seven artillery and missile depots in the Ukrainian regions of Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk. It said the guidance radar for an S-300 air defence missile system had also been destroyed near Nova Kaluha in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukraine's military said it carried out an attack on a Russian ammunition depot in the country's south, in Chernihiv, and hit other Russian command posts, ammunition depots and two S-300 anti-aircraft batteries. (12:15 GMT) The Danish Energy Agency says it has been informed by Nord Stream AG that stable pressure had been achieved in the damaged Nord Stream 1 pipeline and that this indicates the outflow of natural gas from the last leaks had now halted. A total of four leaks were discovered on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea near Denmark and Sweden last week. (12:30 GMT) Germany, Denmark and Norway will buy 16 Slovak Zuzana-2 howitzers for Ukraine, the German defence ministry said, with delivery to begin next year. The guns, which can fire six projectiles a minute over a distance of 40km, will be built in Slovakia, the ministry said. The three countries will spend 92 million euros ($90m) on the systems. (12:42 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak says it is technically possible to restore the ruptured offshore infrastructure of the Nord Stream pipelines, the TASS news agency reported. "There have never been such incidents. Of course, there are technical possibilities to restore the infrastructure. It takes time and appropriate funds. I am sure that appropriate possibilities will be found," he said. (13:20 GMT) German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has announced the delivery of 16 wheeled armoured howitzers from Slovakia to Ukraine for the coming year in a deal Berlin is partly financing. The systems of the type Zuzana would be produced in Slovakia and financed together with Denmark, Norway and Germany, the minister told public broadcaster ARD after returning from her first trip to Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24. The Zuzana howitzer is the flagship product of the Slovak defence industry and the only heavy weapon system produced in the country. According to the manufacturer, it can fire all types of NATO ammunition in 155mm calibre. (13:59 GMT) Ukraine's capture of a city within the territory of Putin's declared annexation demonstrates that Ukrainians are making progress and able to push back against Russian forces, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. Stoltenberg said in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press, the best way to counter Russia's proclaimed annexation of parts of Ukraine is to continue supporting the government in Kyiv. (15:22 GMT) Ukrainian media have shared an image of Ukrainian troops carrying the country's yellow-and-blue flag in front of a statue marking the village of Torske, 15km east of Lyman and within sight of the Russian-held Luhansk region. (17:17 GMT) Russia has already stopped more than 180 men from crossing the border to neighbouring Georgia to escape the partial mobilisation recently ordered by President Vladimir Putin, the Interfax news agency has reported. The men were handed a draft notice directly at the Verkhny Lars border crossing, the report said, citing the armed forces' commissioner's office of the Russian constituent republic of North Ossetia in the Caucasus, which borders Georgia. (18:09 GMT) As Russian troops retreat after losing the key Ukrainian town of Lyman, they need to set up a new front line to protect their dwindling gains - but one key supply route has already been cut off. The railway lines in northeastern Ukraine converge at Kupiansk Vuzlovyi before heading south towards Svatove, in the Luhansk region, now claimed by Moscow as an annexed Russian territory. (19:35 GMT) Putin ally Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's southern Chechnya region, has called for a change of strategy "right up to the declaration of martial law in the border areas and the use of low-yield nuclear weapons". Other hawkish Russian figures criticised Russian generals and Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu on social media for overseeing the setbacks, but they stopped short of attacking Vladimir Putin. (19:43 GMT) Joe Biden has said the United States and NATO will not be intimidated by Russia's President Vladimir Putin and warned that the Western alliance would defend "every inch" of its territory if attacked. "America and its allies are not going to be intimidated," he said in remarks at the White House. Putin is "not going to scare us". Biden then addressed the Kremlin leader directly, pointing his finger into the television camera as he warned against any attack spilling beyond Ukraine onto NATO territory. "America's fully prepared, with our NATO allies, to defend every single inch of NATO territory," he said. "Mr Putin, don't misunderstand what I'm saying: every inch." (19:56 GMT) The Ukrainian military has said in its evening statement that its forces had repelled Russian advances in several areas - particularly in the Donetsk region near Bakhmut and Spirne, just inside the Donetsk region near Lysychansk, and a major centre in the neighbouring Luhansk region. Control over Lyman could prove a "key factor" in helping Ukraine reclaim lost territory in the neighbouring Luhansk region, whose full capture Moscow announced in early July after weeks of grinding advances, Luhansk governor Serhiy Haidai said. (20:37 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the abduction of the director-general of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is an act of Russian terror. (20:50 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that the success of the country's soldiers is not limited to the recapture of Lyman. 20221003 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/3/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-eyes-further-gains-after-lyman (09:22 GMT) Norway's military has posted soldiers to help guard onshore oil and gas processing plants to boost security after suspicions that sabotage caused leaks in the Nord Stream gas pipelines last week. At the request of Norwegian police, the Norwegian Home Guard began to deploy troops at plants responsible for processing and exporting oil and gas. (09:23 GMT) Ukrainian forces have made some breakthroughs in the southern Kherson region and taken control of some settlements, a Russian-installed official said on Monday. "It's tense, let's put it that way," Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine's Kherson region, said on state television. Russia formally annexed four Ukrainian territories last week, including Kherson. However, none is fully under the control of Moscow's forces, and Ukraine continues to advance in the south. (09:41 GMT) The recapture of Lyman, hours after Putin declared his annexation, allowed Kyiv's forces to strike deeper into Russian-held territory and cut off supply routes, according to Ukraine's Centre for Defence Strategies think-tank. Reserve colonel Viktor Kevlyuk at the think-tank said: "Thanks to the successful operation in Lyman we are moving towards the second north-south route ... and that means a second supply line will be disrupted." (09:47 GMT) The Kremlin says it would consult residents living in Kherson and Zaporizhia on how their borders should be defined after last week's annexation announcement. (10:05 GMT) After the leader of the Chechnya region, Ramzan Kadyrov, called for Russia to use a "low-yield nuclear weapon" over the weekend, the Kremlin says it favours a balanced approach. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was asked about the comments by Kadyrov, who has also criticised Russia's military leadership over battlefield setbacks, and said he had the right to voice his opinion but that emotions should not drive Russia's military strategy. Peskov said the basis for any use of nuclear weapons was set down in Russia's nuclear doctrine. (10:22 GMT) After Putin announced the partial mobilisation of troops and called on 300,000 reservists, thousands were sent back home after being deemed unfit for military service. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/3/thousands-of-mobilised-russians-sent-home-deemed-unfit-for-duty (10:55 GMT) Russia's Gazprom said pressure in the Nord Stream gas pipelines has stabilised following leaks that caused gas to spill into the Baltic Sea. A statement said the leaks had stopped and the energy giant was working to reduce environmental risks. Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the United States had increased prices and sales of liquefied natural gas (LNG) after discovering the leaks. "There is a party or a party that, in the absence of the functioning of these gas pipelines, is able to sell more LNG at a higher price. This side is well known, it is the United States," Peskov said. He added, without specifying a country: "There are also countries that have the military-technological capabilities to carry out such sabotage." (11:11 GMT) Lithuania's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Monday declared Russia's top diplomat in the country persona non grata. Lithuania expelled Russia's ambassador in April and recalled its own, lowering its diplomatic ties to the level of charge d'affaires. (11:35 GMT) Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said he was sending three of his teenage sons to the front line. "It's time to prove themselves in a real fight, I can only welcome this desire," Kadyrov wrote on Telegram, posting a video of the young boys firing missiles in a shooting range. "Soon they will go to the front line and will be on the most difficult sections of the contact line." He said Akhmat (16), Eli (15) and Adam (14) have been trained for combat "almost from their youngest years" and insisted he was "not joking". (11:50 GMT) The lower house of Russia's parliament approved laws on annexing four Ukrainian territories into Russia, following a referendum that was denounced by Ukraine and the West and referred to as a "sham". No lawmakers in the State Duma voted against the resolutions, which were on incorporating Ukraine's Kherson, Donetsk, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions into Russia. (12:14 GMT) The Czech Republic has urged its citizens to leave Russia as the security situation worsens. (12:36 GMT) Sweden's coastguard has said it can no longer see large gas leaks from the two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea. "The larger leak is now no longer visible on the surface while the smaller one instead has increased slightly," it said. The coastguard said the observations were made during an overflight about 8am (0600 GMT). "At that time, the smaller leak was approximately 30 metres in diameter," the coastguard said. (13:09 GMT) European Union trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis has signed a second agreement with Ukraine to provide 5bn euros ($4.9bn) to pump up the cash it has on hand and pay salaries and pensions. (14:03 GMT) Al Jazeera correspondent Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, said constitutional changes approved by the Russian Duma and expected to be approved by the Senate on Tuesday will mean Russia will "officially have 89 entities that make up its federation". "They're [the Russian government] already talking about the border and how it is going to be traced," Vall said. "For Luhansk and Donetsk, the Kremlin spokesman said the border would be the same as that of 2014 when those two self-declared republics announced their independence from Ukraine. "For Zaporizhia and Kherson, there will be consultations with residents. We understand that Russia doesn't control all those territories right now and that they are even losing ground there, so it will be a very difficult battle for the Russians to reach the border they are talking about." "The Russians have celebrated this," Vall added, "but there is a difference between what is being said and the situation on the ground." (14:13 GMT) Ukrainian forces have broken through Moscow's defences in the strategic southern Kherson region, the Russian military acknowledged on Monday. Russian defence ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in his daily briefing that "with superior tank units in the direction of Zolotaya Balka, Aleksandrovka, the enemy managed to penetrate into the depths of our defence." "Russian troops have occupied a preprepared defensive line and continue to inflict massive fire damage" on Kyiv's forces, Konashenkov said. (14:37 GMT) Ukraine's recapture of the eastern city of Lyman exposed the holes in Russia's military. But as Kyiv's forces look to Kherson as their next target, what will this mean for Russia? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/3/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-eyes-further-gains-after-lyman (14:49 GMT) The head of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been released, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Monday. Russian soldiers detained Ihor Murashov on Friday in what Ukraine called an act of terror. "I welcome the release of Ihor Murashov, Director General of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant; I have received confirmation that Mr Murashov has returned to his family safely," Grossi said on Twitter. (14:52 GMT) Qatar says it's monitoring the Russia-Ukraine war "with great concern" after Russia moved forward with annexing four regions following referendums denounced as a "sham" by Ukraine and its Western allies. Qatar's foreign ministry said in a statement: "[Qatar] stresses the need to respect Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and to adopt dialogue as a way to resolve the crisis." Doha said it was ready to contribute to international or regional efforts for an immediate peaceful resolution. (15:29 GMT) Following a string of military defeats that have called into question the country's tactics, Russia has sacked the commander of its Western military district. The news outlet RBC said Colonel-General Alexander Zhuravlyov would be replaced by Lieutenant-General Roman Berdnikov, but there was no official confirmation of the change. (16:35 GMT) A record 83% of Ukrainians would like their country to join NATO, a Kyiv-based opinion pollster said, citing a survey it conducted after Ukraine applied to join the military bloc. The poll of 2,000 people by Rating Group was conducted on Saturday and Sunday after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine was submitting an application for expedited NATO membership. Rating Group said the%age of those supporting NATO membership was the highest ever recorded by a survey in Ukraine. Four% said they would vote against joining the bloc and nine% said they would not vote. (17:59 GMT) Environmental damage in Ukraine caused by Russia's invasion was estimated at around 36 billion euros ($35.3bn), with millions of hectares of natural reserves under threat, Ukraine's environment minister has said. Citing a new methodology developed by the Ukrainian government to calculate the damages, Strilets said the seven-month-old war alone had caused 31 million tonnes of CO2 emissions, roughly the amount produced by New Zealand annually. He said another 79 million tonnes of greenhouse emissions could be produced for the reconstruction of infrastructure and buildings destroyed during the war. (19:08 GMT) Italy froze some real estate properties owned by two Russian oligarchs in the luxurious seaside resort of Portofino, in Sirmione on Lake Garda and in Rome, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter have said. Guardia di Finanza police seized Villa Altachiara, a mansion with a park on the Portofino promontory on the Ligurian Sea, and a property and a car in Rome from Eduard Khudainatov, the former chief of Russian energy giant Rosneft. (19:38 GMT) The Biden administration's next security assistance package for Ukraine is expected to include four High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, munitions, mines and mine-resistant vehicles, two sources briefed on the $625m package told Reuters news agency. The package, expected to be announced as soon as Tuesday, is the first aid package since Russia's most recent declared annexation of Ukrainian territory and the second Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) since Ukraine made large battlefield gains in mid-September. By using drawdown authority, the four HIMARS launchers and associated rockets, some 200 Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles, ammunition for Howitzers and mines, can be sent to Ukraine in the coming days. (20:00 GMT) The United States still has not seen a large-scale Russian reinforcement of its troops in Ukraine, even as it moves ahead with a mobilisation, a US military official has said. "Broadly speaking, we've seen relatively small numbers [of Russian reinforcements] ... but nothing large-scale at this stage of the game," the official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity. 20221004 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/4/russia-ukraine-live-news-russian-parliament-approves-annexations (08:31 GMT) The upper house of Russia's parliament has approved the annexation of four Ukrainian regions. In a session on Tuesday, the Federation Council unanimously ratified legislation to formally "incorporate" the partly Russian-occupied Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk regions into Russia, following a similar vote in the State Duma, Russia's lower house, a day earlier. The annexation documents now pass back to the Kremlin for President Vladimir Putin's final signature to complete the process. Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk make up about 18% of Ukraine's internationally recognised territory. (08:36 GMT) The head of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been released, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog has said. Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said he had received confirmation Ihor Murashov had "returned to his family safely". (08:41 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 223 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-223 (09:01 GMT) Ukrainian forces have achieved their biggest breakthrough in the country's south since Russia invaded, pushing across Moscow's defence lines on Monday and advancing along the Dnieper River, recapturing a number of villages along the way and threatening enemy supply lines. Ukraine's advance targets supply lines for as many as 25,000 Russian troops on the west bank of the Dnieper. Ukraine has already destroyed the main bridges, forcing Russian troops to use makeshift crossings. A substantial advance downriver could cut them off entirely. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/3/ukrainian-forces-advance-southward-mirroring-success-in-the-east (09:11 GMT) A poll by the outspoken billionaire Elon Musk asking Twitter users to weigh in on a plan to end the Ukraine war has sparked a flurry of criticism, including from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The controversial "peace" proposal put forward by the entrepreneur behind Tesla Inc and SpaceX included United Nations-supervised elections in the four Ukrainian regions recently annexed by Russia, and recognising Crimea as Russian territory. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/elon-musk-draws-rebuke-from-ukraine-after-tweeting-peace-plan (09:27 GMT) The bodies of Russian soldiers are lying in the streets of Lyman following a retreat that marked the latest defeat for Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/ukrainians-collect-bodies-in-lyman-russia-ratifies-treaties (09:56 GMT) Ukraine's president has signed a decree formally declaring the prospect of any peace talks with his Russian counterpart as "impossible" but leaving the door open to talks with Russia. The decree formalised comments made by Zelenskyy on Friday after Putin proclaimed four partly occupied regions of Ukraine to be a part of Russia - a move Kyiv and its Western allies denounced as an illegitimate farce. "He [Putin] does not know what dignity and honesty are. Therefore, we are ready for a dialogue with Russia, but with another president of Russia," Zelenskyy said on Friday. Putin, who turns 70 this week, has dominated Russia's political landscape for more than two decades and could run for office two more times under constitutional reforms he has presided over, potentially remaining in power until 2036. (PJB: meaning the US goal is regime-change in Russia. And in reply: ) (10:10 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Moscow will wait for a change in Ukraine's position over peace talks, adding that it "takes two sides to negotiate". "We will either wait for the current president to change his position or wait for the next president to change his position in the interests of the Ukrainian people," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (10:04 GMT) How bad could Europe's energy crisis get this winter? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/how-bad-could-europes-energy-crisis-get-this-winter (10:25 GMT) More than 200,000 people have been conscripted into the Russian army since Putin announced a "partial mobilisation" of reservists on September 21, the country's defence minister has been quoted as saying. "As of today more than 200,000 people have entered the army," Russian news agencies quoted Sergei Shoigu as saying. "The training of the personnel of the formed units is carried out at 80 training grounds and in six training centres," he added. Shoigu's remarks came after the governor of the Khabarovsk region, in Russia's far east, said on Monday that thousands of mobilised reservists had been sent home after being deemed unfit for duty. (11:07 GMT) The EU has summoned Russia's envoy to the bloc to condemn and reject Moscow's "illegal annexation" of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions of Ukraine. The EU's diplomatic service said the bloc had urged Moscow to reverse its "unlawful act" and unconditionally withdraw all its troops from the entirety of Ukraine's territory during Monday's meeting with Russia's charge d'affaires, Kirill Logvinov. (11:22 GMT) Russia's grain harvest is set to grow by about five million tonnes a year because of its annexation of four Ukrainian territories, the country's agriculture minister has said. "Considering the arable land that exists there, I think at least five million tonnes of grain will be added to the Russian savings box. I also think that we'll get other crops," Dmitry Patrushev was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run TASS news agency. (11:42 GMT) The Kremlin has said it does not want to take part in what it described as Western exercises in "nuclear rhetoric" after reports suggested Russia was preparing to demonstrate its willingness to use nuclear weapons. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's remarks came after The Times newspaper on Monday claimed NATO had warned member states that Russia was set to hold a nuclear test on Ukraine's borders. The British newspaper reported the alliance had distributed an intelligence report alerting members and allies to the alleged threat. The warning reportedly made direct mention of Russia's nuclear-capable torpedo drone, Poseidon, dubbed the "weapon of the apocalypse". The newspaper also said Russia had moved a train thought to be linked to a unit of the defence ministry that was responsible for nuclear munitions. In a separate report, the Reuters news agency on Tuesday quoted an unnamed Western official as saying that there were no indications of unusual activity surrounding Moscow's nuclear arsenal. "We have not seen any indicators or activities that we would think are out of the norm. We have not seen activity which is beyond the usual for the sorts of activities that are conducted by those elements of the Russians' strategic forces," said the official. (12:03 GMT) The UK will extend the deployment of an air defence system in Poland, the country's defence secretary has announced during a visit to the southern Polish city of Zamosc. (12:13 GMT) Japan has ordered a Russian consul in Sapporo to leave the country by October 10 in retaliation for the expulsion of a Japanese diplomat in Vladivostok last month, the country's foreign ministry has announced. Takeo Mori, Japan's vice minister for foreign affairs, summoned Russian ambassador Mikhail Galuzin on Tuesday to inform him of the decision. The move came after Russia's FSB security agency said in September that it had detained a Japanese consul for suspected espionage and ordered him to leave the country. (13:09 GMT) Danish police received reports of drone activity over the weekend near the Roar gas field in the North Sea, a police spokesperson has said. The Roar field is next to Denmark's largest gas field, Tyra, both of which are operated by TotalEnergies. The French energy company said last week it had observed "unauthorised drone activity" near one of its other offshore oil and gas installations in the North Sea, the Halfdan B field. Denmark has, like some other countries in the region, raised its emergency preparedness level for its power and gas sector after several countries said two Russian pipelines to Europe leaking gas into the Baltic Sea had been subject to "sabotage". (13:29 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has accused neighbouring Ukraine of deploying 15,000 troops to near the two countries' shared border to build defences and conduct reconnaissance, actions that he called "provocations". In comments carried by Belarus's state news agency, Belta, Lukashenko said the Ukrainian unit brought up to the border had blocked roads and was setting up checkpoints and firing positions. He added the troops were "constantly conducting optical, radio-electronic and radio-technical reconnaissance of our territory, troops and objects". (13:56 GMT) European Union finance ministers have agreed to integrate the EU's support payments to Ukraine into the bloc's 2023 budget to make disbursements more structured and predictable, the vice president of the EU's executive arm says. (14:33 GMT) Criticism is growing in Russia over military failures while Ukrainian forces celebrate their recapture of Lyman, an important eastern town. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/3/whats-next-after-russias-defeat-in-lyman (14:49 GMT) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that India is ready to contribute to peace efforts in Ukraine during talks by phone between the pair. "He [Modi] expressed his firm conviction that there can be no military solution to the conflict and conveyed India's readiness to contribute to any peace efforts," the Indian prime minister's office said in a statement after the discussions. (15:50 GMT) Newly published Russian defence ministry maps appear to show rapid withdrawals by Moscow's forces from areas in eastern and southern Ukraine where they have been under severe pressure from a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the Reuters news agency has reported. The ministry's daily video briefing made no mention of any pullbacks, but on maps used to show the location of purported Russian strikes, the shaded area designating Russian military control was much smaller than the day before, Reuters reported. In northeastern Ukraine, where Russia suffered a rout last month, its forces along a frontline running some 70 kilometres southward from Kupiansk along the River Oskil appeared to have retreated some 20 kilometres to the east, as far as the border of the Luhansk region, according to the news agency. (15:56 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has promised that his country will do all it can to send more grain to Africa as he began his African tour this week in Senegal. After meeting with Senegal's president and foreign minister in Dakar on Monday, Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine would be sending "boats full of seeds for Africa". (16:17 GMT) Two women in Moscow-annexed Crimea, including Miss Crimea, have been found guilty of discrediting the Russian army by singing a Ukrainian patriotic song in a video posted on social media, local authorities have said. Olga Valeyeva - who won the Miss Crimea 2022 beauty pageant - and an unnamed friend sang the popular Ukrainian "Chervona Kalyna" song on a balcony, AFP reported. Crimean police said Valeyeva was fined about $680, while her friend was given a 10-day prison sentence. (17:00 GMT) US President Joe Biden has told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Washington will provide Kyiv with $625m in new security assistance, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) launchers, the White House said. (17:11 GMT) Ukrainian central bank governor Kyrylo Shevchenko has abruptly submitted his resignation, citing health reasons. "Due to health-related issues that can no longer be ignored, I have made a difficult decision for myself. I am leaving the post of the head of Ukraine's National Bank," he said in Facebook post. "I have addressed to the president a request to accept my resignation." (17:33 GMT) Frustration with the battlefield setbacks, which has long been expressed in social media blogs run by Russian nationalist pundits and pro-Kremlin analysts, has now spilled over onto state-run media, an analysis by AP has shown. The less conciliatory tone from state-run media comes as President Vladimir Putin faces widespread Russian discontent about his partial mobilisation of reservists and as government officials struggle to explain plans to annex Ukrainian regions at the same time they are being retaken by Kyiv's forces. (17:58 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has authorised Washington's 22nd package of military aid of American arms and equipment for Ukraine since August 2021. In a call with Zelenskyy earlier in the day, Biden pledged a new $625m security assistance package that includes additional weapons and equipment, including HIMARS, artillery systems and ammunition, and armoured vehicles. (18:25 GMT) Giorgia Meloni, set to become Italy's next prime minister, has promised to give her "full support" for Ukraine in a phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, her Brothers of Italy party said. In one of her first calls with a foreign leader since winning an election last week, Meloni "underlined her commitment to every diplomatic effort useful for ending the conflict" with Russia, the party statement said. Meloni has strongly backed EU sanctions against Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, although her coalition allies, far-right leader Matteo Salvini and ex-prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, both have a history of warm ties with Moscow. (19:09 GMT) The United States has no indication that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons, despite "nuclear saber-rattling" by Russian President Vladimir Putin, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said. (20:17 GMT) Russia's claimed annexation of Ukraine territory will only exacerbate human rights violations, the UN rights office has said as it outlined the "unspeakable suffering and devastation" inflicted on Ukrainians. Christian Salazar Volkmann, presenting a report on rights in Ukraine to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, said UN experts had documented "a range of violations of the rights to life, liberty and security". (20:40 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that dozens of regions in Ukraine have been liberated, seemingly confirming information from Russia's maps that show Moscow's forces withdrawing from eastern and southern Ukraine. 20221005 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/5/russia-ukraine-live-blog-putin-signs-annexation-law (09:20 GMT) Kirill Stremousov, a Russian-installed official in Kherson, says Moscow's forces in the region are regrouping after the successful counterattack by Ukrainian troops, the RIA news agency reported. Stremousov said Russian forces were "conducting a regrouping in order to gather their strength and deliver a retaliatory blow". (09:21 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has formalised the annexation of four occupied Ukrainian regions, despite condemnation from Ukraine and the West. The law formally incorporates Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, which represent about 18 per cent of Ukraine's territory, into Russia, the TASS news agency reported. This was the final stage in the legislative process; the two chambers of Russia's parliament had already ratified the plan. Kyiv dismissed the laws that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Wednesday to formalise annexation as "worthless". (09:23 GMT) Ukrainian armed forces have advanced into Russia's defensive zone towards the town of Svatove in the Luhansk region, according to the British defence ministry. "Politically, Russian leaders will highly likely be concerned that leading Ukrainian units are now approaching the borders of Luhansk Oblast, which Russia claimed to have formally annexed last Friday," the ministry said in a daily bulletin. The intelligence update added that it was likely that Ukraine could now hit the Svatove-Kremina road in the Luhansk region, and that Kyiv's forces continued to progress on the southern front as well. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/4/russian-army-maps-show-major-retreats-in-ukraines-kherson-region (09:24 GMT) European Union member countries have agreed on another round of sanctions against Russia, the Czech EU presidency said. According to the presidency's Twitter thread, the package will contain: "Prohibition of maritime transport of Russian oil to third countries above the oil price cap and a ban on related services," as well as an "extended import ban on goods - steel products, wood pulp, paper, machinery and appliances, chemicals, plastic, cigarettes etc." A "ban on providing IT, engineering and legal services to Russian entities, further tech-export ban," and an "expansion of the sanctions regime to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, new criteria for sanctions circumvention and new listings" were also agreed. (09:25 GMT) Russian TV journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, famous for an on-air anti-war protest, says she has escaped house arrest over charges of spreading fake news. "I consider myself completely innocent, and since our state refuses to comply with its own laws, I refuse to comply with the measure of restraint imposed on me as of 30 September 2022 and release myself from it," she said on Telegram. Her lawyer said she was due to attend a hearing at 10am (07:00 GMT) at a Moscow district court but that investigators failed to establish her whereabouts. (09:37 GMT) The front line around the town of Lyman, which Ukraine retook on Saturday, was "stabilising", said Denis Pushilin, the head of the Russian-installed administration in the Donetsk region. RIA news agency reported that Pushilin said Russian units were reinforcing defensive lines near Lyman amid Ukrainian successes across various fronts. (09:48 GMT) The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant will operate under the supervision of Russian agencies, Russia's foreign ministry said after President Vladimir Putin formally annexed the wider Zaporizhia region this week. TASS news agency also reported that Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), will visit Moscow in the coming days to discuss the situation at the plant. (10:21 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Russia must be part of the Nord Stream pipeline leaks investigations. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin spokesman, told reporters that Russian involvement in investigating and examining the damage should be "mandatory". The operators of the two pipelines between Russia and Germany said they could not inspect the damaged sections because Danish and Swedish authorities imposed restrictions. (11:01 GMT) The Kremlin has said there is no contradiction between incorporating Ukrainian territories into Russia, and Russia's military retreats, saying that Moscow would press ahead with plans to annex four Ukrainian regions. (11:35 GMT) Authorities in Kazakhstan have rejected a Russian demand to expel Ukraine's ambassador over comments about killing Russians. Russia's relations with ex-Soviet allies have strained during the Ukraine war. Tensions escalated after Petro Vrublevskiy, Ukraine's ambassador in Astana, the Kazakh capital, said in an interview in August that "the more Russians we kill now, the fewer of them our children will have to kill". Russia demanded that Kazakhstan expel the diplomat, saying his comments were unacceptable for a country with a significant ethnic Russian minority. (11:58 GMT) Russians fleeing to avoid a military draft would not automatically get visas to remain in France but their situation and security risks will be considered, the French junior minister for European affairs Laurence Boone said in an interview with FranceInfo radio. (12:19 GMT) Hours after Russia said it plans to supervise operations, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear energy company says he is taking charge of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. Energoatom chief Petro Kotin made the comments in a video address posted on Telegram, urging workers at the plant against signing documents with the Russian occupiers. "All further decisions regarding the operation of the station will be made directly at the central office of Energoatom," Kotin said. "We will continue to work under Ukrainian law, within the Ukrainian energy system, within Energoatom." (12:59 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said at a televised meeting with teachers that Russia has "great respect" for the Ukrainian people, despite what he called "the current situation". (13:33 GMT) During televised comments, President Putin said he had signed a decree making "corrections" to the partial mobilisation drive he announced on September 21. Speaking at a broadcasted meeting with teachers, Putin said the new decree would defer conscription for additional categories of students, including those enrolled at accredited private universities and certain postgraduate students. (14:11 GMT) Does Europe have enough gas for winter? | Infographic https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/5/infographic-does-europe-have-enough-gas-for-winter (14:14 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry expelled a Lithuanian diplomat in retaliation after they declared Russia's diplomat persona non grata (unwelcome). Europe and other Western countries have expelled hundreds of Russian diplomats since Moscow invaded Ukraine, many of them for alleged spying, to which Russia has responded the same. (14:41 GMT) The electricity supply at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is fragile, the UN atomic watchdog told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London. "The situation with regards to external power continues to be extremely precarious," Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said by telephone from Ukraine. "We do have at the moment external power, but it is, I would say, fragile. There is one line feeding the plant." He added he planned to visit Russia for talks. Earlier, both Ukrainian and Russian officials said they had control of the plant. (15:25 GMT) President Vladimir Putin granted Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov the third highest command rank in Russia's army as Moscow's forces lost towns and villages due to a rapid Ukrainian counter. The 46-year-old Chechen leader, one of the most outspoken voices in Russia backing Putin's Ukraine offensive, said it was a "huge honour" for him. Kadyrov, a former warlord who rules Chechnya with widespread human rights violations, said Putin had "personally" informed him of the decision. Earlier this week, Kadyrov called on Moscow to use low-yield nuclear weapons in Ukraine and said he was sending three of his teenage sons to the front. (16:12 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the EU should consider imposing a temporary limit on gas prices and also look at a specific cap on the cost of gas used to generate power. (16:23 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak says Russia may cut oil production in order to offset negative effects from price caps imposed by the West over Moscow's actions in Ukraine. The price cap plan agreed by G7 wealthy nations calls for participating countries to deny insurance, finance, brokering, navigation and other services to oil cargoes priced above a yet-to-be-determined price cap on crude and oil products. The European Union is looking at an oil price cap to match the one agreed by the G7, diplomats said last month. "We believe that this tool is in breach of all the market mechanisms. It could be very pernicious for the global oil industry... We will be ready to cut production (deliberately)," Novak said in televised comments. (16:37 GMT) The United Nations nuclear watchdog IAEA says Ukrainian staff running the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are preparing to restart one of the plant's six reactors, all of which are currently shut down. "Senior Ukrainian operating staff informed IAEA experts present at the ZNPP that preparations are under way to start unit 5 at reduced power to produce steam and heat for the needs of the plant," the IAEA said in a statement, adding that preparations would take "some time". (17:07 GMT) French energy giant TotalEnergies says it will continue to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia as long as there are no European sanctions on the fuel. (17:58 GMT) Germany and Spain are sticking to their plan to build a new gas pipeline across the Pyrenees in defiance of French opposition, a joint action plan showed, as the leaders of the two European nations met in the northern Spanish city of La Coruna. The meeting between German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez came as their governments disagreed on other possible measures to tackle Europe's energy crisis in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Spain has backed calls within the European Union for a gas price cap and for joint borrowing to help the 27-nation bloc navigate the energy crunch. Germany has opposed both measures and come under criticism for going its own way with a vast 200-billion-euro ($197.6bn) relief package its peers could not afford. (18:52 GMT) The head of French energy major TotalEnergies says a possible price cap on Russian oil over the Ukraine war would benefit Russian President Vladimir Putin. The group's chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanne made the remarks at the Energy Intelligence Forum industry gathering in central London. (20:10 GMT) The Russian-led International Boxing Association (IBA) says it will reverse a ban on amateur boxers from Russia and Belarus and allow them to compete with national flags and anthems in events with immediate effect. "The IBA strongly believes that politics shouldn't have any influence on sports. Hence, all athletes should be given equal conditions," the body statement in a said. "IBA calls for peace and remains a peacemaker in any conflicts. Moreover, the IBA has obligation to ensure equal treatment towards the athletes and competition officials, regardless of their nationality and residence," the statement added. (20:31 GMT) Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says three villages in the country's southern Kherson region had been recaptured from Russian troops. "Novovoskresenske, Novogrygorivka and Petropavlivka ... were liberated in the last 24 hours," he said in a video posted on social media, adding that the counteroffensive "continues". 20221006 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/6/russia-ukraine-live-news-deadly-shelling-rocks-zaporizhzhia (08:29 GMT) Russian forces launched seven missile strikes on the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia overnight, hitting residential buildings and killing civilians, Ukraine's ministry of internal affairs has said. The missile strikes on the city of Zaporizhzhia have killed at least one, according to a local official. (08:33 GMT) The EU wants the 44 countries gathering for an inaugural summit in Prague of the European Political Community (EPC) on Thursday to highlight Russia's international isolation over Moscow's war in Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat has said. "This meeting is a way of looking for a new order without Russia. It doesn't mean we want to exclude Russia forever, but this Russia, Putin's Russia, does not have a seat," Josep Borrell said. Borrell stressed the EPC gathering included countries from Britain to Serbia to Turkey, stretching from the Caucasus to the North Sea and the Mediterranean. (08:39 GMT) Ukrainian forces have retaken several more settlements in the country's southern Kherson region, the country's president has said. Zelenskyy said in an address delivered late on Wednesday evening that Novovoskresenske, Novohryhorivka and Petropavlivka to the northeast of Kherson city had been "liberated". (08:56 GMT) The head of the UN's nuclear agency chief is expected to hold talks in Kyiv on Thursday over creating a security zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Grossi said the need for a protection zone around the site was "more urgent than ever". He is also expected to visit Moscow in the coming days to discuss the situation at the plant, which Putin has ordered his government to make "federal property" and take over the running of the facility. (09:31 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence has published a map showing its latest assessment of the territorial situation along the front lines in Ukraine. "Advancing south, Ukrainian units have pushed the front line forwards by up to an additional 20km primarily making gains along the east bank of the Inhulets and west bank of the Dnipro, but not yet threatening the main Russian defensive positions," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. "Russia faces a dilemma: withdrawal of combat forces across the Dnipro makes defence of the rest of Kherson Oblast more tenable; but the political imperative will be to remain and defend," it added. (09:36 GMT) Intelligence agencies in the United States believe parts of the Ukrainian government authorised the car bomb attack near Moscow in August that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian nationalist, according to a report by The New York Times. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/6/us-intelligence-says-ukrainians-behind-dugina-killing-report (10:03 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it is "unthinkable" that an investigation into ruptures on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines would proceed without Russia's participation. Zakharova, the ministry's spokeswoman, said the West was purposefully creating obstacles to the probe into gas leaks along the pipelines and said the exclusion of Moscow and state energy giant Gazprom from the investigation showed it had something to hide. Putin last week directly accused the United States and its allies of carrying out attacks on the pipelines, which are in danger of being permanently put out of use. (10:29 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says Russia is "adamant" that it will push the Ukrainian army back and claim full control over the four partly occupied regions of Ukraine that it has moved to annex. "Putin has vowed to - in Russia's terminology - 'liberate' those four regions," Vall said, referencing Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk. "Interestingly, Russia did not talk about particular borders when they signed the annexation documents and said that for Zaporizhia and Kherson it is not yet even defined where those territories end ... so it is a tricky situation there [in those regions]." (10:48 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 225 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-225 (11:05 GMT) Russia is "fully committed" to the principle of never allowing a nuclear war to be fought, a spokeswoman for the country's foreign ministry has said. Maria Zakharova told a news briefing that Moscow's position on the issue had not changed. Her remarks came amid mounting fears about a possible nuclear escalation in Ukraine as Russia's invasion of its neighbour falters. Putin has warned he is "not bluffing" about his willingness to use nuclear weapons to defend Russia's territorial integrity. (11:30 GMT) Ukraine's president has accused Russia of "nuclear blackmail" over its move to take full control of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in southeastern Ukraine. "[The] capturing of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant [stands] for nuclear blackmail and for exerting pressure on the world and on Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a video address to the Sydney-based Lowy think-tank via a translator. "You're not using the weapons, but you can still be blackmailing by not having the nuclear power plant working for the people - the people are not receiving the electricity," he added. (11:53 GMT) Should Europe shelter Russians fleeing mobilisation? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/6/granting-asylum-to-russian-men-fleeing-draft-remains-complex (12:02 GMT) A crime scene investigation of the damages on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines has strengthened suspicions of "gross sabotage", Swedish security police have said. "After completing the crime scene investigation, the Swedish Security Service can conclude that there have been detonations at Nord Stream 1 and 2 in the Swedish economic zone that have caused extensive damage to gas pipelines," they said in a statement. The police also said they had seized some material during their probe that would now be analysed. (12:44 GMT) Russia has been informed via diplomatic channels that there are no plans to invite Moscow to join an investigation into gas leaks along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (13:02 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Ukraine has poured scorn on Moscow's generals and suggested defence minister Sergei Shoigu should shoot himself over military failures in a highly rare public rebuke of the Kremlin's top brass. Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-backed administration in Ukraine's partly occupied southern Kherson region, accused "generals and ministers" in Moscow of failing to understand the problems besetting Russia's offensive. (13:31 GMT) Homes and businesses in the United Kingdom could face planned power cuts this winter if it unable to import electricity from Europe and it struggles to fuel its gas-fired power plants, the country's National Grid has warned. (14:21 GMT) Russia has submitted preliminary objections to a genocide case against Moscow brought forward by Ukraine, according to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The filing, which the court said it had received on October 3, has not been made public. At the ICJ, the United Nations's highest court for disputes between states, parties can file preliminary objections if they believe the court does not have jurisdiction in a case. Ukraine filed a case with the ICJ shortly after Russia's invasion began on February 24, saying that Moscow's stated justification for the offensive - that it was acting to prevent a genocide in eastern Ukraine - was unfounded. (14:36 GMT) Three people were killed by Russian missile attacks overnight on the city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials. Regional governor Oleksandr Starukh quoted Anna Tkachenko, the head of the communication department of the State Government of Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region, as saying two women were among the dead. He provided no further information on the third victim. (15:16 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces have advanced up to about 55km during the last two weeks in a counteroffensive against Russian forces in the northeastern Kharkiv region, a Ukrainian general has said. Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a news briefing that Ukraine had taken back 93 settlements and liberated more than 2,400sq km in the region since September 21. (15:31 GMT) Norway's foreign minister has said it will limit access to its ports for Russian fishing vessels, marking the Nordic country's latest tightening of security following last week's discovery of major leaks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Russian trawlers will from now on only be allowed to visit three ports and must undergo security checks when they do so, Anniken Huitfeldt told a news conference. (15:53 GMT) The European Union has imposed a new round of sanctions on Russia, expanding import and export bans and blacklisting individuals over Moscow's annexation of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions. Thirty individuals and seven entities were added to the EU blacklist, including singers Yulia Chicherina and Nikolay Rastorguev, among others deemed to be pro-war "propaganda" artists. Other individuals and institutions listed included Russia's electoral commission and its head, proxy Russian officials in Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk, and Russian defence officials and defence-affiliated companies. (16:03 GMT) Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed in April for denouncing the Kremlin's Ukraine offensive, has been charged with high treason, his lawyer told Russian news agencies. (16:30 GMT) International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi has said that the UN nuclear watchdog considers the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to be a Ukrainian facility. Russia captured the plant in southern Ukraine in March, shortly after invading Ukraine, and Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his government on Wednesday to take control of it. The plant is Europe's largest, and Ukrainian staff have continued to operate it. "This is a matter that has to do with international law... we want the war to stop immediately, and of course the position of the IAEA is that this facility is a Ukrainian facility," Grossi told reporters in Kyiv. "For us it is obvious that since it is a Ukrainian facility, the ownership is Energoatom," Grossi said during a news conference, referring to the Ukrainian state nuclear agency. (16:32 GMT) Russia is "most anti-European state in the world," Zelenskyy has told leaders at the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague. Russia, now only has one policy, "war against Ukraine, against Europe, against the world," Zelenskyy said, urging the assembled leaders to make every effort to end the war in his country. (16:37 GMT) Russian oil export prices are to be capped in addition to extra trade restrictions and travel bans as part of an eighth sanctions package on Russia formally adopted by EU countries. The level of the price cap still needs to be agreed on by the G7 group and unanimously approved by the EU's 27 member states. (16:40 GMT) Zelenskyy has asked parliament to approve banker Andriy Pyshnyi, who has helped advise the government on implementing sanctions against Russia, as the new central bank chief. Pyshnyi is set to replace Kyrylo Shevchenko, who quit on Tuesday citing health reasons and said on Thursday he had been identified as a suspect in an investigation into "illegal activities" at a bank he led before his central bank role. Shevchenko issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. Pyshnyi, 48, is the former head of Ukraine's state-run Oschadbank and has helped advise the government on sanctions against Russia and against Moscow's ally Belarus. (17:18 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry says it has summoned France's ambassador to Moscow Pierre Levy over the military support offered to Ukraine by his country and Kyiv's other Western allies. "The Russian side pointed to the threats posed by the increased supply of weapons and equipment to the Kyiv regime, and by the scaling-up of training programmes for the Ukrainian military," by France and other Western countries, a foreign ministry statement said. (17:27 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has urged his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to push back against attempts to dodge sanctions imposed on Russia for its war in Ukraine. Macron "underlined the importance of the European sanctions regimes in stopping Russia's escalation, and called to fight any circumvention strategies", the French presidency said after talks on the sidelines of a summit in Prague. (18:18 GMT) Zelenskyy has called for more sanctions on Russia, further military support to Ukraine and for security guarantees until his country joins NATO. He spoke at the first meeting of the European Political Community in Prague via video link. (18:22 GMT) Two Russians who said they fled the country to avoid compulsory military service have requested asylum in the US after landing on a remote Alaska island in the Bering Sea, Alaska US Senator Lisa Murkowski's office has said. Karina Borger, a spokesperson for Murkowski, said by email that the office has been in communication with the US Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection and that "the Russian nationals reported that they fled one of the coastal communities on the east coast of Russia to avoid compulsory military service." Alaska's senators, Republicans Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, said the individuals landed at a beach near Gambell, an isolated community of about 600 people on St Lawrence Island. (19:35 GMT) The Kremlin has denounced comments by Zelenskyy in which he suggested NATO should launch preventive attacks to rule out any Russian use of nuclear weapons, RIA news agency has said. "Such statements are nothing other than an appeal to start yet another world war with unpredictable, monstrous consequences," RIA cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. (19:45 GMT) Ukrainian forces have recaptured more than 500sq km of territory and dozens of settlements in the southern Kherson region alone since October 1, Zelenskyy has said. (19:56 GMT) The head of the UN's nuclear watchdog says that the danger of a catastrophic accident at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has not been averted. Grossi has been calling for a "safety and security zone" to be set around the nuclear plant, Europe's biggest, which remains staffed by Ukrainian workers. He said that discussions with Kyiv and Moscow continued. (20:10 GMT) The US has accused Russian mercenaries of exploiting natural resources in the Central African Republic, Mali, Sudan and elsewhere to help fund Moscow's war in Ukraine, a charge Russia has rejected as "anti-Russian rage". (20:50 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has said European countries would send Ukraine more military equipment to counter Russia, including more French Caesar-type howitzers. 20221007 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-21-people-rescued-in-zaporizhzhia (09:29 GMT) The death toll from an alleged Russian strike in Zaporizhzhia, which hit an apartment building, has risen to 11, Ukraine's emergency service says. Twenty-one people were rescued from the rubble of residential buildings that were hit with modified S-300 missiles, the service said. (09:32 GMT) At least five people were killed and as many were injured after Ukrainian forces shelled a bus in the Russian-controlled part of the Kherson region, Russia's TASS news agency reported. Russian-installed authorities in the region said the blast took place as the bus drove civilians across a bridge near the village of Darivka. (09:33 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has spoken with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin by phone about improving bilateral ties. Erdogan repeated Ankara's willingness to do its part to resolve the war in Ukraine peacefully, Erdogan's office said on Friday. (09:36 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has called on Russian troops to lay down their arms, promising them "life, safety and justice". "You can still save Russia from tragedy and the Russian army from humiliation," Reznikov said, in a video addressed to Russian troops, speaking Russian. (09:40 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was referring to imposing sanctions on Russia when he suggested preventive strikes were necessary to prevent any use of nuclear weapons, his spokesperson said. "You have gone a little too far with your nuclear hysteria, and now you hear nuclear strikes even where there are none," Zelenskyy's spokesperson, Serhii Nykyforov, wrote on Facebook, addressing Russian officials. (09:53 GMT) A four-member team of UN nuclear inspectors is due to arrive at the Zaporizhzhia plant on Friday. They will replace the previous team of two specialists from the International Atomic Energy Agency, whose visit began in early September. "They will live at the nuclear plant, just like their predecessors," the Russian-installed head of the Enerhodar administration said. (10:11 GMT) Russia is calling for a secret ballot next week at the UN General Assembly on a resolution that would condemn Moscow for its "attempted illegal annexation" of four Ukrainian regions and demand an immediate reversal. Russia hopes it will get more support from the 193 nations if their votes are not made public. Votes on resolutions worldwide are usually public and illuminated on a large board with every country's name. (10:24 GMT) The Ukrainian military says its forces have shot down more than 20 Russian drones over the last 24 hours. Most of the drones were the Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones packed with explosives and designed to crash into targets. The military also said that 500 former criminals had been mobilised to reinforce Russian ranks in the eastern Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces have been retaking territory. The new units are commanded by officers drawn from law enforcement. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War says Russia has increasingly deployed cheaper and less sophisticated Iranian-made drones in recent weeks. (10:41 GMT) Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda said that the West must build a strong deterrence in its support of Ukraine to ensure that Russia does not risk expanding the war. (10:55 GMT) European Union leaders are meeting in Prague over a natural gas price cap as winter approaches, as Russia's war on Ukraine worsens the energy crisis. Standing in the way of an agreement during the summit is the simple fact that each member country depends on different energy sources and suppliers. (11:35 GMT) A drone crashed into a military airfield in Russia, says Kaluga region governor A drone has crashed into a military airfield in Russia's Kaluga region, just over 200km northeast of Ukraine, the region's governor said. <== "Today there was an explosion at the Shaykovka military airfield in Kaluga region," Governor Vladislav Shapsha wrote on Telegram. "A drone, presumably coming from the direction of the border, crashed." "The airfield infrastructure and equipment were not damaged. There is no threat to operations." (11:47 GMT) The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to human rights champions Ales Bialiatski of Belarus, Russia's Memorial group and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties for documenting war crimes and rights abuses. The committee also called for the release of Bialiatski, who has been jailed since 2021 in Belarus. (12:12 GMT) The UN Human Rights Council has agreed to monitor the rights situation in Russia, marking the first-ever resolution focused on violations inside the country. Twenty-four countries abstained, while six voted "no", including China, Cuba and Venezuela. (13:05 GMT) A megayacht was found docked in Hong Kong and connected to sanctioned Russian oligarch Alexey Mordashov, according to shipping records, after a week-long voyage from Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/10/7/sanctioned-russian-oligarchs-superyacht-anchors-in-hong-kong (13:21 GMT) Russian forces say they have captured ground in Donetsk, their first claim of new gains after Kyiv grabbed momentum with a counter-offensive that rattled Russia's war effort. "On the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic, a grouping of troops of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, with fire support from Russian forces, liberated Otradovka, Veselaya Dolina and Zaitsevo," the Donetsk separatists said on social media. (13:53 GMT) German Minister for Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock said every vote would count next week when the United Nations General Assembly gathers to vote on a resolution to condemn Russia's annexation of Ukrainian territories. Baerbock said the international community must "make clear to Russia: these areas belong to Ukraine". (14:10 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Brussels to increase pressure on Russia's energy sector a day after the EU imposed a new round of sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. (14:37 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin celebrated his 70th birthday, becoming the longest-serving leader since Josef Stalin. While officials celebrated the occasion and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Krill prayed for good health, Russia's war efforts have come into question as Ukraine's rapid counterattack has led to the loss of occupied territory. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/7/putin-turns-70-with-a-prayer-for-his-health-amid-war-crisis (14:48 GMT) Russia has sacked the commander of its Eastern Military District, Colonel-General Alexander Chaiko, the Russian news site RBC reported, in the latest military firing spree amid a string of battlefield losses in Ukraine. RBC cited public state registers to report that Lieutenant-General Rustam Muradov had been appointed to head the Eastern Military District, which covers troops based in Russia's far east. (15:04 GMT) Russia will consider starting its own investigation into Nord Stream pipelines' leaks as Denmark did not allow Russia to be engaged in their inquiry, the Russian embassy in Denmark said. The embassy also said that Denmark's refusal to allow Russia to be part of the investigation undermines the reliability of any future results. (15:27 GMT) Ukraine's environmental protection minister says an accident at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could release 10 times the amount of potentially lethal radioactivity than in Chornobyl 36 years ago. (15:51 GMT) The UK has rejected Russia's call for a secret ballot at the UN General Assembly next week on whether to condemn Moscow's move to annex four Ukrainian regions. (16:23 GMT) A UN human rights body has passed a motion to appoint a new independent expert on alleged human rights abuses in Russia, accusing Moscow of creating a "climate of fear" through repression and violence. Members voted 17 in favour and six against, with 24 abstaining. The move is the first time that the 16-year-old Human Rights Council has set up a special rapporteur to examine the rights record of one of its so-called P5 members, which hold permanent seats on the Security Council. (16:25 GMT) France creates $98m fund for Ukraine to buy arms France has created a fund, initially worth 100 million euros ($98m), for Ukraine to directly buy weapons and other materiel it needs in its war against Russia, President Emmanuel Macron said. He added that discussions were being held, particularly with Denmark, to deliver more highly accurate CAESAR truck-mounted cannons to Ukraine on top of the 18 it has already given. (17:01 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his team are working to expand and extend a deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports, which could expire in late November, a UN spokesman has said. "They're working actively to remove also the last obstacles to facilitate the export of Russian grain and fertiliser," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, adding that UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan would travel to Moscow in about a week to discuss the issue. (17:13 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi will travel to Russia early next week for talks on setting up a protection zone around the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the agency said in a statement. (17:41 GMT) Poland's government appointed temporary leadership to run Russian firm Novatek Green Energy in Poland after it was sanctioned earlier this year and forced to halt deliveries in the country, Poland's government has said. "I've decided to introduce new temporary leadership at Novatek Green Energy ... This will allow clients to return to the use of the company's network." Waldemar Buda, the development and technology minister, said in a statement. "This is particularly important with the upcoming winter season and energy crisis." In April, Poland's biggest gas company, PGNiG, said its subsidiaries Polska Spolka Gazownictwa and PGNiG Obrot Detaliczny would provide gas to customers in areas affected by a halt in deliveries from Novatek Green Energy. (19:08 GMT) Ukrainian forces have liberated a total of 2,434sq km and 96 settlements in the east of the country in their latest offensive, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video address. Zelenskyy also said that in the last week alone, Kyiv's forces had taken 776sq km and 29 settlements in the east of the country. On Thursday, he said more than 500sq km had been recaptured in the south. (20:22 GMT) The Russian justice ministry has declared one of the country's most popular rappers to be a "foreign agent", a legal designation that has been used to hound Kremlin critics and journalists. Oxxxymiron, whose real name is Miron Fyodorov, was added to an updated list of foreign agents alongside four journalists and Dmitry Glukhovsky, a prominent writer. He cancelled a scheduled Russian tour in protest at the invasion of Ukraine and subsequently left Russia and gave a series of concerts in Turkey, the United Kingdom and Germany, entitled, Russians Against The War. Oxxxymiron, whose lyrics are strongly political and who attended rallies backing jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny, was one of Russia's prominent rappers before the war, enjoying wide popularity in a country where hip-hop is a popular genre. (20:29 GMT) The International Monetary Fund's executive board approved Ukraine's request for $1.3bn in additional emergency funding to help the country sustain its economy as it battles Russia's invasion, two sources familiar with the decision have said. 20221008 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/8/ukraine-blog-4 (05:39 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree that establishes a new operator for the ExxonMobil Corp-led Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East. Putin's move affects ExxonMobil's largest investment in Russia and gives the Russian government authority to decide whether foreign shareholders can retain stakes in the project. Exxon holds a 30% operator stake in Sakhalin-1, with Russian company Rosneft, India's ONGC Videsh and Japan's Sodeco as partners. (05:44 GMT) A fuel tank is on fire on the Kerch bridge in Crimea, Russia's RIA state news agency has reported, while Ukraine's media reports an explosion. "According to preliminary information a fuel tank on fire on one of the sections of the Crimean bridge, the shipping arches are not damaged," RIA reported citing a local official. Traffic on the bridge has been suspended. Ukraine's media says that a blast took place on the bridge at about 6am (03:00 GMT). Kerch bridge linking Russia to Crimea damaged in explosion https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/8/fuel-tank-ablaze-at-bridge-linking-russia-to-crimea-reports Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says Russia's anti-terrorism committee confirmed that there was a truck explosion on a road parallel to the bridge at 6am local time. "The committee said that the explosion caused two sections of the bridge to collapse and a train was on fire," he said, adding that the incident is seen as "a terrorist act" and "an act of war" in Russia. "Russians are still trying to make sense of what happened," Vall said, adding that the bridge is a key supply line between mainland Russia and Crimea and that Russians might have to heavily rely on ferries for transport to Crimea after the incident. The incident was a big blow to Russia's economic and military logistical connection with Crimea, he said. (05:59 GMT) The United States will soon be unable to provide Ukraine with certain types of ammunition essential to Kyiv's battle against Russia's invasion, as supplies are being used up faster than they can be replaced. Washington has become by far the largest supplier of arms to Ukraine since Russia launched the invasion on February 24, with more than $16.8bn in military assistance provided since that date. But US stockpiles of some equipment are "reaching the minimum levels needed for war plans and training," and restocking to pre-invasion levels could take years, Mark Cancian of the Center for Strategic and International Studies wrote in a recent analysis. Washington is "learning lessons" from the conflict about ammunition needs in a great power war, which are "far greater" than expected, a US military official acknowledged on condition of anonymity, according to the AFP news agency. (08:03 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential adviser has said on Twitter that a bridge connecting the Russian mainland to the occupied Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea must be destroyed after a reported explosion. He also called the incident "the beginning" but not directly claiming Ukrainian responsibility. "Everything illegal must be destroyed, everything stolen must be returned to Ukraine, everything occupied by Russia must be expelled," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote. (09:05 GMT) Russia has ordered setting up a commission to look into the blast, according to Russian news agencies. Russia's powerful investigative committee opened a criminal inquiry into the explosion and sent detectives to the scene, saying a truck exploded "on the automobile part of the Crimean bridge from the side of the Taman Peninsula". This "caused seven fuel tanks to ignite on a train heading towards the Crimea Peninsula. As a result, two lanes partially collapsed". While officials in Moscow stopped short of blaming Kyiv, an official in Russian-installed Crimea pointed the finger at "Ukrainian vandals". (09:13 GMT) Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has lost its connection to an external power supply as a result of shelling, Ukraine's state nuclear company Energoatom says, blaming Russia. Energoatom added that the plant was now getting power to cover its own needs from its backup diesel generators. "The diesel generators started automatically. The available supplies of diesel fuel for their operation in this mode will be enough for 10 days," the company wrote on Telegram. (09:39 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, said there is "jubilation" in Ukraine after a blast at a key Crimea bridge that reportedly collapsed parts of it. "This does strike at Vladimir Putin's prestige. It does strike Vladimir Putin's image of control. And I think under the bravado of Ukraine at the moment, there might be some nervousness about what his response might be to this," Challands said. "It also gives the Russians a very big headache when it comes to supplying their southern front in Ukraine because the [Russian] army ... at the moment is largely supplied by rail networks and that main railway network for the southern front came through Crimea across the Kerch bridge," he added. (10:43 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Ukraine's reaction to a huge blast that ripped through the bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea to the mainland showed Kyiv's "terrorist nature". "The reaction of the Kyiv regime to the destruction of civilian infrastructure shows its terrorist nature," the ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. (11:02 GMT) Chris Bellamy, a professor emeritus of maritime security at the University of Greenwich, says the recent blast on a key bridge in Crimea is a major setback for Russia. The incident is "an incredibly important setback both from a logistics point of view and for prestige", he told Al Jazeera. Bellamy said the bridge carried a huge amount of road and railway traffic crucial for the Russian army to supply itself in Crimea. "The bridge was heavily protected not only by the Russian army and navy but by President Vladimir Putin's personal presidential guard," he added. "So it may be just a bit of luck, but it is an incredibly successful strike ... assuming it was carried out by Ukrainians," Bellamy said. (11:22 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry says its troops fighting in the Mykolaiv, Kryvyi Rih and Zaporizhia regions of southern Ukraine could receive all the supplies they needed via existing land and sea corridors after a bridge linking Russia to Crimea was badly damaged by a blast. (11:26 GMT) Three people have been found dead so far in a truck explosion on a bridge linking Russia to Crimea, according to Russia's Investigative Committee. "They are believed to be passengers of a car that was near the truck that exploded. The bodies of two victims, a man and a woman, have already been recovered from the water and their identities are being established," the committee said in a statement. The investigators have also established the details of the truck and its owner, registered in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, and begun searching his place of residence, it added. (11:30 GMT) Railway traffic on a damaged road-and-rail bridge linking Russia and the Crimean Peninsula will resume at 8pm (17:00 GMT), Russia's Interfax news agency has reported, citing the transport ministry. (12:02 GMT) Overnight shelling that cut the power line supplying cooling systems at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine was "tremendously irresponsible", according to the UN atomic watchdog. "The resumption of shelling, hitting the plant's sole source of external power, is tremendously irresponsible," the International Atomic Energy Agency quoted its chief Rafael Grossi as saying, confirming that the plant is now relying on diesel generators. Grossi would visit Russia and Ukraine "soon" to discuss setting up a protection zone at the plant, it added. (12:27 GMT) The Ukrainian post office has announced that it is preparing to print stamps showing the "Crimean bridge - or more precisely, what remains of it". The head of the institution, Igor Smelyansky, posted a design for the new stamps on Facebook - one depicting an explosion on the structure. (12:49 GMT) General Sergei Surovikin has been named as the new overall commander of Russian forces engaged in Ukraine, according to a statement from the defence ministry. (13:23 GMT) German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht says NATO must do more for common security to protect itself against the potential acts of Russia and President Vladimir Putin. "The fact is that we, NATO, must do more for our common security because we cannot know how far Putin's delusions of grandeur can go," Lambrecht said. "We've heard Russia's threats to Lithuania which was implementing European sanctions on the border with Kaliningrad. This is not nearly the first threats and we must take them seriously and be prepared," she added. (13:42 GMT) Russia's Transport Ministry says limited road traffic for cars and buses has resumed on intact lanes of the Crimean bridge which was hit by an explosion early in the morning. The ministry said traffic would for now be restricted to crossing between Crimea and the Russian Taman Peninsula in alternating directions. Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed governor of the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, said on social media that heavy goods vehicles would have to wait to cross by ferry. Russia to Crimea Bridge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Mw1veWgoA8 (14:22 GMT) EU leaders meeting in Prague have failed to agree on a price cap for gas. That is despite most member states agreeing it is the best solution to bring down sky-high energy costs driven up by the war in Ukraine. (15:41 GMT) Alexandre Vautravers, Editor-in-Chief at Swiss Military Review, says the Crimea bridge explosion could have been caused by something other than the truck blast alone. "The possibility of a truck carrying explosives, and we're talking about several hundred kilos of explosives, is probably not going to produce this much damage," Vautravers told Al Jazeera. "Certainly, it is going to ruin the asphalt, the visible part of the bridge, the functional part of the bridge, but definitely the structure is not going to be necessarily impacted," he added. "We need to take with a grain of salt the story to us about how this truck arrives there and all of a sudden produced all of this damage," he said. (17:12 GMT) Interfax news agency reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered tighter security for the bridge from Russia to Crimea as well as the infrastructure supplying electricity and natural gas to the peninsula. In a decree issued hours after the bridge was damaged by a blast, Putin said the FSB security service would be responsible for strengthening protection measures. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/9/russian-divers-to-inspect-damage-to-vital-crimea-bridge-link (18:22 GMT) A top Turkish official says Ankara wants the Ukraine grain deal, which expires next month, to be extended "We discussed this issue with the Ukrainian side. They have a positive view about this idea. We are also discussing the issue with the Russians," Ibrahim Kalin, the Turkish presidential spokesperson, told CNN. "They have some concerns about sending their own crops, ammonia and fertilisers. They had an agreement with the UN. So, they are trying to work out some details. These were some of the problems," he explained. (19:28 GMT) Inside Russia, the narrative around the "war" is changing. The pro-war Putin faithful are grappling with defeats they never expected, and generals are taking the flak from public figures, loyalists on state TV channels, and even military bloggers. (20:19 GMT) Ukraine's economy has shrunk by an estimated 30% in the first three quarters of 2022 compared with the same period in 2021, largely due to Russia's invasion, the country's economy ministry said. Bad weather in September that slowed the pace of harvesting also played a role, as did interruptions in supply from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the ministry said in a statement. Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of shelling the facility. 20221009 Fighting * Traffic has resumed on Russia's road-and-rail bridge to Crimea hours after a huge explosion partially damaged the bridge - which is a major supply route for Moscow's armed forces in southern Ukraine. * Shelling in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia has killed a dozen people, according to Ukrainian officials. * Ukrainian troops are involved in very tough fighting near the strategically important eastern town of Bakhmut, which Russia is trying to take, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. * Russia's defence ministry has named Air Force General Sergei Surovikin as the overall commander of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine, Moscow's third senior military appointment in a week. * Shelling has cut power to Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which needs cooling to avoid a meltdown, forcing it to switch to emergency generators, according to Ukraine's state nuclear company and the United Nations atomic watchdog. Economy * Ukraine's economy has shrank an estimated 30% in the first three quarters of 2022 from the same period in 2021, with bad harvest weather compounding the impact of the war, according to the economy ministry. * Ukraine's exports jumped 23% month-on-month in September apparently with the positive effect of an internationally brokered deal allowing Black Sea grain shipments. Diplomacy * German defence minister Christine Lambrecht has said that NATO must do more to protect itself against Russia and Putin because they "cannot know how far Putin's delusions of grandeur can go". * Hong Kong could damage its reputation as a financial hub if it gives haven to sanctions dodgers, a US State Department spokesperson told the AFP news agency, after the city said it would not act against a superyacht reportedly owned by a Kremlin ally. 20221010 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/10/several-explosions-heard-in-ukraine-capital-kyiv (06:56 GMT) Multiple explosions have rocked Kyiv following months of relative calm in the Ukrainian capital. Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district, a large area in the centre of Kyiv that includes the historic old town as well as several government offices. The spokesperson for Emergency Service in Kyiv told AP that there were casualties but the number has not been confirmed. Rescuers were working in different locations, Svitlana Vodolaga said. The explosions appeared to be the result of missile strikes. (06:57 GMT) Ukraine's presidency says strikes are taking place on "many" cities in Ukraine, a day after Moscow blamed Kyiv for an explosion on a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia. "Ukraine is under missile attack. There is information about strikes in many cities of our country," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, said on social media, calling on the population to "stay in shelters". (07:29 GMT) Ukraine's western region of Lviv has been hit by bombardments that targeted critical infrastructure, including energy facilities, the region's governor said. "Strikes on energy infrastructure facilities in the Lviv region have been recorded," the governor, Maxim Kozytski, said in a statement on Telegram, calling on residents to stay indoors. The region has become a hub for millions of people escaping the war in other areas. (07:38 GMT) Multiple strikes have hit several cities in Ukraine, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed General Sergey Surovikin to lead the war effort amid a series of military setbacks and growing discontent in Russia. Surovikin is known for being totally "ruthless" in the Russian military, according to a report by the Jamestown Foundation, a US defence policy think-tank. (07:45 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Ministry says it will seek revenge for Russian missile strikes that hit cities across Ukraine. "There is sacrifice amongst people and destruction," the ministry said on its Facebook page. "The enemy will be punished for the pain and death brought upon our land! We will get our revenge!" (07:55 GMT) At least five people have been killed and 12 others wounded by Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, police say. (08:03 GMT) A senior aide to the Ukrainian president has said Russian rocket attacks across Ukraine were a signal to the "civilised world" that "the Russia question" must be solved with force. "Cowards fighting playgrounds, children and people," Andriy Yermak, the head of the president's office, said shortly before further blasts rocked the capital following missile attacks earlier on Monday. "This is another signal to the civilised world that the Russian question must be solved by force." (08:06 GMT) China's foreign ministry has called for calm in Ukraine after explosions rocked several cities, including Kyiv. "We hope the situation will de-escalate soon," ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing. (08:20 GMT) Russian forces launched at least 75 missiles at Ukraine during a flurry of attacks on several cities on Monday morning, the head of the Ukrainian military has said. (08:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, says that while the death toll from attacks in the Ukrainian capital currently stands at five people, it is "very likely to go up considerably". "Kyiv Mayor Vitaly Klitschko told residents in the city that they should stay in shelters and if there's no urgent need, to stay at home. The police have blocked off a lot of central Kyiv so emergency services can do their work," he said. "Kyiv hasn't experienced anything like this in months; people stopped paying attention to the air raid sirens, so it's a very, very different reality this Monday morning," he added. "In fact, I would say nothing like this has happened since the start of the war, and even at the beginning of the war, there weren't as many central strikes as have taken place today. "There's no doubt here in Kyiv that this is Vladimir Putin's revenge for the Crimea bridge, and he's taking it out on some of the softest targets there are, which are civilians." https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/10/10/explosions-rock-central-kyiv (08:48 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said he is cutting short a diplomatic trip to Africa following the barrage of missile attacks on several Ukrainian cities. "I am in constant contact with partners since early morning today to coordinate a resolute response to Russians [sic] attacks. I am also interrupting my Africa tour and heading back to Ukraine immediately," Dmytro Kuleba tweeted. (08:59 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says the missile strikes on cities across Ukraine may be a "retaliation" for the explosion over the weekend on the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula. "The last thing that was heard from here was when Putin actually pointed the finger of accusation at Ukrainian intelligence services, for them being behind the blast that destroyed part of the [Kerch] bridge," Vall said. He added that Russian officials have been calling on Moscow to "deal out a severe punishment" to Ukraine over the incident. (09:02 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Dnipro, says Russia's attacks on the central-eastern city mark "the most intense wave of strikes" there "since the war started". Dnipro is the central city on the Dnieper river. (09:12 GMT) Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has said Belarus and Russia will deploy a joint military task force in response to what he called an aggravation of tension on the country's western borders, according to a report by the country's state-run Belta news agency. Lukashenko said the two allies had started pulling forces together two days ago, after the explosion on the Kerch Bridge. (09:14 GMT) Moldova's foreign minister has said three cruise missiles fired by Russia at Ukraine crossed Moldovan air space on Monday, adding that he had summoned Russia's ambassador to explain the infringement. "Three cruise missiles launched on Ukraine this morning from Russian ships in the Black Sea crossed Moldova's airspace. I instructed that Russia's ambassador be summoned to provide an explanation," Nicu Popescu tweeted. 09:18 GMT) The United States Embassy in Kyiv has called on US citizens in the country to "shelter in place" amid Russian missile attacks and depart Ukraine when it is "safe to do so". "The Embassy urges US citizens to shelter in place and depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options when it is safe to do so." (09:30 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister says 11 infrastructure facilities in eight regions of the country and Kyiv were damaged by Russian missile strikes. "Now some areas are cut off. It is necessary to be prepared for temporary interruptions of light, water supply and communication," Denys Shmygal said in a Telegram post. (09:32 GMT) Alexandre Vautravers, editor-in-chief of the Swiss Military Review, told Al Jazeera English that the attack on the Crimea bridge extended the battlefield, "So the response by the Russian military forces is to also extend the battlefield and the waging of air strikes to the Ukrainian capital." "The message is quite clear that fighting will resume in not only areas that are directly connected to the fighting but also in the rear areas where the population lives, where perhaps training is being undertaken with conscripts for the Ukrainian military", Vautravers said. "[This] is an escalation by targeting Kyiv. It is now possible to send a deliberate message even to towns near the Polish border, where NATO weapons are coming in and where troops are being trained, so this is definitely an extension of the conflict". (09:37 GMT) The United Kingdom's foreign secretary has denounced Russia's firing of missiles into civilian areas of Ukraine as "unacceptable". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/10/world-reacts-to-new-russian-missile-strikes-on-ukrainian-cities (09:42 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 229 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-229 (09:54 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he will address an urgent meeting of the Group of Seven (G7) countries following Russia's missile strikes across Ukraine. (10:02 GMT) France's president Macron has promised to increase military aid for Ukraine during a call with Zelenskyy. Macron has reportedly said Russia's missile attacks signal a "profound change" in the war. The "deliberate strikes by Russia over the whole of Ukraine's territory and against civilians, it's a profound change in the nature of this war", the AFP news agency quoted Macron as saying during a trip to the Mayenne region of France. (10:12 GMT) Belgium's prime minister Alexander De Croo has condemned Russia's bombardment of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, calling the attacks "reprehensible". (10:16 GMT) Putin has said Russia's wave of attacks on Ukrainian cities was a response to "terrorist" action, including an explosion that rocked the Kerch Bridge linking Russia to the annexed Crimean Peninsula over the weekend. In televised remarks, Putin said Moscow had launched long-range missile strikes targeting Ukraine's energy, military and communications infrastructure on Monday. Speaking directly about the bridge explosion, he claimed it was "obvious that the Ukrainian secret services ordered, organised and carried out the terrorist attack" and pledged a "harsh response" to any further attacks on Russian targets. "If attempts continue to carry out terrorist acts on our territory, Russia's responses will be harsh and in their scale will correspond to the level of threats created for the Russian Federation. <== No one should have any doubt about that," Putin said. (10:32 GMT) United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has voiced confidence that a deal allowing Ukrainian Black Sea grains exports could be extended and even expanded despite Russia's latest attacks. (10:37 GMT) Poland's foreign minister Zbigniew Rau has denounced Russia's missile strikes across Ukraine as "an act of barbarism and a war crime". "Today's Russian bombing [of] Ukrainian cities and civilians is an act of barbarism and a war crime. Russia cannot win this war. We stand behind you Ukraine!" (10:45 GMT) The European Commission has condemned Russia's missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities as "barbaric and cowardly attacks". EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell had earlier condemned Russia's attacks. "Such acts have no place in 21st century. I condemn them in the strongest possible terms. We stand with Ukraine. Additional military support from the EU is on its way," he tweeted. (10:52 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says Putin indicated in an address to Russia's Security Council that "this is just the beginning". "If more terrorist attacks, as he described them, happen, the response will be along the lines of what happened today and much more. He used the word harsh and said the strikes came from air, land and sea, so Russia is not holding any punches in this conflict any more." (10:56 GMT) Missile attacks hit cities across Ukraine: What we know so far https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/10/missile-attacks-hit-cities-across-ukraine-what-we-know-so-far (11:01 GMT) Russian news agencies have quoted the country's defence ministry as saying Moscow's forces have hit "all designated targets" in a wave of missile attacks on Ukraine. The ministry said the strikes were carried out with precision-guided weapons and had successfully hit Ukrainian military sites, as well as communications and energy facilities, according to the news agencies' reports. (11:05 GMT) Italy is "appalled" by Russia's "vile" missile strikes on several Ukrainian cities, the country's foreign ministry has said. (11:34 GMT) Russia had been planning Monday's missile strikes on Ukrainian cities since the start of October, Ukraine's defence ministry has claimed. "According to the military intelligence of Ukraine, the Russian occupying forces received instructions from the Kremlin to prepare massive missile strikes on the civilian infrastructure of Ukraine on October 2 and 3," the intelligence arm of the ministry said in a statement. (11:51 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has condemned Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine, slamming the attacks as "horrific". "NATO will continue supporting the brave Ukrainian people to fight back against the Kremlin's aggression for as long as it takes." (11:57 GMT) Dmitry Medvedev, the former Russian president who is closely allied with Putin, has described Moscow's latest attacks on Ukraine as only the "first episode". Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said in a Telegram post that Russia, along with protecting its people and borders, should "aim for the complete dismantling of Ukraine's political regime". (12:16 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukrainians will now be worrying whether the attacks on Monday morning are a sign of things to come. "Has Russia used up a huge amount of its precision weaponry and feels like it's made its point, as Vladimir Putin was putting it, or is this the beginning of something that's going to become more regular?" he said. "We just don't know the answer to that at the moment." (12:29 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has temporarily halted its work in Ukraine for security reasons following Russia's missile attacks, a spokesperson for the aid organisation has told the Reuters news agency. The ICRC has some 700 staff working at 10 locations across the country and it delivers aid and medicine to the millions of people displaced by the ongoing conflict. The spokesperson's remarks came after the Norwegian Refugee Council also said it had halted its aid operations in Ukraine until it was safe to resume work. (12:35 GMT) Germany's foreign ministry has said a high-rise office building that houses a German consulate in Kyiv was hit during Russian missile attacks on the capital. There were no officials present in the consulate at the time of the attack as it has been empty since the war in Ukraine broke out. (12:42 GMT) Germany will deliver the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defence systems to Ukraine within days following Russia's barrage of missile attacks on the war-torn country, the country's defence minister has said. (13:48 GMT) The Council of Europe has awarded detained Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize for what it called his bravery in standing up to Russia's leaders. (14:24 GMT) Russia's deadly missile attacks on cities across Ukraine represent another "unacceptable escalation of the war", a spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. (14:50 GMT) Germany's attorney general has launched an investigation into ruptures on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, allowing German investigators to collect evidence. Denmark, Sweden and Germany are investigating how the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines ruptured, spewing gas into the Baltic Sea off the coast of Denmark and Sweden in September. Russia has sought to pin the leaks on the West, while European countries called them acts of "sabotage", without yet attributing responsibility for the incidents. (15:05 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he spoke with Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and reiterated Washington's support for Kyiv after Russia's "horrific strikes". (15:22 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he held talks with Bridget Brink, the United States ambassador to Ukraine, following Russia's barrage of missile attacks on Monday morning. (15:56 GMT) Poland has urged its citizens in Belarus to leave the country as tensions between the pair increase, in part due to the war in Ukraine. (16:12 GMT) The Ukrainian energy ministry has said it will halt exports of electricity following Russian missile strikes on energy infrastructure. "Today's missile strikes, which hit the thermal generation and electrical substations, forced Ukraine to suspend electricity exports from October 11, 2022 to stabilise its own energy system," the ministry said in a statement on its website. Ukraine's energy minister Herman Halushchenko said Russian attacks on the energy system were "the biggest during the entire war." In a TV broadcast he said that missile strikes "on the entire chain of supply (were made) in order to make switching supply as difficult as possible." <== (16:29 GMT) US President Joe Biden has condemned the Russian missile attacks across Ukraine, saying that they hit civilian targets with no military purpose. (16:54 GMT) A spokesperson for Russian energy giant Gazprom has said that a NATO mine destroyer had been discovered at the Nord Stream 1 offshore gas pipeline in 2015. The spokesperson, Sergei Kupriyanov, said the device was pulled out and rendered harmless by the Swedish armed forces. (17:19 GMT) Russian missile strikes on Ukraine's power network caused blackouts in many parts of the country, deepening fears of outages this winter and prompting Kyiv to halt electricity exports. Attacks that killed at least 11 civilians and wounded 64 left four regions temporarily without electricity, and supplies were disrupted in several other areas, the State Emergency Service said. "It is clear now that most of the missiles hit the power systems of <== different cities," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the presidential office, said on the Telegram messaging app. He warned civilians that "you need to be prepared for the consequences of such shelling, up to rolling blackouts." (18:02 GMT) The websites for a number of major US airports were briefly taken offline after a cyberattack promoted by a pro-Russian hacking group. The distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks hit the airport websites of several major US cities including Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Phoenix and St Louis. (18:05 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Russia's attacks on Ukraine present a "profound moral issue" and the international community has a responsibility to make clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin's actions are unacceptable. (18:07 GMT) Germany has no plans to back a joint European Union debt issuance, a government source has said denying a media report saying Chancellor Olaf Scholz supported joint debt issuances to tackle the energy crisis. (18:48 GMT) Russia is open for diplomacy, but Washington's encouragement of Ukraine's "bellicose mood" complicates diplomatic efforts to solve the conflict, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. "We repeat once again specially for the American side: the tasks that we set in Ukraine will be solved," Zakharova wrote on the ministry website. "Russia is open for diplomacy and the conditions are well known. The longer Washington encourages Kyiv's bellicose mood and encourages rather than hinders the terrorist undertakings of Ukrainian saboteurs, the more difficult will be the search for diplomatic solutions." (18:55 GMT) The UN General Assembly was set to meet hours after Russia launched a deadly barrage of missile strikes at cities across Ukraine, as Western powers condemned Moscow's latest attacks and sought to underscore its isolation. (18:57 GMT) The United Arab Emirates foreign ministry has said that President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan's visit to Russia aims to help reach "effective political solutions" to the Ukrainian crisis, state news agency WAM reported. (20:13 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he spoke to US President Joe Biden about air defences after a series of Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities. "The main topic of discussion was air defence. Currently, this is the number one priority in our defence cooperation," he added. (20:16 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to the UN has denounced Russia as a "terrorist state" during an urgent United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting to discuss Moscow's annexation of four Ukrainian regions. (20:37 GMT) The United Nations General Assembly has voted to reject Russia's call for the 193-member body to hold a secret ballot this week on whether to condemn Moscow's move to annex four partially occupied regions in Ukraine. The General Assembly decided with 107 votes in favour that it would hold a public vote - and not a secret ballot - on a draft resolution that would condemn Russia's "illegal so-called referenda" and the "attempted illegal annexation". Diplomats said the vote on the resolution would likely be on Wednesday. Only 13 countries on Monday opposed holding a public vote on the draft resolution, another 39 countries abstained and the remaining countries did not vote. Russia had argued that a secret ballot was needed because Western lobbying meant that "it may be very difficult if positions are expressed publicly". 20221011 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/11/russia-ukraine-live-news-more-strikes-hit-zaporizhzhia (09:42 GMT) The death toll from Monday's wave of heavy Russian attacks across Ukraine has risen to at least 19 people, according to the war-torn nation's emergency services. At least 105 people were wounded. The emergency services said critical infrastructure facilities were hit in Kyiv and 12 other regions, and that 301 cities and towns were without power. On Monday, Russia said its devastating assault was in retaliation for Ukraine's attack on the Kerch Strait Bridge. (09:44 GMT) Russia is running short of weapons and its troops are "exhausted", says Jeremy Fleming, head of the GCHQ, Britain's intelligence agency. "We believe Russia is running short of munitions," he will say. "We know - and Russian commanders on the ground know - that their supplies and munitions are running out. (09:46 GMT) Ukrainian officials are reporting more air attacks, including one in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia, which killed at least one person. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, said Zaporizhzhia "continues to bear the brunt of night after night of strikes from S-300 missiles". He explained that the weapons being used are "older and cruder than the cruise missiles that have been launched at other parts of Ukraine". "They're essentially parts of an air defence system which has been adapted to hit ground targets which are not very accurate." (09:50 GMT) A senior Russian diplomat has warned Washington and its allies that their support for Ukraine could draw them into an open conflict with Moscow. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said that Western military assistance to Kyiv, the training of Ukrainian personnel in NATO countries, and the provision of real-time satellite data helping the Ukrainian military to designate targets for artillery strikes have "increasingly drawn Western nations into the conflict on the part of the Kyiv regime". Several Russian officials have made similar threats before. "Russia isn't interested in a direct clash with the US and NATO, and we hope that Washington and other Western capitals are aware of the danger of an uncontrollable escalation," he said, according to Russia's RIA Novosti news agency. (10:03 GMT) Belarus has said its forces had grouped with Russian troops on its borders as a defensive measure. President Alexander Lukashenko said on Monday he had ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near Ukraine in response to what he said was a clear threat to Belarus from Kyiv and its backers in the West. (10:06 GMT) Russia may have violated UN principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law, after several missile strikes hit Ukraine on Monday. Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said: "We are gravely concerned that some of the attacks appear to have targeted critical civilian infrastructure ... indicating that these strikes may have violated the principles on the conduct of hostilities under international humanitarian law. (10:12 GMT) The presidents of the Bucharest Nine group of countries have condemned Russia's mass air attacks in Ukraine and referred to them as "war crimes". The group comprises countries forming NATO's eastern flank. "We, the Presidents of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia condemn the mass bombardments of Ukrainian cities recently carried out by Russia, which constitute war crimes under international law," they said in a statement. (10:25 GMT) Maksym Kozytskyi, the governor of Lviv, in Ukraine's west, has said on Telegram that three explosions were recorded at energy facilities in the region. "Information about the victims has not yet been received. The danger still continues," he wrote on the messaging app. Meanwhile, Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi told residents to stay inside after parts of the city lost electricity due to Russian missile attacks. "As a result of the missile strike, 30% of Lviv is temporarily without electricity. There are also water supply interruptions in the Sykhiv and Frankiv districts of the city," he tweeted. He also asked residents to store water in case of interruptions to the supply. (10:36 GMT) Turkey has called for a ceasefire, saying both sides are moving away from diplomacy as the war intensified. Foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a televised interview: "A ceasefire must be established as soon as possible. The sooner the better. "As the Ukraine-Russian war drags on, unfortunately, the situation gets worse and more complicated." He said that a "just" process should "ensure Ukraine's border and territorial integrity". Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet Russia's Putin on the sidelines of a regional summit in the Kazakh capital, Astana, on Wednesday. (10:47 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said the United States has long been involved in the Ukraine conflict. "It seems to me that the Americans have been participating de facto in this war for a long time," Lavrov told Russian state television. "This war is being controlled by the Anglo-Saxons." Lavrov said officials, including White House national security spokesman John Kirby, had said the US was open to talks but that Russia had refused. "This is a lie," Lavrov said. "We have not received any serious offers to make contact." (10:52 GMT) Russia says it is continuing to launch long-range air attacks on Ukraine's energy and military infrastructure. The defence ministry said Moscow "continued" to deploy "weapons against military command facilities and the energy system of Ukraine". (11:05 GMT) UN refugee agency chief Filippo Grandi fears a new refugee crisis as more Ukrainians flee their homes due to intensified Russian bombardment. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/11/un-warns-of-more-ukraine-displacements-after-new-russian-strikes (11:18 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow would not turn down a meeting between Presidents Putin and Biden at the upcoming G20 summit and would consider such a proposal if it receives an invite. Lavrov said on state television: "We have repeatedly said that we never refuse meetings. If there is a proposal, then we will consider it." He added that Russia was willing to listen to any suggestions regarding peace talks. (11:30 GMT) Canadian foreign minister Melanie Joly called Russia's latest attacks on Ukraine "abhorrent" and condemned Moscow "in the strongest possible terms". Joly spoke at a joint news conference in Tokyo following a meeting with her Japanese counterpart Yoshimasa Hayashi. (11:59 GMT) The Kremlin says it has limited expectations of the G7 virtual meeting, where Zelenskyy is expected to speak and ask for more weapons. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The mood of this summit is already obvious and predictable. The confrontation will continue." (12:27 GMT) Vladimir Putin said that Russia was not working against anyone in energy markets, a week after Washington criticised a decision by OPEC+ to cut oil production steeply. Speaking with the president of the United Arab Emirates, Putin said Russia aimed to create stability in energy markets and ensure supply and consumption were balanced. "We are also actively working within the framework of OPEC+. I know your position, our actions, our decisions are not directed against anyone, we are not going to and do not do it in such a way as to create problems for anyone," Putin said at the meeting in Saint Petersburg. "Our actions are aimed at creating stability in the global energy markets, so that both consumers of energy resources and those involved in production, suppliers to the global markets feel calm, stable and confident. So that the supply and demand would be balanced." (13:16 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear operator has accused Russian forces of abducting a senior official at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant. Energoatom wrote on its Telegram channel that Valeriy Martyniuk, the plant's deputy director general for human resources, had been kidnapped. (13:30 GMT) Japanese carmaker Nissan will sell its assets, including a factory in Saint Petersburg, to Russia - thus becoming another big brand to leave the country after the invasion began in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/11/japans-nissan-to-sell-its-russia-assets-to-moscow-losing-686m (13:45 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russia was striking Ukraine's infrastructure to compensate for battlefield losses by its troops and vowed allies would "step up and sustain" support for Kyiv. The NATO chief added that any attack on infrastructure critical to the NATO military alliance would trigger a "united and determined response". (14:10 GMT) Russia's missile strikes on Ukraine were "brutal", Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a call. (14:37 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on G7 leaders to give Ukraine enough air defence capabilities to stop Russia. "I am asking you to strengthen the overall effort to help financially with the creation of an air shield for Ukraine. Millions of people will be grateful to the Group of Seven for such assistance," Zelenskyy said in a video address. (15:01 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Group of Seven (G7) leaders that Russian President Vladimir Putin still had "room for escalation" after two days of widespread aerial strikes on cities across Ukraine, including Kyiv. "The Russian leader, who is now in the final stage of his reign, still has room for further escalation," Zelenskyy said. This is "a threat to all of us", he said. Zelenskyy also mentioned the involvement of Belarus in the conflict and said, "Russia is trying to directly draw Belarus into this war, playing a provocation that we are allegedly preparing an attack on this country". Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) condemned Russia's most recent missile attacks on cities across Ukraine and said, "We will hold President Putin and those responsible to account." "We condemn these attacks in the strongest possible terms and recall that indiscriminate attacks on innocent civilian populations constitute a war crime," they added in a statement after talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The G7 also warned Belarus against any further involvement in the conflict. (16:04 GMT) The Ukrainian presidency has said that 32 of its soldiers have been freed and the body of an Israeli citizen recovered in the latest prisoner swap with Russia. "Another exchange of prisoners took place today. We managed to free 32 of our soldiers and get back the body of Israeli citizen Dmytro Fialka," Andriy Yermak, head of the president's office, wrote on Telegram. (16:10 GMT) France to step up military presence in eastern Europe: Defense minister's office France will step up its military presence in eastern Europe, with plans to deploy additional Rafale fighter jets in Lithuania and additional armoured vehicles and tanks in Romania, the office of the defense minister has said. Paris also plans to deploy additional infantry troops to Estonia, it said in a statement as Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu presented the army's draft budget to lawmakers. (16:12 GMT) Ukraine has received the first of four IRIS-T air defence systems Germany promised to supply, a German defence ministry source has said, confirming a report by Der Spiegel magazine. The delivery had taken place earlier than planned, the source said. (16:32 GMT) Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has observed a "common understanding" regarding the need for a Russia-Ukraine ceasefire in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu, Akar's ministry has said in a statement. (16:38 GMT) Ukraine is urging civilians not to use domestic appliances like ovens and washing machines to save electricity as millions faced blackouts after the biggest Russian attack on its energy network since war broke out. The government said residents of 300 settlements in the Kyiv region and a similar number in the Lviv region had woken on Tuesday to find they had no electricity. A further 200 settlements in the northeastern Sumy region and over 100 in the Ternopil region of western Ukraine were also without power. (16:40 GMT) Zelenskyy has officially requested that UNESCO add the historic port city of Odesa to its World Heritage List in a bid to protect it from Russian air strikes. "We must provide a clear signal that the world will not turn a blind eye to the destruction of our common history, our common culture, our common heritage," Zelenskyy told the 58 member states of the UN's cultural watchdog in a pre-recorded video. "One of the steps for this should be the preservation of the historical centre of Odesa - a beautiful city, an important port of the Black Sea and a source of culture for millions of people in different countries," he said. (16:57 GMT) The US will work to expedite the shipment of sophisticated NASAMS air defenses to Ukraine as soon as they can, White House spokesperson John Kirby has said. US President Joe Biden pledged to Zelenskyy on Monday that Washington would provide the advanced air systems after a devastating missile barrage from Russia. (16:59 GMT) Putin has told UN nuclear agency IAEA chief Rafael Grossi he is "open to dialogue" on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in territory controlled by Moscow's forces in southern Ukraine. (17:00 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has held a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar, two days before Putin is set to meet Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan, the Russian defence ministry has said in a statement. (17:05 GMT) The head of the IAEA has renewed calls for a protection zone around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during a meeting with Putin. "There is no time to lose," Rafael Grossi said after the talks in St Petersburg. He said the situation around the Russian-occupied nuclear plant was "increasingly dangerous, unstable and challenging" because of frequent military attacks in the area. Grossi has proposed the establishment of a ceasefire zone to avoid a nuclear accident. Demilitarization with troop withdrawals is not part of the plan. Welcoming the meeting, Putin said Russia was ready to discuss the "situation". "In any case, we are open to this dialogue and glad to see you," he said. (17:36 GMT) British businessman Graham Bonham-Carter has been arrested on US charges of conspiring to violate sanctions placed on Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska, prosecutors have said. Bonham-Carter was arrested in the UK, and federal prosecutors in Manhattan will be seeking his extradition. He was also charged with wire fraud for funding US properties purchased by Deripaska and efforts to expatriate Deripaska's artwork in the US. (18:52 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) leading industrialized nations have reiterated their support for Ukraine's right to regain all the territory taken by Russia and have pledged more support, including weapons, after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "In line with international law, in particular the UN Charter, Ukraine has the legitimate right to defend itself against Russian aggression and to regain full control of its territory within its internationally recognised borders," a G7 statement said after the meeting. "We will continue to provide financial, humanitarian, military, diplomatic and legal support and will stand firmly with Ukraine for as long as it takes," the statement read. (18:55 GMT) Ukrainians have rallied in the Czech capital Prague for the second straight evening to condemn this week's barrage of Russian missile strikes on cities across Ukraine and to demand more weapons from the West to protect their nation. (19:21 GMT) Washington does not see Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's comment that Moscow is open to talks with the West over the war in Ukraine as a "constructive, legitimate offer" to engage in dialogue, US Department of State spokesperson Ned Price has said. Lavrov said earlier on Tuesday that Moscow was open to talks but had yet to receive any serious proposal to negotiate. (19:34 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said it is critical that international partners join the United States in supporting Ukraine, and called on partners and allies to swiftly disburse their existing commitments and to step up and do more. "Two weeks ago, Congress passed $4.5bn in direct budget support for Ukraine, which I'm pleased to announce the United States intends to disburse to the Ukrainian government in the coming weeks," Yellen said at the start of a meeting with Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and a delegation of senior Ukrainian officials. (20:27 GMT) Putin is a "rational actor who has miscalculated significantly", US President Joe Biden has said in a clip of a CNN interview broadcast. 20221012 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/12/russia-ukraine-live-news-biden-doubts-use-of-nuclear-weapons (09:09 GMT) In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, US President Joe Biden said he did not believe his Russian counterpart would order the use of a tactical nuclear weapon in the Ukraine war. Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday the military alliance has not noticed any change in Russia's nuclear posture following the threats. (09:14 GMT) NATO members will discuss enhancing Ukraine's air defence, two days after 100 Russian missiles rained down on cities across the country, including the capital, Kyiv. On Tuesday, a German defence source said that Ukraine had received the first of four IRIS-T SLM air defence systems Berlin promised to supply. (09:17 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it has detained five Russians and three citizens of Ukraine and Armenia over Saturday's Crimea bridge blast. The FSB said the explosion was organised by Ukrainian military intelligence and its director, Kyrylo Budanov, claiming a device was moved from Ukraine to Russia via Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia. The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, also said it had prevented Ukrainian attacks in Moscow and the western Russian city of Bryansk. (09:19 GMT) The head of the IAEA says the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has lost all external power needed for vital safety systems. Rafael Grossi said agency monitors at the site reported the interruption and said backup diesel generators were keeping security equipment operational. This is the second time this has happened in recent days. The plant lost external power less than a week ago due to shelling near the plant. (09:40 GMT) A safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Russian-controlled Ukraine is impossible to implement until the front moves forward by at least 100km, the Russian-installed leader of the region said. (09:41 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official has called Russia's investigation into an explosion on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea "nonsense". (09:57 GMT) Poland has detected a leak in one of the Druzhba pipelines bringing oil from Russia to Europe, saying the rupture was most likely caused by accident. "Here we can talk about accidental damage," Poland's top official in energy infrastructure Mateusz Berger told Reuters news agency by telephone. However, the event may still stoke concerns about the security of Europe's energy supplies. (10:05 GMT) Pope Francis has condemned Russia's "relentless bombings" of Ukrainian cities, saying the deadly attacks had unleashed a "hurricane of violence" on residents. Speaking to thousands of people at his weekly general audience in Saint Peter's Square, he appealed to "those who have the fate of the war in their hands" to stop. (10:29 GMT) The Kremlin has said that comments made on Tuesday by NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg could be considered confirmation that the alliance is fighting on Ukraine's side. Stoltenberg had said a Russian victory in Ukraine would be "a defeat for us all". (10:33 GMT) Russia hopes G7 nations hold "the Kyiv regime" accountable for the crimes it has committed, the Kremlin has said. Moscow's comments came after the G7 pledged to continue providing support to Ukraine, adding in a statement after a leaders' call that any use by Russia of nuclear weapons would be met with severe consequences. Meanwhile, the Kremlin also said that there was no "new wave" of men being drafted after some regional officials reported they were stepping up mobilisation efforts. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters to check with individual regional governors regarding their plans. (10:52 GMT) Russian air attacks have killed at least seven people and wounded another eight at a market in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, near the front line, said a regional governor. "At least seven dead and eight wounded as a result of the shelling this morning on Avdiivka. The Russians struck the central market, where many people were at that time," the Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram. Kyrylenko added that there was "no military logic" for such an attack. (11:00 GMT) Russia's deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin says that a price cap on Russian oil suggested by Western countries would harm the whole oil market. While Russian oil imports into the European Union and United Kingdom fell 35% to 1.7 million barrels per day (bpd) in August from 2.6 million bpd in January, the bloc is still the biggest market for Russian crude, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). (11:11 GMT) Russian media have reported five blasts in Kherson, adding that air defence systems were launched. RIA news agency reported, citing local Russia-installed police, that a device exploded near the city's central market, but there were no casualties. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Russian-controlled Melitopol in the south of the Zaporizhia region, also said on Telegram that there was a powerful explosion in the city. (11:22 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says the Russian Security Service has named Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence unit, as the mastermind behind the Kerch Strait Bridge explosion. "They said that he used a lot of collaborators, including Ukrainians, Georgians and Armenians. "They also mentioned that the explosives - 22,770 kilograms of explosives were shipped in August from the [Ukrainian] port in Odesa, first to Bulgaria. That's where they were put on the truck that crossed through Bulgaria, Armenia, Georgia and inside the Russian Federation itself," Vall said. Not much has been said about how the truck managed to pass through all the checkpoints or how it ended up in Crimea, Vall said. "They said [Budanov] was across all those stages and was able to monitor ... from the very beginning to the end." (11:38 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the issue of renewable energy should not be "politicised" and accused the European Union of underinvesting in oil and gas. Putin also said that gas could still be supplied by one remaining intact part of Nord Stream 2, but the ball was now in the EU's court on whether or not it wanted gas supplied through the pipeline. (11:57 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg commented on Russian escalation and Ukrainian air defence to reporters, as he arrived for the Brussels meeting. "Allies have provided air defence, but we need even more. We need different types of air defence: short-range, long-range air defence systems to take ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones; different systems for different tasks. And then, of course, Ukraine is a big country, many cities. So we need to scale up to be able to help Ukraine defend even more cities and more territory against horrific Russian attacks against their civilian populations." (12:02 GMT) As he arrived for the NATO meeting, Ukraine's Minister of Defence Oleksii Reznikov had a brief exchange with a reporter. The journalist asked, "What do you expect from NATO today?" He replied, "Air defence systems." (12:41 GMT) Alexei Miller, head of Russian natural gas company Gazprom, said that the damaged Nord Stream pipelines would take at least a year and that Russia had still not been granted access to the area of damage. Speaking at the Russian Energy Week conference in Moscow, Miller also echoed a call made by President Vladimir Putin that Russia could redirect supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to a new European gas hub in Turkey. (13:06 GMT) Germany will not accept Russian gas via the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, a government spokesperson said after President Vladimir Putin offered to resume supplies. The spokesperson added, however, that Russia could resume gas deliveries via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, which was not sanctioned in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "If Russia delivers through Nord Stream 1, there is no embargo against it at the moment." (13:26 GMT) What are tactical nuclear weapons? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/12/what-are-nuclear-tactical-weapons-and-can-they-be-used (14:07 GMT) Russia has depleted a significant proportion of its precision-guided ammunition during its invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior NATO official. Reuters quoted the unnamed official as saying Russia's military industry was unable to produce all kinds of ammunition and weapon systems due to Western sanctions. <== (14:16 GMT) Moscow expects Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will "officially" offer to mediate negotiations with Ukraine, a Kremlin aide said. "The Turks are offering their mediation. If any talks take place, then most likely they will be on their territory: in Istanbul or Ankara," Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow. "Erdogan will probably propose something officially" during Thursday's talks with President Vladimir Putin in the Kazakh capital, Astana. (14:23 GMT) In response to Zelenskyy's refusal of talks with Putin, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told reporters in Moscow, "I would like to tell him [Zelenskyy]: never say never." (14:48 GMT) A Russian nuclear attack would change the course of the Ukraine conflict and almost certainly trigger a "physical response" from Kyiv's allies and potentially from NATO, a senior NATO official said, according to Reuters. The unnamed official warned that any use of nuclear weapons by Moscow would have "unprecedented consequences" for Russia. It would "almost certainly be drawing a physical response from many allies and potentially from NATO itself", he said. (15:24 GMT) Europe turns to Africa for gas as alternative to Russia https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/10/12/europe-turns-to-africa-for-gas-as-alternative-to-russia (15:46 GMT) UN atomic monitors and Ukraine's state nuclear operator say workers have managed to restore power to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine's Energoatom said the plant had suffered a blackout when a missile damaged a distant electrical substation. Energoatom wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian workers found a way to repair the line and have reconnected the plant to the Ukrainian power grid. This was the second electrical outage at Europe's largest nuclear power plant in five days. (16:21 GMT) Ukraine has received a delivery of the German IRIS-T air defence system, Der Spiegel magazine has reported. (16:32 GMT) The Czech Republic will turn away Russian tourists holding Schengen-zone visas from October 25, its foreign minister says as it joins other European Union member states in tightening entry rules. The tightening of rules means even those with EU visas from other states will not be allowed to enter. (16:36 GMT) "Russia has deliberately struck civilian infrastructure with the purpose of harming civilians," Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said at NATO headquarters in Brussels. "They have targeted the elderly, the women and the children of Ukraine," he said. "Indiscriminate and deliberate attacks on civilian targets is a war crime in the international rules of war." (17:02 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to the European Union via a link of the Germany-bound Nord Stream 2 pipeline under the Baltic Sea - an offer quickly rejected by Berlin. Putin said that one of the two links of the pipeline remained pressurised despite a series of ruptures last month which caused major leaks, sending gas spewing out off the coast of Denmark and Sweden. He added that if checks prove the Nord Stream 2 link is safe to operate, Russia stands ready to use the pipeline to pump gas to Europe, adding its capacity stands at 27 billion cubic meters (bcm) a year. (18:10 GMT) Zelenskyy said that increased financial support from international donors will help end Russia's devastating war in Ukraine more quickly, citing the need for $38bn to close next year's estimated budget deficit. Zelenskyy spole in a virtual address to a high-level forum during International Monetary Fund and World Bank annual meetings in Washington. (18:11 GMT) Hungary has agreed with Russia's Gazprom to reroute gas shipments to Hungary to the TurkStream pipeline, with the sides also finalising the terms of a deferred payment mechanism, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said. After talks with Alexei Miller, head of Russian state-controlled natural gas monopoly Gazprom in Moscow, Szijjarto also said Hungary maintained its opposition to any European sanctions hitting gas shipments and related activities. (18:19 GMT) Finland is interested in the development of a European anti-aircraft defence system but would not take a very central role in it, Finnish Defence Minister Antti Kaikkonen told reporters, after meeting with NATO peers in Brussels. (18:36 GMT) France will deliver radar and air defence systems to Ukraine in the coming weeks, in particular to help Ukraine protest itself from drone attacks, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. Paris has previously supplied Mistral shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles to Ukraine. (19:46 GMT) SpaceX's Starlink services have helped restore energy and communications infrastructure in critical areas of Ukraine, Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov says. "Over 100 cruise missiles attacked [Ukraine's] energy and communications infrastructure" Fedorov tweeted. "But with Starlink we quickly restored the connection in critical areas." (19:55 GMT) The US has not had consular access to Brittney Griner, an American detained in Russia, since the beginning of August, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price says. (20:25 GMT) The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted to condemn Russia's annexations of parts of Ukraine after Moscow vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council. The General Assembly approved the resolution by a 143-5 vote after a significant US diplomatic effort to seek clearer condemnation of Moscow. Thirty-five nations abstained, including China, India, South Africa and Pakistan. 20221013 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/13/ukraine-russia-live-news-kyiv-area-hit-by-kamikaze (07:34 GMT) Iranian-made "kamikaze drones" hit Ukraine's capital region in the early morning hours, Kyiv regional Governor Oleksiy Kuleba has said. (07:37 GMT) Russian missiles pounded more than 40 Ukrainian cities and towns in a day, officials have said. In the past 24 hours, air raids hit more than 40 settlements, while Ukraine's air force carried out 32 attacks on 25 Russian targets, Ukraine's Armed Forces General Staff said. The mayor of the port city of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevich, said in a social media post that the southern city was "massively shelled". "A five-storey residential building was hit, the two upper floors were completely destroyed, the rest - under rubble. Rescuers are working on the site," he said. (07:40 GMT) Russian troops are likely anticipating combat extending to the occupied city of Kherson, the British Ministry of Defence has said, as Ukraine continues its push to recapture the southern region. (07:41 GMT) The United Nations General Assembly has voted to condemn Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four partially occupied regions in Ukraine and urged countries not to recognise the move. In Wednesday's vote, three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly - 143 countries - backed a resolution that also reaffirmed the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/12/un-condemns-russias-move-to-annex-parts-of-ukraine (07:42 GMT) Russia has warned that admitting Ukraine into the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) could trigger World War III. "Kyiv is well aware that such a step would mean a guaranteed escalation to a World War III," deputy secretary of Russia's Security Council, Alexander Venediktov, told the state TASS news agency. Venediktov also repeated Russia's position that helping Ukraine indicated the West is "a direct party to the conflict". The comments come on the heels of a UN General Assembly resolution that called Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territory "illegal" on Wednesday and follow a pledge by Ukraine's allies to provide more military aid. (08:01 GMT) Putin has arrived in Kazakhstan to attend meetings of several regional bodies, a Kazakh government source told the Reuters news agency. The Russian leader is set to attend the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Thursday alongside a number of Asian leaders, including Erdogan. Putin is also expected to also hold direct two-way meetings with Erdogan and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. (08:02 GMT) Russian-backed separatist forces in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine say they have captured two villages near the industrial city of Bakhmut, posting small gains against Kyiv's counter-offensive. "A group of DNR and LNR troops - with fire support from the Russian Armed Forces - liberated Opytine and Ivangrad," a statement released by separatist authorities said on Telegram, using acronyms for the self-declared Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics. The Ukrainian military said in an update that it had repelled Russian attacks near the villages of Bakhmutske, Ozaryanivka, Ivangrad, Bakhmut and Maryinka. (08:13 GMT) The United States has reaffirmed its commitment to defend "every inch" of NATO territory ahead of talks among defence ministers from the alliance that will include closed-door discussions by its nuclear planning group. "We are committed to defending every inch of NATO's territory - if and when it comes to that," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said. Austin spoke shortly before attending a meeting by NATO's Nuclear Planning Group, which is NATO's senior body on nuclear matters and handles policy issues associated with its nuclear forces. (08:29 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukraine is focused on boosting its air defence capabilities following a spate of deadly Russian missile strikes in recent days. "People wonder why the skies haven't been closed, that's a demand that Ukrainians have had ever since the very first days of the war and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeated that many times," Abdel-Hamid said, referring to Kyiv's persistent calls for its Western allies to implement a so-called "no-fly zone" over the country. (08:39 GMT) Russia's state-controlled pipeline transport company Transneft has said it is continuing to pump oil towards Poland and Germany and has not cut supplies since an oil leak was detected in the Druzhba pipeline. "We have not reduced transportation to Poland, they have dealt with the technical problem," Sergei Andronov, a senior Transneft executive, said. (08:59 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 232 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-232 (09:23 GMT) Germany and more than a dozen NATO partners aim to jointly procure air defence systems that protect allied territory from missiles, eyeing Israel's Arrow 3 system, US Patriot and German IRIS-T units among the options, Berlin has said.Ground-based air defence systems such as Raytheon's Patriot units or the more recently developed IRIS-T are in short supply in many Western nations, which were reluctant to invest too much money in military capabilities after the end of the Cold War. (09:50 GMT) Erdogan has said Turkey will keep up its effort for peace between Russia and Ukraine despite the difficulties on the ground. "Our goal is to continue the momentum that has been achieved and bring an end to the bloodshed as soon as possible," the Turkish leader said in his address to the summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia. The summit is being held in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana. "We are all closely experiencing the effects of the crisis in Ukraine on a regional and global scale," he said. "I always say that a just peace can be established with diplomacy, that there are no winners in war and no losers in equitable peace." (10:06 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has slammed Wednesday's UNGA resolution condemning Moscow's recent annexation of four partly occupied Ukrainian regions, saying the international rebuke was engineered by Western powers using "diplomatic terror". "Only by such blatant blackmail, by such threats, was it possible to make that outcome possible. We understand everything perfectly well." Turkey has retained close ties with both Moscow and Kyiv during the war and has repeatedly offered to organise peace talks between the two sides. (10:13 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has underscored the implications of the war in Ukraine for the West, calling it part of a crusade by Russia against liberal democracy. "Putin and his enablers have made one thing very clear: this war is not only about Ukraine, They consider their war against Ukraine to be part of a larger crusade, a crusade against liberal democracy." (10:27 GMT) Power has largely been restored across Ukraine following this week's attacks by Russia on Ukrainian energy facilities, the head of Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo says. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi told national television that some repair work was continuing on damaged infrastructure but supplies had been restored. (10:45 GMT) Fabrice Pothier, chief executive officer at consultancy firm Rasmussen Global and a former director of policy planning at NATO, says Russia's recent flurry of missile attacks on various parts of Ukraine highlights the war-torn country's need for aerial defence systems from its allies. (10:48 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it has summoned diplomats from Germany, Denmark and Sweden to complain that representatives from Moscow and state-owned energy giant Gazprom had not been invited to join an investigation into ruptures along the Nord Stream gas pipelines. "Russia will obviously not recognise the pseudo-results of such an investigation unless Russian experts are involved," the foreign ministry said. The cause of the ruptures along the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which run under the Baltic Sea, remains unclear. European leaders have pointed to "sabotage", while Moscow has blamed the incidents on the US. (11:35 GMT) A multistorey apartment block in Russia's western city of Belgorod has been damaged by shelling from Ukrainian armed forces, the region's governor said on Thursday. Vyacheslav Gladkov shared a picture of the apartment in a Telegram post, appearing to show rubble next to a partially collapsed portion of a building. There has been no information about casualties so far, he added. Belgorod is about 40km from the Ukrainian border. An adviser to Ukraine's president denied their military was responsible and said Russia had tried to shell Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv, located near the border, "but something went wrong". (12:09 GMT) The Russian-installed governor of Kherson has appealed to residents in the partly occupied Ukrainian region to evacuate as fighting rages between Russian and advancing Ukrainian forces. In a video statement posted on Telegram, Volodymyr Saldo publicly asked for Moscow's help in transporting civilians to Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, and southern Russian regions. He said Kherson was being hit by an increasing number of rocket attacks causing "serious damage", claiming civilian infrastructure was being targeted. Kherson is one of the four Ukrainian regions that Russia formally annexed in September. (12:30 GMT) Putin and Erdogan did not discuss ways to resolve the conflict in Ukraine during their bilateral meeting in Astana on Thursday, Russia's RIA Novosti has reported, citing the Kremlin. "The topic of a Russian-Ukrainian settlement was not discussed," RIA quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. (12:35 GMT) Putin has proposed to Erdogan that Moscow could export more gas via Turkey and turn it into a new supply "hub" as the Russian leader attempts to preserve Russia's energy leverage over Europe. (12:48 GMT) What weapons might the US send to Ukraine? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/explainer-all-the-weapons-the-us-is-sending-to-ukraine (13:35 GMT) Poland's top official in charge of energy infrastructure Mateusz Berger has told Reuters that repairs to the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil to Germany have begun after an oil leak was detected, adding he does not think the incident was sabotage. "Everything points to natural causes, material fatigue, of course, the fractured section will be examined. So at this moment, we have no information that could point to sabotage," (13:50 GMT) UN condemns Russia's annexation move: How did countries vote? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/un-condemns-russias-annexations-in-ukraine-how-countries-voted (14:00 GMT) France's foreign ministry has warned that any sale of Iranian drones to Russia would be a violation of the United Nations Security Council resolution that endorsed the 2015 nuclear accord between Tehran and world powers. Ukraine has reported several Russian attacks with Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones in recent weeks. Iran denies supplying the weapons to Russia, while the Kremlin has not commented. The French ministry's statement came after three drones operated by Russian forces attacked the small town of Makariv, west of Kyiv, early on Thursday, according to Ukrainian officials. The officials said the Iranian-made units hit critical infrastructure facilities. (14:30 GMT) Ukraine's president has made a new plea to Kyiv's Western partners to help beef up his country's air defences after a spate of deadly Russian attacks. (14:54 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Kherson Kirill Stremousov has denied the Moscow-backed governor of the partly occupied Ukrainian region called for an evacuation as fighting intensifies there. "There is and can be no evacuation in Kherson region," Kirill Stremousov said in a video statement posted on Telegram. "Nobody is planning to withdraw Russian troops from the Kherson region," he added, noting it was a "subject of the Russian Federation" after Moscow moved to formally annex it and three other Ukrainian territories last month. (15:37 GMT) Any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in Ukraine will have serious consequences but NATO will not spell out exactly how it would respond, the alliance's secretary-general has said. "It will have severe consequences if Russia uses any kind of nuclear weapon against Ukraine," Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO's headquarters in Brussels following a meeting of the alliance's defence ministers. (15:41 GMT) Ukraine's top prosecutor says his office has opened criminal proceedings relating to Russian missile raids that struck the capital Kyiv and other cities across the country this week. Speaking at a joint news conference with International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan in The Hague, Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin described the attacks as "a classic act of terror" by Russia. (15:53 GMT) Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Putin discussed the war in Ukraine and its effect on energy markets during a meeting on the sidelines of a summit in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, the emir's office says. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/qatari-emir-putin-discuss-ukraine-energy-markets-world-cup (16:02 GMT) The European Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders has revealed that 14 European Union member states are investigating alleged war crimes committed in Ukraine. (16:05 GMT) NATO will monitor an expected upcoming Russian nuclear exercise very closely, the NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said, in particular, in light of Moscow's latest nuclear threats related to its conflict in Ukraine. (16:11 GMT) IAEA chief Rafael Grossi says he has raised the issue of the detained deputy head of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with the Russian authorities. Speaking on a visit to Kyiv, Grossi said the detention of the plant's deputy director, Valeriy Martynyuk, was unacceptable. (16:19 GMT) Moscow has submitted concerns to the United Nations about an agreement on Black Sea grain exports, and is prepared to reject renewing the deal next month unless its demands are addressed, Russia's Geneva UN ambassador Gennady Gatilov has told Reuters. "If we see nothing is happening on the Russian side of the deal - export of Russian grains and fertilisers - then excuse us, we will have to look at it in a different way," he said. (16:24 GMT) Russia has said it will help residents leave the Moscow-occupied Ukrainian region of Kherson after Kremlin-backed authorities there asked for aid following a Ukrainian counteroffensive. "The government took the decision to organise assistance for the departure of residents of the [Kherson] region to other regions of the country," Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said on state television. "We will provide everyone with free accommodation and everything necessary." (16:29 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has warned Moscow its forces would be "annihilated" by the West's military response if Putin uses nuclear weapons against Ukraine. "Putin is saying he is not bluffing. Well, he cannot afford bluffing, and it has to be clear that the people supporting Ukraine and the European Union and the member states, and the United States and NATO are not bluffing neither," Borrell said at the opening of a Diplomatic Academy in Belgium. "Any nuclear attack against Ukraine will create an answer, not a nuclear answer but such a powerful answer from the military side that the Russian army will be annihilated." Ministers of 29 of the 30 alliance's member states took part in a classified meeting of the so-called "Nuclear Planning Group" in Brussels to assess the latest developments and threats by Putin. (16:40 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said that Spain is sending four medium-range air defence systems to Ukraine. Stoltenberg said the older Hawk launchers from Madrid would complement more modern systems being supplied by France, Germany and the US. (16:42 GMT) Ukraine could extradite Russian war crimes suspects to the International Criminal Court (ICC) even though Moscow is not a member, the tribunal's prosecutor Karim Khan has said. (16:47 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been quoted as saying that the goals of Moscow's "special military operation" in Ukraine have not changed, but that they could be achieved through negotiations. The comments to the Russian newspaper Izvestia were the latest in a series of statements this week stressing Moscow's openness to talks - a change of tone that follows a run of humiliating defeats for Russian forces in Ukraine. (16:48 GMT) The US will look at future OPEC+ meetings to gauge Saudi Arabia's stance on Russia's aggression in Ukraine as it reviews relations with Riyadh, White House spokesman John Kirby has said. (17:14 GMT) Moscow and Kyiv say they have exchanged 20 soldiers each in their latest prisoner swap. (17:20 GMT) Russian conductor Valery Gergiev has been expelled from his position as a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Music for his reluctance to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the academy has said. (17:24 GMT) Russian state energy giant Rosneft has filed a complaint with a top court in Germany against the government for taking control of its German unit including a major refinery, according to a report in German newspaper Handelsblatt. Rosneft argued that the German government's move last month was unjustified given that the firm had always upheld its oil delivery commitments, the report said, citing the law firm hired by Rosneft, Malmendier Legal. (17:35 GMT) Speaking at a news conference after the two-day meeting of NATO defense ministers, US defense secretary Lloyd Austin said: "NATO will not be dragged into Russia's war of choice but we will stand by Ukraine as it fights to defend itself." (17:45 GMT) Ukrainian shelling has blown up an ammunitions depot in a Russian border village, the governor of Russia's frontier Belgorod region has said on Telegram. "In a village of the Belgorod district an ammunition depot was blown up as a result of shelling by the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov said. "Residents will now be taken to a safe distance." (18:56 GMT) Putin has proposed a plan for a European gas hub in Turkey to shift gas supplies intended for the damaged Nord Stream pipelines to the Black Sea while Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan wants to expand the export and transporting of Russian grain and fertiliser to the third world. (18:58 GMT) Zelenskyy has stressed the need to punish all Russian "murderers and torturers" and appealed for more air defence systems to fight Moscow's renewed offensive. Zelenskyy told the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) that bringing the offenders to book was necessary to ensure lasting peace on the continent. (19:01 GMT) IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi says the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remained concerning, and there was an urgent need for a "protection zone" around the site. (19:09 GMT) NATO defence ministers in Brussels have discussed how to prepare for a potential Russian nuclear attack against Ukraine and maximise the alliance's nuclear deterrent. (19:14 GMT) The French presidency has snubbed Putin's proposal to build a new gas hub in Turkey to supply Europe, saying it made "no sense". "There is no sense in creating new infrastructures that allow more Russian gas to be imported," the presidency said. (PJB: "sense" ?) (19:32 GMT) There has been some progress in talks about the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). "The work continues, and I believe we are making good progress," Rafael Grossi said. (20:31 GMT) Reporting on the news regarding Putin's proposal to redirect gas to the EU through Turkey, Al Jazeera's Sinem Koseoglu, reporting from Istanbul, said Turkey's energy minister told reporters at the energy conference in Kazakhstan with Putin that "this is a feasible project, and technically, energy-wise, this is possible and it shall be studied." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/13/putin-courts-erdogan-to-pump-more-russian-gas-via-turkey 20221014 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2022/10/14/mapping-one-month-of-ukraines-counteroffensive https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/14/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-retook-75-kherson-settlements (10:09 GMT) Zelenskyy has accused the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of inaction in upholding the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war. (10:10 GMT) The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's Kherson region told residents to evacuate amid fighting between Russian and advancing Ukrainian forces. In a video statement on the Telegram app, Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of the Kherson administration, also publicly asked for Moscow's help transporting civilians into Russia. Russia's TASS news agency said evacuees from the Kherson region were expected to begin arriving in the country today. (10:13 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the energy ministry to work on building a gas hub in Turkey following talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the issue, NTV and other news channels reported. Erdogan said both countries would immediately start work on Putin's proposal to transport Russian gas to Europe and that there would be "no waiting". (10:14 GMT) Repairs to the bridge between the annexed Crimean peninsula and southern Russia, damaged in an explosion last Saturday, are expected by July 2023, a document published on the Russian government's website said. So far, Russia has arrested eight suspects over the explosion on the bridge and deemed the blast a "terrorist attack". While Kyiv has not claimed responsibility, some Ukrainian officials celebrated the incident. (10:20 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces have liberated more than 600 Russian-held settlements this past month, including 75 in the Kherson region, the ministry in charge of reintegrating occupied territories has said. About 502 settlements were recaptured in the northeast Kharkiv region, where Ukrainian forces advanced deep into Russian lines last month. The ministry added that 43 settlements were liberated in Donetsk and seven in Luhansk. (10:30 GMT) Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said Russia should be granted permission to investigate the damage caused to the Nord Stream pipelines, following unexplained leaks. "The whole question is in the access for our vessels, which should have rights of passage (to the area of the incidents)," Novak told reporters, commenting on Moscow's efforts. He did not specify who should grant the permission. The cause of the damage to the Nord Stream pipelines remains unclear, but European Union countries have said they suspect sabotage, while Russia has called the incidents an "act of international terrorism" and blamed the West. (10:34 GMT) According to British intelligence, Russian-backed forces had made tactical advances in the last three days towards the centre of Bakhmut, an important town in the eastern Donetsk region, and likely pushed into villages south of the town. The private military Wagner Group "likely remains" heavily involved in the Bakhmut fighting, Britain's Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence bulletin. In the Donbas region, Russia continued with offensive operations in the central part of the state and was "very slowly" making progress, it added. (10:45 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said there had been no new signals on a potential prisoner exchange with the United States, Interfax has reported. Russia said it was ready to discuss a prisoner swap involving Brittney Griner, a US basketball star who was jailed for a drug offence in August. Still, neither side has reported progress since then. (11:01 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says he placed his country in what he called a state of heightened "terrorism" alert because of tensions on its borders. Lukashenko has warned Ukraine and the West not to force his ally Russia into a corner, saying Moscow had nuclear weapons for a reason. (11:16 GMT) Russia says it has opened a criminal investigation into the alleged Ukrainian shelling of a Russian border region where people were killed and wounded. The Investigative Committee of Russia did not specify the number of casualties in Thursday's incident, in which it said shells fired from Ukraine had destroyed an ammunition depot in the Belgorod region. Russian officials also accused Ukraine of attacks on border regions that hit a school, an apartment block and an electricity substation. (11:59 GMT) Calls for residents to flee the Russian-occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine and go to Russia amount to "deportation", a Ukrainian regional official said. "We understand that there can be no evacuation, this is nothing more than deportation that Saldo calls for," Serhiy Khlan, a member of Kherson's regional council, told a briefing. (12:38 GMT) The United States can impose sanctions on countries and companies that provide ammunition to Russia or support its military-industrial complex, the US Treasury Department has said. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said the department would issue guidance to make clear that Washington is willing and able to impose such a crackdown. (13:06 GMT) Vladimir Putin said there were no plans for further military mobilisation in Russia. At a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, Putin said that the "partial mobilisation" he announced last month, which the defence minister said aimed to recruit 300,000 soldiers, was finishing and would be over within two weeks. So far, 222,000 of the 300,000 reservists the Russian Ministry of Defence said would get called up have been mobilised. A total of 33,000 are already in military units, and 16,000 are involved in the military operation in Ukraine. (13:17 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday said, "No," when asked if he had regrets about the conflict in Ukraine and said that Russia was doing the right thing. At a news conference in the Kazakh capital Astana, Putin said it was not Russia's objective to destroy Ukraine. President Vladimir Putin said that any direct clash of NATO troops with Russia would lead to a "global catastrophe." "I hope that those who are saying this are smart enough not to take such steps," Putin said at a news conference in Astana. "There is no need now for massive strikes. There are other tasks. For now. And then it will be clear," Putin told reporters following a summit of ex-Soviet nations in Kazakhstan. "We do not set ourselves the task of destroying Ukraine." (13:32 GMT) The humanitarian corridors for Ukrainian grain should be closed if it emerged that they were being used for "acts of terror", said President Vladimir Putin. Russia has been increasingly critical in recent months of a Turkish-brokered deal that it signed in July to unblock food exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, which Russia had blockaded. (13:42 GMT) European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on Monday would not take any decisions on additional Iran sanctions after reports of drones delivered from Tehran to Moscow, Reuters has reported, citing an unnamed senior EU official. The official added that the 27-nation bloc is still trying to find independent evidence for the alleged use of Iranian drones by Russia in Ukraine. Iran, which blames NATO as the root of the Ukraine conflict, has denied supplying Russia with arms. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has by no means supplied any side with arms to be used in the war in Ukraine, and its policy is to oppose arming either side with the aim of ending the war," Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran's foreign minister, told his Polish counterpart on Sunday. (14:09 GMT) Hungary published a national consultation survey asking citizens to agree or disagree with the government's opposition to EU sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. "We believe that the sanctions are destroying us," reads a statement on the government's Facebook page, where the taxpayer-funded survey comprising seven questions is published. Orban also slammed "the European elite" on Friday for deciding on the sanctions, which all EU members approved. But Orban argues they are hurting Europe more than Russia by endangering energy supplies and price stability. (14:27 GMT) Some in Vištytis, a small Lithuanian town neighbouring the Russian exclave Kaliningrad, say co-existence is possible and that talk about the Suwalki Gap as the world's most dangerous place is fearmongering. But officials in Lithuania and Poland are worried they might be dragged into the Ukraine war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/14/has-the-vulnerable-location-of-suwalki-gap-made-life-dangerous (14:44 GMT) Putin says Germany was unlikely to accept Russian gas from the one remaining undamaged line of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, two days after Berlin rejected his initial offer. "A decision has not been made, and it's unlikely to be made, but that's no longer our business; it's the business of our partners," Putin said. (14:52 GMT) Belarus says Russian troops would soon be arriving to participate in a "regional grouping" of forces to protect its borders. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/10/lukashenko-says-belarus-and-russia-to-deploy-joint-military-group (15:24 GMT) Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX cannot indefinitely fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, which has helped the country's civilians and military stay online during the war with Russia. "SpaceX is not asking to recoup past expenses, but also cannot fund the existing system indefinitely *and* send several thousand more terminals that have data usage up to 100X greater than typical households. This is unreasonable," Musk wrote on Twitter on Friday. "We've also had to defend against cyberattacks & jamming, which are getting harder." Musk's comment on Twitter came after a media report that SpaceX had asked the Pentagon to pay for the donations of Starlink. (16:20 GMT) Kyiv will find a solution to keep the Starlink internet service working in Ukraine, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said. Elon Musk said earlier that his rocket company SpaceX could not indefinitely fund Starlink in Ukraine. "Let's be honest. Like it or not, @elonmusk helped us survive the most critical moments of war. Business has the right to its own strategies. "Ukraine will find a solution to keep #Starlink working. We expect that the company will provide stable connection till the end of negotiations," Podolyak wrote on Twitter. (17:01 GMT) Ukraine's central bank chief has said he plans to ask the global financial crime watchdog the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to expel Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. Newly appointed central bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi said on Facebook that he would make the request on behalf of the bank in a letter to the FATF before the organisation's plenary session on October 18-21. Russia is currently a member of FATF. Ukraine is not a member. (17:37 GMT) An electric substation in the Russian town of Belgorod, near the border, was set on fire by a Ukrainian attack, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said. "An electric substation ... caught fire after a strike on Belgorod," Gladkov said on Telegram, adding that it would take "up to four hours" to activate a backup system and restore power. He did not specify how many people had lost power in the city of 330,000, which until now has rarely been hit by Ukrainian fire, unlike the surrounding Belgorod region. (18:19 GMT) Some of oilfield service firm Schlumberger's more than 9,000 Russian employees have begun receiving military draft notices through work, and the company is not authorising remote employment outside the country to escape mobilisation, according to people familiar with the matter and internal documents. (18:37 GMT) Sweden has rejected plans to set up a formal joint investigation team with Denmark and Germany to look into the recent ruptures of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, a Swedish prosecutor investigating the leaks, has said. Mats Ljungqvist, the prosecutor involved in Sweden's criminal investigation into the Nord Stream leaks in the Swedish economic zone, said Sweden was already co-operating with Denmark and Germany on the matter. He said Sweden had rejected the proposal for a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) from judicial cooperation agency Eurojust because such a joint investigation would include legal agreements under which Sweden would have to share information from its own investigation that it deemed confidential. "This is because there is information in our investigation that is subject to confidentiality directly linked to national security," Ljungqvist told Reuters. (19:53 GMT) The United States will extend its rotation of a heavy tank battalion in Lithuania, which sees no reduction in the threat from Russia since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Lithuanian officials have said. Lithuanian defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas said that the battalion, in the town of Pabrade since 2019, will stay at least until the start of 2026. (20:31 GMT) The G7 is still working on setting a price cap on Russian oil but enrolling more nations in the scheme is not necessary for it to succeed, US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen has said. Australia recently joined the Group of Seven wealthy democracies and the European Union in backing the move aimed at depriving Moscow of a key source of cash for its war in Ukraine, as well as cooling soaring energy prices. Yellen said a broader coalition was not needed as the cap would be set by requiring Western financial services and insurance firms to abide by a maximum price in contracts for Russian oil shipments. 20221015 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/15/russia-ukraine-live-news-shelling-fire-at-russian-fuel-depot (15:09 GMT) A fuel depot in Russia's Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, caught fire on Saturday, according to the area's governor, following "shelling". Russian border regions including Belgorod have accused Ukraine of attacking targets including power lines and fuel stores since Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine on February 24. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov did not say where the shelling originated. "We have another shelling. One of the shells hit an oil depot in the Belgorod district. Emergency services are already battling the fire. There is no danger of [the fire] spreading," Gladkov said on social media, posting a picture of flames and black smoke rising into the air. He later said the fire had been put out. (15:18 GMT) Ukraine has said a missile attack has seriously damaged a key energy facility in Ukraine's capital region, Kyiv regional governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the attack on the unidentified facility did not kill or wound anyone, while electricity transmission company Ukrenergo said repair crews were working to restore electricity service but warned residents about further possible outages. (15:25 GMT) The first Russian soldiers to take part in a new joint force with Belarusian troops have arrived in Belarus, Minsk's defence ministry has said. (15:58 GMT) Germany's foreign minister has warned that Russia could seek to spark division in the West through refugees, as Moscow seeks to expand its "hybrid war". "This war is not only waged with weapons, it is also waged with energy and for that, we have found an answer. But it will also be waged with fear and division, and that is precisely what we have to prevent," said Annalena Baerbock at a congress of her Greens party. "In this situation, it is clear what will be next - refugees and not refugees from Ukraine ... but because this war is hybrid, other countries are also participating," Baerbock said, pointing to Serbia which she accused of letting in planeloads of migrants without visas. She said that there cannot be a situation "where people are being used as weapons", adding Germany was in talks with the Czech Republic and Slovakia on the issue. (16:10 GMT) Russia's Defense Ministry has said its troops have halted Ukrainian attempts to advance in the Kherson region. "In the direction of Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih, the enemy made unsuccessful offensive attempts near the settlements of Dudchani, Sadok, Ishchenka of the Kherson region. As a result of the actions of the Russian troops, all attacks were repelled," Spokesman Igor Konashenkov said. Konashenkov also said that Russian troops blocked Ukrainian attempts to make inroads into Russian defenses near Lyman in the eastern Luhansk region. (16:54 GMT) Iran's foreign ministry has again rejected claims that it has supplied Russia with weapons "to be used in the war in Ukraine". "We believe that the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war," the Iranian foreign minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in a call with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho. He also told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in a call on Friday that despite Iran's defence cooperation with Russia "our policy regarding the war in Ukraine is not sending weapons to the conflicting parties, stopping the war and ending the displacement of people." (18:02 GMT) Norway's police have arrested a Russian man at the airport in the arctic town of Tromsoe and charged him with flying a drone in the second such arrest in a week. Police seized a large amount of photographic gear, including a drone and several memory cards, during Friday's arrest of the 51-year-old, who had admitted to flying a drone in Norway, police said. Sanctions laws forbid Russian companies or citizens from operating aircraft in Norway. (18:38 GMT) Elon Musk has said that his rocket company SpaceX will continue to fund its Starlink internet service in Ukraine, although it was unclear if the statement was made in earnest. "The hell with it ... even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding uUkraine govt for free," Musk tweeted. (18:50 GMT) Hundreds of people turned out in Poland to take part in a mock referendum on whether Poland should annex Russia's embassy in Warsaw, part of a protest organised by several groups. (19:35 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said two attackers opened fire at a military firing range near Ukraine, killing 11, and wounding 15. The ministry said in a statement that the shooting took place in the Belgorod region in southwestern Russia, which borders Ukraine. It said that the two volunteers from an unnamed ex-Soviet nation fired on other soldiers during target practice and were killed by return fire. The ministry called the incident a "terrorist attack". (19:49 GMT) Ukrainian troops are still holding the strategic eastern town of Bakhmut despite repeated Russian attacks, Zelenskyy has said. Russian forces have repeatedly tried to seize Bakhmut, which sits on a main road leading to the cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Both are situated in the Donetsk region. (20:29 GMT) France will train up to 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers on its territory, Sebastien Lecornu, minister for the armed forces, has told Le Parisien newspaper. France will also provide Ukraine with Crotale air defence systems, he said, without specifying how many. 20221016 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/16/ukraine-russia-live-news-russian-forces-repel-ukraine-advances (12:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have pushed back efforts by Ukrainian troops to advance in the Donetsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions, inflicting what it described as significant losses against the enemy. Russia also said it was continuing air attacks on military and energy targets in Ukraine, using long-range precision-guided weapons. (12:48 GMT) In the 24 hours to Sunday morning, Russian forces targeted more than 30 towns and villages across Ukraine, launching five missiles and 23 air raids and up to 60 rocket attacks, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces has said. In response, Ukraine's air forces carried out 32 raids, hitting 24 Russian targets. Fighting has been particularly intense this weekend in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, and the strategically important Kherson province in the south, three of the four provinces Putin proclaimed as part of Russia last month. (12:49 GMT) The defence ministry of Belarus says less than 9,000 Russian soldiers would be stationed in the country as part of a "regional grouping" of forces to protect its borders. (12:49 GMT) No civilians have been killed in the attack at a military base in Russia's Belgorod region, but many soldiers were killed or wounded, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. "A terrible event happened on our territory, on the territory of one of the military units," Gladkov said in a video post on the Telegram messaging app. "Many soldiers were killed and wounded ... There are no residents of the Belgorod region among the wounded and killed." The state RIA news agency cited the defence ministry as saying that 11 people were killed and 15 others wounded. It added that the two assailants, reportedly two nationals from a former Soviet republic, had been shot dead. (13:32 GMT) Rockets have struck the mayor's office in a key Ukrainian city controlled by Russian-backed separatists, The Associated Press news agency reports. The building in Donetsk was seriously damaged. Plumes of smoke swirled around the structure, which had rows of blown-out windows and a partially collapsed roof. Cars nearby were burned-out. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Kyiv didn't immediately claim responsibility or comment on the attack. Kremlin-backed separatist authorities have previously accused Ukraine of numerous strikes on infrastructure and residential targets in occupied regions, often using US-supplied, long-range HIMARS rockets. (14:31 GMT) Ben Hodges, the former commanding general of the United States Army Europe, says he believes a liberation of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula is possible by summer next year. "When I look at the situation, I see that the situation of the Russians is getting worse with every week," Hodges told the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. In Hodges's view, the Russian leadership's "one hope" is that the West will waver in its support for Ukraine. (15:38 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Russia is sticking to its military goals in Ukraine despite Western support for the country. NATO is already a "de facto" part of the conflict, but this will not influence Russia's goals, Peskov told Interfax news agency. The German government and other NATO states say they are not party to the war. Aid to Ukraine is seen as support for the right of self-defence of the country striving to join the EU and NATO. (17:13 GMT) Russia says it has sent its first soldiers to Belarus as part of a new joint force aimed at protecting the border with Ukraine. "The first trains carrying Russian soldiers ... have arrived in Belarus," the Russian state news agency Tass quoted a defence ministry spokesperson in Minsk as saying. Russia has been using Belarus as a deployment area for its invasion of Ukraine and has also been launching air strikes on Ukrainian targets from there. (19:15 GMT) European Union leaders meeting at the end of this week plan to explore a range of options for gas price caps, which have divided them for weeks, according to a draft of conclusions for the summit seen by the Reuters news agency. The EU's 27 countries have been deadlocked for weeks over whether and how to cap gas prices as part of their efforts to tame soaring energy prices. Europe is heading into a winter of falling Russian gas supplies, a cost of living crisis and a possible recession. Gas prices have soared as Russia slashed flows to Europe after it invaded Ukraine and Western sanctions were imposed on it. Most EU countries have called for a gas price cap although they disagree on its design. Some countries - including Germany, Europe's biggest gas market - remain opposed. They argue that capping prices could cause demand for gas to rise or leave countries struggling to attract supply from global markets. 20221017 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/17/ukraine-russia-live-news-kyiv-hit-by-kamikaze-drones (05:33 GMT) Several explosions have hit a central district of Ukraine's capital, according to Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. The blasts hit the Shevchenkivskyi district and damaged a number of residential buildings, Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging service. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/17/several-blasts-hit-ukrainian-capital-in-early-morning-raids (06:41 GMT) The Ukrainian capital has been attacked by "kamikaze drones", the chief of staff of the Ukrainian president has said. "The Russians think it will help them, but it shows their desperation," Andriy Yermak said on social media. (06:41 GMT) Russian and Ukrainian forces are engaged in heavy fighting around two towns in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region and in the Kherson province in the south, which Russia said it had annexed last month. "The key hot spots in Donbas are Soledar and Bakhmut," Zelenskyy said in his nightly address on Sunday. "Very heavy fighting is going on there." Bakhmut has been a target of Russian forces in their slow move through the region since taking the twin industrial towns of Lysychansk and Severodonetsk in June and July. Soledar is just north of Bakhmut. Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday its forces had repelled efforts by Ukrainian troops to advance in the Donetsk, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. (07:08 GMT) Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the national power grid following Russian shelling, prompting backup diesel generators to kick in, Ukraine's nuclear energy firm Energoatom has said. (07:35 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Russia's barrage of drone and missile attack across his country would not "break" Ukrainians. (07:42 GMT) The European Union is seeking concrete evidence for any Iranian involvement in Russia's war on Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat has said, after reports that drones had hit Ukraine's capital Kyiv. "We will look for concrete evidence about the participation [of Iran in the Ukraine war]," Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg. Ukraine's Dmytro Kuleba was expected to attend. Iran, which has blamed NATO's actions as the root cause of the war, has denied supplying Russia with arms, including unmanned aerial vehicles. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has by no means supplied any side with arms to be used in the war in Ukraine, and its policy is to oppose arming either side with the aim of ending the war," Hossein Amirabdollahian, Iran's foreign minister, recently told his Polish counterpart. (07:56 GMT) Russian armed drones hit tanks with sunflower oil at one of the terminals in the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv late on Sunday, the city mayor has said. Mykolaiv halted shipments at the start of the Russian invasion, but Ukraine is pushing to open the port to expand shipments of food under a deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey. (08:11 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said after a new wave of Russian drone attacks on Ukrainian cities that Russia should be expelled from the Group of 20 (G20) major economies and other international groups. (08:24 GMT) A British intelligence update said the logistical issues faced by Russian forces in southern Ukraine had become more acute following the blast on the Kerch bridge in Crimea. "With the Russian presence in Kherson strained, and the supply routes through Crimea degraded, the ground line of communication through Zaporizhzhia Oblast is becoming more important to the sustainability of Russia's occupation," the UK Ministry of Defence tweeted. (08:42 GMT) More EU sanctions on Iran will not be limited to blacklisting some individuals if Tehran's involvement in the war on Ukraine is proven, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said. "Then it will be no longer about some individuals to be sanctioned," he told reporters as he arrived for a meeting with his EU counterparts in Luxembourg. But Iran said it had not provided Russia with drones to use in Ukraine. During a weekly press conference, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said: "The published news about Iran providing Russia with drones has political ambitions and it's circulated by Western sources. We have not provided weaponry to any side of the countries at war." (09:10 GMT) Any use of Iranian drones in Russia's war against Ukraine would escalate the conflict, Austria's Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said. (09:20 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal says Russian attacks hit critical infrastructure in three regions, knocking out the electricity supply to hundreds of towns and villages across the country. (09:33 GMT) European Union foreign ministers are expected to agree on a mission to train 15,000 Ukrainian soldiers from next month and an extra 500 million euros ($48.7m) worth of funding for arms deliveries to Kyiv when they meet in Luxembourg. Two senior EU officials said the military training would start in mid-November and take place on EU territory at one hub in Poland and another in Germany. (09:39 GMT) Russian army draft offices in Moscow will close on Monday, the city's mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, announced, saying the Kremlin's mobilisation quotas to recruit reservists had been completed. (09:55 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its "massive" attack on military targets and energy infrastructure across Ukraine hit "all designated targets". (10:34 GMT) Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev has warned Israel against supplying weapons to Ukraine, saying any move to increase Kyiv's forces would severely damage bilateral ties. "Israel appears to be getting ready to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime. A very reckless move. It would destroy all bilateral relations between our countries," Medvedev said on Telegram. So far, Israel has sent humanitarian aid, including helmets, to Ukraine, but it has not sent any weapons. (10:52 GMT) NATO has begun its annual nuclear exercises in northwestern Europe as President Vladimir Putin's threat to use any means to defend Russian territory continues. Fourteen of NATO's 30 member countries were due to participate in the exercises, which the military alliance said would involve about 60 aircraft, including fighter jets and surveillance and refuelling planes. The bulk of the war games will be held at least 1,000km from Russia's borders. (11:07 GMT) Germany will end a programme aimed at helping refugees exchange their Ukrainian hryvnia currency into euros on October 30, the finance ministry and the central bank said in a joint statement. The move was agreed upon with Ukraine's central bank on Monday. The move came after demand diminished considerably, and few transactions have been carried out recently, said the statement. (11:54 GMT) At least three people have been killed in Russian drone attacks in eastern Ukraine's Sumy region, the governor says. "At 5:20 (0220 GMT) in the morning, three Russian rockets hit a civil infrastructure facility," Dmytro Zhyvytsky said on Telegram. Zhyvytsky added that residents should reduce electricity consumption during busy hours after more than 1,000 people were disconnected from electricity after the attack. Four people were killed and several more wounded. (12:18 GMT) Ukraine's military says it has destroyed 37 Russian drones since Sunday evening, or around 85% of those involved in attacks. (12:58 GMT) Former Russian television journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who protested the invasion of Ukraine during a live broadcast, has fled the country after being put on a wanted list, her lawyer told the Agence France-Presse news agency. "Ovsyannikova and her daughter left Russia a few hours after departing from the address where she was under house arrest," Dmitry Zakhvatov was quoted as saying. "They are in Europe now." Two weeks ago, reports emerged that Ovsyannikova had fled house arrest. She had been held at her home for two months and faced a 10-year sentence for allegedly spreading fake news. (13:45 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has set the country on a path towards turmoil that could unseat the president, trigger civil war or even ultimately break the country apart, a former Russian diplomat warns. Boris Bondarev resigned in May because, he said, the war had shown how repressive and warped Russia had become. Bondarev said the state is infested by "yes men" who allow President Vladimir Putin to make big decisions in an echo chamber of his own propaganda. "If Putin is kicked out of office, Russia's future will be deeply uncertain," Bondarev said in an essay in Foreign Affairs. "It's entirely possible his successor will try to carry on the war, especially given that Putin's main advisers hail from the security services. But no one in Russia commands his stature, so the country would likely enter a period of political turbulence. It could even descend into chaos." (14:07 GMT) Russia has told a top United Nations official that the extension of a deal that allows grain exports to leave Ukrainian ports is dependent on the West easing agricultural and fertiliser sanctions, the defence ministry says in a statement. In a meeting in Moscow, Russia's deputy defence minister, Alexander Fomin, told UN Undersecretary General Martin Griffiths that extending the deal "directly depends on ensuring full implementation of all previously reached agreements". Russia says the impact of Western sanctions on logistics, payments, shipping and insurance prevents it from exporting fertilisers and that easing those restrictions was a key part of the deal brokered in July by Turkey and the UN. (14:56 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has called for more EU sanctions on Iran after Kyiv was hit by swarms of "kamikaze" drones that killed at least four people. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/17/what-are-kamikaze-drones-and-how-did-they-get-to-ukraine "Kamikaze" drones cost significantly less than cruise missiles, but they still aren't cheap. One reportedly costs around $20,000, Puri said. Western nations have promised to bolster Kyiv's fight with systems that can shoot down drones, but much of that weaponry has yet to arrive and, in some cases, may be months away. (15:21 GMT) About 9,000 Russian troops and 170 tanks are to be sent to Belarus as part of a new joint Russian-Belarusian military force, defence ministry officials in Minsk say. (16:26 GMT) The United States and Britain will further their cooperation on sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine as well as on other targets, top financial officials for the two allied nations said in a joint statement on Monday. (16:54 GMT) Russia has launched a criminal investigation on Monday into the crash of a Su-34 fighter jet in the southern city of Yeysk, near Ukraine, said the country's investigative committee. "Military investigators are establishing the circumstances and causes of the incident," it said. A Russian fighter plane crashed into a residential building in Yeysk. Yeysk is located on the coast of the Sea of Azov, which separates southern Ukraine and southern Russia. Russian news agencies said the pilots had ejected and officials were trying to establish information about casualties on the ground. RIA news agency said the plane was a Sukhoi Su-34, a supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber, and crashed during a training flight from a military airfield. TASS said the crash was caused by an engine fire. At least four people have been killed. Video published by the military news channel Zvezda appeared to show explosions aboard the Sukhoi Su-34 supersonic medium-range fighter-bomber plane as it plunged towards the apartments. Russian agencies said the pilots had ejected. (17:08 GMT) 108 Ukrainian women have been freed in a prisoners swap with Russia in the first all-female exchange, Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president's staff, wrote on Telegram. He said that 12 civilians were among the freed women, adding that some had been imprisoned since before the full-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, said 110 Ukrainians, mostly women, would be freed in turn for the release of 80 Russians he said were "civilian sailors" and 30 military personnel. (18:01 GMT) The US has warned that action would be taken against nations and companies found to be assisting Iran's drone programme after it was implicated in deadly attacks on Kyiv, the AFP news agency reports. "Anyone doing business with Iran that could have any link to UAVs or ballistic missile developments or the flow of arms from Iran to Russia should be very careful and do their due diligence," state department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters. "The US will not hesitate to use sanctions or take actions against perpetrators." "Russia deepening an alliance with Iran is something the whole world - especially those in the region and across the world, frankly - should be seen as a profound threat," he said. Citing previously released US intelligence, Patel said that some of Iran's unmanned aircraft sold to Russia have malfunctioned. The transfer shows the "enormous pressure" on Russia after its setbacks in Ukraine, he said, adding that Moscow is "being forced frankly to resort to unreliable countries like Iran for supplies and equipment". (19:24 GMT) The United States will hold Russia accountable for "war crimes", the White House has said, hours after Russia attacked Ukrainian cities with drones, killing at least four people in an apartment building in downtown Kyiv. (19:50 GMT) The United States agrees with British and French assessments that Iran supplying drones to Russia would violate UN Security Council resolution 2231 that endorsed the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six powers, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Monday. 20221018 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/18/russia-ukraine-live-news-air-strikes-target-critical-supplies (09:27 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear energy company Energoatom accused Russia of "kidnapping" two senior staff at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic plant. The power station's head of information technology, Oleh Kostyukov, and Oleh Oshek, an assistant to the plant's director, were seized on Monday, Energoatom wrote on the Telegram. "At present, nothing is known of their whereabouts or condition." (09:33 GMT) The Kremlin says the international investigation into blasts that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea was set up with the intention of blaming Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that "elementary logic" showed the pipeline damage was a blow to Russia's interests, adding that the investigation was conducted "secretively" without Moscow's involvement. His comments came as a Danish probe confirmed "extensive damage" to the Baltic Sea pipelines. (09:39 GMT) A senior US intelligence official says Russia has been using up its stock of munitions "at an unsustainable rate". Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, said Russian forces face a significant supply shortage, especially in precision weapons such as cruise missiles. She said international sanctions and export controls on Russia are exposing its technological weaknesses and forcing Moscow to turn to countries like Iran and North Korea for supplies and equipment, including UAVs, artillery shells and rockets. (09:46 GMT) Russian forces reportedly carried out new air attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities, causing several explosions in an area of northern Kyiv that is home to a thermal power station. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the presidential office, said there had been three Russian attacks on an unspecified energy facility. An air attack left the northern city of Zhytomyr without water and electricity supplies, Mayor Serhiy Sukhomlyn said on Facebook. (09:49 GMT) The Kremlin said that the four regions of Ukraine it claimed to have formally annexed in recent weeks fall under the protection of Russia's nuclear arsenal. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "These territories are inalienable parts of the Russian Federation ... and their security is provided for at the same level as the rest of Russia's territory." (10:05 GMT) The Kremlin spokesman sidestepped a journalist's question on allegations that Russia is using Iranian drones to target Ukrainian cities and damage critical infrastructure. Ukrainian leaders have accused Moscow of using Iranian Shahed-136 "kamikaze" drones in recent attacks on Kyiv. Iran has consistently denied supplying drones to Russia. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin did not have any information about their reported use. "Russian equipment with Russian nomenclature is used," he said. "All further questions should be directed to the defence ministry." (10:15 GMT) A preliminary investigation into leaks in the two Nord Stream gas pipelines shows that they were caused by "powerful explosions", Copenhagen Police said after investigating the parts of the pipelines that lie in Danish waters. The Danish findings are similar to those of Swedish prosecutors, who said two other holes in the pipelines also seemed to have been caused by explosions. (10:33 GMT) The head of Norway's armed forces said it's more beneficial for Russian President Vladimir Putin to threaten nuclear weapons than actually to use them. General Eirik Kristoffersen was speaking ahead of NATO nuclear exercises and said: "First of all, we have to listen to what he (Putin) says," Kristoffersen said in the interview on September 26. "Second, there is no reason for him to use any nuclear weapons ...There is no threat to Russia's existential security. So he has no reason to use it." For Putin, the threat of using nuclear weapons "is more valuable than if he actually uses them", said Kristoffersen. Putin and top Russian officials have repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons to protect Russia. ( PJB: meaning: "he's just bluffing" ) (10:50 GMT) With Russia occupied with the war in Ukraine, in Central Asia, former Soviet republics are using their new-found leverage to air their problems with Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/18/we-want-respect-putins-authority-tested-in-central (11:07 GMT) At least 13 people, including three children, were killed when a Russian fighter jet crashed into the courtyard of a nine-storey apartment building and exploded in southern Russia across the Sea of Azov from Ukraine. The defence ministry said the supersonic jet was on a training flight and was seen with a fire in one engine before a blast and a fireball engulfed the building in the city of Yeysk. Russia's emergency ministry said 19 people had been injured. (11:22 GMT) Ukraine says attacks have knocked out 30% of the country's power plants over the past week. Zelenskyy tweeted the claim, adding that the attacks have caused "massive blackouts across the country". Russian missiles have taken aim at Ukraine's power grid since October 10, when it stepped up strikes and drone attacks across the nation. (11:38 GMT) Russia has said its forces are continuing attacks on Ukraine's military and energy infrastructure. The Russian defence ministry said the attacks are being carried out with high-precision long-range air and sea-based weapons. The targets are the "military command and energy infrastructure of Ukraine, as well as arsenals with ammunition and foreign-made weapons," it said, adding all "assigned objects" have so far been hit. (11:57 GMT) Estonia's foreign minister says that sanctions against Russia still haven't gone far enough. Urmas Reinsalu said that the point of sanctions is to raise pressure to end the war and the only person who can end the war is President Vladimir Putin. He argued that "as we have not reached that decision point, it means the sanctions have not reached the needed altitude". He didn't specify what further sanctions should be imposed. (12:27 GMT) The Russian military said it had recaptured territory in the eastern Kharkiv region of Ukraine, the first gains since Moscow's forces were pushed back in a rapid counteroffensive. The defence ministry said, "Units of the Russian army during offensive operations captured the village of Gorobiivka in the Kharkiv region." (12:47 GMT) Estonian lawmakers condemned Moscow's illegal annexation of Ukrainian territory and declared Russia a "terrorist regime". Out of the 101-seat legislature, the statement passed with 88 votes - 10 legislators were absent, and three abstained. The statement said the Estonian parliament "declares Russia a terrorist regime and the Russian Federation a country that supports terrorism. (13:02 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister said he was submitting a proposal to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for Kyiv to cut diplomatic ties with Tehran for supplying weapons to Russia. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference that Tehran bore full responsibility for the destruction in Ukraine. Kuleba also added that Kyiv would send an official note to Israel seeking immediate air defence supplies and cooperation. (13:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, says the lack of Russian involvement in the Nord Stream investigation is fuelling a belief in Russia that the West is responsible for the damage to the two gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea. "Russia has been blaming, and it is still blaming the West, of being behind the sabotage because, they say, the main damage there is against Russian interests," Vall said of the explosions last month that damaged the pipelines that carry Russian gas to Europe. "Russia is still demanding a role in this investigation, and without that, the doubts Russia has over the whole thing will remain, and any investigation results will not be accepted here in Moscow," Vall said. (14:02 GMT) The death toll from the crash of a Russian fighter jet into a residential area has risen to 14, including three people who died when they jumped from a nine-story apartment building to escape a fire, authorities say. An Su-34 crashed on Monday night in Yeysk, a port city on the Sea of Azov, after one of its engines caught fire during takeoff for a training mission, the Russian defence ministry says. Both crew members ejected from the plane and survived, but their Su-34 crashed and created a large fire as tons of fuel exploded on impact. (14:48 GMT) The UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine found that Russian forces had indiscriminately shelled areas they were trying to capture and "attacked civilians trying to flee". It also found abuses committed by Ukraine, including two cases of people who were out of action who were shot, wounded or tortured. "Russian armed forces are responsible for the vast majority of the violations identified, including war crimes," the Council said in the report. "Ukrainian forces have also committed international humanitarian law violations in some cases, including two incidents that qualify as war crimes." (15:12 GMT) Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles and more drones, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told the Reuters news agency. A deal was agreed upon on October 6 when Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Mokhber, two senior officials from Iran's Revolutionary Guard and an official from the Supreme National Security Council visited Moscow for talks with Russia about the delivery of the weapons. "Where they are being used is not the seller's issue. We do not take sides in the Ukraine crisis like the West. We want an end to the crisis through diplomatic means," the diplomat said. However, the Iranian diplomat rejected that weapon transfers breach a 2015 UN Security Council resolution. (15:37 GMT) Russian attacks have damaged more than 400 infrastructure targets across Ukraine since early last week, said a senior Ukrainian official. The Minister for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine, Oleksii Chernyshov, said that Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones had struck 408 Ukrainian targets since October 10. The targets included 45 energy facilities and more than 180 civilian buildings. (16:31 GMT) Ukraine warns of an emerging "critical" risk to its power grid after Zelenskyy said repeated Russian bombardments had destroyed one-third of the country's power facilities as winter approaches. "The situation is critical now across the country," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office, told Ukrainian television. "It's necessary for the whole country to prepare for electricity, water and heating outages." (16:34 GMT) American basketball star Brittney Griner, whose appeal against a Russian jail term is due to be heard next week, has sent her supporters a message of thanks on her 32nd birthday. (16:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow could reduce its diplomatic presence in Western countries, blaming sour relations with Europe and the United States and Russia's need to build ties elsewhere. "Of course we do not see any sense in or have any desire to maintain the same presence in Western countries, ... and Third World countries, both in Asia and Africa, on the contrary, need additional attention," Lavrov said in an address to new foreign ministry recruits. (17:28 GMT) The Pentagon said that it did not have information at this time to corroborate reports that Iran has promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles, along with more drones. "I don't have any information to corroborate that at this time," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said at a press conference. (18:00 GMT) The new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, has acknowledged that the military situation in Ukraine was "tense", especially around the occupied southern city of Kherson. "The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops," he said. "First of all, this concerns the Kupiansk, Lyman and Mykolayiv-Kriviy Rih sectors." "The Russian army will above all ensure the safe evacuation of the population" of Kherson, Surovikin, who has been in charge of operations in Ukraine for the past 10 days, added. (18:42 GMT) Kyiv has accused the Red Cross of "inaction" over Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia, saying a lack of visits to detained soldiers and civilians means they are vulnerable to being tortured. (18:43 GMT) The United States will take "practical, aggressive" steps to make it harder for Iran to sell drones and missiles to Russia, state department spokesman Vedant Patel says, adding that Washington has a number of tools to hold both Moscow and Tehran accountable. Patel did not provide details at the daily press briefing on what steps the US government will take, but he pointed out that Washington has already used sanctions and export controls as a response. He added that a deepening alliance between Russia and Iran is a phenomenon that the world should view as a "profound threat". 20221019 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/19/russia-ukraine-live-news-tense-military-situtation-in-kherson (09:21 GMT) The new commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, Sergei Surovikin, acknowledged that the military situation in Ukraine was "tense", especially around Kherson. "The enemy continually attempts to attack the positions of Russian troops," he said. "I will say this again: It is already very difficult as of today." (09:25 GMT) Missile and drone attacks on power stations and other infrastructure are "acts of pure terror" that amount to war crimes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure with the clear aim to cut off men, women, children of water, electricity and heating with the winter coming, these are acts of pure terror and we have to call it as such." (10:06 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential adviser tweeted, "reality can hurt" after a Russian-appointed official in Kherson urged residents to evacuate as Ukrainian forces push towards the area. "Less than a month has passed since the pompous announcement of Kherson annexation and solemn concert on the Red Square, as the self-proclaimed "city administration"... ceremoniously evacuates in anticipation of Ukrainian justice. Reality can hurt if you live in a fictional fantasy world," Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. Kherson is the biggest population centre illegally annexed by Moscow. (10:19 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers shot down 13 Iranian-made drones over the southern Mykolaiv region on Tuesday night, according to the Ukrainian Air Force. Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian soldiers who shot down some missiles and Iranian-made drones targeting energy facilities. Zelenskyy highlighted that the German IRIS-T system is already integrated into Ukrainian's air defence system and "showed itself well" in fending off Russian attacks. (10:19 GMT) Russia's military is targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving people without power in multiple cities and towns. Overnight shelling and Wednesday morning shelling in Enerhodar, the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, knocked out the power and water supply in some of the city's districts. Critical infrastructure was attacked with Russian S-300 missiles in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh. (10:25 GMT) Moscow-installed authorities in Ukraine's southern Kherson region said they plan to evacuate about 50,000 to 60,000 civilians due to Ukraine's counteroffensive. "We are expecting to evacuate between 50,000 and 60,000 people to the left bank of the Dnieper," pro-Kremlin official Vladimir Saldo said. "[W]hen I arrived at the river port I saw that the boats were waiting and are already loaded with people ready to go to the left bank of the Dnipro," Saldo said, adding that the situation "is getting tense". Saldo estimates that 10,000 people a day would be moved over the next six days and that some regions in Russia were prepared to accept people. (10:25 GMT) Russia says Ukrainian forces tried to recapture the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine but their attempt was held back after several hours of fighting, the RIA news agency reported. "After shelling the city, a landing attempt was launched, including an effort to seize Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "The battle went on for several hours, at least three to three and a half hours," RIA quoted Russian-installed official Vladimir Rogov saying, adding that the attack was "repelled". (10:49 GMT) Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling has killed at least six civilians and injured 16 in the past 24 hours. The Ukrainian president's office said the Russian army attacked nine southeastern regions of Ukraine using drones, rockets and heavy artillery, with the attacks focusing on the destruction of energy facilities. In Kryvyi Rih, there is no electricity in several city districts, and several local water pumping stations have had power cut off, resulting in water shortages, according to a report by the president's office. (11:04 GMT) Small amounts of gas appeared to flow briefly in the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, website data showed, as the investigation continues into the unexplained nature of the rupture. Gas flows were at 102 kilowatt-hours per hour (kwh/h) between 05:00 and 06:00 GMT on October 19 from zero, and at 119kwh/h an hour later, the data showed. It dropped back to zero an hour later. Nord Stream's operator did not respond to a request for comment, and no explanation was immediately available. (11:28 GMT) The Wagner mercenary group is working on a fortified line of defence in Ukraine's eastern region of Luhansk, the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said. "A complex of fortifications is being built on the contact line, commonly known as the 'Wagner line'," the pro-Kremlin businessman said on the social media of his company Concord. (11:42 GMT) A European Union spokeswoman has said the bloc is working towards new sanctions on Iran after gathering "sufficient evidence" that it is supplying Russia with drones for use in Ukraine. "Now that we have gathered our own sufficient evidence work is ongoing in the [European] Council in view of a clear, swift and firm EU response," said Nabila Massrali, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell. EU diplomats told AFP there is work under way to draw up a list of Iranian individuals and entities linked to the drones which would be added to the bloc's sanctions blacklist. (12:03 GMT) Vladimir Putin has signed a decree imposing martial law in four "annexed" regions of Ukraine - Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson. (12:15 GMT) Israel will not send weapons to Ukraine, Minister of Defence Benny Gantz said, two days after Russia warned that an Israeli move to bolster Kyiv's forces would severely damage relations. "Our policy vis-a-vis Ukraine will not change - we will continue to support and stand with the West, we will not provide weapon systems," Gantz told a briefing of European Union ambassadors. (13:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall, reporting from Moscow, said on Putin's announcement: "[Martial law] will mean more restrictions on the movement of people. It will mean the military and local administrations will have the right to do what they want - in terms of [deciding] how people move around or restricting them from gathering. "Political parties gathering and activities will be banned, and civilian or semi-civilian factories will be asked to reorient their production lines to help the military." In "annexed" areas, Vall said there is likely to be a "total mobilisation instead of partial mobilisation, which has taken place in the Russian Federation." (13:57 GMT) All eyes are on Brussels this week as European Union leaders convene in Belgium's capital to find a joint solution to tackle the energy crisis, which has been gnawing at the bloc for more than a year. (14:08 GMT) The Russian military claims it has defeated a Ukrainian attempt to seize control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Russian defence ministry spokesman Liuetenant General Igor Konashenkov said Ukrainian forces used 37 boats in an attempted landing to take over the plant on the left bank of the Dnieper River. Konashenkov said Russian forces thwarted the attack and destroyed the landing party. (14:34 GMT) While President Vladimir Putin has announced that the partial mobilisation drive will end soon, many Russian men were targeted by recruiters who raided hostels or gave out recruitment papers in subway stations. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/19/russia-rounding-up-recruits-amid-mobilisation-drive (14:44 GMT) The European Parliament awarded Ukrainians the bloc's annual Prize for Freedom of Thought in honour of their strength against Russia's invasion. The award comes with prize money of 50,000 euros ($49,100), which the EU said would be distributed to representatives of Ukrainian civil society. The Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, named after the Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov, has been awarded annually since 1988 to individuals and organisations defending human rights and fundamental freedoms. (15:19 GMT) Russia's upper parliament, the Federation Council, has approved President Vladimir Putin's presidential decree declaring martial law in four Ukrainian regions that Russia has unilaterally "annexed". (15:46 GMT) Norway's domestic security agency has investigated drone sightings near key infrastructure sites after "an elevated intelligence threat from Russia". Hedvig Moe, deputy chief at PST, the intelligence agency's acronym, said, "Russia is in a pressed situation as a result of the war and is isolated by sanctions" over its war in Ukraine. "We are in a tense security-political situation, and at the same time a complex and unclear threat picture that can change in a relatively short time," she said. On Monday, Norwegian police revealed that they had arrested four Russians on suspicion of illegally photographing classified facilities and had previously caught two other Russians allegedly possessing drones. (16:34 GMT) A Russian missile strike has hit a major thermal power station in the city of Burshtyn in western Ukraine, the region's governor says after the latest in a wave of attacks on critical infrastructure ahead of winter. The latest salvo hit the coal-fired Burshtyn plant in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. It supplies electricity to three western regions and to five million consumers - more than 10% of Ukraine's pre-war population. "Our region experienced missile fire today," Svitlana Onyshchuk, Ivano-Frankivsk's governor, said in a video statement posted online. "The Burshtyn thermal power station was hit, which caused a fire." (16:57 GMT) Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin says life in the Russian capital will remain "normal" after Putin introduced measures that could see transport restricted and security increased in the city of 12.5 million people. While introducing martial law in four regions of Ukraine that are partially under Russian control, Putin also placed several Russian regions, including Moscow, on "increased alert". "I need to say that at the moment, no measures that would limit the normal rhythm of life are being introduced," said Sobyanin, who has tried to keep a business-as-usual approach in Moscow. "The tasks of ensuring the stability of the economy and carrying out security measures, coordination of forces and means of response, civil defence, protection from emergencies, etc will be solved by the relevant federal and city services," the mayor said on Telegram. (17:03 GMT) The Moscow-installed authorities of the port city of Mariupol have taken down a monument to Ukrainian victims of Stalin's famine. Kyiv has been calling the 1930s man-made hunger under Joseph Stalin a "genocide", while Moscow has been downplaying it as an episode of famine all over the Soviet Union. (17:23 GMT) Israel has offered to help Ukrainians develop air attack alerts for civilians, signalling a softening of a policy of non-military intervention in the war. Kyiv has appealed for ways to counteract Iranian-made drones that Russia is using to carry out attacks across Ukraine. Ukraine's ambassador to Israel asked for systems that would shoot down the drones instead, but Defence Minister Benny Gantz said Israel was firm on not supplying Kyiv with weapons. Although it has condemned the Russian invasion, Israel has limited its Ukraine assistance to humanitarian aid, citing a desire for continued cooperation with Moscow over war-ravaged neighbour Syria and the wellbeing of Russia's Jews. (17:34 GMT) Tony Radakin, chief of the UK defence staff, has urged the international community to remain united against what he called Putin's "deeply irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric. "He has few options left, hence, the nuclear rhetoric," Radakin said. "And while this is worrying and deeply irresponsible, it is a sign of weakness, which is precisely why the international community needs to remain strong and united." (17:36 GMT) It is no surprise Russia is resorting to "desperate tactics", the US says after Putin declared martial law in four partially occupied regions of Ukraine that Russia claims as its own. "It should be no surprise to anybody that Russia is resorting to desperate tactics to try and enforce control in these areas," state department spokesman Vedant Patel said at a daily press briefing. (18:03 GMT) Biden says Putin is in an "incredibly difficult position" in Ukraine and has run out of options beyond trying to "brutalize" civilians into surrender. "I think that Vladimir Putin finds himself in an incredibly difficult position," Biden told reporters at the White House. "It seems his only tool available is to brutalize individual citizens of Ukraine, Ukrainian citizens, to try to intimidate them into capitulating. They're not going to do that." (18:10 GMT) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called off a planned visit to Kyiv for security reasons, his office has said. An official from his office said that security authorities in Germany and the foreign ministry had advised Steinmeier not to go but that the visit would be rescheduled soon. The president in Germany holds a largely ceremonial role. He had planned to visit the Ukrainian capital in April but Kyiv initially declined to welcome him due to unease about his past support of rapprochement with Russia. Since then, the diplomatic rift has been mended. (18:32 GMT) US prosecutors have charged five Russian nationals and two traders for Venezuelan state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela for sanctions evasion and other charges over a scheme to ship Venezuelan oil to Russian and Chinese buyers. Federal prosecutors in Brooklyn said Russian nationals Yury Orekhov and Svetlana Kuzurgasheva also procured military technologies from US manufacturers and shipped them to Russian end-users, including sanctioned companies. (19:19 GMT) Zelenskyy and other leading politicians have held a crisis meeting to discuss emergency energy measures after many of the country's facilities were destroyed in the latest wave of Russian attacks. Work is under way to provide mobile power sources for critical infrastructure in major cities, towns and villages, Zelenskyy said. Ukraine will restrict electricity supplies across the country on Thursday after Russia knocked out more power plants, a senior aide to President Zelenskyy has said. "From 7am to 11pm, it is necessary to minimise the use of electricity ... if this is not done, you should prepare for temporary blackouts," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Zelenskyy's office, said in a Telegram post. Ukrainian grid operator Ukrenergo later said that the planned power cut would be limited to Thursday and cited a lack of capacity in the system. (19:45 GMT) Zelenskyy has met in Kyiv with Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs Nikos Dendias and EU Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič. On his Telegram channel, the Ukrainian leader later thanked Greece for its "principled and staunch stance" in supporting Ukraine's successful bid for EU candidate status. Earlier talks between Dendias and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba were interrupted by air raid sirens in Kyiv. According to Kuleba, the talks resumed in a bomb shelter. They signed an agreement of cooperation during their meeting. (19:48 GMT) Russian occupation forces say thousands resettled from Kherson The occupation administration called on people to gather at the port of Kherson. "Each person is allowed 50 kilos of luggage," the authorities said. "Animals may be taken along." (19:54 GMT) The US has imposed new sanctions on Russia, targeting a network that Washington accused of procuring military and dual-use technologies from US manufacturers and supplying them to Russian users. The US Department of the Treasury said it imposed sanctions on Russian national Yury Yuryevich Orekhov, whom it accused of being a procurement agent, and two of his companies - Nord-Deutsche Industrieanlagenbau GmbH and Opus Energy Trading LLC. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said sanctions and export controls imposed by a broad coalition of allies had left Russia increasingly struggling to secure "inputs and technologies" for its war. (20:53 GMT) A senior US Treasury Department official has travelled to Turkey this week to discuss sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, the Treasury Department has said, as Washington closely monitors growing economic ties between Ankara and Moscow. Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes Elizabeth Rosenberg travelled to Ankara and Istanbul from Monday through Wednesday, where she met with counterparts including officials from the ministries of finance and foreign affairs as well as representatives in the private financial and commercial sectors, according to a statement. --- https://tass.com/world/1524411 BELGRADE, October 18. /TASS/. NATO is de facto a party to the conflict in Ukraine, says Zoran Milanovic, President of Croatia - a NATO member state. "Some NATO member states fund, train and equip [Ukrainian servicemen]. Thus, NATO is de facto 100% involved in the Ukrainian conflict. It is a fact," Milanovic told reporters Tuesday. At the same time, the Croatian President noted that he will oppose the involvement of his country in the conflict. "Defense of Croatia is a number one priority for us, with nothing else for a long distance down the line [of priorities], then it's NATO, and only then are everyone else," Milanovic noted. 20221020 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/20/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-restricts-power-use-after-attacks (08:36 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has accused Russia of using "scorched earth tactics" in Ukraine after Moscow's forces pummelled the country's energy infrastructure in recent days, causing blackouts and prompting Kyiv to introduce curbs on electricity usage. (08:51 GMT) Vladimir Saldo, the Kremlin-installed head of Kherson, has said about 50,000-60,000 people will be evacuated out of the partly occupied southern region in the next six days in response to intensified fighting. "The Ukrainian side is building up forces for a large-scale offensive," Saldo told Russian state television on Wednesday. "Where the military operates, there is no place for civilians." (09:00 GMT) Ukrainians are facing large-scale nationwide disruptions to electricity after officials restricted supply to give energy companies time to repair facilities that were pounded by recent Russian attacks. (09:12 GMT) EU leaders are preparing to begin a two-day summit as they bid to find a joint solution to tackle the energy crisis unleashed by Russia's offensive in Ukraine. While 15 countries including France and Poland are pushing for some form of a cap, they face strong opposition from Germany and the Netherlands - respectively Europe's biggest economy and gas buyer, and a major European gas trading hub, which warn a gas price cap could compromise the stability of supplies. (09:20 GMT) In Kherson attack, Ukrainian spirits high but arms supplies low https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/in-kherson-spirits-high-for-ukrainians-but-arms-supplies-low (09:36 GMT) Zelenskyy has appealed for Ukrainians to curb their energy use after warning Russian attacks had damaged 30% of power stations in just over a week. (10:02 GMT) Belarus says Russia's air force has held scheduled patrol flights at its borders amid heightened concern that Minsk, a key ally of Moscow's, could take a more active role in the war. Moscow has deployed an enhanced task force of 9,000 troops and hundreds of pieces of military hardware to its neighbour after President Alexander Lukashenko said last week that Belarus was at threat of attack from Ukraine. (10:11 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said Moscow stands ready to boost exports of food and fertilisers to help avert a global food crisis, but is being blocked from doing so by the United States. The US has not directly targeted Russian agricultural exports, but Moscow argues that sweeping sanctions on Russia's shipping, insurance, logistics and payments infrastructure are thwarting its ability to export fertilisers and chemicals. (10:40 GMT) EU member states have agreed on new sanctions against Iran over its supply of lethal drones to Russia, the rotating presidency of the bloc's council, currently held by the Czech Republic, has said. Tehran has repeatedly denied supplying Russia with drones. Ukraine says Iranian-made drones have been used by Moscow's forces to attack civilian and energy infrastructure throughout the country in recent days. (11:28 GMT) A Russian aircraft released a missile near a British aircraft patrolling in international airspace over the Black Sea on September 29, the UK's defence secretary has said. The UK suspended patrols following the incident and expressed its concerns to Russia's defence minister, Ben Wallace told parliament on Thursday. Russia responded to say the incident was a technical malfunction, he added. Wallace said patrols had since resumed, with fighter aircraft escorts. There was no immediate response to his remarks from Moscow. (11:45 GMT) What does Putin's martial law mean and what next for Ukraine war? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/what-does-putin-martial-law-mean-and-what-next-for-ukraine-war (11:57 GMT) German police have said they suspect that a fire that broke out overnight at a hotel in the country's northeast housing Ukrainian refugees was a case of politically motivated arson. Fourteen guests, most of them Ukrainians, and three staff were in the half-timbered thatch-roofed Hotel Schaefereck when the fire began, police in Rostock said on Thursday, adding that none of them was hurt. "As things stand, arson is suspected and a political motivation is assumed," the police said in a statement. Prosecutors have ordered a specialist fire investigator to look into the cause of the blaze, which erupted at 9:20pm local time (19:20 GMT) in the hotel near the Baltic seashore in the village of Gross Stroemkendorf. (12:43 GMT) The United Kingdom will shortly impose new sanctions in "response to Iran's supply of drones for use in attacking civilian targets and critical infrastructure in Ukraine", the country's foreign secretary James Cleverly tweeted. Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has welcomed the EU's move to impose sanctions on three Iranian generals and one weapons firm over Tehran's alleged supplying of drones to Russia. Tehran had routinely denied supplying Russia with drones. (13:00 GMT) The Dutch parliament has voted in support of a proposal to establish a special tribunal in The Hague to prosecute Russian military and political leaders for the invasion of Ukraine. Members of parliament overwhelmingly adopted a motion calling on the government to "actively explore" at the EU and the United Nations the setting up a special court to put on trial individuals for the crime of aggression. The Hague is also the seat of the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC), which opened an investigation into alleged war crimes in the days after Moscow's February 24 invasion, but does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine. (13:29 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has accused Western powers of seeking to pile "pressure" on Tehran with accusations that Moscow is using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine - allegations that Russia and Iran deny. (14:21 GMT) Sweden's new prime minister Ulf Kristersson has said he is ready to head to Ankara to urge Turkey to back bids by his country and Finland to join the NATO transatlantic military alliance. (14:51 GMT) The EU has made it harder and costlier for Russian nationals to enter, but member states are divided on an outright travel ban. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/20/explainer-the-european-unions-travel-restrictions-on-russians (15:16 GMT) Russian-installed official says 15,000 evacuated from Kherson "Around 15,000 people have listened to the [evacuation] recommendation of the leadership of the Kherson region," Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the local Moscow-backed administration, said in a Telegram post. (15:25 GMT) Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny says authorities have opened a new criminal case against him for promoting "terrorism and extremism" in a move that could potentially more than double his existing sentence. Navalny, Putin's most prominent domestic critic, is already serving prison terms totalling 11 and a half years for fraud, contempt of court and parole violations. (16:09 GMT) Moscow has confirmed the arrest in Italy of the son of a senior Russian official at Washington's request for alleged sanctions evasion and illegal sale of US technologies to Russian arms companies. "Russian citizen [Artyom] Uss was detained on October 17 in Milan Malpensa Airport at the request of the United States," Russia's embassy in Italy said on Facebook. Uss's father is Alexander Uss, the governor of the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk. He wrote on Telegram on Thursday, "The political colouring of these accusations is obvious". The younger Uss was accused working with a wider network that bought electronic components from the US intended to equip planes, radars and missiles, and having resold them to Russian arms companies by circumventing sanctions. (16:54 GMT) Russia has tapped its main sovereign wealth fund for $16.2 billion to cover its budget deficit as its military offensive in Ukraine weighs on public finances. The finance ministry said the government had approved taking the funds from the National Wealth Fund "to finance budgetary expenses" and "ensure the budget's equilibrium". It added the funds would be used primarily to "settle public debt and provide loans to regions", as well as pay social benefits to Russian citizens. Russian federal government spending from January to September increased by 21% from the same period last year, according to finance ministry data, due to expenses related to its military operation in Ukraine. Russia's National Wealth Fund stood at $188 billion in October 2022, according to finance ministry data. (17:59 GMT) Russia delegates did not appear at meeting of UN committee examining the human rights situation in the country. Experts from the United Nations Human Rights Committee (OHCHR) had been due to come face to face with the Russian delegates at a public meeting over two days, but Friday's second session was cancelled following Moscow's absence at the first on Thursday. Russia was removed from the UN Human Rights Council following the invasion of Ukraine. (18:06 GMT) Iranian military personnel have assisted Russia in piloting drones from Russian-annexed Crimea , White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, adding that Washington was looking at imposing new sanctions on Tehran. "We assess that Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Kirby said that the Iranians in Crimea were trainers and tech support workers, and that the Russians were piloting the drones, which have caused significant damage on Ukrainian infrastructure. Kirby added that the Biden administration would look for ways to make it harder for Tehran to sell such weapons to Russia, adding that it was no longer focused on diplomacy and nuclear talks with Iran at this point. (18:47 GMT) The son of Iran's late, last shah has voiced solidarity with Ukrainians who have suffered from Russian-fired drones allegedly sold by Tehran. "Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people who are defending their sovereignty," Reza Pahlavi told reporters after delivering an address from his home in exile in Washington, DC on protests that have swept Iran. Pahlavi, the son Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, advocates the formation of a secular democracy in Iran and not necessarily the restoration of the centuries-old monarchy, an option that has limited appeal inside the country. Iran's Western-oriented monarchy was overthrown during the 1979 revolution. (19:37 GMT) President Vladimir Putin's imposition of martial law in annexed Ukrainian territories showed his claim people wanted to join Russia was a "lie", Department of State spokesman Ned Price told reporters. "President Putin annexed these regions claiming that there were individuals in these regions who so desperately sought refuge from the Ukrainian state that they wanted to join Mother Russia," Price said. "Now, Putin is, I think, proving the lie by declaring martial law." (20:05 GMT) UN chief Antonio Guterres's comments about Russia's war in Ukraine have not stopped communication with Moscow, a UN spokesman has said Thursday. The comments came after Russia's Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy said on Wednesday that Moscow will reassess working with Guterres if he sends UN experts to Ukraine to inspect drones that Western powers say were made in Iran and used by Moscow in violation of a UN Security Council resolution. "The secretary-general has spoken up very clearly about the war in Ukraine, about the Russian action in Ukraine," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. "That has not stopped our continued discussions with the Russian Federation on a number of issues relating to the conflict, on top of all the other issues that we deal with." (20:37 GMT) US President Joe Biden has expressed concern about the prospects for future US assistance to Ukraine if Republicans win control of one or both houses of the US Congress in the November 8 midterm elections. Experts say support for Ukraine generally remains strong among the majority of Republican legislators in the US. However, a branch of the party has increasingly opposed the aid. In recent days, the Republican leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, said he would be "unwilling to write a blank check" for Ukraine aid if Republicans take control of the House from Democrats in the midterm elections. 20221021 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/21/russia-ukraine-live-news-us-iranian-military-trainers-in-crimea (09:18 GMT) Iranian military trainers are in Crimea helping Russian forces learn to use Iranian-made drones to attack targets in Ukraine, according to the United States. "We can confirm that Russian military personnel based in Crimea have been piloting Iranian UAVs and using them to conduct kinetic strikes across Ukraine, including in strikes against Kyiv in recent days," US State Department spokesman Ned Price told a daily briefing with reporters. "We assess that ... Iranian military personnel were on the ground in Crimea and assisted Russia in these operations," Price said. He added "we do have credible information," but did not provide evidence. (09:23 GMT) Ukrainians face their first large-scale nationwide disruptions to electricity as officials curb supply. The move is aimed at allowing energy companies to repair power facilities damaged by Russian air strikes. The president's office told Ukrainians late on Wednesday to minimise electricity use from 7am to 11pm and prepare for temporary blackouts if this was not done. No schedule was announced for the outages, but cities such as the capital, Kyiv, and Kharkiv announced curbs on the use of electric-powered public transport such as trolleybuses. They also reduced the frequency of trains on the metro. (09:27 GMT) Russian-installed officials have accused Ukraine of using US-supplied HIMARS missiles to attack people evacuating from Kherson, saying at least four civilians were killed. Ukrainian forces "launched a missile attack on a civilian crossing", said Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy governor of Kherson. A Ukrainian official acknowledged an attack but said it occurred after a civilian curfew. (09:32 GMT) Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has discussed Kyiv's request for air and missile defence systems and technology with Israel. "I spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid and informed him on unspeakable suffering, loss of life, and destruction caused by Russian missiles and Iranian-made drones. We discussed in detail Ukraine's request for Israel to provide air and missile defense systems and technology," he tweeted. While Israel has condemned the Russian invasion, it has not supplied Kyiv with weapons. (09:36 GMT) A rocket attack on industrial infrastructure hit the city of Kharkiv at 8am, said regional governor Oleh Sinegubov. On Telegram, he wrote: "All emergency services are on site ... Information about the destruction and victims is being clarified." Kharkiv's mayor, Ihor Terekhov, wrote on the messaging app that Kharkiv "was shelled with S-300 missiles". (10:01 GMT) The EU should start thinking about a special tribunal to rule on Moscow's aggression, said Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas. "We definitely have to discuss the legal response to the crimes of aggression that have been committed in Ukraine ... that can only be addressed by a separate tribunal," she added. (10:17 GMT) The European Union must remain united in its support for Ukraine and should start working on holding Russia accountable for its activities in the war, Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said. "Russia's war is becoming ever more brutal, now blatantly aimed not only at the Ukrainian military but at Ukrainian citizens and their civilian infrastructure," Karins said on his way to a meeting of EU leaders. "To figure out how to properly hold Russia also legally accountable for the atrocities that they are committing in Ukraine today," adding that sanctions against Belarus should also be increased. (10:39 GMT) The Kremlin says it does not expect Britain to use "political wisdom" in choosing its next leader following Liz Truss's announcement that she was stepping down as prime minister. Asked about the possible return of Boris Johnson to the top post, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "We do not expect insight and political wisdom from anyone in the countries of the collective West, let alone Britain. Especially in Britain, where people do not choose the person at the head of the executive branch, who appears as a result of internal party shake-ups." (10:46 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Putin appears to be "much softer and more open to negotiations" on ending the war in Ukraine than in the past. "We are not without hope," he said of the possibility of negotiations. Erdogan commented late on his return from a trip to Azerbaijan, the Hurriyet newspaper and other media reported. The Turkish leader also says he is optimistic that a UN and Turkish-brokered deal that allowed the shipment of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain to world markets can be extended. (11:06 GMT) Zelenskyy has called on Western nations to warn Russia against blowing up a dam that would flood a swath of southern Ukraine. In a television address, Zelenskyy said Russian forces had planted explosives inside the massive Nova Kakhovka dam, which holds back an enormous reservoir that dominates much of southern Ukraine, and were planning to blow it up to cover their retreat. "Now everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack. Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster," he said. Russia had accused Kyiv earlier this week of planning to attack the dam. Sergei Surovikin, the commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, said Ukrainian troops had already used US-supplied HIMARS missiles against it. (11:41 GMT) European Union leaders have again failed to reach a decision to cap gas prices, saying in the early hours of Friday morning that they will keep examining options to put a ceiling on costs. (12:10 GMT) Ukraine is shooting down 85% of Iranian-made "kamikaze" drones fired by Russia but needs support to prevent Tehran from selling Moscow ballistic missiles, an air force spokesperson, Yuriy Ihnat, said. "If we take the last two weeks and the results in taking down drones, our air defence is 85% effective," Ihnat told a briefing. "Now we've learned to recognise them and shoot them down more effectively." (12:21 GMT) A Russian-installed official in the Kherson region says Ukrainian allegations of mining the Nova Kakhovka dam are "false", state-owned news agency RIA reported. RIA quoted Kirill Stremousov, the deputy head of the Moscow-installed regional administration in Kherson, as denying suggestions by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia is planning to blow up the dam in order to flood parts of the Kherson region, where its troops are under pressure from Ukrainian advances. (12:32 GMT) After unexplained blasts in the Nord Stream pipelines, the Kremlin said the "truth" behind the leaks would "surprise" Europeans if made public. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is working "intensely" to be included in an international probe. "Work is under way through diplomatic channels," Peskov said. "But so far, it is running into a wall of unwillingness to get to the bottom of the truth together, which will surely surprise many in European countries if it was to be made public." He gave no further details. Western nations have accused Russia of sabotaging the pipelines. (13:25 GMT) Putin has been open to negotiations with Ukraine "from the very beginning" and "nothing has changed", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. His comments came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his Russian counterpart's stance had softened. Peskov said: "If you remember, President Putin tried to initiate talks with both NATO and the United States even before the special military operation. "Putin was open to negotiations when a document was almost agreed on between Russian and Ukrainian [negotiators]. So in that respect, nothing has changed. The position of the Ukrainian side has changed ... Ukrainian law now prohibits any negotiations." (13:43 GMT) Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with his US counterpart, Lloyd Austin, the defence ministry said, a rare talk <=== between Moscow and Washington since the start of the Ukraine conflict. "Topical issues of international security, including the situation in Ukraine, were discussed," Russia's defence ministry said on Telegram without providing further details. (14:08 GMT) Ukraine's energy minister says he sees no progress towards a deal involving Russia, Ukraine and the UN nuclear watchdog on resolving the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko was asked by Reuters news agency if he saw progress towards a deal and said, "Not at this stage." (14:24 GMT) An IMF team held "productive" discussions with Ukrainian authorities in Vienna this week and will continue work in the coming weeks on Ukraine's request for enhanced programme monitoring, IMF mission chief Gavin Gray has said. Gray said IMF staff met Ukrainian authorities and discussed its findings with Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko and Governor of the National Bank of Ukraine Andriy Pyshnyi. He added that Russia's invasion had caused tremendous human suffering and had a severe economic impact, with the fiscal deficit rising to unprecedented levels. But IMF officials were encouraging Ukraine to refrain from measures that erode tax revenues. (14:49 GMT) The possibility of nuclear war is being felt across nearby countries like Poland and Romania, which would be vulnerable in the case of a radiological disaster. In Poland, fighting around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has led to the government handing out potassium iodide tablets to local fire stations to be handed out in case of an emergency. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/21/russian-threats-revive-old-nuclear-fears-in-central-europe (15:20 GMT) Should the EU impose a travel ban on all Russians? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/21/russia-expert-on-the-eus-wartime-border-controls (15:35 GMT) The EU will give Kyiv 1.5 billion euros a month in 2023 to help Ukraine as it fights back Russia's invading troops, the head of the bloc said. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the EU had given Ukraine 19 billion euros this year. (18:32 GMT) People in Russia's Belgorod region were being asked to work and study from home again because of the eight-month-old war in neighbouring Ukraine. When President Vladimir Putin imposed martial law on four Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine in response to battlefield reverses, he also placed several Russian border regions including Belgorod on a "medium alert". In a statement on Telegram, Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said it was recommending that firms in the city of Belgorod and close to the border find ways to allow staff to work from home. There have been a number of attacks in recent weeks on power facilities and other infrastructure in the regional capital and near to the province's 400 kilometre frontier with Ukraine, as well as on fuel and ammunition depots. Belgorod's schools and colleges had already been told to close for two weeks. Gladkov said that, when they returned, those in the city and nine border regions should operate by distance learning until December 1. (18:42 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he has seen no evidence Russia is interested in ending its aggression toward Ukraine and that Moscow was instead pushing in the opposite direction. Washington would consider every means to advance diplomacy with Russia if it sees an opening, Blinken added during a news conference. (20:15 GMT) Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand's appearance at a democracy forum was disrupted by a protester who stood before the stage holding a "STOP THE WAR" sign, prompting Anand to take a break in the middle of the programme as the protester refused to leave. The protester, however, refused to leave and event host Martin Regg Cohn, a Toronto Star columnist, warned that she was getting too close to the minister's personal space. "I'm going to take a break, Martin. Thank you so much," said a clearly uncomfortably Anand before she walked off the stage. <=== The defence minister, who announced a new military aid package for Ukraine earlier this month, retook the stage about 10 minutes later. 20221022 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/22/russia-ukraine-live-news-kherson-residents-told-to-leave-city (14:03 GMT) Russian authorities in the Ukrainian city of Kherson have told civilians that they should leave immediately as Ukraine's forces advance in an effort to retake the city. "Due to the tense situation at the front, the increased danger of massive shelling of the city and the threat of terrorist attacks, all civilians must immediately leave the city and cross to the left [east] bank of the Dnipro!" said a statement posted on Telegram. "Take care of the safety of your family and friends! Do not forget documents, money, valuables and clothes." (14:12 GMT) More than a million households in Ukraine have been left without electricity following Russian strikes on energy facilities across the country, according to the deputy head of the Ukrainian presidency. "As of now, 672,000 subscribers have been disconnected in Khmelnytskyi region, 188,400 in Mykolaiv region, 102,000 in Volyn region, 242,000 in Cherkasy region, 174,790 in Rivne region, 61,913 in Kirovograd region and 10,500 in Odessa region," Kyrylo Tymoshenko said on social media. Several regions across the country reported strikes on energy facilities in a barrage of overnight attacks. Zelenskyy says Russia launched 36 rockets in 'massive attack' on Ukraine (14:57 GMT) Two civilians were killed following strikes on Russia's southern Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has said. "There are two dead among civilians," Gladkov said on social media following shelling on "civilian infrastructure" in the town of Shebekino, where nearly 15,000 people were left without electricity. (15:23 GMT) Tehran has warned Western countries against "provocative approaches" after they urged a UN inquiry into Iranian drones allegedly being used in Russia. In a letter to the United Nations a day earlier, France, Britain and Germany called for an "impartial" investigation into the matter, after the EU and the UK slapped new sanctions on Tehran this week. The White House also said Iranian "military personnel" were on the ground in Russia-annexed Crimea, assisting Russia with drone strikes in Ukraine. Iran has denied supplying Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine, and Moscow has accused the West of seeking to put "pressure" on Tehran with the allegations. "The Islamic Republic of Iran considers the current provocative approaches of the European Union and the United Kingdom to be part of a targeted political scenario," foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement. (16:08 GMT) Tens of thousands of protesters in six German cities gathered to demand a more just distribution of government funds to deal with rising energy prices and living costs amid the war in Ukraine, as well as a faster transition away from fossil fuels. Protesters marched in Berlin, Duesseldorf, Hannover, Stuttgart, Dresden and Frankfurt-am-Main, holding signs bearing slogans on everything from lowering inflation to switching off nuclear power and more energy price subsidies for the poor. Around 24,000 people participated, according to Greenpeace, one of the organisers. Police said about 1,800 protesters gathered in Berlin. Germany's parliament on Friday approved the government's 200 billion euro ($195 billion) rescue package which aims to protect companies and households from the impact of soaring energy prices. (17:26 GMT) Spain has said it would send 14 fighter jets to Bulgaria and Romania to bolster NATO's eastern flank as the defence alliance strengthens its deterrence capacity amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Madrid will send six Eurofighter jets and 130 soldiers to Bulgaria between mid-November and early December to train local forces, the Spanish defence ministry said in a statement. It added that the country will further deploy eight F18M fighter jets and 130 air force personnel sent to Romania between December and March 2023 as part of NATO's "reaction and deterrence" strategy. Spain has already sent 12 fighter jets to eastern NATO members Bulgaria, Lithuania and Estonia. (19:19 GMT) Skiing's governing body (FIS) has said Russian and Belarusian athletes will continue to be barred from its competitions in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine. In March, the FIS had banned athletes from Russia and Belarus until the end of the 2021-22 season but that suspension has now been extended to the next campaign. The FIS said the decision was in line with recommendations made by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). 20221024 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-242 Fighting * Russian-installed authorities in occupied Kherson have urged residents to leave "immediately" amid fighting with Ukrainian forces. * Russia says its forces prevented an attempt by Ukraine to break through its line of control in the Kherson region, where it anticipates a wider Ukrainian counteroffensive. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia's attacks on infrastructure were on a "very wide" scale and pledged that his military would improve on an already good record of downing missiles with help from its partners. * Presidential adviser Kyrylo Tymoshenko said more than a million people were without power. Parts of Kyiv suffered power cuts into the evening, and a city official warned attacks could leave Ukraine's capital without power and heat for "several days or weeks". * A former owner of a prestigious aircraft engine builder Motor Sich in central Ukraine, Vyacheslav Boguslaev, has been detained on treason charges, Ukrainian media reported, quoting security sources. Diplomacy * The Group of Seven industrial powers condemned Russia's kidnapping of Ukrainian managers at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and called for the immediate return of full control of the plant to Ukraine. * Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida denounced Moscow's comments regarding the possible use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying the use of nuclear weapons was a "serious threat" to the peace and security of the international community. * Iran strongly condemned a call by Britain, France and Germany for a United Nations probe of accusations that Russia has used Iranian-origin drones to attack Ukraine. 20221025 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/24/russia-ukraine-live-news-kherson-announces-local-militia (09:52 GMT) Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has hit out at RT after a presenter said Ukrainian children who saw Soviet Russians as occupiers should have been drowned. "Governments which have still not banned RT must watch this excerpt," he said on Twitter, linking to the clip and adding that Ukraine would put presenter Anton Krasovsky on trial for "aggressive genocide incitement". Margarita Simonyan, RT's editor-in-chief and viewed as Russia's chief propagandist, condemned Krasovsky's "disgusting" remarks, and said no one at RT shared his views. Krasovsky has been suspended and has since apologised as Russia's state Investigative Committee said it was probing his remarks. (09:54 GMT) Russia continues to use Iranian drones against targets in Ukraine, the British Ministry of Defence said. Russia is likely using the Iranian Shahed-136 UAVs to infiltrate Ukrainian air defences, and as a substitute for Russian-manufactured long-range precision weapons that are becoming scarce, the ministry said in a daily update. Ukrainian efforts to defeat the UAVs have been "increasingly successful", the ministry added. (09:57 GMT) Ukraine slammed Russia for alleging Kyiv was planning to use a radioactive bomb in its territory, calling it a "dangerous" lie. Earlier, Russia's defence minister Sergei Shoigu spoke with his British, French and Turkish counterparts to convey "concerns about possible provocations by Ukraine with the use of a 'dirty bomb'," Moscow said, referring to a weapon that uses traditional explosives to scatter radioactive material. But Ukraine and its Western allies dismissed Moscow's allegations. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Britain, France and the United States said: "Our countries made clear that we all reject Russia's transparently false allegations that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb on its own territory ... The world would see through any attempt to use this allegation as a pretext for escalation." (10:01 GMT) Russia fired missiles and drones into the southern town of Mykolaiv, a shipbuilding town about 35km northwest of the front line in Kherson. (10:03 GMT) The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine's Kherson region has said on Telegram that it is organising local men into militia units, saying men had the "opportunity" to join territorial defence units if they chose to remain in Kherson of their own free will. However, men in other occupied Ukrainian regions such as Donetsk have previously been compelled to join up and fight with the armies of Russia's proxies in the war with Ukraine. Vladimir Putin last week declared martial law in the occupied regions, empowering their Russian-installed administrations to step up mobilisation. Compelling civilians to serve in the armed forces of an occupying power is defined as a breach of the Geneva Conventions on conduct in war. (10:12 GMT) A UN spokesperson said that "much more needs to be done" to clear more than 150 ships involved in a Black Sea grain-export deal. (10:26 GMT) Blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam would only slow Ukrainian soldiers down, but would cost Moscow more, flooding territory it held and losing a vital artery for Crimea, Kyiv's military spy chief said. Kyrylo Budanov spoke to Ukrainska Pravda after Zelenskyy said Russia had mined the hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River and was preparing to blow it up. Budanov added that it would also create an environmental catastrophe and cause new headaches for Russia, whose forces would have to retreat to Crimea. (10:48 GMT) Romanian defence minister Vasile Dincu has resigned, saying he cannot collaborate with the president, weeks after he said Ukraine's only chance to end the war was to negotiate with Russia. "My gesture [resignation] comes as it is impossible to cooperate with the Romanian president, the army's commander-in-chief," Dincu said in a statement. In early October, Dincu said Ukraine needed international allies to negotiate security guarantees and peace with Russia, sparking criticism from President Klaus Iohannis and leaders of the ruling governing coalition. <=== (11:10 GMT) Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Kyiv, said the claims of Ukraine detonating a "dirty bomb" is seen as "an attempt by the Russians to escalate the rhetoric and potentially the ground for some kind of false flag". "That is something the Russians are accusing the Ukrainians of, but President Zelenskyy said it was the other way around," he said. "[Zelenskyy] said these claims coming from Russia were absurd and dangerous ... that Ukraine was a member of the non-proliferation treaty and had no such nuclear capabilities or ambitions and that when Russia makes these sorts of allegations, it means it's planning something itself along such lines." (11:29 GMT) As Russia's invasion enters its ninth month, Ukraine's economy is expected to shrink by 30% this year, First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said. (11:36 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow asked the United Nations for data on the destination and end-consumers for Ukrainian grain exports because "corrections" to the deal that unblocked shipments from Black Sea ports would depend on this information. In July, Russia signed on to a Turkish-brokered deal to facilitate Ukrainian grain shipments that it had blocked since the start of its war with Ukraine. But it has since said the deal is not directing grain to the world's poorest countries and cast doubt on whether it will opt to renew it in future. Lavrov added that between 5 and 7% of the grain concerned was reaching the world's poorest countries, with about 50% of the exports being shipped to the European Union. (11:55 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said rebuilding Ukraine will be a "task for a generation" that no country, donor or international institution can manage alone. Scholz spoke at a German-Ukrainian business forum, a day before he and the head of the European Union's executive commission will host a gathering of experts to help mobilise international support for Ukraine's reconstruction. The chancellor also referred to the EU's decision in June to make Ukraine a candidate to join the bloc. "This decision also sends a signal to private investors: Anyone who invests in rebuilding Ukraine today is investing in a future EU member country that will be part of our legal community and our single market." (12:05 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba urges the UN nuclear watchdog to immediately send an inspection team to the country to counter Moscow's claim that Kyiv is preparing a "provocation" involving a "dirty bomb." Kuleba tweeted that he made the request in a call with Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. "In my call with Rafael Grossi, I officially invited IAEA to urgently send experts to peaceful facilities in Ukraine, which Russia deceitfully claims to be developing a dirty bomb. He agreed. Unlike Russia, Ukraine has always been and remains transparent. We have nothing to hide." (12:22 GMT) Ukraine says Russian inspections have been creating "significant" delays in exporting Ukrainian food products over the Black Sea, calling them "politically motivated" and a cause for concern. "We have reason to believe delays in Russia's inspections of the grain initiative's vessels are politically motivated," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said unblocking shipments from Black Sea ports would depend on UN information on which countries were receiving a shipment. (12:51 GMT) Russian authorities say Ukrainian troops have fired rockets at a significant hydroelectric power plant in the southern region of Kherson. On Telegram, Vladimir Rogov, a senior member of the Kherson regional administration, said the Ukrainian military fired 19 rockets at the Kakhovka plant and scored three hits. He added that there was no critical damage to the plant, which continues to operate. Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of plotting to blow up the Kakhovka dam. (13:40 GMT) Why Russian media is turning on its military - The Listening Post https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=339qpUFyI28 The narrative around the conflict or "special military operation" is changing in Russia. As Ukraine retakes occupied territories and the Kremlin fires and hires military generals, public figures, loyalists on state TV channels, and even military bloggers are all voicing their opinions. (14:21 GMT) While the West is persuading countries to denounce Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, Gulf states remain neutral. To Saudi Arabia and other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the conflict is inherently European, meaning there's no need for them to take a firm stance. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/24/analysis-russia-ukraine-war-view-from-saudi-arabia (14:50 GMT) The chief of the Russian military's General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and British Chief of Defence Staff Tony Radakin have spoken by phone to discuss what Moscow called the possibility that Ukraine could use a "dirty bomb", the Russian defence ministry said. A dirty bomb would use conventional explosives packed with radioactive material to spread contamination over a wide area. Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of France, Britain and the United States said they all rejected "Russia's transparently false allegations". (15:12 GMT) UK Chief of Defence Staff Tony Radakin has rejected Russia's allegations that Ukraine is planning an attack with a "dirty bomb". "The Chief of Defence Staff rejected Russia's allegations that Ukraine is planning actions to escalate the conflict, and he restated the UK's enduring support for Ukraine," a statement from the British Ministry of Defence said. "The military leaders both agreed on the importance of maintaining open channels of communication between the UK and Russia to manage the risk of miscalculation and to facilitate de-escalation." (15:34 GMT) Russia has taken steps to boost weapons production as it fights in Ukraine, says Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council. Medvedev said he visited the country's top tank factory in the Ural Mountain city of Nizhny Tagil to discuss ways of increasing output. "[The] production of weapons and equipment from tanks and cannons to precision missiles and drones is increasing many fold," he said. "You just wait." He also noted that foreign observers have predicted that Russia would run out of its weapons stockpiles soon and said such forecasts are bound to be proven wrong. (16:09 GMT) A senior US military official says Washington has seen no indications that Russia has decided to use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons in Ukraine. The remarks come after repeated Russian warnings that Ukraine could use a so-called "dirty bomb," which have sparked fears of an escalation by Moscow. (16:31 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the decision by Israeli leaders not to support Kyiv encouraged Russia's military partnership with Iran, criticising Tel Aviv's neutrality in the Ukraine war. (17:02 GMT) Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian says Tehran will not remain indifferent if it is proven that its drones are being used by Russia in the Ukraine war. "If it is proven to us that Iranian drones are being used in the Ukraine war against people, we should not remain indifferent," Iranian state media reported Amirabdollahian as saying. Meanwhile, the defence cooperation between Tehran and Moscow will continue, Amirabdollahian added, according to state media. (17:42 GMT) France is calling on African nations to show "solidarity" with Europe after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The war has divided Africa, with nearly half of the continent's countries again abstaining or not voting to condemn Moscow's annexation of more Ukrainian territory at the United Nations on October 13. (18:28 GMT) NATO says Russia must not escalate the conflict in Ukraine with false claims that Kyiv is planning to unleash a so-called "dirty bomb". Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary-General, weighed in following Moscow's repeated allegations that Ukraine could deploy such a weapon, sparking fears Russia could use one and blame Kyiv. The Kremlin has alleged that Ukraine is in the "final stages" of developing a dirty bomb, a claim strongly rejected by Kyiv. (19:14 GMT) US State Department Spokesperson Ned Price says there will be consequences for Russia whether it uses a so-called "dirty bomb" or a conventional nuclear weapon. Washington and other Western countries have accused Russia of plotting to use a threat of a device laced with nuclear material as a pretext for escalation in Ukraine. Asked if Washington would treat the use of a "dirty bomb" the same as any other nuclear bomb, Price said "there would be consequences" for Russia either way. (19:51 GMT) Kyiv says Russia is purposefully delaying the arrival from Turkey of more than 165 cargo ships heading to Ukrainian ports to be loaded with grain. Russia's inspectors "have been significantly prolonging the inspection of vessels ... As a result, more than 165 vessels have been stuck in a queue near the Bosphorus Strait and this number continues to grow daily", the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. The vessels have been waiting to clear the meticulous inspection process required under the Turkish- and UN-backed accord aimed at getting Ukrainian grain to foreign markets and easing fears of a global food crisis. (20:37 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog says it is preparing to send inspectors in the coming days to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv's request, in an apparent reaction to Russian claims that Ukraine could deploy a so-called dirty bomb, which Ukraine denies. "The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is aware of statements made by the Russian Federation on Sunday about alleged activities at two nuclear locations in Ukraine," the IAEA said in a statement, adding that both were already subject to its inspections and one was inspected a month ago. "The IAEA is preparing to visit the locations in the coming days." 20221025 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/25/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-to-raise-dirty-bomb-at-un (08:49 GMT) Moscow has doubled down on its warning that Kyiv is preparing to use a "dirty bomb" in Ukraine, saying it will bring the issue to the UN Security Council on Tuesday. Russia sent a letter detailing its allegations to the UN late on Monday, and diplomats said Moscow planned to raise the issue with the Security Council at a closed meeting the following day. "We will regard the use of the dirty bomb by the Kyiv regime as an act of nuclear terrorism," Russia's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the Security Council in the letter, seen by the Reuters news agency. "We urge the western countries to exert their influence on the regime in Kiev to abandon its dangerous plans threatening international peace and security," he wrote. (08:52 GMT) The Russian-installed administration in Ukraine's southern Kherson region has announced it is organising some local men into militia units. In a notice posted on Telegram on Monday, the occupation authorities said men had the "opportunity" to join territorial defence units if they chose to remain in Kherson of their own free will. (09:04 GMT) Zelenskyy has appealed to Kyiv's allies to cover his country's $38bn budget hole for 2023 while addressing an international meeting focused on Ukraine's reconstruction. (09:30 GMT) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has arrived in Ukraine on his first visit to the country since the beginning of Russia's invasion. Steinmeier, whose position is largely ceremonial, said in a statement that he was looking forward to meeting with Zelenskyy during his trip. "My message to the people of Ukraine is: You can rely on Germany!" Steinmeier's surprise visit came after a planned trip to Ukraine last week was put off because of security concerns. In April, he was planning to visit the country with his Polish and Baltic counterparts, but said his presence "apparently ... wasn't wanted in Kyiv" amid sustained criticism over his stance on Russia. (09:38 GMT) The UN's nuclear watchdog IAEA says it is sending inspectors soon to two Ukrainian sites at Kyiv's request in an apparent reaction to Russian claims that Ukraine could deploy a so-called "dirty bomb". (09:41 GMT) Inside a shelter for displaced Ukrainian children https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/10/25/inside-a-shelter-for-displaced-ukrainian-children Another thing that Malanchuk actively promotes is to encourage the children - almost all of whom are from Russian-speaking regions - to interact with one another in Ukrainian. She introduces them to songs and other forms of entertainment. "It was heartbreaking to me that they spoke in the language of our occupiers," she says. "We don't force them to do anything, and they're free to listen to Russian music on their phones if they like. But I make it clear that in the communal areas, we should speak the national language." (09:49 GMT) The president of the European Commission Urslua Von der Leyen has called on the world to help Ukrainians rebuild their country swiftly, adding the European Union is ready to coordinate reconstruction efforts with a secretariat. "We have no time to waste, the scale of destruction is staggering. The World Bank puts the cost of the damage at 350 billion euros ($345bn)," Ursula von der Leyen told a reconstruction conference for Ukraine in Berlin. 10:01 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 244 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-244 (11:07 GMT) The primary objective of a so-called "dirty bomb" is to sow fear, panic and confusion by hurling radioactive dust and smoke into the atmosphere. Technically known as radiological dispersal devices, they are relatively primitive, imprecise weapons. Dirty bombs are much easier and cheaper to build than a nuclear device and also far less dangerous. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/25/dirty-bombs-cause-fear-and-panic-but-few-deaths (11:29 GMT) Ukraine's state nuclear energy company has accused Russia's military of carrying out unauthorised, secret construction work at a dry spent fuel storage facility within the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Energoatom said in a statement that Moscow's recent claims about Kyiv's alleged preparations to deploy a so-called "dirty bomb" may indicate Russia is, in fact, "preparing an act of nuclear terrorism" using nuclear materials and radioactive waste stored at the site in southeastern Ukraine. The facility has 174 containers, each of which contains 24 assemblies of spent nuclear fuel, according to Energoatom. (12:05 GMT) Norwegian public broadcaster NRK has reported that national police arrested a suspected Russian spy in the Arctic town of Tromsoe on Monday, citing the country's PST security service. The man, who had been in Norway since 2021 and worked as a scientist at the University of Tromsoe, had posed as a Brazilian citizen but police believe his real identity to be Russian, NRK reported. (12:25 GMT) A lawyer for Brittney Griner has told a Russian court that her nine-year jail sentence for possession and smuggling of drugs in the form of a vape cartridge is excessive and asked for the US WNBA basketball star to be acquitted. The Moscow region court ruled on Tuesday to uphold the sentence. In the ruling, the court stated, however, that the time Griner will have to serve in prison will be recalculated with her time in pre-trial detention taken into account. One day in pre-trial detention will be counted as 1.5 days in prison, so the basketball player will have to serve around eight years in prison. (13:03 GMT) A senior Russian official has been quoted by the country's TASS news agency as saying that Moscow is generally supportive of the idea of creating a secure zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's ambassador to international institutions in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is based, was responding to long-standing calls by the UN nuclear watchdog for a de-escalation of the conflict near the plant, Europe's largest nuclear facility. "The essence [of the IAEA proposal] in a nutshell is that you cannot shoot from the territory of the nuclear station and you cannot shoot at the station. Quite a reasonable idea, which we generally support. The question, as always, is in the details," TASS quoted Ulyanov as saying. (13:18 GMT) Ukraine's external financing needs will be around $3bn a month through 2023 in a best case scenario, but could rise as high as $5bn if Russia's offensive becomes "even more dramatic," the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Kristalina Georgieva has said. (14:27 GMT) Moscow's forces have repelled Ukrainian attacks in the Kherson region in the south and Luhansk in the east, the Russian defence ministry says. More than 100 Ukrainian servicemen have been killed in the fighting and four tanks and several other vehicles have been destroyed, the ministry said in a statement. (14:58 GMT) Finnish seismologists detected five underwater blasts in Russian waters in the Baltic Sea last week, the Helsinki University Institute of Seismology says. "We have detected five explosions, the largest of them having been of 1.8 in magnitude and the smallest of 1.3," the institute's director, Timo Tiira, told the Reuters news agency, referring to the Richter scale used to measure the intensity of seismic activity. Four explosions were recorded on Thursday and one on Friday in Russian territorial waters in the Gulf of Finland, Tiira said, adding it had been clear that the observations had been caused by explosions and not by other seismic activity. The institute did not know what had caused the blasts, Tiira said, but he noted that similar disturbances had been detected during previous naval drills and sweeping of old mines from the sea bottom. (15:05 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told a news conference that persistent Russian claims that Kyiv plans to detonate a so-called dirty bomb make it look as though Moscow itself plans to conduct a false flag operation. (15:27 GMT) Putin has called for more streamlined decision-making in the war in Ukraine. Addressing a new Coordination Council designed to boost support for an invasion now in its ninth month, Putin said increased coordination of government institutions and regions is necessary to manage the government's work to produce more equipment for its forces and provide them with better medical and logistical support. "I have discussed many times with many of you the issues related to the need to update all the work to improve administrative procedures," Putin told the council, made up of government officials and regional leaders. "Administrative reform is impossible without broader coordination between all departments: the economic bloc, the security bloc, the regions." (15:37 GMT) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been forced to take cover in an air raid shelter during his first visit to Ukraine since Russia's invasion. After arriving in Kyiv, he headed to the northern town of Koriukivka but was forced to take cover when sirens went off. "We spent the first hour and a half in an air raid shelter," he said. "That really impressed upon us the conditions in which people here are living." (15:44 GMT) Zelenskyy has asked Italy for air defence systems. "We need anti-aircraft defences; that's vital for us," Zelenskyy said in response to a question about whether he had any specific requests from Italy during an exclusive interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. A top Ukrainian official has discussed cooperation with Italy's newly appointed economic development minister, Adolfo Urso. "I am sure of the constant support of Ukraine from the new Italian government," Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the Ukrainian Presidency, said in a tweet. (15:51 GMT) The European Commission has urged European Union countries and companies to donate more money and equipment to support the energy sector in Ukraine, more than a third of which has been destroyed by Russian missiles and drones. (16:10 GMT) Russia says it wants to send more units to regions near Ukraine's border and better equip new recruits. "In several regions, especially those close to the border like Belgorod, measures for additional reactions are necessary, which we are working out with both the regions and the government," Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin said at a government meeting. Putin declared Sobyanin regional coordinator in Ukraine this week. Putin's second coordinator for the military operation, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, promised more money for equipment. Complaints have been mounting in recent weeks that many of the soldiers called up by Putin have had to obtain their own equipment because army stocks had no or insufficient equipment. (16:20 GMT) A state-appointed commissioner has given the green light to a contested new liquefied natural gas terminal considered crucial to Italy's plan to wean itself off Russian gas. The floating storage and regasification unit will be set up in the port of Piombino in Tuscany despite opposition from environmental activists and locals, Commissioner Eugenio Giani said at a press conference in Florence. The Golar Tundra, owned by the Italian gas group Snam, is expected to be operational by the end of March and will allow gas to be easily transported to Italy's heavily industrialised north. (16:27 GMT) Refugees who fled in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine should stay abroad this winter due to blackouts created by Moscow's bombardment of critical energy infrastructure, a Ukrainian minister says. In an interview broadcast on Ukrainian national television, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Ukrainians sheltering abroad that they should wait until spring before returning home. "I wanted to ask [them] not to return," she said. "We need to survive the winter." (16:36 GMT) Poland may have to build a barrier on its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, a top Polish official says as Warsaw suspects Russia plans to help African and Asian migrants cross over in the coming week. Krzysztof Sobolewski, general secretary of the ruling Law and Justice party, told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1 that Poland was considering building a barrier similar to the one it has constructed on the Belarus border. (16:57 GMT) The US Congressional Progressive Caucus has withdrawn a letter to the White House that had urged a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine, Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal says. "The Congressional Progressive Caucus hereby withdraws its recent letter to the White House regarding Ukraine," Jayapal said in a statement, adding, "The letter was drafted several months ago, but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting." (17:00 GMT) Russian minorities are much more likely to die in Ukraine, the Free Buryatia Foundation tells Al Jazeera. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/10/25/russia-putin-is-using-ethnic-minorities-to-fight-in-ukraine (17:07 GMT) Norwegian police have arrested a suspected Russian spy in the Arctic town of Tromsoe, the PST security service says. The man, who worked as a scientist at the University of Tromsoe, had posed as a Brazilian citizen, but police believe his real nationalisty is Russian. The news was first reported by Norwegian broadcaster NRK. (17:12 GMT) German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has met Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko during his visit to Ukraine. (17:20 GMT) Indonesian President Joko Widodo has announced a peace initiative for Ukraine at the upcoming G20 summit of leading economic powers in Bali in November. At the summit, Indonesia would invite everyone to "sit down together and engage in constructive dialogue," Widodo said. (17:34 GMT) A Belarusian opposition leader living in exile says that her country's soldiers should lay down their arms if they are deployed to Ukraine under pressure from Russia. Opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who has been in exile in Lithuania since 2020, said the leadership of Belarus has become a hostage of powerful allies in Moscow who provide political and economic support. She opposes the direct involvement of Belarus in the war. "If it happens that under pressure, under threats, Belarusian troops will be deployed, we're urging our soldiers to lay down their arms, join the guerillas, change sides, join the Ukrainian military," Tsikhnouskaya said during a visit to Estonia. (17:58 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that Germany will continue to support Ukraine in its war with Russia for as long as it takes. (18:03 GMT) The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports three missile attacks, 11 air strikes and 25 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems by Russia so far on Tuesday. (18:07 GMT) At an international reconstruction conference for Ukraine in Berlin, Zelenskyy has asked the international community to cover an expected budget deficit of $38bn next year as Russia's invasion badly hits its economy. "At this very conference we need to make a decision on assistance to cover next year's budget deficit for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said via video link. "It's a very significant amount of money, a $38bn deficit." (18:09 GMT) Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov has repeated his criticism of the progress of Russia's war on neighbouring Ukraine, slamming Russia's leadership as weak. "We used to say that we were conducting a special military operation on the territory of Ukraine, but the war is already taking place on our territory," Kadyrov said on Telegram while also threatening Ukraine's Western allies with annihilation. Martial law has been imposed in border regions with Ukraine, Kadyrov said, "but they continue to shoot at peaceful citizens and civilian objects." (18:12 GMT) Israel's president says he is sharing intelligence with the US to prove that Iran supplied Russia with drones that have reaped destruction in Ukraine. President Isaac Herzog urged a tough response in talks with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Washington. Herzog, who holds a largely ceremonial role, is to meet President Joe Biden on Wednesday. (18:16 GMT) Russia has taken its accusation that Ukraine is preparing to use a dirty bomb - an explosive device laced with radioactive material - to the United Nations Security Council, voicing its concerns during a closed-door meeting of the 15-nation body. When asked what evidence Russia had to back its claims, Polyanskiy told reporters that it was intelligence information that had been shared with Western counterparts with the "necessary level of clearance". (18:39 GMT) Joe Biden has warned Russia against using a nuclear weapon in the war with Ukraine, saying such an escalation would be a grave error. (19:09 GMT) Officials working for the city administration and federal authorities in Moscow are fleeing partial mobilisation, according to a media report. "In some departments [of the Moscow city administration], the number of male employees who have left Russia amounts to 20% to 30% of all employees," the Vyorstka webite reported. IT specialists in particular have fled to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the report said. That is because many civil servants, especially at the lower administrative level, are not protected from being called up because they do not count as being "indispensable." (19:11 GMT) Russia has notified the US about its plans to carry out exercises of its nuclear forces, the Pentagon says, declining to offer further details about drills expected to include test launches of ballistic missiles. "The US was notified, and as we've highlighted before, this is a routine annual exercise by Russia," Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said. "So in this regard, Russia is complying with its arms control obligations and its transparency commitments to make those notifications." (20:15 GMT) More than 100 soldiers from Chechnya have been hit in an artillery barrage in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of southern Ukraine, Ukraine's military says. "Precise artillery strikes by the Defence Forces have destroyed 30 occupants in the locality of Kajiry in the Kherson region and left more than 100 enemy soldiers under the rubble," the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in its evening situation report. (20:16 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has spoken with Rishi Sunak and hopes ties between their countries would grow. (20:28 GMT) The White House has welcomed Saudi Arabia's moves to help Ukraine in the war against Russia, as the Biden administration weighs its tough stance against the kingdom for initiating a reduction in oil output. "We've taken note since the OPEC+ cut that Saudi Arabia voted against Russia at the United Nations and also pledged $4m to support Ukraine's reconstruction and humanitarian needs," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said. 20:31 GMT) Russia's occupying forces are establishing a paramilitary guard in the southern Zaporizhia region as they have done in Kherson. (20:36 GMT) The new PM of the UK Rishi Sunak has promised Zelenskyy that his country's support for Ukraine would be "as strong as ever", a Downing Street spokesperson says. (20:47 GMT) The Russian and Belarusian ambassadors have been excluded from this year's Nobel Prize ceremony in Stockholm because of the war in Ukraine. 20221026 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-plegdes-to-take-back-kherson (09:15 GMT) Mercedes-Benz said it would withdraw from the Russian market and sell shares in its industrial and financial services subsidiaries to a local investor, becoming the latest carmaker to exit the country. Japan's Nissan this month took a $687m loss in handing over its business in Russia to a state-owned entity for one euro, mirroring an earlier move by Renault, which sold its majority stake in Russia's Avtovaz for one rouble. Mercedes had previously stopped manufacturing in Russia in early March. (09:19 GMT) Russian forces are digging in for the "heaviest of battles" in the strategic southern region of Kherson, a senior Ukrainian official said. Russian forces in the region have been driven back in recent weeks and risk being trapped on the west bank of the Dnipro River. Moscow's troops occupied the capital of Kherson in the early stages of the invasion. "With Kherson everything is clear. The Russians are replenishing, strengthening their grouping there," Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said in an online video. "It means that nobody is preparing to withdraw. On the contrary, the heaviest of battles is going to take place for Kherson." (09:21 GMT) Russia voiced its accusations that Ukraine is creating a 'dirty bomb' to the United Nations Security Council. Russia's Deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters: "We're quite satisfied because we raised the awareness. (09:48 GMT) US President Joe Biden and the UK's new Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have agreed to work together to support Ukraine, the White House said. They spoke for the first time hours after Sunak became Britain's third prime minister this year. (10:00 GMT) According to the latest British Ministry of Defence update, the Russian governor of Belgorod has said an explosive device damaged a railway network about 15km from the Russian-Belarus border, which connects the two countries. The Russian anti-war group "stop the wagons" claimed responsibility for the incident. "This is at least the sixth incident of sabotage against Russian railway infrastructure claimed by STW since June. (10:27 GMT) The Kremlin says it will "vigorously" continue to make the case to the international community that it believes Ukraine intended to detonate a "dirty bomb" with radioactive contaminants. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Moscow wanted to prompt an active response from the international community. Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu also spoke to his Indian and Chinese counterparts to convey Moscow's warning following a series of calls with NATO defence ministers. (10:42 GMT) India's Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has told his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu that nuclear weapons should not be used by any side in the Ukraine war, according to an Indian government statement. "The prospect of the usage of nuclear or radiological weapons goes against the basic tenets of humanity," Singh told Shoigu while reiterating the need for a resolution to the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. Shoigu spoke to China and India's defence ministers over allegations that Ukraine is creating "dirty bombs" to be used in the conflict. (10:57 GMT) The Kremlin says assets in the four Ukrainian regions that Russia "annexed" last month may be transferred to Russian companies. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was obvious that "abandoned assets" could not be left inactive, and the government would deal with the issue. (11:49 GMT) According to the RIA news agency, Putin observed exercises by Russia's strategic nuclear forces. "Under the leadership of the Supreme Commander-in Chief of the Armed Forces Vladimir Putin, a training session was held with ground, sea and air strategic deterrence forces, during which practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place," the Kremlin said in a statement. State television showed Putin overseeing the drills from a control room. (12:04 GMT) A Russia-backed separatist official in the Luhansk region says heavy fighting is taking place in the region's Kreminna and Svatove districts. The two districts have been at the front line since Ukrainian soldiers began their rapid counteroffensive which routed Russian troops in the Kharkiv region in September. (12:13 GMT) President Putin says Russia is aware of Ukraine's plans to use a "dirty bomb", echoing a recently unsubstantiated allegation made by Moscow. At a meeting with the intelligence chiefs of several former Soviet countries, Putin said the risk of conflict in the world was high and that security should be heightened around crucial infrastructure sites. (12:43 GMT) The Kremlin says it keeps the door open for talks on a possible prisoner swap with US basketball player Brittney Griner but reiterated that discussions must be kept strictly confidential. (13:14 GMT) Russia's air attacks on civilian infrastructure raise the cost of Ukraine's recovery and will need close to $4bn a month to keep power and water supplies going, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said (13:41 GMT) Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces in the Kherson region is proving more difficult than in the northeast due to wet weather and the nature of the terrain, Ukraine's defence minister has said. Oleksii Reznikov told a news conference that Russian forces were using water supply channels as trenches in the occupied Kherson region. (13:58 GMT) At least 70,000 people have left Kherson in the space of a week, a Moscow-installed regional official said. "I'm sure that more than 70,000 people left in a week since the crossings were organised," Vladimir Saldo told a regional TV channel after efforts to move residents to the Russian-controlled areas on the left bank of the Dnieper River. He added that this number might be more extensive as people could have used their own boats to cross the river instead of organised ferries. (14:28 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov says he did not believe Russia would use nuclear weapons. Putin has repeatedly warned that Russia has the right to defend itself using any weapons in its arsenal, which includes the world's largest nuclear stockpile. (14:57 GMT) The Swedish Armed Forces have returned to the site of the Russian Nord Stream gas pipeline leaks in the southern part of the Baltic Sea to further investigate the suspected blasts. "The Swedish Armed Forces are this week carrying out complementary seabed surveys at the gas leaks with minesweepers. The investigations are carried out on their own initiative and are not part of the criminal investigation," the armed forces said on Twitter. A Swedish navy spokesperson added that the new survey was expected to be completed this week. "This is truly out of national military interest," he said. (15:59 GMT) With rumours of weapons shortages and production delays, Russian President Vladimir Putin introduced a new commission on bypassing bureaucracy and creating more weapons for their military efforts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/26/russia-scrambles-to-increase-weapons-production-for-ukraine-war (16:28 GMT) The UN says it is using before-and-after satellite imagery to monitor the cultural destruction inflicted by Russia's war in Ukraine. The UN's culture agency UNESCO - announcing it will launch a tracking platform publicly within days - said it had verified damage to 207 cultural sites in Ukraine since the Russian invasion on February 24. They include 88 religious sites, 15 museums, 76 buildings of historical and or artistic interest, 18 monuments and 10 libraries. "Our conclusion is it's bad, and it may continue to get even worse," UNESCO's cultural and emergencies director Krista Pikkat told reporters at a briefing in Geneva. So far in the war, none of the seven world heritage sites have been damaged. (16:53 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says the only way to facilitate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is helping Kyiv to defend itself militarily. "Peace can be achieved by supporting Ukraine ... it is the only chance we have for the two sides to negotiate," Meloni told parliament ahead of a confidence vote on her newly appointed rightist government. Meloni has repeatedly pledged support to Kyiv, while her coalition allies Silvio Berlusconi and Matteo Salvini have been much more ambivalent on the issue due to their historic ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meloni said that while the arms Italy supplies to Ukraine are not decisive for the outcome of the war, they are vital for Italy to maintain its international credibility. (17:35 GMT) The US state department says the remains of an American citizen killed in fighting in Ukraine have been identified and released to Ukrainian authorities and will soon be returned to the person's family. Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine's presidential office, earlier identified the American citizen as Joshua Jones, describing him as a US army veteran whose remains were recovered in a prisoner swap with Russia. (18:05 GMT) Slovenia says one of the images Russia has used to claim Ukraine is planning to detonate a dirty bomb was an old photo of smoke detectors taken in Slovenia. "The photo used by the Russian Foreign Ministry in its Twitter post is an ARAO [Slovenian nuclear waste management agency] photo from 2010," Dragan Barbutovski, an adviser to Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, told the AFP news agency. (18:45 GMT) Israeli President Isaac Herzog says he and US President Joe Biden have discussed Iran supplying weapons to Russia, which are being used to kill Ukrainians. Herzog also told reporters that during a White House meeting, the two leaders discussed the Iranian nuclear programme and Tehran's repression of its citizens. ------------- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-246 Conflict * Ukrainian troops are holding out against repeated attacks near the two eastern towns of Avdiivka and Bakhmut in the Donbas region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, describing the Russian tactics as "crazy" as the war in Ukraine dragged into a ninth month of fighting. * Zelenskyy promised to retake Kherson as his adviser said Russia is digging in for "the heaviest of battles" there. Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces in the southern * Kherson region is proving more difficult than a previous offensive in Kharkiv because of wet weather and the terrain, Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. * Russia continues to make the case that Ukraine intends to detonate a "dirty bomb" with radioactive contaminants. Kyiv has denied that. Slovenia said one of the images Russia has used to claim Ukraine is planning to detonate a dirty bomb was an old photo of smoke detectors taken in Slovenia. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin has monitored drills of the country's strategic nuclear forces involving multiple practice launches of ballistic and cruise missiles, in a show of force amid heightened tensions with the West over the conflict in Ukraine, suggesting the eight-month conflict could turn nuclear. * UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said he was "relatively optimistic" that a UN-brokered deal that allowed a resumption of Ukraine Black Sea grain exports would be extended beyond mid-November. * US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the remains of a US citizen killed in fighting in Ukraine have been identified and released to Ukrainian authorities and will soon be returned to the person's family. * Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the only way to facilitate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine is by helping Kyiv defend itself militarily. Economy * The US and Western officials are finalising plans to impose a cap on Russian oil prices amid a warning from the World Bank that any plan will need active participation of emerging market economies to be effective. * The European Union could introduce a gas price cap this winter to limit excessive price spikes, if countries give Brussels a mandate to propose the measure. * Mercedes-Benz, which stopped manufacturing in Russia in March, became the latest carmaker to leave the country. 20221027 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-slams-crazy-russian-tactics (10:50 GMT) Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine's partly occupied Zaporizhia region have ordered phone checks on residents, announcing the implementation of military censorship under Russian President Vladimir Putin's martial law decree. "From today ... law enforcement officers have begun a selective preventing check of the mobile phones of citizens," Moscow-appointed official Vladimir Rogov said in a Telegram post. Rogov said those subscribed to "propaganda resources of the terrorist Kyiv regime" will receive a warning, before being fined. (11:16 GMT) The Kyiv region, including the capital city itself, is facing a 30 % deficit in its capacity to generate the power it needs following Russian attacks overnight targeting energy infrastructure, according to its governor. "Last night the enemy damaged the facilities of the energy infrastructure of our region. A number of critical facilities have been disabled," Oleksiy Kuleba said in a video clip posted on Telegram. Separately, the Kyiv region's military administration said the region must "prepare for emergency power outages for an indefinite period" because of the Russian strikes. (11:58 GMT) Surging energy costs in Europe risk accelerating the exodus of companies critical to the manufacture of essential medicines, further endangering drug supply chains hit by shortages at the height of COVID-19, pharmaceutical firm Teva has warned. Essential medicines are crucial to treating long-term conditions as well as being key to surgical procedures. They are also typically off-patent, sold at the lowest possible prices set by national health agencies or insurers' associations in European member states. This pressure on pricing for these key generic medicines has long pushed manufacturing of the most energy-intensive component - active pharmaceutical ingredients - eastwards to India and China, where costs are dramatically lower. Now, the war in Ukraine and the associated energy and economic crisis threatens to "debase the continent's pharmaceutical sector for good for some critical medicines" (12:17 GMT) Russia will retaliate if its state and citizens' assets are confiscated by the European Union, the country's foreign ministry has said. Asked about comments reportedly made by European leaders suggesting Russian assets in the bloc could be confiscated, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that this would be "stealing". "The EU judiciary refuses to protect Russians' property," she told reporters. (13:06 GMT) Volodymyr Saldo, the Moscow-backed governor of Kherson says that 70,000 residents have now been evacuated from the southern region's capital in the face of a Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at recapturing it. (13:42 GMT) Nord Stream AG, the operator of the leaking Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, says it has not yet received permission from Denmark to survey damage to a tract of the pipeline located in the Nordic country's exclusive economic zone. "As part of the survey of the gas pipeline section in the Danish exclusive economic zone, Nord Stream AG still awaits the decision of the authorities on granting necessary permits for the damage assessment," the company said in a statement. European powers have blamed the explosions on sabotage, but not specified who might be responsible, while Russia has accused the United States of engineering the attacks. (14:05 GMT) India's foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will visit Russia for talks with his counterpart in Moscow on November 8, the Russian embassy in India has said. "On November 8 in Moscow, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov will have talks with External Affairs Minister of India Dr S.Jaishankar," the embassy tweeted, quoting Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry. (14:43 GMT) Putin has accused the West of "fuelling the war in Ukraine" but said the United States and its allies will ultimately have to talk to Russia "about the future". "The new centres of the global order and the West will have to begin a conversation about the future - the earlier the better," the Russian president said during his annual address to the Valdai Discussion Club. Putin also charged that the West was blinded by colonialism and said it was trying to contain the rest of the world. "Dominion of the world is precisely what the West has decided to stake in this game. But this game is a dangerous, dirty and bloody one," he said. (15:15 GMT) Putin has accused Washington of having discredited the international financial system by using the United States dollar as a "weapon". Delivering his combative anti-West speech in Moscow, the Russian president said he believed moves by other countries to reduce their reliance on the currency for international trade would accelerate. (15:17 GMT) Putin has alleged that the West rejected Moscow's attempts to build good relations with the United States and NATO because it was set on making Russia vulnerable. Moscow had wanted to "be friends" with the West and NATO, but would not accept attempts by the US, European Union and United Kingdom to hold Russia down, Putin said in his speech to the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow. He also warned that the coming decade will be the "most dangerous" since the 1940s. "Ahead is probably the most dangerous, unpredictable and at the same time important decade since the end of the second World War," Putin said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/27/putin-says-world-faces-most-dangerous-decade-since-world-war (16:08 GMT) Putin said that Russia has no need to nationalise assets to deal with the economic fallout of sanctions and the conflict in Ukraine. (16:10 GMT) The United States has not seen anything to indicate that Russia's ongoing annual "Grom" exercises of its nuclear forces may be a cover for a real deployment, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said. (16:11 GMT) Joe Biden has "no intention" to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month while attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit, the White House has said. "He has no intention to sit down with Vladimir Putin and that's where we are today," US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said. Biden has previously said he has no plans to meet with Putin at the summit being held in Bali, Indonesia. It is not confirmed yet whether Putin will attend. (16:12 GMT) Vladimir Putin hailed Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a "strong leader" who always defended Turkey's interests. Putin said President Erdogan was not always an "easy partner" to deal with, but that Turkey was always "reliable" and had a desire to reach agreements. Putin said that Russia's military doctrine only permitted the country to use nuclear weapons in defence, rejecting claims that Russia was considering using them in Ukraine. Putin also said Russia was ready to restart talks with the United States on nuclear arms control, but had no response from Washington on Moscow's proposals for talks on "strategic stability". (16:46 GMT) In his speech, Putin called Western claims that Russia was behind explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines "crazy". Danish police have said powerful explosions caused ruptures to the Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2 undersea pipelines, potentially putting them permanently out of use. Putin previously said the West blew up the pipelines, while European leaders have accused Russia of sabotage. (16:15 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke by telephone with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. In the statement, the ministry said that Lavrov thanked Wang for what it called China's support for Russia's position on a settlement to the conflict in Ukraine. Putin said that Russia's relations with China were at an "unprecedented level" as he called China's President Xi Jinping a "close friend". Moscow and Beijing signed a no-limits partnership just days before Russia launched its "special military operation" in Ukraine in February, and Russia has sought to forge closer political and economic ties with China in the face of Western sanctions. (16:16 GMT) The United States strongly supports the efforts of United Nations to ensure the Black Sea grain deal is renewed, White House spokesperson John Kirby said, saying that would help bring food prices down. (16:18 GMT) IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said financial pledges for Ukraine by the United States and Europe should be sufficient to get Kyiv through 2023, assuming the war does not intensify. (16:51 GMT) Putin has criticised France for publishing contents of a phone call he had with President Emmanuel Macron days before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February. Putin said the release showed that his conversations with the French leader were being listened in on. Putin said that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman deserved respect and that Russia was set on boosting relations with Saudi Arabia. The United States has criticised Prince Mohammed and the OPEC+ oil alliance for agreeing to cut oil production, a move seen as a boost to Russia's attempts to protect its economy in the face of Western sanctions. (17:32 GMT) Putin said that Russia will let its partners in Asia help develop the country's vast energy resources as Moscow turns its economy towards the east. Many Western investors have walked away from their Russian investments. (17:47 GMT) Putin says ordinary citizens of Western countries should fight for pay rises and should not believe that Russia is the bad guy. "Fight for higher wages," Putin said when asked what he would tell an ordinary citizen of a Western country. "And don't believe that Russia is your enemy." Russia, Putin said, was not an enemy of the West and has never had any "malicious" intentions towards Europe or the United States. But Western leaders, he said, had made grave mistakes that have led to economic and energy crises. (17:56 GMT) Putin says Moscow is ready for talks to end the conflict in Ukraine but Kyiv is not prepared to sit down at the negotiating table. "It's not a question about us - we are ready for negotiations - but the leaders in Kyiv decided not to continue negotiations with Russia," Putin told the Valdai Discussion Club in Moscow. "It is very easy to solve this problem if Washington gives a signal to Kyiv to change its position and solve the problem peacefully," he added. There have been no peace talks between the two nations since attempts at a negotiated settlement fell apart in the first weeks of the conflict, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has explicitly ruled out a negotiated deal with Putin. (19:21 GMT) Russia has filed a complaint with the UN Security Council demanding an international investigation into US "military biological activities" in Ukraine, the Russian foreign ministry says. (20:20 GMT) Russia's accusations implicating Washington in the development of biological weapons in Ukraine are "pure fabrications", the US ambassador to the United Nations has told the Security Council. "We all know these claims are pure fabrications brought forth without a shred of evidence," Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. "Still, I must take this opportunity to set the record straight," she said. 'Ukraine does not have a biological weapons programme. The United States does not have a biological weapons programme." 20221028 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/28/russia-ukraine-live-news-power-outages-continue-in-ukraine (09:57 GMT) In a rare admission, Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has acknowledged high losses in his ranks after artillery shelling by Ukrainian troops. "Twenty-three fighters have died, and 58 have been injured," Kadyrov wrote on his Telegram channel. Ukrainian sources reported earlier this week that a Chechen unit in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson had given away its location via photos on social networks, which led to the attack. (10:00 GMT) President Vladimir Putin's first deputy chief of staff, Sergey Kiriyenko, is visiting the Russian-controlled city of Kherson, the Russian-installed governor of Crimea said. Kiriyenko, a former head of Rosatom, visited the ferry port, which is evacuating people from Kherson ahead of an expected Ukrainian offensive, said Sergey Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea. "The work on organising the departure of residents has been completed," Aksyonov said. Kiriyenko, he said, also visited the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and spoke to staff at the station. Kiriyenko is one of the most powerful officials in the Kremlin, alongside Putin's chief of staff, Anton Vaino. (10:03 GMT) Ukraine's sole power grid operator announced a temporary blackout in several regions due to intense Russian shelling. In his late-night address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: "Shelling will not break us - to hear the enemy's anthem on our land is scarier than the enemy's rockets in our sky. We are not afraid of the dark." (10:09 GMT) The head of Moscow-annexed Crimea said civilian departures from Russia-occupied Kherson were "completed" after he visited the region with the Kremlin's domestic chief Sergei Kiriyenko. "The work to organise residents leaving the left side of the Dnipro (river) to safe regions of Russia is completed," Sergei Aksyonov, the Moscow-appointed head of Crimea, said on Telegram. (10:31 GMT) Russian soldiers are edging closer to Bakhmut, which has remained under Ukrainian control despite Moscow's goal of capturing the entire Donbas region. Russia has attacked Bakhmut with rockets for more than five months. The ground assault sped up after Russian troops forced the Ukrainians to withdraw from Luhansk in July. Mercenaries from the Wagner Group are also reported to be leading the charge. Taking the city would hurt Ukraine's supply lines and allow Russian forces to continue towards Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, the crucial Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk province. (10:46 GMT) Ukraine has shot down more than 300 Iranian Shahed-136 'kamikaze' drones so far, air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat told a briefing. The drones have become a key weapon in Russia's arsenal during its war in Ukraine and have often been used to target crucial energy infrastructure in the past month. (11:09 GMT) Swedish prosecutors say they will conduct a new crime scene investigation of the Nord Stream leaks after the navy and the pipeline owner also began surveys this week. "I have decided to together with the Security Service (Sapo) conduct a number of complementary inspections of the crime scene," public prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said in a statement. The Swedish armed forces have decided to assist the investigation following "a request", Ljungqvist added, without giving any details about what they were looking for. (12:46 GMT) Russia says only 3% of food exported from Ukraine under a deal that allowed its grain shipments to resume has gone to the world's poorest countries. It says Western nations have received half. "The geography of the recipients of these cargoes has turned out to be completely inconsistent with the initially declared humanitarian objectives," Russia said in a statement. "Needy states such as Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen, Sudan, Afghanistan have received just 3% of the food, mostly from the World Food Programme," it said. (13:48 GMT) Finland and Sweden are committed to joining NATO simultaneously, the prime ministers of the two countries say. The Nordic countries launched their bids to join the military alliance in May in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. All NATO members except Turkey and Hungary have ratified the applications. (14:31 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says the "partial mobilisation" order Russia announced in September is complete. Speaking at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin broadcast on state television, Shoigu said 82,000 of the recruits are in the conflict zone and a further 218,000 are in training. (14:45 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mohammed Jamjoon, reporting from Kyiv, says "people are concerned" as rolling blackouts return to the capital and other Ukrainian cities. Electricity in the Kyiv region is at a "30% capacity deficit due to the Russian attacks that occurred on critical power infrastructure sites." (15:03 GMT) Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has congratulated Elon Musk for buying Twitter but added that he should stop allowing Ukraine to use Starlink. "Good luck Elon Musk in overcoming political bias and ideological dictatorship on Twitter. And quit that Starlink in Ukraine business," the former Russian prime minister and president posted on the social media site that Musk now owns. Musk-owned Starlink has launched more than 3,000 small satellites into low-Earth orbit. They are providing internet service in Ukraine, where the war has destroyed cellular and internet infrastructure. The service has been vital to Ukrainian military communications. (15:19 GMT) Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, has spoken to his Iranian counterpart about sending Iranian weapons to Russia and aiding their war efforts. "Today, I received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian, during which I demanded Iran to immediately cease the flow of weapons to Russia used to kill civilians and destroy critical infrastructure in Ukraine," Kuleba posted on Twitter. Iran has repeatedly denied claims that it has supplied drones to Russia. (15:57 GMT) Canada will sell a government-backed, five-year bond to raise money for Ukraine and impose new sanctions on 35 Russians, including Gazprom executives, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says. "Canadians will now be able to go to major banks to purchase their sovereignty bonds, which will mature after five years with interest," Trudeau said at a meeting of the Congress of Ukrainian Canadians. "These funds will go to support the government of Ukraine, so they can continue to support the Ukrainian people." (16:46 GMT) "Unprecedented" power restrictions will be introduced in the region surrounding Kyiv due to damage caused by Russian strikes on energy infrastructure, the local energy operator has said. (16:59 GMT) The US will provide a new $275m military assistance package for Ukraine to help it battle Russia's invasion, the Pentagon has announced. The package includes ammunition for Himars precision rocket launchers, various types of 155 mm artillery rounds, anti-armor systems, small arms ammunition and four satellite communications antennas, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told journalists. (17:13 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has announced that new air defense equipment had arrived in the capital, and expressed hope that it would help protect its energy infrastructure after weeks of targeted Russian airstrikes. (18:06 GMT) The mayor of Kyiv says the Ukrainian capital's power grid is operating in "emergency mode," with electricity supplies down by as much as a half compared to pre-war levels. "Due to a significant shortage of electricity, from 20% to 50 %, - the city's energy supply system is operating in emergency mode," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. (19:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has expressed doubt over Russia's declaration that its partial mobilisation was complete, saying the poor performance of pro-Moscow forces meant more men could be needed. "Very soon Russia may need a new wave of people to send to the war," he said in a video address. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu earlier said the call-up of 300,000 reservists to fight in Ukraine was complete. (19:31 GMT) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that Canada will sell a government-backed, 5-year bond to raise money for Ukraine, the first country to do so. Zelenskyy thanked Trudeau on Twitter, saying the bond "will allow everyone to contribute to our victory". (19:43 GMT) The fatal crash of a Russian military jet in the Siberian city of Irkutsk could have been caused by faulty oxygen equipment, TASS news agency has cited investigators as saying. Two pilots were killed when the plane crashed into a two-storey house. At the time officials said the plane, a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter, was a test flight. Russia's state Investigative Committee, which is looking into possible violations of air safety rules, told TASS that the crew had lost consciousness. (20:09 GMT) Norway's counter-intelligence service (PST) has revealed what it said is the true identity of a Russian spy posing as a Brazilian researcher. The PST named the suspect as Mikhail Mikushin, a Russian born in 1978, who they said had been passing himself off as a 37-year-old Brazilian named Jose Assis Giammaria. Mikushin is a senior Russian military intelligence officer, according to a researcher at the investigative website Bellingcat. "Great job, Norway, you've caught yourself a colonel from the GRU (Russia's military intelligence agency)," Bellingcat researcher Christo Grozev tweeted. (20:41 GMT) Russia has declared Natayia Sindeyeva, head of the independent TV channel Dozhd, a "foreign agent" along with two journalist colleagues, in the latest crackdown on civil society. The names of Natalia Sindeeva, Vladimir Romensky and Ekaterina Kotrikadze appeared on the latest Russian justice ministry list of "foreign agents". They had been added because of their "political activities," the ministry said. 20221029 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/29/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-blames-uk-for-sevastopol-attack (12:03 GMT) Russian naval forces have repelled a drone attack in the bay of Sevastopol, where the Black Sea Fleet is headquartered, on the annexed Crimean peninsula, according to the Russian-installed leader of the area. "Ships of the Black Sea Fleet repelled a drone attack in the waters of the Sevastopol Bay," the governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said on Telegram. "Nothing has been hit in the city. We remain calm. The situation is under control." (12:04 GMT) Russia has accused the UK of helping Ukraine plan a drone attack on its Black Sea Fleet in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, and said that one of its ships suffered "minor" damage. "The preparation of this terrorist act and the training of the military personnel of the Ukrainian 73rd Special Center for Maritime Operations were carried out under the guidance of British specialists located in the city of Ochakiv in Ukraine's Mykolaiv region," Moscow's defence ministry said in a statement. (12:05 GMT) Russia has accused the UK of being "involved" in explosions which damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines. "Representatives of this unit of the British Navy took part in the planning, provision and implementation of a terrorist attack in the Baltic Sea on September 26 that blew up the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement. (12:10 GMT) Russia has said that the accelerated deployment of modernised US B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would lower the "nuclear threshold" and that Russia would take the move into account in its military planning. Russia has about 2,000 working tactical nuclear weapons while the United States has about 200 such weapons, half of which are at bases in Italy, Germany, Turkey, Belgium and the Netherlands. Politico reported on October 26 that the United States told a closed NATO meeting this month that it would accelerate the deployment of a modernised version of the B61, the B61-12, with the new weapons arriving at European bases in December, several months earlier than planned. (12:13 GMT) The United Nations has urged parties to a UN-brokered deal that allowed a resumption of Ukraine's Black Sea grain exports to renew the pact beyond mid-November, saying it was needed to contribute to global food security. It also called for the full implementation of a related agreement to ensure grain and fertiliser from Russia also reach global markets. (12:17 GMT) Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Kyiv, said the Russian campaign over the last couple of weeks has been highly systematic, targeting smaller substations that transfer the electricity to the grid rather than large facilities. "The recent resumption of strikes on the city, and the mounting pressure on civilian infrastructure is bringing the war ever closer to home," he said, adding that restoring supply is proving difficult as Soviet-era equipment is hard to replace. (12:19 GMT) The European Union has frozen Russian assets worth around 17 billion euros ($16.9bn) since Moscow invaded Ukraine, according to EU Commissioner for Justice Didier Reynders. The figure has risen from the roughly 13.8 billion euros "from oligarchs and other entities" that Reynders in July announced the EU had frozen, mainly in five countries. (14:02 GMT) The UK says Russia's claim that British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month is untrue, calling the accusations "false claims of an epic scale". "This latest invented story, says more about the arguments going on inside the Russian government than it does about the West." (14:42 GMT) Russia says it will raise the Nord Stream pipeline blasts and an alleged drone attack in Crimea, both incidents in which Moscow has alleged British involvement, at the UN Security Council. "The Russian side intends to draw the attention of the international community, in particular through the UN Security Council, to the series of terrorist attacks against Russia in the Black Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the involvement of Great Britain," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. (16:32 GMT) Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Istanbul, has said Turkey is yet to comment on the suspension of the grain deal but Ankara's position on that matter will be "critical". "The agreement was reached after intense talks between Moscow, Ankara and the UN [in] late July. It was extremely difficult to reach the agreement. The agreement was quite a big deal and a huge success. The suspension is going to have a big impact on global food and fertiliser prices," Serdar said. "Since the Russian announcement of the suspension of the deal, there has been no comment from Ankara. Turkey's position is going to be critical," Serdar added. (17:01 GMT) Ukraine says Russia's decision to suspend participation in a UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal "proves once again that negotiations with the Russian Federation are a waste of time." (18:10 GMT) Russia and Ukraine say the two countries have exchanged prisoners of war, with both sides returning around 50 people. ------ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-249 Grain deal * Russia has pulled out of July's UN-brokered grain deal, which allowed major exporter Ukraine to ship agricultural produce, after what it said was a drone attack on Russian ships in occupied Crimea. * Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov has slammed the US for not condemning what he said were the "reckless actions by the Kyiv regime" in targeting the port of Sevastopol. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is trying to create a famine in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia, calling for a strong response from the United Nations and the Group of 20 major economies. * Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has accused Moscow of using a "false pretext" to suspend its participation in the grain deal, urging "all states to demand Russia to stop its hunger games and recommit to its obligations". * US President Joe Biden called the move "purely outrageous", saying it would increase hunger. * "Any act by Russia to disrupt these critical grain exports is essentially a statement that people and families around the world should pay more for food or go hungry," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Nord Stream, Crimea * Russia's defence ministry has said British navy personnel blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last month, a claim that London said was false and designed to distract from Russian military failures in Ukraine. * Moscow offered no evidence for its claim. The ministry also said "British specialists" directed Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian Black Sea fleet ships in Crimea earlier on Saturday which it said were largely repelled by Russian forces, with minor damage to a Russian minesweeper. Diplomacy * Suspected agents working for Russian President Vladimir Putin hacked British former UK Prime Minister Liz Truss's personal phone, gaining access to "top-secret details" of negotiations with international allies, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday. * Russia said the accelerated deployment of modernised US B61 tactical nuclear weapons at NATO bases in Europe would lower the "nuclear threshold" and that Russia would take the move into account in its military planning. * The head of Germany's Military Counter-Intelligence Service, Martina Rosenberg, has warned of increasing activity by adversarial intelligence services. ----- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/30/russia-recovers-drones-used-to-attack-on-its-fleet-in-crimea The Russian military "conducted an examination of Canadian-made navigation modules" found in the shot-down unmanned aerial vehicles. "According to the results of the information recovered from the navigation receiver's memory, it was established that the launch of maritime drones was carried out from the coast near the city of Odesa," the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. The drones reportedly moved along the "grain corridor" safe zone, before changing course to head for Russia's naval base in the largest city on the Crimean Peninsula, Sevastopol. The defence ministry said one of the drones may have been launched "from aboard one of the civilian ships chartered by Kyiv or its Western masters for the export of agricultural products from the seaports of Ukraine". Russia has accused Kyiv of planning the Sevastopol attack with the help of United Kingdom military "specialists". The UK denied the accusations. 20221031 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-250 Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 250 Grain deal * The United Nations, Turkey and Ukraine are pressing ahead to implement a Black Sea grain deal with a transit plan in place for 16 ships on Monday, despite Russia suspending participation in the pact that has allowed the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to world markets. * Russia said on Saturday it suspended participation in July's Black Sea Grain Initiative, which allowed major exporter Ukraine to ship agricultural produce, after Ukrainian attacks on ships in Crimea. * A total of 218 vessels are "effectively blocked" as a result of Moscow's move, Ukraine's infrastructure ministry said on Sunday; analysts predicted global wheat prices would leap. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia was trying to create an artificial famine in developing countries, calling for a strong UN and G20 response. * US President Joe Biden called the move "purely outrageous", saying it would increase starvation, while Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia was weaponising food. * More than 9.5 million tonnes of corn, wheat, sunflower products, barley, rapeseed and soy have been exported since July when the grain initiative started. Fighting * Russia said Ukraine attacked its Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol with 16 drones on Saturday. It said wreckage showed the drones were equipped with Canadian-made navigation. It has asked the UN Security Council to meet on Monday to discuss the attack. Reuters news agency could not immediately verify the report. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Moscow used the explosions 220km away from the grain corridor as a "false pretext" to pull out of the grain export deal. * Russian news agencies cited the defence ministry as saying that its army repelled attacks by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv, Kherson and Luhansk regions. It also accused Ukraine of firing near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, but said the radiation situation remained normal, TASS news agency reported. * Ukraine's east military command said there were fierce battles near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, and Ukrainian forces had held back Russian assaults on two other areas in the region, around Avdiivka and Uhledar. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/10/31/russia-ukraine-live-news-wave-of-missile-strikes-rock-ukraine (09:25 GMT) Russian missiles have hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv, causing power outages and a cut in water supplies, according to the city's mayor. Loud explosions were heard across the Ukrainian capital early on Monday morning, The Associated Press news agency reported. Large areas of the city were cut off power and water supplies as a result of the strikes, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a Telegram post. Local authorities were working to restore a damaged energy facility that supplies power to 350,000 apartments in the city, he added. (09:28 GMT) Twelve vessels have departed from Ukrainian ports under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, according to the country's infrastructure minister. "Today 12 ships left Ukrainian ports. UN & Turkish delegations provide 10 inspection teams to inspect 40 ships aiming to fulfil the #BlackSeaGrainInitiative. This inspection plan has been accepted by the Ukrainian delegation. The Russian delegation has been informed," Oleksandr Kubrakov tweeted. Russia halted its role in the crucial export agreement on Saturday for an "indefinite term" saying it could not "guarantee [the] safety of civilian ships" travelling under the pact after an attack on its Black Sea Fleet. (10:10 GMT) Russian missiles have hit "a critical infrastructure facility" in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv, according to its mayor. "After the morning arrivals, the situation in Kharkiv is rather complicated. The blow fell on a critical infrastructure facility, as a result of which the subway and ground electric transport were de-energised," Ihor Terekhov said in a Telegram post. "There are also problems with water supply, but power engineers and our public utilities are doing everything possible to resume water supply to the homes of Kharkiv residents as soon as possible." (10:35 GMT) Russia asked the UN Security Council to meet on Monday to discuss an attack on its Black Sea Fleet which it has accused Ukraine of carrying out. Moscow said 16 air and maritime drones attacked civilian and Black Sea Fleet vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea on Saturday. (10:50 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey is determined to "serve humanity" and press forward with the UN and Turkish-brokered Black Sea grain export deal after Moscow suspended its participation in the initiative at the weekend. "Even if Russia behaves hesitantly because it didn't receive the same benefits, we will continue decisively our efforts to serve humanity," Erdogan said in a televised address. (10:59 GMT) Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Vyshhorod, 20km north of Kyiv, says Russia's missile attacks on Monday had targeted vital infrastructure across the country. "This is the third Monday in October on which we have seen these sorts of strikes targeting the Ukrainian capital," Fawcett said. "Today, though, the strikes were much more widespread. There were strikes on infrastructure in the east and in the south, and the Ukrainian government is saying that more than 50 air-launched cruise missiles were used in this round of attacks," he added. (11:39 GMT) Missile debris has landed in the northern Moldovan village of Naslavcea on Monday morning after a Russian fusillade was intercepted by air defences in neighbouring Ukraine, Moldova's interior ministry said in a statement. No one was hurt but the windows of several homes were shattered in Naslavcea, which lies on the border with Ukraine, the ministry said. Nicu Popescu, Moldova's foreign minister, said the Russian attack had targeted a Ukrainian dam on the Nistru River that runs through the two countries. (11:52 GMT) Russia has warned that it would be "risky" for Ukraine to continue exporting grain via the Black Sea after Moscow suspended its participation in an initiative to facilitate shipments. "In conditions when Russia is talking about the impossibility of guaranteeing the safety of shipping in these areas, such a deal is hardly feasible, and it takes on a different character - much more risky, dangerous and unguaranteed," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (12:17 GMT) The United Nations labour agency has warned that job vacancies and employment growth are expected to decline worldwide in the fourth quarter as the war in Ukraine and "multiple and overlapping crises" have led to shrinking wages, higher debt and yawning inequality. (12:24 GMT) Russian forces hit military and energy infrastructure targets in Ukraine early on Monday with "high precision strikes", the country's defence ministry has said. "The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have continued launching strikes by high-precision long-range air- and sea-based armament at the military control and energy systems of Ukraine," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. "The goals of the attacks have been reached. All the assigned targets have been neutralised," it added. (12:49 GMT) Norway, a NATO member that shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, has announced it will raise its military readiness in response to the war in Ukraine. (13:46 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed a British media report alleging that former Prime Minister Liz Truss's mobile telephone was hacked by Russian agents. The United Kingdom's Daily Mail newspaper reported on Saturday that Russian spies had gained access to Truss's phone earlier this year while she was in post as the country's foreign secretary. When asked about the article, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected the report and said there was little in the British media that could be taken seriously. (14:45 GMT) As the war in Ukraine grinds on, Russia's parliament has approved bills aimed at further constricting the country's marginalised LGBT community. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/31/russia-introduces-more-anti-lgbt-laws-amid-war-losses (14:57 GMT) Grain is flowing out of Ukraine at a record pace under the United Nations-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative despite Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the scheme, the Reuters news agency has reported. A record volume of 354,500 tonnes of agricultural products was carried on vessels leaving Ukrainian ports on Monday as part of the agreement, Reuters quoted a spokesperson for Odesa's military administration as saying. That is the highest amount moved in a single day since the export deal was signed on July 22. (15:57 GMT) Ukraine's agriculture ministry says the country's grain exports fell to 4.22 million tonnes in October 2022 from 5.05 million tonnes in the same month of last year. (16:06 GMT) Moldova has declared a representative of the Russian embassy in Chisinau persona non grata, the country's foreign ministry says. The ministry did not identify the individual but cited in a statement the security risks posed by "missile attacks on a neighbouring country" and "increasing threats to the energy security of Moldova" from Russian attacks on Ukrainian energy facilities. Moldova's interior ministry said earlier on Monday that missile debris had landed in a northern Moldovan village after a Russian attack on Ukraine. (16:32 GMT) The United Kingdom has warned Russia there will be "severe consequences" if it uses nuclear weapons in Ukraine, saying such a step would change the nature of the conflict. "No other country is talking about nuclear use. No country is threatening Russia or President Putin," foreign minister James Cleverly told lawmakers. (16:35 GMT) Turkey's defence minister has told his Russian counterpart that Moscow should re-evaluate the suspension of its participation in a United Nations-brokered deal that restored grain exports from Ukraine. (17:17 GMT) UN aid chief Martin Griffiths has said that there were no ships involved in a UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal transiting a maritime humanitarian corridor on the night of Oct. 29, when Russia says its vessels in the Bay of Sevastopol in Crimea were attacked. Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine attacked the Black Sea Fleet near Sevastopol on the annexed Crimean peninsular with 16 drones in the early hours of Saturday, and that British navy "specialists" had helped coordinate the "terrorist" attack. Russia said it had repelled the attack, with just minor damage to a minesweeper, but that the ships targeted were involved in ensuring the grain corridor. Russia accordingly suspended its participation in a landmark agreement that allowed vital grain exports from Ukraine. (17:45 GMT) The Ukrainian Association of Football (UAF) has called for Iran to be excluded from the 2022 Fifa World Cup. Russia has already been banned from the competition. If the country were to get banned from the competition, Ukraine could be called up as a replacement team after it initially failed to qualify. (18:14 GMT) The Russian army has said it wanted "commitments" from Ukraine not to use the grain exports corridor for military purposes after an attack on its Crimea fleet led to Moscow's suspension of a deal to export foodstuffs. "There cannot be a question of guaranteeing the safety of any object in this area until Ukraine makes additional commitments not to use this route for military purposes," the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram, the Reuters news agency reported. (18:46 GMT) Russia has said it wanted the United Nations to "get guarantees from Ukraine that it would not use the humanitarian corridor and Ukrainian ports designated for exports of agricultural products for hostile acts against Russia". Moscow on Saturday pulled out of the landmark Turkey and UN-brokered deal that it signed with Kyiv in July that allowed vital grain exports after what it said was a "massive" attack on Russian ships in the Black Sea. Ukraine has labelled it a "false pretext". Moscow's forces alleged "specialists" from the United Kingdom had helped prepare and train Kyiv to carry out Saturday's attack; London has denied the claims. (19:37 GMT) Forty% of Kyiv residents have been left without water, the Ukrainian capital's mayor has said. Vitaliy Klitschko said 270,000 apartments remained without electricity, and 40% of residents still had no running water, as authorities announced emergency blackouts across the country to help save power and carry out repairs. (20:23 GMT) Russia is not ending its participation in a deal to export Ukrainian grain through Black Sea ports but rather is suspending it, President Vladimir Putin has said. Also on Monday, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths reaffirmed the Russian position, saying that "they have suspended. They haven't withdrawn. They have suspended and they haven't terminated." "We believe very strongly that provision remains in force, including for the Russian Federation." That includes a pledge by Russia and Ukraine not to attack cargo ships or port facilities, Griffiths said. 20221101 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/1/russia-ukraine-live-updates-moscow-suspends-grain-deal (06:47 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure on Monday and a decision to freeze participation in a Black Sea grain export programme were responses to a drone attack on Moscow's fleet in Crimea that he blamed on Ukraine. "That's not all we could have done," Putin said at the televised news conference, indicating more action could follow. Ukrainian officials said energy infrastructure, including hydroelectric dams, was hit, knocking out power, heat and water supplies. (06:48 GMT) The UN atomic watchdog has said inspections of two nuclear sites in Ukraine have begun at Kyiv's request to address Russian accusations that it is working on a so-called "dirty bomb", the watchdog's chief Rafael Grossi has said. "Director General Grossi said IAEA inspectors had begun - and would soon complete - verification activities at (the) two locations in Ukraine," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. (06:56 GMT) Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has told Ukraine's defence and infrastructure ministers that keeping the grain export deal going was important and should be kept separate from the conflict in Ukraine. The remarks were released in a statement by Akar's ministry following Russia's suspension of its participation in the deal announced on Saturday. (06:57 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said Moscow had completed the partial military mobilisation announced by Putin in September and no further call-up notices will be issued. (07:31 GMT) Russian tycoon Oleg Tinkov says he has renounced his citizenship because of his reservations over the war in Ukraine. "I have taken the decision to exit my Russian citizenship. I can't and won't be associated with a fascist country, that started a war with their peaceful neighbour and killing innocent people daily," Tinkov wrote on Instagram on Monday. "I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens [President Vladimir] Putin's regime and his economy, and put him eventually to defeat," added the 54-year-old, who has been based outside Russia in recent years. (07:57 GMT) Water and electricity supplies have been restored in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, a day after being knocked out by Russian missile raids, the city's mayor has said. "Water supplies to the homes of Kyiv residents have been fully restored ... Electricity supplies in Kyiv have also been restored" Vitali Klitschko said on social media. Nevertheless, Klitschko said there would still be planned power cuts in the city "because of the considerable deficit in the power system after the barbaric attacks of the aggressor". (08:39 GMT) Sri Lanka's Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera has said his country had been buying Russian oil through trading companies in Dubai and Singapore, but not yet directly from Russia. (09:04 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson has demanded that Russia be expelled from the Group of 20 major economies and President Vladimir Putin's invitation to a G20 summit in Bali next month must be revoked. (09:23 GMT) Russian officials in Kherson are extending the evacuation zone further from the Dnipro river, claiming that Ukraine is preparing to attack the Kakhovka dam and flood the area. On Telegram, Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-backed head of the region, said he was extending the area by an extra 15 km to include another seven settlements. (09:51 GMT) Russia does not need a presidential decree to formalise the end to its partial military draft, a senior senator from Russia's ruling party said. "No additional decrees on the end of mobilisation are required," Andrei Klishas, the head of the committee on constitutional legislation in the Federation Council upper house, said. Putin added that he had not considered whether or not a declaration was needed and would consult with lawyers on the issue. (10:07 GMT) Three cargo ships left Ukrainian ports despite Russia withdrawing from the grain deal. In a statement by the United Nations-led coordination centre, the ships' movement was agreed upon by the Ukrainian, Turkish and UN delegations at the Istanbul-based centre, and the Russian board had been informed. (10:26 GMT) The Czech prime minister says the EU may look at further sanctions on Belarus over its role in the war in Ukraine. "Certain sanctions against Belarus are already in place, but we can't have Belarus joining Russia's policy or Russia avoiding the impact of sanctions through countries such as Belarus," Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala told reporters after returning from Kyiv. Currently, Minsk allows Russian troops to be stationed on Belarusian territory and stage attacks on Ukraine from there, although it insists it does not want to join the war directly. (10:44 GMT) Wikipedia's owner Wikimedia Foundation has been fined two million Russian rubles ($32,600) by a Russian court over articles relating to the Ukraine war, the head of the foundation in Russia told the Reuters news agency. Stanislav Kozlovsky said that the fine was placed because entries that had previously been asked to be removed were still on the website. He said the foundation would appeal. The two articles, in Russian, were titled "Non-violent resistance of Ukraine's civilian population in the course of Russia's invasion" and "Evaluations of Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine". (11:02 GMT) The Kremlin said it is considering what "further steps" to take after its allegation that the UK was responsible for an attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. On Saturday, Russia's defence ministry said British navy personnel had blown up the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September. The Kremlin also said no decision had been taken on whether to repair the Russian-owned pipelines. (11:30 GMT) The UK is funnelling millions of pounds into Ukraine's cyber-defences. An initial 6.35-million-pound ($7.3m) package was mobilised in response to a rising "tempo" of Russian cyber-activity at the beginning of the invasion in February but has been kept quiet until now for security reasons, the government said. The news came as the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of GCHQ, published its annual review. (12:38 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will speak with his Russian and Ukrainian counterparts in the next few days to restore the grain export deal, says the Turkish foreign minister. (12:47 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron about strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities and restoring damaged energy infrastructure. (13:16 GMT) During a visit to Kyiv, the EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson said, "Ukrainian energy infrastructure is under targeted attack." In a tweet, Simson wrote: "I am in Kyiv today to help scale up support to the Ukraine energy sector. Ukrainian energy infrastructure is under targeted attack by Russia - a cruel & inhumane tactic to cause human suffering as the winter is approaching. The EU stands by Ukraine to help them until they prevail. (13:22 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will travel to Germany to meet with his counterparts in the Group of Seven (G7) to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In a statement published by the Department of State, Blinken will travel to Munster, Germany, for the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting and the US-German Futures Forum. (14:43 GMT) In Russia, patriotic critics are speaking out about how they would have done things differently. They are not anti-war, rather they support the invasion but spend their time decrying what they see as poor military tactics. Loyal to President Putin, they are taking over social media and the Kremlin has allowed their voices to be heard. aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/1/the-rise-of-the-patriotic-critic-in-russia (15:12 GMT) Iran is planning to send more than 200 combat drones to Russia, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence says. "At the beginning of November, a batch of over 200 Shahed-136, Mohajer-6 and Arash-2 combat drones is planned to be sent from Iran to the Russian Federation," a statement on the government website read. It said the unmanned aircraft would be delivered over the Caspian Sea to the port of Astrakhan. The drones would arrive unassembled and would be put together on Russian territory and painted with Russian markings, the ministry said. (15:40 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron accuses Russia of harming world food supplies by suspending its participation in the Black Sea grain export deal. Macron also tweeted about his conversation with Zelenskyy and posted: "I confirmed it to President Zelenskyy this morning: we are fully mobilised to increase our military support for Ukraine as soon as possible, in particular anti-aircraft defence." (16:15 GMT) President Vladimir Putin told his Turkish counterpart, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in a phone call that Russia could consider resuming a deal allowing grain exports from Ukrainian seaports only after an investigation into the drone attacks on the Crimean naval base of Sevastopol. The resumption of exports might be considered only after "a detailed investigation into the circumstances of this incident", the Kremlin said in a statement. "Also after receipt of real guarantees from Kyiv of strict observance of the Istanbul agreements, in particular on the non-use of the humanitarian corridor for military purposes." (17:22 GMT) Insurers are no longer offering new cargo insurance cover for shipments out of Ukraine through a UN-backed safe corridor after Russia suspended its participation in an export deal, according to industry sources quoted by the Reuters news agency. (17:55 GMT) The European Union is exploring ways to increase help for Ukraine's energy sector following "cruel and inhumane" Russian attacks that have caused widespread power cuts, according to EU Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson. (18:33 GMT) Russia's attacks on Ukrainian water and energy supplies are aimed at exacerbating human suffering and are particularly heinous, according to US Department of State spokesman Ned Price. (19:34 GMT) The United States has accused Russia of deciding to let the developing world "starve" after pulling out of a UN-brokered deal with Ukraine to export grain. The body overseeing the July deal, also negotiated by Turkey, said that grain exports will halt as of Wednesday after Russia announced a pullout over the weekend. "Any decision by the Kremlin to disrupt this initiative is essentially a statement that Moscow doesn't care," said state department spokesman, Ned Price. (20:42 GMT) Turkey's defence minister says he believes a UN-brokered grain export deal Moscow suspended over the weekend would continue, after two phone calls in as many days with his Russian counterpart. 20221102 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/2/live-news-ukraine-zelenskyy-seeks-defence-of-grain-corridor (05:56 GMT) The UN coordinator for grain and fertiliser exports under the accord has said that he expects loaded ships to leave Ukrainian ports on Thursday. Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Twitter that eight vessels with agricultural products are expected to pass through the corridor on Thursday. (06:01 GMT) Authorities in Kyiv are preparing more than 1,000 heating points throughout the city in case its district heating system is disabled, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. (06:23 GMT) The world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt Ukraine's grain export corridor, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, as more ships were loading despite Moscow suspending its participation in a UN-brokered deal. (06:28 GMT) The UN Security Council has scheduled a vote on a resolution that would establish a commission to investigate unfounded Russian claims that Ukraine and the US are carrying out "military biologcal" activities that violate the convention prohibiting the use of biological weapons. Russia circulated a 310-page document to council members last week alleging that this biological activity is taking place in Ukraine with support from the US Defense Department. (06:34 GMT) Officials from the Poltava, Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions said there is a strong possibility of Russian air raids, urging civilians to take shelter. Such alerts are issued almost on a daily basis due to possible missile and drone attacks which have recently tried to take out civilian and energy infrastructure. (07:26 GMT) Russia has launched a Soyuz rocket carrying a military satellite into space, Russian news agencies have reported, citing the defence ministry. The rocket - a Soyuz-2.1b medium-class launch vehicle - was launched at 9:48am Moscow time (6:48GMT) from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome, the ministry was quoted as saying. (08:07 GMT) Ukraine's sole power grid operator has announced that power outages have been implemented in multiple regions as it prepares to stabilise the energy supply damaged by recent Russian drone and missile attacks. Ukrenergo said in a statement that people in the capital Kyiv, as well as Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Zhytomyr, Sumy, Kharkiv, and Poltava regions were without power as of 6am local time. (08:50 GMT) Poland will build a razor-wire fence on its border with Russia's Kaliningrad, its defence minister has said, amid concerns that the enclave might become a conduit for illegal migration. Construction of the temporary 2.5-metre high and 3-metre deep barrier will start immediately, Mariusz Blaszczak told a news conference. (08:53 GMT) Ukraine's grain exports are down year on year in the 2022/23 season so far to almost 13.4 million tonnes from 19.7 million tonnes at the same date a season earlier, the agriculture ministry data has shown. (08:59 GMT) Russia is concerned about its security and the obstacles it faces exporting fertiliser and grains, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlu Cavusoglu has said. Speaking at a panel in Ankara, Cavusoglu cited two reasons for Moscow's move. "Russia has some security demands after the recent attack on its ships," he said of an attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet over the weekend. Moscow is also concerned about its fertiliser and grain exports, "which are not on the list of sanctions but the ships that are carrying these still cannot dock," Cavusoglu said, echoing comments by Russian officials. "They still cannot get insurance and payments are not made," he said. "Therefore, a lot of countries' ships are shying away from carrying these loads." (09:46 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says a Ukrainian citizen has been detained in Crimea on suspicion of planning to "sabotage" a power line in the occupied Black Sea peninsula. The FSB said a man in his 40s had been found carrying diagrams of power lines, three explosive devices and instructions on how to use them. It said it suspected the man had been recruited by Ukrainian intelligence services. There was no immediate response from Kyiv. (10:20 GMT) Senior Russian military leaders recently had discussions about when and how Moscow might deploy a tactical nuclear weapon in Ukraine, the New York Times newspaper has reported, citing multiple US officials. The newspaper said Putin was not part of the conversations, which US intelligence services reportedly alerted Washington to in mid-October and came against the backdrop of intensifying nuclear rhetoric from the Russian president. It cited the unnamed US officials as saying they had seen no evidence that Moscow was moving nuclear weapons into place or taking other measures to prepare for an attack. (10:27 GMT) Russia has agreed to rejoin a Turkish and UN-brokered deal on the shipment of millions of tonnes of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, Turkey's president has said. Erdogan added that the deal would prioritise shipments to African nations, including Somalia, Djibouti and Sudan, in line with Russia's concerns that most of the grain was ending up in richer nations (10:41 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it will summon the United Kingdom's ambassador to Moscow over what it said was the involvement of British specialists in an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Black Sea fleet. "In this regard, the British ambassador will shortly be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters. (11:16 GMT) Al Jazeera's Resul Serdar, reporting from Istanbul, says Turkey's role in bringing Russia back to the Black Sea Grain Initiative highlights that Ankara is now the "de facto mediator" between Moscow and Kyiv. (11:56 GMT) The UK has imposed sanctions on four Russian steel and petrochemical tycoons over the war in Ukraine. Those sanctioned included Alexander Abramov and Alexander Frolov, who the UK described as known associates of oligarch Roman Abramovich, who was himself sanctioned earlier this year. (12:45 GMT) The United States does not see any signs that Russia is making preparations to use nuclear weapons, a spokesman for the White House has said. "We've been clear from the outset that Russia's comments about the potential use of nuclear weapons are deeply concerning, and we take them seriously," spokesman John Kirby said. "We continue to monitor this as best we can, and we see no indications that Russia is making preparations for such use." (13:30 GMT) Vladimir Putin has called for the weapons used by Russia's military to be modernised, the Reuters news agency reports. "Weapons must constantly, continuously improve and remain effective," Putin was quoted by Reuters as telling a meeting of Russia's coordination council. "To achieve this, I repeat, it is important to ensure that there is active competition between manufacturers and developers." (13:59 GMT) Russia says it is fully committed to preventing nuclear war, stating that avoiding conflict between the world's nuclear powers is its first priority. "We fully reaffirm our commitment to the joint statement of the five nuclear-weapon states leaders on the prevention of nuclear war and the avoidance of an arms race from January 3, 2022," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement. That statement by Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom and France said they agreed "a nuclear war cannot be won". (15:17 GMT) The United States has information that indicates North Korea is covertly supplying Russia with a "significant" number of artillery shells for use in Ukraine, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby. "It is not an insignificant number of shells, but we don't believe they are in such a quantity that they would change the momentum of the war," he said. North Korea said in September that it had never supplied weapons or ammunition to Russia and has no plans to do so. (16:01 GMT) Putin has warned that Russia could withdraw from the Ukraine grain deal again if Kyiv violates security guarantees that Moscow says it has provided. "Russia retains the right to leave these agreements if these guarantees from Ukraine are violated," Putin said in televised comments hours after Russia announced it was rejoining the deal. Moscow said it had received assurances from Kyiv that it would not use the secure shipping corridor or its designated Ukrainian ports for attacks against Russia. Putin affirmed the receipt of those commitments and said that if Russia withdrew once more because of Ukrainian breaches, it would substitute the entire volume of grain destined for the "poorest countries" for free from its own stocks. But, in a nod to Turkey's influence, as well as what he called its "neutrality" in Russia's conflict with Ukraine, Putin added: "In any case, we will not in the future impede deliveries of grain from Ukrainian territory to the Turkish Republic." (16:34 GMT) Passenger numbers on Russian airlines were down 20% in September from last year, as the impact of Western sanctions and flight bans continues to weigh on the industry. (17:58 GMT) Authorities in the Kyiv region have started emergency shutdowns of the power generating system after a spike in consumption, the Kyiv regional administration has said. The move was necessary to "avoid major accidents with power equipment", read a statement by the administration. (19:00 GMT) Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, warns that her country would be in trouble if the West turns its attention away and stops helping. "I don't want to believe that support [for Ukraine] is fading. I believe it won't diminish," Zelenska told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of Europe's largest tech event, Web Summit, held in Lisbon. (19:32 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he and Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed sending grain to African countries after Putin proposed sending grain to countries like Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan first. In an interview with Turkish broadcaster ATV, after Russia said it would resume participation in the Ukraine grain deal, Erdogan said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had changed his stance and was now saying common ground must be found with Putin. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/2/ukraine-grain-shipments-resume-as-russia-rejoins-deal 20221103 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/3/russia-ukraine-live-zaporizhzia-plant-disconnected-from-grid (06:37 GMT) Ukraine's Zaporizhzia nuclear power plant has been disconnected from the power grid after Russian shelling damaged the remaining high voltage lines, leaving it with just diesel generators, Ukraine nuclear firm Energoatom said. The power plant has 15 days' worth of fuel to run the generators, Energoatom said. The plant's blocks 5 and 6 are being switched into cold state, it said. (06:39 GMT) Foreign ministers from the G7 group of rich democracies are set to discuss how best to coordinate further support for Ukraine when they meet in Germany following recent Russian attacks on energy infrastructure that have caused widespread power cuts. (07:35 GMT) The British ambassador arrived at the Russian foreign ministry, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, after she was summoned to discuss Moscow's claims that Britain was involved in a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea. (07:41 GMT) Disinformation and hatred against Jews has "flourished" online throughout Russia's invasion of Ukraine, further aggravating a trend set in motion during the COVID-19 pandemic, an EU report said on Thursday. "The coronavirus pandemic and Russia's aggression against Ukraine further fuelled" anti-Semitism, which "remains a serious problem in our societies," said Michael O'Flaherty, the director of the Vienna-based Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA). (07:50 GMT) Six grain ships left Ukraine's ports, a day after Russia rejoined a deal to allow exports through the Black Sea, Turkey's defence minister said. (08:07 GMT) As Ukraine's grain shipments resume, Al Jazeera's Assed Baig said Kyiv has been continually complaining about Russia using its Black Sea fleets to launch air attacks against it, including a series of crippling raids against Ukraine's energy infrastructure. "North of here in the city of Kryvyi Rih loud explosions were heard and the head of the military administration there has said that there has been significant damage to the energy infrastructure there," Baig said, speaking from Odesa. (08:25 GMT) Ukraine's nuclear energy company Energoatom said the last remaining high voltage lines connecting the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the Ukrainian grid had been damaged, and that Moscow wanted to connect the plant to the Russian grid. (08:45 GMT) Ukraine has made no new commitments that go beyond the terms of a deal signed in July to free up grain exports from its Black Sea ports following Russia's invasion, a foreign ministry spokesman said. Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook that Ukraine had never used the Black Sea grain "corridor" for military purposes, and had never intended to do so. (09:00 GMT) A senior Russian official said Russia had prevented a Ukrainian attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukrainian forces "continue to shell the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant with Western weapons which could lead to a global catastrophe", Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, said. Patrushev said that Russian special services had prevented what he said was a "terrorist attack" on the plant. (09:29 GMT) Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia has called on the United Nations to help fulfil part of the Black Sea grain deal that would ease its food exports. The Kremlin says it has not committed to extending the Black Sea grain deal beyond its current expiry date of November 19. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia needed to assess how the deal was working before deciding on its future involvement. (10:04 GMT) Hungary's Parliament will decide when to schedule a debate on approving Finland and Sweden's applications to join NATO, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference. Szijjarto said the government had done its job by submitting the relevant bill to parliament. Hungary and Turkey are the only members not to have ratified the applications. (11:12 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, it is likely that Russia has recently received "at least 100 additional tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from Belarussian stocks." (11:34 GMT) Moscow and Kyiv have agreed to a prisoner swap, handing over 107 captured fighters each. Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed administrator of the Donetsk region, said on Telegram: "Today we are returning 107 of our fighters from Ukrainian dungeons. We are giving Ukraine the same number of prisoners, mostly VES soldiers, again. "Of the total number of those released, 65 were from the Donetsk and Lugansk [Luhansk] People's Republics. Soon they will be able to hug their loved ones." (12:31 GMT) Russia summoned the UK's ambassador and warned London of "dangerous consequences" after an attack on Moscow's Black Sea fleet in Crimea at the weekend. "Such confrontational actions of the English carry a threat of escalation of the situation and could lead to unpredictable and dangerous consequences," the foreign ministry said in a statement. Russia accused Britain of helping Ukraine attack its fleet on Saturday, causing minor damage to one of its ships. (12:52 GMT) A Russian-installed official in Kherson says Russia's armed forces will likely quit the western bank of the Dnipro River. (13:21 GMT) Switzerland has rejected another appeal from Germany to allow it to export Swiss-made ammunition to Ukraine, saying the move would violate Swiss neutrality. German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht wrote to the government in Bern last month asking for permission to supply 12,400 rounds of Swiss-made ammunition for Gepard anti-aircraft tanks, which Berlin has already provided to Kyiv to help in its war with Russia. But the Swiss government said: "Under the principle of equal treatment in neutrality law, Switzerland cannot agree to a request for the transfer of war materiel of Swiss origin to Ukraine as long as the latter is involved in an international armed conflict. "As the legal situation remains unchanged, approval of a transfer of Swiss war materiel by Germany to Ukraine is still not possible." A previous request was rejected in June for the same reason. (13:33 GMT) Russia's flag has been removed from an administration building in Kherson, suggesting that its troops might be retreating from the southern Ukrainian city. Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy head of Kherson, said earlier that troops would "likely" be leaving the west bank of the Dnipro River and moving to the east. (14:14 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) wealthiest democracies will not allow Russia to inflict "starvation" on Ukrainians this winter due to the war, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said. "We will not allow the brutality of this war to lead to masses of elderly people, children, young people and families dying in the coming winter months," Baerbock said ahead of a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Germany. (14:51 GMT) There are no indications of "undeclared nuclear activities" at three locations in Ukraine, a UN watchdog says after visiting the sites at Kyiv's request to address "dirty bomb" allegations made by Russia. "Our technical and scientific evaluation of the results we have so far did not show any sign of undeclared nuclear activities and materials at these three locations," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/1/un-nuclear-watchdog-starts-dirty-bomb-claims-probe-in-ukraine (15:22 GMT) The Bulgarian government will have one month to decide which weapons to send in the form of military aid to Ukraine. Currently, Bulgaria is one of the few European Union countries not sending military aid to Ukraine after the Russia-friendly socialist party, a coalition partner in the previous government, blocked the decision in May. The caretaker Defence Minister Dimitar Stoyanov told reporters that Bulgaria could not afford to send its Soviet-made anti-aircraft missile systems or fighter jets, which Kyiv wants, because they could not be replaced quickly. (16:15 GMT) The UK seeks to prevent countries from using its services to transport Russian oil unless it is bought at or below a price cap. "We've banned the import of Russian oil into the UK and are making good progress on phasing it out completely," finance minister Jeremy Hunt said in a statement. "This new measure continues to turn the screws on Putin's war machine, making it even tougher for him to profiteer from his illegal war." The British government said the ban, which will come into force on December 5, applies to UK services, including insurance, brokerage and shipping. (18:02 GMT) Sweden and Finland have not yet fulfilled all obligations under a deal clearing their bids to join NATO, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has said, adding that no concrete steps have been taken yet. His comment came as he was speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg in Istanbul who noted earlier that "it was time to welcome" the two Nordic countries in the defensive alliance to "prevent any misunderstanding or miscalculation in Moscow". Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum in June, resulting in NATO member Turkey lifting a veto of their applications to join the trans-Atlantic security alliance. Turkey had opposed Finland and Sweden's application accusing them of providing shelter to members of the PKK, a Kurdish armed group that Ankara, the European Union and the United States have designated as a terrorist group. (19:24 GMT) Ukrainian forces can retake the strategic southern city of Kherson from Russian troops, US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin has said, in what would be a major defeat for Moscow. "On the issue of whether the Ukrainians can take the remaining territory on the west side of the Dnipro River and in Kherson, I certainly believe that they have the capability to do that," Austin told a news conference at the Pentagon. "Most importantly, the Ukrainians believe they have the capability to do that. We have seen them engage in a very methodical but effective effort to take back their sovereign territory." (19:55 GMT) Vladimir Putin ordered a one-time payment of 195,000 roubles ($3,100) for contract soldiers and those who have been mobilised to fight in Ukraine, the Kremlin has said. aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-254 20221104 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/4/live-news-zelenskyy-says-4-5-million-ukrainians-without-power (09:49 GMT) About 4.5 million Ukrainians - more than 10% of the country's pre-war population - were temporarily without power on Thursday evening due to Russian attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. (10:08 GMT) The deputy head of the Russian-installed administration in Kherson has urged people to leave the city as Ukrainian troops press to regain control of it. "To all these people who have ignored all our requests regarding safety and shelling, I want to remind once more that the situation is really not easy," Kirill Stremousov said in a video posted on Telegram. (10:12 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says Russian forces have probably started deploying "barrier troops" or "blocking units" due to low morale and reluctance to fight among Moscow's troops. "These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update. (10:19 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said he told Chinese President Xi Jinping during the pair's talks on Friday that he wanted Beijing to use its "influence" on Moscow to stop the war in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/germany-chancellor-olaf-scholz-visits-china-with-eye-on-trade (10:30 GMT) Western countries need to reduce their dependencies on China but cannot put the country into one category with Russia, the European Union's top diplomat has said. "It is clear that China is consolidating a new era of its external policy, and internal also, [that] China [is] becoming much more assertive, much more on a self-reliant course," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting with his G7 counterparts in the German city of Muenster. "It is clear that we want to reduce our dependencies, we want to address our vulnerabilities, to strengthen our resilience," he added. "But at the time being, many member states have a strong economic relationship with China and I don't think we can put China and Russia on the same level." (10:48 GMT) Turkey's president has said that he and Putin agreed that Russian grains sent under the Black Sea export deal should go to poor African countries for free. "In my phone call with Vladimir Putin, he said 'Let's send this grain to countries such as Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan for free' - and we agreed," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech to businesspeople in Istanbul. (11:27 GMT) Russia's president has said that civilians in the Ukrainian region of Kherson must be evacuated from the conflict zone amid a counteroffensive by Kyiv's forces. "Now, of course, those who live in Kherson should be removed from the zone of the most dangerous actions, because the civilian population should not suffer," RIA quoted Putin as saying (11:40 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and his Polish counterpart Mateusz Morawiecki have agreed on the need to keep sending a strong message to Russia that "intimidation" will not work, according to the British leader's office. (12:01 GMT) Russia has drafted 318,000 people into its armed forces following Moscow's partial mobilisation order in late September, according to the country's president. Russia's state-owned RIA Novosti news agency quoted Putin as saying that 49,000 of those drafted were already performing combat missions, with the rest engaged in training. (12:10 GMT) Finland's president has said he is "optimistic" Turkey will ratify his country's application to join NATO. The process has been prolonged by negotiations between Finland, Sweden and Turkey after Ankara claimed the Nordic countries support groups Turkey deems to be "terrorists". (12:55 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that "more than 5,000 civilians" are being evacuated from Kherson each day, as Kyiv's forces press ahead with a counteroffensive in the partly-occupied southern region. "Military engineers every day transport up to 1,200 civilian vehicles, both trucks and cars, as well as more than 5,000 civilians" to the eastern bank of the Dnieper river. (13:04 GMT) About 450,000 residential properties in Kyiv are currently without electricity following Russian strikes on Ukrainia (13:08 GMT) Europe's solidarity and commitment towards Kyiv will be tested this winter, and midterm elections in the United States might also have an effect, according to analysts. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/hoas-costs-of-living-spike-is-western-stand-on-ukraine-wobbling (13:43 GMT) The G7 group of industrialised nations has agreed to establish a "coordination mechanism" to help Ukraine repair, restore and defend its critical energy and water infrastructure following a two-day meeting in Muenster, Germany. (14:49 GMT) Pope Francis has told an interfaith summit that religion must never be used to justify violence and urged faith leaders to oppose the "childlike" whims of leaders who make war. Speaking at a conference on East-West dialogue held in Bahrain, the head of the Catholic Church said the world was on the "brink of a delicate precipice" and warned of a new race to rearm that he said was redesigning Cold War-era spheres of influence. Apparently referring to Ukraine, Francis condemned a situation where "a few potentates are caught up in a resolute struggle for partisan interests, reviving obsolete rhetoric, redesigning spheres of influence and opposing blocs". "We appear to be witnessing a dramatic and childlike scenario: In the garden of humanity, instead of cultivating our surroundings, we are playing instead with fire, missiles and bombs, weapons that bring sorrow and death, covering our common home with ashes and hatred," he said. (15:30 GMT) A 24-hour curfew has been imposed in the Russian-controlled city of Kherson, Kirill Stremousov, the Russia-backed deputy governor of the Kherson region has said. Stremousov repeated earlier calls for civilians to leave Kherson city, saying that columns of Ukrainian vehicles had been spotted on areas of the frontline and that an attack was possible. (16:03 GMT) The United States has announced an additional $400m of military aid for Ukraine, including paying for the refurbishment of 45 Czech T-72 tanks to be sent to Kyiv. Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said she did not have an exact timeline for the supply of the tanks but expected the first units to be delivered before the end of the year. She acknowledged that T-72s are "Soviet-era tanks" and were chosen because the Ukrainians had already been trained on them, rather than sending other, more modern tank systems. (16:18 GMT) How Kyiv copes with blackouts https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/4/how-kyiv-copes-with-blackouts (16:23 GMT) "In the city of Kherson there are absolutely no restrictions that would limit the life of the city," Kirill Stremousov, the Russia-backed deputy governor of the Kherson region, said on Telegram. Stremousov's remarks came about an hour after he posted a video announcing the curfew on the same channel. (17:42 GMT) Antony Blinken has accused Russia of trying to make up for defeats on the battlefield by aiming attacks at Ukraine's infrastructure, leaving civilians without vital services. "President Putin seems to have decided that if he can't seize Ukraine by force, he will try to freeze it into submission," Blinken said after a meeting of the G7 foreign ministers in Muenster, Germany. "The G7 agreed to create a new coordination group to help prepare, restore and defend Ukraine's energy grid, the very grid that President Putin has brutalised." (18:46 GMT) US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said during a visit to Kyiv that US support to Ukraine would remain "unwavering and unflinching" following Tuesday's midterm congressional elections. "We recognise the acute need for air defence in this critical moment when Russia and Russian forces are raining missiles and Iranian drones down on the civilian infrastructure of this country," Sullivan said in a news conference in Kyiv. (20:07 GMT) US basketball star Brittney Griner is as well "as can be expected" in a Russian prison, the White House has said after embassy officials were able to visit her. 20221105 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/5/iran-confirms-drone-sales-to-russia-but-months-before-the Iran for the first time confirmed it sold drones to Russia, but said this happened "months" before the start of the war in Ukraine. "Their comments on the missiles part are completely wrong, and the drones part is correct. We gave a limited number of drones to Russia months and before the war in Ukraine," Amirabdollahian said. Iranian officials had previously said on numerous occasions that Tehran had "defence" cooperation with Russia, but had not supplied the Kremlin with arms "for the purpose of being used in the war in Ukraine". Amirabdollahian reiterated on Saturday that Iran has not been a supporter of either side in the war and is ready to talk to Ukraine. "We have emphasised to Ukrainian officials that if there is evidence about the use of Iranian drones in the Ukraine war by Russia, they should present it to us," he said. He said an Iranian political and military delegation travelled to an unnamed European country two weeks ago to hold a meeting with Ukrainian counterparts, who refused to attend "at the 11th hour" as a result of pressure from the United States and Europe, especially Germany. <=== "They had told the Ukrainian side that we want to sanction Iran for the issue of drones, and now you wish to participate in a meeting with the Iranians in Europe and drink coffee with them." Amirabdollahian said Iran still expects Ukraine to present the evidence in the coming days and "if it is proven to us that Russia has used Iranian drones in the Ukraine war, we won't be indifferent to it." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/5/nuclear-wars-must-not-be-fought-says-china-president-xi 'Nuclear wars must not be fought,' China President Xi says. China's president has pressed world leaders to stop making threats and prevent the use of nuclear weapons in Europe and Asia as rhetoric over Russia's war in Ukraine continues to heat up. President Xi Jinping made the plea after meeting German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Beijing on Friday, the official Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported. 20221106 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-256 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/6/live-news-us-reportedly-urging-ukraine-to-talk-to-russia (06:55 GMT) The US is privately encouraging Ukraine to signal an openness to negotiate with Russia, the Washington Post has reported, as the State Department said Moscow was escalating the war. "Ukraine fatigue is a real thing for some of our partners," it quoted an unnamed US official as saying. (07:21 GMT) Responding to the report by the Washington Post, a state department spokesperson said: "We've said it before and will say it again: Actions speak louder than words. If Russia is ready for negotiation, it should stop its bombs and missiles and withdraw its forces from Ukraine. (07:22 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it will ship 42.6 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday, in line with recent days. (07:40 GMT) Iran's top diplomat has admitted that Tehran supplied Russia with drones being used to hit Ukraine, but he claimed they were sold to Moscow before the current conflict began. (08:08 GMT) A Taiwanese man who volunteered to fight in Ukraine has died on the battlefield, Taipei's foreign ministry has said, believed to be the first person from the island killed in the conflict. The ministry said a Ukrainian field commander had confirmed the death of 25-year-old Tseng Sheng-kuang, who was serving with a battalion of volunteer soldiers. (08:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig reporting from Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine has said that the strategic city of Bakhmut, in the country's Donetsk Oblast, has seen some of the most intense fighting over the last few months. (09:11 GMT) Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett reporting from Kyiv said that as of a couple of weeks ago, the original plan was that there was going to be up to four-hour long scheduled blackouts cycling through the capital's neighbourhoods. "Just anecdotally here in our neighbourhood in central Kyiv, they have been getting more frequent in recent days and now there is this extra bit of information that these could turn into indefinite, unpredictable, unscheduled blackouts because the strain on the energy system has become so great." (09:15 GMT) Ukraine's new ambassador to Germany has warned against dismissing the threat that Russia could use nuclear weapons in the current conflict, in remarks made to the German media. "Putin must be told that the use of nuclear weapons is not an option," Oleksii Makeiev told the Funke Media Group of newspapers. (09:17 GMT) Kyiv is facing possible blackouts and cuts to its water supply and heating network caused by Russian strikes on the power grid, Mayor Vitali Klitschko has told Ukrainian state television. Residents of the capital should conserve supplies and consider moving out temporarily, Klitschko said. He described this as a worst-case scenario. "We are doing all we can to ensure that things do not come to this," he said. "But we want to be open. Our enemies are doing all they can to leave this city without heating, without electricity and without water supply - in short so that we all die." (10:50 GMT) Ukraine's Russian-held Nova Kakhovka dam has been damaged in shelling by Ukrainian forces, Russian news agencies have reported, citing emergency services. State-owned news agency TASS quoted a representative of the emergency services as saying that a rocket launched by a US-made HIMARS missile system had hit the dam's lock and caused damage. (11:13 GMT) Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Kyiv, says a report published in The New York Times on Sunday suggests there is "contingency planning for evacuating the whole of the Ukrainian capital ... if the power is permanently cut off". "[It] would mean that sewage and water and all sorts of other services would go with it," Fawcett said, adding that three million people still live in the capital. "We spoke to the Ukraine energy minister recently. He was ... talking about the relentless nature of the strikes on the energy grid. [He said] that some sites were attacked up to 10 times, they would be fixed, and then attacked again. He said that people with very close knowledge, real expertise in energy systems were in charge of the targeting." (11:36 GMT) The RIA Novosti Russian news agency has quoted a local Moscow-backed official as saying the damage to the Nova Kakhovka dam was not "critical". "Everything is under control. The main air defence strikes were repelled, one missile hit [the dam], but did not cause critical damage," Ruslan Agayev, a representative of the Moscow-installed administration of nearby city Novaya Kakhovka, told the agency. (12:19 GMT) Russian forces are stepping up their strikes in a fiercely contested region of eastern Ukraine, worsening the already tough conditions for residents and the defending army following Moscow's illegal annexation and declaration of martial law in Donetsk province, Ukrainian authorities have said. The attacks have almost destroyed the power plants that serve the city of Bakhmut and the nearby town of Soledar, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the region's Ukrainian governor, said. (12:48 GMT) Southern Ukrainian cities came under overnight artillery and rocket fire from Russian forces, authorities in the region have reported. A building housing civilian infrastructure in Zaporizhzhia was destroyed, a city official said. One person was killed in the attack and buildings in the vicinity were damaged. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, the city of Nikopol was hit by artillery and rocket fire, and the towns of Myrove and Maharnets on the north bank of the Dnieper River were also struck. (13:01 GMT) An energy company in the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Kherson has said there is no electricity in the city, Russian state-owned news agency RIA has reported. RIA quoted the Khersonoblenergo press service as saying that the reasons for the outage, which occurred amid warnings that a battle for the strategic city could be about to begin, were being clarified. (14:11 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia has reportedly appointed Alexander Linkov as new acting commander of its Central Military District on November 3. (14:15 GMT) Fighting in Bakhmut: Russians say they have entered the city There has been heavy fighting between Russia and Ukrainian forces in the eastern city of Bakhmut with local officials saying that Russian soldiers tried to storm the city from several directions. (14:41 GMT) Ukrainian forces have targeted three power lines in Kherson city, the Russian-installed administration has said, calling it a "terrorist act". Electricity and water supplies were "temporarily absent", the administration said in a Telegram message. It is the first time that Kherson, which fell to Moscow's forces within days of their offensive launched in February, has seen such a power cut. The shortages come after Moscow said that the Nova Kakhovka dam was damaged by a Ukrainian strike. (14:44 GMT) Zelenskyy discusses financial aid, Iran sanctions with EU's von der Leyen (15:28 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig gives an update on the Ukrainian counteroffensive moving towards Kherson and the importance of the city for Russia's war effort. "Now the Ukrainians have been pushing forward on Kherson city, which is very strategically and militarily important to the Russians," he said. "It's the only regional capital that they have captured since the start of the war; it's the gateway to Crimea," Baig said, adding that if Ukrainian forces recapture the city it would expose Russian troops elsewhere in the country. (15:43 GMT) Seventeen European countries have sent Ukraine 500 power generators, says its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which thanked its European allies for the deliveries. (16:31 GMT) The Wagner Group is preparing to set up paramilitary training centres on the Ukrainian border, The Kyiv Independent reports. "Yevgeny Prigozhin, close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said the so-called 'training centers' located in the Kursk and Belgorod regions should consist of residents of these regions," the newspaper said. (16:54 GMT) Kherson's power supply was planned to be restored by the end of the day, Russian state-owned news agency TASS quoted Kherson's Moscow-appointed governor Volodymyr Saldo as saying. TASS separately cited emergency services in the region as saying that 10 settlements, including Kherson city, which had a pre-war population of over 280,000, had been left without electricity. (17:54 GMT) Ukraine's army accused Russia of the large-scale destruction of civilian vessels moored on the banks of the Dnieper River in the occupied southern region of Kherson, which Kyiv's forces are trying to capture. The Ukrainian General Staff's spokesperson said in a statement that the fuel from the destroyed vessels had leaked into the river's delta and also accused Moscow's forces of appropriating the vessels' engines and other equipment. The Ukrainian general staff gave no explanation for Moscow's actions. Destroying civilian vessels would prevent Ukrainian forces from using them should they decide to cross to the eastern side in the event of any Russian withdrawal. (18:46 GMT) Fighters affiliated with the Russian-installed administration of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region arrived in the town of Amvrosiivka after being freed in a prisoner swap with the Ukrainian military. "I still can't believe I'm home," returning prisoner of war (POW) Maxim Chekanov told Reuters. "It was so horrible, I wouldn't wish it on anyone," added Chekanov, who said he had been captured by Ukrainian forces on October 11. The fighters were freed during a prisoner exchange on November 3, with the two sides in the eight-month-long conflict releasing 107 captives each. (20:05 GMT) Russia is suffering heavy losses in continuing "fierce" attacks in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and is preparing new assaults on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy has said. 20221107 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/7/russia-ukraine-live-updates-zelenskyy-warns-of-more-attacks (06:37 GMT) The Wall Street Journal has reported that US NSA Jake Sullivan held confidential conversations in recent months with Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev that were not disclosed. Few high-level contacts between US and Russian officials have been made public in recent months as Washington has insisted that any talks on ending the war in Ukraine be held between Moscow and Kyiv. The White House declined to comment on the report, responding to questions about the story only with a statement attributed to National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson: "People claim a lot of things." (06:38 GMT) Russian news agencies have claimed that Ukraine's vast Russian-held Nova Kakhovka dam, upstream of Kherson on the Dnieper River, was damaged in shelling by Ukrainian forces. The reports provided no evidence to support the allegation. State-owned TASS quoted an emergency services representative as saying that a rocket launched by a US-made HIMARS missile system had hit the dam's lock and caused damage. The official quoted said it was an "attempt to create the conditions for a humanitarian catastrophe" by breaching the dam. (06:41 GMT) Zelenskyy has warned against more potential Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, while the mayor of Kyiv urged residents to consider preparing to leave temporarily if the capital lost water and power supplies. (06:49 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says Iranian arms supplies to Russia accusing Tehran of helping "prolong the war". (07:45 GMT) "Very fierce Russian attacks on Donetsk region are continuing. The enemy is suffering serious losses there," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Sunday. (08:40 GMT) Ukraine's state-owned grid operator has told consumers to brace for more blackouts in Kyiv and other regions as it seeks to reduce the strain on energy infrastructure damaged by Russian missile and drone attacks. (09:15 GMT) Is the war in Ukraine speeding Europe's transition to renewable energy? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/6/is-ukraine-war-speeding-europes-transition-to-renewable-energy (09:33 GMT) Russia's largest lender, Sberbank, is suing global commodities trader Glencore for around 117 million euros ($116M) over unpaid oil supplies, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. Reuters cited the database of Moscow's Arbitration Court as showing on Monday that Sberbank was seeking to recover debt and penalties from Glencore Energy UK Ltd over two agreements, worth roughly 58 million euros ($57.9m) each. (09:54 GMT) The Kremlin has declined to comment on a Wall Street Journal report that Washington held undisclosed talks with top Russian officials about avoiding further escalation in the Ukraine war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that while Russia remains "open" to talks, it is unable to negotiate with Kyiv due to its refusal to hold talks with Russia. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held undisclosed talks with top Russian officials in the hope of reducing the risk the war in Ukraine spills over or escalates into a nuclear conflict. (10:12 GMT) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-257 (10:35 GMT) China's exports to Russia grew at a faster pace in October despite the ongoing war in Russia, according to calculations made by the Reuters news agency based on Chinese customs data. Shipments of Chinese goods to Russia rose 34.6% from a year earlier in dollar terms, quickening from a 21.2% gain in September and marking the fourth monthly double-digit growth in a row, Reuters reported. That is in contrast to the falling demand for Chinese goods in Europe and the United States as surging inflation, sweeping increases in interest rates worldwide and a global economic slowdown dented demand from major trading partners. (10:57 GMT) Ukraine has exported almost 14.3 million tonnes of grain so far in the 2022-23 season, down 30.7% from the 20.6 million tonnes exported by the same stage of the previous season, data collated by the country's agriculture ministry shows. (12:01 GMT) A German government spokesperson has said it is up to Ukraine to decide when to hold peace talks with Russia, adding that Moscow has also been reluctant to participate in them. The spokesperson's remarks came after The Washington Post reported on Sunday that the United States has been privately encouraging Ukraine to signal it is open to talks with Russia. (12:10 GMT) Ukraine has received its first delivery of NASAMS and Apside air defence systems from Norway, Spain and the United States, the country's defence minister has said. <=== (12:53 GMT) Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin has admitted to interfering in United States elections and said he would continue doing so in the future, the first such admission from a figure who has been formally implicated by Washington in efforts to influence US politics. In comments posted by the press service of his Concord catering firm on Russia's Facebook equivalent VKontakte, Prigozhin said: "We have interfered (in US elections), we are interfering and we will continue to interfere. Carefully, accurately, surgically and in our own way, as we know how to do." The remark was posted on the eve of the US midterm elections in response to a request for comment from a Russian news site. "During our pinpoint operations, we will remove both kidneys and the liver at once," Prigozhin said. He did not elaborate on the cryptic comment. (13:24 GMT) Moscow has taken the unusual step of denying reports by Russian military bloggers that a naval infantry unit had lost hundreds of men in a fruitless offensive in eastern Ukraine, according to a report by the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency. RIA reported the defence ministry had rejected the bloggers' assertions that the 155th marine brigade of the Pacific Fleet had suffered "high, pointless losses in people and equipment". On the contrary, in the course of 10 days the unit had advanced 5km into Ukrainian defensive positions southwest of Donetsk, RIA quoted the ministry as saying. It specifically denied that the brigade's commanders had shown incompetence. (14:12 GMT) A Ukrainian official accuses Russian forces of looting empty homes in the southern city of Kherson and occupying them with soldiers wearing civilian clothes to prepare for street fighting in what both sides predict will be one of the war's most important battles. (14:19 GMT) The head of Ukraine's Byzantine-rite Catholic Church has met with Pope Francis during his first trip outside Ukraine since the Russia invaded in late February. Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk said after the meeting that there can be be no dialogue with Russia as long as Moscow considered Ukraine a colony to be subjugated. (15:03 GMT) Putin has said that 50,000 reservists called up as part of his "partial mobilisation" drive are now involved in active fighting within combat units in Ukraine, according to a report by Russia's Interfax news agency. The Russian leader reportedly said a total of 80,000 of the reservists were "in the zone of the special military operation" - the term Moscow uses for its invasion - with the remainder of the more than 300,000 called up since late September still in training camps. (15:17 GMT) Prospective energy projects on the Arctic Shelf and in the Russian far east will be among the main topics of discussion between the foreign ministers of Russia and India when they meet on Tuesday, Russia's foreign ministry has said. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar will hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow tomorrow with the pair also expected to discuss a range of other topics, ranging from trade to using national currencies in mutual settlements. (15:47 GMT) Ukraine's government has invoked wartime laws to take control of stakes in a top engine maker and four other strategic companies, according to officials, signalling its most dramatic wartime intervention into big business. The companies included engine maker Motor Sich, energy companies Ukrnafta and Ukrtatnafta, vehicle maker AvtoKrAZ and transformer maker Zaporizhtransformator. The decision was taken at a meeting of top security officials chaired by Zelenskyy on Saturday and went into force on Sunday, placing the privately held stakes under the control of the defence ministry, three top officials said. The officials did not elaborate on the size of the stakes that had been taken over. Zelenskyy has said that a move by Ukraine's government to take control of stakes in a top engine maker and four other strategic companies was needed to meet the country's urgent wartime needs. (17:35 GMT) Kyiv has never refused to negotiate with Moscow and it is ready for talks with Russia's future leader, but not with Vladimir Putin, a senior adviser to Ukraine's president has said. The comments on Twitter by Mykhailo Podolyak followed a Washington Post report on Saturday that said the administration of US President Joe Biden was privately encouraging Ukrainian leaders to signal an openness to negotiate with Moscow. "Ukraine has never refused to negotiate. Our negotiating position is known and open," Podolyak wrote on Twitter, saying that Russia should first withdraw its troops from Ukraine. "Is Putin ready? Obviously not. Therefore, we are constructive in our assessment: we will talk with the next leader of [Russia]." <=== (17:57 GMT) The majority of Ukrainians (88%) have said they believe their country will be a prosperous member of the European Union in a decade, according to a poll published by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology on Monday. (20:01 GMT) The United States reserves the right to hold talks with Russia at the senior level on risk reduction, the White House has said. This was in reference to a media report that national security adviser Jake Sullivan has been talking to Moscow. The Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday that Sullivan spoke with senior Russian officials in the hope of reducing the risk the war in Ukraine spills over or escalates into a nuclear conflict. 20221108 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/8/live-ukraine-says-vital-to-force-russia-for-genuine-talks (06:29 GMT) Russia and the US are discussing holding talks on strategic nuclear weapons for the first time since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine, Russian newspaper Kommersant has said, citing four sources familiar with the discussions. (06:54 GMT) President Joe Biden's national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, predicts continued "strong" bipartisan support for Ukraine regardless of what happens during Tuesday's midterm elections. He met with Zelenskyy during a surprise visit to Kyiv last week. (07:33 GMT) Russian forces have struck a village near Zaporizhzhia with S-300 missiles, Governor Starukh has said, as reported by The Kyiv Independent. (07:39 GMT) US President Joe Biden's national security advisor Jake Sullivan has acknowledged that the administration and senior Russian officials have communicated during the war in Ukraine. Sullivan was asked during a Council on Foreign Relations event about reports that he had met with Russian officials. He said that "the Biden administration have had the opportunity to engage at senior levels, with the Russians to communicate, to reduce risk, to convey the consequences of the potential use of nuclear weapons". He added that he would not elaborate on what channels were used to contact Russian officials, " in order to protect those channels". (07:54 GMT) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will seek Turkey's approval for his country's bid to join NATO during talks on Tuesday in Ankara with President Tayyip Erdogan, who has stalled the process and accused Sweden of harbouring militants. Erdogan is set to host Kristersson at the presidential palace on Tuesday afternoon, with a news conference scheduled for 15:30 GMT. Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom told Swedish Radio on Saturday his country's new government would distance itself from the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia in its bid to win Turkey's support for its membership of the Western defence alliance. (08:17 GMT) Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has signed a decree applying "special economic measures" to 74 companies engaged in arms production. According to a document published on the government's website, the list included 74 organisations from Bulgaria, the UK, Germany, Canada, Lithuania, Slovakia, Poland, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Estonia, and the US. "Transactions in the field of military-technical cooperation are prohibited with companies from this list," the statement said. (08:30 GMT) Zelenskyy has put conditions for talks with Russia, calling on Moscow to comply with the UN Charter and pay compensation for losses caused by the ongoing war. Addressing the 27th UN Climate Change Conference via a video link, Zelenskyy also reiterated his calls for the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the punishment of every war criminal, and guarantees that this will not happen again. Earlier this month, the Ukrainian president said that his country is only prepared to enter negotiations with Russia if its troops leave all parts of Ukraine, including Crimea and the eastern areas of Donbas, de facto controlled by Russia since 2014. (08:52 GMT) North Korea has dismissed as :a rumour" claims by the US that it is covertly shipping weapons to Russia for its war in Ukraine, saying it had never sold arms to Moscow and had no plans to do so. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/8/north-korea-dismisses-claims-shipping-weapons-to-russia (09:10 GMT) Vladimir Putin will join the G20 summit "if the situation is possible", the president of Indonesia said. (09:26 GMT) The secretary of Ukraine's Security Council said that the "main condition" for the resumption of negotiations with Russia would be the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Oleksiy Danilov said on Twitter: "Russia, negotiations. The main condition of the President of Ukrainian restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Guarantee - modern air defence, aircraft, tanks, and long-range missiles. Strategy - proactive steps. Russian missiles must be destroyed before launch in the air, on land and at sea." (09:49 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), Russia has begun constructing a defensive structure around Mariupol. The latest military update explained that the "pyramidal anti-tank structures, known as dragon's teeth", were also sent to Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. (10:07 GMT) Turkey's natural gas purchases from Russia have started to be paid partially in roubles, Turkish Energy Minister Fatih Donmez said. (10:24 GMT) Kremlin-installed authorities in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson say power has been fully restored to its central city after blaming Kyiv for attacks that disrupted water and electricity supplies. Kirill Stremousov said: "Electricity and communication in Kherson restored. Preparations for the heating season continue. "The mass evacuation of residents of the right-bank part of the Kherson region has been completed. Residents of Kherson can privately evacuate freely. Evacuation is not compulsory. Already in the coming days in Kherson, expect a denouement of events. We are ready for any decisions, even the most difficult ones. "The main priority of Russia is the preservation and saving the lives of the inhabitants of the Kherson region," he added. (10:58 GMT) German investigators are searching branches of Swiss bank UBS in Frankfurt and Munich in connection with a case involving Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, the German newspaper Der Spiegel reported. (11:11 GMT) Zelenskyy will participate in the Group of 20 (G20) summit for significant economies next week, most likely attending virtually, his spokesperson told the Ukrainian Suspilne public broadcaster. Previously, Zelenskyy said he would not participate if President Vladimir Putin attended Indonesia's November 15 summit, but Serhiy Nykyforov, the spokesperson, did not say whether Zelenskyy had changed his position. (11:41 GMT) Buying Russian oil works to India's advantage, and India will continue doing that, foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said after meeting his Russian counterpart. India has faced backlash for continuing to buy Russian oil as Western leaders urged countries to stop to punish Russia for the invasion of Ukraine. (12:00 GMT) Zelenskyy urges the US to remain united as questions hover over American support for his country following midterm elections to determine control of the US Congress. "Until we hear that peace has finally been restored. Democracies must not stop on their way to the victory," he said in a recorded address, receiving the US Liberty Medal. As inflation rates rise for American voters, partially due to the war, support for aid to Ukraine and its continuing war efforts could be in jeopardy. (12:31 GMT) According to the state-owned TASS news agency, Russia's Ministry of Education is creating a curriculum for basic military training in schools and colleges. In a document from the Deputy Minister of Education Tatyana Vasilyeva, the training will consist of basic defence knowledge and the basics of military service for five days. (13:10 GMT) Ukraine sets out its requirements for talks with Russia https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/8/ukraine-says-talks-with-russia-hinge-on-territorial-integrity Talk of a negotiated end to the conflict has risen in recent days, after the Washington Post newspaper reported that the United States has privately encouraged Ukrainian officials to signal an openness to talk with its neighbour. US officials reportedly want Ukraine to take the moral high ground and appear more interested in negotiations, amid concerns Kyiv might soon lose international support if it remains resolutely against discussions. After Russia announced the annexation of four partly occupied regions of Ukraine at the end of September, Zelenskyy said Kyiv will not hold talks with Moscow as long as President Vladimir Putin remains in power. Government figures have restated this position in recent days, saying that Kyiv would however be willing to negotiate with a successor to Putin. (14:06 GMT) German officials searched UBS bank branches in Frankfurt and Munich as part of an investigation into suspected money laundering by a Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. (14:40 GMT) The US ambassador to the United Nations reassured Ukrainian farmers that extending the Black Sea grain deal is a priority for the UN. The agreement, set to expire on November 19, has already been strained after Russia briefly suspended its participation last week after a drone attack on its Black Sea fleet in Crimea. Russia's deputy foreign minister, Andrey Rudenko, said that the Kremlin has not yet decided whether to extend its agreement with Turkey and the UN. (15:16 GMT) US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield says Russia must be held "accountable" during her visit to Kyiv. "In Kyiv, I met with victims of Russia's war crimes. (15:24 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said he saw no need at present to evacuate Kyiv or any other cities that are not near the front lines in the war against Russia. (16:06 GMT) Zelenskyy told the US ambassador to the United Nations that the Black Sea grain export deal must be extended. (16:23 GMT) The Italian government is preparing a new arms package for Ukraine, including air defence systems. An Italian coalition official, who declined to be named, told Reuter's news agency that Rome was ready to provide Ukraine with various air-defence systems, including the medium-range Franco-Italian SAMP/T, Italian Aspide, and portable Stinger missiles. However, it is unclear how many of these it could offer or when any shipment might be delivered. (16:52 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has distracted world governments from efforts to combat climate change, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video at the COP27 climate conference in Egypt. "There can be no effective climate policy without the peace," he said. (17:36 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara conveyed its expectation to see concrete steps from Sweden to fulfil anti-terrorism obligations under a deal clearing bids by the Nordic country and neighbouring Finland to join NATO. (18:22 GMT) Poland's Border Guard rescued 10 people from a swamp on the border with Belarus, it has said, as Warsaw warns that a new refugee crisis could erupt on its borders. With security concerns rising due to the war in Ukraine, Warsaw says it has noted increased refugee activity on the Belarus border and Polish officials suspect Minsk could again be involved. Poland has also started building a razor-wire fence on its border with Kaliningrad as it believes the Russian exclave could be used as an undocumented migration route. (20:10 GMT) Vladimir Putin has posthumously awarded the highest state decoration, the Hero of the Russian Federation meda, to pro-Kremlin senior priest Mikhail Vasilyev, who died in Ukraine over the weekend. 20221109 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/9/ukraine-russia-zelenskyy-says-kyiv-wont-give-ground-in-donetsk (08:24 GMT) Zelenskyy says his forces will not yield "a single centimetre" in battles for the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk while Russian-installed officials said Ukrainian forces were moving into a southern town with tanks.` (08:27 GMT) Russia's powerful Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev is in Tehran for consultations with Iranian officials on security matters, the TASS news agency reported. (08:33 GMT) Ukraine says it has collated thousands of reports of its children being deported to Russia and wants their plight addressed at a summit of the Group of 20 major economies. "The Russian Federation continues to commit its crimes in connection with Ukrainian children," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said. (09:20 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 259 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-259 (09:30 GMT) Russia remains committed to meeting its climate commitments despite the imposition of sweeping Western sanctions over the war in Ukraine, the TASS news agency has quoted the country's climate envoy as saying. Ruslan Edelgeriev said Russia could hit its target to be carbon neutral earlier than the current date of 2060 if sanctions on the country were relaxed, TASS reported. (09:49 GMT) Jailed American basketball star Brittney Griner has been moved to a penal colony in Russia, according to her legal team. A Russian court rejected Griner's appeal of her nine-year sentence for drug possession last month. "Brittney was transferred from the detention center in Iksha on the 4th November. She is now on her way to a penal colony. We do not have any information on her exact current location or her final destination," the statement from her legal team said. (10:30 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Moscow's relations with Washington are likely to "remain bad" regardless of the results of the US midterm elections, with the two sides at odds over the conflict in Ukraine. "These elections cannot change anything essential. Relations still are, and will remain, bad," he added. (10:38 GMT) Hungary's parliament will discuss the ratification of Sweden and Finland's accession to NATO during its autumn session after a series of European Union-related bills have been passed, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff has said. "Finland and Sweden are our allies and they can count on us," Gergely Gulyas told a briefing. Hungary and Turkey are the only members of the alliance who have not cleared the Nordic countries' accession to the transatlantic military alliance. (11:04 GMT) The head of French multinational energy firm TotalEnergies has said the rest of the world does not share Western countries' view on the war in Ukraine. "The vision which we have of this conflict in the Western camp is by no means shared by the vast majority of the rest of the world," Patrick Pouyanne, the company's chairman and chief executive, told the French parliament's foreign affairs committee. (11:31 GMT) Iranian top security official Ali Shamkhani has met with Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, in Tehran and reportedly told him Iran wants an end to the war in Ukraine. (11:44 GMT) Thousands of Kyiv residents have signed a petition urging city authorities not to erect a giant tree during this year's festive period, and instead to give money to the army and to people displaced by the war with Russia. The Kyiv tree, which in recent years has been set up in front of the 11th-century Saint Sophia Cathedral at the heart of the capital, is traditionally the main one in Ukraine at Christmas and New Year. (12:17 GMT) The UN General Assembly has scheduled a vote for Monday for a resolution on reparations, paid for by Russia, for violating international law due to the invasion. The draft resolution, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press news agency, would recognise the need to establish "an international mechanism for reparation for damage, loss or injury'" arising from Russia's "wrongful acts" against Ukraine. It would recommend that the assembly create "an international register" to document claims and information on damage, loss or injury to Ukrainians and the government caused by Russia. (12:52 GMT) According to the latest British Ministry of Defence update, the damage on the Crimea bridge will not be repaired until "at least September 2023." "The Crimean bridge attack has disrupted Russian logistics supplies for Crimea and southern Ukraine, reducing Russia's ability to move military equipment and troops into the area by rail or road," said ministry said. They added that weather conditions would heavily influence repair efforts. (13:29 GMT) Russia says it still sees no progress in easing its fertiliser and grain exports, which are parts of the Black Sea grain deal Moscow views as fundamental to extending the initiative. Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, told reporters the United States and European Union were putting up obstacles to Russia's exports. "The US and the EU continue to put up obstacles to the export of Russian fertilisers and grain. We will take this into account when deciding whether to extend the grain deal," she said. (13:39 GMT) Kirill Stremousov, the Russian-installed deputy head of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, died during a car crash, Russian state news agencies reported. The TASS news agency said the press service for the head of the region had confirmed his death. The exact circumstances are unclear. Stremousov had posted regular video updates on social media - including while in vehicles moving at speed - about the situation on the front line. In the past few weeks, he had urged civilians to evacuate the western bank of the Dnieper River over fears of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Ukrainian legislator Oleksiy Goncharenko, vice president of the PACE Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons, said on Twitter, "Kherson collaborator Kirill Stremousov died in an accident. This is a traitor who went over to the side of Russia. "He actively opposed the surrender of Kherson and said that Russia is here forever. And then he mysteriously dies." (13:47 GMT) Moscow denies reports that North Korea has been supplying weapons to Russia, saying the claims were "false, from start to finish". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/8/north-korea-dismisses-claims-shipping-weapons-to-russia (14:05 GMT) Russia has published a list of companies in which President Vladimir Putin has restricted the buying and selling of shares by foreign investors, including Unipro and the local subsidiary of Finnish energy group Fortum. The list includes 191 companies in the fuel and energy complex, as well as equipment makers and servicing companies. (14:20 GMT) Moscow has occasional contact with US officials from time to time despite the downturn in relations between the two sides, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry has said. Maria Zakharova said such contacts were between specific unnamed government agencies in both countries. She said the Russian foreign ministry had not been involved. Zakharova also confirmed there would soon be US-Russia consultations on the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty, the last remaining arms control agreement between the world's two largest nuclear powers. (14:36 GMT) Actor Sean Penn, who is making a documentary about Russia's invasion of Ukraine, has loaned one of his two Oscars to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and told him, "When you win, bring it back to Malibu." Zelenskyy's office on Wednesday released the video of the encounter during Penn's most recent visit to Ukraine, his third since Moscow launched its invasion on February 24. It was not clear when the encounter occurred. (14:52 GMT) The head of the self-proclaimed, breakaway Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine has paid tribute to Kirill Stremousov following reports the Russian-installed official was killed in a car crash. Denis Pushilin described Stremousov, the Moscow-backed deputy governor of Ukraine's partly-occupied Kherson region, as a "courageous fighter for justice, for truth, [and] for the Russian people". "He led the people's movement towards the Kherson region becoming a subject of the Russian Federation, and did a lot to ensure that Kherson returned to its native harbor," Pushilin said in a Telegram post. (15:09 GMT) As the US reportedly tries to nudge Kyiv towards talks, everyday Ukrainians say the fight must go on since Russia is an unreliable negotiator. A poll conducted in late October showed that 86% of Ukrainians insist their nation should keep fighting instead of holding discussions with Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/talks-with-russia-no-way-say-ukrainians (15:33 GMT) Russia's defence minister has ordered the country's troops to withdraw from the west bank of the Dnieper River in the face of Ukrainian attacks near the southern city of Kherson. Sergei Shoigu's announcement marked one of Russia's most significant retreats since it launched its offensive in late February. In televised comments, General Sergei Surovikin, in overall command of the war, said it was no longer possible to supply Kherson city. <=== He said he proposed to take up defensive lines on the eastern bank of the river. "We will save the lives of our soldiers and fighting capacity of our units. Keeping them on the right [western] bank is futile. Some of them can be used on other fronts," Surovikin said. The news followed weeks of Ukrainian advances towards Kherson and a race by Russia to evacuate the city's residents. (15:41 GMT) Russia's influential war bloggers have lamented Moscow's move to withdraw forces from the city of Kherson, the only regional capital Moscow had captured since launching its invasion. "Apparently we will leave the city, no matter how painful it is to write about it now," the War Gonzo blog, which has more than 1.3 million subscribers on Telegram, said. "In simple terms, Kherson can't be held with bare hands," it said. "Yes, this is a black page in the history of the Russian army. Of the Russian state. A tragic page." (16:01 GMT) Ukraine's southern Kherson region borders Crimea and provides Moscow with a land bridge to the Black Sea peninsula that it seized from Kyiv in 2014. If Kyiv's forces, who are counterattacking in the region, are able to retake swaths of territory there, it would deprive Russia of that land corridor. Such battlefield success would also bring long-range Ukrainian artillery closer to Crimea, which Moscow sees as vitally important to its interests. Fresh water supply to Crimea would also be imperilled if Ukraine were to retake the partly occupied Kherson region. After Moscow seized Crimea, Kyiv blocked water supplies via a canal from the Dnieper River. When Russia seized chunks of Kherson and the neighbouring Zaporizhia region to the east, it immediately moved to unblock the canal. Russia needs that water for the local population, the irrigation of the peninsula's arid land and for numerous military facilities. Furthermore, the Kherson region, which had a pre-war population of more than one million, lies on the Black Sea and recapturing it would help Kyiv wrest back control of some of its coastline. (16:06 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukraine's president has said it is too early to talk about a Russian troop withdrawal from the southern city of Kherson. "Until the Ukrainian flag is flying over Kherson, it makes no sense to talk about a Russian withdrawal," Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency. Podolyak said some of Moscow's troops remained in the region. (16:40 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said Russian President Vladimir Putin made "several huge mistakes" when he invaded Ukraine. "President Putin made several huge mistakes when he invaded Ukraine, strategic mistakes," Stoltenberg told reporters while on a visit to the United Kingdom. (17:34 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said it was "encouraging" to see Ukrainian forces being able to liberate more of the country's territory, after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from Kherson. Speaking in London where he was meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Stoltenberg said: "The victories, the gains the Ukrainian armed forces are making belongs to the brave, courageous Ukrainian soldiers but of course the support they receive from the United Kingdom, from NATO allies and partners is also essential." (17:18 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry has said it was expelling an employee of the Moldovan embassy in Moscow. The ministry said the move was in response to the "unmotivated" designation of an employee of Russia's embassy in Moldova as persona non grata on Nov. 1. Russia and Moldova have been involved in a tit-for-tat since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb 24. Like Ukraine, tiny Moldova is a former part of the Soviet Union with a pro-Western government. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees have flooded into the country since Russia sent troops into Ukraine. (17:34 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said it was "encouraging" to see Ukrainian forces being able to liberate more of the country's territory, after Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered his troops to withdraw from Kherson. Speaking in London where he was meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Stoltenberg said: "The victories, the gains the Ukrainian armed forces are making belongs to the brave, courageous Ukrainian soldiers but of course the support they receive from the United Kingdom, from NATO allies and partners is also essential." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/explainer-what-we-know-about-russias-order-to-withdraw-from-ukraines-kherson (18:00 GMT) Ukraine has said Russia's destruction of civilian infrastructure would widen the expected contraction of gross domestic production (GDP) to 39 % from an earlier forecast calling for a 35% drop. Ukrainian economy minister Yulia Syvrydenko told reporters the government was taking steps to reduce its size. This would include staff reduction as well as seeking a year-long extension on the suspension of US tariffs on steel. (18:11 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has denied that the Republicans' advance in US midterm elections would undermine Western military backing for Ukraine. "It's absolutely clear that there is strong bipartisan support in the United States for continued support for Ukraine," he told reporters. "That has not changed with the elections that have taken place in the United States." The US Congress committed $40bn for Ukraine in May with support across party lines as Kyiv fights back against Russian invaders. But Republican Kevin McCarthy, who is in line to become House of Representatives speaker, warned last month there would be no "blank cheque" for Ukraine if his party regains control. Ukraine enjoys backing from much of the Republican base, although hard-right lawmakers close to former President Donald Trump have voiced criticism of the US support. (18:54 GMT) Senior UN officials plan to meet members of a high-level Russian delegation in Geneva on Friday to discuss the Ukraine grain deal, a UN spokesperson has said. (19:08 GMT) Timeline: Key developments in Ukraine's Kherson since invasion https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/timeline-key-developments-in-ukraines-kherson-since-invasion (19:57 GMT) UN aid chief Martin Griffiths and senior UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan will meet with Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin on Friday to discuss extending the Black Sea grain initiative, according to Reuters. Griffiths leads talks on Ukrainian exports, while Grynspan heads discussions on Russian food and fertiliser exports. "It is hoped that the discussions will advance progress made in facilitating the unimpeded export of food and fertilisers originating from the Russian Federation to the global markets," a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday. (20:32 GMT) Photos: Russia's occupation of Ukraine's Kherson city https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/11/9/photos-russias-occupation-of-ukraines-kherson-city (20:37 GMT) Vladimir Putin posthumously decorated Kirill Stremousov with the Order of Courage, a top state award, the Kremlin has said. 20221110 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/10/live-news-ukraine-fears-trap-over-russias-kherson-pullout (08:33 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will not personally attend the G20 summit of world leaders in Bali next week, the first gathering of leaders of the world's biggest economies since Russia launched its war in Ukraine. Instead Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will lead the Russian delegation at the summit. The RIA news agency reported Putin may appear via a video link. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said he would not attend if Putin joined the gathering. (08:41 GMT) Ukrainian authorities are expressing caution over Russia's announced withdrawal from Kherson. Officials questioned if the move was designed to lure Ukrainian forces into a trap. (08:46 GMT) Ukraine said retreating Russia forces are blowing up bridges and roads as they pull back from Kherson. "They are moving out but not as much as would be taking place if it was a full pullout or regrouping," presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said. "For the moment we don't know their intentions - will they engage in fighting with us and will they try to hold the city of Kherson? They are moving very slowly." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/9/russia-orders-withdrawal-from-ukraines-kherson-city (08:49 GMT) Russia probably committed "crimes against humanity" by conducting deportations of Ukrainian civilians from Russian-occupied areas to its other regions, rights group Amnesty International said. (08:51 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 260 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-260 (08:54 GMT) Russia's move to pull back troops from Kherson is a positive step, Erdogan said. "Russia's decision regarding Kherson is positive, an important decision," said Erdogan, who has worked vigorously as a go-between during the conflict. He pledged to maintain dialogue with Putin after Moscow ordered its forces to retreat from Kherson to the east bank of the Dnieper River. (08:59 GMT) Ukraine signed a peace accord with Southeast Asian nations - a largely symbolic act that comes as Kyiv seeks to shore up international support in isolating Russia.` (09:22 GMT) Japanese carmaker Mazda is pulling out of its joint venture in Russia after stopping operations earlier this year. Mazda stopped shipping parts to Russia in March and ended operations the following month "due to the situation in Ukraine that arose in February 2022", it said in a statement. The company said it signed an agreement last month to transfer all of its equity interest in the Russian business to its joint venture partner Sollers. (09:36 GMT) The British government says it has frozen assets worth 18 billion pounds ($20.5bn) held by Russian oligarchs, other individuals and entities sanctioned for the invasion of Ukraine. The frozen Russian assets were worth 6 billion pounds ($6.8bn), more than the amount reported across all other British sanctions regimes. (10:01 GMT) After Russia announced a retreat from Kherson on Wednesday, a Ukrainian adviser says Russia wants to turn Kherson into a "city of death" and accused Moscow of looting apartments and planning to attack the city from the other side of the Dnieper River. The adviser to Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter, "RF [Russian Federation] wants to turn Kherson into a "city of death". Ru-military mines everything they can: apartments, sewers. Artillery on the left bank plans to turn the city into ruins. (10:23 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says that it has summoned the Latvian ambassador over what it said was the demolition of Soviet-era monuments. "A strong protest was issued to the head of the Latvian diplomatic mission in connection with the ongoing policy of state vandalism in Latvia to dismantle Soviet memorials," the foreign ministry said. In August, Latvia took down a Soviet-era monument in its capital city Riga, despite protests from the Baltic state's ethnic Russian minority to keep it. (10:55 GMT) Ukrainian troops claim to have recaptured the town of Snihurivka in the southern Mykolaiv region from Russian forces, according to video footage published on social media and by Ukrainian national television. (11:13 GMT) Sweden will continue its discussions with Turkey over its application to join the NATO alliance, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said. (11:43 GMT) The European Commission (EC) proposed two action plans to address the "deteriorating security environment" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, to increase cyber defence and allow armed forces to move faster across borders. (12:06 GMT) Ukrainian forces have advanced 7km in two directions in the south and captured 12 new settlements in the last 24 hours, Ukrainian army chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/2/28/russia-ukraine-crisis-in-maps-and-charts-live-news-interactive ~/photos/events/20221110_kherson_control_map.png (12:58 GMT) Russia is expected to announce several initiatives related to gas cooperation with Turkey and grain exports at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Indonesia next week, the Russian foreign ministry said. "A number of specific initiatives are planned, including increasing gas cooperation with Turkey, [and] organising large shipments of grain and fertilisers," the ministry said in a statement. (13:28 GMT) How are pro-Kremlin Russians reacting to the 'loss' of Kherson? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/10/what-are-pro-kremlin-russians-saying-about-the-loss-of-kherson (13:43 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pledged Italy's "strong commitment" to NATO and efforts to end Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (14:01 GMT) Zelenskyy spoke to the British prime minister about defence support and assistance during the winter. (14:30 GMT) Nord Stream AG, the operator of the damaged Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, has been granted permission to survey an area in Danish waters, the Danish Geodata Agency told Reuters news agency. The operator has already sent a chartered ship off the coast of Sweden to inspect the damage to the pipeline. But the application, sent to the Danish Geodata Agency on October 13, was given the green light on November 1, an agency spokesperson said. It allows Nord Stream AG to survey the depths in Denmark's exclusive economic zone. (15:04 GMT) Al Jazeera's Assed Baig, reporting from Zelenodolsk, a city in the Kryvyi Rih region, said that shelling between the Ukrainians and Russians is still being heard throughout the day. "Kherson is mainly rural flatland, so they [Ukrainians] end up taking loads of territory, but when the Ukrainians take a town or village, the Russians can still shell them and that's exactly what's going on." "We've just come from a town that's been completely destroyed; there wasn't a single building that hadn't been damaged, that didn't have shrapnel or bullet holes," Baig said. (15:31 GMT) The European Union says it will not recognise Russian passports issued in regions of Ukraine "annexed" by Moscow. The move, which also covers two Kremlin-controlled areas of Georgia, means Russian travel documents given to residents of those regions cannot be used to get visas or to enter the Schengen zone. (16:10 GMT) According to the Reuters news agency, police in Jersey, on the channel islands, have admitted they conducted unlawful searches at premises allegedly linked to Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich and have agreed to pay damages and apologise. (16:36 GMT) Attempts to persuade Russia and Ukraine to install a protection area around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant are "very complicated," the UN's nuclear watchdog chief told AFP. On the sidelines of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said, "It's taking awfully long (and) I am the first to be impatient, but I cannot afford to lose patience."` (17:26 GMT) Spain will send two more US-made HAWK air defence systems to Ukraine in addition to four shipped last week to help it repel Russia's invasion and protect its battered infrastructure, Spanish Minister of Defence Margarita Robles has said. (17:40 GMT) Russia's withdrawal from Kherson city explained in maps https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/10/russia-withdrawal-from-ukraines-kherson-explained-in-maps (17:43 GMT) A Ukrainian diplomat has written to the head of Milan's La Scala opera house and to local political leaders to protest over plans to stage the Russian opera "Boris Godunov" next month. Andrii Kartysh, who heads Ukraine's consulate in Milan, said such performances should not be used to support "potential elements of propaganda", Italy's Ansa news agency reported. 18:19 GMT) The White House has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine that will include air defence systems. Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser, said the package includes "important air defence contributions", such as missiles for HAWK air defence systems, as well as US Avenger air defence systems, which come equipped with Stinger missiles. (18:26 GMT) The United States has detected some signs that Russian forces may be planning to withdraw from the Ukraine city of Kherson, the White House has said. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the Russian withdrawal from some areas in Ukraine does not mean the Ukraine war is concluding. He said Washington was not pressuring Ukraine to engage in diplomacy with Russia over the war. (18:30 GMT) The United States has put forward "a series of proposals" to Russia for the release of US basketball star Brittney Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan, but Moscow has not shown a willingness to engage in productive talks, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said. (19:23 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said it would take Russia at least a week to withdraw its troops from Kherson and that winter would slow down operations on the battlefield, giving both sides a chance to recuperate. Oleksiy Reznikov told Reuters Russia had a contingent of 40,000 troops in the Kherson region and that intelligence showed its forces remained in the city, around the city and on the right bank of the vast Dnieper River. (19:41 GMT) Russian troops retreating from Kherson have blown up part of a television broadcasting centre and damaged heating and power infrastructure, reports from the region said. "Today, during the day, Russian troops blew up the broadcasting centre of Kherson television," said the website IMI, one of two outlets reporting the development, quoting residents. "According to our contacts the [television] tower remained intact." The report said the troops also blew up mobile telephone infrastructure and "left the city without power". (19:44 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said he did not believe Russia would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine as it would be neither pragmatic nor practical, but that in Russia's case, all risks needed to be calculated. "I don't think they will use it. But again, when you have a monkey with a grenade for a neighbour you have to estimate all kinds of risks. But I think this is not a pragmatic and practical step for them," Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told Reuters. "What is the technical condition of their nuclear weaponry? Do you know? No. Me? No. They also don't know. Because the last test they carried out in the 1990s in Kazakhstan, more than 30 years ago." (19:55 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has accused the new commander of Russia's invasion forces of carrying out a "doctrine of terrorists" by heavily bombarding civilians and critical infrastructure. Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov told Reuters news agency that the Russian army under General Sergey Surovikin appeared to have become more disciplined since his appointment in October. (20:27 GMT) Ukrainian forces have liberated 41 settlements as they advance through the south of the country, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, adding that an unspecified number of pro-Kyiv troops had been killed. --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/10/us-general-over-100000-russian-military-casualties-in-ukraine More than 100,000 Russian military personnel killed or wounded in Ukraine, with Kyiv's forces "probably" suffering a similar figure, top American general Mark Milley says. 20221111 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/11/russia-ukraine-live-updates-kyiv-forces-close-in-on-kherson (07:26 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said it will take Russia at least a week to withdraw its troops from the southern city of Kherson and that winter will slow down battlefield operations, giving both sides a chance to regroup. In an interview in Kyiv with the Reuters news agency, Oleksii Reznikov said on Thursday that Moscow had 40,000 troops in the Kherson region. (07:27 GMT) The US will buy 100,000 rounds of howitzer artillery from South Korean manufacturers to provide to Ukraine, the Associated Press news agency has reported, citing an unnamed US official. South Korea's defence ministry in a statement acknowledged ongoing talks over exporting an unspecified number of 155-millimeter artillery shells to shore up diminishing US inventories. (09:16 GMT) Six people have been killed by a Russian rocket attack on an apartment building in the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, its mayor has said. (09:31 GMT) The Antonovsky Bridge, the only nearby road crossing from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson to the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the Dnieper River, has collapsed, Ukraine's public broadcaster has quoted local residents as saying. The Suspilne broadcaster published a photograph showing whole sections of the bridge missing. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the broadcaster's report. The next road crossing across the Dnieper is more than 70km from Kherson city. Russia announced on Wednesday it was pulling its forces back from the regional capital and the west bank of the Dnieper River to the other side. (09:51 GMT) The Kremlin says Russian forces' withdrawal from Kherson city will not change the status of the region, which Moscow has proclaimed part of Russia after moving to annex it from Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the region's status was "fixed" and that no changes were possible. "It is a subject of the Russian Federation - it is legally fixed and defined. There are no changes and there can be no changes," Peskov said. (09:59 GMT) Putin does not plan to address the upcoming Group of 20 summit via video link, the Kremlin has said. "This was the head of state's decision, given his schedule and the necessity of him staying in the Russian Federation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. The G20 summit will take place in Bali on November 15-16. Russia has said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will represent Moscow at the meeting. (10:05 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 261 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-261 (10:22 GMT) Russia has completed the withdrawal of its troops from Kherson city, the country's defence ministry says. In its daily briefing cited by Russian news agencies, the ministry said all forces and equipment had been transferred to the eastern bank of the Dnieper River by 5am Moscow time (02:00 GMT) on Friday. It added there was not a single piece of military hardware or soldier left on the western side of the river, which includes the regional capital, Kherson, and that it had not suffered any loss of personnel or equipment during the withdrawal. 11:00 GMT) Swedish prosecutors have charged two individuals with "aggravated espionage" for allegedly spying for Russia's GRU military intelligence service between 2011 and 2021, including one who was a former intelligence official. The pair - who are brothers - were identified in the charge sheet as Payam Kia, 35, and Peyman Kia, 42. The older sibling had reportedly served in Sweden's intelligence service Sapo and intelligence units in the Swedish army. (11:24 GMT) The justice ministers of the Group of Seven (G7) industrialised nations will focus on ways to prosecute suspected Russian war crimes at their meeting in Berlin later this month, Germany's justice minister has said. (12:16 GMT) Photos reportedly showing Ukrainians waiting to welcome Kyiv's troops into Kherson city are being shared on social media after Moscow's withdrawal from the regional capital. The Nexta media outlet, a Poland-based online news service, posted three images on Twitter that appeared to show people, some donning Ukrainian flags, gathered around the regional administration building. (12:19 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has hailed Russia's withdrawal of troops from the southern city of Kherson as an important battlefield success. (12:21 GMT) While Putin justifies his invasion of Ukraine by saying that Russia must rid its neighbour of neo-Nazis, Zhan Beleniuk paints his home country as one that welcomes all races. "My aim is to show that Ukraine is a tolerant country," Beleniuk, Ukraine's first and only Black member of parliament, told Al Jazeera in a recent interview. "Because I think I am the best example of how the Ukrainian people perceive people of different skin colour." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/11/zhan-beleniuk-ukraines-olympic-gold-wrestler-and-first-black-mp (12:53 GMT) Talks between a Russian delegation and senior UN officials to address Moscow's grievances about the Black Sea grains export initiative have begun in Geneva, a UN spokesperson has said. The negotiations come just eight days before the deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July is due to be renewed. (13:29 GMT) Russia says it does not expect a quick breakthrough in talks with the US on resuming nuclear arms inspections. The two countries agreed in March 2020 to halt mutual inspections under the New START treaty, the last surviving pact limiting their strategic nuclear arsenals, because of the pandemic. However, they have failed to reach a deal to resume them. Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Ryabkov played down expectations of a breakthrough at a meeting in Cairo, which he said would take place in late November-early December. (13:48 GMT) The German government has set aside an extra one billion euros ($1.03bn) from its 2023 budget to support Ukraine. A document showed that some money is allocated to defending Ukraine against Russian cyberattacks and collecting evidence of war crimes. "We are investing massively in peace in Europe and Ukraine." Germany is the third largest military donor to Ukraine. (14:21 GMT) Ukraine's defence intelligence agency says Ukrainian units have entered Kherson city following Russia's withdrawal. The statement by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence marked Kyiv's first official confirmation that its forces had reached the regional capital. The agency also said there were Russian forces still in Kherson who had been ordered by their commanders to change into civilian clothes and to hide and called on the troops to surrender at once, saying their safety would be guaranteed if they did so. (14:36 GMT) More than 30,000 Russian servicemen have been pulled back across the Dnieper River to its eastern bank, Russia's Interfax news agency has quoted the country's defence ministry as saying. (14:43 GMT) Forty-five Ukrainian soldiers have been freed in a prisoner exchange with Russia and the bodies of two killed Ukrainian soldiers have also been repatriated, the head of the Ukrainian presidential office has said. The official, Andriy Yermak, provided no details on the number of Russians freed in the swap. (16:16 GMT) US President Joe Biden has told the COP27 summit in Egypt that the war in Ukraine has made it more urgent than ever to double down on climate commitments, calling on every country to align with targets to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. "Russia's war only enhances the urgency of the need to transition the world off its dependence on fossil fuels," Biden said at the meeting, being held in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh. (16:36 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone before the upcoming G20 summit, according to Berlin. (17:10 GMT) The Dutch government has said it would release a consignment of 20,000 tonnes of Russian fertilizer that had been stuck in Rotterdam port due to sanctions, following a request from the United Nations. (17:37 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry has said it banned 200 US nationals from entering Russia, including a sister and two brothers of US President Joe Biden, in response to personal sanctions from Washington. It had banned Valerie Biden Owens, James Brian Biden and Francis William Biden, and also White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierr the list. (19:11 GMT) Significant new damage to the major Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine can be seen following Russia's withdrawal from nearby Kherson city, according to US satellite imagery company Maxar. Maxar said images taken showed several bridges that cross the Dnieper River had also been damaged. Ukrainian troops were greeted by joyous residents in the centre of Kherson after Russia abandoned the city. (19:46 GMT) Ukraine has said it was building a reinforced concrete wall and other fortifications along its border with Belarus, a close Kremlin ally that Moscow used as a staging ground for its February 24 invasion of Ukraine. Presidential adviser Kyrylo Tymoshenko said a 3km-long barbed-wire-topped wall had gone up in the region of Volyn on the border with Belarus, which Kyiv says remains a threat. There were also sandbags and trenches, he said. "That is not the end of it, but we are not going to disclose details," the official said. (20:37 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said Germany's priority in its aid to Ukraine should be to help it defend itself from Russian air raids on its cities and to help it rebuild its infrastructure. 20221112 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/12/russia-ukraine-live-ukrainians-to-restore-normal-life-in-kherson (14:41 GMT) Ukrainian police officers and TV and radio services have returned to the southern city of Kherson as part of a fast but cautious effort to make it livable after months of occupation. The chief of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, said in a Facebook post that some 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes. Police teams also were working to identify and neutralise unexploded ordnance, and one sapper was injured Saturday while demining an administrative building, Klymenko said. Ukraine's communications watchdog said national TV and radio broadcasts had resumed in the city, and an adviser to Kherson's mayor said humanitarian aid and supplies had begun to arrive from the neighbouring Mykolaiv region. Speaking on Ukrainian TV, the adviser, Roman Holovnya, described the situation in the city as "a humanitarian catastrophe." He said the remaining residents lacked water, medicine, and food. Bread, he said, went unbaked because a lack of electricity. (14:47 GMT) Despite the efforts to restore normal civilian life, Russian forces remain close by. Ukrainian officials from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on down cautioned that while special military units had reached Kherson city, a full deployment to reinforce the advance troops still was under way. In a regular social media update, the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said the Russians were fortifying their battle lines on the river's eastern bank after abandoning the capital. About 70% of the Kherson region remains under Russian control. (15:01 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of a summit in Cambodia. Kuleba thanked the US top diplomat for the "upcoming decision" to send additional military aid to Kyiv, while also emphasising how Ukrainians "feel grateful to the US and the American people" for their support. (15:28 GMT) In a speech following Russian troops' pull back from Kherson, Dmitry Medvedev, vice chairman of the Russian national security council, spoke about Russia's "difficult circumstances and difficult military decisions" without mentioning the city, Al Jazeera's Mohammed Vall said, reporting from Moscow. "We have to remember what happened ... the Russian achievements including the protection of Russian citizens and the restoration of Russian land," said Vall paraphrasing Medvedev's words, noting that the Russian leader referred to the four partially occupied Ukrainian territories which Moscow annexed in late September. Medvedev also said how Russia was fighting alone against the West to create a more just and fair international order, a task that only Russia could pursue, Vall reported. (15:46 GMT) How far are Ukraine and Russia from negotiations? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/11/how-far-are-negotiations-between-russia-and-ukraine (16:25 GMT) Turkey is committed to seeking a peace dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, President Tayyip Erdogan says, Turkish media reported. "We are working on how to create a peace corridor here, like we had the grain corridor," Erdogan was quoted as telling reporters on a flight from Uzbekistan, while praising Russia's resistance to pressure from the United States and its allies. (16:53 GMT) As Moscow pulls out of Ukraine's Kherson, human rights groups are calling for an investigation into Russia's alleged war crimes in the region. They say they expect to see atrocities committed on a larger scale in Kherson after the horrifying discoveries in Bucha earlier this year. (17:31 GMT) Russia has established that the Ukrainian city of Genichesk is now Kherson region's temporary administrative capital following its troops withdrawal from Kherson city. Genichesk, located on the Sea of Azov, was captured by Russian forces on February 27, state-owned TASS news agency reported, a few days after the start of the conflict. (17:44 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken with his Iranian counterpart, President Ebrahim Raisi, with both leaders placing emphasis on deepening political, trade and economic cooperation. "A number of topical issues on the bilateral agenda were discussed, with the emphasis on further enhancing cooperation in the political, trade and economic fields, including the transport and logistics sector," the Kremlin said. (18:51 GMT) Russian forces destroyed the critical infrastructure in the southern city of Kherson before fleeing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says, adding that local authorities were starting to stabilise the city. "Before fleeing from Kherson, the occupiers destroyed all the critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/12/zelenskyy-says-russia-destroyed-khersons-critical-infrastructure 20221113 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-263 Fighting * Residents of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson celebrated Russian troops' withdrawal - one of the biggest military achievements for Kyiv since Moscow invaded nearly nine months ago. * Russian forces destroyed critical infrastructure - including communications, water, heat, and electricity - in Kherson before their withdrawal, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. * Ukraine's National Police chief Ihor Klymenko said 200 officers were at work in the city, setting up checkpoints and documenting evidence of possible war crimes. * About 70% of the Kherson region remains under Moscow's control, with Russian troops fortifying their battle lines on the eastern bank of the Dnieper River. * Russia said the Ukrainian city of Henichesk, located on the Sea of Azov, is now the Kherson region's temporary administrative capital. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart President Ebrahim Raisi discussed deepening cooperation on political, trade and economic matters in a phone call. * Russia said there was no agreement yet to extend a deal allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea, repeating its insistence on unhindered access to world markets for its own food and fertiliser exports. * Turkey is committed to seeking peace talks between Russia and Ukraine, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "We are working on how to create a peace corridor here, like we had the grain corridor." * Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for unity at the East Asia Summit, telling the gathering - including Russia, China and the United States - that current global tensions have taken a toll on everyone. * Renowned British street artist Banksy appears to be behind the artwork that recently appeared on a destroyed building in Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/13/ukraine-russia-live-moscow-says-fate-of-grain-deal-undecided (08:26 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin says the fate of the grain deal after November 18 when it ends has not yet been decided. Vershinin said the deal consists of two parts and the part suggesting lifting sanctions from exports of Russian food is not being implemented. (08:26 GMT) The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi. The leaders agreed that the contacts between Russian and Iranian institutions will be increased. (08:30 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the West is "militarising" southeast Asia in a bid to contain Russian and Chinese interests. Speaking at a news conference at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in Phnom Penh, Lavrov scolded the United States over its actions in the region, which both Russia and the West see as a potential strategic geopolitical battleground in the coming decades. "The United States and its NATO allies are trying to master this space," Lavrov told reporters. He said Joe Biden's Indo-Pacific strategy was an attempt to bypass "inclusive structures" for regional cooperation and would involve "the militarisation of this region with an obvious focus on containing China, and containing Russian interests in the Asia-Pacific". (09:48 GMT) As Ukrainian forces consolidated their hold on Kherson, authorities contemplated the daunting task of clearing out explosive devices and restoring basic public services in the city. One Ukrainian official described the situation in Kherson as "a humanitarian catastrophe". The remaining residents in the city are said to lack water, medicine and food. There are shortages of key basics such as bread because of a lack of electricity. Photos on social media showed Ukrainian activists removing memorial plaques put up by Russian-backed occupation authorities. A Telegram post by Yellow Ribbon, the Ukrainian resistance movement in the occupied territories, showed two people in a park taking down plaques picturing Soviet-era military figures. (13:35 GMT) Russia says its forces have captured the village of Majorsk near the town of Horlivka, or Gorlovka, marking a minor success in the Donetsk region. (15:19 GMT) Some sanctions on Moscow could stay in place even after a potential peace deal with Ukraine, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen tells The Wall Street Journal. "I suppose in the context of some peace agreement, adjustment of sanctions is possible and could be appropriate," Yellen said during an interview on the Indonesian island of Bali ahead of the G20 summit there. "We would probably feel, given what's happened, that probably some sanctions should stay in place," she said. (15:41 GMT) Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych reportedly asked residents of the recently liberated city of Kherson to avoid gathering in the central part of the regional capital due to the presence of mines, The Kyiv Independent reports. Kherson authorities have decided to mantain a curfew from 5pm (3pm GMT) to 8am and to ban people from leaving or entering the city as a security measure. (16:41 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he regrets Russian President Vladimir Putin's decision not to attend next week's G20 summit in Bali, where he would have had to face fierce criticism of the war he launched in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to give a video address on Tuesday, the first day of the two-day G20 meeting on the Indonesian island. 20221114 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/14/russia-ukraine-live-hundreds-of-war-crimes-exposed-in-kherson (06:53 GMT) New Zealand has said it would send a further 66 defence personnel to the United Kingdom to help train Ukrainian soldiers. (06:57 GMT) Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of committing war crimes and killing civilians in Kherson, parts of which were retaken by Ukraine's army last week after Russia pulled out. (07:44 GMT) It is up to Ukraine to decide when to enter negotiations with Russia, the European Union's top diplomat said, commenting on speculations the West might push Kyiv to start talks with Moscow. "Ukraine will decide what to do. Our duty is to support them", EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said as he arrived for a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels. (09:06 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Kherson days after a Russian troop withdrawal from the southern Ukrainian city after months of occupation. "We are moving forward," he told troops. "We are ready for peace, peace for all our country." He thanked NATO and other allies for their support in the war against Russia. (09:32 GMT) Russia has denied a report by the AP news agency that its foreign minister had been taken to hospital after arriving in Bali, Indonesia for the G20 summit. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry, cast the report as the "height of fakery". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/14/russian-foreign-minister-dismisses-hospitalisation-report The AP report cited Indonesian officials as saying that Lavrov was being treated on the resort island. Two of the unnamed sources said the Russian diplomat has a heart condition. --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-264 (09:43 GMT) The G20, the world's largest economic forum, is tasked with hashing out solutions to some of the thorniest problems facing the global economy. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/11/14/at-g20-economic-agenda-under-cloud-of-geopolitical-tensions (10:09 GMT) The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence says the winter months ahead "will bring a change in conflict conditions for both Russian and Ukrainian forces" and result in "more static" front lines. "Daylight will reduce to fewer than 9 hours a day, compared to 15-16 in the height of summer. This results in fewer offensives and more static defensive frontlines," it added. "The average high temperature will drop from 13 degrees Celsius through September to November, to zero through December to February. Forces lacking in winter weather clothing and accommodation are highly likely to suffer from non-freezing cold injuries." (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin has said that work to renew the Black Sea grain export deal is ongoing and described talks with the United Nations last week over the agreement as "fairly constructive". "We are actually still a week away from the extension date [November 19], so work is ongoing," the Kremlin said. (11:40 GMT) A draft of what would be the third resolution by the board of the United Nations nuclear watchdog on the war in Ukraine calls on Russia to cease all actions against Ukraine's nuclear facilities, including the largest nuclear power plant in Europe at Zaporizhzhia, the Reuters news agency reports, citing a version of the text it has seen. "[The board] calls upon the Russian Federation to abandon its baseless claims of ownership of the Zaporizhzyha Nuclear Power Plant, to immediately withdraw its military and other personnel from the plant, and to cease all actions against, and at, the plant and any other nuclear facility in Ukraine," Reuters quoted the text as saying. The draft resolution was reportedly circulated by Canada to other countries on the 35-nation Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency ahead of a meeting this week. (12:06 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says it is up to Ukraine to decide what terms are acceptable for negotiations with Russia to bring an end to the war. "It is for Ukraine to decide what kind of terms are acceptable," Stoltenberg said during a news conference with members of the Dutch government in The Hague. "It is for us to support them." "We should not make the mistake of underestimating Russia," he said. "... They still control large parts of Ukraine. ... What we should do is strengthen Ukraine's hand." (12:52 GMT) A Zambian student who had been jailed in Russia was killed in fighting in Ukraine, Zambia's foreign minister says. Stanley Kakubo said the 23-year-old had died "at the battlefront" and demanded an explanation for his death from the Kremlin. There was no immediate response from Moscow. (13:35 GMT) Biden and Xi reiterated "their agreement that a nuclear war should never be fought" during their first in-person meeting since the US president took office, according to a readout of the meeting released by the White House. Xi and Biden are in Bali to attend the Group of 20 summit of large economies on Tuesday and Wednesday. (14:04 GMT) Ukraine expects to receive about $4.8bn in financing from abroad in November and another $3bn in December, its finance minister, Serhiy Marchenko, has told a news briefing. Kyiv has relied heavily on foreign economic and military aid. (14:22 GMT) US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns has travelled to Turkey to speak to his Russian counterpart and warn Moscow of the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine, according to several reports citing an unnamed White House official. The Reuters news agency quoted the White House official as saying that Burns, a former US ambassador to Russia, was not conducting negotiations of any kind on Monday with Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service. Ukraine was briefed in advance about Burns's trip to Turkey, the official added. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has described reported talks between US and Russian intelligence chiefs in Turkey as a "very positive" development. Guterres was in Indonesia to attend the G20 summit. (15:10 GMT) Poland will take over Russian energy giant Gazprom's Polish assets, its development ministry says. The move means the Polish government will seize Gazprom's 48% stake in Europolgaz, which owns the Polish section of the Yamal gas pipeline. (15:13 GMT) World Cup 2022: Ukrainian football fans back Poland and England https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/14/world-cup-2022-ukrainian-football-fans-back-poland-and-england (15:19 GMT) Canada will provide Ukraine with another $500m in military assistance and has placed sanctions on nearly two dozen more Russians, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's office has announced. The additional funding adds to the $3.4bn of Canadian assistance to Kyiv so far for its defence against Russia's invasion and will help fund military, surveillance and communications equipment; fuel; and medical supplies, Trudeau's office said in a statement. (15:43 GMT) The Kremlin has confirmed that talks between US and Russian intelligence officials were held in Ankara on Monday. "Such negotiations really took place. It was the initiative of the American side," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by Russia's TASS news agency as saying. (16:14 GMT) The US has imposed new sanctions aimed at disrupting the Russian military's supply chains, rolling out measures against 14 people and 28 entities that it said were part of a transnational network that procures technology to support Moscow in its invasion of Ukraine. The US Treasury also designated family members of Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov as well as individuals that it said worked as financial facilitators in Suleiman's network. (16:40 GMT) The European Union and its member states have provided weapons and military equipment worth at least 8 billion euros ($8.27bn) to Ukraine, the bloc's top diplomat says. This sum amounts to about 45% of what the United States has supplied to Kyiv, Josep Borrell told reporters. (17:45 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy triumphantly walked the streets of the newly liberated city of Kherson, hailing Russia's withdrawal as the "beginning of the end of the war," but also acknowledging the heavy price Ukrainian troops are paying in their grinding effort to push back the Russians. "This is the beginning of the end of the war," he said. "We are step by step coming to all the temporarily occupied territories." But he also grimly noted that the fighting "took the best heroes of our country". (18:40 GMT) The United Nations General Assembly has called for Russia to be held accountable for its invasion of Ukraine, approving a resolution recognising that Russia is responsible for reparations in the country. The resolution, supported by 94 of the assembly's 193 members, recognises that Russia must be held accountable for violations of international law in or against Ukraine and "must bear the legal consequences of all of its internationally wrongful acts, including making reparation for the injury, including any damage, caused by such acts". General Assembly resolutions are non-binding, but they carry political weight. (19:31 GMT) Ukrainian national energy company Ukrenergo has said Russia destroyed key energy infrastructure before retreating from the western bank of the Dnieper River last week. "The energy facility that provided power supply to the entire right bank of the Kherson region and a significant part of the Mykolaiv region, is practically destroyed," Ukrenergo chief Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said in a post on Facebook. 20221115 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/15/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskky-says-time-to-push-for-peace (06:57 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday urged world leaders to back a plan to end the war in his country, saying now was the time to push for peace after Russia's defeat in the southern city of Kherson. Zelenskyy who made the remarks at speech at the G20, said Ukraine would not allow Russian forces to regroup after their withdrawal from Kherson, and said there would be more fighting until Ukraine reclaims control of all of its occupied territory. (07:00 GMT) A draft of a declaration by leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) leading economies seen by the Reuters news agency strongly condemned the war in Ukraine. It stressed it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy. "There were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions," said the draft declaration, which was confirmed by a European diplomat. The declaration has yet to be adopted. (07:33 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has warned the G20 against the "weaponisation" of food and energy, in a possible veiled criticism of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "We must firmly oppose politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of food and energy problems," Xi told the summit in Bali, while also repeating his familiar opposition to Western sanctions policy. (07:55 GMT) Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said that Ukraine leader Zelenskyy's statement that there will be no "Minsk 3" deal to end the fighting in Ukraine confirms Kyiv is not interested in holding peace talks, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Zelenskyy ruled out a third "Minsk agreement" in a speech to G20 leaders in Bali, a reference to two failed ceasefire deals between Kyiv and Moscow in 2014 and 2015 over the status of the eastern Donbas region. "We will not allow Russia to wait, build up its forces, and then start a new series of terror and global destabilisation. There will be no Minsk 3, which Russia will violate immediately after the agreement," Zelenskyy said. (08:15 GMT) The president of the world football body FIFA has appealed for a one-month ceasefire in Ukraine to mark the World Cup, saying sport could bring people together. FIFA president Gianni Infantino, addressing leaders of the G20 said the World Cup opening Sunday in Qatar could serve as a "positive trigger" in the nearly nine-month Russian invasion of Ukraine. (09:14 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 265 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-265 G20 summit * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told the G20 summit in a virtual address that now was the time to stop Russia's war in his country "justly and on the basis of the United Nations Charter and international law". * G20 leaders are considering a draft resolution in which most members strongly condemn the war in Ukraine, stressing that it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy, reports said. * In a pre-summit meeting in Indonesia's Bali city, US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed that a nuclear war must never be fought as the war in Ukraine continues. * Russian President Vladimir Putin is not attending the G20 summit and has sent the foreign minister instead. Kherson recapture * The United States believes Russian troops carried out a relatively orderly withdrawal from Kherson, a senior US military official said, in contrast to some of the more chaotic retreats earlier this year. * Ukrainian officials said that utility companies were working to restore infrastructure mined by fleeing Russian forces, with most homes in Kherson still without power and water. * Fighting remains intense in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk and in the south along the Dnieper River, Ukrainian officials said. "We are moving forward," Zelenskyy told reporters in Kherson after addressing troops in front of the administration building in the main square. "We are ready for peace, peace for all our country." Diplomacy * The UN General Assembly has passed a resolution saying Russia is responsible for reparation in Ukraine. The resolution is non-binding, but it has political weight. * The US has concentrated on Russian military supply chains, imposing sanctions on 14 people and 28 entities that it said were part of a network procuring technology to support the invasion of Ukraine. * The heads of US and Russian intelligence met in Turkey and talked about the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and raised the issue of US prisoners in Russia, a White House official said. The * Kremlin confirmed the talks but did not immediately give further details. (09:41 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry says it was working to gather details about the death of a Zambian student on the front line in Ukraine, the TASS news agency reported. On Monday, Zambia asked Russia to explain how one of its citizens who was serving a prison sentence in Moscow had ended up on the battlefield in Ukraine. (09:52 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Western countries tried to "politicise" a joint declaration at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali. The draft declaration by leaders of the G20, seen by the Reuters news agency, said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed that it was exacerbating fragilities in the global economy. (10:06 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he has spoken with the leaders of France and Germany on the conflict in Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of dragging out any possible resolution. Speaking to reporters in Bali at the G20 summit, Lavrov said Ukraine was refusing to talk to Moscow and had put forward unrealistic conditions for peace. (10:18 GMT) Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, tells reporters at the G20 summit that the UN has told him of written US and EU promises to remove obstacles to exporting Russian grain and fertilisers to world markets. While Western sanctions do not directly affect grains and fertilisers, Moscow has complained for months that they are effectively restricted because they limit access to ports, finance and insurance. Lavrov said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told him he had written promises from the United States and the EU to implement the part of that deal that concerned Russia's exports so that operators handling Russian During the Group of 20 (G20) summit, Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, said Ukraine's conditions for restarting talks with Moscow were "unrealistic," as pressure mounts on Russia to end the conflict. "I said again that all problems are with the Ukrainian side, which is categorically refusing negotiations and putting forward conditions that are obviously unrealistic," Lavrov told reporters, saying he had put forward that position during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. (10:23 GMT) The UN human rights office (OHCHR) says Russia and Ukraine have tortured prisoners of war during the conflict, including using electric shocks and forced nudity.rain would not be sanctioned. (10:49 GMT) The Kremlin says it will do "everything possible" to stop the West from seizing its frozen international reserves or "plundering" them to pay for reparations to Ukraine. The West froze around half or more than $300bn of Russia's international reserves after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February. "Russia will do everything possible" to resist Western attempts to "plunder" its reserves, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He accused the West of "racketeering" and "violating all the foundations and rules of private property and international law". Peskov said the moves in the United Nations were an attempt to use the global forum to "formalise robbery". The UN resolution, supported by 94 of the assembly's 193 members with 14 votes against and 73 abstentions https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/un-calls-for-russia-to-pay-reparations-how-did-countries-vote (10:53 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there are encouraging signs at the G20 meeting in Bali for a consensus that Russia's war against Ukraine is unacceptable and that nuclear weapons must not be used. "This is a consensus that is gaining ground here," he told journalists in Bali. Asked about a conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Scholz said: "He stood near me and said a couple of sentences, that was the conversation. (11:05 GMT) The shadowy Wagner mercenary group has denied its involvement in the execution of one of its fighters in Ukraine after saying the man deserved a "dog's death". The man, who identified himself as Yevgeny Nuzhin, was shown in footage receiving a fatal blow to the head with a sledgehammer. (11:13 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, says that Western-supplied arms and foreign mercenaries were priority targets for Russia's forces fighting in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. "Lethal weapons supplied to Ukraine, as well as foreign mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian side, are priority targets for the Russian Armed Forces," Patrushev said in Bryansk at a meeting on security issues in central Russia. Patrushev added that Ukrainian reconnaissance and sabotage groups had been seen in border regions. (11:26 GMT) While a draft declaration by leaders of the G20 said "most" members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, said the West is pushing a line on behalf of nations. "Yes, our Western colleagues tried in every way to make that declaration politicised and tried to push through language that implied condemning the actions of the Russian Federation on behalf of the entire G20, which includes us," Lavrov said. "But let's do this in a fair way, and let's make it clear that, on this topic, we have differences." "Yes, there is a war going on in Ukraine, a hybrid war that the West has unleashed and been preparing for years," Lavrov added. (11:48 GMT) Russia is now engaged in a defensive operation in Ukraine, a Western official said "It's clear that for now, the Russia occupation of Ukraine is a defensive operation," said the official, who spoke to the Reuters news agency anonymously. He said he expected the situation on the battlefield would be broadly static into next year. (12:23 GMT) Officials said that civil servants working for the Russian-installed administration in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka, next to the Kakhovka dam by the Dnieper river, have left due to intensified shelling. "Employees of the Nova Kakhovka city state administration and state and municipal institutions also left the city and were relocated to safe areas in the region," the city's Russian-installed administration said. (12:38 GMT) Ukraine's presidential adviser accused Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov of blocking peace in Ukraine after Lavrov said Kyiv was dragging out a resolution of the conflict. "Reminding to Mr.Lavrov: RF is the one who invaded. RF shells our cities. RF commits genocide destroying energy infrastructure. But 'Ukraine is dragging out the conflict'? War still continues only because of Lavrov's public manipulation and unwillingness to stop murdering", Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter. (13:04 GMT) What are world leaders saying about the Ukraine war? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/what-have-world-leaders-said-about-russia-ukraine-war-at-the-g20 (13:28 GMT) At least two explosions were heard in Kyiv, and smoke could be seen rising over the city, a Reuters news agency correspondent in the Ukrainian capital said. The blasts followed air raid warnings across Ukraine hours after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivered a video address to leaders of the Group of 20 nations. (13:53 GMT) The mayor of Kyiv, Vitaliy Klitschko, confirms the explosions in the city and refers to them as an "attack". On Telegram, he wrote, "Attack on the capital. According to preliminary information, two residential buildings were hit in the Pechersk district. Ukraine's deputy head of the president's office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, has posted footage of the shelling in Kyiv on Telegram and said, "Enemy weapons hit residential buildings." "Kyiv: Two hits by Russian missiles were recorded. Enemy weapons hit residential buildings. Rescuers and doctors are already working on the spot. Several rockets destroyed the air defence forces. More information later. The danger has not passed. Stay in shelters." Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, says the attacks have been on the Pechersk district, which is largely "administrative and residential" and where a lot of the government is located, including embassies. (14:19 GMT) Oleh Synyehubov, the Ukrainian governor of Kharkiv, has reported attacks. On Telegram, Synyehubov wrote, "The occupiers strike Kharkiv! Stay in shelters." Andriy Sadovyi, the mayor of Lviv, also reported blasts on Telegram and said, "Explosions are heard in Lviv. Everyone stay in shelter!" "Part of the city without electricity. More information later." (14:35 GMT) The governor of Kharkiv confirms that the latest missile strike targeted energy infrastructure and that were no victims as a result. Kharkiv's mayor, Igor Terekhov, said "Due to damage to the facility, there are problems with power supply. Stopped ground electric transport, metro. Power engineers and public utilities are doing everything to normalise the life of Kharkiv as soon as possible." (14:51 GMT) Power outages in Sumy and Rivne due to missile attacks (15:43 GMT) Despite growing Western sanctions on Russia due to the war, Turkey has instead strengthened its relationship with Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/how-turkey-positions-itself-during-the-war-in-ukraine (15:50 GMT) Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi told his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, during a meeting at the Group of 20 (G20) summit that Russia's position that a nuclear war should not be fought showed a "rational" and "responsible" attitude. Wang added during the meeting with Lavrov that China was pleased to see Russia signal its willingness to engage in dialogue over Ukraine and agree to resume the Black Sea grain-export deal, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. "China is willing to work with Russia to push forward their high-level exchanges and communication in various fields, deepen bilateral practical cooperation and facilitate personnel exchanges," Wang was quoted as saying by the state news agency Xinhua. (15:56 GMT) The Ukrainian presidency says the situation across the country is "critical" after a wave of Russian air strikes that left large parts of the country in the dark. The deputy head of the president's office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said "Russian terrorists carried out another planned attack on energy infrastructure facilities. The situation is critical." "The situation in the capital is extremely difficult", he added. (16:07 GMT) According to Kyiv, Russian forces launched "around 100" missiles against Ukraine in a wave of attacks targeting energy infrastructure that led to power outages and forced shutdowns. "Around 100 missiles have already been launched. The occupiers surpassed October 10, when they launched 84 missiles," air force spokesman Yuri Ignat told Ukrainian television. (16:22 GMT) Germany supports the establishment of a security zone around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, foreign minister Annalena Baerbock says after talks with the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi. Grossi said that the Zaporizhzhia power facility, held by Russia, was right by the front line and that it was almost impossible to create a security zone there, "but we don't give up." (16:31 GMT) Kyiv urges G20 leaders to issue a "principled" response to Russia after a new wave of air raids plunges the country into darkness. Ukraine's minister of foreign affairs, Dmtryo Kuleba, tweeted, "Russia is hitting peaceful Ukrainian cities with deadly missiles. Apartment buildings, energy infrastructure facilities are being hit. Looking forward to a principled reaction of G20 org summit. And please avoid "calling on both sides". Take the side of people, not war criminals." (16:42 GMT) The US condemns the latest air raids on Ukraine and says, "We will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes." In a statement by National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, it reads: "The United States strongly condemns Russia's latest missile attacks against Ukraine, which appear to have struck residential buildings in Kyiv and additional sites across the country. (16:53 GMT) The governor of the Belgorod region of southern Russia says two people have been killed and three others wounded by shelling in a town near the border with Ukraine. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov gave no further details of the incident in the town of Shebekino. While Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, they have described them as "karma" for Russia's invasion. (17:18 GMT) Moldova has said it is experiencing electricity outages as a result of Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in neighbouring Ukraine and called on Moscow to stop its attacks. "Every bomb falling on Ukraine is also affecting Moldova and our people. We call on Russia to stop the destruction now," Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu wrote on Twitter. (17:22 GMT) Britain's foreign minister James Cleverly has said Russia's latest missile attacks across cities in Ukraine showed President Vladimir Putin's weakness. (17:51 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has declared that Ukraine "will survive" renewed strikes by Russian. "We're working, will restore everything. We will survive everything," the president vowed in a video shared on Telegram. He warned Ukrainians to remain in shelters as they could face more Russian missile strikes later in the day. Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said the aerial assault was "the most massive" bombardment of power facilities in the nearly 9-month-old Russian invasion. (18:34 GMT) Energy minister Herman Haluschenko has described the missile attacks as "another attempt at terrorist revenge" after military and diplomatic setbacks for the Kremlin. (18:45 GMT) At least a dozen regions - among them Lviv in the west, Kharkiv in the northeast and others in between - have reported power outages, affecting cities that together have millions of people. Almost half of the Kyiv region lost power, authorities said. Ukrainian Railways announced nationwide train delays. Most of the hits were recorded in the centre and in the north of the country. In the capital, the situation is very difficult," senior official Kyrylo Tymoshenko said. He said a total of 15 energy targets were damaged and claimed that 70 missiles were shot down. (19:01 GMT) The European Union has ramped up its support to Ukraine by launching a military assistance mission for 15000 Ukrainian troops, more than eight months after Russia invaded Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/eu-launches-military-training-mission-for-ukraines-armed-forces (19:09 GMT) Two people have been killed in an explosion in Przewodow, a village in eastern Poland near the border with Ukraine, firefighters have said. "Firefighters are on the spot, it's not clear what has happened," said Lukasz Kucy, an officer on duty at a nearby firefighters' post. Polish Radio ZET reported earlier that two stray missiles hit Przewodow killing two people, without giving any more details. The reports came as Russia was pounding cities across Ukraine with missiles in what Kyiv said were the heaviest wave of missile attacks in nearly nine months of war. (19:27 GMT) Latvian Defense Minister Artis Pabriks has blamed Russia for an explosion that killed two people in Przewodow. (19:36 GMT) The Pentagon has said it was unable to corroborate reports that two Russian missiles had landed inside NATO member Poland, but that it was investigating the claims. "We are aware of the press reports alleging that two Russian missiles have struck a location inside Poland or the Ukraine border," Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said, adding that the Pentagon was was "looking into this further". "I don't want to speculate or get in hypotheticals. When it comes to our security commitments and Article Five, we've been crystal clear that we will defend every inch of NATO territory," Ryder said. Article Five is the collective defence pact in NATO, stating that an attack on any member of the alliance is an attack on all members. (20:07 GMT) Russian missiles hitting Poland would be a further escalation by Russia, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala has said, adding strikes on Ukraine showed Moscow wanted to destroy that country. (20:10 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has denied reports that Russian missiles hit Polish territory, describing them as "a deliberate provocation aimed at escalating the situation". "No strikes on targets near the Ukrainian-Polish state border were made by Russian means of destruction," it said in a statement. Wreckage reportedly found at the scene "has nothing to do with Russian weapons", it added. (20:38 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, says reports that Russian missiles crossed into Poland would, if confirmed, "be the very first time that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has directly spilled over onto NATO territory". Hull added it was possible those missiles had "missed their targets, overshot their targets, or were pushed off course by Ukrainian air defences". (20:51 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Russian missiles hit Poland, a NATO country, in a "significant escalation" of the conflict. (20:59 GMT) The government of NATO member Latvia will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to assess the security situation following an explosion in Poland, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins has said. "I have called an emergency government meeting to listen to the reports of the responsible ministries and institutions on the security situation in the region and to be ready for further action," he tweeted. "Latvia and its NATO allies are ready for any situation to defend their citizens and territories," Karins added. (21:04 GMT) Oil supply to parts of Eastern and Central Europe via a section of the Druzhba pipeline has been temporarily suspended, according to oil pipeline operators in Hungary and Slovakia. The extent of the disruption was not immediately clear. Hungary's MOL said its Ukrainian partner told the company a Russian rocket hit a power station close to the Belarus border, which provides electricity for a pump station, and this led to the stoppage. (21:05 GMT) Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened the national defence council over unconfirmed reports of Russian missiles striking Ukraine's neighbour Poland. "In response to the stop in oil transfer through the Druzhba pipeline and the missile hitting territory of Poland, Prime Minister Viktor Orban has convened HU's Defence Council for 8 pm (1900 GMT)," Orban's spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said in a tweet. (21:30 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has said that he offered condolences to Polish President Andrzej Duda after the deadly explosions in the east of the country, adding that the alliance is "monitoring the situation". "Important that all facts are established," Stoltenberg wrote on Twitter. (21:39 GMT) US Congresswoman Elaine Luria has urged calm against calls for invoking NATO's collective defence pact, Article Five, amid reports of Russian missiles falling in Poland. "Those calling for NATO to invoke Article 5 after the attack in Poland, do not understand NATO and should not be taken seriously. Russia is losing the war, and unless this was a deliberate attack, calm is required," Luria wrote on Twitter. (21:56 GMT) Top US and NATO officials have said they are looking into reports of Russian missiles falling in Poland, adding that they are consulting with partners on the next steps. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/15/us-nato-investigating-reports-of-russian-missiles-in-poland (22:17 GMT) Biden has been "briefed" on the situation in Poland and spoke by phone with his Polish counterpart Duda, the White House said in a statement. The US president - who often says the US would defend "every inch" of NATO territory - is in Bali, Indonesia, for the G20 summit. (22:20 GMT) European Council President Charles Michel has said he will propose a "coordination meeting" for EU leaders attending the G20 summit in Indonesia. Michel also said he spoke with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and "assured him of full EU unity and solidarity in support of Poland". (22:25 GMT) The United Kingdom's Foreign Minister, James Cleverly, has said London is "urgently" looking into the reports out of Poland. (22:32 GMT) Poland's government has said it is verifying if it needs to request consultations under Article 4 of the NATO treaty over the unconfirmed reports that Russian missiles hit Polish territory. Article 4 allows NATO members to bring any issue of concern, especially regarding security, for discussion at the North Atlantic Council. (22:38 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said he has no information on the explosion in Poland. "Unfortunately, I have no information on this," Peskov said in response to a question from the Reuters news agency. (22:55 GMT) The Latvian government has called an emergency meeting to assess the security situation following the explosion in Poland, Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins said. "I have called an emergency government meeting to listen to the reports of the responsible ministries and institutions on the security situation in the region and to be ready for further action," he tweeted. The meeting is scheduled for 08:00 GMT on Wednesday. (23:52 GMT) Sam Ramani, an international security expert at RUSI in the UK, has told Al Jazeera he expects NATO will step up military aid for Ukraine - in particular air defence systems - in the wake of Tuesday night's reported incident. "The US is likely to take the lead and the others will follow," Ramani said. NATO countries are also likely to organise more military exercises and drills as a way of showing resolve, he added. Noting Poland's reluctance to point the finger at Russia, Ramani said it was "unlikely to push immediately for Article 5" and that it did not seem the incident "met the threshold" for action. NATO also requires unanimity on such a decision and countries such as Hungary remain close to Russia. (00:00 GMT) Poland's president has told reporters there is no concrete evidence - as yet - indicating who fired the missile. "We do not have any conclusive evidence at the moment as to who launched this missile... it was most likely a Russian-made missile, but this is all still under investigation at the moment," Duda said. (00:35 GMT) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, in Bali for the G20 meeting, says he has spoken to the Polish president and will "coordinate" with NATO allies. (02:00 GMT) As we've mentioned, leaders from the world's 20 biggest economies are in Bali for the G20 summit and some of then are now huddled in a special session to discuss the Poland blast. US President Joe Biden convened the meeting and he was pictured sitting around a conference table with leaders from countries including Germany, Canada, Italy and France. Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is also taking part although Japan is not a NATO member. (02:18 GMT) What are NATO's Article 4 and Article 5? There has been a lot of talk in the past few hours about NATO's Articles 4 and 5, which form part of the alliance's 1949 founding treaty. It is important to note that NATO makes its decisions "by consensus after discussion and consultation". Article 4 Under Article 4, member countries can bring an issue to the attention of NATO's political decision-making body and discuss it with its allies The article states: "The Parties will consult together whenever, in the opinion of any of them, the territorial integrity, political independence or security of any of the Parties is threatened." In effect it is a preparatory article for Article 5 and has been used seven times since NATO was founded. A number of east European members, including Poland, requested consultations on February 24 after Russia invaded Ukraine. Turkey also invoked Article 4 a number of times. Article 5 Article 5 represents NATO's commitment to collective defence. "The Parties agree that an armed attack against one or more of them in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all and consequently they agree that, if such an armed attack occurs, each of them, in exercise of the right of individual or collective self-defence recognised by Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations, will assist the Party or Parties so attacked by taking forthwith, individually and in concert with the other Parties, such action as it deems necessary, including the use of armed force, to restore and maintain the security of the North Atlantic area. Any such armed attack and all measures taken as a result thereof shall immediately be reported to the Security Council. Such measures shall be terminated when the Security Council has taken the measures necessary to restore and maintain international peace and security". (02:28 GMT) Some developments coming out of Bali... The US president has said early information suggests the explosion in Poland might not have been caused by a missile fired from Russia. Asked about claims that it was linked to Russia, Biden said: "There is preliminary information that contests that. I don't want to say that until we completely investigate it but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia but we'll see." He said the US and NATO will investigate fully before acting. (03:20 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is "very concerned" at the reports of the missile explosion in Poland. "It is absolutely essential to avoid escalating the war in Ukraine," Haq said. (04:06 GMT) NATO and G7 countries have wrapped up their emergency meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali. They say they will remain in close contact to decide on any possible reaction to the blast in Poland. The government there has said the explosion was probably the result of a "Russian-made missile" but that there was no evidence yet to determine where it had come from. (04:20 GMT) Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations has pointed to the size of the crater left by the blast in Poland as evidence that it could not have been a direct rocket strike. "It's obvious that impact of direct rocket strike would be significantly bigger than the pictures show," he wrote on Twitter. (04:31 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has discussed the Poland blast and the wave of attacks on multiple cities across Ukraine with the country's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. 20221116 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/16/live-poland-blast-attempt-to-spark-nato-russia-clash-moscow (06:51 GMT) The incident in Poland, a blast in a village near the border with Ukraine that killed two people, is an attempt to provoke a direct clash between Russia and NATO, the head of the permanent mission of Russia to the United Nations has said. "There is an attempt to provoke a direct military clash between NATO and Russia, with all the consequences for the world," Dmitry Polyansky said on his Telegram channel. (06:54 GMT) Initial findings suggest that the missile that hit Poland was fired by Ukrainian forces at an incoming Russian missile, Associated Press has reported, citing US officials. (07:00 GMT) Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) major economies have made a declaration saying they "deplore in the strongest terms" Russia's aggression against Ukraine. (07:02 GMT) Finland's Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has told a news conference it is not yet possible to tell the origin of a missile which killed two people in Poland on Tuesday. (07:26 GMT) Poland remains a very safe country thanks to its membership in NATO, Poland's deputy foreign minister has said, as NATO prepares to meet in Brussels to discuss a missile that killed two people in Poland. "The reaction of our allies, their unequivocal support and willingness to stand by us, shows that we are a much safer country than if we were not in NATO," Pawel Jablonski told private radio station RMF FM. (07:29 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said that an alleged missile strike on Polish territory showed that the West was moving closer to another World War. (07:32 GMT) NATO will hold an emergency meeting at 09:00 GMT (10:00 CET) to discuss the explosion in eastern Poland, a European diplomat and two NATO officials have told Reuters. The gathering of NATO ambassadors in Brussels will be chaired by Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, who will hold a news conference around 11:30 GMT (12:30 CET). (07:34 GMT) All parties should "stay calm and exercise restraint under current circumstances," China's foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, has told a regular briefing in remarks about a Russian-made missile that landed in Poland. (07:42 GMT) Zelenskyy has told G20 leaders there is a "terrorist state" among them, accusing Russia of a missile strike on Poland. Speaking by video link, Zelenskyy called the strike "a true statement brought by Russia for the G20 summit", according to a copy of his speech seen by AFP. Poland has said there is no clear evidence on who launched the missile. (07:47 GMT) The president of Cuba, Miguel Diaz-Canel, is set to meet Putin next week in Moscow, the RIA News agency has reported, citing the Cuban ambassador. (07:49 GMT) The Druzhba oil pipeline can likely be restarted within a short time as the pipeline itself had not been damaged, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has said in a video on his Facebook page. Szijjarto also said, after talking with the Polish foreign minister, that Hungary was waiting further information from Poland on the results of their investigation into the blast that occurred in Poland. (07:52 GMT) Poland's national security council (BBN) has said it will meet again at 11:00 GMT amid concerns the Ukraine conflict could spill into neighbouring countries. (07:57 GMT) In a joint declaration, G20 member states have called for Russia's "complete and unconditional withdrawal from the territory of Ukraine". The declaration, adopted at G20 Bali Summit in Indonesia, said that "most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine," and the war is "causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy - constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks". "The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible. The peaceful resolution of conflicts, efforts to address crises, as well as diplomacy and dialogue, are vital. Today's era must not be of war," it said. (08:07 GMT) Sweden will deliver new military aid worth three billion Swedish krona ($287m) to Ukraine, its biggest package of defence material to date which included an air-defence system, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said. Previous arms contributions by Sweden, which has applied to join NATO along with neighbouring Finland, have ranged from basic equipment such as helmets and body armour to rocket-propelled grenades and missiles. (08:14 GMT) The attacks in Ukraine during the G20 summit in Indonesia this week show Putin's contempt for international rules, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has said. Sanchez also entirely blamed Russia for the crises in the food and energy markets in a news conference following the closure of the summit. (08:22 GMT) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have spoken to Zelenskyy to stress the importance of a full investigation into the missile attack on Poland, Sunak's office has said. (08:40 GMT) A no-fly zone needs to be set up over Ukraine, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. "We were asking to close the sky, because [the] sky has no borders. Not for uncontrolled missiles. Not for the threat they carry for our EU & NATO neighbours," tweeted Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov. "This is the reality we've been warning about," he said. (08:41 GMT) New air raid alerts and warning notifications have been sounding across war-scarred Ukraine, according to officials a day after a significant wave of Russia raids hit the country's energy infrastructure. The warnings were sounding in all regions of the country after some 10 million Ukrainians were left without electricity when dozens of Russian missiles hit power stations in the biggest aerial attack since the Russian invasion began in February. (08:44 GMT) NATO should swiftly deploy more air defences on the Polish-Ukrainian border and the rest of the alliance's eastern flank, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda has said. (08:45 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said a missile attack in eastern Poland should be fully investigated before conclusions are drawn. (08:47 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukraine's president has said that Russia was to blame for any "incidents with missiles" after its invasion of his country. (08:50 GMT) A fuel depot has exploded in southern Russia near Ukraine following a suspected drone attack, Russian authorities have said. There were no casualties reported in the alleged attack which took place some 200km from the Ukrainian border in the province of Oryol. "Today (Wednesday) at 04:00 (01:00 GMT) a suspected drone blew up a fuel depot in the village of Stalnoi Kon. There were no casualties," the governor of the Oryol region, Andrei Klytchkov, said in a statement posted on Telegram. (08:51 GMT) UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has accused Putin of launching indiscriminate attacks on civilians in Ukraine. Speaking at a news conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Sunak criticised Russia for firing missiles at Ukraine just as the G20 met to seek a resolution to the war. (08:56 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a careful probe of a deadly missile attack on a Polish village near the border with war-ravaged Ukraine. "This destruction must be investigated, the rocket parts must be investigated and then we must wait for the results before they are publicly released," Scholz told reporters at the G20 summit in Indonesia. ( PJB: rocket parts planted by whom? kept secret by whom?) (09:20 GMT) US President Joe Biden was asked about the suspicions that Russia fired the missile that hit Poland and said: "There is preliminary information that contests that. I don't want to say that until we completely investigate it, but it is unlikely in the lines of the trajectory that it was fired from Russia, but we'll see." The Associated Press news agency reported that the initial findings of the missiles were caused by Ukrainian air defence missiles, citing US officials. (09:28 GMT) The war in Ukraine is the most debated article in a G20 declaration, Indonesia's president said while urging all sides not to escalate tensions further. Joko Widodo, president of this year's host nation Indonesia, said missile explosions in Poland on Tuesday were regrettable. His US counterpart Joe Biden had said it was unlikely they came from Russia. Widodo added the war had caused devastation and huge human suffering and weighed on global economic recovery. (09:33 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said that its raids on Ukraine on November 15 were no closer than 35km from the Polish border, the RIA news agency reported. NATO member Poland's president said earlier that Poland had no concrete evidence showing who fired a missile that struck a Polish grain facility some six km inside the border with Ukraine and killed two people. A NATO source said US President Joe Biden had informed G7 and NATO partners that a Ukrainian air defence missile had caused the blast in Poland. (09:44 GMT) The power supply is gradually being restored across Ukraine, a day after Russian air attacks hit its energy infrastructure. (09:59 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry says that a Ukrainian air defence missile had caused an explosion in Polish territory on Tuesday. "The photos published in the evening of November 15 in Poland of the wreckage found in the village of Przewodow are unequivocally identified by Russian defence industry specialists as elements of an anti-aircraft guided missile of the S-300 air defence system of the Ukrainian air force," RIA news agency quoted the defence ministry as saying. The Kremlin says that some countries have made "baseless statements" about an explosion in Polish territory near the Ukrainian border on Tuesday. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia had nothing to do with the incident, which he said had been caused by an S-300 air defence system. He added that he did not know if special communication channels had been activated with Washington or NATO but that the American response had been "restrained" compared with that of other countries. (10:17 GMT) The Kremlin says that Russia has seen "certain progress" towards addressing its concerns over the Black Sea grain deal, which it has not yet committed to extending beyond November 19. (10:33 GMT) Pope Francis condemns the latest missile attacks on Ukraine and asks God to "hurry up" to end it. (10:44 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron urges China to play a "greater mediation role" to help avoid an escalation of the Ukraine war, a day after talks with his Chinese counterpart. China has declined to pressure Moscow and helped shield Russia from diplomatic censure at forums such as the United Nations. But recently, it has hinted at its displeasure with how Russia, particularly President Vladimir Putin threatened the use of nuclear weapons. (10:49 GMT) The Kremlin has praised Washington's "measured" response after a missile landed in Poland and US President Joe Biden said it was "unlikely" that it had come from Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "In this instance, attention should be paid to the measured and more professional response from the American side. (11:30 GMT) Poland's President Andrzej Duda says it is "very likely" that the missile that struck a Polish border village was from Ukraine's air defence. "Absolutely nothing indicates that this was an intentional attack on Poland ... It's very likely that it was a rocket used in anti-missile defence, meaning that it was used by Ukraine's defence forces," he told reporters. (11:40 GMT) A German government spokesperson said that a no-fly zone would threaten direct confrontation between Russia and NATO. A German spokesperson said: "Together with all our allies we are agreed that we want to avoid a further escalation of this war in Ukraine." (11:59 GMT) Germany says it can send its own warplanes to support patrols over Poland following an explosion that killed two people. Defence ministry spokesman Christian Thiels said at a news conference, "As an immediate reaction to the incidents in Poland, we will offer to strengthen air policing with combat air patrols over its airspace with German Eurofighters". "This can happen from tomorrow, if Poland so wishes". He said the planes would be launched "from German air bases" without needing to relocate the jets to Poland. (12:06 GMT) A Ukrainian air defence missile likely caused an explosion in eastern Poland, NATO said. NATO added there was no indication of a deliberate attack or that Russia was preparing offensive military actions against the bloc. But, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters that the blame for the explosions lies with Russia. "This is not Ukraine's fault. Russia bears ultimate responsibility as it continues its illegal war against Ukraine," he said. (12:21 GMT) Italy believes it does not make much difference if the missile was not Russian because Moscow is still to blame for attacking infrastructure in Ukraine, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. "The possibility that the missile falling on Poland was not a Russian missile but a Ukrainian one changes very little," she said. (12:36 GMT) Russia says it is banning entry to 52 Irish politicians, including Prime Minister Micheal Martin, accusing Dublin of waging "an aggressive anti-Russian propaganda campaign". The ban includes Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the foreign, justice and finance ministers and several parliamentarians. (12:48 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull, reporting from Kyiv, says Tuesday was a "hugely kinetic" day in the war, noting Russia had fired more than 100 missiles at targets in Ukraine across 10 regions. "The missiles hit targets in some 12 cities, principally targeting the energy infrastructure which Russia is concertedly trying to knock out ahead of the winter here," Hull said. "The explosion in Poland ... only added to a sense of crisis," he added. Hull said the turmoil was "receding" slightly as more information emerged about the missile's origin, which is now understood to have come from Ukraine's air defence system. "NATO member after NATO member is now standing back and urging caution and say they are awaiting the outcome of an investigation [into the incident]," he said. (13:09 GMT) Russia hails the G20 leaders' declaration as a "balanced text" which mentions the "immense human suffering" caused by the war in Ukraine. In a section on Ukraine - point 3 of the 52-point document - the leaders said, "Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy - constraining growth, increasing inflation, disrupting supply chains, heightening energy and food insecurity, and elevating financial stability risks." The document also noted there were "other views and different assessments of the situation" and said the G20 was "not the forum to resolve security issues". The Kremlin published a full and accurate Russian translation of the declaration on its website - a surprising move given that the wording was sharply critical of Moscow. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the final text was an achievement for Russia. (13:23 GMT) Everything you need to know about the explosion in Poland https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/16/what-we-know-about-the-explosion-in-poland (14:01 GMT) Ukraine says it has evidence of a "Russian trace" in an explosion that hit eastern Poland, which Warsaw and NATO say was "likely" to have been caused by a Ukrainian air defence missile. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine, provided no details of what evidence he cited when he referred to a "Russian trace" behind the incident. "Ukraine requests immediate access to the site of the explosion," he added (14:45 GMT) According to The Associated Press, the two victims of the blast on a small border village in Poland were men about 60 years of age. Kinga Kancir, a resident of Przewodow in eastern Poland near Ukraine, said both men worked at the village grain-drying facility. "One was a guard, who guarded everything there, the other one was the tractor driver" who transported all the grain, Kancir, 24, told The Associated Press. (15:03 GMT) US-provided NASAMS air defence systems have had a 100% success rate in Ukraine intercepting Russian missiles, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said. (15:14 GMT) The head of the UN nuclear watchdog says there will be more consultations this week for Ukraine and Russia to agree to a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has been urging agreement on such a zone for more than two months. Repeated shelling around Europe's biggest nuclear power plant has made it disconnected from the grid several times and created fears of a potential catastrophe. Grossi said, "What we are proposing is very simple: don't shoot at the plant, don't shoot from the plant" and that there are "not that many" points that are still in doubt. (15:45 GMT) Hungary's chief diplomat says oil flow in the Druzhba pipeline has resumed after repairs. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says that Tuesday's air raids on Ukrainian infrastructure halted the supply to several countries in Central Europe. Szijjarto said the repairs on the Druzhba, or "Friendship," pipeline had allowed oil to begin flowing again, albeit at low pressure. The pipeline is one of the world's longest, taking Russian oil into Hungary, Slovakia, Czechia and other countries. (16:03 GMT) The Czech government plans to provide training to as many as 4,000 Ukrainian troops over the next year, Czech defence minister Jana Cernochova said. The training would be done in five four-week cycles with up to 800 troops attending each, and cost 975 million crowns ($41.60m), the Ministry of Defence said. (16:22 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, says Kyiv is working with international allies on an "integrated and echeloned" air defence system. Reznikov said on Twitter: "Protecting the sky is our priority #1 and topic #1 at Ramstein 7. Together with our partners, we're working on an integrated & echeloned air ddefencesystem. We are preparing for winter on the battlefield. Thank you [US Secretary of Defence] for leading the international coalition against evil." (16:39 GMT) Russia has summoned the Polish ambassador to the foreign ministry in Moscow, a ministry spokeswoman said, after Ukraine accused Moscow's forces of firing a missile that killed two in Poland. "The Polish ambassador has been summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry," spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement after Warsaw said it was likely that Ukraine launched the missile but that Russia was ultimately to blame. (18:40 GMT) A team comprising medical staff, water engineers and specialists on risks associated with explosive ordnance has been deployed to Kherson by the Red Cross. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) also delivered medical supplies to two hospitals in the southern Ukrainian city, stating they were enough to treat 500 injured patients and 2,000 people requiring immediate healthcare. Hygiene kits, a water truck and food parcels were included in the aid provided by the humanitarian aid organisation. (18:46 GMT) The United States has said that it has "full confidence in the Polish government's investigation of the explosion" that hit a village in eastern Poland on Tuesday. According to a statement by the White House, the US has said it will remain in close contact with their Polish counterparts and not preempt their work as they continue to gather information. The US said that regardless of the final conclusion, "the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident is Russia, which launched a barrage of missiles on Ukraine". (19:32 GMT) US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley has said Ukraine is unlikely to achieve military victory any time soon, as Russian troops remain entrenched in a large swath of land in the east and south of the country. "The task of militarily kicking the Russians physically out of Ukraine is a very difficult task, and it's not going to [be] the next couple of weeks, unless the Russian army completely collapses, which is unlikely," he said. However, while speaking to reporters, Milley said that as tactical operations slowed down during the winter, with the Russian military "hurting bad", the chances of a political solution may increase. (20:16 GMT) Can the risk of spillover from the Ukraine war be contained? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tww1CEWS7Rw (20:47 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced he held a meeting on Tuesday in Kyiv with US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns who is in the region to discuss the war. "We had a meeting with him ... (we) talked about all the issues that are important to Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a televised news conference, adding the two men also discussed Russia's nuclear threat. Burns's visit came as Russia attacked the city with missiles on Tuesday. Zelenskyy said the CIA head had spent time in a bomb shelter prior to their meeting. 20221117 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/17/ukraine-live-biden-refutes-claim-missiles-were-not-ukrainian (06:30 GMT) NATO and Poland have concluded a missile that crashed in Poland was probably a stray one fired by Ukraine's air defences. NATO ambassadors held emergency talks on Wednesday to shape a response to the blast. "From the information that we and our allies have, it was an S-300 rocket made in the Soviet Union, an old rocket and there is no evidence that it was launched by the Russian side," Polish President Andrzej Duda said. "It is highly probable that it was fired by Ukrainian anti-aircraft defence." (06:32 GMT) US President Joe Biden has disputed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comment that the missile that landed in Poland was not of Ukrainian origin. "That's not the evidence," Biden told reporters at the White House upon returning from a trip to Asia. <=== (06:33 GMT) Russia's media watchdog has blocked access to the website of the independent news site Novaya Gazeta. Novaya Gazeta suspended publication on its website, social media and in print in March in response to strict new censorship laws introduced by Russia. In July, the Roskomnadzor media regulator also blocked the website of a new Novaya Gazeta website that was launched in Europe by staff affiliated with the newspaper, and in September a court revoked Novaya Gazeta's media license. (06:51 GMT) Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa has been struck by a Russian missile, Ukrainian authorities have said. Ukrainian media also reported a series of blasts in the city of Dnipro. (06:57 GMT) Australian iron ore magnate Andrew Forrest has announced a $500m donation which is part of a $25bn international investment fund designed to help Ukraine rebuild after Russia's invasion. The Ukraine Green Growth Initiative will focus on building out infrastructure projects in energy and communications, including a green energy grid, according to a press release from Forrest's family office in Tattarang. Zelenskyy was quoted in the press release as welcoming the investment and saying it would help Ukraine become the fastest-growing economy in Europe. "Andrew and I have agreed we will not replace communist-era rubbish Russian infrastructure, instead we will leapfrog to the latest technology," Zelenskyy said. (07:27 GMT) Ukraine's infrastructure minister has said the Black Sea grain export agreement reached in July would be extended for another 120 days. (07:34 GMT) A Russian missile attack has hit Ukraine's southern Odesa region for the first time in weeks, the regional governor has said. It hit some infrastructure, Odesa regional governor Maksym Marchenko said on Telegram, warning about the threat of a "massive missile barrage on the entire territory of Ukraine". Marchenko's statement comes as media outlets report on explosions in other parts of Ukraine. Regional governors are urging residents to take cover in bomb shelters due to the ongoing threat of possible missile attacks. (07:43 GMT) An agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain through the Black Sea will continue "under current terms," a senior Turkish official told AFP. "The agreement will remain in place under current terms for four months," the official told AFP on condition of anonymity. (07:45 GMT) The first snow of the season has fallen in Ukraine, which has been wracked by power cuts following Russian strikes on energy infrastructure throughout the country. AFP journalists in the capital Kyiv, which has been suffering from scheduled and unannounced electricity cuts, saw snow fall after the regional governor this week warned the situation could become "difficult" and that temperatures could drop to minus 10 degrees Celsius. (07:47 GMT) The Turkish defence ministry says talks on extension of the Black Sea grain initiative continue and a final decision will be announced when the discussions are completed. (07:50 GMT) Air raid alerts have sounded across Ukraine including in the capital Kyiv, due to impending Russian attacks, officials have said. (07:51 GMT) The United Nations secretary general says he welcomes an agreement by all parties to extend the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate Ukraine's agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports. "I welcome the agreement by all parties to continue the Black Sea grain initiative to facilitate the safe navigation of export of grain, foodstuffs and fertilisers from Ukraine," UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a statement. Guterres said the UN was also "fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to exporting food and fertilisers from the Russian Federation" - a part of the deal Moscow sees as critical. (08:06 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said new Russian missile strikes targeted gas production facilities and a missile plant, Interfax Uktraine news agency has reported. "Missiles are flying over Kyiv right now. Now they are bombing our gas production (facilities), they are bombing our enterprises in Dnipro and Yuzhmash (missile factory)," it quoted him as telling a conference. (08:08 GMT) Fresh Russian strikes have hit cities across Ukraine, officials have said, the latest in a series of attacks that have crippled Ukrainian energy infrastructure. "Two cruise missiles were shot down over Kyiv. Information about any casualties and damage is being clarified," Kyiv regional officials announced, after authorities in the central city of Dnipro and the Black Sea hub of Odesa also reported Russian strikes. (08:13 GMT) Ukraine is likely to get access to the site in southeastern Poland where a missile killed two people, the Polish president's top foreign policy advisor has said, after Kyiv demanded access to the scene of the blast. Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Wednesday that access to the site of the explosion would require the agreement of both countries leading the investigation, Poland and the United States. (08:29 GMT) The export of Russian ammonia via a pipeline to the Black Sea is not yet agreed as part of the renewal of the Black Sea grain deal, a source familiar with discussions has told Reuters. Negotiations are continuing on the issue of Russian ammonia exports, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the situation, told Reuters. (08:53 GMT) Zelenskyy has announced that the Black Sea grain deal will be extended by 120 days with the efforts of Turkey and the UN. (09:24 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 267 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-267 Explosion in Poland * Poland and NATO say a missile that crashed in Poland was probably a stray fired by Ukraine's air defences and not a Russian attack, easing international fears that the war could spill across the border. * US President Joe Biden has disputed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's comment that the missile was not Ukrainian, saying: "That's not the evidence." * Ukraine is requesting "immediate access" to the site of the explosion and says it is ready to provide "evidence" that Russia was responsible, claiming that it has evidence of a "Russian trace" to the explosion, without giving further details. * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said the explosion was probably the result of Ukrainian anti-aircraft fire, but that Russia bears "ultimate responsibility" since Moscow is behind the war. * The US and its allies criticised Russia in the UN Security Council over its invasion of Ukraine and assaults on Ukrainian infrastructure which they said resulted in the missile incident, dubbed "a frightening reminder of the absolute need to prevent any further escalation" by the UN political chief. * The Kremlin praised Washington's "measured" response after the incident as Biden said it is "unlikely" the missile came from Russia. Fighting * The top US general said Ukraine's chances of any near-term, outright military victory were not high, cautioning that Russia still had significant combat power inside Ukraine despite suffering battlefield setbacks. * Investigators in Ukraine's recently liberated Kherson in the south have uncovered 63 bodies bearing signs of torture after Russian forces left the area, Ukraine's interior minister Denys Monastyrsky said, adding that "search has only just started so many more dungeons and burial places will be uncovered". * Some 50 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in a long-range Ukrainian artillery attack, the military said in a rare instance of Ukraine claiming to have inflicted major casualties in a single incident. * Power was fully restored in seven Ukrainian regions, including the capital Kyiv, less than 24 hours after a Russian missile barrage on energy infrastructure across the country Diplomacy * Zelenskyy said he met US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns, who is in the region to discuss the war in Ukraine. Burns also met Russian President Putin's spy chief Sergey Naryshkin in Turkey this week. * French President Emmanuel Macron said G20 leaders agreed to push Russia towards defusing the conflict and expressed hope China could play a more prominent mediation role in the coming months. * Russia hailed the G20 leaders' declaration, which mentions the "immense human suffering" caused by the war, as a "balanced text" that Russian diplomats worked hard to influence. * A UN source said they have reasons to be "cautiously optimistic" on the renewal of a Black Sea grains export agreement, which is set to roll over on Saturday unless there are objections. (09:36 GMT) UN chief welcomes an extension to the grain deal UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomes the extension of an agreement allowing Ukraine to export grain. Guterres said in a statement, shared by the Istanbul-based Joint Coordination Center (JCC) that has been overseeing the agreement brokered by Turkey and the UN. "The United Nations is also fully committed to removing the remaining obstacles to exporting food and fertilisers from the Russian Federation," he said. (09:51 GMT) Explosions were heard in several parts of the country, including the southern port of Odesa, the capital Kyiv and the central city of Dnipro, and civilians were urged to take shelter as air raid warnings were issued. Targets included the huge Pivdenmash missile factory in Dnipro, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. (10:08 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he was told neither party would use nuclear weapons following the US-Russia talks held earlier this week in Ankara, according to a readout of his comments to reporters. In remarks Erdogan made on the way back from the G20 Summit, Erdogan said the two countries should frequently meet so that a new world war could be prevented. (10:21 GMT) Ukrainian forces control approximately 1% of territory in the eastern region of Luhansk, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Russian-installed head of the area. The Moscow-backed administrator Leonid Pasechnik said Ukraine only controlled the village of Belogorovka and two other settlements in the region. (10:43 GMT) State energy company Naftogaz said that Russian missile attacks damaged or destroyed some of Ukraine's gas production facilities. Naftogaz Chief Executive Oleksiy Chernyshov said Russia had carried out a "massive attack" on the infrastructure of gas producer UkrGasVydobuvannya in eastern Ukraine. (11:03 GMT) Russia's use of landmines in Ukraine, including newly produced models, threatens to overturn progress made on the issue over the past 25 years, the Landmine Monitor said. The monitor confirmed evidence that Russian forces had planted "victim-activated booby-traps and improvised explosive devices in Ukraine since February 2022 at numerous locations prior to retreating and abandoning their positions". (11:17 GMT) The fallout from Russia's war in Ukraine is causing fears that the conflict could spill over into other countries. German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser, who was hosting a two-day meeting of the G7 interior ministers, said the conflict was "currently the greatest threat" to security after a missile hit a Polish border village. (11:57 GMT) US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and his Russian counterpart Sergey Naryshkin recently met the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, on the consequences of any use of nuclear weapons. The meeting in Turkey was the first known high-level, face-to-face US-Russian contact since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. "The contact (between Burns and Naryshkin) was initiated by the American side," Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Ryabkov told the Russian-language network RTVI. "The questions discussed there were of a sensitive nature." He added: "Dialogue is going on but it is not of a systemic character ... But we are not standing there with our hat in our hand: the Americans need dialogue with us just as much as we need it with them." Ryabkov said more contact with the United States would take place later this month when a bilateral consultative commission on the New START arms treaty meets on November 29 to December 6 in Cairo. (12:10 GMT) The Kremlin accuses Kyiv of shifting the goalposts regarding possible peace talks and says it could not imagine engaging in public negotiations, calling on Washington to push Kyiv towards diplomacy. Peskov added that Ukraine had changed its position on whether it even wanted to negotiate with Moscow several times during the nine-month conflict and could not be relied upon. (12:26 GMT) The International Paralympic Committee voted to suspend the National Paralympic Committees (NPCs) of Russia and Belarus with immediate effect. Athletes from the two countries had previously been barred from competing in the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics in March over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (12:42 GMT) The Kremlin says it has been given assurances by the United Nations that work will be finalised on removing barriers to Russia's exports of agricultural products and fertilisers. Earlier, Moscow said it had agreed to let the Black Sea grain deal roll over for another 120 days without changing its terms. In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, "There is an assurance from the UN that work will be finalised to ensure the export of Russian food and fertilisers." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/17/ukraine-grain-export-deal-extended-for-four-months (13:06 GMT) The EU will provide temporary cold-weather shelter, generators and electricity grid-repair kits to Ukraine to help in advance of winter, the bloc's crisis management commissioner Janez Lenarcic said. (13:30 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Bliken says he has complete confidence in Poland's investigation into Tuesday's explosion. Initial findings of the explosion that hit a village on the border of Ukraine indicated it was "likely" caused by Ukraine's air defence system. Blinken, who addressed reporters at an Asia-Pacific summit in Bangkok, said, "Whatever its final conclusion, we already know the party ultimately responsible for this tragic incident - Russia." But, Ukraine has argued that the missile came from Russia. (14:20 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry said it would "examine" the opinion of a Dutch court that said that a Malaysian airliner was shot down in 2014 by a Russian-made missile. When the plane was shot down, the Dutch court said that Russia had "overall control" of separatist forces in eastern Ukraine. In a briefing in Moscow, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ivan Nechaev told reporters, "We will study this decision because in all these issues, every nuance matters. After studying the legal document, we will probably then be ready to offer a comment." (14:35 GMT) US basketball star Brittney Griner has been taken to a penal colony in the Russian region of Mordovia, a source familiar with the case told the Reuters news agency. Greiner was moved from a detention centre near Moscow on November 4 to be taken to an undisclosed prison location. Russian authorities have given no information on her whereabouts for nearly two weeks, but the source said she had been taken to Female Penal Colony IK-2 in Yavas, about 500km southeast of Moscow. (14:47 GMT) Finland's government proposes spending 139 million euros ($143.4m) on building fences along parts of the country's border with Russia. In June, the Finnish government said it would build barriers along parts of the Russian frontier in a move to strengthen preparedness against hybrid threats, such as the potential mass influx of asylum seekers. The country's border guard authority has said it ultimately aims to construct between 130-260km of fences, covering 10-20% of the overall length, focusing primarily on border crossing points and adjacent areas in southeast Finland. (15:02 GMT) A Dutch court handed down life sentences to three suspects convicted of murder for their role in shooting down Malaysia Airlines passenger flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. The convicted men, two former Russian intelligence officers and a Ukrainian separatist leader were also ordered to pay at least 16 million euros ($16.5m) in compensation to relatives of the victims. While the men remain fugitives, they are all believed to be in Russia, which will not extradite them. (15:31 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praises an "important" court ruling after a Dutch court sentenced two Russians and a Ukrainian to life imprisonment in absentia over the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. (15:48 GMT) Peace is impossible until Russia withdraws from Ukraine: EU European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says peace in Ukraine will not be possible until Russia withdraws its troops, but Moscow shows no signs of being ready to do so. "I am afraid Russia is not ready to withdraw and as far as it doesn't withdraw, peace will not be possible," Borrell told the Reuters news agency in the Uzbek city of Samarkand. (17:23 GMT) Ukraine is likely to get the access it has demanded to the site in the border area of southeastern Poland where a missile killed two people on Tuesday, Polish officials have said on Thursday. (17:41 GMT) The US ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has welcomed an agreement to extend the Black Sea grain deal to facilitate Ukraine's agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports. (10:36 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 268 Fighting * Russia pounded gas production facilities and a main missile factory in new missile raids on critical infrastructure in Ukraine, Kyiv officials said. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said blackouts have affected 10 million Ukrainians as the winter cold sets in. He called Russia a "terrorist state" for taking out energy infrastructure. * The Kremlin said the attacks on civilian infrastructure were a result of Ukraine failing to negotiate to end the nearly nine-month war. * Investigators in Ukraine's recently liberated southern region of Kherson uncovered 63 bodies with signs of torture after Russian forces left, Ukraine's interior minister said. A Ukrainian human rights investigator released a video of what he said was a Russian torture chamber. * Under rainy skies, Ukrainian-controlled Kherson's central square was a frenetic melee of humanitarian aid queues and patriotic celebration tinged with uncertainty. Hundreds of residents switched the Russian SIM cards in their phones for local ones. MH17 downing * Dutch judges convicted three men of murder for their role in the 2014 shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over Ukraine, and sentenced them to life in prison. A fourth man was acquitted. * Russia rejected what it called a "scandalous" ruling and said the proceedings had not been impartial. * Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the Dutch court's ruling. Thirty-eight Australians were among the 298 passengers and crew killed in the incident. Grain deal * A deal aimed at easing global food shortages by facilitating Ukraine's agricultural exports from its southern Black Sea ports was extended by 120 days. * The Kremlin said it had been given assurances by the United Nations that work will be finalised on removing barriers to Russia's exports of agricultural products and fertilisers. Diplomacy * The Kremlin accused Kyiv of shifting the goalposts regarding possible peace talks with spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Ukraine changed its position several times during the course of the nine-month conflict and could not be relied on. * Russia is not considering using nuclear weapons, the Kremlin said. President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will defend its territory with all available means, including its nuclear weapons, if attacked. Russian officials say the West has repeatedly misinterpreted Kremlin statements. * US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and Putin's spy chief discussed "sensitive" questions when they met this week in Turkey, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said. * The UN nuclear watchdog's 35-nation Board of Governors passed its third resolution calling on Russia to end all actions at Ukrainian nuclear facilities, diplomats said. * The US government plans to issue guidance in the coming days on a Russian oil price cap taking effect on December 5. 20221118 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/18/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-open-to-talks-with-us (10:27 GMT) Russia is not ruling out further high-level meetings with the United States on "strategic stability", Moscow's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said. "If the Americans show interest and readiness, we will not refuse," Ryabkov said. Strategic stability is a term Russia and the United States, the world's two biggest nuclear powers, use to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Ryabkov indicated there was nothing to discuss with the US about Ukraine. "No, there is simply nothing to talk about with them on Ukraine. There can simply be no dialogue, let alone negotiations, given the radical opposing positions," he was quoted by Interfax as saying earlier. (10:28 GMT) Russia hopes for a prisoner swap with the United States, including convicted Russian arms trafficker Viktor Bout. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov, quoted by Interfax, said: "I want to hope that the prospect not only remains but is being strengthened, and that the moment will come when we will get a concrete agreement. "The Americans are showing some external activity, we are working professionally through a special channel designed for this," Ryabkov said. (10:30 GMT) Traces of explosives were found at the site of the damaged Nord Stream pipelines, a Swedish prosecutor has said. "Analysis that has now been carried out shows traces of explosives on several of the objects that were recovered," the Swedish Prosecution Authority said in a statement. "The investigation is highly complex and comprehensive. The ongoing probe will determine whether any suspects can be identified," it added. Denmark last month said a preliminary investigation had shown that the leaks were caused by powerful explosions. (15:47 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he discussed security and energy cooperation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and assured him that Ukraine would remain a guarantor of global food security. (16:10 GMT) How will winter change the war? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/18/what-are-russia-and-ukraines-military-options-for-this-winter (16:39 GMT) Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan talked on the phone with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy and congratulated each other for the extension of an UN-brokered grains deal, Erdogan's office said. (17:29 GMT) Poland will not grant a Russian delegation visas to attend an Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting being held in Lodz next month, the Polish foreign ministry said. "We are not giving them visas," spokesman Lukasz Jasina said. Poland is hosting the annual OSCE meeting this year on December 1-2. (18:01 GMT) Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said that along with facing physical safety risks, the country's economy was in danger as long as the war in Ukraine continued. "The rule is that if there is a war in your neighbourhood, you cannot feel safe either. You can't feel physically safe - look at the deaths of two Polish people who had nothing to do with this war - and the industrial facility that allowed us to bring oil from Russia to Hungary via Ukraine has been shot up. So not only is our physical safety at risk, but the security of our economy is also lacking," Orban said. Earlier today the Hungarian prime minister had said that he would not support a EU plan to provide Ukraine with an aid package next year. 20221119 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/19/170 (12:05 GMT) Residents in Ukraine's capital, Kyiv, woke up to several inches of snow on Saturday morning, a sign the cold of winter is setting in as residents in the city faces regular blackouts due to missile attacks. Russian air attacks have damaged or destroyed about 40% of the country's energy infrastructure. (12:05 GMT) Peace in Ukraine will "only" be possible if the country's 1991 borders are restored, a senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "There will be peace when we destroy the Russian army in Ukraine and reach the borders of 1991," Andriy Yermak, the head of the presidential administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Zelenskyy had previously demanded that Moscow's troops withdraw to the pre-February invasion borders, which do not include Russian-annexed Crimea and eastern Donbas. <=== (12:11 GMT) Russia's surge in missile attacks in Ukraine are partly designed to exhaust Ukraine's supplies of air defences, a senior Pentagon official has said, something Moscow hopes would allow its forces to achieve dominance of the skies above Ukraine. "They're really trying to overwhelm and exhaust Ukrainian air defence systems," Colin Kahl, the under secretary of defence for policy, told reporters during a trip to the Middle East. "We know what the Russian theory of victory is, and we're committed to making sure that's not going to work by making sure that the Ukrainians get what they need to keep their air defences viable." (13:19 GMT) Russia has urged international organisations to condemn the alleged execution of Russian prisoners of war by Ukrainian soldiers. "We demand that international organisations condemn and thoroughly investigate this shocking crime. No atrocity committed by Ukrainian military units will remain unpunished," said Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova, as reported by TASS news agency. "Ukraine is flagrantly violating international humanitarian law, specifically the 1949 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War and international human rights laws," Zakharova added. Her comment came following the circulation of a video on social media which shows, the Kremlin says, the execution of 11 Russian soldiers taken prisoners in the eastern Luhansk region. (13:53 GMT) A week has passed since Ukrainian forces have regained control of Kherson. The city is slowly coming alive, but it will be a slow recovery. People are missing. There are mines everywhere, closed shops and restaurants, a scarcity of electricity and water, and explosions day and night as Russian and Ukrainian forces battle just across the Dnieper River. (14:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has met with UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Kyiv, as shown in a video posted on social media by the Ukrainian leader. (14:46 GMT) Hundreds of people were detained or went missing in Kherson region while it was under Russian control, and dozens may have been tortured, Yale University researchers have concluded in a report backed by the US Department of State. Russia has denied its forces have committed abuses. The Conflict Observatory said it documented 226 extrajudicial detentions and forced disappearances in the southern city. About one-quarter of that number were allegedly subjected to torture and four died in custody. (14:59 GMT) The UK will provide a 50 million pound ($59.4m) air defence package for Ukraine, including anti-aircraft guns and technology to counter Iranian-supplied drones, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said on his first trip to Kyiv. "We are today providing new air defence, including anti-aircraft guns, radar and anti-drone equipment, and stepping up humanitarian support for the cold, hard winter ahead," Sunak said in a statement. (16:07 GMT) At least 437 Ukrainian children have been killed as a result of Russia's invasion, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office has said. The United Nations has said at least 16,295 civilians have been killed since Russia's February 24 invasion. (16:36 GMT) Moscow has not officially contacted Kyiv about peace negotiations, but Russia would in any case need to completely withdraw its forces for talks to take place, a top Ukrainian official has said. "We have not any official application from the Russian side about ... negotiations," Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian presidential chief of staff, said in English remarks made via video link at the Halifax International Security Forum. Any talks not based on Ukrainian sovereignty and territorial integrity within the limits of its internationally recognised borders are "not acceptable", he said. His remarks came a day after Zelenskyy dismissed the idea of a "short truce" with Russia, saying it would only make things worse. (17:18 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has said failure to help Ukraine secure its own future could lead to a "world of tyranny and turmoil," in a speech on Saturday that sought to lay out the stakes in the war for the international community. Austin's remarks, delivered at a security forum in Canada, were some of his most powerful to date on Russia's nearly nine-month-old invasion. He warned of the risks of global nuclear proliferation. (18:28 GMT) Russia made its largest single-day issuance of debt in history earlier this week, the UK Ministry of Defence has said in its latest intelligence update on the war on Ukraine. The ministry said: "This is important for Russia as debt issuance is a key mechanism to sustain defence spending, which has increased significantly since the invasion of Ukraine." Russia's declared "national defence" spending for 2023 is planned at approximately $84bn, an increase of more than 40% on the preliminary 2023 budget announced in 2021, the update said. (18:52 GMT) Ukrainian electricity supplies are under control despite a series of Russian attacks on power-generating infrastructure, the energy ministry has said. Separately, the head of DTEK, the country's largest private energy company, said there was no need for people to leave Ukraine to alleviate the pressure on power resources. (19:56 GMT) Ukraine's military has said it was checking the authenticity of footage that Moscow describes as surrendering Russian soldiers being executed. Videos circulated on Russian social media this week purporting to show the bodies of Russian servicemen apparently killed after having surrendered to Ukrainian troops - an act Moscow has called a "war crime". "Before launching an investigation, there must be grounds for it," Ukraine's spokesman for the general staff Bogdan Senyk told AFP. "We are currently establishing whether these videos are fake," he said, adding they have been handed over to "specialists". (20:30 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in his nightly video address that energy supply problems in the country were worst in and around Kyiv, as well as in six other regions, adding that work was continuing "to stabilise the situation". (20:55 GMT) Ukraine will soon begin evacuating people who want to leave the recently-liberated southern city of Kherson and the surrounding areas, a senior official has announced, citing damage done by Russian forces. Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said some people had expressed a wish to move away from both Kherson and the area around Mykolaiv, about 65 km to the northwest. (21:15 GMT) About 60 Russian soldiers have been killed in a long-range Ukrainian artillery attack this week, Kyiv has said, the second time in four days that Ukraine claimed to have inflicted significant casualties in a single incident. In a Facebook post, the Ukrainian armed forces general staff said Russia suffered the losses on Thursday when its forces shelled the town of Mykhailkva, 40 km to the south of Kherson. Russian troops abandoned the city earlier this month. The United States has provided Ukraine with advanced rocket systems capable of hitting targets up to 80km away. 20221120 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/20/russia-ukraine-live-ukraine-implements-planned-blackout (09:36 GMT) Russia has reached an agreement with Iran to begin manufacturing hundreds of unmanned weaponised aircraft on Russian soil, The Washington Post has reported, citing intelligence seen by US and other Western security agencies. The newspaper said the deal was finalised during a meeting in Iran in early November. (09:37 GMT) Ukraine will begin evacuating people who want to leave the recently liberated southern city of Kherson and its surrounding areas, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk has announced. A number of people expressed a wish to move away from Kherson and the area around Mykolaiv, about 65km to the northwest, citing damage to infrastructure by Russian forces that had made life extremely difficult. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/20/ukraine-to-begin-voluntary-evacuation-from-kherson-deputy-pm (09:38 GMT) A key adviser to the Ukrainian presidency has said the West is pressuring Ukraine to negotiate with Moscow, a move that amounts to capitulation. "When you have the initiative on the battlefield, it's slightly bizarre to receive proposals like: 'You will not be able to do everything by military means anyway, you need to negotiate'," Mykhaylo Podolyak told AFP. This would mean that the country "that recovers its territories, must capitulate to the country that is losing", he added. (09:38 GMT) Ukraine's national energy company Ukrenergo announces planned blackouts in all of the country's regions to lower consumption after the Russian attack damaged key infrastructure. (09:53 GMT) Defence Minister Peeni Henare has made the first visit by a New Zealand minister to Kyiv since Russia's invasion, reaffirming the Pacific nation's support for Ukraine's resistance. (10:07 GMT) Russia's recent withdrawal from Kherson was conducted in "relatively good order" compared with previous retreats, the British Ministry of Defence has said in its daily intelligence update. "The relative success is likely partially due to a more effective, single operational command under General Sergei Surovikin," it said. (10:26 GMT) Russian authorities are working to establish control over the information space in occupied territories, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. According to the US-based think-tank, Moscow's authorities are dispatching propagandists to occupied territories to organise TV broadcasts and launch branches of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VDTRK). Occupation authorities plan to use seized broadcasting property to facilitate broadcasting, including the 196-metre TV towers in Mariupol and Melitopol, ISW said. (11:05 GMT) Russian nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom says the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant has come under Ukrainian shelling, but no radiation leak has been detected. Adviser Renat Karchaa said the shells had been fired near a dry nuclear waste storage facility and a building that houses recently spent nuclear fuel, Russian news agency TASS reported. (11:21 GMT) Powerful explosions have rocked the area around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. "In what appeared to be renewed shelling both close to and at the site of Europe's largest nuclear power plant, IAEA experts at the ZNPP reported to Agency headquarters that more than a dozen blasts were heard within a short period of time in the morning local time," the IAEA said in a statement. The IAEA team could see some of the explosions from their windows, the statement added, but the damage so far has not been critical for nuclear safety and security. (11:46 GMT) IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi has expressed concern over the renewal of hostilities around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear site. "The news from our team yesterday and this morning is extremely disturbing," Grossi said in a statement. "Whoever is behind this, it must stop immediately. As I have said many times before, you're playing with fire!" He added that the agency's experts were in close contact with site management and will continue to assess and report on the situation. Russia has accused Ukraine of shelling the plant, which it occupied soon after the invasion began on February 24. (11:54 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has accused Ukraine of firing shells at power lines supplying Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Russian news agencies reported. The defence ministry was quoted as saying that the damage at the plant will be investigated by experts from the IAEA and state-owned nuclear power supplier Rosatom. (11:57 GMT) The Russian army has accused Kyiv of staging a "provocation" by shelling the territory of the Zaporizhzhia plant that is under its control in southern Ukraine. Kyiv "does not stop its provocations aiming at creating the threat of a man-made catastrophe at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant", it said in a statement. Despite shelling on November 19 and 20, radiation levels "remain normal", it added. (12:09 GMT) IAEA's director general has renewed his urgent appeal to Russia and Ukraine to implement a nuclear safety and security zone around the nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhia as soon as possible. (12:20 GMT) Ukraine says it will investigate video footage circulated on Russian social media that appears to show its forces killing Russian troops who may have been trying to surrender, after one of the men seemingly refused to lay down his weapon and opened fire. (12:35 GMT) Ukraine's nuclear energy firm has accused the Russian military of shelling the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and hitting its infrastructure facilities at least 12 times in the morning. Energoatom said Russia was once again "putting the whole world at risk". The company said on Telegram that the list of damaged equipment indicated that the attackers "targeted and disabled exactly the infrastructure that was necessary for the restart of 5th and 6th power units" and the restoration of power production for Ukrainian needs. Russia's nuclear power operator Rosenergoatom blamed Kyiv for the shelling, while the army called it a "provocation". (13:08 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly warned that shelling around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine could lead to a "nuclear disaster". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/11/what-happens-if-ukraines-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-plant-explodes The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is the largest in Europe and among the 10 biggest in the world. It generates half of Ukraine's nuclear-derived power. The plant has a total capacity of about 6,000 megawatts, enough for about four million homes. According to the IAEA, the plant has six Soviet-designed VVER-1000 V-320 water-cooled reactors containing uranium 235, each of which has a net capacity of 950 megawatts. A megawatt of capacity will provide energy for 400 to 900 homes in a year. (13:32 GMT) Missiles have exploded around a power line that feeds the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, the fourth and fifth power units and "special building number 2", Russian officials have said. The "special building" contained nuclear fuel, Renat Karchaa, an adviser to Russian nuclear agency Rosatom, told state-run news agency TASS. (14:27 GMT) Renat Karchaa, an adviser to the head of Russia's Rosenergoatom nuclear power company, said shelling around the Zaporizhzhya nuclear site was ongoing. "They not only shelled yesterday, they are shelling today, shelling right now. As of now, about 15 hits at nuclear power plant facilities have been recorded. Any artillery strikes on the nuclear plant put nuclear safety at risk," Karchaa was quoted as saying by Russia's TASS news agency. Russia's ministry of defence has accused the Ukrainian army of shelling the facility, which is under Moscow's control. "Thank God there has been no radiation release," Karchaa said, adding that no one was hurt. (14:55 GMT) The head of Ukraine's presidential office wishes a happy birthday to US President Joe Biden, the first octogenarian to serve in the highest office of the United States. "I wish you strength and inspiration in your daily work to protect freedom and democracy," Andriy Yermak wrote on Twitter. "The people of Ukraine are grateful for your help and support for our struggle." (15:20 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, calls on the international community to fully ban Russian state media, which he accuses of inciting "genocide". "Incitement of genocide on Russian state TV is in full swing," Kuleba said on Twitter. "Russian state propaganda in the EU and elsewhere must be fully banned." The EU has suspended the activities of several Russian state-owned broadcasters from its airwaves in a move designed to crack down on Russian disinformation after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (16:25 GMT) Approximately 45,000 criminal proceedings have been initiated over crimes committed by Russian servicemen during the invasion of Ukraine, the National Police of Ukraine has said. An update, published on Sunday morning on the official police website, said investigators had launched 44,662 proceedings. It added that to date, 47 places where Russian forces are accused of illegally detaining and torturing Ukrainian citizens had been discovered in liberated regions including Kyiv, Kharkiv, Donetsk, Kherson and Sumy. (16:43 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry has said that 330 more Russian soldiers were "eliminated" in the last 24 hours. In its daily update on "enemy combat" losses, the ministry reported that the total number of Russian servicemen killed during the invasion now stands at 84,210. The update, which was not independently verified, also said that Ukraine "took out" some 3,000 Russian tanks since February. (17:02 GMT) About 5 million people have lost their jobs in Ukraine due to Russia's invasion, according to Ukraine's deputy economy minister. According to the Kyiv Independent,Tetyana Berezhna said "fighting continues in the regions where 10 million people were once employed". She said the war, which led 7 million people to flee, had "significantly" affected the unemployment rate. "The war is destroying the Ukrainian labour market," she said, the paper reported. 20221121 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/21/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-kyiv-trade-blame-for-shelling (10:31 GMT) Russian forces launched almost 400 strikes on the eastern region of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "The fiercest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although there were fewer attacks today due to worsening weather, the amount of Russian shelling unfortunately remains extremely high," he said. "In the Luhansk region, we are slowly moving forward while fighting." (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin says it will "bring to justice" those responsible for the alleged execution of ten Russian soldiers in Ukraine. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russian officials would do everything possible to draw attention to what they called a war crime. (10:41 GMT) The Kremlin says it is not discussing calling up more Russian soldiers to fight in Ukraine with a second round of mobilisation. Spokesman Peskov said: "I can't speak for the defence ministry, but there are no discussions in the Kremlin about this." (10:48 GMT) The Kremlin says it is concerned by the repeated Ukrainian shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and called on global powers to ensure that Kyiv stops attacking. "This cannot but cause our concern," Kremlin spokesman Peskov told reporters. "We call on all countries of the world to use their influence so that the Ukrainian armed forces stop doing this." (10:54 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed with Russia's Vladimir Putin to produce flour in Turkey from Russian wheat and send it for free to the least developed countries to ease a global food crisis, broadcaster Haberturk reported. Last week, a deal was extended for four months allowing Ukraine to export its agricultural products from Black Sea ports, though Russia said its demands were not fully addressed. (11:00 GMT) Italy will approve a new law on military and civilian supplies to Ukraine throughout 2023, Defence Minister Guido Crosetto told Il Foglio newspaper. The law will allow Rome's government to send aid to Ukraine without seeking parliamentary authorisation each time based on a decree that expires at the end of the year. "The Defence [Ministry] will shortly propose to renew that same measure, extending it to all of 2023," Crosetto said. As it has done in the past, Italy will continue supplying arms, "in the times and ways that we will agree with our Atlantic allies and with Kyiv", Crosetto added. (11:09 GMT) Zelenskyy marked Ukraine's annual Day of Dignity and Freedom by celebrating the sacrifices of Ukrainians since Russia's invasion. The annual Day of Dignity and Freedom was established in 2014 to mark two major points in Ukrainian history: the Orange revolution in 2004 and the Revolution of Dignity in 2013. (11:26 GMT) The head of Russia's state-run nuclear energy agency, Rosatom, says it has discussed Sunday's shelling of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the RIA Novosti news agency reported. The head also warned of a risk of a nuclear accident at the plant, the TASS news agency added. "The plant is at risk of a nuclear accident. We were in negotiations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) all night," Interfax quoted Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev as saying. "I think the large distance between Washington and Zaporizhzhia should not be an argument for the United States to delay the decision on a security zone," Interfax quoted him as saying. The Rosatom head also said Kyiv was willing to "accept" a "small nuclear accident" at the nuclear power station. "This will be a precedent that will forever change the course of history. Therefore everything must be done so that no one has in their minds to violate the security of the nuclear power plant," TASS quoted him as saying. (11:36 GMT) Russia is now India's biggest fertiliser supplier in the first half of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, Indian government and industry sources said. India's fertiliser imports from Russia surged 371% to a record 2.15 million tonnes in the first six months of the year started on April 1, a senior government official who was closely monitoring the imports told Reuters news agency. In value terms, he said, India's imports spiked 765% to $1.6bn. In the last fiscal year, India imported 1.26 million tonnes from Russia. (11:52 GMT) Ukraine says it has identified four places in the city of Kherson that Russian forces used to torture detainees before Moscow withdrew its troops from the city earlier this month. The Office of the General Prosecutor said in a statement that officials had found and inspected "four premises" where Russian troops "illegally detained people and brutally tortured them". The police, prosecutors and experts based their findings on documents signed by the Russian forces that occupied Kherson soon after invading Ukraine in February until pulling out this month, the statement said. They also discovered objects in the buildings including parts of rubber batons, a wooden bat, handcuffs and an incandescent lamp, and bullets were found in walls, it said. "Various methods of torture, physical and psychological violence were applied to people in cells and basements," the prosecutor's office said. (12:54 GMT) Western countries must be careful not to create new dependencies on China as they are weaning off from Russian energy supplies amid Moscow's war on Kyiv, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warns. "We see growing Chinese efforts to control our critical infrastructure, supply chains and key industrial sectors," he said on a visit to Spain. "We cannot give authoritarian regimes any chance to exploit our vulnerabilities and undermine us." <=== (13:14 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says any negotiations to end the war in Ukraine must consider the country's strength on the battlefield. For this reason, he said, NATO allies should provide Ukraine with more military support. "We need to realise that this war most likely will end at some stage at the negotiating table. But we also know that the outcome of those negotiations are totally dependent on the strength on the battlefield," Stoltenberg told NATO's Parliamentary Assembly meeting in Madrid. (13:24 GMT) The German defence minister said that Germany offers to deploy anti-aircraft missile systems in Poland after an explosion in a border village with Ukraine. "We have offered to support Poland with (the) securing of its airspace with our Eurofighter (jets) and Patriot air-defence systems," Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht said in an interview with the Rheinische Post daily. (13:40 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urges NATO members to guarantee the protection of Ukraine's nuclear plants from Russian sabotage. "All our nations are interested in not having any dangerous incidents at our nuclear facilities," Zelenskyy said in a video address to NATO's Parliamentary Assembly in Madrid. "We all need guaranteed protection from Russian sabotage at nuclear facilities." (14:08 GMT) As international sanctions continue to be placed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, for the IT sector, it is causing pressure on its future. With most companies having Western clients, the closed-off market has impacted their value, but some experts have argued that Russian tech companies can take back the domestic market. However, the Russian Association of Electronic Commerce estimates that 50,000 to 70,000 IT specialists left the country in the first several weeks of the war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/21/russias-it-sector-facing-ctrl-alt-delete-moment-in-midst-of-war (14:24 GMT) A new training centre for Ukrainian troops in the central Spanish city of Toledo will start operating at the end of November, Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. Sanchez added that Spanish police would also be deployed in Ukraine over the coming weeks to help investigate alleged Russian war crimes. (14:47 GMT) NATO allies may decide to aim to spend more on defence than their current target of 2% of national output when they meet for their next summit in Vilnius in July 2023. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February this year, many NATO members have increased their military spending. (15:13 GMT) Ukrainian authorities have started evacuating civilians from the recently-liberated southern Kherson and Mykolaiv, fearing that damage to the infrastructure and the lack of heat is too severe for people to endure the upcoming winter. The evacuations come as rolling blackouts plague most of the country after targeted attacks on Ukraine's vital infrastructure. (15:37 GMT) Around 45 countries and institutions met in Paris to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova after increasing fears mount that it could be further destabilised by the war. Moldova, which is largely dependent on Russia's energy supplies, is facing more difficulties with winter arriving and Moscow cutting natural gas supplies by about 40%, hurting its ability to supply enough electricity to its population. A French diplomat told reporters at a briefing, "Moldova is directly impacted because it's dependent on Russian energy supplies and is a country which has a part of its territory controlled by Russian soldiers so it's especially vulnerable." Moldova has felt the effects of rising food and energy prices and thousands of refugees arriving in the country of about 2.5 million people, which has taken more refugees per head than any other country. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced an additional international aid package worth more than 100 million euros ($103m) for the eastern European nation. (16:41 GMT) Romania currently provides Moldova with a huge portion of electricity, Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said. "We have started to provide electricity to the Republic of Moldova and now, as we speak, between 80% and 90% of the electricity needs of the Republic of Moldova are provided from Romania," Aurescu said after representatives from about 50 countries and institutions met in Paris to pledge millions of euros of aid for Moldova. "I think this is a very important effort to support our friends and partners." Romanian power producers started selling electricity to Moldova at a capped price in October. (17:34 GMT) The World Health Organization has warned that the upcoming winter would be "life-threatening" for millions of Ukrainians after a series of devastating Russian attacks on the country's energy grid. "Put simply - this winter will be about survival," Hans Kluge, regional director for Europe at the United Nations' health body, told reporters during his visit to Kyiv. "This winter will be life-threatening for millions of people in Ukraine," he said. (18:18 GMT) German gas trader VNG is nearing a deal under which it will receive several billion euros in state aid to shoulder the huge costs of replacing Russian gas with higher-priced alternatives, two people familiar with the matter have said. An agreement could be reached as soon as this week and cover a mid single-digit billion euro sum for VNG, which it would receive in loans or guarantees, the people said. The talks are ongoing and details of the final agreement could still change, they added. (18:25 GMT) LUKOIL Neftochim Burgas , Bulgaria's only oil refinery, may have to shut down if the government does not follow through on plans to allow the Russian-owned business to continue exporting, Chief Executive Ilshat Sharafutdinov has said. The European Union has agreed to a ban on Russian crude oil imports as part of its sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February. The ban takes effect next month, but Bulgaria has been given an exemption and is allowed to import Russian crude until the end of 2024. The Bulgarian caretaker government plans to allow the LUKOIL Neftochim refinery to continue importing Russian crude once the ban takes effect and give it permission to export its output. LUKOIL Neftochim, which has switched to only Russian crude since the spring, expects to process a record high 7.1 million tonnes of crude oil this year, Sharafutdinov said. He said the refinery exports about 50% of its fuels and other end-products. (18:35 GMT) Washington's envoy for war crimes has said the United States was monitoring allegations of Ukrainian forces summarily executing Russian troops, and said all parties should face consequences if they commit abuses in the conflict. Russia's defense ministry on Friday cited videos circulating on social media that allegedly showed Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war. "We are obviously tracking that quite closely," Beth Van Schaack, the US ambassador-at-large for global criminal justice, told reporters during a telephone briefing. (18:40 GMT) A Polish court has overturned a decision by Poland's anti-monopoly watchdog to impose a 6.2bn euro ($6.3bn) fine against Russian gas giant Gazprom, the watchdog said. The fine imposed in 2020 against Gazprom and five other companies, including British-Dutch giant Shell, was over construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The anti-monopoly watchdog, UOKiK, had launched an anti-trust procedure against the companies building the pipeline, saying that its construction would hamper competition. (19:19 GMT) There are no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine despite shelling over the weekend that caused widespread damage, the UN atomic watchdog said after its experts toured the site. "They were able to confirm that despite the severity of the shelling, key equipment remained intact and there were no immediate nuclear safety or security concerns," the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a statement. 20221122 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/22/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyivs-security-service-raids-church (10:12 GMT) The Russian Orthodox Church said that searches conducted by Ukrainian security services at an Orthodox monastery in Kyiv were an "act of intimidation." "Like many other cases of persecution of believers in Ukraine since 2014, this act of intimidation of believers is almost certain to go unnoticed by those who call themselves the international human rights community," Vladimir Legoida, a spokesman for the Church, said. Ukraine said it carried out the searches at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra complex as part of counter-intelligence measures and that they were conducted within the law. (10:14 GMT) In the coming days, Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet the mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine, the Vedomosti newspaper reported, citing three unidentified sources in the presidential administration. Russia celebrates Mother's Day on November 27. (10:18 GMT) The head of a major energy provider said Ukrainians are likely to live with blackouts at least until the end of March. Sergey Kovalenko, head of the YASNO private energy provider for Kyiv, said that workers are rushing to complete repairs before the winter cold arrives. (10:37 GMT) Russia hit a humanitarian aid distribution centre in the town of Orihiv in southeastern Ukraine in recent shelling, killing a volunteer and wounding two women, the regional governor said. Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, gave no further details of the attack on Orihiv, about 110 km east of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station. (10:38 GMT) Canada says it will impose more sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's administration for supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. Ottawa said it would sanction 22 more Belarusian officials and 16 Belarusian companies involved in military manufacturing, technology, engineering, banking and railway transportation. It said the officials included some who were "complicit in the stationing and transport of Russian military personnel and equipment involved in the invasion of Ukraine". (10:39 GMT) Ukraine's security service and police raided a 1,000-year-old Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services", the SBU said. "These measures are being taken ... as part of the systemic work of the SBU to counter the destructive activities of Russian special services in Ukraine," the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said in a statement. It said the search was aimed at preventing the use of the cave monastery as "the centre of the Russian world" and carried out to look into suspicions "about the use of the premises ... for sheltering sabotage and reconnaissance groups, foreign citizens, weapons storage". The SBU did not say what the result of the raid was. The Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex that was raided is a Ukrainian cultural treasure and the headquarters of the Russian-backed wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church known as the Moscow Patriarchate. But, in May, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate ended its ties with the Russian church over the invasion. (10:50 GMT) The Kremlin states that no substantive progress has been made towards creating a security zone around the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southeastern Ukraine. (11:02 GMT) Ukraine will summon the ambassador of Hungary after Prime Minister Viktor Orban went to a football match in a scarf depicting some Ukrainian territory as part of Hungary, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said. "The promotion of revisionism ideas in Hungary does not contribute to the development of Ukrainian-Hungarian relations and does not comply with the principles of European policy," ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. (11:19 GMT) The Kremlin confirms that President Vladimir Putin will meet the mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine. The meeting with soldiers' mothers, first reported by the Vedomosti newspaper, was confirmed by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. (11:35 GMT) World growth is set to decline from 3.1% this year to 2.2 % next year, before rebounding slightly to 2.7% in 2024, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said. Amid the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine, "growth has lost momentum, high inflation is proving persistent, confidence has weakened, and uncertainty is high", the OECD said in its latest forecasts. (11:53 GMT) The head of Ukraine's national power grid operator says the damage to Ukrainian power-generating facilities by Russian missile attacks is "colossal". Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, chief executive officer of Ukrenergo, told a briefing that his company wanted to help provide the conditions for Ukrainians to stay in the country through winter and described calls to evacuate as "inappropriate". (12:00 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany must be ready for the situation in Ukraine to escalate, speaking at a conference in Berlin hosted by the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. He said the $102.76bn (100 billion euro) defence fund announced in the wake of Russia's invasion resulted from a lesson learned to build up the German military's defence stocks. (12:17 GMT) Russia's Gazprom could start reducing gas supplies to Moldova via Ukraine from November 28, it says, accusing Ukraine of keeping gas supplies destined for Moldova. Gazprom's statement said: "The volume of gas supplied by Gazprom to the 'Sudzha' gas measuring station (GMS) for transit to Moldova via Ukraine exceeds the physical volume transmitted at the border of Ukraine with Moldova. Moldova paid for some November gas supplies on Monday, Gazprom said, adding that Ukraine kept 52.52 million cubic metres of gas meant for Moldova on its territory. (12:32 GMT) Ukraine's national power grid operator says the country has sufficient fuel reserves, despite Russian air attacks on energy facilities across the country. (12:58 GMT) Ukraine has received a new 2.5 billion-euro ($2.57bn) tranche of macro-financial assistance (MFA) from the European Union. Ukraine's finance minister Sergii Marchenko said on Twitter, "Ukraine received the next euro 2.5bln tranche of #MFA from the EU. Grateful EU Commission and Vladis Dombrovskis for unwaving support. The total amount of provided MFA to Ukraine from February 24 reaches euro 6.7bln. This is a crucial contribution to Ukraine's financial stability. (13:18 GMT) Ukrainian investigators say that a prison official in the city of Kherson was suspected of committing treason for releasing inmates before the Russian army's retreat. Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) said that an official in charge of security at a local prison collaborated with the Russian forces and allowed inmates to flee before Russia's retreat. He himself did not have the time to escape and was detained, the SBI added. The former employee is suspected of committing state treason and could face up to life in prison. (13:40 GMT) Industrial policy should be pushed at a European level to allow European Union companies to remain competitive amid Russia's war against Ukraine and soaring inflation, the French and German economy ministers said in a joint statement. "Today marks the first step of a new Franco-German commitment line to advocate and advance a European industrial policy." (14:08 GMT) Ukraine's minister of internal affairs claims on Twitter that Russia plans to announce the second round of mobilisation in January. Anton Geraschenko tweeted, "Russia is getting ready for 2nd wave of mobilisation in January. The plan is to draft 500,000-700,000. The 300,000 drafted before - already killed/wounded/demoralised. On Monday, the Kremlin spokesperson said there were no plans for further mobilisation. (14:40 GMT) Ukraine's gas transmission system operator denies Gazprom's claims that Ukraine had withheld 52.52 million cubic meters of gas meant for Moldova and accused Russia of using gas as a political tool. (15:04 GMT) Explosions killed three people in two villages in Russia's Belgorod region, bordering Ukraine, local governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. "During the shelling of Shebekino, a woman civilian was killed," he said on Telegram. "She suffered a head injury when she was thrown back by the blast. The doctors tried to provide her with all the necessary assistance, but she died in an ambulance without regaining consciousness. I express my condolences to the family and friends of the deceased." In a later update, the governor posted that a married couple had also been killed in the west of the region, in the border village of Staroselye. (15:17 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Cuban counterpart Miguel Diaz-Canel unveiled a monument in a north Moscow square to Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro, pledging to deepen their friendship in the face of US sanctions against both countries. Diaz-Canel condemned Russian sanctions and said, "Cuba strongly condemns the sanctions that are imposed today unilaterally and unfairly on the Russian Federation. "The causes of the current conflict in this area must be found in the aggressive policy of the United States and in the expansion of NATO towards the borders of Russia, which Cuba has systematically denounced in international forums. (15:38 GMT) A payment of $4.5bn in economic aid for Ukraine will begin in the coming weeks, United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. The funds, which were approved in September as part of a stopgap US government funding bill, were aimed at "bolstering economic stability and supporting core government services", Yellen said in a statement. The secretary added that other donors should increase and accelerate their assistance to Ukraine as it defends against Russia's invasion. (15:59 GMT) The Bank of Finland and the country's Financial Stability Authority are introducing reserve payment systems for money transfers for consumers and banks. Finnish central bank Governor Olli Rehn told members of parliament, "Russia's offensive in Ukraine has increased the threat of cyber and hybrid attacks also in Finland." He added that the new reserve systems were designed to prevent serious cyberattacks or prolonged telecom faults. Due to the "changed threat situation", financial market authorities set up backup systems earlier this year to secure daily payments under all conditions, Rehn said. (16:24 GMT) The Polish president, Andrzej Duda, was tricked into giving Russian comedians sensitive information after a missile exploded in eastern Poland last week. In the new recording posted on YouTube by Russian pranksters Vladimir Kuznetsov and Alexei Stolyarov, known as Vovan and Lexus, Duda can be heard thanking a man he believes to be Macron for calling. Speaking in English, Duda relays details of the missile incident, his plans to request NATO consultations and being very careful not to exacerbate the situation with Russia. Duda's office has said that the appropriate services are checking how the pranksters could have reached Duda - for the second time after they talked to him in 2020 after posing as the UN secretary-general. (16:45 GMT) Ukraine has recaptured almost the entire southern Mykolaiv region on an isolated peninsula of the Black Sea where fighting is ongoing, the local governor said. Kyiv's troops have been pushing out Russian forces from the southern Mykolaiv and Kherson regions and recently recaptured Kherson city. (17:25 GMT) Italy's famous Teatro alla Scala opera house is defending its decision to stage the Russian opera "Boris Godunov'' for its gala's season opener next month. Ukrainian officials in Italy insist that promoting Russian culture during the conflict in Ukraine is sending out the wrong message. However, the opera house is defending its decision by saying that the Russian piece was chosen to open this season three years ago and does not contain any propaganda for the Russian government. Based on a play by Russian poet and playwright Alexander Pushkin, the opera tells the story of a Russian czar whose manipulation of power haunts both him and his family. In efforts to help Ukraine, La Scala has raised 400,000 euros ($410,000) in a benefit concert for Ukraine, along with taking in children from a Kyiv dance school and their families. (17:52 GMT) Two drones have been shot down in the city of Sevastopol in Crimea when Russian air defences were activated, according to the regional governor. Sevastopol, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, is the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet. "Our air defence forces are working right now," the Russian-installed governor, Mikhail Razvozhaev, said on social media. "There is an attack by drones. According to preliminary information, two UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] have already been shot down. All forces and services are on alert." Razvozhaev said that no civilian structures had been damaged and urged people to remain calm. (18:25 GMT) As Russian attacks continue to affect Ukraine's power capacity, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to the country to conserve energy. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also reiterated the need to save electricity and said that because of the rising power consumption, emergency shutdowns may need to be carried out in addition to the planned ones taking place currently. (19:45 GMT) A bipartisan group of 16 US senators has asked the Biden administration to carefully reconsider Ukraine's request for lethal Gray Eagle drones to fight Russia. The Biden administration has so far rejected requests for the Gray Eagle drone, which has an operational ceiling of 29,000 feet and can fly for more than 24 hours, basing it on concerns that the drones could be shot down and may escalate the conflict. (20:09 GMT) Zelenskyy has blamed Russia for using winter temperatures as a "weapon of mass destruction" by striking Ukraine's energy infrastructure. (21:02 GMT) Ukrainian authorities have said they are investigating the conduct of Russian troops who appeared in a video that Moscow alleged showed them trying to surrender before being shot. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed the footage shows an "execution" and said Russia wants an international probe, while Ukraine's presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, has said that Kyiv has a full version of the video, which it will release at some point. 20221123 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/23/russia-ukraine-live-news-newborn-killed-in-zaporizhzhia-strike (10:14 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russian officials will work to unblock Russian fertilisers stuck in European ports and resume ammonia exports via a pipeline through Ukraine. At a meeting with Russian businessman Dmitry Mazepin, Putin said Russia was ready to increase its fertiliser exports. "The main problem was probably the fact that quite a lot of fertiliser was frozen in European ports," Mazepin said at the meeting, which was shown on state TV. The cargoes are stranded because of EU sanctions on Russian companies' former owners, including Mazepin. (10:17 GMT) On Tuesday 20221122, Gazprom accused Ukraine of keeping gas supplies destined for Moldova and that it could, from November 28, start reducing gas supplies to avoid passing through Ukraine. Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita told PRO-TV television: "There are no signals that Russia will stop supplying gas to Moldova in December. But the government is ready for any scenario, as Russia continues to use energy resources as a tool of blackmail." (10:18 GMT) Russia has likely launched several Iranian-manufactured uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) against Ukraine since September, Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) said. The ministry added that Russia "likely" has nearly exhausted its current stock of Iranian weapons and will seek to resupply. (10:19 GMT) Ukrainian officials say that a newborn baby was killed in a Russian missile attack that hit a maternity hospital in the city of Vilniansk. (10:31 GMT) The head of the UN nuclear watchdog met a Russian delegation in Istanbul to discuss safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The Zaporizhzhia plant was again rocked by shelling at the weekend, leading to renewed calls from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to create a protection zone around it to prevent a nuclear disaster. "IAEA Director General Rafael M Grossi met a Russian delegation led by Rosatom DG Alexey Likhachev in Istanbul today, for consultations on operational aspects related to safety at Zaporizhzhya NPP in Ukraine & on urgently establishing a nuclear safety & security protection zone," the IAEA tweeted. (10:39 GMT) Russia has relaunched production of the Soviet-era Moskvich brand at a plant near Moscow, Russia's industry and trade ministry said. With 600 vehicles slated for production this year, the relaunch is unlikely to alter the outlook for the wider industry, whose annual sales could end below one million for the first time in Russia's modern history. (10:54 GMT) Germany is strong enough to deal with the crisis caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine and emerge stronger due to a new approach to energy, defence and trade policy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said. Scholz told the Bundestag lower house of parliament, "We are doing away with the failings of an energy and trade policy that has led us into one-sided dependence on Russia and China, in particular. "Germany has the strength to master the crisis and emerge stronger from it," he said, adding his government would do more than stick to the status quo. (11:11 GMT) Pope Francis says Ukrainians are suffering today from the "martyrdom of aggression" and compared Russia's war in Ukraine to the "terrible genocide" of Soviet leader Josef Stalin's famine in the country. In his weekly general address, Francis spoke to thousands of people in St. Peter's Square and mentioned the "Holodomor", or death by starvation, in which millions of Ukrainians died. "This Saturday marks the anniversary of the terrible genocide of the Holodomor, the extermination by famine of 1932-33 that was artificially caused by Stalin," he said. The Holodomor resulted from Stalin's efforts to collectivise agriculture and root out Ukraine's fledgling nationalist movement. (11:24 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that special "invincibility centres" will be set up around Ukraine to provide electricity, heat, water, internet, mobile phone connections and a pharmacy, free of charge and around the clock. (11:37 GMT) The EU has decided to designate Russia as a state sponsor of terrorism, arguing that Moscow's military attacks on energy infrastructure, hospitals, schools and shelters violate international law. The move is mainly symbolic since the European Parliament does not have a legal framework to support it. Zelenskyy welcomes the decision by the European Parliament to designate Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism." (12:01 GMT) Ukrainian energy minister German Galushchenko has accused Moscow of using "gas blackmail" for geopolitical purposes. On Tuesday, Gazprom threatened to cease sending gas to Moldova via Ukraine by November 28 after accusing Ukraine of withholding gas. (12:21 GMT) Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, has written on Telegram that air attacks have struck "infrastructure facilities". "Hitting one of the capital's infrastructure facilities. Stay in shelters! The air alert continues," he wrote. (12:29 GMT) Multiple explosions have been heard in Kyiv after air raid sirens sounded across the country. According to Ukrainian officials, one person was killed during the air raids in Kyiv. (12:39 GMT) Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, tweeted footage of the blast in Kyiv and said, "We need air defence systems and combat planes. (12:48 GMT) Russia's parliament passed the first reading of a bill to extend Moscow's package of "anti-sanctions regulation", the TASS news agency reported. (13:06 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, head of the Ukrainian President's Office, says "a new massive attack" on infrastructure facilities is under way. "While someone is waiting for World Cup results and the number of goals scored, Ukrainians are waiting for another score - number of intercepted Russian missiles. A new massive attack on infrastructure facilities is underway. In NASAMS, IRIS-T and Air Defense Forces we trust," he wrote on Twitter. (13:20 GMT) Water and power supply in Kyiv has been suspended after new air raids targeted Ukrainian infrastructure. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko wrote on Telegram, "Due to shelling, water supply has been suspended throughout Kyiv. 'Kyivvodokanal' specialists are working to restore it as soon as possible. "Please, just in case, stock up on water. Specialists are doing everything possible to return water to the homes of Kyiv residents. Power engineers are also working to restore power supply in the capital." (13:35 GMT) Russian missile raids on Ukraine's energy infrastructure have caused a massive power outage across Moldova, the deputy prime minister of Moldova, Andrei Spunu, said. (13:48 GMT) Several units were shut down at the Pivdennoukrainsk nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine due to a loss of power during Russian air raids across Ukraine, Ukraine's nuclear energy firm Energoatom said. An Energoatom spokesperson said, "Everything is fine with the station. There is nowhere to generate electricity." (13:57 GMT) The Swiss government has adopted further sanctions against Russia, in line with the European Union's eighth package of sanctions over the war in Ukraine. The Swiss government added that the measures will come into force late on Wednesday. (14:33 GMT) A section of the Druzhba oil pipeline in Ukraine has been partially suspended, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. The pumping of oil to Hungary, which has been suspended for three days, was likely to remain so for a week, TASS cited spokesman Igor Demin as saying. "The oil pipeline in Ukraine has been partially stopped, according to our partners," he said. Flows to the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which branch off inside Ukraine from the pipeline heading further south into Hungary, continued, as was pumping from Belarus towards Ukraine. (15:06 GMT) Kyiv's mayor confirms that three people were killed during the air strikes, 11 are injured and 10 of them were taken to hospital. (15:29 GMT) Ukraine's security service said it had found "dubious" Russian citizens, large sums of cash in various currencies and pro-Russian literature during a raid on an Orthodox Church. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and police raided the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex on Tuesday as part of operations it said were intended to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services". The SBU said, "More than 50 people underwent in-depth counterintelligence surveys, including using a polygraph. Among them were not only citizens of Ukraine, but also foreigners, in particular citizens of the Russian Federation who were on the territory of the facilities." (15:50 GMT) The European Parliament's website was hit by a cyberattack hours after lawmakers designated Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism". European Parliament spokesman Jaume Duch said in a tweet, "The availability of @Europarl_EN website is currently impacted from outside due to high levels of external network traffic. This traffic is related to a DDOS attack (Distributed Denial of Service) event." (15:57 GMT) Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the minister of internal affairs of Ukraine, tweeted that the death toll due to the recent attacks in Kyiv has reached four. Gerashchenko said, "4 dead and 21 wounded after a Russian rocket hit a residential building in Vyshhorod, Kyiv suburb. Terrorists." (16:18 GMT) A pro-Kremlin group has claimed responsibility for a cyberattack on the European Parliament's website, the institution's president said. Roberta Metsola said in a tweet, "The European Parliament is under a sophisticated cyberattack. A pro-Kremlin group has claimed responsibility. Our IT experts are pushing back against it & protecting our systems. (16:33 GMT) The United States authorises an additional $400m in military aid to Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced. In a statement, Bliken said, "This $400 million drawdown includes additional arms, munitions, and air defence equipment from US Department of Defense inventories. "This drawdown will bring the total US military assistance for Ukraine to an unprecedented level of approximately $19.7 billion since the beginning of the Administration." (16:55 GMT) Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said at a summit in Yerevan of the six-member Collective Security Treaty Organisation that it was time for a "collective" search for peace in Ukraine, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. (17:07 GMT) Russian missile and rocket bombardments on Ukrainian infrastructure has knocked out power across large areas of the war-torn country and parts of neighbouring Moldova. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/23/russian-attacks-plunge-ukraine-parts-of-moldova-into-darkness (17:31 GMT) The head of the National Police of Ukraine, Ihor Klymenko, has said six people were killed and 36 wounded following a new wave of Russian attacks across Ukraine. The actual number of casualties is expected to be higher, he added. (17:40 GMT) The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has warned that the Ukrainian capital faces "the worst winter since World War II", after a barrage of Russian attacks on energy infrastructure left many parts of the city in the dark. Millions of people in Ukraine face a life-threatening winter this year, the World Health Organization warned on Monday, as Russia continues to pound the country's energy infrastructure while temperatures plummet. (17:57 GMT) Ukrainian defence forces have shot down 51 of the 67 Russian cruise missiles that were launched on Wednesday, the country's top general said, after strikes that knocked out power-generating facilities. Commander in chief Valeriy Zaluzhniy, writing on Telegram, said 30 missiles had been launched at Kyiv alone, adding that 20 were downed. (18:18 GMT) The International Rescue Committee has condemned an overnight Russian rocket attack that struck a hospital maternity ward in southern Ukraine, killing a newborn baby. In a statement, the IRC's vice president for emergencies, Bob Kitchen, said the attack on the town of Vilniansk, close to the city of Zaporizhzhia, was part of a "dangerous global trend of increasing attacks on health in conflict". https://www.rescue.org/press-release/irc-condemns-attack-maternity-hospital-vilniansk-zaporizhzhia (18:40 GMT) Zelenskyy is expected to brief the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday about the damage to his country's civilian infrastructure from Russian missile strikes. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/23/russian-attacks-plunge-ukraine-parts-of-moldova-into-darkness (19:10 GMT) The death toll from today's Russian strikes across Ukraine has risen to seven, according to officials. (19:22 GMT) Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has thanked President Joe Biden for the latest aid package and pledged that his country "will not be scared by cowardly inhumane terrorist attacks of Russian war criminals". The US announced a new $400m aid package to Ukraine, which will include weapons, munitions and air defence equipment. The Pentagon said the package included additional munitions for NASAMS air defence systems, High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), plus heavy machine guns with thermal imagery sights to counter Russian drones, and more than 20 million rounds of small arms ammunition. (20:09 GMT) Europe's biggest cities will donate power generators and transformers to help Ukrainians get through the harsh winter ahead as part of a drive launched on Wednesday. The European Union's assembly launched the campaign with Eurocities, a network of more than 200 cities in 38 countries. (20:34 GMT) Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station has once again been cut off from its external power supply and is relying on emergency diesel generators, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Wednesday. "The latest incident ... highlights the increasingly precarious and challenging nuclear safety and security situation," the IAEA said in a statement. (20:53 GMT) France and Spain have lambasted the European Commission's proposed price cap on wholesale natural gas, set so high that critics have questioned if it would ever be used. The EU executive on Tuesday unveiled a gas "safety ceiling" of 275 euros (about $286) per megawatt hour, as the bloc grapples with high energy prices spurred by Moscow's war in Ukraine and supply cuts. But the conditions meant the cap would only kick in when EU gas prices breach that threshold for two weeks running, calculated on advance purchases through the bloc's main gas price benchmark, TTF (Title Transfer Facility). The cap was also contingent on the TTF price for liquefied natural gas - an easily transportable form of gas that can be shipped worldwide - exceeding 58 euros (about $60) for 10 days within that same two-week period. Spanish Ecological Transition Minister Teresa Ribera called the commission's proposal a "joke", saying it would cause steeper price hikes and hamper efforts to tame decades-high inflation. (21:12 GMT) The Kremlin has expressed faith in the "success" of its offensive in Ukraine, as Russian strikes left the ex-Soviet country's energy system in tatters. (21:31 GMT) A Russian court has extended by six months the detention of opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who risks being jailed 10 years for denouncing the Russian war in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/13/russia-opens-criminal-case-against-activist-yashin The 39-year-old Moscow city councillor is in the dock as part of an unprecedented crackdown on dissent in Russia, with most opposition activists either in jail or in exile. (21:47 GMT) UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo has told the Security Council that an exchange of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners was a positive development amid the "dark news" of Russian strikes on Ukraine. (22:02 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukrainians are "unbreakable" after Russian strikes across the country. Ukraine will rebuild infrastructure damaged by today's attacks and "get through all of this", he said in a video address posted to Telegram. (22:22 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appealed to the United Nations Security Council to take action to stop Russian air strikes targeting vital infrastructure that have once again plunged Ukrainian cities into darkness and cold as winter sets in. 20221124 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/24/russia-ukraine-live-news-no-plans-to-contact-washington-russia (10:18 GMT) Russia is not planning to contact the United States and did not initiate contact with Washington at the G20 summit, Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to the Reuters news agency. He added that phone contact through diplomatic channels has taken place - but not at a presidential level. In recent weeks, the Kremlin has said Russia is open to talks but there is little chance of a Putin-Biden meeting any time soon. (10:19 GMT) About 70% of Kyiv was left without power on Thursday morning, Kyiv's mayor said after Russian air attacks targeted civilian infrastructure on Wednesday. Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram that "power engineers are doing their best to get [electricity] back as soon as possible" and added that the water supply had been restored in about half of Kyiv on the left bank of the Dnieper River. (10:20 GMT) The European Union is preparing a ninth package of sanctions on Russia, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said during a visit to Finland. (10:21 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says talks with the UN nuclear watchdog over safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine were "constructive" and showed some promise. The IAEA head met a Russian delegation in Istanbul on Wednesday 20221123 to discuss safety at the plant. (10:24 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the UN Security Council to act against Russia, after attacks pounded civilian infrastructure again on Wednesday. He added that Ukraine was waiting to see "a very firm reaction" to Wednesday's air strikes from the world, he added. But the UNSC is unlikely to take any action since Russia is a member with veto power. (10:43 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has prevented Ukrainian special services from carrying out what it said was sabotage on the "South Stream" gas pipeline. "As a result of a set of investigative measures, [the FSB] prevented an attempt by Ukrainian special services to commit an act of sabotage and terrorism on the South Stream gas pipeline supplying energy resources to Turkey and Europe," the FSB said. It was not immediately clear which pipeline the FSB was referring to. South Stream, originally intended to transport Russian gas under the Black Sea to the Bulgarian coast, was scrapped in 2014 in favour of TurkStream, which makes landfall in Turkey and can supply gas to Hungary and Bulgaria. (10:57 GMT) As air attacks leave Ukraine without power, surgeons in the country have to use torches to perform heart surgery. (11:14 GMT) Petro Kotin, the head of nuclear power company Energoatom, said in a statement the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had been reconnected to the national power grid after Russian air attacks on Wednesday and that the backup diesel generators at the site had been turned off. (11:31 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says Ukraine's leadership could "end suffering" by meeting Russia's demands to resolve the conflict. Peskov was asked whether Russia was worried about the effect of its attacks on energy infrastructure, which have caused repeated mass blackouts across Ukraine. Peskov said Russia only attacked targets of military relevance, not "social" ones. (11:47 GMT) Russia does not plan to supply oil and gas to countries supporting a price cap on Russian oil, the Kremlin said, but will make a final decision once it analyses all the figures. (12:04 GMT) Russia and Ukraine will hand over 50 prisoners of war each, the Moscow-backed administrator of Ukraine's Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said. Pushilin announced the decision on Telegram and said, "Today we are returning 50 of our Russian fighters from Ukrainian dungeons. We are giving the same amount to Ukraine, mostly VES." (12:39 GMT) Ukraine's grain exports are slowing down after the deal was extended last week, and one Ukrainian envoy has placed part of the blame on Russia's reluctance to speed up ship inspections. Since the agreement was extended beyond November 19, no more than five ships a day have departed from Ukraine, UN data show, down from previous weeks and months when up to 10 left the country. UN spokeswoman Ismini Palla said vessel flows were affected by past uncertainty over extending the deal, poor Istanbul weather conditions for inspections, and a rotation of new staff and inspectors at a Joint Coordination Centre (JCC). (12:57 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Issac Herzog, about deepening ties and the grain initiative. On Twitter, Zelenskyy said, "I had a phone call with President of Israel Isaac Herzog. I hope for deepening Ukraine and Israeli cooperation after the formation of the government. "I also briefed about the needs of our energy industry and invited to join the #GrainfromUkraine initiative." The two nations have a complicated relationship - in September, Zelenskyy decried Israel's refusal to provide Kyiv anti-missile systems. (13:13 GMT) Polish leaders say the air-defence system which Germany offered Poland would be best given to Ukraine to help it protect itself against Russian strikes. The head of Poland's ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczynski, called Germany's offer "interesting," but said he believed "it would be best for Poland's security if Germany handed the equipment to the Ukrainians, trained Ukrainian teams, with the caveat that the batteries would be placed in Ukraine's west". (13:41 GMT) With the US aiding Ukraine in the war with Ukraine, the Pentagon is rethinking its weapons stockpiles. Much of Ukraine's firepower is being supplied through US government-funded weapons pushed almost weekly to the front lines. But, US defence production lines aren't scaled to supply a major land war, with some lines, like the Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, previously shut down. On Wednesday, the Biden administration announced an additional round of aid that will provide 20 million more rounds of small arms ammunition to Kyiv. "We've not been in a position where we've got only a few days of some critical munition left," Pentagon comptroller Michael McCord told reporters this month. The Pentagon this month announced a $14.4m contract to speed production of new HIMARS to replenish its stocks. "This conflict has revealed that munitions production in the United States and with our allies is likely insufficient for major land wars," said Ryan Brobst, an analyst at the Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, told The Associated Press. (13:50 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has denied striking any targets inside Kyiv during Wednesday's air strikes and said the damage in the capital resulted from Ukrainian and foreign air defence systems. Russia's Ministry of Defence spokesperson, Igor Konashenkov, says armed forces "launched a massive air, sea and land-based high-precision long-range weapons attack against the military command and control system of Ukraine and related energy facilities". "I would like to emphasise that not a single strike was made on targets within the city of Kyiv," Konashenkov said in a daily video briefing. "All the destruction announced by the Kyiv regime in the city was the result of the fall of missiles of foreign and Ukrainian air defence systems located in residential areas of the Ukrainian capital," he said. (14:35 GMT) Following their retreat from Kherson, Russian forces are unsure what Ukraine's next steps will be. With Russian troops still remaining in the Kherson region and in Zaporizhzhia and creating stronger defence lines, any move to recapture Crimea will be difficult for Ukraine. (14:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that Ukraine has released 50 Russian soldiers who had been captured in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides. Earlier, the Russian-installed head of Ukraine's Donetsk region said Russia would release 50 captured Ukrainians. (15:15 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed Western attempts to cap the price of Russian oil during a phone call with Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, the new Iraqi prime minister, the Kremlin said, according to the state news agency TASS. TASS reported that Putin had told al-Sudani that a price cap would seriously affect the global energy market. (15:42 GMT) President Joe Biden says a price cap on Russian oil that is proposed by the United States and its Western allies was in play, adding that he had spoken to Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen on the issue. (16:07 GMT) The European Parliament moved to designate Russia as a "state sponsor of terrorism" on Wednesday due to the destruction of civilian infrastructure that violates international law. The label, welcomed by Ukraine, is not legally binding because the EU does not have the framework to support it. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/24/will-the-eu-parliaments-stance-towards-russia-have-consequences Bruno Lété, senior fellow at The German Marshall Fund of the United States in Brussels, told Al Jazeera that the Parliament seeks to isolate Russia internationally. "Firstly, through this announcement, the European Parliament is keen to pressurise EU member states to take a stronger stance towards Russia, compared to its allies across the Atlantic who have not yet called Russia a terrorist state," he said. "Secondly, there has been a lot of talk of setting up a separate court to investigate the war crimes and human rights violations carried out by Russia in Ukraine. Parliament's declaration could speed up that process," he added. (16:29 GMT) The first reactor of Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi nuclear plant has been reconnected to the country's power grid, regional Governor Serhiy Hamaliy said. Ukrainian officials said the Khmelnytskyi plant disconnected from Ukraine's grid on Wednesday 20221123 after Russian raids on the country's power system. (17:05 GMT) A fake video of drunk Ukrainian fans in Qatar drawing Nazi symbols on the World Cup mascot, with a similar Al Jazeera logo, has been circling since Tuesday. The video shows Ukrainians destroying 10 posters near the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha before they were detained. But how did this video come about? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/24/fact-check-a-fake-video-of-ukrainian-nazi-fans (17:39 GMT) The head of the International Energy Agency has said that Europe will be able to cope with the current crunch on natural gas supply because of the reserves it has, however, the situation doesn't look too promising for next winter. Speaking at an energy symposium in Berlin hosted by the German government, Fatih Birol said that, barring unforeseen events, "Europe will go through this winter with some economic and social headaches, bruises here and there" as a result of efforts to wean itself off Russian gas and the wider increase in energy costs resulting from the war in Ukraine. Birol said that by next year, Russian gas supplies to Europe may end completely and emphasised that the European nations need to unite and start immediately preparing for next year's situation. With 75% of Russia's gas exports and 55% of its oil going to Europe before the war, Moscow will also need to find new markets for its output, he said. (17:56 GMT) The leaders of Poland and the Czech Republic have publicly criticised Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, exposing tensions within central Europe's Visegrad Group that have been intensified by the war in Ukraine. The unity within the Visegrad Group has been tested by the war as Orban continues to oppose harsh European sanctions on Russia including those on energy supplies. (20:02 GMT) While much of Ukraine on Thursday remained without heat or power after the most devastating Russian air strikes on its energy grid so far, residents in Kyiv were warned to brace for further attacks and stock up on water, food and other supplies. Ukrenergo, which oversees Ukraine's national power grid, said 50% of demand in Ukraine was not being met as of 7pm Kyiv time (17:00 GMT) after key energy facilities were hit and it could not say when everything would be fully restored. Sixty% of residents in Kyiv were without power amid temperatures well below freezing, mayor Vitali Klitschko said. (21:33 GMT) EU chief Charles Michel will be meeting with President Xi Jinping in Beijing next week to seek help on ending Russia's war on Ukraine and address the economic imbalance between China and Europe. "We will discuss global challenges as well as subjects of common interest," Michel tweeted as he announced his trip. Michel is expected to meet with Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Wu Bangguo, chairman of the standing committee of the Chinese People's Congress during this trip as well. A European official said it was critical for Europe that China should not provide weapons to Russia and not help Moscow evade EU and US economic sanctions. 20221125 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/25/russia-ukraine-live-news-third-of-houses-in-kyiv-have-heat (10:36 GMT) President Vladimir Putin will meet some mothers of Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine, the Kremlin said, as the conflict enters a tenth month. "On the eve of Mother's Day, which is celebrated in Russia on the last Sunday of November, Vladimir Putin will meet with the mothers of servicemen participating in the special military operation," the Kremlin said in a statement. (10:40 GMT) Much of Ukraine remains without heat or power after Russian air attacks on its energy grid. Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, said on Telegram: "A third of the houses in Kyiv already have heat. Specialists continue to restore heating in the capital. "Half of consumers are still without electricity. During the day, energy companies plan to connect electricity for all consumers alternately - for 3 hours." (10:42 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Europeans to remain united against Russia's war and to severely limit the price of Russian oil. Zelenskyy said in an address via a live video link to a conference in Lithuania, "There is no split, there is no schism among Europeans, and we have to preserve this. This is our mission number one this year. (10:43 GMT) British foreign minister James Cleverly will pledge millions of pounds in further support for Kyiv as the harsh winter approaches. A statement from his office said Cleverly had travelled to Ukraine and is set to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba on the trip. "The UK stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine," said Cleverly, as he set out 3 million pounds ($3.6m) to help rebuild vital infrastructure and committed another 5 million ($6m) for a Ukraine-led initiative to ship grain to countries at risk of famine. (10:58 GMT) NATO is determined to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia for "as long as it takes" and will help the country transform its armed forces to Western standards, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. Stoltenberg urged countries, either individually or in groups, to keep providing air defence systems and other weapons to Ukraine, as NATO, as an organisation, does not supply weapons. But the NATO chief put no pressure on Ukraine to enter peace talks with Russia. "Most wars end with negotiations," he said. "But what happens at the negotiating table depends on what happens on the battlefield. Therefore, the best way to increase the chances for a peaceful solution is to support Ukraine." (11:05 GMT) Russian presidential spokesman has said Zelenskyy's statement about retaking Crimea "by non-military means" is "out of the question", reports TASS news agency. Dmitry Peskov said: "For us, this is nothing but a discussion over an alienation of a territory from Russia. There can be no other understanding here. This is out of the question." "Such speculations indicate once again the unpreparedness, unwillingness and inability of the Ukrainian side to be ready to resolve the problem by non-military methods," Peskov added. Earlier on Friday, the air defence system was triggered in Armiansk in Crimea. (11:33 GMT) The UN human rights chief says Russian attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine since October killed at least 77 civilians and plunged millions into extreme hardship. "Millions are being plunged into extreme hardship and appalling conditions of life by these strikes," said Volker Turk in a statement. "Taken as a whole, this raises serious problems under international humanitarian law, which requires a concrete and direct military advantage for each object attacked." In the same statement, the UN's preliminary analysis of videos showing Ukrainian soldiers executing Russian prisoners of war indicated they were "highly likely to be authentic". (11:56 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says it's up to Germany to decide if it wants to supply Patriot missile defences to Ukraine after Poland urged Berlin to send them. Germany has offered to deploy the advanced US-made Patriot system to Poland after a blast from a stray Ukrainian air defence missile hit a Polish village last week. But the Polish authorities told Berlin to ship the system to Ukraine instead. (12:12 GMT) German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock welcomes efforts in the country's parliament to declare the Holodomor, the death by starvation of millions of Ukrainians in 1932-33, a "genocide". A text, seen by AFP, by deputies from Germany's centre-left-led coalition and the opposition conservatives is intended as a "warning" to Russia as Ukraine faces a potential hunger crisis this winter due to Moscow's invasion. (12:31 GMT) The Polish president says it is Germany's decision where its Patriot air defence units are stationed, adding that it would be better for Poland's security if they were on Ukrainian territory near the border. "From a military point of view, it would be best if they were located in Ukraine to also protect Polish territory, then they would protect both Ukraine and Poland most effectively," Andrzej Duda told a news conference in Lithuania. "But the decision rests with the German side." (13:05 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin told mothers of soldiers fighting in Ukraine not to believe everything they see on television or read on the internet, as he said, "There is a lot of fake news, deceit and lies." He promised he would not forget the incomparable suffering of mothers who had lost sons in the nearly 10-month-old conflict. (13:26 GMT) Hungary's foreign minister has complained to the European Union that Ukraine is making business harder for its companies, such as drugmaker Richter, because they have operations in Russia. Peter Szijjarto said at a news briefing that Hungary would ask Brussels to ensure that Ukrainian authorities "should not make the operations of EU companies impossible". "These companies have not violated any rules," he said. "Their only 'sin' is that they also have a presence in Russia." Richter said earlier this month that a change in Ukrainian legislation meant that marketing authorisation for some products might be revoked if a manufacturer operates and pays taxes in Russia. (13:46 GMT) A barrage of missiles struck the recently liberated city of Kherson for the second day in a marked escalation of attacks since Russia withdrew from the city two weeks ago. According to Kherson's military administration, the city was shelled 17 times before midday on Thursday, and attacks continued into the evening, killing at least four people and injuring 10. Soldiers in the region had warned that Kherson would face intensified attacks as Russian troops dig in across the Dnieper River. (14:03 GMT) More Ukrainians are being displaced by a wave of Russian bombardments, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports. "We expect an increase of population movement in the next few months," said Violaine des Rosiers, the humanitarian group's operations manager in the Ukrainian capital. "We are already seeing in Kyiv, the city is emptying." The UN's refugee organisation said it is not seeing an increase in the number of refugees crossing the border out of Ukraine. It said 4.7 million refugees have left Ukraine for neighbouring countries so far. (PJB: This strange "4.7 million" figure includes 7583850 to Poland, 2852395 to Russia, 1781852 to Hungary, 1556746 to Romania, 953910 to Slovakia, 697937 to Moldova, 16705 to Belarus etc, a total the UN estimates as more than 15.5 million ) (14:35 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Western allies that Russia is using winter as a weapon after recent attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure have left much of the country without heat or water. But the EU fears that the drop in temperature and the lack of heating will force many to leave their homes and migrate to Europe for safety. The International Red Cross also expects more Ukrainians to flee Kyiv after Wednesday's air raids. Meanwhile, more than 11 million Ukrainians have fled and entered EU member countries, since the war began in February. ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/25/will-eu-migration-support-to-ukrainians-change-during-winter (PJB: reminds me of Senator Joe McCarthy) 14:55 GMT) European government representatives will resume talks over the level of a price cap on Russian oil on Friday evening, a diplomat told the Reuters news agency. The diplomat, who declined to be identified, said it was not clear at present how many positions have converged. On Thursday, European Union governments remained split over the level at which to cap Russian oil prices to curb Moscow's ability to pay for its war in Ukraine without causing a global oil supply shock. (15:15 GMT) Petroneft Resources, an international oil and gas producer focussed on Russia, is considering its options, including a full or partial sale of the company's assets, following difficult operating conditions due to the Ukraine conflict. It said the drilling of up to five development wells at its Cheremshanskoye oil field in Russia had been delayed for the foreseeable future because of the inability to secure financing. The company, listed both in London's junior market and in Dublin, also said the firm's accountant, BDO, intends to resign in the wake of Western sanctions against Russia. (15:49 GMT) The head of the Kherson region, Yaroslav Yanushevych, says on Telegram that Kherson Oblast was shelled "54 times" on Thursday. (16:15 GMT) Which countries supported the EU's 'terrorism' label? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/25/russia-labelled-as-sponsors-of-terrorism-how-did-europe-vote (16:45 GMT) Ukraine's leaders will have to be "far-sighted" to secure peace, Pope Francis says, suggesting that Kyiv would have to make concessions. (17:15 GMT) Ukraine's four nuclear power plants have been reconnected to the national power grid after completely losing off-site power earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency has said. In a statement, the IAEA nuclear watchdog said Ukraine had informed it on Friday that its Rivne, South Ukraine and Khmelnytskyy plants had been reconnected. Ukraine reconnected its vast Zaporizhzhia plant on Thursday, Kyiv said earlier. (17:43 GMT) Zelenskyy says he spoke with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and discussed cooperation on ensuring Ukraine's energy stability. (17:53 GMT) A meeting of European Union government representatives, scheduled for Friday evening to discuss a Group of Seven proposal to cap Russian seaborne oil prices, has been cancelled, the Reuters news agency has reported, citing EU diplomats. "There was not enough of a convergence of views," one diplomat said. (19:07 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has discussed support for Ukraine and efforts to "enhance security along NATO's Eastern Flank" with his German counterpart, Christine Lambrecht, the Pentagon says. (19:43 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine will have to "endure" the freezing winter amid power shortages sparked by Russian bombardment. "We have to endure this winter - a winter that everyone will remember. We have to do everything so that we remember it not because of what it threatened us with, but because of what we managed to do to protect ourselves from this threat," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry quoted the president as saying. (21:33 GMT) Zelenskyy has criticised the mayor of Kyiv in a rare public spat between Ukrainian officials since the Russian invasion began. The Ukrainian president said Mayor Vitali Klitschko was doing a poor job setting up emergency shelters for residents without power and heat. Ukraine has established thousands of so-called "invincibility centres" where people can access heat, water, internet and mobile phone links. In an evening speech, Zelenskyy accused Klitschko and his officials of not doing enough to help. 20221126 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/26/live-news-russia-will-pay-for-soviet-era-famine-ukraine-says (11:33 GMT) Ukrainian authorities are working to gradually restore power, aided by the reconnection of the country's four nuclear plants, as more than six million households are hit by power cuts. "The key task of today, as well as other days of this week, is energy," President Zelenskyy said in his nightly televised address. (11:35 GMT) The head of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said the Western military alliance would not back down on its support for Kyiv. "So NATO will continue to stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes. We will not back down," Stoltenberg said at a news conference. "Allies are providing unprecedented military support", he said, adding they have been delivering fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment, as well as drone jammers. (11:39 GMT) Zelenskyy has criticised Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko for doing what he said was a poor job setting up emergency shelters to help those without power and heat. "Please pay attention: Kyiv residents need more protection," he said. "As of this evening, 600,000 subscribers have been disconnected in the city. Many Kyiv residents were without electricity for more than 20 or even 30 hours. I expect quality work from the mayor's office." (11:54 GMT) Russia "will pay" for a Soviet-era famine known as Holodomor ("death by hunger") that killed millions of Ukrainians during the winter of 1932-33, including for its actions now in Ukraine, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration said on Saturday. "The Russians will pay for all of the victims of the Holodomor and answer for today's crimes," Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram. Saturday marks Ukraine's annual memorial day for the victims of Holodomor. In November 1932, the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin ordered police to seize all grain and livestock from Ukrainian farms, including seeds required for the next crop. Scholars debate the precise number of victims that died during that winter but most estimate ranging from three-and-a-half to seven million people. (11:56 GMT) Electricity has been restored in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson since Russia withdrew from the city two weeks ago, a senior presidential aide said on Saturday. "First we are supplying power to the city's critical infrastructure and then immediately to household consumers," Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Kherson has been without power, central heating and running water since November 11 when Ukrainian forces reclaimed the city. (12:01 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 276 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-276 incl: NATO forces took part in drills in northern Poland's Suwalki Gap, a strip of land between Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and of crucial significance to the security of the alliance's eastern flank. Germany said it was discussing with allies Poland's request that German Patriot air defence units be sent to Ukraine after NATO's chief suggested the military alliance might not oppose such a move. The head of Russian mercenary company Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said a former US Marine general and several British and Finnish fighters were operating for the armed group in Ukraine. (12:08 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz marked the Holodomor, or Great Famine, by drawing parallels with the effect of the war on Ukraine on world markets. "Today, we stand united in stating that hunger must never again be used as a weapon," Scholz said in a video message. "That is why we cannot tolerate what we are witnessing: the worst global food crisis in years with abhorrent consequences for millions of people - from Afghanistan to Madagascar, from the Sahel to the Horn of Africa". He added that Germany will contribute another 10 million euros ($10.4m) to efforts to help expedite grain shipments under a UN-brokered deal from Ukraine. (12:19 GMT) Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo arrived in Kyiv on his first visit since Russia invaded the country. Belgium pledged a further 37.4 million euros ($39m) of financial aid for Ukraine, according to the Belga news agency. (12:39 GMT) Prime ministers of Lithuania, Poland and Ukraine - Ingrida Simonyte, Mateusz Morawiecki and Denys Shmyhal, respectively - met in Kyiv for talks to discuss their cooperation. Morawiecki said on Twitter, "Either Ukraine is victorious or all of Europe will be lost. We are stronger together." (12:50 GMT) Nine Russian prisoners of war were released as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine, the Russian news agency TASS reported, citing Moscow's defence ministry. "On November 26, as a result of the negotiation process, nine Russian servicemen who were in mortal danger in captivity were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime," the ministry said in a statement. (13:01 GMT) Zelenskyy hosted an international summit in Kyiv to discuss food security and agricultural exports with the prime ministers of Belgium, Poland and Lithuania and the president of Hungary. He opened the summit by speaking at a panel flanked by his chief of staff and prime minister. French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen delivered speeches that were shown on video. (13:29 GMT) As the war in Ukraine hits nine months, the news output is becoming harder, not easier, to navigate. Much of the coverage is misleading at best and dangerous at worst - and with the war showing no signs of stopping, even the term diplomacy has somehow become a dirty word. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMuOdRYT7NE (13:41 GMT) Lawmakers from Germany are set to recognise the Holodomor as "genocide", according to a draft text of a joint resolution from Germany's governing coalition and the opposition seen by AFP. Ukraine's ministry of foreign affairs called on international partners to "restore historical justice and to recognise the Holodomor as a genocide of the Ukrainian people". Eighteen countries currently recognise the famine as a genocide, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, the US and Vatican. (14:04 GMT) Belarus foreign minister Vladimir Makei who held his post since 2012 has died at the age of 64, the state news agency Belta reported. Earlier this week, he attended a conference of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) - a military alliance of several post-Soviet states - in Yerevan and was due to meet Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Monday. (14:24 GMT) Zelenskyy hosted a summit in Kyiv to promote its "Grain from Ukraine" initiative to export grain to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought, saying it is "not just empty words". Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo shared his support of Zelenskyy's initiative, Grain from Ukraine. The NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the support of Turkey, together with the UN, to extend the Black Sea Grain deal. Stoltenberg said at the Grain from Ukraine Summit that he saw the grain ships on the Istanbul Strait when he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (15:34 GMT) President of the European Parliament Roberta Metsola expressed her support for Ukraine on the anniversary of Holodomor. She drew parallels between the current war in Ukraine and the famine 90 years ago, saying "Ukrainians are once again fighting to preserve their lives". (15:58 GMT) Permanent Representative of Ukraine Mission to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya honored the victims of the Holodomor, saying the suffering and death in Ukraine by Russia is "innumerable". He added that Russia's aggression "only makes our nation stronger". (16:03 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz believes Germany is prepared for the winter after Russia stopped gas flow after a dispute over the war in Ukraine. "With all the decisions we have made, we can now say at this point before winter - we will probably get through this together," Scholz said at a meeting of his centre-left Social Democrats. More than 20 coal-fired power plants have been brought online or kept in operation, and the three existing nuclear power plants are running through the winter, he said. (16:54 GMT) France is prepared to provide $6.24m (six million euros) to help Ukraine ship food to Yemen and Sudan, under a new World Food Programme plan, says French President Emmanuel Macron. "The weakest countries can't have to pay the price for a war they didn't want," said Macron in a video posted on Twitter. 20221127 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/27/ukraine-russia-live-as-snow-falls-kyiv-works-on-restoring-power (11:14 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says heating has been restored in 90% of residential buildings in the capital, while the water supply resumed to every home. One-quarter of the city's residents are still missing electricity though, Klitschko added on his Telegram channel. Workers in the capital are hurrying to restore basic services in the capital with heavy snowfall expected. His comments come after Klitschko was criticised by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a rare public rebuke. (11:19 GMT) Snow to blanket Kyiv as Russian attacks target power supplies https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/27/snow-to-blanket-kyiv-as-russian-attacks-target-power-supplies (11:35 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence has said heavy fighting is taking place in Pavlivka and Vuhledar, two towns in eastern Donetsk province. There has been intense combat in the area over the last two weeks, it said. "This area remains heavily contested, likely partially because Russia assesses the area has potential as a launch point for a future major advance north to capture the remainder of Ukrainian-held Donetsk Oblast," the ministry said. "However, Russia is unlikely to be able to concentrate sufficient quality forces to achieve an operational breakthrough." (11:54 GMT) Russian forces have hit locations across Kherson province 54 times over the weekend, Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said on his Telegram channel. (13:16 GMT) The European Parliament bases its work on emotions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told Russian media, as reported by the TASS news agency. Peskov added that Moscow takes the parliament's decisions into little consideration. He made the remarks after the European Union institution labelled Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism", a move that is symbolic and not legally binding. "It's no secret to us that in recent years, the European Parliament has had little love for us," Peskov was quoted as saying. "In return, we have had little desire to take into account what's going on there." "Emotions is such a changeable thing. Today, they are Russophobic. Tomorrow, there will be something else. And then maybe a moment of clarity will come." (13:57 GMT) Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo is on his second day of a visit to Ukraine, where he has been shown several places by local authorities. One of these was the northern town of Bucha, known for the atrocities committed there by Russian occupying forces. The Bucha massacre refers to the discovery in April 2022 of nearly 500 dead bodies, many showing signs of torture. (14:34 GMT) "Ukrainian and Russian reporting from critical frontline areas throughout eastern and southern Ukraine ... indicates that operations on both sides are currently bogged down by heavy rain and resulting heavy mud," read a paper from the Institute for the Study of War, a United States-based think-tank. (14:45 GMT) The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence says it has provided Brimstone 2 precision-guided missiles to Ukrainian forces. "This aid has played a crucial role in stalling Russian advancements," it added on Twitter. (15:19 GMT) Over the past few months, Ukraine has managed to prove many of its critics wrong by regaining large swathes of its territory from Russia. But despite these military successes, there has been some pressure on the Ukrainian government to engage with the Kremlin, says Hamza Karčić, an associate professor at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Sarajevo. "As a Bosnian watching this unfold, I hear alarm bells going off," he said."Ukraine, I feel, may be heading towards Bosnia's fate - a state made dysfunctional by a deeply flawed peace deal." https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2022/11/27/why-ukraine-should-not-accept-a-dayton-accords-style-peace (15:32 GMT) There are several reports suggesting that Russian forces might be considering leaving the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, says Petro Kotin, chief of Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy firm. "In recent weeks we are effectively receiving information that signs have appeared that they are possibly preparing to leave the [plant]," Kotin said on national television. (16:44 GMT) A pro-Ukrainian human chain protest took place outside NATO headquarters in Brussels amid the reconvening of NATO on Tuesday at the Palace of Parliament in the Romanian capital of Bucharest. Jana Brovdiy, a protester and member of the Promote Ukraine Association wanted to thank NATO members for the assistance already given to Ukraine, but pushed the need for more air defence systems. (17:28 GMT) The Russian Football Union (RFU) may consider switching its football federation membership to Asia from Europe, Russian news agencies quoted RFU head Alexander Dyukov has said. Global and European football's governing bodies, FIFA and UEFA, decided in February that all Russian teams, whether national or club sides, would be suspended from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in July dismissed appeals filed by the RFU and four Russian clubs against FIFA and UEFA's decision to ban them from all competition until further notice. (17:59 GMT) Estonia's Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur does not believe that Russia has been critically weakened even after nine months of war in Ukraine. "We have to be honest and clear: The Russian navy and air force are more or less as big as they were before the war," Pevkur told DPA news agency during a visit to Berlin. Although the Russian land forces had lost considerable strength, they would "sooner rather than later" have the same amount they had before February 24, when they launched their offensive, or even more. Russia will also learn from their military experience in Ukraine, he argued: "We have no reason to believe that the threat from Russia is somehow reduced or that the threat to NATO is reduced." (18:24 GMT) Attempts to break up a Russian-led security alliance had always existed and would continue to do so, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says while insisting that the alliance remains in high demand following criticism this week from Armenia. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan called into question the effectiveness of the six-nation Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) at a summit this week. Armenia requested assistance from the organisation in September as fighting flared with Azerbaijan, but it received only a promise to send observers. Pashinyan contrasted that with the alliance's rapid decision in January to send troops to another member, Kazakhstan, to help President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev survive a wave of unrest. "There have always been attempts to [bring about] the CSTO's disintegration," news agencies quoted Peskov as saying. (18:58 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 277 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-277 (19:21 GMT) The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, has hit back against criticism by Ukraine's president over measures to help residents withstand power cuts, describing disputes as "senseless" during Russia's military campaign. Klitschko said 430 "warming centres" were helping residents cope with the effects of Russian attacks on power stations and more than 100 more were planned in case of extreme weather. (20:43 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers and an Estonian soldier were hospitalised after their bus collided with a truck in Latvia, Estonian public broadcaster ERR reported on Sunday. The coach travelling from Tallinn to Riga was chartered by the Estonian army, and its driver was killed in the Saturday evening crash, ERR said. It did not say why the Ukrainian soldiers were in Latvia. The crash was one of several that occurred along the road on Saturday as ice and snow made driving hazardous, Latvia's public broadcaster said. 20221128 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/28/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-warns-of-more-russian-attacks (10:43 GMT) The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant remains under Russian control, Moscow-backed authorities in the nearby city of Enerhodar have said, after the head of Ukraine's state-run nuclear energy company said on Sunday suggested Russian forces were preparing to leave. "The media are actively spreading fake news that Russia is allegedly planning to withdraw from Enerhodar and leave the [plant]. This information is not true," the Russia-installed administration wrote on Telegram. (10:44 GMT) The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces has said in its daily update that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks in several areas, including Bakhmut and Avdiivka, over the past 24 hours. On Facebook, a statement read: "Over the past 24 hours, units of the Defence Forces repelled the attacks of the occupiers in the areas of Yakovlivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Andriivka, Novobakhmutivka, Opytne, Vodyane, Pervomaiske, Nevelske and Novomykhailivka settlements of the Donetsk region. (10:48 GMT) The Kremlin says Russia welcomes a Vatican offer to provide a negotiating platform to resolve the Ukraine conflict, but that Kyiv's position made this impossible. Pope Francis reiterated last week that the Vatican was ready to do anything possible to mediate and put an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in an interview with the Italian daily La Stampa. (10:49 GMT) Gazprom has decided it will not reduce gas supplies to Moldova but said in a statement that it reserves the right to lower or cut shipments if Moldova fails to make agreed gas payments. In its latest statement, Gazprom said Moldovan natural gas company Moldovagaz had paid for gas deliveries in November, adding that it had received payment for what it called gas destined for Moldovan customers but which remained in Ukraine. Last week, Gazprom accused Ukraine of keeping gas supplies that passed through the country to Moldova and said it could start reducing these flows. (10:52 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned that Russia is planning new strikes, urging forces and citizens to be prepared amid freezing temperatures. (10:56 GMT) Zelenskyy again criticised Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, saying he had not done enough to help residents suffering from the cold. (11:29 GMT) The United States is still talking to Russia about a deal to free jailed Americans Brittney Griner and Paul Whelan, but Moscow has not provided a "serious response" to any of its proposals, a senior US diplomat said. (11:50 GMT) The Pentagon is considering a Boeing proposal to supply Ukraine with small, cheap precision bombs, allowing Kyiv to attack far behind Russian lines as the West struggles to meet the demand for more arms. Boeing's proposed system, dubbed Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), is one of several plans for getting new munitions into production for Ukraine and the US's Eastern European allies, industry sources told Reuters news agency. GLSDB could be delivered as soon as early 2023, according to a document reviewed by Reuters and three people familiar with the plan. Doug Bush, the US Army's chief weapons buyer, told Pentagon reporters last week that the Army was also looking at accelerating production of 155-millimetre artillery shells - currently only manufactured at government facilities - by allowing defence contractors to build them. (12:09 GMT) Ukraine's energy provider Ukrenergo says it is still short 27% of output after Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. (12:21 GMT) Seven foreign ministers from Baltic and Nordic countries travelled to Kyiv to support Ukraine as it struggles with power outages caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure. Lithuanian foreign minister Gabrielius Landsbergis posted a picture and wrote on Twitter: "We, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, are in Kyiv today in full solidarity with Ukraine. Despite Russia's bomb rains and barbaric brutality Ukraine will win!" (12:42 GMT) In its daily briefing, Russia's Ministry of Defence (MoD) says more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen were killed in a recent battle. In Dnipro, "eight armoured vehicles and five vehicles were destroyed during loading onto railway transport. In addition, more than 100 Ukrainian servicemen were killed," the update read. It added that Russian air defence systems destroyed seven Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the Luhansk, Donetsk and Kherson regions. (13:03 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry says it has summoned the Norwegian ambassador over what it said was the politically motivated arrest of Russian citizens for reportedly using drones illegally. "It was noted that the sentences against the Russians were politically motivated and had nothing to do with the principles of fair and impartial justice," the ministry said in a statement. Several Russian citizens have reportedly been arrested by Norwegian authorities for flying drones near the Arctic border between the two countries or taking photos of classified facilities as Norway boosts security after suspected sabotage on the two Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. (13:36 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has increased the threat from weapons of mass destruction, including chemical munitions, the head of the world's toxic arms watchdog says. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine, its chief, Fernando Arias, said at the regulator's annual meeting. "The situation in Ukraine has again increased the real threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons," Arias said at the meeting in The Hague. (13:57 GMT) Nuclear disarmament talks between Russia and the United States planned for this week in Cairo have been postponed, the Russian foreign ministry said in response to a question on Monday. Officials from the two countries were set to meet in the Egyptian capital from November 29 to December 6 to discuss resuming inspections under the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty. (14:17 GMT) Russia's Gazprom plans to preserve gas pumping equipment at the Portovaya and Slavyanskaya compressor stations, which supply the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines, the Kommersant newspaper reported. Neither of the Nord Stream pipelines is currently transporting gas. Nord Stream 1 was shut down for repairs on August 31 and never restarted while operations at the new Nord Stream 2 were never launched. (14:37 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke with his Dutch counterpart about defence cooperation and support for Ukraine. (15:04 GMT) India - which has built relationships with Ukraine, Russia and Western powers - is emerging as a possible mediator in the Ukraine war. At the recent summit of G20 leaders, India called for Moscow to end the war quickly. But New Delhi, which still relies on and buys Russian oil despite sanctions, has forged a closer bond with the aggressor nation during the conflict with growing trade. (15:38 GMT) Washington is ready to reschedule talks after Russia "unilaterally postponed" talks with the United States aimed at resuming nuclear weapons inspections that were set to take place in Cairo. The spokesperson for the US State Department said Washington was ready to reschedule at the earliest possible date the meeting of the Bilateral Consultative Commission under the US-Russia New START Treaty that was scheduled to begin on Tuesday. (15:54 GMT) Russia will likely continue attacking Ukraine's power grid, gas infrastructure and essential services for the people, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. "Doing that when we enter winter demonstrates that President (Vladimir) Putin is now trying to use ... the winter as a weapon of war against Ukraine," he told reporters at a news conference in Bucharest ahead of a two-day NATO foreign ministers' meeting. (16:20 GMT) Ukrainian state energy trading company EKU conducted a test import of one megawatt of power from Romania on Sunday, November 27, it announced. (16:45 GMT) Europe should double defence expenditure, says Estonia European countries should double their defence expenditure because of Russia's war in Ukraine, Estonia's foreign minister said, adding that his own country planned to raise national defence spending to 3% of gross domestic product (GDP). Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu made the comments in an interview with the Reuters news agency during a trip to Kyiv with six other foreign ministers.ne megawatt of power from Romania on Sunday, November 27, it announced. (17:27 GMT) Ukraine's military said Moscow had banned Ukrainian technicians who have refused to sign contracts with Russia's atomic energy firm from entering the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that Russian forces seized in March. The largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which is in Ukraine's partially-occupied southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia, has been operated by Ukrainian technicians throughout the war despite being under Russian control. "According to available information, starting today, the occupiers have forbidden entry to the territory of the Zaporizhzhia NPP to ... workers who refused to sign contracts with Rosatom," Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily war update. (17:30 GMT) A student newly discharged from Russian proxy forces in Ukraine says he was equipped with a Soviet-era bolt-action rifle, and had to share rations and a sleeping bag when first sent to the front. "At first we didn't have enough food. After that, everything was fine with supplies, they were completely sufficient, but at first we shared with each other. Helping each other, that was the only way," he told reporters. (17:53 GMT) Russian soldiers must be held accountable for raping Ukrainian women and committing other acts of sexual violence during Russia's war in Ukraine, the country's first lady, Olensa Zelenska, has told an international conference on preventing sexual violence in conflicts. Zelenska told the London summit that sexual violence was being perpetrated "systematically and openly" as the war in Ukraine drags on. Phone recordings have shown Russian soldiers openly discussing rape with their relatives at home, Zelenska said. (18:29 GMT) Nord Stream AG, the operator of the Russia-led Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline, has updated the end date of the unplanned outage at the Greifswald exit in Germany to April 1, next year. Nord Stream 1 was shut down for repairs on August 31, but never restarted and was subsequently damaged by explosions in September. (20:03 GMT) Power company DTEK has said controlled outages in Kyiv continued in the Ukrainian capital as a necessary step to balance the hobbled power system and avoid other breakdowns - while ensuring electricity to hospitals and heat-pumping stations. Only 42% of power was available to household customers in the city, and "we do our best to provide light to each customer for 2-3 hours twice a day", the company said. In response, Kyiv has rolled out hundreds of "Points of Invincibility", a defiant name for places where residents facing outages can get warm, charge phones, enjoy snacks and hot drinks, and even be entertained - through games, toys, or TV programmes. (20:53 GMT) Russian forces shelled 30 settlements in Ukraine's southern Kherson region 258 times in the past week, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. (22:03 GMT) Russia has announced that it was postponing highly anticipated arms control talks with the United States, scheduled to take place in Egypt despite tensions over the Ukraine conflict. "The session of the bilateral coordinating committee on the Russian-American START Treaty, previously scheduled to take place in Cairo between November 29 and December 6, will not take place on the dates indicated," a foreign ministry spokesperson told state-run news agency TASS. "The event is postponed to a later date," the spokesperson was cited as saying. No other details were provided. 20221129 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/29/russia-ukraine-live-news-alliance-wont-back-down-nato-chief (10:02 GMT) NATO foreign ministers meeting in Bucharest are focusing on ramping up military and assistance for Ukraine. Non-lethal aid will also be discussed, compromising goods such as fuel, medical supplies, winter equipment and drone jammers. "NATO will continue to stand for Ukraine as long as it takes. We will not back down," Stoltenberg said in a speech in Bucharest. (10:03 GMT) Russia's envoy has expressed Moscow's strong dissatisfaction with the Vatican following Pope Francis' latest condemnation of the "cruelty" of Russia's actions in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Francis had told the Jesuit magazine America in an interview: "When I speak about Ukraine, I speak about the cruelty because I have much information about the cruelty of the troops that come in. Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati and so on. Certainly, the one who invades is the Russian state. This is very clear." (10:10 GMT) Naftogaz has asked the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for help with additional natural gas volumes for winter, according to the Ukrainian energy company's company's chief. Meanwhile, DTEK, Ukraine's biggest private electricity producer, said it would reduce the electricity supply by 60% for its consumers in Kyiv as the national grid operator resumed regular emergency blackouts across the country. In Kherson city, which has lacked electricity and heat since Russian forces abandoned it earlier this month, regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said that 24% of customers now had electricity, including partial power in the city centre. (10:16 GMT) In an interview with Politico, Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said NATO countries must boost the production of weapons to support Kyiv, or risk Russia winning the war. If more weapons are not produced, he warned, "we won't be able to win - as simple as that". (10:27 GMT) China is looking to form a closer partnership with Russia on energy issues to ensure global energy security, President Xi Jinping said. (10:40 GMT) Ukraine is still struggling to restore full power nearly a week after a wave of Russian missile strikes that damaged energy facilities across the country. National power grid operator Ukrenegro said the electricity deficit had risen slightly from Monday following emergency shutdowns at several power plants and increased consumption as winter sets in. "As of 11:00 a.m. on November 29, electricity producers provide 70% of electricity consumption in Ukraine. The current capacity deficit is 30%," Ukrenergo said on Facebook and Telegram. (11:10 GMT) Air-raid alerts were issued across Ukraine, but there were no immediate reports of any new Russian missile strikes. While Kyiv sounded the all-clear, Ukrainian officials called for caution following a warning by Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Russia could be preparing new attacks almost a week after the last big wave of missile strikes. (11:29 GMT) More than two weeks after Russians retreated from Kherson, Ukrainian forces are uncovering sites where torture allegedly took place. Five such rooms have been found in the city, along with at least four more in the wider Kherson region, where people allege that they were confined, beaten, shocked, interrogated and threatened with death, police said. (11:50 GMT) Italy's ruling parties are preparing to vote on allowing the government to continue sending weapons to Ukraine throughout 2023, according to a draft amendment and a parliamentary motion seen by Reuters news agency. The proposal, still subject to approval, is under discussion at the upper-house Senate and would amend a decree passed earlier this month by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government. It would extend the authorisation to send "military assets, materials and equipment" until December 31, 2023. (12:21 GMT) Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from Bucharest, says, "there are a lot of plans on the table" at the NATO meeting of foreign ministers. "Stoltenberg is promising a wide range of measures to continually support Ukraine at this foreign ministers' meeting, there are a lot of plans on the table, but this is, of course, an organisation, an alliance of 30 states in which consensus is the rule," Simmons said. "Not all the states agree that military aid should be given to Ukraine so you have coalitions of the willing, so to speak." (12:34 GMT) Moscow says it had "no other choice" but to cancel talks with the United States over inspections under the "New START" nuclear weapons control treaty, Russian state-run news agencies reported. Deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said Washington had wanted to discuss resuming inspections while Moscow had other priorities. The situation in Ukraine also played a part in Russia's last-minute decision to scrap the meeting of the bilateral commission, which had been due to begin in Cairo on Tuesday. (12:50 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has reaffirmed the alliance's commitment to Ukraine, saying they will one day become a NATO member. <=== Stoltenberg's remarks came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his NATO counterparts gathered in Romania to discuss increased support for Ukraine as Moscow continues to bombard energy infrastructure. "NATO's door is open," Stoltenberg said. "Russia does not have a veto" on countries joining, he said about the recent entry of North Macedonia and Montenegro into the security alliance. He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will get Finland and Sweden as NATO members" soon. (13:18 GMT) In an interview with Al Jazeera, Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, has said it was not "smart" of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to accuse him of failing the capital's residents. "We have to defend the country. ... The Russians will be so happy if we start to fight inside the country. (13:48 GMT) Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin says a Zambian student who died in Ukraine had been fighting for his Wagner private military group. Russia previously notified Zambia that Lemekhani Nyirenda had been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine in September, prompting Zambia to ask Moscow for more details and an explanation of how he had ended up fighting in the war. (14:06 GMT) The US Department of State has approved a second arms sale to Finland within a month, helping Russia's Nordic neighbour in its bid to strengthen its defences due to the war in Ukraine, Finland and the United States said. After Russia invaded Ukraine in February, Finland's government decided to grant an additional 1.7 billion euros ($1.77bn) to arms and other defence material purchases this year alone. The State Department said the proposed sale of AIM 9X Block II tactical missiles, AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapons and related equipment for an estimated $323.3m would improve Finland's air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons capabilities. (14:19 GMT) Russia is signalling to the United States that increasing involvement in the Ukrainian conflict brings growing risks, state news agency TASS quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying. The Interfax news agency also quoted Ryabkov as saying, "We are sending signals to the Americans that their line of escalation and ever more profound involvement in this conflict is fraught with dire consequences. The risks are growing." (14:44 GMT) The International Energy Agency expects Russian crude production to be curtailed by about 2 million barrels of oil per day by the end of the first quarter of next year, its chief, Fatih Birol, told Reuters news agency on the sidelines of an energy conference. Birol added that Russia has lost Europe as its largest energy client "forever". (15:07 GMT) Ukraine has arrested a deputy head of Kherson's city council on suspicion of aiding and abetting Russian occupation forces, Ukraine's state prosecutor said. The prosecutor said the Kherson official, who was not named in the statement, cooperated with the occupation authorities and helped with the functioning of public services under the Russians. The official faces up to 12 years in prison under the allegations if prosecuted and found guilty. (15:21 GMT) The first shipment of Russian-produced fertiliser left the Netherlands to Malawi under a previously brokered United Nations export deal, a spokesperson for the UN secretary-general said in a statement. The spokesperson said that the shipment of 20,000 tonnes of fertiliser is the first of a series of exports destined for Africa in the coming months, adding that Tuesday's delivery will be sent to Malawi via Mozambique. Exports of 260,000 tonnes of Russian fertiliser products stored in Europe will be exported and "serve to alleviate humanitarian needs and prevent catastrophic crop loss in Africa, where it is currently planting season," a spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said. (15:32 GMT) The United States grants $53m to support the purchase of power grid equipment to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight Russian attacks targeting its energy infrastructure. (15:43 GMT) NATO foreign ministers pledged to support Ukraine and help repair its energy infrastructure amid a wave of Russian attacks that have knocked out power supplies and heating for millions of Ukrainians. "Russia's aggression, including its persistent and unconscionable attacks on Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure, is depriving millions of Ukrainians of basic human services," the foreign ministers said in a statement after the first day of talks in Bucharest. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/28/russia-wont-end-attacks-until-it-runs-out-of-missiles-zelenskyy (15:59 GMT) Ukraine urged its Western partners to supply it with air defence systems and transformers to brace Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure. "We need air defence, IRIS, Hawks, Patriots, and we need transformers," Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Bucharest, singling out various Western air defence systems. "If we have transformers and generators, we can restore our energy needs. If we have air defence systems, we can protect from the next Russian missile strikes. In a nutshell: Patriots and transformers is what Ukraine needs the most." (16:14 GMT) NATO powers must send modern battle tanks to Ukraine to give it a military edge against Russian forces during the winter, Lithuania's foreign minister says Kyiv has repeatedly asked NATO to supply it with state-of-the-art tanks as it seeks to consolidate gains it has made in counteroffensives in recent months. But Western powers have been reluctant to go down that road for fear it could raise the risk of direct conflict with Russia. (16:38 GMT) "In all areas, we note the highest level of toxicity and hostility from Washington," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram. "As part of the all-out hybrid war unleashed against us, almost every US step towards Russia is subject to a pathological desire to harm our country wherever possible." (16:58 GMT) The Polish government plans to charge Ukrainian refugees for food and housing after four months of staying in state accommodation. More than a million Ukrainian refugees made a temporary home in Poland, Ukraine's western neighbour, after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, relying on the kindness of strangers who opened up their homes and government aid. But resources are drying up, and refugees are having a harder time finding flats and getting support, with Poland facing a cost of living crisis and budget strains. (18:55 GMT) Former US ambassador to NATO, Robert Hunter has expressed his concern at the amount of military aid coming to Ukraine from NATO countries. "It is surprising that the alliance, and of course the United States, hasn't done more so far in terms of any missile defences," Hunter said while speaking to Al Jazeera from Washington DC. In response to Ukraine's foreign minister's earlier appeal at the Ukraine summit, Hunter said, "Faster, faster, faster, has to mean immediately, not something to be talked about and maybe done in a few months." (19:25 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron is heading to Washington for the first state visit of Joe Biden's presidency this week. Included in the long agenda for their Thursday meeting at the White House is Russia's war in Ukraine, as both Biden and Macron work to maintain economic and military support for Kyiv as it tries to battle Russian forces. Biden has so far steered clear of embracing Macron's calls on Ukraine to resume peace talks with Russia, something Biden has repeatedly said is a decision solely in the hands of Ukraine's leadership. (19:57 GMT) Germany has said that it will be providing Ukraine with more than 350 generators, after Russian missile strikes severely damaged Ukrainian energy infrastructure. Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke to Volodymyr Zelenskyy and said Germany would dispatch the generators, as well as provide financial assistance to repair energy infrastructure worth 56 million euros ($58m), government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said. 20221130 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/11/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-eu-to-set-up-war-crimes-tribunal (10:19 GMT) Europe should increase its presence in the Western Balkans to limit the influence of Russia, Italian foreign minister Antonio Tajani said ahead of the second day of NATO meetings in Bucharest. "The stability in Western Balkans is important for peace. We need to stop the Russians in the Western Balkans, we need more Europe," Tajani said. (10:21 GMT) Russian state media reported that Russian and Chinese warplanes conducted joint patrols over the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. The defence ministry said the aircraft acted in accordance with international law and did not violate the airspace of other countries, according to the RIA news agency. Earlier, South Korea's military said it scrambled fighter jets as six Russian and two Chinese warplanes entered its air defence zone without notice. Japan's military also said it had scrambled jets in response to flights over the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea, by Russian and Chinese aircraft. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the Chinese H-6 bombers repeatedly entered and exited the Korea Air Defence Identification Zone (KADIZ) near South Korea's southern and northeastern coasts early Wednesday. (10:21 GMT) The European Commission is exploring legal options with the EU's partners to use confiscated Russian assets to compensate Kyiv for damage to the country. Western officials have debated for months how to legally seize Russian assets held abroad that are frozen by sanctions. The problem is that in most EU member states, seizing frozen assets is only legally possible where there is a criminal conviction. "We have blocked 300 billion euros of the Russian Central Bank reserves and we have frozen 19 billion euros of Russian oligarchs' money," Ursula von der Leyen, president of the EU's executive, said in a statement. (10:22 GMT) The European Union will try to set up a tribunal, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by Russia. The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) launched its own investigation into alleged crimes against humanity, but it does not have jurisdiction to prosecute aggression in Ukraine. (10:23 GMT) "The situation at the front is difficult," said President Zelenskyy, in his late-night address. "Despite extremely big Russian losses, the occupiers are still trying to advance in the Donetsk region, gain a foothold in the Luhansk region, move in the Kharkiv region; they are planning something in the south. (10:45 GMT) The Ukrainian army has held off an advance by Russian troops at six different locations in the eastern Donbas region, the Ukrainian general staff in Kyiv said. All sections of the front in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions were under fire by Russian artillery, it added. Fierce fighting has been reported from the Donbas for a long time, (11:04 GMT) Al Jazeera's Andrew Simmons, reporting from the NATO meeting in Bucharest, says that its members are discussing reassuring Western Balkan countries dependent on Russia for their energy security. The primary countries are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Moldova. (11:19 GMT) Moscow has promoted the chief engineer of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to the top position, filling a position that has been vacant since October. Kyiv said Russian authorities had abducted the plant's boss Ihor Murashov. Russian nuclear agency Rosenergoatom announced that chief engineer Yuriy Chernichuk would become the plant's director. (11:33 GMT) Russia will pay special attention to building infrastructure for its nuclear forces in 2023, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said. Shoigu said in televised comments that Russia would also work to improve the combat capabilities of its missile forces and that facilities were being built to accommodate new missile systems. Russia has the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, with close to 6,000 warheads. (11:50 GMT) Ukraine's security service searched a monastery in the west of the country in what it said was an operation to counter suspected "subversive activities by Russian special services". The search in the Mukachevo diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Transcarpathia, was the latest in a series of raids in monasteries by the SBU to investigate church premises that may be used to hide Russian weapons or store banned items. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/23/ukraine-raids-1000-year-old-russia-backed-kyiv-monastery The historically Russian-backed wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church announced a formal severing of ties with Moscow in May but is still mistrusted by many Ukrainians and frequently accused of secret cooperation with Russia. (12:05 GMT) The upper chamber of Russia's parliament approved the resignation of Alexei Kudrin as head of the Audit Chamber, paving the way for him to take up a potential role at Russian technology giant Yandex. Kudrin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin throughout his career, becomes the highest profile government official to leave a post since the invasion. (12:23 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says NATO diplomats have given him a "number of new commitments" but declined to say whether that included Patriot missile batteries. Equipping Ukraine with arms and equipment to rebuild its damaged electrical grid to survive winter under Russian bombardment has been a top issue at the NATO meeting of foreign ministers. (12:41 GMT) Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin has said he discussed nuclear issues and Ukraine in a meeting with United States Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns earlier this month. Elizabeth Rood, charge d'affaires at the US embassy in Moscow, told Russia's RIA news agency this week that Burns "did not negotiate anything, and he did not discuss a settlement of the conflict in Ukraine". Naryshkin told RIA: "For my part, I confirm Ms Rood's statement. Additionally, I can note that the most frequently used words at this meeting were 'strategic stability', 'nuclear security', 'Ukraine' and 'Kyiv regime'." He also confirmed Rood's comments that the two countries had a channel to manage risks and that it could happen if there were a need for another such conversation. (13:01 GMT) Turkey says Sweden and Finland have made progress towards NATO membership but still needed to do more to satisfy Ankara's requests on tackling "terrorism". Sweden and Finland applied in May to join NATO in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Still, they encountered objections from Turkey, which accused the two Nordic countries of harbouring fighters from the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and other groups. Stockholm and Helsinki deny harbouring fighters but have pledged to cooperate with Ankara to address its security concerns fully and lift arms embargoes. "The two countries took some steps, we recognise them. But there have not been any steps on extradition requests and freezing terror assets," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told reporters at a NATO gathering in Bucharest. (13:20 GMT) Ukraine needs US-made Patriot missile defence systems to protect its civilian infrastructure, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, adding he would be working with the German government on this issue. On Tuesday, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev warned NATO against providing Ukraine with Patriot systems. Kuleba also said Ukraine would eventually become a member of NATO, saying that in the interim, its defence should be bolstered. (13:56 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry said that Sweden and Finland joining NATO could lead to an increase in militarisation in the Arctic region. Speaking at a briefing, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the two countries' accession to the alliance would mean "a significant increase in tensions" in the region. (14:23 GMT) Spanish police said an employee at the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid was injured in an explosion that occurred while he was handling a letter. The staff member suffered light injuries and went to hospital, the police added. (14:41 GMT) Russia must withdraw its heavy weapons and military personnel from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant if the United Nations atomic watchdog's efforts to create a protection zone are to succeed, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Kuleba met Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in Bucharest on Tuesday on the sidelines of a NATO ministerial meeting just days after meeting a Russian delegation in Istanbul. (14:54 GMT) How Ukrainians are dealing with the cold amid blackouts https://www.aljazeera.com/editorial/2022/11/30/winter-ukraine-reporters-notebook (15:22 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says it is vital to avoid any military confrontation between nuclear powers, even if it only involves conventional weapons, the TASS news agency reported. Lavrov also said the West was pushing Ukraine to continue fighting against Russia. "It is necessary to avoid any military clash between nuclear powers, even with the use of conventional weapons. The escalation may become uncontrollable," Lavrov said. (15:46 GMT) Russia's defence minister says the armed forces should use new advanced weapons systems in the conflict in Ukraine. "It is necessary to continue the modernisation and creation of promising systems with their subsequent use during the special military operation," Sergei Shoigu said at a defence ministry meeting of senior generals. Shoigu, one of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, did not specify which advanced weapons should be used, though he said he wanted to discuss with the general new ways of improving artillery and missile attacks. "New ways of using them in combat are being tested," Shoigu said, without giving specifics. Shoigu said that counter-battery fire was being improved in Ukraine by using long-range rocket systems, such as Tornado-S and high-power "Malka" artillery systems. "This makes it possible to effectively hit foreign rocket and artillery systems," Shoigu said. (15:59 GMT) Russia's central bank says, from January 1, it plans to cancel several support measures for Russian banks that were introduced following the imposition of Western sanctions after Moscow sent its troops into Ukraine in February. In a statement, the regulator said it will extend some measures, including on reserve requirements, but will force banks to resume disclosing their financial statements and will not extend a relaxation in the open foreign currency position rules. (16:22 GMT) Britain unveiled a new round of sanctions on Russian officials, imposed on those accused of spearheading recent mobilisation efforts and the recruitment of "criminal mercenaries". The new package of 22 sanctions hit Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, who London said is responsible for overseeing the country's weapons industry and equipping newly mobilised troops. It also covered 10 governors and regional heads in places including Dagestan, Ingushetia and Kalmykia, from where it noted: "a significant number" of conscripts have been drawn. (16:42 GMT) Russia's central bank says it is extending restrictions on trading some foreign shares that have been blocked by international settlement depositories until April 1, 2023. (17:39 GMT) The United States is "deeply concerned" about detained American Paul Whelan in Russia, and has not been able to get information from Moscow on his whereabouts or condition, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has said. (17:43 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that Russia could no longer win the war in Ukraine on the battlefield. Speaking at the Berlin Security Conference, Scholz also said that Germany took Russia's nuclear rhetoric seriously but would not be cowed by it. (17:55 GMT) Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) officials found weapons and Russian cash after searching properties around Kyiv linked to a pro-Russian former politician, the agency has said. In a statement, the SBU said its searches of homes and offices belonging to Yevhen Murayev, who it said was "hiding from justice abroad", and his associates were part of a criminal investigation into treason. Murayev's political party and a television channel under his control were seen as vehicles for Kremlin interests in Ukraine before Moscow's February 24 invasion. The party, Nashi, was banned after Russian forces swept into Ukraine. Murayev had promoted views that aligned with Russian narratives on Ukraine, including that the 2014 Maidan protests in Kyiv were a Western-backed coup and the Kremlin-fuelled war in eastern Ukraine that followed was an internal conflict. (19:12 GMT) The export arm of Russia's Gazprom has denied it was in breach of contract regarding gas supplies to Germany's Uniper, after Uniper launched arbitration proceedings in a bid to claim back some 11.6 billion euros ($12.02bn) in extra costs over undelivered gas supplies. Gazprom said it intended to defend itself and did not recognise the legality of Uniper's claims. (19:17 GMT) Russia's central bank has said it plans to cancel from January 1 a number of support measures for Russian banks introduced following the imposition of Western sanctions. 20221201 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/1/russia-ukraine-live-news-the-west-missed-their-chance-lavrov (10:21 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the United States and NATO are participants in the Ukraine war because of their support to Kyiv. Lavrov told a news conference that Washington and NATO were involved in the war because they were supplying arms to Ukraine and providing it with military training on their territory. In televised comments, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the West had a real chance to avoid conflict in Ukraine but chose to disregard Russian proposals to halt NATO enlargement and agree on a particular security status for Kyiv. But the West says Russia's proposals made in the run-up to the Ukraine war were unrealistic and insincere. Lavrov says big problems had accumulated in the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), accusing the West of spurning the chance to make the European security watchdog a natural bridge with Russia after the Cold War. Lavrov made the comments at the start of a news conference, during which he aired out Russian historical grievances against the West, saying the "reckless enlargement" of NATO had devalued the basic principles of the OSCE. Sergey Lavrov has accused NATO of starting tensions near China in a way that posed risks for Russia. "The South China Sea is now becoming one of those regions where NATO is not averse, as they once did in Ukraine, to escalating tensions," Lavrov told a news conference. "We know how seriously China takes such provocations, not to mention Taiwan and the Taiwan Strait, and we understand that NATO's playing with fire in these regions carries threats and risks for the Russian Federation. It is as close to our shores and to our seas as Chinese territory," he said. Lavrov said that is why Russia was developing military cooperation with China and conducting joint exercises. "The fact that NATO members under the leadership of the United States are trying to create an explosive situation there, in the wake of Europe, is well understood by everyone," he said. Lavrov said that the United States had created an "existential" threat to Russia from Ukraine. He said Russia had never walked away from contacts with the United States but had not heard any "substantive ideas" from its US counterparts. Lavrov also accused NATO of trying to drag India into what he called an anti-Russian and anti-Chinese alliance at a time when he said the West was attempting to squeeze Russian influence out. Lavrov called recent comments on Ukraine by Pope Francis "un-Christian" and hard to understand. In an interview with the Jesuit magazine America, the pope said: "Generally, the cruellest are perhaps those who are of Russia but are not of the Russian tradition, such as the Chechens, the Buryati and so on. Certainly, the one who invades is the Russian state. This is very clear." Lavrov said such statements were un-Christian and unclear. "He divided two peoples from the Russian Federation into a category from which you can expect cruelty," he said. (10:21 GMT) Russian forces have tried to make further advances in the Donetsk region and shelled several towns, including Bakhmut and nearby Soledar and Opytne, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said on Wednesday night. In the south, they said, Russian forces took up defensive positions and trained tank, mortar and artillery fire on Ukrainian positions and in Kherson city. (10:25 GMT) Ukraine dismissed the deputy chief engineer of its Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, accusing him of collaborating with Moscow's forces and treason, the Energoatom state nuclear energy company said. The statement was published a day after Russia said it had promoted the engineer Yuriy Chernichuk to serve as the director of the vast nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine. (10:26 GMT) Spanish police are investigating a letter bomb sent to an airbase outside Madrid, a day after a letter bomb exploded at the Ukrainian embassy, injuring an employee. Government officials said the explosive package was detected on Wednesday evening at an arms factory in the northern Spanish city of Zaragoza, making grenade launchers Spain has sent to Ukraine. The blast at the embassy took place when an employee opened a letter addressed to the ambassador. The employee suffered a minor injury. (10:42 GMT) The Kremlin has condemned the European Union's calls to hold a war crimes tribunal over Russia's actions in Ukraine, saying it would be illegitimate and unacceptable to Moscow. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on Wednesday the EU would try to set up a specialised court, backed by the United Nations, to investigate and prosecute possible war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine. "As for attempts to establish some kind of tribunal: they will have no legitimacy, will not be accepted by us, and we will condemn them," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a briefing call with reporters. (12:13 GMT) Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of the separatist Donetsk region, says Moscow and Kyiv would hand over 50 prisoners of war (PoWs) each in the latest exchange between the two sides. (12:27 GMT) The Russian embassy in Spain has posted a statement on Twitter condemning "any threat or terrorist act" in relation to the five letter bombs sent to government offices, private companies and the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid. "Any threat or terrorist act, particularly directed at a diplomatic mission, are to be totally condemned," the statement said. (12:48 GMT) Ukraine's military says Russia pulled some troops from towns on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River from Kherson city. Ukrainian officials stressed that Russia had intensified shelling across the river, knocking out power again in Kherson, where electricity had only begun to be restored. Since Russia abandoned Kherson last month, the river now forms the entire southern stretch of the front. (13:00 GMT) Air raid alerts were issued across Ukraine following warnings by Ukrainian officials that Russia was preparing a new wave of missile and drone attacks. "An overall air raid alert is in place in Ukraine. Go to shelters," the country's border service wrote on Telegram. (13:20 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba met the EU foreign policy head Josep Borrell and called for more sanctions on Russia. (13:41 GMT) Ukraine's military says it has found fragments of Russian-fired nuclear-capable missiles with dud warheads in west Ukraine, whose apparent purpose was to distract air defences. Mykola Danyliuk, a representative of the Ukrainian armed forces' research unit, told a briefing that missile fragments that fell in the western regions of Lviv and Khmelnytskyi on October 31 had been identified as parts of Kh-55 cruise missiles. The Soviet Union designed the Kh-55 in the 1970s for use on strategic targets. But Danyliuk said Russia had not used the Kh-55 in Ukraine before October 31. "The uniqueness of the missiles discovered was that they were equipped with a non-explosive warhead," Danyliuk said. "We can state that the launch of these missiles is intended to ... distract the attention of Ukraine's air defence system and tire it out, while modern Russian rockets ... are fired on critical infrastructure objects". Danyliuk added that all the Kh-55 missiles discovered had their serial numbers scratched. (13:55 GMT) The Spanish prime minister received a booby-trapped letter last week which was "similar" to one which exploded at Ukraine's embassy in Madrid, officials said. Security staff carried out a "controlled explosion" of the mailed item, whose "content was similar" to that found in other letters sent to the Ukrainian embassy, an air force base, the defence ministry and a military equipment firm. The envelope, "containing pyrotechnic material" and addressed to Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, arrived by regular mail on November 24, the interior ministry said. (14:14 GMT) The European Union is discussing a price cap on Russian seaborne oil at $60 per barrel, with a review every two months, yielding to pressure from some countries to lower the lid, diplomats said. Last week, the Group of Seven nations (G7) proposed a price cap on Russian oil to diminish Moscow's revenues and its ability to finance its war in Ukraine by $65-70 per barrel. The cap, if agreed upon, is to take effect from December 5. (14:48 GMT) European Council President Charles Michel is once again urging Chinese President Xi Jinping to use the country's "influence" on Russia over its war in Ukraine during a visit to Beijing. Ukraine took up "a lot of time" during their three-hour meeting at Beijing's Great Hall of the People, where trade, climate, human rights, COVID-19 recovery, Xinjiang and Taiwan, were also discussed, Michel told reporters via video link from Beijing. "I urged President Xi, as we did at our EU-China summit in April, to use his influence on Russia to respect the UN charter," Michel said. (15:15 GMT) Americans fear that Russia's invasion of Ukraine could lead to a knock-on effect in Europe and possibly influence China to do something similar in Taiwan, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to a national defence survey, while Americans support the US government sending weapons and providing financial support for Kyiv, they have less trust in their military leadership. In total, the survey found that 57% of respondents said the US needs to continue supporting Ukraine, while 33% said they should focus on domestic issues and avoid angering Russia. The US has sent more than $19bn in military aid to Ukraine this year, which 39% of Americans said was the right amount. (15:41 GMT) President Emmanuel Macron called for France and the United States to be "brothers in arms" at the start of a state visit to the White House, where President Joe Biden and a military honour guard greeted him. Emphasising the history of the US-France alliance, Macron said, "We bear a duty to this shared history as war returns to the European soil following Russia's aggression against Ukraine. And in light of the multiple crises our nations and our societies face, we need to become brothers in arms once more". (16:12 GMT) Kyiv's mayor tells residents to stock up on water, food and warm clothes in case of a total blackout. Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko warned that the temperature in homes could drop rapidly due to "a blackout and the destruction of infrastructure and a total absence of electricity, water supply, drainage and heat supply". "The temperature in the apartments may not differ much from the outside temperature," he told a security forum in Kyiv, where temperatures are approximately -4 degrees Celsius. (16:28 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry and the head of Ukraine's presidential administration swapped 50 service personnel each in the latest prisoner exchange between the warring sides. (16:53 GMT) The European Union needs patience with its sanctions on Russia as most measures will only have an impact in the medium and long term, Lithuania's prime minister said in an interview at the Reuters news agency's NEXT conference. "My message is - we need to have patience. Because there are no sanctions that can switch Russia off overnight. It is not possible, we should not look for this," Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said. She said there was a broad agreement among NATO members not to pressure Ukraine to negotiate and called on NATO to provide air defences to not only eastern NATO members but also to Ukraine. (17:26 GMT) Police in Spain detonated a suspicious parcel discovered at the US Embassy in Madrid, Spanish officials have said, a day after a similar package sent to the Ukrainian Embassy ignited upon opening and injured an employee. (17:32 GMT) The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) stance shows that Europe's top security and rights watchdog is losing its meaning, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said, according to Russian news agencies. Peskov had been asked whether Russia might quit the pan-European body. (18:05 GMT) Russia has put into effect a new version of its foreign agents law that expands authorities' powers to consider anyone under "foreign influence" to be an agent of another country. "Foreign influence is considered to be 'the provision of support by a foreign source to a person or influencing a person including by coercion, persuasion or other means'," according to a statement from the Duma, the lower house of parliament. The law obliges organisations to publicly identify themselves as being foreign agents; media outlets designated as agents must run a lengthy statement to that effect with their stories. (18:10 GMT) US President Joe Biden and visiting French leader Emmanuel Macron have declared that they would not let up on support for Ukraine's war against Russia and pledged to hold Moscow responsible for war crimes. The two reaffirmed "support for Ukraine's defense of its sovereignty and territorial integrity, including the provision of political, security, humanitarian, and economic assistance to Ukraine for as long as it takes." (18:44 GMT) France and the United States agree on the need to continue to support Ukraine in its war against Russia and will be there in order to build peace, once the moment is right, Macron said at a joint news conference with his US counterpart on Thursday. "When the moment is right and under conditions for their territories which will be determined by the Ukrainians, we will be there to help building peace," Macron said. (19:04 GMT) Germany is ready to contribute more to the Organisation for Security and Co-Operation (OSCE) if Russia attempts to block the 57-member security bloc's budget, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said. (19:10 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said that it was too early to make conclusions about continuing talks on Poland's request to move Patriot systems offered by Germany to Ukraine. "We all agree on the urgent need to help Ukraine, including with air defence systems," said Stoltenberg in Berlin at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. However, he added, "It is important to understand that this is not only about delivering new systems but ensuring the systems that are being delivered can operate," including having enough ammunition, spare parts and maintenance. (19:15 GMT) US President Joe Biden said he's willing to talk with Vladimir Putin - but only if the Russian president was willing to discuss ending his country's war in Ukraine. "I'm prepared to speak with Mr Putin, if, in fact, there is an interest in him deciding he's looking for a way to end the war. He hasn't done that yet," Biden said at a White House news conference after talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. Biden also said he would only speak to Putin in consultation with NATO allies. Otherwise Biden said that "I have no immediate plans to contact Mr Putin." Meanwhile, Macron pledged not to push Kyiv into any peace talks with Russia that it did not agree with. "We will never urge the Ukrainians to make a compromise that will not be acceptable for them," he said. (20:07 GMT) The Kremlin has condemned a call by a top European Union official to create a special court to prosecute possible war crimes by top Russian officials in Ukraine, saying any such body would be illegitimate and unacceptable to Moscow. (20:50 GMT) Italy put a refinery run by Russian oil giant Lukoil into provisional state supervision to avoid its closure and guarantee energy supplies, a government source has told the AFP news agency. The ISAB refinery is one of the biggest in Europe and was in danger of having to cease production because of the European Union embargo on the import of Russian crude oil by sea, which comes into force on December 5. (21:00 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces have lost somewhere between 10,000 and 13,000 soldiers so far in the war against Russia, presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has told a Ukrainian television network. The remarks appeared to be the first estimate of dead since late August, when the head of the armed forces said nearly 9,000 military personnel had been killed. He added more soldiers had been wounded than had died. (21:43 GMT) Ukraine will move to impose limitations on religious organisations in the country that have links to Russia, Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. "The National Security and Defence Council has instructed the government to propose to [parliament] a bill on proscribing activities in Ukraine by religious organisations affiliated with centres of influence in Russia," Zelenskyy said. 20221202 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/2/russia-ukraine-live-blog-shelling-in-kherson-leaves-three-dead (10:30 GMT) Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin has said Europe is reliant on the US for its own security. "I must be brutally honest with you; Europe isn't strong enough right now. We would be in trouble without the United States," Marin told an audience at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia. She added she had spoken with many US politicians who said they thought Europe should be stronger. "The United States has given a lot of weapons, a lot of financial aid, a lot of humanitarian aid to Ukraine and Europe isn't strong enough yet," Marin said. "We have to make sure that we are building those capabilities when it comes to European defence, European defence industry." (10:40 GMT) Russian-installed authorities in the Kherson region said they would start evacuating some people with reduced mobility from the Russian-occupied town of Kakhovka, on the east bank of the Dnieper river. The evacuations were set to start on Saturday, they said in a Telegram post. (10:41 GMT) The head of the UN watchdog said he hopes to reach an agreement with Russia and Ukraine to create a protection zone at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant by the end of the year. "My commitment is to reach a solution as soon as possible. I hope by the end of the year," Rafael Grossi told the Italian newspaper La Repubblica in an interview. "Our goal is to avoid a nuclear accident, not to create a military situation that would favour either one party or the other," Grossi said. (10:42 GMT) The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations to secure Russia's interests, but a mutual basis for talks is difficult as the United States does not recognise its "new territories". US President Joe Biden said on Thursday that he was prepared to speak to Putin if the Kremlin chief was looking for a way to end the war. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about Biden's remarks, "The president of the Russian Federation has always been, is and remains open to negotiations in order to ensure our interests. "The most preferable way to achieve our interests is through peaceful, diplomatic means," Peskov said. (10:51 GMT) European Union countries will consider a plan for a gas price cap lower than what Brussels proposed, a document seen by Reuters news agency showed. Last week, the European Commission proposed a gas price cap that would come in if a key gas price exceeded 275 euros ($289) per megawatt-hour for two weeks and was 58 euros ($61) higher than a liquefied natural gas reference price for 10 days. Some countries criticised the original EU proposal, including suggestions it was designed with such a high price and with criteria so strict that the cap would never be triggered. On Friday, countries will consider a revised proposal by the Czech Republic, which would lower the limit to 264 euros/MWh and require prices to remain above that level for five trading days instead of two weeks to trigger the cap. (10:56 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 282 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-282 (11:20 GMT) Russia's RIA news agency reported that Russia had outlined its position on creating a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and is awaiting a response. "Our representative at the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, is actively working, we all understand, but now the decision is not on the Russian side, not in Moscow," Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev said. (11:40 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin told German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in a phone call that the German and Western line on Ukraine was "destructive" and urged Berlin to rethink its approach, the Kremlin said. It said Putin defended Russia's missile attacks on targets in Ukraine and that Russia should be allowed to participate in investigations into what it called the "terrorist" attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. (11:48 GMT) As pro-Russian propaganda continues to ruin rife, for some, the war is causing deeper familial divisions over picking a side. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/2/how-russias-war-tears-families-and-friends-apart (12:17 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak says the EU's proposed price cap on Russian oil would not affect production in December, Interfax news agency reported. He said Russia believes its oil will be in demand, although there is a lot of uncertainty. EU talks on setting the Russian oil price cap will continue on Friday in Brussels as countries debate how low the limit should be. The price would be revised regularly and include an adjustment mechanism to keep the cap at 5% below the market price, according to Reuters news agency. As it stands, the EU has tentatively agreed on $60 per barrel, but Poland has argued that it is not low enough. (12:57 GMT) The Ukrainian government will create a law banning churches affiliated with Russia to prevent Moscow from being able to "weaken Ukraine from within". (13:13 GMT) A Ukrainian official said that Ukrainian embassies and consulates in six European countries have recently received packages containing animals' eyes. Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Oleh Nikolenko wrote on Facebook that the "bloody parcels" were received by the Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, and by consulates in Naples, Italy; Krakow, Poland and the Czech city of Brno. He said that "we are studying the meaning of this message." Nikolenko quoted Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying, "We have reason to believe that a well-planned campaign of terror and intimidation of Ukrainian embassies and consulates is taking place." (13:26 GMT) Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former NATO chief, has told Al Jazeera in an interview that the alliance should speed the "delivery of weapons to Ukraine". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/2/rasmussen-kyiv-has-sole-right-to-decide-timing-of-ceasfire-talks (14:07 GMT) British TV presenter Bear Grylls is meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv for an upcoming programme on how the president was coping as the war enters its 10th month. (14:37 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry said it was "outraged" by a statement from the French foreign ministry that supported plans to create a possible war crimes tribunal. In a statement, Moscow's foreign ministry said, "We demand that French diplomats, who are so attentive to human rights issues, not divide people into 'right' and 'wrong', 'ours' and 'not ours'." (14:52 GMT) UN-appointed investigators are investigating whether Russia's attacks on critical infrastructure in Ukraine amount to war crimes. Russia has been heavily targeting Ukraine's electricity infrastructure since early October, causing blackouts and leaving millions without heating as temperatures plummet. Russia says the assaults are not aimed at civilians and are meant to reduce Ukraine's ability to fight and push it to negotiate. (15:09 GMT) The European Commission will propose to fine companies at least 5% of their worldwide turnover if they break EU sanctions against Russia. The proposal, which needs approval from the European Parliament and member states, also said that individuals breaking sanctions would face potential jail terms of at least five years. (15:31 GMT) Russia says the West's demands that it should pull out completely from Ukraine as part of any talks to end the war effectively rule out negotiations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov reiterated that Russian President Vladimir Putin remains open to talks, but the Western demand that Moscow first withdraws its troops from Ukraine is unacceptable. (15:48 GMT) Hungary's prime minister says he will continue to oppose an EU plan to provide an 18 billion euros ($19bn) aid package to Ukraine in 2023. In an interview on state radio, Prime Minister Viktor Orban acknowledged that Ukraine needs help to pay for the functioning of essential services but emphasised that he would block the EU's plan of joint borrowing to fund the package. "The question is how to help Ukraine," Orban said. "One proposal says that we should use the budgets of the EU member states to take out new loans together and use that money to give to Ukraine. We are not in favour of this because we do not want the European Union to become a community of indebted states instead of a community of cooperating member states." Orban instead proposed that EU member states draw from their own budget to provide assistance to Ukraine through bilateral agreements. (16:10 GMT) The Russian-imposed administration in Kakhovka said bedridden or physically disabled people would be taken to the Henichesk district to the southeast. "Take care of yourself and those close to you!" it said in a Telegram post, encouraging people to register for the evacuation. Russia last month abandoned the west bank, including the city of Kherson, which means the Dnieper River now forms the front line of the war in the south of the country, with both sides exchanging heavy fire from positions on opposite banks. Authorities are also encouraging people to leave parts of the east bank and promising that those who do so will be well looked after elsewhere. In another post on Friday, the Kakhovka Telegram channel published what it said was a message from an unnamed evacuee praising the welcome they had received in the Russian coastal town of Anapa. (16:37 GMT) Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he expects a "clear picture" of the war in Ukraine by early next year. (17:13 GMT) European Union countries have reached an agreement to cap the price of Russian seaborne oil exports at $60 a barrel. Poland, the only holdout in the 27-member bloc, agreed to the deal, paving the way for it to be formally approved by the EU over the weekend. (17:52 GMT) Russian troops in Ukraine are deliberately attacking the country's museums, libraries and other cultural institutions, according to a report issued by the US and Ukrainian chapters of the international writers' organisation PEN International. (18:04 GMT) The White House has welcomed news that the European Union was "coming together" on a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, and said the deal should help limit Russian revenues. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said that "crippling Russia's energy revenues is at the core of stopping Russia's war machine". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said that the $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil agreed to by the EU would significantly reduce Moscow's revenues. (18:23 GMT) Ukraine has received its first delivery of a HAWK air defence system from Spain, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said after a meeting with his Spanish counterpart Margarita Robles in Odesa. More HAWK anti-aircraft equipment from Spanish stocks are to follow, and Ukrainian soldiers are already being trained on the system in Spain. This medium-range air defence system, which originated in the United States, entered service in the early 1960s and has been repeatedly modernised. (18:37 GMT) The United States has added Russia's mercenary Wagner Group to its religious freedoms blacklist. "These actions sow division, undermine economic security, and threaten political stability and peace. The United States will not stand by in the face of these abuses," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement (18:53 GMT) A deal aimed at safeguarding Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is close at hand, Rafael Grossi the head of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. (19:50 GMT) The family of Paul Whelan, who was imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges, has confirmed he has resumed contact with them after more than a week of silence that caused alarm at the White House. Whelan is a former United States marine who worked as a corporate security executive. According to his lawyer, he was arrested in Moscow in December 2018 after being handed a flash drive containing classified materials that he did not know about. He was convicted in 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/2/former-us-marine-imprisoned-in-russia-makes-contact-with-family 20221204 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/3/ukraine-updates-russia-will-sell-oil-amid-dangerous-price-cap (10:24 GMT) Ukrainian embassies and consulates in six European countries received "bloody packages" containing animals' eyes, after a series of letter bombs were sent to sites in Spain, including Ukraine's embassy in Madrid. The "bloody parcels" were received by the Ukrainian embassies in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia and Italy, as well as by consulates in Naples, Italy; Krakow, Poland; and the Czech city of Brno. "We are studying the meaning of this message," said foreign ministry spokesman Oleh Nikolenko. "It's a very strong signal." (10:25 GMT) Russia said that it will continue to find buyers for its oil despite "dangerous" attempts by Western governments to put a price cap on its exports. The Group of Seven (G7) nations, Australia and the European Union agreed on a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil, aiming to curb Russia's ability to finance its war against Ukraine through energy sales. Russia's embassy in the United States criticised the decision on Telegram, saying it was the "reshaping" of free market principles but its oil would continue to be in demand. (10:26 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 283 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-283 (10:27 GMT) The price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil agreed to by Western countries should be lowered to $30 per barrel to hit Russia's economy harder, a senior Ukrainian presidential aide said. "This was everything that was proposed by the McFaul-Yermak group, but it would be necessary to lower it to $30 to destroy the enemy's economy quicker," Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, wrote on Telegram, referencing an international working group on sanctions. (10:27 GMT) US President Joe Biden does not intend to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin about ending the Ukraine war as conditions for such discussions currently do not exist, the White House said. "We're just not at a point now where talks seem to be a fruitful avenue to approach right now," national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. Russia said the West must recognise Moscow's declared annexation in September of "new territories" before any talks with Putin. (10:28 GMT) Kherson officials announced they would help citizens evacuate from parts of Russian-occupied territory on the east bank of the Dnieper River as battles escalate. Regional Governor Yaroslav Yanushevych said officials were temporarily lifting a ban on crossings to let Ukrainians living across the river to traverse during the daytime to a designated point. "Evacuation is necessary due to the possible intensification of hostilities in this area," he wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The liberated city of Kherson is on the west bank of the Dnieper, while the rest of the region is on the east bank and still under Russia's control. (10:42 GMT) Russia is likely planning to encircle the Donetsk region's town of Bakhmut with tactical advances to the north and south, Britain's defence ministry said. "There is a realistic possibility that Bakhmut's capture has become primarily a symbolic, political objective for Russia," the ministry said. The capture of Bakhmut would have limited operational value but it can potentially allow Russia to threaten Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. (10:58 GMT) Sweden has extradited a convicted member of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to Turkey as a step towards NATO membership amid Ankara's pressure, state media reported. Mahmut Tat was sentenced to six years and 10 months in jail for PKK membership in Turkey. He then fled to Sweden in 2015 but his asylum request was rejected. After Tat's arrival at Istanbul airport, he was taken by Turkish police and referred to court on Saturday, the private NTV broadcaster reported. iN May, Finland and Sweden announced their bids to join NATO. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/5/15/finland-announces-historic-nato-bid-sweden-expected-to-follow 11:11 GMT) Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it was "right" to support Ukraine during his assessmet of the first year of three-party coalition which has been overshadowed by the war in Ukraine. "Every day we see the destruction. Every day we follow how many people become victims of Russian bombs. And that's why it was right for us to support Ukraine, financially, for humanitarian reasons and also with weapons." (11:23 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba held a conference with Ukrainian ambassadors amid "threats" to the country's diplomatic missions. "As of today, there are 18 cases of threats in 12 countries: an attempted terrorist attack in Spain, packages with threats in the form of torn out animal eyes in Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Croatia, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, the Vatican, France, reports of mining in Kazakhstan, as well as a suspicious letter in the US," Kuleba wrote on Instagram. According to Kuleba, "terrorists are trying to intimidate Ukrainian diplomats and weaken and intimidate Ukraine" through such actions. (11:32 GMT) Police arrested a group of individuals who attempted to slice the mural by graffiti artist Banksy off a war-damaged wall in the city of Hostomel, near Kyiv, Ukraine. The group managed to slice off a section of board and plaster bearing the image of a woman in a gas mask and dressing gown holding a fire extinguisher on the side of a scorched building. The governor of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said in a statement that the image was still intact and police were protecting it. "These images are, after all, symbols of our struggle against the enemy ... We'll do everything to preserve these works of street art as a symbol of our victory," he said. (11:53 GMT) Estonia is boosting its defence capabilities by buying an advanced US rocket artillery system in the Baltic country's largest arms procurement project ever, defence officials said. NATO member and Russia's neighbour signed a deal worth more than $200m for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), including equipment such as ammunition and rockets as well as training. The first deliveries are expected to come in 2024. Estonia's Baltic neighbours Latvia and Lithuania either have or are currently in the process of acquiring their own HIMARS. (12:01 GMT) Photos: Ukrainians face hardship in recaptured Kherson https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/12/3/photos-residents-face-hardships-in-retaken-kherson (12:49 GMT) The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reports that Russia has lost 90,600 troops since the war started in Ukraine on February 24. They also wrote on Facebook that Russia has lost 2,917 tanks, 5,886 armored fighting vehicles, 1,906 artillery systems, 395 multiple launch rocket systems, 210 air defence systems, 280 aeroplanes, 263 helicopters, 1,572 drones, and 16 boats. (13:01 GMT) Russian forces continue to attack civilian infrastructure in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions during the past day, according to the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces. Russia launched five missile attacks, 27 air raids and 44 rocket launcher attacks on Ukrainian towns and cities, it said in a Facebook post. The targeted settlements were Soledar, Opytne, Nevelske, Krasnohorivka, and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast, as well as Chervonopopivka in Luhansk Oblast. The Ukrainian military repelled attacks near six towns and villages in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, it said, adding that Russian forces continue to attack Ukrainian troops in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka directions. (13:25 GMT) The United Kingdom's National Crime Agency (NCA) has arrested a "wealthy Russian businessman" on suspicion of money laundering and other offences. The unidentified 58-year-old was detained with two other men on Thursday by officers from the Combatting Kleptocracy Cell (CKC) at a "multimillion-pound residence" in London, the NCA said. He was arrested on suspicion of money laundering, conspiracy to defraud the Home Office and conspiracy to commit perjury, it said. All three have been released on police bail. (14:08 GMT) Russia "will not accept" the oil price cap of $60 a barrel imposed by the G7 and its allies on Russian oil, the state news agency quoted the Kremlin. "We will not accept this ceiling," TASS quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. He added that Moscow had prepared for the price cap and was quickly analysing it. Russia would then say how it would respond. Russian foreign officer Mikhail Ulyanov warned that Europe will have to live without their oil due to imposed price cap that Moscow rejects. Russia's permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Ulyanov, wrote on Twitter that "Europe will live without Russian oil". "Moscow has already made it clear that it will not supply oil to those countries that support anti-market price caps. Very soon the EU will accuse Russia of using oil as a weapon." (14:16 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will "in due time" visit the annexed Donbas region in east Ukraine, the Kremlin told Russian news agencies. "In due time this will happen, of course. This is a region of the Russian Federation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, without indicating when this could happen. In late September, Putin formally annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions that were partially occupied by Russian forces in east Ukraine. (15:11 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has suggested that the West should consider how to address Russia's security concerns if President Putin agrees to negotiations over the war in Ukraine. In an interview with French TV station TF1, recorded during Macron's state visit to the US last week, he said Europe needs to prepare its future security architecture. "This means that one of the essential points we must address - as President Putin has always said - is the fear that NATO comes right up to its doors and the deployment of weapons that could threaten Russia," Macron said. "That topic will be part of the topics for peace, so we need to prepare what we are ready to do, how we protect our allies and member states, and how to give guarantees to Russia the day it returns to the negotiating table," Macron said. (15:27 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has held talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Viktor Khrenin, the state-run Belta news agency said. The news agency reported that both sides discussed bilateral military cooperation and amended an agreement on the "joint provision of regional security". Russia and Belarus are formally part of a "union state" and are closely allied economically and militarily, with Moscow using Belarus as a staging post for its invasion of Ukraine. Although Belarus has said it will not enter the war in Ukraine, President Alexander Lukashenko has in the past ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border citing threats to Belarus from Kyiv and the West. (16:14 GMT) All European Union governments have completed the written approval of a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne oil, the European Commission has said, paving the way for its publication in the EU's Official Journal and entry into force on December 5. "The G7 and all EU Member States have taken a decision that will hit Russia's revenues even harder and reduce its ability to wage war in Ukraine," EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement. (17:08 GMT) Calling the price cap plan "a dangerous attempt by Western governments", Russia says that it will not affect the demand for Russian oil. Moscow has added that it will continue to find alternative buyers. (18:54 GMT) Zelenskyy says that the $60 price cap set on Russian oil agreed by the EU, G7 and Australia is not "serious" because it is "quite comfortable" for Moscow. It is "only a matter of time when stronger tools will have to be used anyway", Zelenskyy argued, adding, "It is a pity that this time will be lost." (19:42 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine at this time, a top US diplomat has said after meeting with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv. "Diplomacy is obviously everyone's objective but you have to have a willing partner," US Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said while visiting Ukraine. (20:18 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has accused Russia of "deliberate cruelty" in its war in Ukraine, saying Moscow is intentionally targeting civilians. "With deliberate cruelty, Russia is putting civilians and civilian targets in its gunsights," Austin told the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California. "Russian attacks have left children dead, schools shattered and hospitals smashed," he said. (21:13 GMT) Ukraine is slapping sanctions on 10 senior clerics linked to a pro-Moscow church on the grounds they agreed to work with Russian occupation authorities or justified Moscow's invasion, the security service has said. The sanctions will last for five years, freezing the assets of those on the list, blocking them from exporting capital from Ukraine and preventing them from owning land. 20221204 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/4/russia-ukraine-live-news-war-reaching-new-level-of (09:06 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin is not sincere about peace talks with Ukraine and is taking the war to a new level of "barbarism" by attacking the power grid, a top US diplomat has said. "Putin has taken this war ... into every single Ukrainian home as he tries to turn off the lights and the water and achieve what he couldn't on the battlefield," US Under Secretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland told reporters as she met senior Ukrainian officials in Kyiv. "Diplomacy is obviously everyone's objective but you have to have a willing partner. And it's very clear, whether it's the energy attacks, whether it's the rhetoric out of the Kremlin and the general attitude, that Putin is not sincere or ready for that." (09:06 GMT) Russia is considering how to respond to a price cap on its oil, the Kremlin has said, after the Group of Seven (G7) and Australia agreed on a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil. Moscow "will not accept this cap", RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. (09:13 GMT) The West should consider how to address Russia's need for security guarantees if Putin agrees to negotiations about ending the war in Ukraine, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. (09:31 GMT) A ship with Ukrainian wheat destined for Ethiopia has reached port, becoming the first vessel to sail as part of a push to send food to countries most vulnerable to famine and drought. Ukraine and allied nations launched an initiative to export $150m worth of grain to Ethiopia, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, DRC, Kenya, and Yemen. (09:47 GMT) Recent polling suggests support for the war in Ukraine is falling "significantly" among the Russian public, the British defence ministry has said in its latest intelligence update. The data indicated 55% of the population favoured peace talks, while only 25% claimed to support the ongoing conflict. Despite efforts on the part of Russian authorities to control the information environment, support has fallen sharply since April, when 80% of respondents were in favour of Putin's "special military operation". (10:11 GMT) US intelligence expects the slowed pace of fighting in Ukraine to continue over the next several months and sees no evidence that Ukraine's will to resist Russia has diminished, despite Moscow's crippling attacks on the Ukrainian power grid, Avril Haines has said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/4/us-intelligence-expects-slower-pace-of-ukraine-war-to-continue (10:49 GMT) The estimated cost of rebuilding Ukraine following the devastation caused by the Russian invasion will cost an estimated $1 trillion, according to Ukrainian authorities, and it keeps spiralling upwards. (11:10 GMT) Moldova's natural gas company Moldovagaz will start buying gas from domestic supplier Energocom while continuing to buy it from Russia's Gazprom, the head of Moldovagaz has said. Gas supplies are an ongoing source of tension between Russia and Moldova, which lies between southern Ukraine and Romania. Gazprom, Russia's state producer, withdrew its latest threat to cut supplies on November 28 but said it reserved the right to lower or halt flows in future if Moldova failed to make agreed payments. (11:27 GMT) Iranian and Russian security officials have reportedly met in Tehran to discuss unspecified military cooperation, according to official readouts from Iranian state media, the latest sign of deepening ties between the two countries. General Mohammad Bagheri, the chief of staff of Iran's Armed Forces, and Colonel General Alexander Fomin, Russia's deputy defence minister, might have discussed on Saturday the sale of Iranian drones and missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said. The meeting has not been reported in Russian media. (11:46 GMT) The Saudi Arabia-led OPEC oil cartel and allied producing countries, including Russia, are expected to decide how much oil to supply to the global economy, amid weakening demand in China and uncertainty about the effect of new Western sanctions against Russia that could take significant amounts of oil off the market. The 23-country OPEC+ alliance meets today, a day before the planned start of a European Union boycott of most Russian oil and a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian exports. (12:00 GMT) Lithuania has sent two more self-propelled howitzer 2000s back to Ukraine after repairing them. The tanks were delivered together with ammunition, the defence ministry in Vilnius said. Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anusauskas said on Twitter in late November that the two howitzers were being repaired in the EU and NATO country. A maintenance centre for combat vehicles was established by two major German arms manufacturers, Kraus-Maffei Wegmann and Rheinmetall. (12:17 GMT) Russia has been accused of scattering thousands of landmines across Ukraine's Donetsk region. Authorities there say it is extremely dangerous for people trying to return to their communities and for infrastructure repairs to take place. (12:45 GMT) More than 500 Ukrainian localities are without power following weeks of Russian air attacks on the electric grid, an interior ministry official said. "The enemy continues to attack the country's essential infrastructure. Currently, 507 localities in eight regions of our country are cut off from electricity supplies," First Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs Yevhen Yenin told Ukrainian television. "The Kharkiv region is the worst hit with 112 isolated villages," Yenin added. Another 90 villages were cut off in the Donetsk and Kherson regions, he said. (13:16 GMT) Emmanuel Macron has rejected criticism from right-wing nationalist leader Marine Le Pen and others that arms deliveries to Ukraine are weakening France's ability to defend itself against attack. Le Pen had said earlier to broadcaster CNEWS that France could not supply weapons to Ukraine for its defence against the Russian invasion at the expense of its own security. (13:38 GMT) Russia will not export oil that is subject to a Western-imposed price cap even if Moscow has to accept a drop in oil production, President Vladimir Putin's point man on energy Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said. (13:56 GMT) The Saudi-led OPEC oil cartel and allied producers including Russia did not change their targets for shipping oil to the global economy, amid uncertainty about the impact of new Western sanctions against Russia that could take significant amounts of oil off the market. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/12/4/opec-keeps-oil-targets-amid-weakening-economy-russian-sanctions (14:14 GMT) Germany's defence ministry has raised serious concerns about the planned purchase of United States-made F-35 fighter jets, part of the country's military modernisation drive, according to documents seen by AFP. Berlin announced in March that it would buy 35 of the warplanes made by Lockheed Martin to replace its ageing Tornado fleet, in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But the defence ministry has raised concerns about "delays and additional costs" in the nearly 10 billion euro ($10.5bn) purchase, according to a classified letter to parliament's budget committee. Risk factors range from upgrading work needed at airfields that will host the F-35s, to security requirements, and potential problems with approval for flight operations in Germany, it said. (14:33 GMT) The owner of an emerald ring estimated to be worth $50,000 to $70,000 has put the family heirloom up for auction to help Ukrainians, The New York Times reports. Mitzi Perdue, the widow of United States chicken magnate Frank Perdue, said the sale price would be donated to support humanitarian efforts in Ukraine, which she visited this year during the Russian invasion. The ring was given to her when Frank Perdue proposed marriage in 1988. He died in 2005. The ring was recovered from a shipwreck of a Spanish galleon that sunk in a 1622 hurricane near the Florida Keys. (14:50 GMT) A large number of refugees from Ukraine are likely to flee to Germany in the weeks ahead, the German ambassador to Britain says. "We are very concerned about that because these attacks on the energy infrastructure mean that many people in freezing temperatures might be forced to leave Ukraine, so we expect another wave of refugees in the coming weeks," Ambassador Miguel Berger said. (16:42 GMT) Russia is getting ready for a "massive attack" on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, according to Nataliya Gumenyuk, spokesperson for Ukraine's Southern Defence Forces. (17:11 GMT) There is currently no diplomatic solution to the war in Ukraine, a co-founder of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Russian rights organisation Memorial said. "I am absolutely convinced that there is not a diplomatic solution with [President Vladimir] Putin's regime, so long as it is still there," said Irina Scherbakova. "The solution that there will now be is a military one," added Scherbakova, who was presented with an award for her human rights work at a ceremony in Hamburg, Germany. There would ultimately be some form of diplomatic resolution to the conflict, she said, but according to her, "this diplomacy will only happen when Ukraine believes it has won this war and can set its terms". ( PJB: meaning: the west's goal is not Crimea, but regime-change in Russia. That they should be paying so much money and taking such risk implies to me that they want to deprive China of a nuclear-power ally, in preparation for the coming war with China. ) (17:48 GMT) A top Ukrainian presidential aide criticised Twitter owner Elon Musk for the billionaire's "magical simple solutions", citing ideas put forward by Musk on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Twitter content moderation. Mykhailo Podolyak listed "exchang foreign territories for an illusory peace" and "open all private accounts because freedom of speech has to be total", as examples of such suggestions. "[Elon Musk] prefers so-called magical 'simple solutions'," Podolyak wrote on Twitter, an apparent reference to self-described free speech advocate Musk's plans to reform Twitter, as well as a tweet in which he called for Ukraine to give up the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula in exchange for peace. Musk was praised in the war's early days for providing thousands of Starlink satellite internet devices, made by Musk's SpaceX, to Ukraine free of charge, but the friendship ran into difficulties in October when Musk voiced support for peace conditions rejected by Kyiv. 20221205 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/5/ukraine-live-kyiv-baltics-rebuke-macrons-security-guarantees (08:06 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron's suggestion the West should consider Russia's need for security guarantees if Moscow agrees to talks to end the war in Ukraine unleashed a storm of criticism in Kyiv and its Baltic allies. "Civilized world needs 'security guarantees' from barbaric intentions of post-Putin Russia," Podolyak said on Twitter on Sunday. (08:07 GMT) The Chinese foreign ministry has said Beijing will continue its energy cooperation with Moscow on the basis of respect and mutual benefit, following the European Union's agreement to impose a price cap on Russia's oil exports, Russia's RIA news agency reported. China has upped its purchases of Russia's Urals oil blends this year, which now trades at a steep discount to Brent, the global benchmark. (08:11 GMT) Russian fighter jets have significantly reduced their missions over Ukraine, according to a daily British intelligence bulletin. Currently, several dozen missions per day are still being flown. In March, there were up to 300 missions a day, the British Ministry of Defence said on Twitter citing intelligence. The Russian air force has lost more than 60 aircraft so far, including a Sukhoi Su-24 tactical bomber and a Sukhoi Su-25 ground fighter in the past week alone, it said. The statement claimed that the decline is likely due to the ongoing threat from Ukrainian air defences, limitations on available flying hours for Russian aircraft and deteriorating weather. (08:29 GMT) Russian-backed military officials in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region say nine people have been killed after Ukraine shelled the city of Alchevsk, the state-run TASS news agency reported. (08:30 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned against creating a new Cold War by dividing the world into blocs and called for putting all efforts towards building new partnerships in an opinion piece for Foreign Affairs magazine published online. (08:46 GMT) The price cap on Russian seaborne oil agreed upon by the European Union, the G7 and Australia has come into force. The cap of $60 per barrel, which has taken effect, is aimed at limiting Russia's ability to finance its war in Ukraine while making sure it keeps supplying the global market. (09:00 GMT) Komatsu Ltd, the world's second-largest construction machinery maker after Caterpillar Inc, has no immediate plan to withdraw from its Russian operations, it has said, but did not rule out exiting the country in the future. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, Komatsu, which also competes with Sany Heavy Industry and Hitachi Construction Machinery Co Ltd, halted shipments to Russia as well as local production but still offers maintenance services for its machinery already in the country. Komatsu has a manufacturing plant in Yaroslavl, Russia. (09:19 GMT) The head of US intelligence says Russian troops are running at a "reduced tempo" and suggests Ukrainian forces could have brighter prospects in coming months. Avril Haines, the US director of national intelligence, said her team was "seeing a kind of a reduced tempo already of the conflict" and expects both sides will look to refit and resupply, for a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive in the spring". "But we actually have a fair amount of scepticism as to whether or not the Russians will be, in fact, prepared to do that," said Haines, speaking to NBC's Andrea Mitchell. (09:39 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 285 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/240 (09:56 GMT) Finland's government has asked parliament to adopt NATO's founding treaty formally. "Our NATO membership moving forward is important for us Finns but also for NATO members," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference. (10:16 GMT) The Kremlin says the G7 price cap on Russian oil will destabilise global energy markets but not affect Moscow's ability to sustain its military operation in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was preparing how it would respond to the move by the G7 and allies to ban countries and companies from dealing with Russian seaborne exports of oil where the price is above $60 a barrel. Several Russian officials have previously said Moscow would not sell oil to countries that abide by the cap. (10:39 GMT) The United Arab Emirates and Ukraine are to start negotiations on a bilateral trade deal, expected to conclude by mid-2023, the UAE economy ministry said. The UAE has tried to remain neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war despite Western pressure on Gulf oil producers to help isolate Moscow, a fellow OPEC+ member. It would be the UAE's first type of deal with a European country, following more than $3bn in trade and investment pledges made during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the Gulf state in February 2021. (10:56 GMT) To cover its energy needs, Germany should negotiate with Iran on gas supplies, according to the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, Tino Chrupalla. "As the AfD, we represent an interest-driven foreign policy for the good of our country," Chrupalla told Sunday's edition of Die Welt newspaper. "If we want to compensate for a lack of Russian gas, we need every supplier. To be as independent as possible, we will also have to buy gas from Iran." Along with Russia, Iran has the largest gas reserves in the world. (11:16 GMT) Russia's recent mobilisation has increased its military threat in Ukraine as better-trained soldiers are now arriving at the front line, the commander of Ukrainian ground forces said. Russian forces, he said, were using a lot of old equipment because it had no other way of replenishing supplies, and they had made only slow progress around Bakhmut. "On the eastern front, the situation is very tense, the enemy attacks our units every day," General Oleksander Syrskyi told national television. (11:32 GMT) India will prioritise its energy needs and continue to buy oil from Russia, India's foreign minister has signalled as a G7-enforced price cap came into effect. Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar commented after visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock, as they discussed bilateral relations and Russia's war in Ukraine. Jaishankar said it is not right for European countries to prioritise their energy needs but "ask India to do something else". "Europe will make the choices it will make. It is their right," he told reporters. Jaishankar did not directly refer to the price cap but said the EU was importing more fossil fuel from Russia than India. (12:03 GMT) Ukraine says Russia unleashed a new barrage of missiles, with air alerts ringing out in many parts of the country. Sirens sounded in Kyiv and across much of Ukraine, causing people to head to bomb shelters as air defences went into action. (12:26 GMT) Explosions hit two airbases in Russia, RIA Novosti reported. One of the explosions reportedly happened at a base that houses nuclear-capable strategic bombers that have been involved in launching strikes against Ukraine. RIA reported that three servicemen were killed, six others injured, and a plane was damaged early on Monday when a fuel truck exploded at an airbase in Ryazan, in western Russia. Authorities in the Saratov region along the Volga River said they were checking reports about an explosion in the area of the Engels airbase, which houses Tu-95 and Tu-160 strategic bombers that have been involved in launching strikes on Ukraine. (12:46 GMT) Russia and China are ready to "resist emerging challenges and increasing external pressure" together, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during a video meeting with his Chinese counterpart. "Our countries have the same approach to many problems of our time," Mishustin said on Monday, according to a statement issued by Moscow. "Together we advocate the formation of a multipolar architecture of international relations, and we are ready to jointly resist emerging challenges and increasing external pressure." Mishustin said China needs a successful Russia and positive developments have taken place between the two countries economically, particularly in trade. (13:03 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov describes NATO as a "serious threat" to Russia and says the West's positions risk a "direct clash between nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences". Lavrov said he regretted the US had rejected talks with Moscow over "strategic stability" related to nuclear weapons and said that without direct negotiations between the world's two largest nuclear powers, the risk to global security would only grow. <=== (13:18 GMT) Russia's ESPO oil blend from the eastern port of Kozmino was selling for around $79 a barrel on Asian markets, almost a third higher than the $60 price cap imposed on Russian oil by the G7 and European Union, according to Refinitiv data and estimates from industry sources. Russia exports up to 65 million tonnes of its ESPO blend per year via the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean pipeline, including up to 35 million tonnes through the port of Kozmino. (13:42 GMT) According to the owner of major arms manufacturer Czechoslovak Group, it will take 10 to 15 years to refill Western weapons stocks after supporting Ukraine's army. Michal Strnad said Ukrainian forces are experiencing shortfalls of ammunition and Western governments are running down their arsenals because production capacity is limited. Strnad told the Reuters news agency that his firm is now responsible for about 25 to 30% of European output of NATO-standard 155mm artillery. "Artillery ammunition are very scarce goods today," he said. "I estimate it will take 10 to 15 years to refill [Western armies'] stocks" due to the war in Ukraine, he said. European governments have drawn on their own arsenals to support Ukraine, which Strnad said is firing 40,000 shells per week from several hundred Western-supplied howitzers. <=== (13:59 GMT) The latest wave of Russian missile strikes have killed two people in Zaporizhzhia, destroyed homes and caused major power outages, Ukrainian officials say. (14:43 GMT) President Vladimir Putin visited the Kerch bridge linking the annexed Crimean peninsula and southern Russia, news agencies reported. According to the reports, Putin took a ride in a car on the bridge, a showcase project of his rule, and spoke to the builders who were repairing the facility after it was damaged in a blast in October. (15:09 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has acknowledged the explosions at Russian military bases, and done so in a mocking way. On Twitter, Podolyak wrote: "The Earth is round - discovery made by Galileo. Astronomy was not studied in Kremlin, giving preference to court astrologers. If it was, they would know: if something is launched into other countries' airspace, sooner or later unknown flying objects will return to departure point". (15:24 GMT) Ukrainian air defences shot down most of the Russian missiles, and energy workers have already begun work on restoring power supplies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. (15:44 GMT) Russian strikes hit energy facilities in three Ukrainian regions but the nationwide power system remains functioning and intact, Ukraine's prime minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Telegram. (16:03 GMT) The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) denounced a European Union proposal to create a special tribunal to prosecute Russian war crimes, saying his court could effectively deal with war crimes. "The EU has misstated the law," Karim Khan told reporters. The Hague-based ICC launched an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine but cannot prosecute the crime of aggression, the act of invading another country, because the Russian Federation is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, the treaty that created the court. Khan has acknowledged that the ICC could not prosecute Putin for the crime of aggression, but high-ranking figures could be tried for war crimes or genocide. (16:23 GMT) Moldovan police found missile fragments in a region of northern Moldova near the border with Ukraine, state information portal Prima Sursa quoted the police as saying. Moldovan authorities did not immediately comment publicly on the incident, which was reported after Russia launched a new wave of missile strikes on Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko, responding to media reports about the incident, called for Kyiv to receive more missile defence systems from its allies. "This once again proves that Russian missile terror poses a huge threat not only to the security of Ukraine, but also to the security of neighbouring countries," he said in a statement. (17:34 GMT) The UN rights chief said he had met with activists in an underground shelter in Kyiv as missiles rained down, and called for an end to the "senseless" war. Volker Turk, who took over as the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in October, had been scheduled to meet with a number of human rights defenders in the Ukrainian capital, but then air sirens sounded and they had to move into an underground shelter. In a shaky video seen by AFP news agency, he was among a large group moving quickly along an alley and then down a flight of steps lined with cinder block walls as alarms wailed. The video as well as a picture that Turk tweeted out showed him and other high-ranking UN rights officers sitting in the cold, dark cellar, bundled up in winter coats. "Unbelievable that this is happening almost daily in Ukraine," he said in the tweet. "This must not become a new normal." (18:09 GMT) Ukrainian energy operator Ukrenergo has warned that emergency shutdowns would be applied across Ukraine as the country contends with the consequences of a new wave of Russian attacks. "Due to the consequences of shelling... to maintain the balance between the production and consumption of electricity, a regime of emergency shutdowns will be introduced in all regions of Ukraine. In priority, electricity will be supplied to critical infrastructure facilities," Ukrenergo said on Telegram. (18:36 GMT) Romania has started transporting natural gas to Moldova as the small, impoverished country bordering Ukraine struggles with an energy crisis. Gas started flowing on Saturday through a pipeline connecting Iasi in eastern Romania to the Moldovan border town of Ungheni, state news agency Agerpres reported, citing Romanian gas distributor Transgaz. The 43-kilometre pipeline, financed in part with EU aid, has a capacity of 1.5 billion cubic metres per year, which covers Moldova's annual needs. (19:02 GMT) The Biden administration is convening a virtual meeting on Thursday with oil and gas executives to discuss how the United States can support Ukrainian energy infrastructure, according to a letter seen by Reuters news agency. (19:30 GMT) A traffic jam of oil tankers is forming off the coast of Turkey after the start of the cap on prices of Russian crude, the Financial Times has reported. The report said four oil-industry executives claimed Turkey had demanded new proof of full insurance coverage for any vessels navigating its straits in light of the Russian oil price cap. A $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil took effect on Monday, the latest Western measure to punish Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The agreement allows Russian oil to be shipped to third-party countries using tankers from Group of seven (G7) and European Union member states, insurance companies and credit institutions, only if the cargo is bought at or below the $60 per barrel cap. (20:19 GMT) Infographic: How much oil does Russia produce? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/infographic-how-much-oil-does-russia-produce (20:53 GMT) The White House has said it was not surprised by Russia's reaction to the West's price cap on oil from the country. Spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre said the cap can be adjusted over time to prevent Russia from profiting from the war in Ukraine while keeping Russian crude in the market. 20221206 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFug2Wf3DcU Explosions have reportedly hit a Russian airbase far from the Ukrainian border, damaging two long-range bombers. Unverified videos of the blasts have been posted on a variety of Telegram channels. The blasts early Monday struck the airbase near the city of Engels, more than 600 kilometers inside Russian territory. The bombers damaged are said to be of the same type used to carry out airstrikes on Ukraine's infrastructure. Another explosion hit a military base near the Russian city of Ryazan. At least three people were reportedly killed after a fuel tank exploded. So far there has been no claim of responsibility for either of the blasts. (06:58 GMT) Russia has said it repelled a drone attack on an airbase in a region bordering Ukraine. "As a result of a drone attack in the area of the Kursk airfield, an oil storage tank caught fire. There were no casualties," governor Roman Starovoyt said on social media. On Monday, Russia's defence ministry said Ukraine "attempted to strike" the Dyagilevo airfield in the Ryazan region and the Engels airfield in the Saratov region with "Soviet-made drones". The drones were intercepted but debris fell and exploded on the airfields, the ministry added, killing three. The attacks on Monday, which were not confirmed by Ukraine, would represent the deepest into Russian territory since the invasion began. The Engels airbase near the city of Saratov, approximately 730km southeast of Moscow, houses bombers belonging to Russia's strategic nuclear forces. (07:05 GMT) What happened yesterday? Monday marked the 285th day of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/240 (07:45 GMT) Ukraine has warned of more emergency blackouts, particularly in the Kyiv region, after a wave of Russian missile attacks damaged energy infrastructure that had only just been repaired. The barrage of missiles, which plunged parts of Ukraine back into freezing darkness with temperatures below 0C (32F), was the latest in weeks of attacks hitting critical infrastructure. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/russia-launches-missiles-across-ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/6/ukrainians-face-emergency-blackouts-after-russian-missile-attacks (08:03 GMT) Latvia has said it was revoking the broadcast licence for exiled Russian independent channel Dozhd (Rain) for a series of violations including showing the annexed Crimea peninsula as part of Russia. "TV Rain will stop broadcasting on December 8," Ivars Abolins, head of the Latvian National Electronic Mass Media Council said on Twitter, adding: "The laws of Latvia must be respected by everyone". Latvian officials had earlier said it was probing the channel amid suspicions it was aiding Russian troops in Ukraine. (08:19 GMT) A price cap set by the Group of Seven (G7) as well as an outright ban by the European Union on Russian seaborne oil came into effect on Monday as the two blocs try to reduce the Kremlin's ability to continue financing the war in Ukraine. On Friday, the G7, EU and Australia agreed to set a limit on the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel. Back in May, the EU announced a ban on Russian seaborne crude oil. The 27-member bloc also said a ban on imports of refined petroleum products will be enforced from February 5. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/eu-ban-on-russian-oil-imports-and-g7-price-cap-comes-into-effect (08:34 GMT) VTB, the state-owned, second largest bank in Russia, has reported the largest cyber attack in its history. Officials said the bank was repelling the distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, in which hackers attempt to flood a network with unusually high volumes of data traffic in order to paralyse it. VTB said access to its mobile app and website could be hindered. Russian government entities and state-owned companies have been targeted over events in Ukraine, with the websites of the Kremlin, flagship carrier Aeroflot and major lender Sberbank among those to have seen outages or temporary access issues. (08:49 GMT) Russian installed officials in occupied areas of the Kherson region have urged the population to exchange their savings for Russian roubles. Payments in the Ukrainian national currency, the hryvnia, will end on January 1, head of the occupying forces Vladimir Saldo announced in a video on the Telegram messaging service on Tuesday. He cited the massive drop in the value of the hryvnia due to Ukraine's economic problems as the reason, saying the currency was "turning into paper." The capital of the region was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November, but Russian troops continue to occupy large portions of the Kherson region. The annexed regions of Luhansk and Donetsk already use the rouble. (09:17 GMT) Drone strikes on airbases in Russia on Monday, particularly one in the Ryazan region, just 150km from Moscow, have raised questions about the "depth" of the conflict, Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem reported from Moscow. While Ukraine has not yet confirmed it was behind the attacks, which also hit a base in Saratov region and killed three military personnel, they would represent the farthest strike into Russian territory since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24. Russia launched a series of missile strikes following Monday's attack. "There are questions over if this is the only response, or if there will be another kind of retaliation in a different way," Hashem said. (09:25 GMT) EU and Western Balkans leaders were meeting in Tirana, Albania to discuss the war in Ukraine and other regional issues, Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler reported from the Albanian capital. The summit is the first of its kind actually held in the Western Balkans, with EU leaders seeking to mitigate the risk of regional leaders, who have for years sought entry into the bloc, becoming "disillusioned with the EU", Butler reported. "There's no doubt that within the EU there are some divisions over enlargement," she said, while adding that the war in Ukraine has "certainly focused minds" on the issue amid concerns western Balkans countries could turn to Russia or China. (09:47 GMT) A third Russian airfield was on fire after two explosions were seen on Russia's air bases on Monday. Officials in the Russian city of Kursk, located closer to Ukraine, released pictures of black smoke above an airfield in the early morning hours of Tuesday after the latest raid. The governor said an oil storage tank there had been bombarded, but there were no casualties. Britain's ministry of defence said, "If Russia assesses the incidents were deliberate attacks, it will probably consider them as some of the most strategically significant failures of force protection since its invasion of Ukraine." (09:53 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu says Ukraine continued to shell the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, deliberately creating the threat of a possible nuclear catastrophe. Shoigu said Russian forces were taking "all measures" to ensure the safety of the nuclear power plant in the face of what he called "nuclear terrorism" from Kyiv. (10:08 GMT) The Kremlin says it agrees with the United States about the need for lasting peace in Ukraine but does not see the prospect of negotiations at the moment. "That the outcome should be a just and durable peace - one can agree with this. But as for the prospects for some sort of negotiations, we do not see any at the moment," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. He added that for talks to happen with potential partners, Russia would need to fulfil the goals of its "special military operation". (10:32 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron said it was "absurd" to stoke fear in France over the country's energy situation and reaffirmed France would get through this winter despite energy market tensions caused by Russia's war in Ukraine. "The role of public authorities is not to spread fear nor to govern by fear," said Macron, as he arrived at a summit of European Union and Western Balkans leaders in Albania. "We must not make people feel scared. We must stop all that," Macron also said. "We will get through this winter, despite the war," he added. (10:42 GMT) Russia is expected to receive 60 soldiers in a prisoner swap with Ukraine, a politician from Russia's ruling party said. "The Russian Ministry of Defence is conducting another exchange of prisoners of war today. Sixty Russian servicemen are returning home," State Duma deputy Shamsail Saraliev wrote on Telegram. (10:57 GMT) Zelenskyy has visited the front-line city of Sloviansk in the region of Donetsk, where Russian forces have been pressing an offensive for months, the presidency said. (11:13 GMT) Opposition representatives from five Russian regional councils have sent appeals urging President Vladimir Putin to issue a decree formally ending the partial mobilisation. The defence ministry announced the end of the call-up of 300,000 reservists on October 31, but the Kremlin said that no formal decree to cancel the mobilisation was needed. Emilia Slabunova, an opposition councillor in Karelia in northern Russia, said the absence of such a decree meant those already drafted could not leave the armed forces. She said commanders refused to discharge them, and appeals against such refusals in court led nowhere, as courts were siding with commanders, citing that Putin's September mobilisation decree still had legal force. (11:58 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu says the Russian Federation attacks various targets in Ukraine to crush its "military potential", Interfax reported. In a conference call, Shoigu said, "The Russian Armed Forces are inflicting massive strikes with long-range precision weapons on the military command and control system, defence industry enterprises, and related facilities to crush Ukraine's military potential." Shoigu added that Russian forces continued to "liberate" the Donbas, with more settlements coming under Russian control. "The Russian armed forces continue to liberate the Donbas. Recently, Mayorsk, Pavlovka, Opytnoye, Andreevka, Belogorovka Yuzhnaya and Kurdyumovka have come under our control", he said. (12:13 GMT) Ukrainian embassies in Romania and Denmark have received "bloody packages", Ukraine's foreign minister has said. Over the past week, Ukrainian embassies in several European countries have been sent packages containing animal eyes coated in a pungent liquid. In Spain, the embassy received a letter bomb which caused injuries to a security officer's hand. So far, no one has claimed responsibility for sending the packages. (12:54 GMT) Ukraine's military intelligence chief says Russia has enough high-precision missiles to conduct several more big air attacks on Ukraine before it runs out of stock. But, Kyrylo Budanov, head of the defence intelligence agency, said on national television that Russia's stocks were ending. Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said it carried out a large high-precision attack on Ukraine's military command system on Monday, the RIA news agency reported. (13:25 GMT) Hungary has vetoed an 18-billion euro ($18.93bn) financial aid package to Kyiv. Vetoing the aid package means EU member states must work out a more complicated technical plan to ensure aid can keep flowing to Kyiv in the new year. Many nations see Orban's tactics as a thinly veiled attempt to get the EU to release billions in regular funding and pandemic recovery cash that has been held up. Orban has previously angered the bloc's officials with his repeated criticism of EU sanctions targeting Russia for its war in Ukraine. (13:49 GMT) At least 20 oil tankers queueing to cross from Russia's Black Sea ports to the Mediterranean are facing more delays as operators race to adhere to new Turkish insurance rules added ahead of a price cap by the Group of Seven developed countries on Russian oil, industry sources said. Turkish maritime authorities issued a notice seen by the Reuters news agency last month asking for additional guarantees from insurers that the transit through the Bosphorus would be covered starting from December 2. The new rule was announced before a $60-per-barrel price cap was imposed on Russian seaborne crude this week. Western insurers are required to retain proof that Russian oil covered is sold at or below that price. The industry has a 90-day grace period to comply with the G7 plan. "Extra coverage from Russian P&I seems to be the way out for tanker operators," the shipping source said, referring to protection and indemnity insurance providers. "We'll see further delays if owners (or) operators can't provide the required guarantees." Millions of barrels of oil per day move south from Russian ports through Turkey's Bosphorus and Dardanelles straits into the Mediterranean. (14:02 GMT) The Russian-appointed mayor of Donetsk says Ukrainian shelling has killed "two civilians" after a blast on the youth centre. Alexey Kulemzin, the Moscow-installed head of the city, said on Telegram: "The terrible consequences of the shelling of the Donetsk City Youth Center. Two civilians died here. The Ukrainian fascists have nothing sacred left. They continue to kill women, old people and children in cold blood." (14:19 GMT) The European Commission is considering a ban on new investments in Russia's mining sector as part of a new sanction package to stop the Kremlin's ability to fund its war in Ukraine, according to the Financial Times. The ban would be part of a ninth European Union sanctions package that officials are planning to discuss with member states in the coming days, the newspaper reported. The sanctions could include export controls on civilian technologies suspected of supporting Russia's arms factories, a ban on transactions with three more Russian banks and targeted sanctions against 180 individuals, the report said. (14:35 GMT) Russia and Ukraine have exchanged 60 prisoners of war on each side in the latest series of such swaps. Russia's defence ministry said the 60 freed Russian soldiers would be flown to Moscow to receive medical care and psychological support. Ukraine's presidential chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, hailed the returning Ukrainians as heroes and said they included dozens who had held out in the city of Mariupol - including the besieged Azovstal steelworks - until Russia forced its surrender in May. "We continue to return the defenders of Mariupol - in today's 'list of 60' there are 34 of them, including 14 from Azovstal. Some are wounded, and will receive all the necessary help in Ukraine," Yermak said. (15:20 GMT) As oil becomes more expensive, could Europe adopt renewables? But experts have cautioned that Europe is not ready for change. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/6/ukraine-war-will-make-renewables-top-electricity-source-iea (15:43 GMT) The Czech Republic's Finance Minister Zbynek Stanjura has said that the European Union will push on with efforts to secure funds for Ukraine after Hungary vetoed a $19bn (18-billion euro) loan to Kyiv jointly financed by the bloc. "We will not be discouraged. Our ambition remains that we'll start the disbursement of our aid to Ukraine in January," said Stanjura. "This means we will be looking for a solution supported by 26 member states," without Hungary, he added. (16:07 GMT) Ukrainians allege abuse at Russian 'filtration' camps https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/6/ukrainians-allege-abuse-beatings-at-russian-filtration-camps (16:24 GMT) Attacks on Russian airfields have struck a psychological blow, and Moscow will have to think much more carefully about how to keep its long-range bombers safe, says a senior Western official. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the official told Reuters news agency that the attacks were the deepest inside Russia since the war began. "If it were them [the Ukrainians] ... it does show that they can operate in Russia at will, and that will deeply worry the Russians," one official said. "Psychologically, I think it strikes a blow." The Engels air base, near the city of Saratov and at least 600 km from the nearest Ukrainian territory, and two other airfields have been hit in the last two days by drone attacks. (16:40 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he has detected a more positive mood among European Union members on the prospect of Western Balkans countries joining the bloc compared to a few years ago. "I am quite sure that a new inclusive movement has arisen and that the scepticism that was formulated a few years ago by several member states has now mutated into a willingness to actively push this forward," Scholz told reporters after a summit on the potential accession of the six Balkan countries. (16:59 GMT) Russia is considering setting a price floor for its international oil sales in response to the G7 cap, Bloomberg News reported. The report added that Moscow is considering either imposing a fixed price for the nation's barrels or stipulating maximum discounts to international benchmarks at which they can be sold. The G7 price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into force on Monday to try and limit Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine, but Russia has said it will not abide by the measure even if it has to cut production. (17:14 GMT) The fastest way to peace in Ukraine is for Russia to withdraw the troops deployed, US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman said. <=== "Russia must remove all its troops from Ukraine - period," <=== Sherman said in Rome at an event hosted by LUISS university. She added Western states were succeeding in helping Ukraine resist against Moscow's "unprovoked" invasion and they must "stay the course." (17:30 GMT) Russia and China are trying to exert influence in the Western Balkans against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Will autocracies and the law of the strongest prevail? Or will democracy and the rule of law prevail?" von der Leyen said in Tirana as she arrived at the first summit of EU and Western Balkan leaders to take place in the region. (18:56 GMT) The EU's border protection agency Frontex has found no significant change in the number of people crossing Ukraine's border with the bloc, despite severe Russian attacks on the country's essential infrastructure. Over the past week, 229,542 people left Ukraine for an EU country, while 208,988 travelled in the opposite direction, Frontex tweeted. (19:19 GMT) The United States is not enabling or encouraging Ukraine to attack beyond its borders, the US Department of State said, after Ukraine demonstrated an apparent new ability to penetrate hundreds of kilometres deep into Russian air space with attacks on Russian air bases. "We are not enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We are not encouraging Ukraine to strike beyond its borders," Price told reporters, adding that the US is providing Ukraine with what it needs to use on its sovereign territory to defend itself. Kyiv did not directly claim responsibility for the attacks, but nonetheless celebrated them. Price said there was no confirmation the raids were carried out by Ukraine. 20221207 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-belarus-to-move-military-forces (10:32 GMT) The United States has neither encouraged nor enabled Ukrainians to strike inside Russia, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, repeating Washington's aim of ensuring Kyiv has the equipment to defend itself. A third Russian airfield was ablaze on Tuesday from a drone strike, a day after Ukraine demonstrated a new ability to penetrate hundreds of miles deep into Russian airspace with attacks on two Russian air bases. (10:33 GMT) Russian authorities are considering three possible responses to the G7 price cap, local media report. The first option is a complete ban on the sale of oil to states that supported the restriction, two sources from the Russian cabinet told the Russian daily Vedomosti. The second option is a ban on exports under contracts that include the price ceiling, regardless of the recipient country. Moscow is also discussing the possibility of an "indicative price" measure as a third option for determining the "maximum discount of Russian oil from the Urals to the benchmark Brent grade", banning sales that go under the maximum discount level, according to the report. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/5/eu-ban-on-russian-oil-imports-and-g7-price-cap-comes-into-effect (10:35 GMT) Belarus plans to move military equipment and forces on Wednesday and Thursday in a "counterterrorism" exercise amid fears that Russia could attack Ukraine from Belarus. "During this period, it is planned to move military equipment and personnel of the national security forces," the state BelTA news agency cited the country's Security Council as saying. "The movement of citizens (transport) along certain public roads and areas would be restricted and the use of imitation weapons for training purposes is planned." It was not clear where Minsk plans to move the troops to. (10:58 GMT) Russia has started extending its defensive positions along the border with Ukraine, the British Defence Ministry said in its latest intelligence update. Trench digging has been reported in the Belgorod border region since at least April, but the new constructions are more elaborate and "designed to rebuff mechanised assault," the ministry wrote on Twitter. (11:19 GMT) The Kremlin says a US military aid spending bill providing $800m to Ukraine was "confrontational" towards Russia. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "The document that has been adopted is of an extremely confrontational nature in relation to our country." The Fiscal 2023 National Defence Authorisation Act, or NDAA, authorises the additional spending for Ukraine's Security Assistance Initiative, an increase of $500m over US President Joe Biden's request earlier this year. The bill also suspends some restrictions on contracts for munitions to support Ukraine. (11:41 GMT) The Kremlin says there could be no question of any Russian involvement in an alleged far-right plot to overthrow the German state. "This appears to be a German internal problem," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "There can be no question of any Russian interference." German prosecutors said one of the suspected members had reached out to representatives of Russia, which they saw as its central contact for establishing a new order. They said there was no evidence the representatives had responded positively to the request. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/7/germany-arrests-25-people-accused-of-planning-armed-coup (11:59 GMT) Political consultations between Turkey and Russia will be held in Istanbul on Thursday and Friday to discuss regional issues, the Turkish Foreign Ministry has said. Delegations headed by Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal and his Russian counterpart Sergey Vershinin will address the Black Sea grain export deal, as well as regional issues such as Syria, Libya and Palestine, the ministry said in a statement. (12:30 GMT) Latvia has cancelled the TV licence of the Russian independent broadcasting station TV Rain after being labelled a threat to national security. Issues for the network began last week, when a correspondent, Alexey Korostelev, said during a segment on Ukraine: "We hope that we are able to help many servicemen, among others, with equipment or just elementary amenities at the front." The segment took on a life of its own, with some Ukrainians seeing the Korostelev package as sympathy for the war and others as a full endorsement of Russia's invasion. The liberal-leaning TV Rain, or Dozhd, moved to broadcasting from Latvia in July, after being forced to shut its Moscow studio. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/7/russias-last-independent-tv-channel-loses-licence-in-latvia 12:51 GMT) Pope Francis has compared the war in Ukraine to a Nazi operation that killed about two million people, mostly Jews, in the first years of World War II. Speaking to Polish pilgrims at his weekly general audience, Francis noted that the Catholic University of Lublin, in Poland, had recently commemorated the anniversary of Operation Reinhard. It was the code name for a secret operation in a part of occupied Poland which the Germans called the "General Government" area, that included territory now in Ukraine. (13:20 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was named Time magazine's "Person of the Year", along with "the spirit of Ukraine". Time's annual award was last given to tech billionaire Elon Musk in 2021. (13:46 GMT) Russian forces killed at least 441 civilians in the early days of the invasion, according to the United Nations human rights office OHCHR. 41 men, 72 women, 20 boys and 8 girls. (14:26 GMT) For the past week, suspicious packages have been sent to Ukrainian embassies across Europe, all bearing the address of a Tesla car dealership in the town of Sindelfingen in Germany, and usually sent from post offices without video surveillance, Ukraine's foreign minister said. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Facebook that 31 Ukrainian missions in 15 countries had received such packages in what he called a "campaign of terror against Ukrainian diplomats". (14:43 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia will fight to defend its interests using all available means. Putin spoke at a televised annual session of his Human Rights Council, where he said Western rights organisations viewed Russia as "a second-class country that has no right to exist at all". "This is what we are dealing with," Putin said. "There can be only one answer from our side - a consistent struggle for our national interests. We will do just that. And let no one count on anything else." He continued: "Yes, we will do this by various ways and means. First of all, of course, we will focus on peaceful means, but if nothing else remains, we will defend ourselves with all the means at our disposal." Putin was speaking in the 10th month of the Ukraine war, responding to comments by a member of the rights council who said Ukrainian forces were shelling residential areas of the Russian-controlled Donetsk region. (15:02 GMT) Putin says the fighting in Ukraine could last for a long time but there is no need to mobilise additional soldiers. "As for the duration of the special military operation, well, of course, this can be a long process," Putin said. But he said there was "no sense" in another round of mobilisation at this point, after a call-up of 300,000 reservists in September and October. Putin said that out of that total,150,000 were now deployed in Ukraine, of those, 77,000 were in combat units, with the remainder performing defensive functions. (15:17 GMT) The United States is very clear with Ukraine about accountability over weapons systems and its concerns over the escalation of the war with Russia, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. "We have been consistent on our concerns over escalation. We have not encouraged them to do that," Kirby told reporters after alleged Ukrainian drone raids on two airbases inside Russia Meanwhile, Kirby said the US had not seen evidence that Iran has transferred ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine. "We know that their defence industrial base is being taxed," Kirby said of Russia. ... We know that he's (Russian President Vladimir Putin's) having trouble replenishing specifically precision-guided munitions." (15:25 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says the risk of a nuclear war is rising but insists Russia has not "gone mad" and saw its own nuclear arsenal as a purely defensive deterrent. Nevertheless, Putin said Russia would defend its territory and its allies "with all available means", adding that it was the United States, not Russia, that had deployed "tactical" nuclear weapons in other countries. (15:49 GMT) A Ukrainian priest from a church affiliated with Russia is sentenced to 12 years in prison after being found guilty of assisting Russia, the Prosecutor General's Office said. The state prosecutors said the priest, from the Luhansk region, had been collecting information on equipment and weapons held by the Ukrainian military since mid-April. (16:14 GMT) President Biden's administration has added 24 companies and other entities which have supported Russia militarily, Pakistan's nuclear activities or supplied an Iranian electronics company to an export-control list. The entities, based in Latvia, Pakistan, Russia, Singapore and Switzerland, were added over US national security and foreign policy concerns, the Commerce Department said. The companies include Fiber Optic Solutions in Latvia, which produces fibre optic gyroscopes and other equipment and Russia's AO Kraftway Corporation PSC, which calls itself one of the biggest Russian IT companies. The Commerce Department also added four trading and supply companies in Singapore for supplying or attempting to supply an Iranian electronics company, Pardazan System Namad Arman. (16:38 GMT) Uzbekistan's energy minister says they will not agree to political conditions that would jeopardise its national interests after a Russian proposal for a "gas union" including the Central Asian country. Russia said it discussed a gas union with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan last month to support shipments between the three countries and other buyers, including China. It is part of a shift in Moscow's strategy since its invasion of Ukraine. (17:17 GMT) Russian and Belarusian athletes' qualification and participation at the 2024 Paris summer Olympics is still unclear and no date has been set for a final decision on the matter, International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has said. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February, many sports bodies have moved events and suspended Russian teams or athletes while sponsors ended contracts in protest against the war. (17:37 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has dismissed criticism by Ukraine's president about his office's preparations for a winter of Russian air raids, saying he believed it was driven by politics and that it looked "strange". "It looks strange when we are united against a single enemy, but we start to fight within the country," he said. (17:55 GMT) The European Commission has proposed a ninth package of sanctions on Russia, including adding almost 200 additional individuals and entities on the sanctions list. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a statement the EU also proposes to introduce sanctions against three additional Russian banks and also wants to impose new export controls and restrictions, particularly for dual-use goods including key chemicals, nerve agents, electronics and IT components. "We will make Russia pay for its cruelty." (19:00 GMT) An alleged Russian agent who was involved in US election interference efforts in 2020 has been charged with fraud and money laundering over purchases of high-end condominiums in California. The US Justice Department said Andrii Derkach, whose whereabouts remain unknown, hid his identity from banks as he spent $3.9 million to buy two Beverly Hills residences in 2013. Derkach, a wealthy member of the Ukraine parliament who the US says is a trained Russian intelligence operative, used the units for his family, according to the indictment. Derkach's father was director of the Ukraine Security Service, and he attended the Russian security ministry's intelligence academy before joining the Ukraine security service as well. In June, Derkach was accused by the Ukrainian government of supporting Russia's invasion and a warrant was issued for his arrest. (19:30 GMT) British tennis chiefs say they are "disappointed" at being fined $1m by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for banning Russian and Belarusian players from its events. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) came under pressure from the British government to impose a ban. Russian and Belarusian players were barred from all five tournaments that the LTA stages in the calendar of the ATP. While responding to the latest sanction, the LTA accused the ATP of a "lack of empathy" for the situation in Ukraine, saying in a statement: "The LTA is deeply disappointed with this outcome. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2022/4/22/discrimination-reaction-to-wimbledons-russia-belarus-ban (19:51 GMT) Russian forces have fired more than 1,000 rockets and missiles at Ukraine's power grid, which is still working despite taking major damage, Interfax Ukraine news agency cited a senior official as saying. Volodymyr Kudrytsky, chief executive of the Ukrenergo grid operator, also told a meeting arranged by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) that his officials were scouring the world for the complex equipment needed for repairs. (20:56 GMT) The Ukraine conflict has cast a shadow over a high-stakes UN summit on biodiversity in Montreal, as Western nations slammed the environmental destruction that has been brought about by Russia's invasion. The broadsides by the European Union and New Zealand - which spoke on behalf of other countries, including the United States - came after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Moscow of "ecocide" and of devastating his country's dolphin population. Russia fired back that the meeting was an inappropriate forum and accused its critics of attempting to sabotage a new global deal for nature. (21:14 GMT) US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo has told Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Sedat Onal in a call that the price cap on Russian oil does not necessitate additional checks on ships passing through Turkish territorial waters, the US Treasury Department said. A Turkish measure in force since the start of the month has caused a logjam by requiring vessels to provide proof they have insurance covering the duration of their transit through the Bosphorus strait or when calling at Turkish ports. "The UK, US and EU are working closely with the Turkish government and the shipping and insurance industries to clarify the implementation of the Oil Price Cap and reach a resolution," a British Treasury official said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/7/turkey-seeks-proof-of-insurance-from-russian-oil-tankers (21:28 GMT) Italy's most famous opera house, Teatro alla Scala, has opened its new season with the Russian opera "Boris Godunov," against the backdrop of about 30 Ukrainians protesting that the cultural event is a propaganda win for the Kremlin during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (21:36 GMT) The United States has denounced "loose talk" on nuclear weapons after Russian President Vladimir Putin mused on rising risks of nuclear war but said Moscow would not strike first. US State Department spokesman Ned Price said, "We think any loose talk of nuclear weapons is absolutely irresponsible." --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/7/is-ukraines-new-drone-a-game-changer-in-the-war On Monday morning, a deafening roar that sounded like a landing jet plane woke up a town spreadeagled in the flat steppes of the Volga River region. According to surveillance camera footage, a lightning-like flash followed by a thunderous explosion shook Engels, named after the philosopher and home to more than 300,000 people. It hit one of Russia's largest and most important military airfields that hosts strategic Tupolev Tu-160 and Tu-95 bombers. Moscow, blaming Kyiv, said they were carried out by "Soviet-made jet drones" that were shot down before reaching their targets. However, Russian comments about the "Soviet-made jet drone" offered a clue. The USSR has only developed one. The Tu-141 reconnaissance drone code-named "Strizh" (Swift) was made public in 1979, the year Moscow invaded Afghanistan. Almost 15-metres long, it has a rear-mounted delta wing with a span of fewer than four metres and weighs about six tonnes. Its speed is subsonic, about 1,100km per hour, and its range is about 1,000km The drone can rise up to six kilometres above the earth - but can also move at a mere 50 metres above it, significantly complicating the work of Russian air defence. Most importantly, the Strizh was produced in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, and the 2014 revival of its production may have been relatively easy. <=== In October, Ukroboronprom, Ukraine's state-run weapons consortium, said that it was developing a heavy drone that could carry almost 75 kg of explosives. No further details were available. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8urDm-x0rs 20221208 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/8/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukrainian-drone-shot-down-in-black-sea (10:28 GMT) Russia's fleet has shot down a Ukrainian drone over the Black Sea, according to the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, the largest city in the annexed Crimean peninsula. "This morning, a ship of the Black Sea Fleet shot down a UAV over the sea," Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev said on Telegram, referring to an unmanned aerial vehicle. The news comes after a drone hit Engels a third Russian airbase on Wednesday. (10:28 GMT) Restoring energy to Ukrainians will remain a priority item for the government, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Zelenskyy also said the biggest number of shutdowns would be in the capital, Kyiv, and its surroundings and the Lviv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava, Vinnytsia and Zakarpattia regions. (10:29 GMT) Russia says its troops are taking part in tactical exercises in Belarus amid fears that Moscow is pressing its ally to get more involved in the Ukraine war. In a statement, Russia's defence ministry said: "Servicemen of the Western Military District ... continue intensive combat training on the ranges of the armed forces of the Republic of Belarus." It added that "combat training events are held during both daylight and at night". "Servicemen are shooting from all types of small arms, as well as from mortars; they hone their skills in driving combat vehicles, pass psychological obstacle courses, study tactical medicine and other disciplines," the ministry said. (10:29 GMT) The Kremlin says its forces are still set on seizing parts of eastern and southern Ukraine that Moscow has "annexed". Asked about the goals of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia still has to "liberate" parts of the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. (10:31 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Sweden and Denmark have refused to include Russian authorities in their investigation into the two damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea. "Denmark and Sweden are afraid to let Russia in on the investigation because then the world would know who was responsible for the blasts," Maria Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said in a briefing. In October, Russia alleged that the UK was responsible for the damage, but the UK denies the claim. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/29/russia-says-uk-navy-blew-up-nord-stream-london-denies-claim (10:54 GMT) Ukraine enforces new emergency power cuts to try to repair damaged energy infrastructure, which the national grid operator says has caused significant supply shortages. It said the weather complicated the situation, with western regions facing frost, rain, snow and strong winds that were causing wires to ice over, but that the most difficult situation was in eastern areas where fighting has been fiercest. "In all regions, there is a lack of energy - up to a third of what is needed," said Oleksandr Starukh, the governor of the Zaporizhia region in southeastern Ukraine. (11:09 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 288 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-288 (11:32 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry says the primary goal of a proposed safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is to "stop Ukraine shelling". The plant has come under repeated shelling, prompting the IAEA nuclear safety watchdog to call for a demilitarised safety zone around the plant. (11:44 GMT) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) gained access to Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war last week and planned more visits in what it described as "important progress". "My expectation is that these visits lead to more regular access to all prisoners of war," the statement cited ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric as saying. (12:04 GMT) There will be no lasting peace in Ukraine until there is justice and human rights, the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties head Oleksandra Matviichuk says as she arrives in Oslo to receive the Nobel Peace Prize with fellow human rights campaigners from Belarus and Russia. (12:26 GMT) The Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) has detained a married couple suspected of spying for Russia in Odesa. An SBU statement did not name the couple but accused them of collecting intelligence for Russia about locations of possible military deployments and the movement of air defence units. It added that they were believed to be Russian military intelligence officers who were planning to create a network of agents in southern Ukraine. SBU officers found equipment with evidence of "hidden correspondence with the aggressor", it said. (12:45 GMT) The son of President Vladimir Putin's ally has been acquitted of violating Norway's drone law. Andrey Yakunin, who holds a dual Russian and a British passport, was arrested in Hammerfest, in Arctic Norway, on October 17, after he had sailed around the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and along the coast of Norway. When off Svalbard, two drones were used several times for flights over the archipelago. The 47-year-old had been filming with the drone while mountaineering, glacier walking and sailing. Under Norwegian law, it is prohibited for aircraft operated by Russian companies or citizens "to land on, take off from or fly over Norwegian territory". "It is very gratifying, but not at all surprising, that the district court has concluded that Andrey Yakunin has not committed any criminal offense in Norway," his lawyers, John Christian Elden and Bernt Heiberg, said in a statement. Yakunin is the son of Russian businessman Vladimir Yakunin, a longtime acquaintance of Putin, who was placed on the US State Department's sanctions list of Russian officials and businessmen following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014. (13:10 GMT) The European Union lacks "critical defence capabilities", the bloc's foreign policy chief says. Speaking at the annual European Defense Agency (EDA) conference in Brussels, Josep Borrell said that the EU needs to take more responsibility for its own security. "After the Cold War, we shrunk our forces to small-size armies without coordination ... We lack critical defence capabilities," said Borrell. "We have to compensate [for] years of underspending," he said. Although the EU's defence expenditure grew 6% in 2021 compared with 2020, the finding revealed that joint European defence spending is still below benchmark levels. (13:27 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it exchanged US basketball star Brittney Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in a prisoner swap. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/7/28/who-is-viktor-bout-man-at-centre-of-us-russia-prisoner-swap Russian news agencies reported that Bout's swap with Griner took place at Abu Dhabi airport. Paul Whelan, a former US marine, remains in custody. (15:07 GMT) Ukraine's GDP will fall more than expected this year due to Russian air raids on the country's energy infrastructure, according to central bank deputy governor Serhiy Nikolaychuk. (15:24 GMT) Finland will consider granting arms export permits to Turkey on a case-by-case basis, Finland's defence minister says while visiting Ankara. Finland and Sweden asked to join NATO in May in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their bids require the approval of all 30 member states. Turkey stands opposed to their membership, accusing the Nordic countries of hosting Kurdish fighters. "In principle, it is possible that going forward some permits can be granted," Kaikkonen said after meeting with his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar. Applications would be processed case by case as they arrive, he added. Finland must lift an arms embargo on Ankara as a condition for securing support from Turkey for its NATO bid, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday. (15:44 GMT) The family of Paul Wheelan, a former US marine who remains detained in Russia, say they are "devasted" he was not part of the prisoner swap with Brittney Griner. Biden said Russia was treating Wheelan's cases differently from Griners' "for totally illegitimate reasons". (16:08 GMT) Ukraine's economy ministry says an open selection process will be held to choose four independent members of the supervisory board of Naftogaz. The state energy provider, Naftogaz's supervisory board, has not been operating since September 2021 due to a dispute over the sacking of the company's then-chief executive, Andriy Kobolyev, and the rapid appointment of his successor, Yuriy Vitrenko. Oleksiy Chernyshov said on Wednesday that recent Russian attacks on Ukraine had damaged 350 natural gas facilities though production should be largely restored by year-end. He said the loss of gas production capacity amounted to around $700m. (16:32 GMT) The European Union is set to agree on new sanctions on Iran over human rights abuses and the supply of drones to Russia, France's foreign ministry spokesperson says. Speaking to reporters, Anne-Claire Legendre said foreign ministers would discuss new designations on individuals and entities involved in the crackdown on protesters in Iran and entities exporting drones to Russia. Iran has said it shipped several drones to Russia before the invasion. Russia denies its forces have used Iranian drones to attack Ukraine. The EU has already imposed two rounds of sanctions since October in the form of asset freezes and travel bans. (16:54 GMT) Germany's parliament will approve a 1.35-billion-euro ($1.4bn) purchase of 20,000 encrypted radios for its military on December 14, a person familiar with the matter said. The deal will also offer an option to buy another 14,000 radios for 1.5 billion euros ($1.58bn). The acquisition of the radios from German company Rohde & Schwarz is part of modernising the military's command and control system. It will be one of the first significant deals for the 100-billion-euro ($105.5bn) special fund set up after Russia's invasion of Ukraine will be used. (17:07 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he is convinced the United States will be able to call Sweden and Finland NATO allies soon and said Turkey's concerns about the two nations joining the alliance are being addressed. Blinken, speaking at a news briefing following meetings at the Department of State with his Swedish and Finnish counterparts, said that the two nations are already integrating into the work of the alliance. (17:19 GMT) Finland's foreign minister has said that many issues over Turkey's concerns over terrorism set out in a memorandum to allow Finland and Sweden to join NATO had been clarified though a date for ratification by Ankara remained missing. "What we are still missing is the clear date, a clear plan for the Turkish parliament to deal with this issue," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference with his Swedish and US counterparts during a visit to Washington. Turkey is one of two NATO members that have yet to ratify the accession of the Nordic countries. (17:29 GMT) The mother ams dealer Bout has thanked Russian President Vladimir Putin for her son's release as part of a swap with the United States. The release happened "thanks to our president," Raisa Bout said in televised remarks. "I am so grateful. A low maternal bow to the Russian foreign ministry with Lavrov Sergei Viktorovich at its helm," she said. She said she was also grateful to "kind people" in the United States, thanking them for having "faith". (17:41 GMT) Pope Francis was unable to hold back tears as he offered prayers for Ukraine during a traditional ceremony in central Rome. He briefly broke down during the afternoon ceremony at the city's Piazza di Spagna to mark the immaculate conception, a public holiday in Italy. (18:17 GMT) US President Joe Biden approved a prisoner swap for Griner last week, but the grant of clemency for Bout was not approved until Thursday, the White House has said. (18:21 GMT) Bout has arrived in Russia, according to state television. "Don't worry, everything is OK, I love you very much," he told his mother Raisa in comments broadcast by state television. He spoke to his family when his plane made a refuelling stop in Russia. (19:13 GMT) The release of Griner was negotiated between the United States and Russia only, the White House has said, refuting a Saudi Arabia claim it was involved. "The only countries that negotiated this deal were the United States and Russia," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said when asked about Saudi Arabia's role. "There was no mediation involved." (20:15 GMT) The Kremlin has said that the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula was vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks after officials said they had shot down a drone near a key naval base. The latest drone attack came after Russian President Vladimir Putin recently visited the Kerch bridge connecting Crimea with the Russian mainland to survey repair work. "There are certainly risks because the Ukrainian side continues its policy of organising terrorist attacks," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "But, on the other hand, information we get indicates that effective countermeasures are being taken." (21:10 GMT) United States Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has told reporters that the Biden administration had no reason to believe the Russian government was involved in a decision by Turkey to block ships from transiting to the Mediterranean Sea. Yellen also said the administration saw no reason that oil shipments from Kazakhstan should be subjected to new procedures. 20221209 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/9/russia-ukraine-live-news-west-is-exploiting-ukraine-putin 10:10 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says he will speak to Russia's Vladimir Putin on Sunday and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy to strengthen the United Nations-backed Black Sea grain deal. Erdogan was speaking at a conference in Istanbul, where Zelenskyy also spoke by video link. (10:11 GMT) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will skip an annual summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin, India's Economic Times Now reported. Modi and Putin met in September on the sidelines of a regional security bloc summit in Uzbekistan and have spoken on the phone several times this year, including on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Putin visited New Delhi in December last year for the 21st India-Russia annual summit. (10:14 GMT) Putin says Western nations' desire to maintain dominance on the world stage has increased the risks of conflict. "The potential for conflict in the world is growing and this is a direct consequence of the attempts by Western elites to preserve their political, financial, military and ideological dominance by any means," Putin said. Putin spoke to a summit of defence ministers from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and a group of ex-Soviet countries via video message. "They deliberately multiply chaos and aggravate the international situation," Putin said. He also accused the West of "exploiting" Ukraine and using its people as "cannon fodder" in a conflict with Russia. <=== (10:25 GMT) Russian forces shelled the entire front line in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials say. Near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, the region's governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said in a television interview that fighting was the worst. (10:49 GMT) The US plans to impose new sanctions against Russia and China, including punishing Moscow for using Iranian drones in its war against Ukraine, two US officials said on Thursday. The sanctions will also target about 170 Chinese entities for illegal fishing in the Pacific amid fears that China is using its fishing fleet to expand Beijing's maritime influence. The sanctions were first reported by the Wall Street Journal newspaper. Many of the sanctions will be under the Global Magnitsky Act, which authorises the US government to sanction foreign government officials worldwide. (11:23 GMT) Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin has been found guilty of spreading "fake information" about the army, Russian news agencies reported. While sentencing is due later in the day, prosecutors seek a nine-year sentence for Yashin, a Moscow district councillor said. Yashin was tried over a YouTube video in April where he discussed evidence uncovered by Western journalists of Russian war crimes in Bucha and cast doubt on the official Moscow version that reports had been fabricated as a "provocation" against Russia. (11:41 GMT) Ukraine's security service (SBU) has accused a senior Orthodox Christian cleric of engaging in antinational activity by supporting Russian policies in social media posts. The SBU said in a statement that an archbishop in a western Ukraine diocese had distributed posts that "humiliated the national honour and dignity of Ukrainians" and "contributed to the incitement of religious enmity and hatred". It accused the unnamed cleric of using an anonymous Facebook profile to spread "narratives of Russian propagandists". (12:01 GMT) Russia has told Zambia it had pardoned a Zambian prisoner who died on the front line in Ukraine, the Zambian foreign minister Stanley Kakubo said. Russia previously announced that Lemekhani Nyirenda had been killed on the battlefield in Ukraine in September, prompting questions on how he ended up in the war. Kakubo said Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov told him by telephone that Nyirenda was pardoned on August 23 to join the military in exchange for amnesty. "We were informed that Russia allows for prisoners to be provided an opportunity for pardon in exchange for participation in the special military operation," Kakubo said. (12:23 GMT) Diplomats from Russia and the US have met in Istanbul to discuss technical issues in their bilateral relationship, Russian state news agencies reported quoting Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov. The TASS agency said the two sides discussed "difficult questions", including visas, embassy staffing levels and the work institutions and agencies abroad, among other unspecified issues. He said it was a technical meeting and should not be seen as a sign the two sides were ready to resume discussing "major issues". (12:28 GMT) The Griner-Bout prisoner swap has been praised by pro-Kremlin Russians as a victory for Moscow and slammed by right-wing Americans, including former President Donald Trump. Mark Galeotti, a Russian security affairs analyst, told Al Jazeera via email: "There was considerable political pressure on the White House to get Griner out, and at the same time, the Russians wanted Bout released because he was probably an intelligence asset and they do still hold to the old, KGB-era promise that one way or the other, they get their people home." (12:46 GMT) Bulgaria will send military aid to Ukraine for the first time since the Russian invasion began. The list of arms Bulgaria will send to Ukraine is classified, but government officials have said Sofia would mainly send light weaponry and ammunition. Caretaker defence minister Dimitar Stoyanov said Bulgaria could not afford to send its Russian-made anti-aircraft missile systems or MIG-19 and SU-25 fighter jets, which Kyiv wants. "My approach has been conservative because I need to ensure the defence capabilities of Bulgaria. The aid is fully in line with Ukraine's priorities, but we are not sending S-300 systems, nor MIG-29 or SU-25 aircraft", Stoyanov told Nova TV. (13:20 GMT) Ukraine's finance minister says Western financial support is "not charity" but "self-preservation" in defending democracy as Ukraine repairs electrical and heating infrastructure damaged by Russian attacks. "It's not charity to support Ukraine," Sergii Marchenko said. "We are trying to protect freedom and democracy of all (the) civilized world." In an interview on Thursday, Marchenko told The Associated Press that he believes European Union officials will sort out a dispute with Hungary, who, last week, blocked an 18 billion euro ($18.97bn) aid package. (13:34 GMT) Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin was sentenced in court to eight-and-a-half years in prison on charges of spreading "false information" about the army. Yashin, 39 years old, was tried over a YouTube video released in April where he spoke about Bucha and cast doubt on the official Moscow version that such reports had been fabricated as a "provocation" against Russia. (13:51 GMT) Ukraine's atomic power agency accuses Russian forces of abducting two senior Ukrainian staff members at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Energoatom said the two seized at the Zaporizhzhia plant were beaten before being driven off in an "unknown direction" on Thursday. It said a third worker, responsible for safety at the plant, was detained. (14:18 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin pledges that any country that attacks Russia with nuclear weapons will be "wiped out". Putin said while Russia has no mandate to launch a preventative first nuclear raid, unlike the United States, Russia's advanced hypersonic weapons would ensure Russia could respond forcefully if it ever came under attack. Moreover, Putin said there was no need to call up additional troops to fight in Ukraine, as 150,000 recently conscripted fighters have yet to be deployed to the front line. (14:46 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia will likely have to reach agreements regarding Ukraine in the future but felt betrayed by the breakdown of the Minsk agreements. The parties to Minsk agreements, which led to the ceasefire agreements between Ukraine and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, had now betrayed Russia after supplying Ukraine with weapons, Putin said. In an interview published in Germany's Zeit magazine on Wednesday, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the Minsk agreements had been an attempt to "give Ukraine time" to build up its defences. Speaking at a news conference in Kyrgyzstan, Putin said he was "disappointed" by Merkel's comments. (14:55 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia, the world's biggest energy exporter, could cut oil production and refuse to sell oil to any country that imposes G7's "stupid" price cap on Russian oil. "As for our reaction, I have already said that we simply will not sell to those countries that make such decisions," Putin told reporters in a news conference in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek. "We will think, maybe, even about a possible, if necessary ... reduction in production." (15:20 GMT) Ukraine should continue to fight Russian troops, one of the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize said. Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties, Russian rights group Memorial and jailed Belarusian activist Ales Byalyatski won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize amid the worst European conflict since World War II. When asked whether Ukraine should enter into talks with Putin to end the war, the leader of the Ukrainian rights group said Kyiv would "never leave our people for torture and death in occupied territories. "So the West has to help Ukraine to resist and to liberate all temporarily occupied territories, including Crimea," Oleksandra Matviichuk told a news conference in Oslo. (15:36 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin said problems related to Russia's agricultural exports remained, with some Russian fertilisers still stuck in European ports. Russia has urged the United Nations to push the West to lift some sanctions to ensure Moscow can freely export its fertilisers and agricultural products - a part of the landmark Black Sea grain deal that Moscow says has not been implemented. (15:55 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says more US-Russian prisoner exchanges are possible if Moscow and Washington find a compromise. (16:17 GMT) According to an interview, the head of NATO expressed worry that the fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between Russia and NATO. "If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia," he said. "We are working on that every day to avoid that." Stoltenberg, the former prime minister of Norway, said in the interview that "there is no doubt that a full-fledged war is a possibility," adding that it was important to avoid a conflict "that involves more countries in Europe and becomes a full-fledged war in Europe". The Kremlin has repeatedly accused NATO allies of effectively being a part of the war. (17:25 GMT) A day after Washington traded convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout for WNBA star Brittney Griner, the White House has said that the United States will work with Russia to gain the release of Paul Whelan, who has been jailed for nearly four years. (17:45 GMT) Russia may return to some international sports events and Olympic qualifiers by competing as part of Asia rather than Europe. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has welcomed a "creative" plan to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to join competitions in Asia after more than nine months of isolation from most Olympic sports. (18:03 GMT) Kyiv says that southern regions of the war-scarred country are suffering the worst electricity outages days after the latest bout of systematic Russian attacks on the Ukrainian energy grid. Russia fired dozens of cruise missiles at key infrastructure in Ukraine on Monday (4 days ago), piling pressure on the country's already ailing grid after repeated attacks. The most difficult situation was "in Odessa and Kherson - the power grid was practically destroyed there," the head of Ukraine's grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi said. "Work in Kharkiv and Donetsk is also complicated," Kudrytskyi added. (18:19 GMT) Russia is trying to obtain more weapons from Iran, including hundreds of ballistic missiles, and is offering Tehran an unprecedented level of military and technical support in return, Britain's UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, says. Since August, Iran has transferred hundreds of drones to Russia, which has used them to "kill civilians and illegally target civilian infrastructure" in Ukraine, Woodward said. "Russia is now attempting to obtain more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles," she told reporters. "In return, Russia is offering Iran an unprecedented level of military and technical support," she said. "We're concerned that Russia intends to provide Iran with more advanced military components, which will allow Iran to strengthen their weapons capability." (18:42 GMT) The White House has announced a new $275m aid package to help boost Ukraine's air defences, against Russian drones, in particular. White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters the aid "will soon be on its way to provide Ukraine with new capabilities to boost its air defences and counter the threats that Ukraine is facing from drones." The United States has also expressed alarm about a "full-scale defence partnership" between Russia and Iran, describing it as "harmful" to Ukraine, Iran's neighbours and the world. (19:16 GMT) Russia is banning 200 prominent Canadians from entering the country in a direct response to personal sanctions announced by Ottawa, the foreign ministry in Moscow has said. Canada earlier announced sanctions against 33 current or former Russian officials and six entities involved in alleged "systematic human rights violations" against citizens who protested against the invasion of Ukraine. (19:37 GMT) Inflation has continued to slow in Russia, standing at less than 12 % in November year on year, after soaring to a 20-year high after the start of Moscow's assault on Ukraine, according to statistics. Last month, the rise in prices stood at 11.98%, down from 12.63 % in October, the Rosstat state statistics service said. (21:14 GMT) While battling accusations of violating international agreements, Russia's ambassador to the UN has said the weapons the West supplied to Ukraine have been falling into the wrong hands, not only in Europe but also in Africa and the Middle East. Al Jazeera's Kristen Saloomey reported Vasily Nebenzya as pointing to recent comments by the Nigeria's president, Muhammadu Buhari, who said weapons and fighters from Ukraine were making their way to the Lake Chad region, emboldening and helping violent groups there. 20221210 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/10/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-says-bakhmut-is-destroyed (12:30 GMT) Russian forces have "destroyed" the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "The occupiers actually destroyed Bakhmut, another Donbas city that the Russian army turned into burnt ruins," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. He did not provide further details. Some buildings remain standing in the city and residents are still milling about in the streets. Fighting heated up around Bakhmut after Ukrainian forces recaptured the southern city of Kherson nearly a month ago. Taking Bakhmut would rupture Ukraine's supply lines and open a route for Russian forces to press on toward Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, key Ukrainian strongholds in Donetsk. <=== From 1924 to 2016, the city was called Artemivsk(ru) or Artyomovsk (ukr) It's N of Donetsk and Gorlovka, SE of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk 48°35'41"N 38°0'3"E (12:40 GMT) The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine's Kherson region says that it has begun changing locally circulated Ukrainian hryvnia currency into Russian roubles, with hryvnia circulation in Moscow-controlled areas of the region to end on January 1. (12:49 GMT) Germany and France should pay compensation to residents of the Donbas region, State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has said in reference to comments made by former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In an interview with a German magazine, the ex-leader said that peace agreements aimed at ending the conflict in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014 had been an attempt to "give Ukraine time" to build up its defences. "Merkel's confession puts moral and material responsibility for the developments in Ukraine on Germany and France," Volodin wrote on his Telegram channel. "They will have to pay compensation to residents of the Donbass republics for the eight years of genocide and inflicted damage. This is just the beginning," he warned. (13:07 GMT) G7 price cap and ban on Russia’s seaborne oil kick in (13:26 GMT) A dozen countries including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have made a push to "significantly" lower a planned European Union cap on gas prices, as the bloc struggles to strike a deal on the measure, Reuters reports. EU countries are holding emergency negotiations as they attempt to line up a deal to cap gas prices at a December 13 meeting of their energy ministers - but states remain split over the plan. (13:39 GMT) Ukraine cannot achieve peace by "laying down its arms" against Russia, said Oleksandra Matviichuk as she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of Ukraine's Centre for Civil Liberties at a ceremony in Oslo. "The people of Ukraine want peace more than anyone else in the world. But peace cannot be reached by a country under attack laying down its arms," Matviichuk said. "This would not be peace, but occupation." Separately, the wife of the jailed Belarusian Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ales Byalyatski said Russia wants to turn Ukraine into a "dependent dictatorship" like Belarus, as she received the award on his behalf. "I know exactly what kind of Ukraine would suit Russia and Putin - a dependent dictatorship. The same as today's Belarus, where the voice of the oppressed people is ignored and disregarded," Natallia Pinchuk said, quoting her husband. (14:19 GMT) All non-critical infrastructure in Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa was without power after Russia used drones to hit energy facilities, local officials say. Much of the surrounding region has also been affected. "Due to the scale of the damage, all users in Odesa except critical infrastructure have been disconnected from electricity," Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov wrote on Facebook. A statement posted by the city administration on the Telegram app said Russian air strikes hit key transmission lines and equipment in the Odesa region early on Saturday. (14:28 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says fighting in Ukraine could spin out of control and become a war between Russia and the Western alliance. "If things go wrong, they can go horribly wrong," Stoltenberg said in remarks to Norwegian broadcaster NRK. "It is a terrible war in Ukraine. It is also a war that can become a full-fledged war that spreads into a major war between NATO and Russia. We are working on that every day to avoid that." Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, said in the interview that it was important to avoid a conflict "that involves more countries in Europe and becomes a full-fledged war in Europe". (14:51 GMT) Following the shelling of the Russian-controlled nuclear power plant in Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has rung the alarm, warning of a possible nuclear catastrophe. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3qlclje0QI (15:08 GMT) Iran's backing for the Russian military is likely to grow in coming months and Moscow will probably offer Tehran an "unprecedented" level of military support in return, the UK Ministry of Defence has said. The ministry's latest intelligence update said Iran has become one of Russia's top military backers since Russia invaded Ukraine in February and that Moscow was now trying to obtain more weapons, including hundreds of ballistic missiles. (15:42 GMT) Russian Nobel Peace Prize co-laureate Yan Rachinsky, the chairman of human rights organisation Memorial, has denounced Russia's "imperial ambitions" inherited from the ex-Soviet Union "that still thrive today". Putin and his "ideological servants" have hijacked the anti-fascist struggle "for their own political interests", he said, as he was honoured by the Nobel committee along with Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) and jailed Belarusian rights advocate Ales Bialiatski. (16:03 GMT) The northeastern city of Ekibastuz in Kazakhstan has descended into winter misery as countries around the globe struggle with energy shortages due to Moscow's assault on Ukraine. The city with a population of 150,000 people was left without heating for more than a week in temperatures that dropped to minus 30C (minus 22F), sparking anger. The Ekibastuz ordeal is just the latest in a long list of problems involving thermal infrastructure in the vast Central Asian country. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev lamented that the hydrocarbon-rich nation depends on imports from Russia. (16:10 GMT) Viktor Bout, an arms dealer called the "Merchant of Death", has praised Russian President Vladimir Putin and backed Moscow's war on Ukraine shortly after being released from a United States prison. On Thursday, Bout, who had served nearly half of his 25-year sentence, was freed in a prisoner swap for American basketball star Brittney Griner. Speaking to the Kremlin-backed RT channel in an interview released on Saturday, Bout said he kept a portrait of Putin in his prison cell. (16:48 GMT) Australia will place sanctions on Russia and Iran in response to "egregious" human rights violations, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong says in a statement. Seven Russians involved in what Wong said was the attempted assassination of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny would have human rights sanctions imposed on them. Australia is also placing further financial sanctions on three Iranians and one Iranian business for supplying drones to Russia to use in Ukraine. Since the start of the Ukraine war, Australia has sanctioned hundreds of Russian individuals and entities, including most of Russia's banking sector and all organisations responsible for its sovereign debt. (17:42 GMT) Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities in Ukraine's southern port city of Odesa, officials have said. Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said two power facilities in Odesa region were hit by Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones. Ukraine's armed forces said on Facebook that 15 of those drones, which carry an explosive payload and fly into their target, had been launched on targets in the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, and that 10 had been shot down. Odesa, Ukraine's largest port city, had population of over 1 million before the war. (18:01 GMT) Putin "does not want negotiations", says Oleksandra Matviichuk from the Ukrainian Centre for Civil Liberties. "Putin will stop only when he wants to stop. What he calls negotiations and some 'political' compromise means the life of our [Ukrainian] people because when we sent mobile groups to Bucha ... We found civilian bodies scattered around the streets until liberation. "It is occupation; we have the names of the things they are. Ukraine will never compromise with the lives of our people", she said. (18:21 GMT) Romania's navy defused a naval mine that had drifted close to the country's Black Sea shore, the defence ministry has said. Mines began floating in the Black Sea after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, and Romanian, Bulgarian and Turkish military diving teams have been defusing those drifting in their waters. The ministry said the navy was alerted by a Turkish cargo ship about a mine drifting some 2.5 nautical miles (4.6 km) north of the Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta. (19:06 GMT) Britain has announced wide-ranging sanctions against 30 targets worldwide, including five people from Russia and Russian-held Crimea amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, which has attracted successive waves of UK sanctions against Moscow. Those targeted include Russian Colonel Ramil Rakhmatulovich Ibatullin for his role as the commander of the 90th Tank Division, which has been involved in fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine. (19:44 GMT) A dozen European Union countries including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia have made a push to "significantly" lower a planned cap on natural gas prices as the bloc struggles to strike a deal on the measure. Gas prices in Europe have soared this year. Pro-cap countries say the measure would shield their economies from high energy costs, but Germany, Europe's biggest economy and gas market, and the Netherlands have opposed it. They warn it could disrupt the normal functioning of energy markets and deter gas producers from sending much-needed fuel to Europe. (20:19 GMT) More than 1.5 million people in Ukraine's southern Odesa region are without power after Russian drone strikes on the electricity generating system, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in a video address. On Saturday, all non-critical infrastructure in Ukraine's southern port city was without power after Russia used drones to hit energy facilities. Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities in Odesa, officials said. 20221211 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/11/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-attacks-occupied-melitopol (09:25 GMT) Ukraine has launched an attack on occupied Melitopol, in the country's southeast, Russian-installed and exiled Ukrainian authorities confirmed. The pro-Moscow authorities said a missile attack on Saturday evening killed two people and injured 10, while the exiled mayor said many "invaders" were killed. "Air defence systems destroyed two missiles, four reached their targets," Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-appointed governor of the occupied part of the Zaporizhia region, said on the Telegram messaging app. He said a "recreation centre" where people were dining was destroyed in the Ukrainian attack with HIMARS missiles. (09:25 GMT) Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev has said the country is ramping up production of new-generation weapons to protect itself from enemies in Europe, the United States and Australia. "We are increasing production of the most powerful means of destruction. Including those based on new principles," Medvedev said on messaging app Telegram. Medvedev, who serves as deputy head of Russia's Security Council, did not provide details of the weapons. (09:25 GMT) All non-critical infrastructure in the southern Ukrainian port city of Odesa was left without power after Russia used Iranian-made drones to hit two energy facilities, Ukrainian authorities have said, adding it could take months to repair the damage. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that more than 1.5 million people in Odesa and the surrounding region had no electricity. Only critical infrastructure, including hospitals and maternity wards, had access to electricity. (09:36 GMT) A dozen countries, including Belgium, Italy, Poland and Slovenia, have made a push to "significantly" lower a planned European Union cap on gas prices, as the bloc remains at odds over the terms of a deal during emergency negotiations. While pro-cap countries say the measure would shield their economies from high energy costs, Germany - Europe's biggest economy and gas market - and the Netherlands have opposed it. They warn it could disrupt the normal functioning of energy markets and deter gas producers from sending much-needed fuel to Europe. (09:47 GMT) Any peace talks in Ukraine cannot be a fig leaf for Russian rearmament, British foreign minister James Cleverly has said, adding that he has not seen any signs that Moscow would enter into negotiations in good faith. "Any negotiations need to be real, they need to be meaningful, they can't just be a fig leaf for Russian rearmament and further recruitment of soldiers," Cleverly told Sky News. While the UK wanted to see peace talks "sooner rather than later", he reiterated that Ukraine should set the parameters for any negotiations. <=== (09:55 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russia's Federal Draft Budget has allocated more than 9 trillion rubles ($143bn) to "defence, security and law enforcement" in 2023. This is equivalent to "more than 30 per cent of Russia's entire budget" and represents a "significant" increase compared with previous years. (10:07 GMT) There are no plans to suspend grain shipments from the Black Sea ports of Odesa following the latest Russian attack on the region's energy system, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solky has said. "There are problems, but none of the traders are talking about any suspension of shipments. Ports use alternative energy sources," Solsky told Reuters in a phone call. (10:24 GMT) Chechen officials are increasingly being appointed to maintain control over occupied regions of Ukraine, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. The Chechen Republic and affiliated officials have a history of brutality and are not well-renowned for administrative capabilities. Nonetheless, they have played a significant law enforcement role and acted as security services in occupied portions of Ukraine throughout the war, it said. "This suggests that dissent and Ukrainian partisan activities are challenging the ability of occupation regimes to govern effectively." (10:52 GMT) There were emergency shutdowns in Odesa after Russian drones hit energy facilities, a spokesman for the regional administration has said. Sergiy Bratchuk said "interruptions of water supply" took place in parts of the city due to power outages, AFP reported. Yesterday, Zelenskyy said more than 1.5 million people were left without power in the region of Odesa. (11:03 GMT) Ukraine's ambassador to Germany Oleksii Makeiev says he has received promises from Berlin for further weapons deliveries to his country. "In direct talks, we were assured of more weapons and more ammunition. Which ones, we will jointly announce in due course," Makeiev told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He said he did not want to put diplomatic pressure on the German government, but called on Berlin to deliver what it has quickly "because we don't have time to wait longer". (11:19 GMT) Russian forces have turned the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut into ruins, Zelenskyy has said. Moscow is struggling to establish control in cities in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk provinces amid Ukraine's persistence to reclaim them. "Bakhmut, Soledar, Maryinka, Kreminna. For a long time, there is no living place left on the land of these areas that have not been damaged by shells and fire," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address on Saturday. Al Jazeera's Rory Challands, reporting from Kyiv, said that there were civilians still living in Bakhmut despite the destruction, sheltering in basements and doing what they could to survive. (11:41 GMT) Russia's concerns about the Minsk agreements being ignored was the precursor to Moscow launching what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, Russian news agencies have quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. The ceasefire and constitutional reform deals between Kyiv and Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine brokered in 2014 and 2015 by Russia, France and Germany were never fully implemented. (12:06 GMT) The Ukrainian port of Odesa is not operational after the latest Russian attack on the region's energy system, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky has said, but added that grains traders were not expected to suspend exports. Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, two other ports authorised to export grains from Ukraine under a deal between Russia and Ukraine, were partially operating. "Chornomorsk port is now operating at about 80% of capacity," Solsky told Reuters in a phone call. (12:32 GMT) An influential nationalist Russian blogger has delivered rare criticism of the military top brass and President Vladimir Putin for their poor execution of the war in Ukraine. Igor Girkin, a Russian leader of Ukrainian separatists who once claimed he "pulled the trigger" in the 2014-2015 Donbas war, made scathing comments on the Russian leadership in a 90-minute video after visiting the conflict zone. The "fish's head is completely rotten", Girkin said on his popular Telegram channel, adding that the Russian military needed reform and to work with competent people. He said the mid-levels of the military were open about their dissatisfaction with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and even Putin, claiming "It is not just me... people are not blind and deaf at all: people at the mid-level there do not even hide their views which, how do I put it, are not fully complimentary about the president or the defence minister." (12:52 GMT) Europe is simply switching from dependency on Russian gas to dependency on liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States, the RIA news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. He called the European desire to shake off dependency on Russian gas "absurd" and "frenzied", noting that the dependence was the same, just with "much less reciprocity". "And now, when the Europeans are losing billions of euros every day, Washington is already earning these billions of dollars," Peskov said. (13:23 GMT) One month since Russian forces retreated from the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson and its vicinity after an eight-month occupation, life in the city is still very far from normal. The departing Russian troops left behind mines, while their artillery continues to batter the city from new, dug-in positions across the Dnieper River, according to Ukrainian officials. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/12/11/a-month-since-russian-retreat-life-in-kherson-far-from-normal (13:41 GMT) Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey and Vladimir Putin of Russia have discussed a potential regional gas hub in Turkey, both countries said. "The special importance of joint energy projects, primarily in the gas industry, was emphasised," the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin in October had proposed creating a base in Turkey for exports of Russian natural gas, as a means to redirect supplies from Russia's Nord Stream pipelines to Europe, which were damaged in explosions in September. The two leaders also discussed exporting other food products and commodities through the Black Sea grain corridor, Erdogan's office said. (14:00 GMT) Al Jazeera's correspondent Rory Challands has said there is speculation in Ukraine as to why Russia is doubling down on its efforts to take the city of Bakhmut, in the Donbas region. "It's a relatively strategically unimportant town and yet for months the Russians have sent wave after wave of Russian fighters, soldiers, mercenaries in full frontal assault to try and take this city from the Ukrainians," Challands said. "The Ukrainians can't quite work out why Russians are so fixated on it. It might just come down to pure attrition, [meaning] both sides are set on inflicting as much damage on each other as possible," he added. Challands spoke to Ukrainian troops who recounted being outnumbered by the Russian military in fierce hand-to-hand battles. (14:48 GMT) What is HIMARS, the advanced rocket system used to strike Melitopol? The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System was supplied by the United States to strike targets deeper inside Russian territory. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/6/1/what-is-himars-the-advanced-rocket-system-us-is-sending-ukraine (15:16 GMT) Zelenskyy spoke to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron and discussed the implementation of his 10-step peace plan formula to end the war with Russia. "Ukraine will be able to count on the support of France for as long as it takes to see its sovereignty and territorial integrity fully restored," Macron added. (15:42 GMT) Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the effect of European sanctions on Russian crude oil and price cap measures "did not bring clear results yet" and its implementation was still unclear. The Group of 7 price cap on Russian seaborne oil came into effect December 5 as the West tries to limit Moscow's ability to finance its war in the Ukraine. Russia has said it would not abide by the measure even if it has to cut its production. "What is happening now in terms of sanctions and price caps imposed and all of it really did not bring clear results, including measures implemented on December 5, we see a state of uncertainty in implementation," Prince Abdulaziz told a forum held following the country's 2023 budget announcements. (16:18 GMT) An international team of legal advisers has been working with local prosecutors in Ukraine's recaptured city of Kherson in recent days as they began gathering evidence of alleged sexual crimes by Russian forces as part of a full-scale investigation. The visit by a team from Global Rights Compliance, an international legal practice based in The Hague, has not previously been reported. Their efforts are part of a broader international effort to support overwhelmed Ukrainian authorities as they seek to hold Russians accountable for crimes they allegedly committed during the conflict, now nearly 10 months old. Accusations surfaced soon after Russia's February 24 invasion of rape and other abuses across the country, according to accounts Reuters gathered and the UN investigative body. (17:02 GMT) The body of a 23-year-old Zambian student who died while fighting for the Russian army in the war in Ukraine has been returned home. The body of Lemekani Nyirenda who was studying nuclear engineering in Russia before joining the military arrived at Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka on Sunday. Although he had been a student, Lemekani was convicted of drug trafficking in April 2020 and sentenced to nine years in prison. (18:11 GMT) WNBA star Brittney Griner didn't want any alone time as soon as she boarded a US government plane that would bring her home. "I have been in prison for 10 months now, listening to Russian. I want to talk," Griner said, according to Roger Carstens, the special presidential envoy for hostage affairs, who helped secure the basketball star's release and bring her back to the US last week. Griner then went and shook hands with members of the flight crew, "making a personal connection with them," Carstens recalled. "It was really amazing." The two-time Olympic gold medalist and Phoenix Mercury pro basketball star spoke about her time in the Russian penal colony and her months in captivity, Carstens said, but he declined to go into specific details. 20221212 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/12/russia-ukraine-live-news-eu-to-discuss-new-russia-sanctions (10:22 GMT) In its daily update, Ukraine's General Staff says its forces have repelled Russian assaults on four settlements in the Donetsk region and eight settlements in Luhansk. Russia continued fighting in Bakhmut and launched two missile attacks against civilian infrastructure in Kostyantynivka, in the Donetsk region. Elsewhere, Russian forces carried out more than 60 attacks from rocket salvo systems lobbed at the civilian infrastructure in Kherson and Ukrainian troops based there. Ukrainian forces have also made "14 strikes" on Russian forces as well as raids on Russia's anti-aircraft missile complex. "During the current day, the aviation of the Defence Forces made 14 strikes on the areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, as well as a strike on the positions of the enemy's anti-aircraft missile complex," the General Staff said. (10:24 GMT) Russia has accused the United States of an unhelpful approach to diplomatic talks in Istanbul, as the Turkish city remains the neutral meeting point for the two countries. "Istanbul is a convenient place for such contacts," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin was quoted as saying by the RIA Novosti news agency. "I can say that any contacts are useful, but, unfortunately, we do not see a constructive approach from the American side aimed at concrete results," Vershinin said. Last month, a meeting between US CIA Director William Burns and Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, in Ankara triggered speculation about back-channel talks between Moscow and Washington. President Vladimir Putin said last week that US President Joe Biden requested the CIA meeting and that the CIA-SVR contacts were continuing. Russian and US diplomats also met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss several technical issues in their relationship, such as visas. (10:27 GMT) The Black Sea port of Odesa has resumed operations after a Russian attack on the region's energy system, a spokesperson for the infrastructure ministry said. Since October, Russia has been trying to take down Ukraine's energy infrastructure with waves of missile and drone strikes. Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said on Sunday that two other ports, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi, that are authorised to export grains from Ukraine under a deal between Russia and Ukraine were partially operating. (10:27 GMT) European Union foreign ministers are due to discuss the ninth package of sanctions on Russia, which would see almost 200 more individuals and companies on the sanctions list. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell stressed there was no agreement on the package at this stage, adding that he hoped that could come later on Monday or on Tuesday. The ministers will also discuss an additional two billion euros ($2.11bn) worth of arms deliveries to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Germany's Chancellor Otto Scholz will hold an online meeting with other G7 leaders on Monday about the situation in Ukraine, which President Zelenskyy is also expected to address. (10:45 GMT) The Russian arms dealer freed in a prisoner swap with the US basketball player, Brittney Griner, has joined the Kremlin-loyal ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR). In a video posted on Telegram, LDPR leader Leonid Slutsky, standing on a stage beside Viktor Bout, said: "I want to thank Viktor Anatolievich (Bout) for the decision he has made and welcome him into the ranks of the best political party in today's Russia". The Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) has, since its founding in 1991, embraced a hardline, ultranationalist ideology, demanding Russia reconquer the countries of the former Soviet Union. The LDPR has assumed a subordinate role in Russia's political system, providing token opposition to the ruling United Russia bloc while backing the Kremlin on most issues. (10:54 GMT) A US official says Russia will be invited to attend meetings of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) bloc hosted by the United States next year. (11:04 GMT) UN aid chief Martin Griffiths arrives in Ukraine on a four-day trip as officials work to repair energy facilities that have caused winter power outages. The under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator will visit Mykolaiv and the city of Kherson, the United Nations said. "Griffiths will see the impact of the humanitarian response and new challenges that have arisen as infrastructure damage mounts amid freezing winter temperatures," it said. (11:15 GMT) A Czech defence official says highly trained Ukrainian workers could fill thousands of job vacancies in the Czech arms industry to help meet demand triggered by the war. The Czech Republic has been one of the top weapons providers to Kyiv among NATO allies, but deliveries have badly depleted inventories, and officials have warned it could take years to restock. "(There) will be thousands of jobs," Deputy Defence Minister Tomas Kopecny said on Czech Radio, suggesting that workers could come from Ukraine. (11:27 GMT) The European Union has secured enough gas for this winter but could face a gas shortage next year if Russian supplies are further cut, the European Commission and the International Energy Agency said. (11:54 GMT) The body of a Zambian student who died while fighting in Ukraine arrived in Zambia on Sunday. An AFP journalist reported seeing a white, glass-panelled hearse of the container holding the body arrive on the tarmac at Lusaka airport, where grieving relatives gathered. (12:09 GMT) The European Union will need to review its budget and consider launching a new fund for additional energy investments to wean countries off Russian gas, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "The question is whether it [the EU budget] is still fit for purpose, and a fresh look through a midterm review of the budget would open the door to create a sovereignty fund," von der Leyen said. The EU chief declined to specify if this new fund would require the EU to take out the further joint debt but said the bloc's existing funds would need to be "augmented by other sources". (12:24 GMT) Russia says President Vladimir Putin will not hold his annual end-of-year news conference this year. "There will not be [a news conference] before the New Year," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. He gave no reason for the break with tradition but added that Putin "regularly speaks to the press, including on foreign visits". (12:53 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak says Russia has already lost and that everything must be done to stop a reoccurrence of Russian aggression. (13:10 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry spokesman, Oleg Nikolenko, says the Ukrainian embassy in Greece has been sent a "bloody package". Altogether, 33 packages from the same German address of a Tesla showroom in Sindelfingen have been sent to embassies and consulates around Europe. (13:23 GMT) European Union foreign ministers agreed to replenish a fund that has been used to pay for military support for Ukraine with another two billion euros ($2.11bn). There is a possibility of another boost later, with the total increase until 2027 amounting to up to 5.5 billion euros, said the European Council. "Today's decision will ensure that we have the funding to continue delivering concrete military support to our partners' armed forces," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said in a statement. (13:50 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister appeals for Patriot missile batteries and other hi-tech air defence systems to counter Russian attacks. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told French broadcaster LCI that Russia wants to swamp Europe with a new wave of Ukrainian refugees by taking down infrastructure that has caused electricity and water outages for millions during freezing winter. The provision of Patriot surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine would mark a significant advance in the air defence systems the West is sending to help the country defend itself from Russian aerial attacks. So far, no country has offered them, although Germany has provided Patriot missiles to neighbouring Poland, its NATO ally. (14:08 GMT) NATO can guarantee that they will not treat Russia the way they are treating Ukraine, Poland's president said in response to a question about French President Emmanuel Macron's idea of security guarantees for Russia. "What we, as honest people, politicians, NATO members, are able to guarantee to Russia is that no one is going to do to Russia what she is doing to her neighbours," Andrzej Duda told a news conference in Berlin. (14:22 GMT) Nestle will invest 40 million Swiss francs ($42.88m) in launching a new production facility in western Ukraine, the company said. The company already has around 5,800 staff in Ukraine and plans to add 1,500 jobs at the new production facility in Smolyhiv in the Volyn region. (14:39 GMT) Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office says that eight people were wounded in Russia's shelling of the town of Hirnyk in the eastern Donetsk region. (14:59 GMT) Russian insurer Ingosstrakh says it has no plans to offer policies to new clients who may lose coverage from international insurers after restrictions against Russian oil came into force on December 5. The European Union banned all seaborne Russian crude imports, with a fuel import ban to follow in February. They also banned companies and individuals in the bloc from providing financing, brokerage, shipping and insurance services to ship Russian oil elsewhere if the crude was bought above a price cap of $60 a barrel. (15:23 GMT) Germany reminds Hungary of the importance of the EU's values as the bloc threatens to keep billions from Budapest unless it lifts its veto on a joint loan to Ukraine and a global corporate tax. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's comments add pressure ahead of a meeting on Monday of the EU's national ambassadors to try to break the deadlock. The EU has withheld 5.8 billion euros from an economic stimulus pot citing poor judicial independence in Hungary, and a further 7.5 billion euros they said should be frozen over corruption. But, Hungary blocked the 18 billion euros joint EU loan to Ukraine and the tax plan, drawing ire from other countries for what they said was an attempt to blackmail the bloc into releasing the funds to Budapest. Hungary says it opposes joint EU borrowing to support Ukraine but that it would extend bilateral aid to Kyiv instead. (16:03 GMT) British defence minister Ben Wallace says he would be "open minded" about supplying Ukraine with long range weapons systems if Russia continues targeting civilian areas. Speaking to parliament, Wallace was asked by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a vocal supporter of Ukraine, about the possible supply of longer-range missile systems to Kyiv to destroy or damage drone launch sites. "I constantly review the weapons systems we could provide," Wallace told parliament. Since the invasion, Britain has committed 3.8 billion dollars ($4.6 billion) to supporting Ukraine, which includes military training, weapons and humanitarian assistance. (16:18 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda thanks Germany for the planned deployment of the Patriot air defence missile systems after a wayward missile hit a Polish village Przeewodow in November. "For us in Poland, this is a very important gesture by an ally and a very important gesture on the part of our neighbour," Duda said after a meeting with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin. Following the explosion 6 km from the Ukrainian border, which killed two people, the German and Polish defence ministers agreed to deploy parts of Germany's Patriot missile defence system on Polish soil. On Tuesday, a Bundeswehr reconnaissance team is expected to travel to Poland to inspect suitable locations. Duda also advised Germany to prepare for a new wave of refugees from Ukraine this winter, saying, "people are fleeing from the frost, from death and from Russian missiles and bombs". (16:37 GMT) The head of the Norwegian Refugee Council says he anticipates another wave of hundreds of thousands of refugees from Ukraine over the winter. "Nobody knows how many, but there will be hundreds of thousands more as the horrific and unlawful bombing of civilian infrastructure makes life unliveable in too many places," Jan Egeland told Reuters news agency by phone after returning from a trip to Ukraine earlier this month. "So I fear that the crisis in Europe will deepen and that will overshadow equally crises in other places of the world," he said. (17:17 GMT) Russian electric scooter company Whoosh has said it expected its initial public offering (IPO) price in Moscow to be 185 roubles ($2.94) per share, at the bottom of an estimated range announced last week. It said the total size of the IPO, which would be Russia's first since Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February, would be around 2.3bn roubles. (18:20 GMT) European Union foreign ministers agreed in principle to add about 200 Russian people and groups to a sanctions list, even if a whole ninth package of sanctions wasn't approved yet, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has said. "What we have already approved is the individual sanctions ... to about 200 individuals and entities," he told a news conference. "This is approved, it is going to hit hard the Russian defence sector and the Russian military. It is going to hit also the political masters of the Russian government, in the Duma, in the Federation Council and in the judiciary. We are targeting those responsible for looting the Ukrainian grain, and for the deportation of Ukrainian people and in particular children." The bloc's foreign ministers, however, could not yet adopt the full package of new sanctions proposed by the European Commission, diplomats have said. (18:30 GMT) The Russian-appointed deputy governor of Ukraine's Kherson region, Vitaly Bulyuk, was injured when his car exploded, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing the occupation administration's health minister. The Russian-appointed minister, Vadim Ilmiyev, said Bulyuk was in a stable condition. "The driver of the car died on the spot," he said, according to Interfax. "According to my information, a directional mine went off - the car burned out." It was not clear whether explosives had been attached to the car. Numerous officials in Russian-appointed occupation administrations have been killed or injured in recent months. (18:35 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the Group of Seven (G7) nations to help his government obtain an additional two billion cubic metres of natural gas and to supply it with modern tanks, artillery units and shells as well as long-range weapons. (19:23 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that economic cooperation between Germany and Russia could be possible again if the Kremlin ended its war in Ukraine. Scholz has said in previous speeches that the West would not lift sanctions imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine until Moscow withdrew its troops from Ukraine and reached a peace agreement with Kyiv. 20221213 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/13/russia-ukraine-live-news-belarus-orders-troop-inspection (10:25 GMT) The Moscow-installed official in the occupied parts of Donetsk says that more than 50% of the region's territory is under Russian control. "A little more than 50% of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic has been liberated," Denis Pushilin, Russian-installed administrator of the Moscow-controlled parts of Donetsk, told RIA news agency. Intense fighting in the region has left unclear which parts of Donetsk are under Russian and Ukrainian control. (10:25 GMT) The town of Klintsy in Russia's southern Bryansk region was shelled overnight by Ukraine, the regional governor said. There were no casualties or damage as a result of the attack. "As a result of the work of the air defence systems of the Russian Armed Forces, the missile was destroyed, some parts hit the territory of an industrial zone," Governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. Klintsy is a town of about 60,000 people, about 45km from the Ukrainian border. (10:26 GMT) Belarus has launched a snap inspection of its troops' combat readiness following an order from President Alexander Lukashenko, the defence ministry said. As part of the exercise announced, troops would have to move to "designated areas", use equipment quickly, and set up bridge crossings over the Neman and Berezina rivers in western and eastern Belarus. While Belarus has said it will not enter the war in Ukraine, Lukashenko has previously ordered troops to deploy with Russian forces near the Ukrainian border. (10:27 GMT) The European Union reached a deal with Hungary to send an 18-billion-euro ($18.93bn) financial aid package to Ukraine and approve a minimum tax on major corporations. EU nations reached a tentative agreement late on Monday in a deal that also sees Budapest getting a bigger part of promised recovery funds that had long been in jeopardy over complaints by the other member states that Prime Minister Viktor Orban had veered away from the democratic rule of law. (10:50 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping will hold talks to discuss the past year in late December, the Russian business daily Vedomosti reported. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesman, told the newspaper that the meeting's date and agenda are already known, but an official announcement will come later. (10:56 GMT) Russia has dismissed a reported three-step peace proposal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying Kyiv needed to accept new "realities". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said progress would not be possible without considering these realities, including Russia's capture of territories from Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly said it is willing to hold peace talks but does not see Ukraine and the West as ready to negotiate. (11:08 GMT) The Kremlin says Russia has not placed heavy weapons at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. In a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also said Russia remains in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which is trying to broker the creation of a demilitarised zone around the power station. Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian forces of using the nuclear facility, which Russia seized early in the conflict, as a de facto weapons depot. (11:15 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukraine's allies in Paris that he needed at least 800 million euros ($840m) in urgent winter energy aid as Russian forces target civilian infrastructure across the country. French President Emmanuel Macron is hosting about 70 countries and institutions to discuss what can be offered between now and March to maintain water, food, energy, health and transport amid freezing temperatures. (11:32 GMT) The Ukrainian grain traders' union (UGA) asked the government to ensure priority supplies of electricity to grain silos to reduce potential damage to the harvest. Since October, Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure with missile and drone strikes. "This in turn leads to grain spoilage and, as a result, loss of funds, and most importantly, [this is] extremely important for the country's food security and export of products," the UGA said. About 10 million tonnes of grain storage capacity was lost due to the war, and Ukraine "cannot afford to lose the harvest that was collected with incredible efforts". Ukraine's 2022 grain crop could fall to about 51 million tonnes from a record 86 million tonnes in 2021, the government has said. (11:46 GMT) Britain has sanctioned 12 Russian military commanders and Iranian businessmen involved in producing and supplying military drones used in missile attacks on Ukraine. Among those sanctioned is Major General Robert Baranov, believed to be the commander of a unit responsible for programming and targeting Russian cruise missiles. (11:58 GMT) Germany will approve another 50 million euros ($52.68m) in winter aid for Ukraine in response to Russian attacks on energy infrastructure there, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock said at a donors' conference in Paris. This comes on top of 160 million euros already pledged by Berlin at a conference in Bucharest earlier in the year. Baerbock said Germany was working to deliver generators, blankets and heating fuel to Ukraine over Christmas as Russia continues to target power facilities. (12:12 GMT) Belarus names a new foreign minister and air force head as the country conducts a series of military exercises that have raised fears it could take a more active role in the war against Ukraine. Minsk named Sergei Aleinik as its new foreign minister, the state-run Belta news agency reported, to fill the position left empty after the death of Vladimir Makei last month. Andrei Lukyanovich, previously deputy head of the air force, was promoted to head of Belarus's air force and air defence units, Belta said. (12:23 GMT) Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says that Italy will take action independently to deal with Europe's energy crisis in the absence of a timely and effective European Union response. "We are ready to intervene at a national level if EU measures are late or prove ineffective," Meloni said, adding that she hoped it would not be necessary. (12:30 GMT) Canada will send $115m to Ukraine to repair its power grid after repeated Russian attacks on its energy infrastructure, Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says. The money will come from tariff revenues collected on imports from Russia and Belarus, Freeland said at the Standing with the Ukrainian People conference in Paris. (12:53 GMT) The Ukrainian infrastructure ministry said that eight-grain ships left ports in Ukraine's Odesa region after a pause caused by power cuts following Russian missile strikes. The Black Sea port of Odesa did not operate on Sunday, and the ports of Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi were only partially open. (12:58 GMT) Italian arms supplies will stop as soon as peace talks begin, the Italian defence minister told parliament, as politicians endorsed a government decision to extend military aid throughout 2023. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has repeatedly pledged to keep supporting Ukraine, despite frictions within her ruling coalition and a divided public opinion on the issue of arms supplies. "I am aware that military aid will have to end sooner or later, and will end when we will have the peace talks that we are all hoping for," Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said as he addressed the upper house, Senate. (13:11 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 293 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-292-2 (13:28 GMT) Air raid sirens rang across Ukraine after leaders warned that Russia could launch a new wave of missile and drone attacks. Several minutes after the first air raid alerts were issued, there were no reports of missiles being fired at Ukraine. Ukrainian media said the alerts may have been triggered by MiG fighter jets that took off from Ryazan, near Russia's border with Ukraine, and flew towards Belarus. (14:07 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked the European Council president for the invitation to speak at the meeting to discuss the war in Ukraine on December 15. (14:25 GMT) About 70 countries and institutions have pledged more than one billion euros ($1.05bn) in immediate aid to help Ukraine get through winter as Russian forces continue to go after its energy grid. (14:56 GMT) As Ukraine races to repair its energy infrastructure amid blackouts following Russian attacks on its power grid, more Western countries are pledging money to help with the harsh winter. Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, the head of Ukrenergo, Ukraine's national electricity transmission operator, has described the damage as "colossal", with repairs taking from hours to weeks to years. But which energy facilities are at risk? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/13/can-ukraines-energy-infrastructure-withstand-the-winter (15:25 GMT) Turkey welcomes an agreement that allows the continuation of a new regulation requiring crude oil tankers to present an insurance confirmation letter before transiting Turkish straits. The Turkish measures, which came into effect on December 1, require vessels to provide proof of insurance for the duration of transit through the Bosphorus or when calling at Turkish ports. "It is pleasing that the talks we have been holding with our counterparts have concluded with the acceptance of our new regulations that will protect the Turkish straits and that maritime trade continues as ordinary," the maritime authority said. The regulation has caused shipping delays, with up to 20 tankers waiting at the same time in the Black Sea last week as they worked to present the necessary documents. (16:16 GMT) Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov says he knows of no new scheduled talks with the United States over further prisoner exchanges, Russia's Interfax news agency reported. Ryabkov responded to comments by the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, who told reporters on Monday that Washington expected an "engagement" with Moscow this week on the case of Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage. Interfax quoted Ryabkov as saying, "I don't know what they have in mind. As the president has already said, we have a department dealing with this matter. According to my information, no contacts are expected on this subject through the lines that I know about." (16:36 GMT) EU energy ministers struggled to agree on a bloc-wide price cap in Brussels after months of infighting over whether the measure could ease Europe's energy crisis. Responding to repeated requests from some countries, the European Commission proposed a price cap last month as the latest EU response caused by Russia cutting gas deliveries to Europe this year, leading to energy price spikes. "European citizens are in agony, European businesses are closing, and Europe has been needlessly debating," Greek Energy Minister Konstantinos Skrekas said, calling for a swift deal on the cap. Greece and other countries, including Belgium, Italy and Poland, say a cap would shield their economies from high energy prices, while Austria, Germany and the Netherlands fear it could divert much-needed gas from Europe and disrupt the functioning of energy markets. "Everybody has to show some flexibility and everybody has to be able to propose some compromises," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson said. (16:54 GMT) Ukraine is the backdrop for the US-Africa Summit, which brings together the leaders of 49 African nations, many of whom have expressed frustration with paying the economic price for the war, which the UN says has worsened a global food crisis. (17:31 GMT) Ukraine's economy could shrink by 50% this year if Russia keeps attacking the national power grid and other critical infrastructure, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has said. Russia has launched a series of missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities since October, causing power outages across the country. "The contraction of the Ukrainian economy is projected at the level of 35-40%," Shmyhal was quoted by Interfax Ukraine news agency as saying. "If Russia's terrorist activities against our infrastructure continue, we may lose another 10% to these figures - that is, up to 50% of our GDP.". Shmyhal also said the government estimated that damage from the war could reach $700bn by the end of the year. (18:20 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has adopted a law on national minorities, a key requirement for the country's accession to the EU, it said in a statement. The bill is designed to "improve the protection of the rights of national minorities", including "the rights to self-identification, the use of languages of national minorities, education, participation in political, economic, social, and cultural life, etc", the New Voice of Ukraine reported. The bill, initiated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, recognises Crimean Tatars, Karaites and Krymchaks as "indigenous peoples of Ukraine". (18:42 GMT) Danske Bank, the largest bank in Denmark, has pleaded guilty to defrauding American banks in order to sneak money from high-risk clients in Russia and elsewhere into the US financial system and agreed to forfeit $2bn, the Justice Department has said. The bank misled US banks about its Estonia branch's activities so as to facilitate access to the US financial system for high-risk clients outside Estonia, including in Russia, the department said in a statement. In doing so, Russian and other high-risk clients were able to gain access to US banks, which collectively processed $160bn on their behalf. (19:02 GMT) The United States is finalising plans to send the Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine, a decision that could be announced as soon as this week, three US officials told Reuters on Tuesday. Ground-based air defense systems such as Raytheon Technology Corp's Patriot are built to intercept incoming missiles. (19:24 GMT) European Union energy ministers meeting in Brussels have failed to strike a final deal on a bloc-wide cap on natural gas prices, after months of infighting over whether the measure can ease Europe's energy crisis. But with countries deeply divided over the details of the proposed cap, Tuesday's meeting did not yield a final decision - leaving EU energy ministers to try again for an agreement at another meeting on Dec. 19. Countries including Germany, Austria and the Netherlands have warned against a gas price cap, which they fear could divert much-needed gas cargoes from Europe and disrupt the functioning of energy markets. Other states, including Greece, Belgium, Italy and Poland have demanded a cap, which they say would shield their economies from high energy prices. (19:45 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin has warned African leaders at a summit that Russia risked "destabilising" the continent with their rising involvement. Speaking at the start of a three-day US-Africa summit, Austin said that Russia is "continuing to peddle cheap weapons" and deploying "mercenaries across the continent." (20:02 GMT) Russia and Ukraine pounded each other's forces in heavy fighting around the small eastern city of Bakhmut, once a city of 80,000 people. Invading Russian forces have fought to seize Bakhmut for months as part of a grinding battle for control of the Donetsk region. (20:24 GMT) Washington has temporarily suspended export privileges for three people and two companies following unauthorised exports of "sensitive items" to Russia, the US Commerce Department has said, adding that the evasion helped Moscow's "war machine." The department, in a statement, said some of the components that were exported "can be used in military applications" and that the export privileges would be put on hold for 180 days, Reuters reported. Five Russian and two US nationals have been charged with conspiracy related to a global procurement and money laundering scheme on behalf of the Russian government, the US Justice Department has said. Among those indicted is a suspected Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, the Justice Department said in a statement on Tuesday. It said the defendants conspired to obtain military-grade and dual-use technologies from US companies for Russia's defense sector, and to smuggle sniper rifle ammunition in violation of new US sanctions imposed earlier this year. (21:12 GMT) New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a further $1.94m in humanitarian support for Ukraine as the conflict enters the winter months. 20221214 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/14/russia-ukraine-live-news-explosions-in-kyiv-after-drone-attack (10:22 GMT) Turkey will continue talks with Russia and Ukraine to end the ongoing war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "We witnessed, along with the grain agreement and exchange of prisoners, the way to peace can be paved if diplomacy is given an opportunity," Erdogan told a trilateral summit between Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan, mentioning Turkish-brokered agreements between the two sides. "We continue our talks with Putin and Zelenskyy in this direction. Hopefully, we will first achieve a cease-fire and then lasting peace in our region." (10:23 GMT) Russian drone attacks on Kyiv and the wider region did not damage any energy facilities, national power grid operator Ukrenergo said. "Thanks to the brilliant work of the air defence forces, the energy infrastructure facilities were not damaged (on Wednesday) - all 13 drones were shot down," Ukrenergo said on the Telegram messaging app. <=== (10:25 GMT) Pope Francis has urged people to spend less on Christmas celebrations and gifts this year and send the difference to Ukrainians to help them get through the hunger and cold of winter. (10:27 GMT) Russia attacked Kyiv with Iranian-made Shahed drones early on Wednesday, but air defence systems prevented significant damage to the city, Ukrainian authorities said. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said there were explosions in the central Shevchenkivskyi district, and two administrative buildings were damaged but mentioned no casualties. Ukrainian air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the attack was deliberately timed for when it was dark to make it harder to shoot the drones down but that Ukrainian air defence systems had been effective. "The air defences worked well," he said. "Thirteen (drones) were shot down." (10:28 GMT) US officials say Washington will approve sending the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine, finally agreeing to multiple requests from Ukrainian officials for more powerful weapons to shoot down incoming Russian missiles. The formal approval is likely to come later this week and could be announced as early as Thursday, said three officials, who spoke to the Associated Press anonymously because the decision is not final and has not been made public. Two officials said the Patriot would come from Pentagon stocks and be moved from another country overseas. (10:35 GMT) The Kremlin says that US Patriot missile defence systems would be a legitimate target for Russian attacks against Ukraine, should the United States authorise them to be delivered to support Kyiv. (10:56 GMT) The Kremlin says it has not received any proposals about a "Christmas ceasefire" in Ukraine. Zelenskyy called on Russia this week to withdraw its troops by Christmas as the first step towards a peace deal. Peskov said on Tuesday there would be no peace with Kyiv until Zelenskyy accepted the "realities" on the ground, referring to the regions it annexed following "referendums", Kyiv and the West have referred to as a "sham". (11:22 GMT) Multiple Russian rocket launchers hit the regional administration building on the central square of the recently liberated southern city of Kherson, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office said. Ukraine recaptured Kherson from Russian forces on November 11. Since leaving the city, Russian forces have been shelling Kherson from the opposite side of the Dnieper River. (11:36 GMT) The EU is united in its support for Ukraine, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Germany's parliament. "Anyone who thinks he can undermine the values of the EU, to which every member state has committed itself, by blocking its foreign and security policies, will fail," he told legislators on Wednesday. Hungary dropped its objections to an EU loan to Kyiv after the EU partially unfroze financial support for Hungary. (11:49 GMT) With temperatures in Ukraine continuing to fall to -10 degrees Celsius, data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) found that only seven% of people were leaving the country. "Nearly 18 million people - 40 per cent of Ukraine's population - need urgent humanitarian aid," said IOM Chief of Mission in Ukraine, Anh Nguyen. "We must support them during winter, particularly those with no access to shelter or heat. IOM urges stakeholders to scale up their efforts as the needs keep growing with each passing day." The organisation also found that 43% of households have used up their savings for survival purposes. A further 63% of respondents are rationing their use of gas, electricity and solid fuel. As of December, the IOM reported that "over 5 million people who had been displaced within Ukraine or beyond, have returned home". (12:05 GMT) Russia's oil exports rose in November ahead of the G7 price cap which came into effect on December 5, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said. But lower global prices and steeper discounts for Russian oil meant Moscow's revenue fell by $700m to $15.8bn, the IEA said. The energy watchdog said it expects the price cap to reduce Russia's oil output by 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) next year. (12:22 GMT) The president's office said that Zelenskyy and top military officials discussed moves to ensure border security. The office emphasised securing the border in a statement issued after a supreme command meeting, without saying which part of the border was focused on. The statement comes as Belarus, a neighbouring country and Moscow ally, undertook several military activities in the past week. (12:56 GMT) A US citizen was among 64 prisoners handed over to Ukraine by Russian forces in the latest prisoner exchange, the head of Ukraine's presidential administration said. Andriy Yermak wrote on Telegram, "Another exchange of prisoners. We continue to return ours. 64 soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who fought in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas, in particular, participated in the defence of the city of Bakhmut, are going home. These are officers, privates and sergeants, our heroes. "It was also possible to free a US citizen who helped our people - Suedi Murekez. The bodies of the 4 dead were also returned". (13:32 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 294 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-294 (13:48 GMT) The people of Ukraine are awarded European Union's top human rights prize for their resistance to Russia's invasion and defiance during the continuing war. Yulia Pajevska, the founder of the medical evacuation unit Angels of Taira, human rights activist Oleksandra Matviichuk and Ivan Fedorov, mayor of the occupied city of Melitopol, received the award during a solemn ceremony in Strasbourg, France. (14:11 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has passed all the reforms needed before talks on joining the EU, the assembly's speaker said. These included enacting legislation on a selection process for Constitutional Court judges, strengthening the fight against corruption, harmonising media regulation with EU standards and protecting national minorities. (14:36 GMT) The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross says she sees the possibility of a major prisoner swap between Russia and Ukraine. "On an all-for-all exchange, it has happened in the past," Mirjana Spoljaric Egger told reporters. "It is a known practice, and it can happen in the Russia-Ukraine international conflict as well." (14:56 GMT) The German parliament's budget committee approves a 10 billion euro ($10.50bn) purchase of F-35 fighter jets produced by the US, two committee members told the Reuters news agency. This is one of the first major defence projects that Berlin will tap into money from a 100 billion euro ($106bn) special fund that Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced in a significant policy shift days after Russia invaded Ukraine in February. Germany aims to buy 35 F-35 stealth fighter jets in total, including missiles and other weapons and equipment, with the first eight aircraft to be delivered in 2026. The US jet will replace the ageing Tornado, the only German jet capable of carrying US nuclear bombs, which are stored in Germany to be used in case of a conflict. (15:43 GMT) An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia needs to accept the "new reality" that Ukrainian land will not remain part of Russian territory. "It is essential for Russia (especially for Putin and Peskov) to accept "new reality'," Mikhail Podolyak tweeted, referring to Dmitry Peskov, Putin's spokesman. "There are no stolen Ukrainian territories within RF 'forever'. There is only the loss of reputation as a monster-country, Russian military defeats, destroyed army, sanctions and disdain even from CSTO." The CSTO is the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russian-led military alliance of former Soviet republics. (16:13 GMT) EU countries intend to push for more gas deals to replace Russian supplies next year, draft conclusions for an EU leaders' summit on Thursday showed. (16:39 GMT) The United States is moving to impose sanctions on Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's wealthiest men, but would not sanction Nornickel, the company where he is a significant shareholder, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials. The action, which may come as early as Thursday, is expected to include sanctions against Potanin, his wife Ekaterina Potanina and a yacht he owns. (17:08 GMT) French broadcasting authority Arcom has urged satellite company Eutelsat to stop carrying three Russian TV channels. Arcom said it notified Eutelsat it needed to stop broadcasting Rossiya 1, Perviy Kanal and NTV, whose programmes on the war in Ukraine "include repeated incitement to hatred and violence and numerous shortcomings to honesty of information". France's top administrative court last week ordered the regulator to review its initial decision over the distribution of the three channels in a legal win for Reporters Without Borders. (19:35 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Europe to help set up a tribunal to try Russia's leadership for the "crime of aggression", as he accepted the EU's top rights award. 20221215 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/15/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukrainian-forces-shell-donetsk-russia (10:35 GMT) Ukrainian forces shelled the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk overnight, Russian-installed officials said. "At exactly 7.00 o'clock this morning they subjected the centre of Donetsk to the most massive attack since 2014," Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-backed mayor of the city, said on Telegram. "Forty rockets from BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launchers were fired at civilians in our city," Kulemzin said. Kulemzin told Russian state TV that initial information indicates that five people had been hurt in the shelling, including a child. A kindergarten, school, university, student hospital and cathedral have reportedly been damaged in the attack. (10:41 GMT) A Ukrainian general has dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire being agreed upon with Russia over the festive period. Asked about the possibility of a New Year ceasefire, Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a news briefing: "There will be a total ceasefire only when not a single occupier remains on our land." (10:42 GMT) Russia has received an apology from the Vatican over Pope Francis's comments last month that Russian soldiers from some ethnic minority groups were the "cruellest" fighters in the Ukraine conflict, according to the foreign ministry in Moscow. At a briefing in Moscow, spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia now considered the matter closed and hoped for a constructive dialogue between Russia and the Vatican. (10:47 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says no decision has been made on whether to go ahead with a repair of the Nord Stream gas pipelines that were damaged by explosions in September. Peskov also told reporters there was no decision on starting gas exports via the intact part of the Nord Stream 2 line. He said Russia was unaware of the results of investigations into the pipeline blasts by Sweden and Denmark. Moscow has previously blamed the UK for sabotaging the pipeline. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/29/russia-says-uk-navy-blew-up-nord-stream-london-denies-claim 10:48 GMT) Russia says the US plans to supply Patriot missile defence systems to Ukraine were a "provocation" and a further expansion of its military involvement in the conflict. length 520cm diam 40cm ramge 70km max-altitude 24km warhead high-explosive Patriots have been bought by a number of countries including the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Romania, Sweden, Poland and several others. Despite the concerns that granting the system would provoke Russia, or risk that a missile fired could end up hitting inside Russia, the pleadings of Ukrainian officials and the destruction of the country's crucial infrastructure overcame the US reservations about supplying the Patriots. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/15/what-can-the-patriot-missile-do-for-ukraine (10:48 GMT) EU member states disagreed on the ninth package of Russian sanctions in talks late on Wednesday, diplomats said. Despite countries moving closer to a deal during Wednesday's negotiations, Poland and some other countries still have objections, one EU diplomat told the Reuters news agency. New sanctions have been held up by disagreement over whether the EU should make it easier for Russian fertiliser exports to pass through European ports, even if blacklisted oligarchs own the fertiliser companies. (11:10 GMT) In "Russia's" war in Ukraine, 441 civilians were killed in the first 41 days, the United Nations rights chief Volker Turk has said. Presenting a report by his office, Turk said the direct killings of 341 men, 72 women, 20 boys and eight girls had been documented in 102 villages and towns across the Kyiv, Chernihiv and Sumy regions. "The actual figures are likely to be considerably higher as we are working to corroborate an additional 198 alleged killings in these regions," he told the council. "There are strong indications that the summary executions documented in the report may constitute the war crime of wilful killing." (11:27 GMT) Russia is seeking to turn the conflict in Ukraine into a protracted war and is training new divisions in neighbouring Belarus, a senior Ukrainian military officer has said. Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov told a news briefing that despite the training in Belarus, a military operation being launched from the border remains low. (11:40 GMT) A senior UN official has voiced optimism that there will be a breakthrough in negotiations on exports of Russian fertilisers. The Black Sea grain export agreement was extended in November, but Russia complained its concerns about fertiliser exports had not been addressed. Rebeca Grynspan, the secretary-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development who is in charge of the fertiliser aspect of the deal, said she had been focused on overcoming remaining obstacles since the renewal. "I am cautiously optimistic that we can have important progress soon," she told reporters in Geneva but declined to give further details about her optimism. (12:32 GMT) The Vatican launches a crowdfunding campaign to send thermal underwear to Ukraine to help residents survive the winter amid power shortages. The Vatican's charity office said in a statement that it had linked up with the Italian crowdfunding site eppela.com to raise money to buy the clothing. The head of the office, Cardinal Konrad Krajewski, said Italian companies had already responded to an earlier appeal by donating thermal underwear or providing it at cost. Krajewski, a Pole who is based in Rome and has carried out several charity missions to Ukraine for Pope Francis this year, said he would personally take the clothing to the country in a convoy of trucks. (12:48 GMT) The European Parliament approves a resolution declaring the 1930s starvation of millions in Ukraine "genocide". The text said the EU legislature "recognises the Holodomor, the artificial famine of 1932-1933 in Ukraine caused by a deliberate policy of the Soviet regime, as a genocide against the Ukrainian people". (13:27 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia will expand trade with new partners, including switching gas flows to eastern neighbours. In a televised speech, Putin said Russia would develop its economic relations with partners in Asia, Africa and Latin America. "We will remove restrictions in logistics and finance. Let me remind you that by introducing sanctions, Western countries were trying to push Russia to the periphery of world development. But we will never take the route of self-isolation", he said. "On the contrary, we are broadening, and will broaden, cooperation with all who have an interest in that". Putin said it would increase gas sales to the east and reiterated his plan to build a new "gas hub" in Turkey. He said Russia would define prices for gas sales to Europe using an "electronic platform". However, Russia's economy is expected to shrink by 2.5% in 2022, Putin said. (13:51 GMT) What happened in the 42nd week of the conflict? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/15/ukraine-cherry-picks-russian-targets-as-russia-hammers-the-east (14:13 GMT) UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk says further attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure could lead to severe humanitarian deterioration and displacement. Russia's attacks on Ukraine's electricity infrastructure have left millions without heat, clean water or electricity as temperatures plummet, and about 18 million people now rely on humanitarian aid. (14:46 GMT) Polish police commander received an exploding gift during a recent visit to Ukraine. The gift exploded at police headquarters in Warsaw, causing the commander and a civilian employee to suffer minor injuries, the Polish interior ministry said. The explosion occurred on Wednesday at 7:50am (06:50 GMT), the ministry said. It did not specify what object the Polish commander received as a present during the working visit to Ukraine. The commander met leaders of the Ukrainian Police and Emergency Situations Service on Sunday and Monday, the ministry said. Following the explosion, "the Polish side has asked the Ukrainian side to provide relevant explanations," it said. It added that the police commander has been in a hospital since Wednesday for observation, while the civilian employee did not require hospitalisation. (15:02 GMT) The International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said the Games have a unifying mission when he spoke to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who called for a ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy said after a call with Bach that he opposes the idea of Russian athletes taking part under any neutral banner at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, as "all their flags are stained in blood". With the IOC edging towards including Russian and Belarus athletes at the 2024 Games as neutrals, Bach told Zelenskyy that the Olympics were not about exclusion. (15:23 GMT) Poland is holding up efforts to ratify an EU deal on a minimum corporate tax and to send 18 billion euros ($19bn) of aid to Ukraine, diplomats said. The 27 member states struck a complex agreement on Monday that gave the green light to the aid and a minimum 15% global corporate tax rate. But repeated deadlines to ratify the package slipped by after Warsaw raised objections to the tax push. (15:44 GMT) Germany's Schwedt refinery will no longer need Russian oil after Poland committed to providing enough supply for it to run at 70% capacity from January, an economy ministry official in Berlin said. Berlin aims to eliminate Russian oil imports by the end of the year and has been working with Poland to try to secure a supply for Schwedt, which provides 90% of Berlin's fuel. Both sides want to ensure Polish refineries in Gdansk and Plock, and German refineries in Schwedt and Leuna near Leipzig are adequately supplied with crude oil, ministers from both countries said earlier this month. (16:20 GMT) What impact will the EU price cap have? | Inside Story Al Jazeera's Inside Story speaks to experts on the anticipated EU youtube: EU energy crisis EU gas cap plans price cap. (16:47 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 295 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-295 (16:57 GMT) Poland has withdrawn its objections to a minimum corporate tax, unblocking an 18-billion-euro ($19.16bn) aid package to Ukraine for 2023, European Union diplomats said. Leaders had been held up on several fronts at the final Brussels summit of the year. Diplomats said Poland had blindsided peers who did not expect its objection to the package but Warsaw's veto had now been dropped. "There is a deal," one diplomat said. (17:40 GMT) The US has imposed a new round of financial penalties on people and entities involved in Russia's financial sector, with the targets including one of the country's richest men, Vladimir Potanin. Potanin had served as Russia's deputy prime minister. He, his wife, adult children and a yacht named Nirvana were designated for sanctions, as well as Rosbank, a Russia-based commercial bank Potanin acquired in 2022. (18:03 GMT) Ukraine's Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov has told a military briefing that although he does not expect Moscow to launch an attack from Belarus, Russia is training new troops on its neighbour's soil and has moved military aircraft there. (19:30 GMT) The commander in chief of Ukraine's armed forces expects a new Russian attack on Kyiv in the early months of 2023, according to an interview with The Economist released today. Much of the fighting has been concentrated in Ukraine's east and south recently, but General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said that the capital would be targeted again. "A very important strategic task is to create reserves and prepare for the war which may take place in February - at best in March, and at worst, at the end of January," he said. "The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv," he said in the interview. "We have made all the calculations - how many tanks, artillery we need, and so on and so on." "I know that I can beat this enemy," the general continued. "But I need resources. I need 300 tanks, 600-700 IFVs [infantry fighting vehicles] 500 Howitzers." (20:17 GMT) The US military will be expanding its training of Ukrainian military personnel in Germany, the Pentagon has said, including training in combined arms. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the new training will involve approximately 500 Ukrainians per month and will not require an increase in US troop deployments to Europe. 20221216 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/16/russia-ukraine-live-massive-strikes-on-ukraine-cities-reported (08:37 GMT) Residents were warned to take cover in cities across Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, southern Kryvyi Rih and northeastern Kharkiv, as Russian strikes hit critical infrastructure, according to local officials. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said on the Telegram social media app that the city is without electricity, with the regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, reporting three strikes on the city's critical infrastructure (08:40 GMT) At least eight people were killed and 23 injured by Ukrainian shelling in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of Ukraine, Russia's state TASS news agency reported on Friday. The shelling destroyed a building in the village of Lantrativka and some people were trapped under rubble, TASS said, citng an unidentified source in the emergency services. Russian-backed officials from Luhank's representation to the Joint Centre of Control and Coordination - a ceasefire monitoring body set-up to help manage the conflict between Russian-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces after 2014 - said Ukraine fired three US-made HIMARS rockets at Lantrativka at 04:10am (0210 GMT) on Friday (08:45 GMT) Ukraine's defence chiefs have warned Russia is expected to launch a new offensive early next year that could include a second attempt to take the capital Kyiv. The push could be launched from the eastern Donbas area, the south or neighbouring Belarus, and could include another ground assault on Kyiv, which Moscow failed to capture early in the invasion, the officials said. (09:05 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Belarus on Monday for talks with his counterpart Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarus leader's office said. The Belarus presidency said the pair will hold discussions at the Independence Palace, Lukashenko's office, in Minsk during Putin's "working visit", which comes 10 months into Russia's offensive in Ukraine, which was launched from several directions, including Belarusian territory. Minsk said the pair will hold one-on-one talks as well as wider negotiations with their ministers on "Belarusian-Russian integration". The statement said the "presidents will also give priority to security issues and exchange views on the situation in the region and the world" but did not mention Ukraine. While the two countries have sought to deepen both economic and defence cooperation since the invasion began, Lukashenko has repeatedly said he did not intend to send Belarusian troops into Ukraine. (09:20 GMT) Emergency power blackouts are being brought in across Ukraine after a new wave of Russian missile attacks hit energy regions, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the presidential office, did not say which facilities had been hit. (09:58 GMT) The Kremlin is finalising the last details of how it is going to respond to the Group of Seven (G7) price cap on Russia's oil exports. Moscow has repeatedly said it will not sell oil to countries that comply with the cap and has promised to publish a presidential decree outlining Russia's full response this week. (10:39 GMT) Russian missile shelling caused "colossal" damage to infrastructure in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and mainly affected the energy system, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. "There is colossal damage to infrastructure, primarily the energy system," he said on Telegram. "I ask you to be patient with what is happening now. I know that in your houses there is no light, no heating, no water supply". (11:05 GMT) In his conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the only way forward in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, the Reuters news agency partner ANI said, citing the Prime Minister's Office. The Kremlin says Putin gave Modi his assessment of the Ukraine conflict at Modi's request. It said the leaders expressed satisfaction with the high level of cooperation in their "privileged strategic partnership" and discussed prospects for the two countries to work together in areas such as investment, energy, agriculture, transport and logistics. India has become a leading buyer of Russian energy since Western sanctions triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February sharply reduced Western purchases of Russian oil and gas. (11:24 GMT) Ukraine's air defences shot down 37 of 40 Russian missiles in the Kyiv area, a spokesman for the Ukrainian capital's military administration said. The missile attack was one of Russia's most significant since the start of the war, Mykhailo Shamanov said on television. Ukrainian air defences also shot down 10 missiles over the Dnipro region, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko said in a separate statement on Telegram. (11:37 GMT) Nine Ukrainian power facilities are damaged during Russia's latest missile attacks on critical infrastructure, Energy Minister German Galushchenko said on national television. "What we already see is damage to about nine generating facilities. Now we are still verifying the damage," he said. (12:17 GMT) Ukraine's power grid operator says it will take longer to repair the national grid and restore power than it did after previous Russian missile attacks. Russia fired more than 70 missiles at Ukraine on Friday morning. The grid operator said, "Considering this is already the ninth wave of missile strikes on energy facilities, the restoration of power supply may take longer than before. "Priority will be given to critical infrastructure facilities: hospitals, water supply facilities, heat supply facilities, and sewage treatment plants," it said. (12:38 GMT) TikTok says it will cut staff numbers in Russia after the company suspended key services for users in the country earlier this year, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the company's press office. "This year, we were forced to take a number of decisions regarding the operation of our service in Russia and now, unfortunately, we have had to reduce the number of employees in the country," the company said in a statement to RIA. Chinese-owned video app TikTok suspended live streaming and new uploads in Russia after Moscow introduced strict new media censorship regulations following its invasion of Ukraine in February. (13:21 GMT) Russian assets frozen by Hungary's government rose to 870 million euros ($925 million) by the end of November from a previously reported 3,000 euros, the newspaper Nepszava said. (13:46 GMT) The European Union says its latest round of sanctions will target Russia's military-industrial complex, as well as people and groups. Valdis Dombrovskis, a European Commission vice-president, said the package would deal a blow to 168 "entities", companies or state organisations, as well as some two dozen individuals. The ninth package of EU sanctions against Russia for its war in Ukraine was approved by EU leaders at a summit on Thursday 20221215 (14:07 GMT) The European Commission has approved the acquisition of Uniper SE by the German government, paving the way for nationalising the gas trading firm, which nearly collapsed after Russia stopped supplying gas. The acquisition was approved under the EU merger regulation after the Commission concluded it would raise no competition concerns. Gazprom used to be Uniper's biggest gas supplier, but deliveries were reduced in mid-year and entirely halted at the end of August, forcing Uniper to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to meet existing contracts. (14:41 GMT) The White House says the next security assistance package for Ukraine is coming, and it is expected to include more air defence capabilities. (15:06 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 296 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-296 (15:29 GMT) Croatian politicians have rejected a proposal that they should join an EU mission supporting the Ukrainian military after hours of debate reflecting deep divisions between the premier and the country's president. A majority was needed to agree on the proposal that would have included allowing up to 100 Ukrainian troops to be trained in Croatia over the next two years. President Zoran Milanovic, who is the supreme commander of the Croatian armed forces, opposed the plan. Of the 107 who voted in the 151-seat parliament, 97 supported it. Ten voted against it. Milanovic said Croatia should not be involved in the war and that the proposal would violate the constitution because it failed to clarify the basis for declaring Ukraine an ally, given that it is not a member of the EU or NATO. The European Union agreed in October to set up the Military Assistance Mission in support of Ukraine (EUMAM Ukraine) and appointed a Polish general to lead training that will mostly take place in Poland. (16:20 GMT) The Swiss government is adopting further sanctions in line with the European Union's latest measures on Russian crude oil and petroleum products, the cabinet said. The additional sanctions ban the transportation of Russian oil and petroleum sold above the price cap introduced earlier this month to trade and broker services. Switzerland's government said on December 8 it would adopt the price cap for Russian crude oil of $60 per barrel. (16:33 GMT) Canada is transferring a $500m loan to Ukraine following the sale of Canadian bonds allowing individuals and other entities to support Kyiv, Canada's Finance Department said in a statement. The government said that the loan, transferred through the International Monetary Fund (IMF), follows the sale of bonds costing $100 or more to Canadians, investors, institutions and other buyers. (16:50 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian people were awarded a prize for contributions to European unity. The prize committee said it selected Zelenskyy and Ukrainians for the 2023 International Charlemagne Prize because they were fighting Russia not only for the sovereignty of Ukraine "but also for Europe and European values," German news agency DPA reported. The committee said awarding the prize underscored that Ukraine is part of Europe. The prize, named for the Holy Roman emperor Charlemagne, who once ruled a large swath of western Europe from Aachen, Germany, has been awarded since 1950 for service to Europe and European unity. Last year's prize went to Belarusian opposition leaders Maria Kalesnikava, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Veronica Tsepkalo. (17:34 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemned the "indiscriminate terror" that Russia's latest missile attacks were inflicting on Ukraine. "These cruel, inhumane attacks aim to increase human suffering and deprive Ukrainian people, but also hospitals, emergency services and other critical services of electricity, heating and water." "These bombings constitute war crimes and are barbaric. All those responsible shall be held accountable." (18:10 GMT) Ukrainian power grid operator Ukrenergo has lifted the state of emergency it declared earlier in the day after Russian missile strikes cut nationwide energy consumption by more than 50%, it said in a statement. A senior Ukrainian official said earlier that emergency power shutdowns were being brought in across the country after Russian missiles hit energy facilities in several regions. (18:28 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia still had enough missiles for several more massive strikes, like the one launched earlier in the day against Ukraine's electricity generation system. (19:35 GMT) Private businesses in Ukraine are in line to receive $2bn in financing arranged by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to help rebuild the country's agriculture and fuel import industries, along with other ventures that have faced extensive losses because of the war. The IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, provides private-sector financing to developing countries. The loans differ from the billions that Ukraine has received in grants and other forms of no-strings-attached aid from donor nations, as they must be paid back. 20221217 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/17/russia-ukraine-updates-air-raid-alerts-sound-across-ukraine (12:08 GMT) Air raid sirens wailed across Ukraine a day after Russia carried out a massive missile attack on critical infrastructure. "Please go to the shelters!" Kyiv city's military administration said on Telegram. (12:10 GMT) The latest round of European Union sanctions against Russia over its war in Ukraine will only worsen problems within the bloc, a spokeswoman for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova says. EU leaders agreed this week to provide 18 billion euros ($19bn) in financing to Ukraine next year and hit Moscow with a ninth package of sanctions. The latest measures include blacklisting nearly 200 more people and barring investment in Russia's mining industry. (12:14 GMT) A shield is being set up over a storage site for nuclear waste at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine to protect it from shelling and drones, a Russian-installed official says. Video footage published by Vladimir Rogov shows workers mounting a screen of what appears to be some kind of transparent sheeting on wires above dozens of concrete cylinders about 5 metres high. "For now, it will protect against shrapnel and IEDs [improvised explosive devices] dropped from drones, but later on, it will be substantial." (12:25 GMT) Ukrainian rockets have killed three civilians in the Russian-controlled town of Shchastia in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk province, according to Russian-appointed regional authorities. In a post on Telegram, the officials said US-made HIMARS rockets also wounded five people and destroyed four houses. (13:12 GMT) The speed with which Germany managed to build and link up its first floating gas terminal to replace lost supplies of Russian gas should serve as a model for a new, pacier German economy, Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said at the terminal's opening. The 90 kilotonne Hoegh Esperanza, a shipborne regasification terminal, will in future be able to supply enough gas for 50,000 households for a year. Further floating liquid natural gas terminals will follow. (13:36 GMT) Moscow says "high-precision" weapons have hit Ukrainian military and energy facilities. "As a result of the strike, the transportation of weapons and ammunition of foreign production has been thwarted," the Russian Ministry of Defence said of Friday's attack. Ukrainian plants producing weapons, military equipment and ammunition have been disabled, it said. The statement was made a day after Ukraine was subjected to a barrage of missiles that cuts power to multiple cities and caused water shortages. (14:01 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says it's "unrealistic" to talk about a peace deal with Russia while urging allies to deliver more weapons to Ukraine. "Do not get distracted talking about unrealistic plans: you cannot come to an agreement with RF [the Russian Federation]," Podolyak said on Twitter. "War must end only with its defeat," he added. (14:58 GMT) The death toll from Friday's Russian missile attack in Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine has risen to four, Reuters reports. The strike was part of a wave of missile attacks on critical Ukrainian infrastructure that officials in Kyiv said was one of the largest. (15:42 GMT) Kyiv Independent reporter Illia Ponomarenko posted on Twitter that the main Christmas tree in Sofiyska Square in Kyiv is being installed a day after Russia carried out another wave of missile strikes on Ukraine, including Kyiv. (16:02 GMT) Moldova has reached a short-term energy deal that would help wean one of Europe's poorest countries off its dependence on Russian natural gas, a senior official says. The former Soviet republic of 2.5 million people, which faces soaring inflation from Russia's war on neighbouring Ukraine, has traditionally been heavily reliant on Russian gas. But Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said state gas firm Moldovagaz would buy 100 million cubic metres of gas from domestic supplier Energocom this month. It would be the first time that Moldova has not consumed any of the gas it has bought from Russia, he wrote on his Telegram channel. It was unclear where Energocom was buying the gas. (16:35 GMT) Russia has denounced a decision by neighbouring Moldova to temporarily ban six television channels as "political censorship". The small ex-Soviet state of Moldova accused the channels of airing "incorrect information" about the country and Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The channels - some of which broadcast in Moldovan and some in Russian - are closely tied to politician and businessman Ilan Shor, who fled the country in 2019 after the election of pro-Western President Maia Sandu. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/17/manipulate-public-opinion-moldova-suspends-six-tv-channels (17:00 GMT) Ukraine is working to restore electricity and water supplies after Russia's latest wave of attacks pitched multiple cities into darkness and forced people to endure sub-zero temperatures without heating or running water. Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said the metro service was relaunched early Saturday and water supply had been restored. However, a third of Kyiv residents were still without power, Klitschko added. Power was also restored throughout the eastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday, regional governor Oleg Sinegubov said, after the strikes left Ukraine's second city without electricity. Ukrenergo had warned the extent of the damage in the north, south and centre of the country meant it could take longer to restore supplies than after previous attacks. (17:23 GMT) A popular pedestrian bridge in central Kyiv has reopened after it was damaged by Russian airstrikes on the Ukrainian capital in October, the Kyiv mayor, Vitali Klitschko, announced. The bridge, known by locals as the "glass bridge" or "Klitschko's bridge", connects two central parks in Kyiv. (17:42 GMT) Russia's campaign of air strikes against Ukrainian critical infrastructure has largely consisted of air- and maritime-launched cruise missiles but has almost certainly also included Iranian-provided drones, according to the UK Ministry of Defence. In its latest intelligence update, the ministry said the Iranian-provided uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) were being launched from Russia's Krasnodar region, whereas previously, they were primarily launched from locations within occupied Crimea. The ministry said the change of launch site is likely due to Russian concerns about the "vulnerability" of Crimea. (18:12 GMT) Germany has opened its first floating terminal of liquified natural gas (LNG) one month after completing construction in the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven. Built to reduce the country's dependency on Russian gas, the terminal in Lower Saxony was completed in a short period of time. Germany hopes to have 30 billion cubic metres of import capacity by the end of next year. "Moscow's invasion of" Ukraine in February left Germany, which for decades prospered from plentiful piped Russian gas, looking for alternative sources of energy. (18:36 GMT) Four vessels containing a combined total of 145,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat have left the port of Odesa to Asia, the Ukrainian infrastructure ministry has said in a statement. (19:17 GMT) Ukraine has restored power to almost six million people in the last 24 hours after massive Russian attacks against the electricity generating system, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "Repair work continues without a break after yesterday's terrorist attack." (20:33 GMT) Azerbaijan has agreed to supply the EU with electricity via a subsea cable, as the bloc diversifies its energy supply away from Russia. European Commission President Ursula Von der Leyen said the bloc was definitively "turning its back" on reliance on Russian fossil fuels and diversifying towards "reliable energy partners" after green-lighting construction of a 1,195-kilometre (742 mile) cable under the Black Sea. She noted the scheme would enable electricity supplies to flow through to neighbouring states including Moldova and Ukraine, and aid modernisation of the latter's energy network. Construction on the subsea cable is due to start next year, linking Azerbaijan to Hungary via Georgia and Romania, although it is not expected to come on stream before 2029. (21:18 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has again appealed to Western allies to provide Ukraine with the means to defend its airspace. 20221218 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/18/grenade-launcher-gifted-by-ukraine-wounds-polish-police-chief Poland's police chief has said the explosion that left him hospitalised last week was caused by a grenade launcher he had received as a gift from Ukraine. Jaroslaw Szymczyk's comments to a local radio station on Saturday are the first to reveal details about the explosion that took place at his office in Warsaw on Wednesday. Ukrainian officials had assured the Polish delegation the launchers were not loaded, the source told RMF. The Polish delegation took them back to Warsaw by car before leaving them in the back room of Szymczyk's office, RMF reported. (football world cup final ...) 20221219 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/19/russia-ukraine-live-news-serious-damage-after-attack-on-kyiv (10:19 GMT) A new wave of Russian drones hit Ukraine targeting critical infrastructure in Moscow's third air attack on Kyiv in six days. The Ukrainian Air Force said its air defences shot down 30 incoming drones. Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said the attack caused "fairly serious" damage in the Kyiv region, and three areas have been left without power supply. According to preliminary information, Kyiv's mayor said, no one had died. (10:20 GMT) Vladimir Putin travels to Belarus for talks with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko. It is his first visit in three-and-a-half years with the Kremlin describing it as a broad "working visit". The Belarusian defence ministry says it has completed a series of inspections of its armed forces' military preparedness hours before Putin's visit to Minsk. (10:22 GMT) European Union ministers meet to finalise a long-awaited deal to implement a natural gas price cap that they hope can help households and businesses better weather excessive price surges. The ministers have previously failed to overcome their differences at five previous emergency meetings. (10:39 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce a new artillery package for Ukraine during a meeting with his Nordic, Baltic and Dutch counterparts in Riga, Latvia. Sunak will arrive in Latvia for the meeting to discuss ongoing efforts to counter Russian aggression in the Nordic and Baltic region with fellow members of the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF). A statement issued by the prime minister's office said he will announce that the UK will supply "hundreds of thousands of rounds of artillery ammunition next year under a £250 million [$304m] contract that will ensure a constant flow of critical artillery ammunition to Ukraine throughout 2023". The UK had led the way in "providing defensive aid to Ukraine including sending Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and recently 125 anti-aircraft guns", it said. "We have also provided more than 100,000 rounds of ammunition since February, with the deliveries directly linked to successful operations to retake territory in Ukraine," it added. (11:12 GMT) Austria says it has identified a 39-year-old Greek citizen they suspect of spying for Russia, adding that he is the son of a former Russian spy who was once stationed in Germany and Austria as a diplomat. Austria's Interior Ministry made the announcement in a statement after an investigation conducted by its domestic intelligence agency "in close international cooperation". The unnamed suspect "was in contact with diplomats and intelligence officials from various countries and was in Moscow shortly before and during the military invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces", the statement said. The suspect, who faces up to five years in prison for "supporting a secret intelligence agency to the detriment of Austria", is not being remanded in custody, it said, adding that the justice system would take undefined further steps. (11:24 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have shot down four US-made HARM anti-radiation missiles over the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, in the space of 24 hours, the state-run TASS news agency reported. One person died, and several were injured by Ukrainian shelling in the region on Sunday morning, the region's governor said. (11:41 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked Western leaders meeting in Latvia to supply a wide range of weapon systems. "I ask you to increase the possibility of supplying air defence systems to our country, and to help speed up the relevant decisions to be taken by our partners," Zelenskyy asked Sunak during his speech on a video link, addressing a meeting in Riga of leaders of countries in the Joint Expeditionary Force. The UK-led grouping, configured to respond rapidly to crises in Northern Europe, comprises Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. (11:54 GMT) Russian warships will participate in joint naval drills with China, showcasing increasingly close defence ties between the two countries as they face tensions with the US. The Russian defence ministry said the Varyag missile cruiser, the Marshal Shaposhnikov destroyer and two corvettes of Russia's Pacific Fleet would take part in manoeuvres in the East China Sea starting Wednesday. The ministry said the Chinese navy planned to deploy several surface warships and a submarine for the exercise. Russian and Chinese aircraft will also take part in the drills, according to the ministry. (12:09 GMT) The Kremlin says it is still considering what measures it will put in place in response to the G7 price cap on Russia's oil exports, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Moscow had initially planned to publish a presidential decree outlining its response, including a possible ban on selling oil to countries that comply with the cap, last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "There is some groundwork that has been put down on paper, but there are also additional proposals that are being considered and discussed." "We still have the task of working out what measures will best suit our interests. The work is ongoing, but it is close to completion." (12:28 GMT) As the Russian president travels to Belarus to meet his counterpart, the Kremlin dismisses any ideas that Putin will be pushing for Minsk to take a more active role in the war, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Kremlin spokesman Peskov said such reports were "groundless" and "stupid". (12:51 GMT) Ukraine's atomic agency Energoatom says a Russian drone flew over a part of the South Ukraine nuclear power plant just after midnight on Monday. "This is an absolutely unacceptable violation of nuclear and radiation safety," Energoatom said on Telegram. (13:37 GMT) Hungary will not have to notify the European Commission if it wants to modify its long-term gas contract with Russia if a European Union gas price cap is approved, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a televised press briefing. "It was important for us that in this very bad proposal, as a small achievement, we got a free hand to modify [the contract]. That is, we do not need to consult with the European Commission about modifications to the long-term contract [with Russia] if that becomes necessary in case of a price cap," Szijjarto said. EU ministers are meeting in Brussels for a final push towards agreeing on a price cap. (13:57 GMT) German gas lobby Zukunft Gas says an EU-wide price cap is a "political illusion" that will not work in practice. Timm Kehler, managing director, said in a statement to the Reuters news agency it would make more sense to curb demand through a Europe-wide mechanism to allocate gas volumes. "But that is not on the table in Brussels," he added. Germany, the most significant member state and mainland Europe gas market, has criticised proposed caps, fearing it will work towards blocking access to gas on the world market. (14:44 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, says Ukraine will neither "surrender nor fulfill RF's [Russian Federation] ultimatums". He tweeted: "To European partners: 1. Ukraine will neither surrender nor fulfill RF's ultimatums. 2. Decide what is more profitable - to allow the destruction of transformers or to provide AD [aerial defence]. 3. War ending can only be accelerated by increasing artillery/tanks supply. Even unilaterally ..." (15:05 GMT) Shareholders in Uniper approved a state bailout that has so far cost the German government more than 50 billion euros ($53 billion). Chief Executive Klaus-Dieter Maubach said in a virtual meeting that the disarray caused by the loss of gas supplies from Russia could leave shareholders with nothing if they did not accept the German proposal. Russia's Gazprom was once Uniper's biggest gas supplier, but a big drop in deliveries after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine forced the German gas importer to buy gas elsewhere at much higher prices to honour its contracts. That, Maubach said, was the sole reason for the bailout. (15:29 GMT) The Canadian government says it will start the process to seize and pursue the forfeiture of $26m from Granite Capital Holdings Ltd, a company owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. (15:43 GMT) UN Chief Antonio Guterres says he "will not relent in the pursuit of peace in Ukraine in line with international law and the United Nations Charter". A vital principle of the UN Charter is respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Guterres also said he would convene a "no-nonsense" Climate Ambition Summit in September next year, urging leaders from all sectors to step with "new, tangible and credible" action. (16:02 GMT) European Union countries approve a cap on gas prices which would be triggered if benchmark gas prices spike to 180 euros ($191) per megawatt hour, according to officials and a document by the Reuters news agency. The EU gas price cap will come into play if prices on the front-month Dutch Title Transfer Facility gas hub contract exceed 180 euro per megawatt hour for three days. The cap can be triggered from February 15 onwards and will not apply to over-the-counter trades initially. (16:56 GMT) A European Union agreement on a gas price cap means an end to market manipulation by Russia and Gazprom, Poland's prime minister said. Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on Twitter: "We have an agreement on a maximum gas price of 180 euros [$191] per megawatt hour. At the recent meetings in Brussels, our majority coalition managed to break the resistance - mainly from Germany. "This means the end of market manipulation by Russia and its company Gazprom." (16:17 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says there has been a massive escalation in hostilities between Russia and Ukraine as Russia continues its bombardment of electrical infrastructure. Speaking at the final UN news conference of the year, he said there is no military solution to the conflict but did not think peace talks are imminent. "I am not optimistic about the possibility of effective peace talks in the immediate future," said Guterres. Guterres says the UN is "probably the only platform" that can speak to both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, adding that it would continue to try to be helpful to "minimise suffering" in Ukraine, including helping prisoner exchanges. (17:08 GMT) South Korea's Hyundai Motor Company, formerly one of Russia's biggest car makers, has begun laying off workers at its St Petersburg factory, which has stood idle since March, largely due to the effects of Russia's war in Ukraine. About 2,600 people built Hyundai and Kia cars at the plant, which has a capacity of some 200,000 vehicles per year. (17:28 GMT) Moldova's spy chief Alexandru Musteata said there was a "very high" risk of a new Russian offensive towards his country's east next year, and that Moscow is still aiming to secure a land corridor through Ukraine to the breakaway Moldovan region of Transnistria. (17:42 GMT) The Kremlin said the price cap for natural gas of 180 euros ($191) per megawatt hour agreed on by EU energy ministers after months of wrangling was "unacceptable". "This is a violation of the market price-setting, an infringement on market processes, any reference to a [price] cap is unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was cited as saying by Russian state-run news agencies. 18:01 GMT) Germany has frozen 5.046 billion euros ($5.36bn) in Russian assets as part of the EU's sanctions over the Ukraine war. The government in Berlin released the figure in response to a question by Christian Gorke, a member of parliament for the hardline socialist Die Linke (Left Party). The government says 2.21 billion euros ($2.35bn) of the frozen assets are funds that were reported to the central bank, the Bundesbank, by German banks. In addition, there are "moveable assets" worth 1.099 billion euros ($1.17bn). (18:30 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said that Russia does not want to "absorb" anyone, and that unspecified "enemies" wanted to stop Russia's integration with Belarus. Putin was speaking at a joint press conference in Minsk with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. (19:20 GMT) After weeks of talks across the European Union, the bloc has agreed on a gas price cap as it seeks to tame the energy crisis. Once implemented, the price cap would prevent trades being done on the front-month to front-year TTF contracts at a price more than 35 euros ($37)/MWh above a reference level based on existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) price assessments, two EU officials said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/19/eu-countries-agree-gas-price-cap-to-battle-energy-crisis (19:37 GMT) President Putin has described talks with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko as "very fruitful". His host in Minsk, in turn, spoke of "constructive and productive" talks, the Russian state news agency TASS reported on Monday after the conclusion of the talks in Minsk. Among other things, the two heads of state had agreed on a continuation of military cooperation, as well as even closer economic cooperation. Putin believes that both Moscow and Minsk successfully resisted pressure from Western sanctions and attempts to isolate Russia and Belarus. "We are coordinating our steps to minimise the influence of the illegal restriction measures on our economy," Putin said. "And we are doing it quite convincingly and effectively." (20:05 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused President Zelenskyy of a "lack of understanding of the seriousness of the moment and lack of concern for his people." "He is just bubbling with ideas," Lavrov said in an interview with the Belarus 1 TV channel in Minsk. Zelenskyy's ideas, which Lavrov did not specify, in turn, revealed the "racist character" of the leadership in Kyiv. (20:21 GMT) Waves of Russian attacks on Ukraine's electrical grid have failed to dim the country's determination to resist Moscow, but Washington and its allies need to do more to help the country keep the power on, a senior US diplomat said. "I think this strategic bombing campaign ... has clearly failed in its attempt to break the will of the Ukrainian population," Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt told Reuters three days after returning from talks in Kyiv. (20:31 GMT) Putin's statement saying Russia does not want to absorb anyone should be treated as the "height of irony" given that he is currently seeking to absorb Ukraine, US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said. He said Washington would continue to watch very closely whether Belarus would provide additional support to Putin in Russia's war in Ukraine and would respond "appropriately" if it does. 20221220 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/20/russia-ukraine-live-putin-orders-fsb-to-boost-surveillance (06:01 GMT) Putin has ordered the Federal Security Service (FSB) to step up surveillance of Russian society and the country's borders to prevent risks from abroad and traitors at home. Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Security Services Day - widely celebrated in Russia - Putin said the "emergence of new threats" increases the need for greater intelligence activity. "Work must be intensified through the border services and the Federal Security Service (FSB)," Putin said. (06:22 GMT) The United States and its allies have clashed with Iran and its ally Russia over Western claims that Tehran is supplying Moscow with drones that have been attacking Ukraine - and the US accused the UN secretary-general of "yielding to Russian threats" and failing to launch an investigation. Iran's UN ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani said that all restrictions on transferring arms to and from Iran were terminated in October 2020 and that Western claims that Tehran needed prior approval "has no legal merit". Iravani also insisted that drones were not transferred to Russia for use in Ukraine, saying "the misinformation campaign and baseless allegations ... serve no purpose other than to divert attention from Western states' transfer of massive amounts of advanced, sophisticated weaponry to Ukraine in order to prolong the conflict". (06:34 GMT) Russia's Transneft has received requests for oil for 2023 from Poland and Germany, the Russian state RIA news agency has reported, citing Nikolay Tokarev, head of the energy company. (07:15 GMT) Russian drones attack Kyiv as Ukraine struggles to restore power Kyiv's military administration says it has shot down 15 drones on Monday morning. Russia's drone attack caused "fairly serious" damage in Kyiv and three areas were left without power supplies, Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said. Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports from Kyiv. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTNQdY7wiUo (07:20 GMT) List of key events: Day 300 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-300 (07:45 GMT) China, Russia hold joint naval exercises to 'deepen' partnership The drills will be held off the coast of Zhejiang province south of Shanghai from Wednesday until next Tuesday, according to a brief notice posted on Monday by China's Eastern Theater Command of the People's Liberation Army. (08:08 GMT) In the UK, many Ukrainians who have been welcomed into host families face an uncertain future. The government has announced extra funding as refugees extend their stay through Christmas. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYUnj0HpgFk (08:10 GMT) Putin says the situation in four territories of Ukraine that Russia claims to have annexed is "extremely difficult". "The situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult," Putin told the Russian security services on their professional holiday. He singled out those working in the "new regions of Russia". "The people living there, the citizens of Russia, rely on you, on your protection," he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/20/putin-tells-security-services-to-find-traitors-and-spies-media (08:19 GMT) Russia's Transneft has received requests for oil for 2023 from Poland and Germany, the state oil pipeline monopoly's head told Rossiya-24 TV station, according to TASS news agency. The EU has pledged to stop buying Russian oil via maritime routes from December 5, with Western nations also imposing price caps on Russian crude oil, but the Druzhba pipeline remains exempt from sanctions. Transneft's comments are at odds with suggestions last month that Poland aimed to abandon a deal to buy Russian crude. (08:52 GMT) Russia renews attacks as Kyiv tries to restore power https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HK_xJr-WtSg (09:04 GMT) Which European nations are handling the energy crisis best? France, Spain, Germany, Italy and Greece are doing some things right, but face challenging times ahead, say experts. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/20/which-european-nations-are-handling-the-energy-crisis-best (09:30 GMT) The rouble has dropped to a more than seven-month low against the dollar as fears rise over the possible effect of sanctions on oil and gas on the Russian currency. On Tuesday morning, the rouble was 2.2 % weaker against the dollar at 69.19, its weakest mark since May 11. It had lost 2 % to trade at 73.54 versus the euro, its weakest since May 6, and shed 2.4 % against the yuan to 9.89, clipping a near six-month low. The rouble remains the world's best-performing currency this year. (09:48 GMT) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) says it has approved an economic monitoring program for Ukraine, which could help Kyiv secure donor funding. The monitoring programme "is designed to help Ukraine maintain stability and catalyze donor financing amid very large balance of payment needs and exceptionally high risks," following the Russian invasion, the International Monetary Fund said in a statement. (10:10 GMT) Ukraine is accelerating efforts to remove statues of Soviet and Russian influence from its public spaces and renaming hundreds of streets to honour its own artists, poets, soldiers, and others. Following Moscow's invasion, Ukraine's leaders have shifted a campaign that once focused on dismantling its Communist past into one of "de-Russification". Streets that honoured revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin or the Bolshevik Revolution were largely already gone; now Russia, not the Soviet legacy, is the next. Municipal workers dismantle a monument of Russian writer Alexander Pushkin in the city centre of Dnipro This month, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced about 30 more streets in the capital would be changed. (10:31 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell condemns Iran's support for Russia and the ongoing repression of opposition in the country but said the EU would continue working with Iran to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. (11:19 GMT) Zelenskyy has visited the front-line city of Bakhmut, his office said. (11:41 GMT) Ukraine energy company Naftogaz said that Russia attacked Ukrainian oil and gas facilities in the country's east overnight. "Enemy missiles hit one of the facilities in the Kharkiv region. A large-scale fire broke out at the site, its elimination is currently under way. There are no casualties," the company said in a statement. (12:00 GMT) The Ukrainian government is authorising the agriculture ministry to identify critical facilities that should be prioritised for receiving energy supplies, the ministry said. Under a government resolution, companies in the "food processing industry and agriculture complex, (and in the) operation of irrigation systems and canals" will be selected to receive priority energy supplies. Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure with missile and drone strikes since October, forcing Kyiv to implement emergency blackouts while repairs are carried out. Last week, the grain traders union (UGA) asked the government to ensure priority supplies of electricity to grain silos to reduce potential damage to the harvest. (12:14 GMT) An explosion hit the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhhorod gas exporting pipeline, which leads from Russia through Ukraine, the RBC news outlet reported citing local officials. The regional Emergency Ministry in Russia's Chuvash Republic, where the incident took place near the Volga city of Kazan, said it has received a call about a fire at a gas pipeline without naming it. TASS cited local emergency services as saying three people had died and one had been injured. The Chuvashia regional Emergencies Ministry said the pipeline had blown up during planned maintenance work near the village of Kalinino, about 150km west of the Volga city of Kazan. The pipeline, built in the 1980s, enters Ukraine via the Sudzha metering point, currently, the main route for Russian gas to reach Europe. (12:33 GMT) Electricity supplies in the Kyiv region are at a "critical" level, with less than half the capital's power needs being supplied after more focused Russian missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure, regional officials said. Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said 80% of the region was without electricity for a second day after Russian drones hit energy infrastructure on Monday. "The situation with electricity supplies remains critical," Kuleba said on Telegram. "I want to stress that with every shelling by the enemy, the complexity and duration of the repairs increase." (13:25 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Bakhmut front line, which has become the site of the heaviest fighting, to award soldiers for their efforts in defending Ukraine. On Telegram, Zelenskyy wrote: "Bakhmut Fortress. Our people. Unconquered by the enemy. Who, with their bravery, prove that we will endure and will not give up what's ours. (13:38 GMT) Poland's PKN Orlen will not extend a contract for Russian oil that expires in January. The refiner said that a second long-term contract would not be implemented when sanctions are introduced, confirming a report by the Polish agency PAP. "PKN Orlen will not extend the long-term contract, which expires in January 2023," the company said in a statement. "The only binding contract for the supply of Russian oil in 2023 will cease to be implemented when the sanctions are introduced, for which we are prepared". (13:57 GMT) British defence minister Ben Wallace said Russia intends to give Iran advanced military components in exchange for drones. "Iran has become one of Russia's top military backers," Wallace told Parliament as part of a statement on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. "In return for having supplied more than 300 kamikaze drones, Russia now intends to provide Iran with advanced military components, undermining both Middle East and international security." (14:16 GMT) China's crude oil imports from Russia rose 17 % in November as Chinese refiners rushed to secure more cargoes in advance of the G7 price cap on December 5. The jump made Russia the top oil supplier for China ahead of Saudi Arabia. (14:34 GMT) A local unit of the Russian energy company, Gazprom, says gas is being supplied to customers in full through parallel pipelines following damage to a section of the Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhhorod pipeline. (14:51 GMT) A senior state department official said there are conflicting views in Russia on whether or not to launch a counteroffensive in Ukraine. "Certainly, there are some [within Russia] who I think would want to pursue offensives in Ukraine. There are others who have real questions about the capacity for Russia to actually do that," the Reuters News agency reported the state department official as saying, on the condition of anonymity. The official reiterated that Washington would continue its support of Kyiv regardless of which scenario plays out. Ukraine's top general, Valery Zaluzhnyi, told The Economist last week that Russia was preparing 200,000 fresh troops for a major offensive that could come from the east, south or even from Belarus as early as January, but more likely in spring. (15:10 GMT) The World Health Organisation says 10 million people, or approximately a quarter of Ukraine's population, may suffer from a mental health disorder due to the war. "WHO estimates that up to 10 million people are at risk of some form of a mental disorder, varying from anxiety and stress to more severe conditions," Jarno Habicht, WHO's representative in Ukraine, told a Geneva news briefing via video link. Severe conditions include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). (15:34 GMT) Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva says he has spoken with Russian President Vladimir Putin and said he wished him a good administration and hoped that relations between the two countries would be strengthened. "Today I spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin, who congratulated me on the electoral victory, wished a good government and the strengthening of the relationship between our countries. Brazil has returned, seeking dialogue with everyone and committed to the search for a world without hunger and with peace", Lula, who will take office from incumbent Jair Bolsonaro on January 1, said on Twitter. (15:56 GMT) Russia's oil pipeline monopoly Transneft says Kazakh oil will not be able to replace Russian oil for refineries in Germany, the TASS news agency reported. Oil supplies to Germany from Kazakhstan could "technically" amount to 3-5 million tonnes per year. Germany's economy ministry said on Monday it was optimistic that Kazakh oil could help supplement replacement crude oil shipments for the eastern German refinery at Schwedt that will no longer import Russian oil under European Union sanctions. (16:15 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister says Russia could prepare an attack force in Belarus to launch a new offensive on Ukraine. Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov and other Ukrainian officials suggested that Moscow could attempt a winter offensive after mobilising more troops. On Monday, Vladimir Putin visit Belarus, sparking fears of involving Belarus in the conflict in a more direct way. Reznikov told Ukrainian television there was no evidence that Russia had already begun assembling an offensive-ready combat force in Belarus or that Minsk would be dragged into the war. "I think it's not in the interests of the leadership of Belarus to waste its military potential," Reznikov said. (16:34 GMT) Ukraine revokes the press accreditation of Danish state broadcaster DR's correspondent over allegations of having spread Russian propaganda, DR said. Matilde Kimer, an award-winning journalist who has covered Ukraine and Russia for DR since 2014, said Ukraine initially revoked her accreditation in August. At a meeting in Kyiv in December, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) alleged that she was spreading Russian propaganda with her social media posts appearing to sympathise with Russia, Kimer told Reuters news agency. According to her, the security service did not provide evidence of their allegations. DR's foreign policy editor, Niels Kvale, called the allegations "completely undocumented and crazy", and Kimer herself denied biased reporting. (17:38 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Justice has asked the Moscow City Court to shut down one of the country's oldest human rights organisations, TASS news agency reports, citing a court's representative. The Moscow Helsinki Group, which traces its roots to the Soviet era, produces an annual report on Russia's human rights situation. Valery Borshov, co-chair of the organisation, said authorities had put forward a "nonsense" allegation that the group's own charters barred it from defending human rights outside the capital - something it has always openly done. The move comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin has accelerated a sweeping crackdown on dissenting voices from independent media, human rights organisations and opposition supporters. Last year, a court dissolved two other major human rights groups, Memorial Human Rights Centre and its parent structure, Memorial International. (18:28 GMT) Luxembourg's finance ministry has said it had authorised the release of certain frozen funds or economic resources held at the Clearstream settlement house by Russia's National Settlement Depository (NSD). The general licence issue should allow non-sanctioned Russian investors to transfer assets from the NSD - Russia's domestic paying agent that was sanctioned by the EU in June - to other locations. Luxembourg's finance ministry said in a statement that funds would be released "on the condition that these funds or economic resources are necessary for the termination, by January 7, 2023, of operations, contracts or other agreements concluded with, or otherwise involving, that entity before June 3, 2022". (18:40 GMT) Two Turkish military transport aircraft that had been stranded in Ukraine since the beginning of the war 10 months ago have safely returned to Turkey, the defence ministry says. The two Airbus A400M military transport planes of the Turkish Air Force had flown to Kyiv-Boryspil Airport shortly after midnight on February 24, just as Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. The defence ministry said the two aircraft had gone to Kyiv to deliver humanitarian supplies and evacuate Turkish citizens but was stranded at Kyiv's airport when Ukrainian air space was closed due to the outbreak of hostilities. (19:02 GMT) The European Commission has said in a statement it had approved a 34.5 billion euro ($36.6bn) German plan to recapitalise German natural gas trader, Uniper. 20221221 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/21/russia-ukraine-live-zelenskyy-expected-to-visit-washington (06:25 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Washington, DC on Wednesday for a meeting with his counterpart Joe Biden and for an address to Congress - his first trip abroad since Russia invaded in February. The unannounced trip came as Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to meet senior military officials on Wednesday to weigh the results so far of Russia's war and set goals for next year after a series of battlefield defeats. (06:27 GMT) A United States official has said President Joe Biden's administration will soon announce a $1.8bn military aid package for Kyiv, which will for the first time include a Patriot missile battery and precision-guided bombs for Ukrainian fighter jets, amid reports the war-torn country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy may visit Washington, DC. US officials described details of the aid package on condition of anonymity on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/21/us-to-send-1-8bn-aid-to-ukraine-including-patriot-system-media (06:33 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he is on his way to the United States for talks with US President Joe Biden and to address the US Congress. "On my way to the United States to strengthen resilience and defence capabilities of Ukraine," Zelenskyy said on his Twitter account. "In particular @POTUS and I will discuss cooperation between Ukraine and the United States. I will also have a speech at the Congress and a number of bilateral meetings." (06:57 GMT) Ukrainian officials say electricity supplies in the Kyiv region are at a "critical" level, with less than half the capital's power needs being supplied after more focused Russian missile and drone attacks on civilian infrastructure. Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said 80% of the region was without electricity for a second day after Russian drones hit energy infrastructure on Monday. (07:22 GMT) Belarus has issued a ruling temporarily restricting access to parts of the southeastern Gomel region that borders Ukraine and Russia. The government said on its website it would "temporarily restrict entry, temporary stay and movement in the border zone within the Loevsky, Braginsky and Khoiniki districts of the Gomel region". (08:01 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 301 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-301 (08:30 GMT) China hopes all parties in the Ukraine crisis will maintain restraint and resolve security concerns through political means, President Xi Jinping told Dmitry Medvedev, chairman of the United Russia party, during a meeting in Beijing, according to Chinese state media Xinhua. Xi also told Medvedev he hopes the Chinese Communist Party and United Russia can promote communication and provide wisdom to deepen strategic cooperation between China and Russia, Xinhua reported. (09:03 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says it appears no European countries are conducting a proper investigation into the series of explosions that ruptured the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September. "After the explosions on Nord Stream - which, it appears nobody in the European Union is going to objectively investigate - Russia stopped gas transportation through the northern routes," Lavrov said. Russia has blamed Britain for the explosions - claims rejected by London - while investigators in Sweden and Denmark said they were the deliberate results of sabotage, though did not name any possible culprits. (09:21 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency head, Rafael Grossi, will visit Russia on Thursday to discuss creating a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. (09:38 GMT) The Kremlin says it sees no prospect of peace talks with Ukraine after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a visit to Washington. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that continued Western arms supplies to Ukraine would lead to a "deepening" of the conflict. (09:53 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to the US is "extremely significant" and will disprove Russian attempts to show that US-Ukrainian relations are slowing down, a presidential adviser said. Political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency in written comments that Zelenskyy's trip provides an opportunity to explain the situation in Ukraine, what weapons Kyiv needs and why. "Firstly, both the visit itself and the level of planned meetings unequivocally testify to the high degree of trust between the countries. Secondly, this finally puts an end to the attempts by the Russian side ... to prove an allegedly growing cooling in our bilateral relations," Podolyak said. "This, of course, is not even close. The United States unequivocally supports Ukraine." (10:13 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will join in a video conference marking the launch of the Kovykta gasfield, which feeds into the Siberia pipeline carrying Russian gas to China, the Kremlin said. The field is the largest in eastern Russia, and its launch is part of a significant drive by Russia to ramp up gas supplies to China as the European Union imposes oil and gas sanctions on Moscow. "This is a unique deposit," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia is now Beijing's third-highest gas supplier. There are also plans to construct another major pipeline, the Power of Siberia 2, via Mongolia with a view to selling an additional 50 bcm of gas per year. (10:31 GMT) Pope Francis calls on people to remember Ukrainian children freezing this Christmas. "Let us think of the many children in Ukraine who suffer, suffer so much, because of this war," he said at the end of his weekly general audience in the Vatican. The pope has been making appeals for Ukraine at nearly every public appearance, usually at least twice weekly, since Russia invaded in February. (10:45 GMT) In light of earlier news that the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is expected to visit Russia on Thursday, the Kremlin said that President Vladimir Putin had no plans to meet him. Grossi is visiting Russia to discuss a security zone around the Zaporizhzhia power plant which is based in Russian-controlled territory. (11:15 GMT) The Kremlin warns that increasing the supply of US arms to Kyiv will aggravate the war and "does not bode well" for Ukraine. "Weapon supplies [by the US] continue, the assortment of supplied weapons is expanding. All this, of course, leads to an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Peskov's comments were the first official Russian reaction to the news that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was heading to Washington for a summit with US President Joe Biden. (11:29 GMT) Air raid alerts were activated across Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv, warning of possible Russian air raids. Local authorities urged the public to find and take safe shelter until the all-clear is given. The alert comes as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits the US in his first known visit abroad since the war began this February. (12:01 GMT) What will further Western weapons mean for the war? | Inside Story ukraine war western military aid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OzMVN54hyI (12:19 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin pledges that Russia will fulfil all the goals of its military campaign in Ukraine as he heralded soldiers and defence chiefs as "heroes" in a speech in Moscow. Speaking at an end-of-year meeting of Russia's top defence chiefs, Putin says NATO was using its full capabilities against Russia and urged the assembled military leaders to use their experience gained fighting in Syria and during its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Putin promises to give the armed forces anything they ask to support the military campaign in Ukraine. In a speech to defence chiefs in Moscow, Putin said there were no financial limits on what the government would provide its military. He added that Russia needs to take special note of the importance of drones in the conflict and said Russia's hypersonic Sarmat missile, known as "Satan II", would be ready for deployment soon. Putin says the defence ministry needs to take on board criticism of its actions during the "special military operation" in Ukraine and that the recent mobilisation drive highlighted specific problems. (12:46) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu added that Russia's forces were destroying Ukraine's military potential and accused the West of trying to "drag out" the conflict. Shoigu also said the mobilisation drive, which called up 300,000 reservists to the armed forces, had been a severe test for the country and the army but had increased Russia's combat capabilities. Shoigu proposes raising the age range for mandatory military service to cover citizens aged 21-30 as he said forces would continue fighting in Ukraine next year. Under the current law, Russians aged between 18-27 can be called up for mandatory military service, but Shoigu and President Vladimir Putin have repeatedly said they are not being sent to fight in Ukraine. (13:13 GMT) As Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visits Washington to meet the US president and ask for more weapons, the US national security spokesman speaking on MSNBC said the visit comes at a "very precarious time in the war". "This visit comes in a very, very precarious time in the war, I don't think I need to tell you. We're sort of in a new phase here as Russia continues to step up their air attacks on civilian infrastructure, civilian targets and the civilian population," John Kirby said. (13:24 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says battlefield losses in Ukraine were "a common tragedy" and that he continues to see the Ukrainians as a "brotherly nation". Putin added Russia's enemies wanted to see them disintegrate and repeated a claim that Russia was forced to launch their military action due to what he called Western "provocations". (13:36 GMT) Russia's defence minister says the military must be expanded from its current one million personnel to 1.5 million as the conflict is set to continue into 2023. Defence minister Sergei Shoigu said the number should include 695,000 volunteer contract soldiers. He did not say when the military planned to reach the new number. Shoigu added the Russian military would form new units in the country's west because of plans by Finland and Sweden to join NATO. (14:23 GMT) Al Jazeera's Alan Fisher, reporting from Washington, says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be in the US capital for a "few hours", but it is "hugely significant" that his first foreign visit is to the US. "There's been some talk over the past couple of days over the Ukrainians obtaining the Patriot missile defence systems from the US and that is going to happen," he said. "Zelenskyy will spend some time talking to [President] Joe Biden; he will meet the national security team, as well. He will talk about the situation on the battleground and what help the United States can give economically, militarily, and humanitarian issues, as well." (14:44 GMT) Sweden's government warns households and companies to prepare for possible winter power cuts amid a shortfall of energy in Europe after Russia reduced its gas exports. "The risk of outages is real and Swedes must prepare themselves for this," Minister for Civilian Defence Carl-Oskar Bohlin told a news conference. "Sweden has never been in this situation before," he said. Emergency plans must consider the possibility of short and more extended outages where power does not return as planned, the minister said. "Those who under normal circumstances can take care of themselves, must also be able to do so in a crisis such as a power outage," Bohlin said. In case of an outage, households should designate a room in which the family can stay to preserve heat over time, the minister said. "It's better to be prepared than not. This is not an attempt at being alarmist," Bohlin said. (15:08 GMT) Slovakia is exempt from European Union sanctions on Russian oil and will continue exporting oil products, including diesel, to energy-starved Ukraine, economy minister Karel Hirman said. The country's main refiner Slovnaft, part of Hungarian energy firm MOL, faced having to stop exporting products refined from Russian oil to most markets when the sanctions take effect on February 5. (15:33 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said the United States is the "leader of the democratic world" as President Zelenskyy visits Washington for the first time since the war began. Podolyak tweeted, "US is the undisputed leader of the democratic world. Ukraine is the undisputed leader today in defending this world's values, freedom, competition, international law. It's important to understand what still needs to be done for the authoritarian monster (Russia) to finally lose". (15:53 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the US Congress at 7:30pm local time (00:30 GMT on Thursday), House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a tweet. (16:28 GMT) The US is expected to announce new export controls targeting Iranian drones and drone parts that Russia has used in Ukraine, Bloomberg News reports, citing people familiar with the matter. Bloomberg said the announcement of the export controls by President Joe Biden's administration will coincide with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's trip to Washington on Wednesday and could be part of a larger sanctions package. (16:50 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia can achieve the goals of the "special military operation" in Ukraine without damaging the economy by militarising it. At an end-of-year conference of Russia's top military chiefs, Putin said Russia would improve its military forces steadily without undermining the quality of social services for Russians. (17:19 GMT) The White House has announced that it will provide $1.85 billion in military aid to Ukraine, rolling out funding for a Patriot missile battery amid Ukrainian President Zelenskyy's visit to Washington for a first trip out of his country since Russia invaded in February. The package includes $1 billion in weapons and equipment from Pentagon stocks, including the Patriot battery, and $850 million in funding through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Part of the USAI will be used to fund a satellite communications system, which likely will include the crucial SpaceX Starlink satellite network system owned by Elon Musk. (18:16 GMT) The Ukrainian president has arrived in Washington https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/21/us-confirms-patriot-system-for-ukraine-zelenskyy-arrives-in-dc (18:49 GMT) The Russian mercenary group fighting in Ukraine aims to recruit women jailed in Russia and deploy them to the front, the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, says. "Not only nurses and communications staff but also in sabotage groups and sniper pairs," the 61-year-old said, referring to World War II-era female sharpshooters hailed in Soviet propaganda. "Everyone knows this has been done before." "We're getting there. There's some resistance, but I think we'll overcome it," Prigozhin said on social media. (19:04 GMT) Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy has said he was in Washington to thank the United States for its help in the war against Russia and would also hold talks to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities. "Next year, we must return the Ukrainian flag and freedom to our entire land, to all our people," he said in a statement on Telegram alongside photos of him on US soil. (19:45 GMT) President Biden welcomed Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy to the White House with renewed assurances of US support amid Russia's continued onslaught on Ukraine. "Thank you first of all," Zelenskyy told the US president. "It's a great honour to be here." (20:14 GMT) US basketball star Brittney Griner called on her supporters to write letters to Paul Whelan, the former US marine held in Russia, days after she was released from a Russian penal colony as part of a prisoner swap. (20:22 GMT) Russian lawmakers approved new legislation Wednesday that could see "saboteurs" handed long jail terms, pointing to emerging "terror threats" - including from foreigners - amid the Ukraine conflict. 20221222 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/22/ukraine-updates-aid-to-ukraine-is-not-charity-zelenskyy-says (06:52 GMT) Ukraine's Zelenskyy told cheering US legislators during a defiant wartime visit to the nation's capital that against all odds his country still stands, thanking Americans for helping to fund the war effort with money that is "not charity," but an "investment" in global security and democracy. Zelenskyy called the tens of billions of dollars in US military and economic assistance provided over the past year vital to Ukraine's efforts to beat back Russia and appealed for even more in the future. "Your money is not charity," he sought to reassure both US lawmakers and citizens. "It's an investment in the global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way." (06:52 GMT) Zelenskyy's visit to Washinton was revealed just hours ahead of the Ukrainian president's arrival but it was months in the making. During an October summit in Zagreb, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed with her counterpart in the Ukrainian parliament the prospect of Zelenskyy addressing the US Congress. Biden administration officials had similarly for months talked with Ukraine about a Zelenskyy visit to the White House, hoping for one before year's end to send an unmistakable signal of support ahead of a brutal winter that could deepen Russian President Vladimir Putin's assault. In a December 11 phone call between the two leaders, Biden reiterated the invitation. (06:53 GMT) The US will provide Ukraine with $1.85 billion as part of military assistance, Washington confirmed during Zelenskyy's visit to Washington. The aid will include "the first transfer of a Patriot air defence system," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding that the system is "capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling than previously provided" air defence systems. The missiles and aid will be used to protect Ukraine from recent Russian attacks from the air that have targeted civilian infrastructure such as power plants, resulting in mass blackouts across the country. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/15/what-can-the-patriot-missile-do-for-ukraine (06:57 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the expansion of Western weapon supplies to Ukraine has led to "an aggravation of the conflict and, in fact, does not bode well for Ukraine." The comments were an official Russian reaction to Zelenskyy's visit to Washington and the announcement of new US military aid to Ukraine. (07:27 GMT) At least 10,300 new graves have emerged in and around Mariupol, most in the Staryi Krym cemetery, according to the estimations made by the Associated Press. The death toll might run three times higher than an early estimate of at least 25,000 as often more than one set of human remains per grave have been found. The former Ukrainian city has also hollowed out, with Russian plans to demolish well over 50,000 homes, the AP calculated. AP analysed satellite imagery from early March through December, noting sections where the earth had been disturbed. It measured each grid section where the cemetery had been expanded and calculated the total space occupied by new graves to be more than 51,500 square meters. (07:38 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 302 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-302 (08:13 GMT) Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska said what Ukraine is fighting in the nearly 10-month-old war goes beyond borders or frontiers but has to do with the nation's very right to exist. "You were the first to understand: what Ukraine is fighting for has no borders." <=== "Because this is the right to exist," Zelenska said late during an online meeting with her counterparts from various countries, according to a statement from the Ukrainian presidency. During the online meeting attended by the first ladies of France, Latvia, Lithuania, Iceland, North Macedonia, Belgium, Serbia, Bermuda, and Estonia, Zelenska thanked her fellow first ladies for their show of support and help for Ukraine in the early stages of the war with Russia. <== (08:46 GMT) The German government said that it has nationalised energy company Uniper after the European Union gave its blessing for it to rescue the gas supplier. The government announced its plan to nationalize Uniper in September, expanding state intervention in the energy sector to prevent a shortage resulting from Russia's war in Ukraine. The deal built on an initial rescue package agreed in July and features a capital increase of 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion) that Germany is financing. (09:18 GMT) Russia's Rosatom state nuclear energy company says talks with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi about a safe zone around Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant would continue. Rosatom said the two sides' positions were "close" to each other. Grossi is visiting Russia on Thursday today to discuss a possible safety zone around the nuclear plant, which has been a site of fighting. (09:56 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says recent military activity was not aimed at Ukraine and dismisses "conspiracy theories" about armed forces being deployed at the border. Speaking at a conference of military leaders marking the end of snap military inspections held this month, Lukashenko said that he could not rule out "aggression" against Belarus on the part of unspecified "neighbours". In recent weeks, Belarus has announced military-readiness checks and a new deployment of Russian troops. But the manoeuvres prompted fears from Ukrainian officials to believe that Russia may be planning a new attack on Ukraine through Belarus. Putin also visited Lukashenko on Monday in his first visit to Minsk in three-and-a-half years. (10:23 GMT) The Kremlin says US supplies of Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, announced during Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, DC on Wednesday, will not contribute to ending the conflict and would not prevent Russia from achieving its goals. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/15/what-can-the-patriot-missile-do-for-ukraine In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that there had been no signs for peace talks during Zelenskyy's visit and that this was evidence that the United States was fighting a proxy war with Russia "to the last Ukrainian". (10:46 GMT) President of the European Council Charles Michel and the head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen will hold a summit with Ukraine's president on February 3 next year, an EU spokesman said. The location of the summit has not been determined yet. (11:03 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, says the US has "finally pinpointed the baseline" that Russia must lose the war. He tweeted: "The United States has finally pinpointed the baseline. 1. Russia must lose. 2. No "territory in exchange for pseudo/world" compromises. 3. Ukraine will receive all necessary military aid. As much as possible. 4. No one cares about Russia's "talk to us" hysteria..." (11:18 GMT) The Russian defence ministry says its minister Sergey Shoigu visited army units fighting in Ukraine, Russian news agency RIA reported. It did not specify where the visit took place. (12:09 GMT) Bulgaria's state-owned nuclear power plant Kozloduy signs a deal with Westinghouse Electric Sweden to supply it with nuclear fuel for Unit 5, the first step to diversifying away from Russian supplies. The EU member currently relies on Russian nuclear fuel for both units at the 2,000 megawatt Kozloduy plant but is seeking to boost energy security following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The plant produces about 35% of the country's electricity and currently uses nuclear fuel supplied by the Russian firm Rosatom. (12:37 GMT) In case you missed it, here's everything you need to know about Zelenskyy's visit to the US Congress on Wednesday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7YtIoy7bpk (12:58 GMT) Russian state media reports a fire broke out on board Russia's sole aircraft carrier. Admiral Kuznetsov, a flagship of the Russian Navy, suffered a "minor" fire while undergoing repair work at a shipyard in the Arctic port of Murmansk, according to reports by the Tass and RIA Novosti news agencies. Both cited Aleksey Rakhmanov, the head of the state-owned United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC) overseeing a significant refit of the carrier, saying that the blaze was quickly extinguished and caused no casualties. Delays and accidents have marred Admiral Kuznetsov's overhaul, which began in 2017 and was initially set to conclude last year. (13:34 GMT) IAEA chief meets with Russian military and Rosatom Russian company Rosatom described the talks on measures needed to safeguard Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station and the surrounding region as "substantive, useful and frank". International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi tweeted: "Another round of necessary discussions on the creation of a protection zone for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. It's key that the zone focuses solely on preventing a nuclear accident. I am continuing my efforts towards this goal with a sense of utmost urgency." (13:53 GMT) Russia warns Greece against supplying Ukraine with Russian-made S-300 air defence missile systems, urging Athens to drop "provocative" plans. Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the transfer of the S-300 systems would be "a gross violation" of the intergovernmental agreements on military-technical cooperation and supply of military products. "The violation of contractual obligations will inevitably have consequences, not to mention the weakening of Greece's defence capability in the field of air defence", she warned. Zakharova added that Athens also demonstrates "complete indifference" to international restrictions that prohibit arms export, which could violate international humanitarian law. "Before it's too late - it's like advice - you can abandon dangerous plans. Once again, we warn the Greek leadership about responsibility", she said. (14:14 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) nations are prepared to do more to support Ukraine financially, their finance ministers say in a joint statement in which they encouraged other donors to also step up. The G7 has already mobilised up to $32bn in economic support for Ukraine, including 18 billion euros ($19.09bn) from the European Union, the statement said (14:34 GMT) Russia's Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov says the front line in Ukraine was stable and that Russia had concentrated its forces on "completing the liberation" of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. At an end-of-year message delivered to foreign military attaches, Russia's top military officer said, "The situation on the front line has stabilised, with the main efforts of the Russian troops concentrated on completing the liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic." Russian forces control almost all of the Luhansk region but only about 60% of the Donetsk region. (15:01 GMT) The US Department of Commerce says it is extending a Russian export restriction by six months on two Russian airlines that continued to fly after Russia invaded Ukraine. The export denial extensions are for Pobeda Airlines and S7 Airlines, also known as Siberian Airlines. The department previously added aeroplanes the two airlines operate to a list of aircraft believed to violate US export controls as part of the Biden administration's sanctions over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The department has imposed severe restrictions on Russian airlines, warning companies worldwide that any refuelling, maintenance, repair, or spare parts or services violate US export controls and subject companies to severe US enforcement actions. (15:27 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed bilateral relations and strategic cooperation between Kyiv and Warsaw with the Polish president. Zelenskyy thanked Duda for his country's "unwavering and powerful support" for Ukraine, but no information was given on where the two presidents met. (15:51 GMT) The Russian Wagner Group took delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster Russian forces in Ukraine, a senior US administration official said. "We can confirm that North Korea has completed an initial arms delivery to Wagner, which paid for the equipment. Last month, North Korea delivered infantry rockets and missiles into Russia for use by Wagner," the official said, speaking to the Reuters news agency anonymously. (16:11 GMT) The US State Department said that the United States is imposing sanctions on 10 Russian naval entities over Russian operations against Ukrainian ports. The sanctions come after Zelenskyy met Biden in Washington, DC and delivered a speech to Congress on Wednesday. "In the wake of Russian naval operations against Ukrainian ports, including those that are providing much-needed food and grain to the world, the United States today is imposing sanctions on Russian naval entities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. (16:22 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine and all armed conflicts with diplomatic negotiations. "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but on the contrary, to end this war," he told reporters. "We are striving for this and will continue to strive." (16:42 GMT) Federal prosecutors in Germany say they have arrested an employee of the foreign intelligence service on suspicion of spying for Russia. Little information was released on the case. Bruno Kahl, the head of the intelligence agency, said discretion is key because any detail of the investigation made public could give the "opponent an advantage in its intent to harm Germany". (17:15 GMT) Russian airlines have held exploratory talks with at least one major Western leasing firm about using state funds to buy some of the more than 400 aircraft stranded in Russia after its invasion of Ukraine, Reuters has reported. The proposal, which would need EU approval, could lower a multibillion-dollar bill facing lessors and insurers and allow Russian airlines to secure formal ownership of planes at a potentially steep discount. A Russian aviation source told the news agency that the proposal was still being discussed, but that some Russian officials were pessimistic about it getting European Union approval. Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors before its invasion of Ukraine. It bought jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to Russian airlines who wanted to avoid the up-front cost and inflexibility of buying planes themselves. (17:42 GMT) The UK has condemned North Korea after the United States said the nation had supplied arms to the Russian mercenary group Wagner to bolster Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. "The fact that President Putin is turning to North Korea for help is a sign of Russia's desperation and isolation," British foreign minister James Cleverly said in a statement. "We will work with our partners to ensure that North Korea pays a high price for supporting Russia's illegal war in Ukraine." (18:03 GMT) Zelenskyy has returned to Ukraine after visiting the United States in his first international trip since Russia's full-scale invasion in February, his spokesman told AFP. Sergiy Nykyforov, a presidential press secretary, confirmed that the Ukrainian leader had crossed the country's borders after a brief stop in Poland to meet with ally President Andrzej Duda. (18:29 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russia has shown no real interest in ending the war in Ukraine, despite Putin's call for negotiations. "Fundamentally right now, Russia has shown no interest in meaningful diplomacy" to end the war, Blinken told a news conference. In his end-of-year address, Blinken stressed that "a tough winter lies ahead" as Putin "pursues his strategy of freezing to death" the Ukrainian people. "We are with Ukraine for as long as it takes," he said. (18:42 GMT) The main task of the Ukrainian presidency is to ensure that the war is kept "front and centre of the American agenda," journalist and author Owen Matthews has told Al Jazeera. Putin is banking on the US and the West losing interest in Ukraine due to fatigue and growing political opposition. "The best strategy the Russians can pursue is to hope that Ukraine's Western allies will eventually give up," Matthews, who focuses on Russian affairs, said. "It's vital for Zelenskyy to keep that support and he triumphed," he added. The American press on Wednesday compared Zelenskyy's visit to that of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in 1941, when his country was in the throes of combat during World War II. (18:54 GMT) "Russia's invasion of" Ukraine has brought war between two European countries on a scale not seen since World War II. Death and destruction has been extensive - but Russia has faced stiff resistance, and Ukrainian forces have retaken some territory. Western arms and training have played a key role in the conflict, forcing Russia to reassess its tactics. Moscow is now switching to long-range weapons and drones. Some critics of western strategy say that pouring more arms into the war simply means more death - and delays the need to talk peace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRJd56pZE3M (19:18 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford has said the fight for Bakhmut, a strategic city in the Donetsk region, is now being described as a "meet grinder," a reference to the long and bloody battle for the French city of Verdun in WWI. "There are still surprisingly quite a few civilians in that town, refusing to leave, because they have nowhere else to go," Stratford said, reporting from Kyiv. Bakhmut is a gateway to other cities in Donetsk. In the greater Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, Russian forces hold almost all of Luhansk but only around 60% of Donetsk. (19:31 GMT) The US Congress is set to allocate $44.9bn in aid to Ukraine, a day after Zelenskyy delivered an emotional appeal for continued US support. The Senate was expected to approve the aid as part of an enormous $1.7-trillion government spending bill now going through Congress. The bill funds the government through the fiscal year ending in September, but it would give the Pentagon authority to spend the money through 2025 in some circumstances. Its approval could ease Ukraine's concerns that funding may be threatened after Republicans take charge of the House next month. The $1.7 trillion blueprint passed by a vote of 68-29 and now goes to the House of Representatives for a final vote before it can be sent to President Joe Biden to be signed into law. Lawmakers were racing to get the bill approved before a partial government shutdown would occur at midnight Friday, and many were anxious to complete the task before a deep freeze and wintry conditions left them stranded in Washington, DC for the holidays. (19:57 GMT) A Russian court has sentenced a man to three years in prison for spreading "false information" about Russia's offensive in Ukraine on a pirate radio station, AFP has reported. Vladimir Rumyantsev, a 61-year-old worker in Vologda city in northwest Russia, was found guilty of broadcasting "false information" that was "full of hatred" against the Russian army from his apartment in Vologda, the regional court said on Telegram. This included claims that the Russian military had committed "violent robberies" and perpetrated the "destruction of local areas" and the "rape of young women" in Ukraine. (20:34 GMT) What are Patriot missile defences and why does Ukraine want them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR1Mu2NTjlg One patriot costs 4 M$, one russian cruise missile costs 400 K$, one iranian drone costs 250 K$ 20221223 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/23/russia-ukraine-updates-goal-is-to-end-this-war-putin-says (07:29 GMT) The White House has said the Wagner Group, a private Russian military company, has taken delivery of an arms shipment from North Korea to help bolster its forces as it fights side-by-side with Russian troops in Ukraine. White House spokesman John Kirby said US intelligence officials determined that North Korea completed an initial arms shipment that included rockets and missiles last month. South Korea's foreign ministry has condemned North Korea over its alleged arms shipment to the Wagner Group, adding it supports the US push to raise the issue at the UN Security Council. (07:29 GMT) Putin says Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine, and that this would inevitably require a diplomatic solution. "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war," Putin said. "We will strive for an end to this, and the sooner the better, of course." "All armed conflicts end one way or another with some kind of negotiations on the diplomatic track," he added. "Sooner or later, any parties in a state of conflict sit down and make an agreement. The sooner this realisation comes to those who oppose us, the better. We have never given up on this." But the White House questioned the sincerity of the Russian leader's comments, a day after United States President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met in Washington, DC where the US promised its unwavering support to Kyiv. (07:30 GMT) Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has said Russia may cut oil output by 5-7% in early 2023 and halt sales to countries supporting price caps on its crude and oil products. The price caps introduced by the European Union, G7 nations and Australia could make Russia cut production by 500,000-700,000 barrels per day, according to Novak. The $60 per barrel price cap on Russian oil came into force on December 5, in addition to the EU's embargo on imports of Russian crude by sea and similar pledges by the United States, Canada, Japan and the UK. (07:30 GMT) German authorities have arrested an employee of its foreign intelligence service (BND) on suspicion of sharing state secrets with Russia this year. Police identified the suspect, a German citizen, as Carsten L. According to the federal prosecutor's office, the suspect was arrested on Wednesday in Berlin. "The accused is suspected of state treason," federal prosecutors said in a statement. "In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. The content is considered a state secret." (07:34 GMT) A senior Russian diplomat has said negotiations over the war in Ukraine cannot happen while NATO instructors and "mercenaries" remain in Ukraine, and while Western arms supplies to the country continue. Alexander Darchiev, head of the Russian foreign ministry's North America department, said in an interview with the state-owned news agency TASS that talks would be premature "until the flood of weapons and financing for the Zelenskyy regime stops, American and NATO servicemen/mercenaries/instructors are withdrawn". Russia usually refers to foreign volunteers fighting with the Ukrainian army as "mercenaries" and has convicted captured foreign fighters of acting as such. (07:46 GMT) Putin has responded to the US plan to send the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine by playing down the significance of them and saying that Russia would find a way to counter it. He said it was "quite old" and did not work like Russia's S-300 system. "An antidote will always be found," he said, boasting Russia would "crack" the Patriots. "So those who do it are doing it in vain. It's just prolonging the conflict, that's all." (07:59 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 303 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-303 (08:07 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Novak said that it was better for Russia to cut oil production than to agree to a price cap imposed by Western countries. Russia's Novak said that Russian gas was cheap and remained in demand and that a decision on a potential gas hub in Turkey would be taken in 2023. He said that "Gazprom is actively working with Turkish colleagues, others, on gas hub in Turkey". "Gas hub in Turkey may provide tools for gas pricing mechanism," Novak said. Novak also said it was too early to discuss the results of an ongoing investigation into damage done to the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September. (08:36 GMT) Zelenskyy says he is back in his office in Kyiv after his visit to Washington to meet Biden and other US officials. "I am in my office. We are working toward victory," he said in the video posted to his Telegram channel. During his visit, Biden promised to continue projecting a "united defence". The US also announced $1.85bn in military aid, including the Patriot air defence system which is deemed to be one of the most advanced US air defence systems. (09:07 GMT) The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russia has lost 100,950 troops in Ukraine since the war started on February 24. It has also lost 3,005 tanks, 5,986 armoured fighting vehicles, 4,622 other vehicles and fuel tankers,1,984 artillery systems, 414 multiple launch rocket systems, 212 air defence systems, 283 aeroplanes, 267 helicopters, 1,698 drones, and 16 boats. (09:18 GMT) State-owned Ukrainian Railways has struck a deal to delay payments on $895m of Eurobonds for two years, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said, part of a broader effort by the Ukrainian government this year that has saved billions. He added the decision, which he said was backed by the government and finance ministry with investment banks JP Morgan and Dragon Capital acting as advisers, "will secure stable passenger and cargo transportation". The company, a key player in the country's economy and labour market, has deferred debt payments on US dollar-denominated bonds worth $594.9m maturing in July 2024 and on $300m notes maturing in July 2026. The Ukrainian government restructured all its Eurobonds earlier this year, leading to nearly $6bn in savings on payments through 2024. (09:38 GMT) A group of Ukrainian military mechanics left NATO member Lithuania after being trained to repair German artillery howitzers being supplied to Kyiv to defend against Russia. The 16 mechanics spent the last two weeks in the central town of Rukla, several of them after receiving an introductory course in Germany. "They acquired theoretical knowledge elsewhere, but ... we taught them things from real life, what are the frequent failures which are not described in the textbooks," Zilvinas Cerskus, a major in the Lithuanian military, said. Der Spiegel news magazine reported in November that they were experiencing severe wear and tear due to intensive firing of up to 300 rounds per day. With no repair capacity in Ukraine, some of the howitzers were brought to NATO countries, including Lithuania. (10:06 GMT) The top Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region says that shelling of the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has "almost stopped". Speaking on Russian state television, regional governor Yevgeny Balitsky said that Russian troops would not leave the nuclear plant and that it would never return to Ukrainian control. (10:24 GMT) North Korea's foreign ministry has denounced as "absurd" a US report that the Russian mercenary force, Wagner Group, had received a shipment of North Korean rockets and missiles to support Moscow's war in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/23/n-korea-denies-arms-supplied-for-russian-mercenaries-in-ukraine (10:40 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, says that Ukrainian forces have been "successful by and large" in intercepting attack drones and cruise missiles deployed by Russia. "But we also know that these [Russian] bombardments have had devastating consequences for the energy infrastructure here," Stratford said. "There are millions of people across the Kyiv region and the wider country who are enduring rolling blackouts and heating problems because the authorities cannot get electricity to them on a 24-hour basis," he added. "Ukraine's energy minister has said authorities are not going to be able to restore the full working order of Ukraine's electrical grid system until the summer and we are fully expecting more attacks by the Russians targeting this infrastructure." (10:48 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United States has compared the state of relations between Moscow and Washington to an "ice age", according to a report by the state-owned TASS news agency. TASS quoted Anatoly Antonov as saying that the risk of a clash between the two countries was "high" amid spiralling tensions over the conflict in Ukraine. He added it was hard to say when talks on a strategic dialogue between the two sides could resume, but that talks on prisoner swaps had been "effective" and would continue. (11:14 GMT) A St Petersburg politician has asked prosecutors to investigate Russian President Vladimir Putin for using the word "war" to describe the conflict in Ukraine, accusing him of breaking his own law. Putin has for months described his invasion as a "special military operation" but on Thursday referred to the conflict as a "war" in a departure from his usual language. Nikita Yuferev, an opposition councillor in the city where Putin was born, said he knew his legal challenge would go nowhere, but he had filed it to expose the "mendacity" of the system. (11:46 GMT) Global oil prices have risen on the back of Moscow's threat to cut oil output in the coming months. Russia threatened on Friday to slash production by 5 to 7% in early 2023 in response to price caps on Russian energy exports rolled out by Western countries. The warning spooked markets, sending global oil prices surging upwards by more than $1 fuelled by expectations of a drop in supply. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/23/russia-threatens-to-slash-oil-output-in-response-to-price-caps (12:16 GMT) The Kremlin says Russia has made significant progress towards "demilitarising" Ukraine, one of the goals President Vladimir Putin declared when he launched his war more than 10 months ago. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov offered the assessment of Russia's military progress when asked during a news briefing about comments by Putin, who on Thursday said that Ukraine's defence potential was close to zero. (12:39 GMT) Russia has announced plans this week to form 17 new divisions and a new army corps as it continues to wage a relentless battle for Ukraine's eastern territories in the 43rd week of its war. Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu unveiled plans on Monday to expand the army from 1.15 million to 1.5 million, citing the imminent expansion of NATO to include Finland and Sweden. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/22/ukraine-expects-major-offensive-as-russia-plans-to-expand-army (13:37 GMT) Finland's foreign ministry says the country's embassy in Moscow has asked Russia to guarantee the safety of the diplomatic mission following a security breach earlier this week. The incident on Tuesday saw masked individuals throw sledgehammers into the embassy's yard. (14:21 GMT) Canada has condemned alleged North Korean arms deliveries to Russia, saying Pyongyang's transaction with the Wagner Group, a private military company, "clearly violates international law and United Nations Security Council resolutions". "We will continue to work with international partners to address these developments and respond to further arms deliveries should they take place," Melanie Joly, Canada's foreign affairs minister, said in a statement. (14:59 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events - Day 303 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-303 (16:07 GMT) Ukraine's president says his country will boost its footprint in Africa next year by opening 10 new embassies and strengthening trade ties with the continent. "We are overhauling relations with dozens of African countries," Zelenskyy told a gathering of diplomats in Kyiv. "Next year we need to strengthen this." (16:54 GMT) Eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region has witnessed heavy fighting and shifting front lines in recent months. Residents are now facing a new threat: a bitter winter without heating, electricity and running water. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2022/12/23/after-heavy-combat-in-eastern-ukraine-residents-brace-for-cold (17:43 GMT) The Netherlands has pledged 2.5bn euros ($2.7bn) to help Ukraine in 2023, with most of the money earmarked for military aid. "Nearly two billion is intended for military support", Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte told a press conference in The Hague. The rest will go towards humanitarian aid, rebuilding infrastructure as well as ensuring accountability, he said. (18:09 GMT) Ukraine estimates its grain harvest fell by around 40% year on year due to the war, a representative for the country's industry told AFP news agency. "We expect a grain harvest of 65-66 million tonnes" by the end of the year, the head of the Ukrainian Grain Association Sergiy Ivashchenko said, following a record harvest of 106 million tonnes last year. "The main reason is the war," which immediately led to fuel shortages and hindered sowing, Ivashchenko said. (18:16 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has told Russia's defence industry chiefs to up their game to ensure that the Russian army quickly got all the weapons, equipment and military hardware it needed to fight in Ukraine. Putin made the comments during a visit to Tula, a centre for arms manufacturing. "The most important key task of our military-industrial complex is to provide our units and frontline forces with everything they need: weapons, equipment, ammunition, and gear in the necessary quantities and of the right quality in the shortest possible timeframes," said Putin. "It's also important to perfect and significantly improve the technical characteristics of weapons and equipment for our fighters based on the combat experience we have gained." (20:56 GMT) The US has derisively called on Vladimir Putin to acknowledge reality and pull troops from Ukraine after he finally called the conflict a "war." 20221224 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/24/russia-ukraine-live-news-us-approves-45bn-aid-package-to-kyiv (06:21 GMT) Russia has announced plans to form 17 new divisions and a new army corps, restoring much of the military's former Soviet glory, as it continues to wage a relentless battle for Ukraine's eastern territories in the 43rd week of its war. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu unveiled plans on December 21 to expand the army from 1.15 million to 1.5 million, citing the imminent expansion of NATO to include Finland and Sweden. Within that force, the professional army would almost double to 695,000 - a potential admission that Russia's conscript forces have proven ineffective in the offensive. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/22/ukraine-expects-major-offensive-as-russia-plans-to-expand-army (06:27 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned his country of possible increased Russian attacks over the upcoming Christmas holiday season, urging his people to "pay attention to air raid alarms, help one another and look out for one another". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/24/ukraines-zelenksyy-warns-of-russia-upping-attacks-at-christmas (06:31 GMT) The United States House of Representatives has given final approval to a $45bn aid package for Ukraine as part of a $1.66 trillion government funding bill. In a tweet thanking Congress and leaders of both parties, Zelenskyy said it was "crucial" that Americans are "side by side" with Ukrainians "in this struggle". (06:46 GMT) Russian authorities in the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol have begun demolishing most of its drama theatre, where Ukrainian authorities say hundreds died in an air bombardment on March 16. A video posted on Ukrainian and Russian websites on Friday showed heavy equipment taking down much of the theatre leaving its façade intact. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/24/russia-accused-of-war-crimes-cover-up-by-razing-mariupol-theatre (08:11 GMT) A top Ukrainian presidential aide called for the "liquidation" of Iranian factories making drones and missiles, as well as the arrest of their suppliers, as Kyiv accused Tehran of planning to supply more weapons to Russia. (08:23 GMT) Three Japanese insurance companies will stop insuring ships for damage in all Russian waters due to the war in Ukraine, potentially affecting Japan's energy imports including liquefied natural gas (LNG). Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co started notifying shipowners about their decision on Friday, the business daily Nikkei reported. The insurers' decision was prompted by reinsurance companies refusing to take on risks related to the war that Moscow launched 10 months ago, the newspaper said. Japan's LNG imports from Russia's Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project could be affected, Nikkei said. The Sakhalin Island complex, partly owned by Gazprom and Japanese companies, is vital to Japan's energy security as it accounts for 9% of the country's LNG imports. (09:55 GMT) In its daily report about the war, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence says Russia has "likely limited" its long-range missile attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure to about once a week due to the limited availability of cruise missiles. "Despite the easing of its immediate personnel shortages, a shortage of munitions highly likely remains the key limiting factor on Russian offensive operations," the report said. (10:30 GMT) Zelenskyy has blasted Russian "terror" after shelling killed at least five people and injured 20 others in Kherson city, which Kyiv's forces recaptured in November. (12:04 GMT) The deputy head of the presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, has said seven people were killed in the shelling of Kherson on Saturday and 58 were injured, at least 16 of them seriously. (13:45 GMT) Al Jazeera correspondent Charles Stratford has said the shelling in Kherson was a sign Russia had "no intention" of giving up the city, a strategic Black Sea port recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November. "There are constant sniper and shelling attacks, but the severity of this attack in the most central area of the city is very worrying, indeed," Stratford, who was reporting from Kyiv, said. About 70,000 people currently live in Kherson. Those injured were brought to four hospitals, where power cuts have been frequent. (14:01 GMT) Turkey has said that Russia's war on Ukraine "will not end easily", despite repeated attempts to arrange peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow. "It would not be wrong to say that despite all our goodwill and call for a ceasefire, this war is likely to continue into 2023," Defence Minister Hulusi Akar told journalists during a year-end briefing in the capital, Ankara. Turkey, which helped broker a deal with the United Nations for the export of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, is seeking to bring together Russian and Ukrainian leaders for negotiations to end the war. "As Turkey, we call for a ceasefire - at least a humanitarian ceasefire. Then, a permanent ceasefire and peace talks," Akar said. (14:19 GMT) Russian troops have launched attacks near Bakhmut using tanks, mortars and rocket artillery in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian general staff of the armed forces has said on its Facebook page. Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said video suggested close-quarters combat was continuing in the hotly contested city in the Donetsk region, where Russian forces are waging a months-long battle. Ukrainian forces managed to prevent Russian troops from advancing, Stratford said, adding that reports suggested the Russian military was advancing from the north and the south in an attempt to encircle the city. (14:40 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has hit out at those calling for Kyiv to seek peace talks with Russia, referencing Moscow's relentless pounding of the country's power grid since October. Ukrainian officials say Moscow has already fired over 1,000 rockets at key energy infrastructure, warning of a bitter winter with huge deficits in power and water pumping capacity. (14:57 GMT) 2022 in review: A year of conflict in Ukraine Ukraine war 2022 in review https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTCBu_uEpjY (15:21 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said the attack in Kherson was evidence that Kyiv should be sent more artillery to defend itself from Russian attacks. (16:08 GMT) Russia might be preparing to renew its offensive on the Ukrainian capital Kyiv by launching a potential new invasion from north, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said. "Verified evidence of a Russian buildup in Belarus makes more sense as part of preparations for a renewed offensive than as part of ongoing exercises and training practices, but there remains no evidence that Moscow is actively preparing a strike force in Belarus," the think-tank said in its latest report. While the institute said a renewed large-scale Russian invasion was unlikely this winter, the possibility of a new operation being launched from the Kremlin ally's territory was "a possibility that must be taken seriously". (16:32 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence has praised Ukraine's "courage and tenacity," 10 months since Russia launched its invasion. It concluded its Christmas message on Twitter with the greeting "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine) and "Heroyam Slava" (Glory to the heroes). (17:07 GMT) The director of Ukraine's military intelligence agency, Kyrylo Budanov, has told the New York Times that Russia is staging a "disinformation campaign" to persuade Kyiv to relocate part of its troops away from the combat zone in the southeast. Russia sent conscripts to its military bases in allied Belarus and moved troops by rail, raising concerns that it might attempt a second siege of the capital from the north. While the threat of such an event cannot be ruled out, Budanov said Russia was trying to convince Ukraine of this possibility in order to gain ground in the southeast. (18:25 GMT) Russian punk band Pussy Riot have released a new song in protest over the war in Ukraine and have called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to be tried for his actions. In a statement released alongside the track, titled "Mama, Don't Watch TV," they described Putin's government as a "terrorist regime" and the president, his officials, generals and propagandists as "war criminals." (19:20 GMT) The Russian-installed governor in Kherson has accused Kyiv of being behind the shelling that killed at least 10 people earlier on Saturday. "This is a disgusting provocation with the obvious aim of blaming the Russian armed forces," Volodymyr Saldo wrote on Telegram. Russia controls most but not all of the Kherson region. The city of Kherson was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in November in a major blow to the Russian military. (19:51 GMT) Pope Francis has urged the world's Catholics to remember the war weary and the poor in an apparent reference to Ukraine and other conflicts on Christmas Eve. (20:32 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has thanked US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for his "tireless work" in support of Ukraine. 20221225 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/25/russia-ukraine-live-emergency-workers-killed-de-mining-kherson (06:08 GMT) A Russian shelling on Ukraine's recently recaptured city of Kherson has killed at least 10 people, wounded 58 and left bloodied corpses on the road, authorities say, in what Kyiv condemned as wanton killing for pleasure. A pro-Moscow official responded by saying Ukrainian forces had launched the attack in a bid to blame the Russian military. (06:10 GMT) Three Ukrainian emergency services workers have been killed when a mine exploded while they were de-mining parts of the Kherson region, says the emergency service of another region, in which they served. "All three selflessly served in the emergency and rescue squad of the Special Purpose Unit of the State Department of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region and performed the task of de-mining territories liberated from the enemy in the Kherson region," the Zhytomyr emergency service said on its Facebook page. The Zhytomyr region is west of Kyiv, in northern Ukraine. (06:34 GMT) Ukraine's Western backers have sent sophisticated air defence systems to Kyiv, but the Ukrainian army still relies on Soviet-era equipment to defend its cities. That is because it is taking time to train personnel to use the new weapons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rcgkx95YWqc (07:14 GMT) Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Duma says the Russian lower house of parliament is preparing a law to introduce higher taxation for people who have left the country, as many have since the war in Ukraine began in February. "It is right to cancel preferences for those who have left the Russian Federation and to introduce an increased tax rate for them," Volodin wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "We are working on appropriate changes to the legislation." The number of Russians who have left since the start of the war is unclear. By early October, some local media had reported that as many as 700,000 had fled following the September announcement of a mobilisation drive to call up as many as 300,000 to fight. The government rejected that figure at the time. (07:37 GMT) Air raid sirens have gone off in Kyiv and across all Ukrainian regions, officials say. Unconfirmed Ukrainian social media reports said the alert may have been declared after Russian jets took to the skies in Belarus. Reuters was unable to immediately verify that information. (08:12 GMT) List of key events, day 305 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-305 (08:19 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged the people of Ukraine to persevere in the face of Russian attacks as they observed a Christmas defined by war. Most Ukrainians are orthodox Christians and mark the occasion in early January. "We will endure this winter because we know what we are fighting for," he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/zelenskyy-says-ukraine-will-create-its-own-christmas-miracle (08:35 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv said Ukrainian authorities and military have been pressured "in recent weeks in protecting vital infrastructure from Russian-launched kamikaze and cruise missile attacks - around 1,000 of them in the last two-and-a-half months". "We know that there are still millions of people who have no electricity, that are having to endure rolling blackouts, and have poor - if any heating at all - as these winter temperatures continue to drop," Stratford said. (08:42 GMT) Ukrainians usually celebrate Christmas on January 7, as do the Russians. But not this year, or at least not all of them. Some Orthodox Ukrainians have decided to observe Christmas on December 25, like many Christians around the world. Yes, this has to do with the war, and yes, they have the blessing of their local church. The idea of commemorating the birth of Jesus in December was considered radical in Ukraine until recently. (09:36 GMT) Foreign Minister Wang Yi has defended China's position on the war in Ukraine and signalled that it would deepen ties with Russia in the coming year. China's refusal to condemn the invasion of Ukraine and join others in imposing sanctions on Russia has further frayed ties and fuelled an emerging divide with much of Europe. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/25/china-defends-ukraine-stance-to-deepen-ties-with-russia (09:48 GMT) Russia is ready to negotiate with all parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine but Kyiv and its Western backers had refused to engage in talks, Putin says. "We are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions, but that is up to them - we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are," Putin told Rossiya 1 state television in an interview. (10:09 GMT) Air raid sirens wailed in Kyiv and across all Ukrainian regions on Sunday morning but no new Russian attacks have been reported, officials said. The all clear was later given. Unconfirmed Ukrainian social media reports suggested the sirens may have been triggered after Russian jets took to the skies in Belarus and that the all clear was sounded after the planes returned to their bases. Reuters was unable to verify those reports. Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesperson for Ukraine's air forces, told national television earlier that Russian military jets were flying virtually around the clock. "But we have increased readiness - everything that takes off must be under our control," Ihnat said. (10:25 GMT) Putin has blasted the West for trying to "tear apart" Russia, in extracts from an interview to be broadcast on national television later on Sunday. "At the core of it all is the policy of our geopolitical opponents, aiming to tear apart Russia, the historical Russia," Putin said. "They have always tried to 'divide and conquer'... Our goal is something else - to unite the Russian people." (10:36 GMT) Putin says he is "100%" confident that his forces would destroy the Pentagon's most advanced air defence system that US President Joe Biden has promised to send to Ukraine. "Of course, we will destroy it, 100%!" Putin said, referring to the Patriot missile battery in extracts of an interview aired on Russian television. length 520cm diam 40cm ramge 70km max-altitude 24km warhead high-explosive (10:49 GMT) Germany has been reliant on Russian gas to meet its heating needs, but as the war in Ukraine rages on, energy prices have soared. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmSmDa36-gk (11:06 GMT) The death toll from the attacks on the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson has risen to 16, with a further 64 injured, the Ukrainian military governor of the region reported on Sunday 20221225 Among the dead were three men who died while clearing mines, Yaroslav Yanushevych reported on Telegram. (11:29 GMT) Pope Francis has appealed for an end to the "senseless" war in Ukraine in his traditional Christmas message from St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican. (12:06 GMT) Russia will be able to produce at least 490-500 million tonnes of oil in 2023, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has told TASS. According to Novak, Russia will produce such volumes of oil even under the new EU oil embargo imposed on December 5, and after a similar measure on oil products starts working on February 5. "I do not rule out that in 2023 there will be downside risks to production in certain periods. It is possible that maximum reduction will reach 7-8%. However, for the year as a whole, we will produce at least 490-500 million tonnes. But again, a lot will depend on logistics," Novak said. (12:18 GMT) 2022 in review: A year of conflict in Ukraine Al Jazeera's Rory Challands reports from Kyiv, Ukraine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTCBu_uEpjY&t=97s (12:41 GMT) There is widespread opposition among the German population to supplying Ukraine with the Leopard 2 tanks that are widely seen as an icon of the country's military technology, according to a published survey commissioned by dpa news agency. The representative survey of 2,075 respondents conducted by the YouGov institute found 45% against supplying the tanks which Zelenskyy has specifically requested. The survey found 33% in favour, with the remaining 22% not stating a preference. Chancellor Olaf Scholz has turned down repeated requests from the Ukrainian government for the battle tanks, noting that no other countries supporting the Ukrainian war effort have provided arms of this kind. The Germans have also said that Ukrainian tank crews would need intensive training to use the Leopard 2. (13:50 GMT) Putin has said that his goal in the war in Ukraine is to "unite the Russian people". He used the concept of "historical Russia" to argue that Ukrainians and Russians are one people - undermining Kyiv's sovereignty and justifying his 10-month offensive in Ukraine. He said his government was acting "in the right direction ... protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, of our people". (15:40 GMT) Iran's top general has said that Western claims its drones are being used by Russia against Ukraine show the 'effectiveness' of Tehran's unmanned aerial vehicles, according to Iranian media. Kyiv and its Western allies have accused Russia of using Iranian-made drones to carry out attacks against Ukraine in the months-long conflict, causing significant damage to civilian and energy infrastructure. In response, Western nations have sanctioned a number of Iranian firms and military generals, including the chief of the staff of Iran's armed forces, Major General Mohammad Bagheri. 20221226 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/26/russia-ukraine-live-drone-raid-kills-three-on-russian-airbase (06:00 GMT) Three military personnel were killed from the debris of a falling Ukrainian drone shot down over a Russian military base deep inside the country's territory, Russian agencies reported citing the country's defence ministry. "On December 26, at about 01:35 Moscow time, a Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicle was shot down at low altitude while approaching the Engels military airfield in the Saratov region," the Russian defence ministry said. "As a result of the fall of the wreckage of the drone, three Russian servicemen of the technical staff who were at the airfield were fatally wounded." The ministry added that aviation equipment was not damaged. (06:08 GMT) The Iskander tactical missile systems and the S-400 air defence systems that Russia has deployed to Belarus are fully prepared to perform their "intended" tasks, a senior Belarusian official has said. "Our servicemen, crews have fully completed their training in the joint combat training centres of the armed forces of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus," Leonid Kasinsky, the head of the Main Directorate of Ideology at the Belarusian defence ministry, said in a video posted online. "These types of weapons [Iskander and S-400 systems] are on combat duty today and they are fully prepared to perform tasks for their intended purpose." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/26/belarus-says-russian-iskander-missile-systems-ready-for-use (06:25 GMT) Russian troops are working "round-the-clock" at new anti-aircraft missile system positions to defend against missile and air raids by Ukraine, the Russian news agency Interfax said, citing the defence ministry. Crews of the S-300V systems were "mastering new position areas" of the Russian long-range surface-to-air missile systems, the news agency reported, citing a ministry statement. "The air defence units of the Western Military District continue to serve in the new position areas on combat duty around the clock," the agency cited the ministry as saying. The Western Military District, one of Russia's five military districts, incorporates regions bordering Ukraine, including the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. It also covers the Kaliningrad exclave. Citing a military commander, Interfax reported that the S-300V battery is capable of tracking a target at a distance of up to 204 kilometres and at an altitude of up to 30km. (06:43 GMT) Moscow is ready to resume gas supplies to Europe through the Yamal-Europe Pipeline, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told the state TASS news agency. "The European market remains relevant, as the gas shortage persists, and we have every opportunity to resume supplies," TASS cited Novak as saying. "For example, the Yamal-Europe Pipeline, which was stopped for political reasons, remains unused." The Yamal-Europe Pipeline usually flows westward but has been mostly reversed since December of 2021 as Poland turned away from buying from Russia in favour of drawing on stored gas in Germany. Novak also added that Moscow expects it will have shipped 21 billion cubic metres of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to Europe in 2022 and that discussions about additional gas supplies through Turkey after the creation of a hub is ongoing. (07:11 GMT) Russia's long-range air forces are to be refitted with new wing-borne hypersonic missiles, the Interfax news agency reported, citing the force's commanding officer. "In the interests of long-range aviation, the development and supply of the entire range of aviation weapons, including new cruise hypersonic missiles, is being carried out," Interfax cited the commander, Sergei Kobylash, as saying. Russia's fleet of long-range bombers is part of its nuclear triad and is capable of launching nuclear and conventional missiles. (07:49 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, said that there was no let-up of the shelling and fighting in Ukraine, with the eastern city of Kramatorsk being targeted twice in two days. "We've heard from the authorities in Kramatorsk reporting at least three missile strikes - no specifications as to what was hit and no casualties," he said. Kramatorsk is one of the two largest urban centres in Donetsk still under Ukrainian control. Russian forces have been targeting the city from the north, but Ukrainian soldiers have been holding their own. (08:18 GMT) Three Japanese insurance companies that are set to halt marine coverage of risks related to the war in Ukraine starting next month are in talks with reinsurers to resume those operations. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance, Sompo Japan Insurance and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance on Friday told shipowners that they would stop offering marine war insurance, which covers damage to ships from the war in Russian waters, from January 1, spokespeople at the companies said. The change could affect Japan's imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) among other energy and commodities. The insurers' decision was prompted by global reinsurance companies saying they would no longer take on vessels' risks related to the war. "We are negotiating with various reinsurers to get the war coverage in order to restart providing marine war insurance in the area to our customers," a spokesperson at Tokio Marine said, adding that some reinsurers have responded "positively." (09:05 GMT) List of key events, day 306 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-306 (09:32 GMT) Russian forces have focused on forming "defensive positions" on the front line, according to the latest British Ministry of Defence update. "Russian forces have largely focused on constructing defensive positions along many sections of the front line in Ukraine since October. This includes laying additional fields of anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, almost certainly going beyond Russian doctrinal guidelines," the ministry said on Twitter. "Minefields only present an effective obstacle for trained troops if covered by observation and fire. A major challenge for the Russian forces will likely be a shortage of surveillance assets and trained personnel to effectively monitor large areas of the new minefields." (10:07 GMT) In Ukraine's daily military update, the army reports that Russia fired five missiles and "more than 40" rockets on Sunday. "In the Kherson direction, the opponent continues artillery shelling of settlements along the right bank of the Dnipro River," it said. (10:35 GMT) Russian state news agency TASS reports that President Putin and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping would speak before the end of the year. (11:02 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg expects Sweden and Finland to join the bloc officially in the new year, he said in an end-of-year interview with the dpa news agency. Stoltenberg was not able to say when exactly this would happen. However, he said he was "absolutely confident that the ratification process will be finalised in a timely manner". (11:30 GMT) Ukraine's power grid operator says it introduced emergency shutdowns in multiple regions across the country, including the capital Kyiv, due to an excess of energy consumption. "Due to exceeding consumption limits, emergency shutdowns have been introduced in the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Kyiv regions, and in the city of Kyiv," Ukrenergo announced on Telegram. (11:52 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claims the United States pursues a policy to establish the "end of history", referring to Francis Fukuyama's The End of History and the Last Man. "If you look at the policies that the administration of (US President Joe) Biden is pursuing, they want exactly this. They want the end of history to take place not just in the works of political analysts and political scientists, but for it to take place in real life," Lavrov said during a meeting with journalists and leaders of the Russian media. (12:14 GMT) Ukraine's health ministry has announced that Kazakhstan donated 41 generators to be used in Ukrainian hospitals. "They will be transferred to regions that are under attack by Russian aggressors and where they are most needed - in Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv," the ministry said in a statement on Facebook on Sunday. The statement added that Health Minister Viktor Liashko said each of the generators would help provide uninterrupted power to operating rooms, intensive care units, and oxygen stations. (12:33 GMT) Russia's FSB security service says a four-person Ukrainian "sabotage group" had been "liquidated" while trying to enter the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, on Sunday, Russian news agencies reported. "As a result of a clash on December 25, 2022, four saboteurs who attempted to penetrate the territory of the Bryansk region from Ukraine were destroyed," the RIA news agency quoted an FSB statement as saying. The FSB added that the alleged saboteurs were armed with foreign-made guns and four improvised explosive devices. There was no immediate comment on the incident from Ukraine. (13:02 GMT) Russian power equipment manufacturer Power Machines says it has completed assembly and testing of its first domestically made high-power gas turbine. According to a statement, Power Machines plans to be able to produce eight 170-megawatt turbines a year by 2025 and raise annual capacity to 12 turbines in the future. It will also ensure the maintenance of gas turbines, including imported ones. The first clients will be Russian oil company Tatneft, state energy holding InterRAO and power company Rushydro, the statement said. Russia has for years been trying to start production of its own medium- and large-capacity gas turbines for power plants. (14:00 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry calls for Russia to be removed from the United Nations, saying they "abused" the charter and that their presence is "illegitimate". In a statement posted by the ministry, it argues that the Russian Federation took the seat granted to the USSR in 1991 and never went through a formal approval process, much like the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which previously held a seat under 'Czechoslovakia'. "The Russian Federation has never gone through the legal procedure to be admitted to membership and therefore illegally occupies the seat of the USSR in the UN Security Council. From a legal and political point of view, there can be only one conclusion: Russia is a usurper of the Soviet Union's seat in the UN Security Council", they said. Ukraine's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted the announcement. (14:15 GMT) President Zelenskyy says he sought India's help with implementing a "peace formula" in a phone call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On Twitter, he wrote: "I had a phone call with [Prime Minister] Narendra Modi and wished a successful G20 presidency. It was on this platform that I announced the peace formula, and now I count on India's participation in its implementation. I also thanked for humanitarian aid and support in the UN." (14:32 GMT) Russia's money lender Sberbank will be forced to close its office in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) early next year, First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin said. (14:49 GMT) Czech President Milos Zeman calls for further support for Ukraine, including military backing, arguing that Russia would eventually have to leave Ukraine. "I am convinced that the pressure of free countries will sooner or later compel Russia to leave the territory of Ukraine," Zeman said in his Christmas television address. He said he had always favoured the economic relations between the Czech Republic and Russia, but now, the world's security was threatened. Zeman was previously considered an opponent of tough European Union sanctions against Russia and had often been criticised as "pro-Russian" before the invasion began. (15:22 GMT) Russia places a senior journalist from Bellingcat's investigative website on a wanted list following his reporting on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Bulgarian journalist and chief Russia investigator Christo Grozev's name was added to a list of wanted people on Russia's interior ministry website. (16:24 GMT) Russian bank Sberbank accuses Glencore of choosing not to pay for oil supplied, saying the global commodities trader could have found a way to pay up without violating Western sanctions. Sberbank has taken legal action to recover debt and penalties from Glencore Energy UK Ltd over the two consignments supplied by a subsidiary of Russia's largest bank in March. They were worth roughly 58 million euros ($62 million) each, according to Moscow court filings. "Glencore is refusing to pay, citing sanctions," Sberbank First Deputy Chairman Alexander Vedyakhin told reporters. "There are different ways of working without violating sanctions ... This issue could have been resolved, but unfortunately, Glencore is refusing any communications with us." (17:31 GMT) Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny has said he is suffering from back pain after spending long spells in solitary confinement, which he claimed were part of a deliberate strategy by the authorities to undermine his health. (18:07 GMT) The Russian rouble has recovered some ground after its largest weekly slump since early July on fears over the impact of oil and gas sanctions on the country's export revenue. The rouble lost about 8% last week and is down over 10% this month after an oil embargo and price cap came into force. The finance ministry has said the recent decline was related to recovering imports. The rouble remains one of the world's best-performing major currencies against the dollar this year, supported by capital controls and reduced imports, but it has lost top spot to Brazil's real in the past week. (18:23 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has said that his government is aiming to hold a peace summit by the end of February, around the time of the anniversary of Russia's invasion. Foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba told The AP at the Foreign Ministry that "The United Nations could be the best venue for holding this summit, because this is not about making a favour to a certain country. This is really about bringing everyone on board." Kuleba said that United Nations with Secretary-General António Guterres could be the possible mediator for peace talks. He also said that Ukraine will do whatever it can to win the war in 2023, adding that diplomacy always plays an important role. (19:17 GMT) A Belarusian court sentenced the country's former champion swimmer and government critic Aliaksandra Herasimenia to 12 years in prison in absentia, a rights group has said. Herasimenia, who in her career won Olympic medals and retired in 2019, has lived in self-imposed exile since 2020 and was not present at the hearing. 20221227 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/27/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-gives-kyiv-ultimatum (07:11 GMT) Russia does not intend to propose any new initiatives on strategic arms or security guarantees, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview published by the TASS news agency. Lavrov also called on the West to exercise maximum restraint in the "highly sensitive" nuclear sphere. (07:14 GMT) Russia's budget deficit could be wider than the planned 2% of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2023 as an oil price cap squeezes Russia's export income, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has said, an extra fiscal hurdle for Moscow as it spends heavily on its military campaign in Ukraine. Russia last week said price caps on its crude and refined products could see it cut oil output by 5 to 7% early next year, but regardless of how deep the cuts are, Siluanov promised that spending commitments would be met, tapping borrowing markets and the country's rainy day fund as needed. (07:36 GMT) List of key events, day 307 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-307 (08:08 GMT) The Russian rouble has weakened, struggling to consolidate a slight recovery from last week's slide as the market comes to terms with the prospect of lower export revenue in the wake of restrictions on Russian oil. The rouble lost about 8% against the dollar last week and is on course for a monthly decline after an oil embargo and price cap came into force. The finance ministry has said the recent slump was related to recovering imports. At 07:42 GMT the rouble was 1.2% weaker against the dollar at 70.10, but still some way off the almost eight-month low of 72.6325 struck last week. (08:20 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv said that nine million people remain without electricity "despite ongoing 24/7 efforts to try to repair these facilities, damaged substations ... across the country. "We spoke to the head of the national electricity provider yesterday. He was candid; he said the repairs could take years. He said one of the main difficulties is that there isn't a stockpile of parts that is available for these repairs to be made. So, they're having to rely on millions dollars of donations of help and parts from their Western backers," Stratford said. "There are fears of another barrage of attacks any time." (08:31 GMT) Regarding Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba's statements that Ukraine is aiming to have a peace summit by the end of February at the United Nations, Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv said "there's a lot of scepticism about just how realistic those statements actually are". A huge caveat is that Kuleba said the summit would only happen if Russia faced a war crimes tribunal beforehand, Stratford said. "On that basis, it seems very unlikely. Just trying to get Russia to any kind of tribunal is going to be difficult because they are very difficult to set up. Russia is not a signatory to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the ICC does not have any powers of arrest and that's despite tens of thousands of allegations being made at Russia, for war crimes having been committed since the war started. "The general feeling here is that this statement by Kuleba is indication of mounting pressure on Ukrainians by their Western backers. After Western backers continue to send tens of billions of dollars of aid, it's a signal analysts say, that the Ukrainians have to be seen at least publicly as wanting to engage in some peace process, while at the same time very much aware that any negotiated settlement in all likelihood could in the end see them having to cede territory to Russia. That is something Zelenskyy has said will never happen." (08:56 GMT) The United Arab Emirates' Minister of State for Foreign Trade says Russia's non-oil trade with the UAE has broken "all records" this year. "Russia's non-oil trade with the UAE grew by 57% to reach $5.5bn in the first 9 months of 2022 - breaking all records," Thani Bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi wrote on Twitter. "I met with President of Tatarstan [Rustam Minnikhanov], one of Russia's most industrialized republics, to discuss how we can push trade to even greater heights." (09:06 GMT) ]The German government has approved arms exports worth at least 8.35 billion euros ($8.9bn) this year, the second-highest annual figure in the country's history. More than a quarter of the weapons and military equipment delivered from January 1 to December 22 went to help Ukraine. The data comes from the Economy Ministry at the request of Sevim Dagdelen, a lawmaker with the far-left Linke Party. Since Russia attacked Ukraine in February, deliveries worth 2.24 billion euros ($2.4bn) have been approved for Ukraine, including anti-aircraft tanks, self-propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers and the IRIS-T air defence system. But even without Ukraine, exports worth more than six billion euros ($6.4bn) received government approval. (09:38 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, over the past 48 hours fighting in Ukraine has remained the heaviest around the Bakhmut region. "Russia continues to initiate frequent small-scale assaults in these areas, although little territory has changed hands", the intelligence update reported. (10:11 GMT) In his Monday night address, President Zelenskyy said the situation in the Donbas is "hard" as Russia targets the Bakhmut and Kreminna regions. Zelenskyy said that power workers repairing the grid after repeated Russian attacks had reconnected many people over Christmas, but problems remained. "Naturally, shortages persist. Blackouts are continuing", he said. "The situation as of this evening in different regions of Ukraine is that nearly nine million people are without electricity. But the numbers and the length of the blackouts are gradually decreasing". (10:36 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhalio Podolyak, says "Russia needs to face reality" and that no amount of mobilisation will help them win. Podolyak tweeted, "Neither total mobilisation, nor panicky search for ammo, nor secret contracts with Iran, nor Lavrov's threats will help. Russia needs to face the reality. Ukraine will demilitarise the RF [Russian Federation] to the end, oust the invaders from all occupied territories. Wait for the finale silently..." (11:43 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that the US and NATO are seeking victory on the battlefield to destroy Russia. "The actions of countries of the collective West and [Ukrainian President] Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who is controlled by them, confirm the global nature of the Ukrainian crisis," Lavrov said in an interview with the state-owned TASS news agency. "It is no secret that the strategic goal of the US and its NATO allies is victory over Russia on the battlefield as a mechanism for significantly weakening or even destroying our country." Lavrov added that the US remains the "main beneficiary" of the Ukraine war while pursuing its "geopolitical goal of breaking traditional Russian-European ties to further subjugate Europe". "The US is doing everything to prolong the conflict and make it more violent. The Pentagon is openly planning orders for the American defense industry for years to come, constantly raising the bar for military spending ... and demanding the same from other members of the anti-Russian alliance," the minister said. (12:37 GMT) The Russian embassy says the police have not found any criminal link to the deaths of two citizen's in Odisha's Rayagada district in India, according to the NDTV broadcaster. According to local media reports, Pavel Antov and Vladimir Bidenov died at the same hotel two days apart, prompting suspicions of foul play as Putin critics have been killed in unexplained ways. Antov, a lawmaker in Russia, had recently criticised Russia's attacks on Ukraine but later retracted the statement, according to several reports. He died after falling from the third floor of his hotel on December 25, while Bidenov was found unconscious in his room with empty wine bottles around him at the same hotel on December 22. Indian police have also suspected Antov's death as a result of depression after his friend, Bidenov's death. (13:01 GMT) Zelenskyy says on Telegram, ""In this battle, we have one powerful and effective weapon. The hammer and sword of our spirit and consciousness. Courage and bravery. Virtues that incline us to do good deeds and overcome evil." "The truth illuminates our path. We know it. We protect it. Our truth is a struggle for freedom. Freedom comes at a high price. But slavery costs even more." (13:28 GMT) What are the chances of peace negotiations? Ukraine war how can it end? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgtwpNf_2t0 (14:03 GMT) Living through the war in Ukraine Ukraine war living through conflict https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tJjfuqsu94 (14:18 GMT) Recovering consumer demand and helping the corporate sector become profitable are the biggest tasks for the Russian government to address in 2023, First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov said. Russia's economy is set to contract for the second year in 2023 as Western sanctions take effect and a "partial mobilisation" bill changed Russia's workforce. "The consumer market is recovering very slowly," Belousov said in an interview on state television. He referred to the situation as something "close to stagnation". "This is above all because our real wage growth is recovering very slowly, and in turn is the flip side of a low unemployment rate," Belousov said. (14:37 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin ally, predicts a war between Germany and France next year and a civil war in the United States that would lead to Elon Musk becoming president. In his list of predictions for 2023, published on his personal Telegram and Twitter accounts, he also foresaw the UK rejoining the EU, which would, in turn, collapse. (15:09 GMT) How much Western money has Ukraine received? https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2022/12/27/how-much-money-has-the-west-spent-on-the-ukraine-war (15:34 GMT) Kosovan Interior Minister Xhelal Svecla says Serbia is under the influence of Russia and aims to destabilise Kosovo by supporting the Serb minority in the north who have been blocking roads. "It is precisely Serbia, influenced by Russia, that has raised a state of military readiness and that is ordering the erection of new barricades, in order to justify and protect the criminal groups that terrorise ... citizens of Serb ethnicity living in Kosovo," Svecla said in a statement. Serbs in the ethnically divided city of Mitrovica in northern Kosovo put up new barricades hours after Serbia said it had put its army on the highest combat alert following weeks of escalating tensions between Belgrade and Pristina. (15:51 GMT) The head of the Ukrainian Monastery of the Caves in Kyiv accuses Zelenskyy of putting pressure on Orthodox Christians. "We have had enough of the enemy striking against our people; we have had enough of the misery and sorrow when people starve in the cold and without light," Metropolitan Pavel Lebed said in a video message addressed to the president. He asked Zelenskky not to remove the Ukrainian Orthodox Church's two places of worship at the UNESCO World Heritage site at the end of the month. "Do you want to take away people's faith as well? Do you want to take away the last hope? Don't do that," the cleric pleaded. Zelenskyy has banned religious organisations with links to Russia. (16:20 GMT) Spain is undertaking a new series of measures, including scrapping the value-added tax (VAT) on staple foods, such as bread and milk, to help ease the economic crisis caused by Russia's war in Ukraine. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced the measures in an end-of-year speech. The government said it would also cut cooking oil and pasta VAT from 10% to 5%. (16:45 GMT) President Putin has signed a decree that bans oil and oil products from nations participating in the price cap from February 1 for five months. The G7, the European Union and Australia agreed to a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil effective from December 5 over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin's decree stated, "This ... comes into force on February 1, 2023, and applies until July 1, 2023." (17:07 GMT) Italy's government has pledged its support for Kyiv and reiterated its commitment to achieving a "just peace" for Ukraine, it said in a statement following a phone call between Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "[Prime Minister] Meloni renewed the Italian government's full support for Kyiv in the political, military, economic and humanitarian fields, to repair energy infrastructure and [to work] for the future reconstruction of Ukraine", the statement said. 20221228 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/28/kherson-under-intense-russian-attack (07:07 GMT) Russian soldiers drafted for military operations in Ukraine will have the right to get their sperm frozen for free in cryo-banks, the state-run TASS agency reported. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/28/russian-troops-sent-to-ukraine-entitled-to-sperm-freezing-media (07:08 GMT) Moscow will ban oil sales to countries that abide by the price cap aimed at crippling Moscow's military efforts in Ukraine. Under the cap, oil traders who want to retain access to Western financing for such crucial aspects of global shipping as insurance must promise not to pay above $60 per barrel for Russian seaborne oil. The decree from Putin, published on a government portal and the Kremlin website, was presented as a direct response to "actions that are unfriendly and contradictory to international law by the United States and foreign states and international organisations joining them". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/27/russia-bans-oil-sales-to-entities-that-implement-price-cap (07:10 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is urging world leaders to embrace a 10-point peace plan he first unveiled at a November summit of the G20 and then emphasised to leaders of the G7 in December. Zelenskyy's plan touches on issues from radiation and nuclear safety, food and energy security, and the release of prisoners of war and Ukrainian children captured by Russia, to broader ideas of justice and the return of Ukrainian territory occupied by Russia. (07:18 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar tweeted early morning on Wednesday that Kherson's maternity hospital had been attacked in Russian bombardment. She added that a baby had been born right before the attack. Russian forces have fired 33 rockets at civilian facilities in the Ukrainian city of Kherson since Tuesday, Ukraine's military said, as fighting intensified with Russia deploying more tanks and armoured vehicles on the front lines. (07:19 GMT) Japanese companies have signed several deals to receive liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies, with a preliminary agreement lasting up to 10 years with Oman LNG and a 20-year agreement with US-based Venture Global. Top Japanese electricity generator JERA and trading houses Mitsui & Co and Itochu Corp signed binding term sheet agreements with Oman LNG for a total of 2.35 million tonnes per year starting in 2025, Oman LNG said on Twitter. (07:19 GMT) Russia's military said on Tuesday that it had inflicted significant losses on Ukrainian forces during artillery fighting on front-line positions stretching from Kherson in the south to Kharkiv in the northeast. Some 60 Ukrainian soldiers were "destroyed" in fighting around Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, the TASS state news agency reported, citing the Defence Ministry in Moscow. In the neighbouring Luhansk region, some 30 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an artillery attack, the ministry said. Kyiv has not commented, and battlefield claims on both sides are often impossible to confirm. (07:27 GMT) German consumers will have to put up with high gas prices for at least a year, after costs skyrocketed due to Russian supply cuts, Economy Minister Robert Habeck has said. (07:33 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 308 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-308 (07:42 GMT) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has released the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine - a total of 17,831 - between 24 February 2022 to 26 December 2022. It recorded a total of 6,884 civilians killed including 2,719 men, 1,832 women, 175 girls, and 216 boys, as well as 38 children and 1,904 adults whose sex is yet unknown. A total of 10,947 have been injured, with most in Donetsk and Luhansk regions where 4,052 civilians have been killed and 5,643 injured. The office warned that "the actual figures are considerably higher, as the receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities have been going on has been delayed and many reports are still pending corroboration." (07:58 GMT) An Australian man has been killed fighting in Ukraine, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said. Sage O'Donnell, from the southeastern state of Victoria, is believed to have been killed just before Christmas, according to a report from the country's national broadcaster, ABC. He "died in action defending the freedom of the Ukrainian people", according to the mother. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/28/australian-killed-fighting-in-ukraine-ministry (08:20 GMT) Italy's minister of defence struck a cautious tone on his country's readiness to supply Ukraine with air defence systems, as requested by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The systems would be provided "if possible", Guido Crosetto said. However, "if we give air defence missiles to Ukraine, we must take them from our stocks and we have to do that without depleting them, and being sure about the quality," he added. Crosetto said this month that the Franco-Italian SAMP/T air defence system was among the military aid that Kyiv had requested from Rome. (08:23 GMT) Ukraine has bought some 1,400 drones, mostly for reconnaissance, and plans to develop combat models that can attack the exploding drones Russia has used during its invasion of the country, according to the Ukrainian government minister in charge of technology. Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov described Russia's war in Ukraine as the first main war of the internet age. He credited drones and satellite internet systems like Elon Musk's Starlink with having transformed the conflict. Ukraine has purchased drones like the Fly Eye, used for intelligence, battlefield surveillance and reconnaissance. "And the next stage, now that we are more or less equipped with reconnaissance drones, is strike drones," Federov said. "These are both exploding drones and drones that fly up to three to 10 kilometres and hit targets." (08:41 GMT) Russia and China have completed naval drills in the East China Sea, after a week of joint exercises which included practising how to capture an enemy submarine, Russia's defence ministry said Wednesday. (08:52 GMT) An aide of President Vladimir Putin has visited the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in a part of southern Ukraine that Russia says it has annexed, a Moscow-installed official in the region said. Sergei Kiriyenko, a Kremlin official responsible for overseeing Russia's domestic politics and a former head of the country's state nuclear corporation, reviewed the safety of the plant, according to Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed local official. "Sergei Kiriyenko visited the nuclear power plant - he checked the safety of the facility and the working conditions of Rosatom employees," Rogov said on Telegram. (08:55 GMT) The head of Russia's state-controlled airline Aeroflot called on the Russian government to "balance the interests" of Russian and foreign airlines in order to support the domestic aviation sector, in an interview with Russian news site RBC. Aeroflot CEO Sergei Alexandrovsky said it is "important that the state balances the interests of Russian and international carriers. Because it is obvious that foreign carriers now have much more opportunities and advantages in these conditions". Russian airlines stopped flying to most overseas destinations after Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions, including bans on Russian carriers, following the February invasion of Ukraine. Routes to Turkey and Middle Eastern countries popular with Russian tourists have been preserved. Alexandrovsky said that competitors, including Turkish Airlines and Emirates had benefitted most from the situation, and called for a degree of what he called "state protectionism" to safeguard domestic aviation. (09:30 GMT) More than 700 objects of critical infrastructure have been destroyed in Ukraine since the war began, according to government figures. "We are talking about gas pipelines, substations, bridges and the like," Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Yevgeny Yenin said on television. Since October, the Russian military has been trying to take down energy supply facilities in Ukraine. (09:36 GMT) Air raid sirens sounded across all Ukraine's regions, officials said. Ukrainian social media reports said the nationwide alert may have been declared after Russian jets stationed in Belarus took off. (09:56 GMT) Ship insurers say they are cancelling war risk cover across Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, following an exit from the region by reinsurers, who insure the insurer, in the face of steep losses. P&I (protection and indemnity) clubs American, North, UK and West are no longer able to offer war risk cover for liabilities in the region from January 1, when they usually renew their 12-month contracts, they said on their websites. The clubs are among the biggest P&I insurers and cover about 90 percent of the world's ocean-going ships. "The Club's reinsurers are no longer able to secure reinsurance for war risk exposure to Russian, Ukrainian or Belarus territorial risks," it said. American P&I said on December 23 that it had received a "notice of cancellation" for the region from its war risk reinsurers and was annulling its own insurance. 10:24 GMT) In President Zelenskyy's Tuesday night address on Telegram, he said this week will be "important" for Ukraine and "we are entering the next year and must retain a common understanding of our national goals". (10:50 GMT) Russia did not consult with OPEC+ on its response to a price cap on Russian oil, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says, stating that it was Russia's sovereign right to respond as it sees fit to such "illegal measures". (11:08 GMT) The Kremlin dismisses Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan, saying that proposals to end the conflict must consider "today's realities" of four Ukrainian regions having joined Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "There can be no peace plan for Ukraine that does not take into account today's realities regarding Russian territory, with the entry of four regions into Russia. Plans that do not take these realities into account cannot be peaceful." (11:30 GMT) Finland's energy ties with Russia were cut after Moscow invaded Ukraine, ending power and gas imports, while technical problems have limited output from a new domestic nuclear plant, triggering warnings of blackouts. "Finland used to bring a third of its energy from Russia and now we are close to zero," said Riku Huttunen, the director general of energy and climate policy at the Finnish ministry of economic affairs. "One could say that if we have minus 20 degrees Celsius [-4 degrees Fahrenheit] in the south and possibly minus 30 degrees up north, the risk of electricity shortage is very near," Huttunen told the Reuters news agency. (12:13 GMT) The German Spiegel magazine reported that a tip-off from a Western intelligence agency helped Germany identify an employee in its intelligence service (BND) who was arrested on suspicion of passing state secrets to Russia. In December, German police arrested Carsten L in a treason investigation and searched his home and workplace and those of another person. Authorities have warned of likely heightened Russian spying given the Kremlin's standoff with the West over its invasion of Ukraine. The German government expelled what it said were 40 Russian spies in April. Citing people familiar with the investigation, Spiegel reported that a Western intelligence agency had found material in Moscow's possession that came from the BND and contained intelligence on Russia. They added that the suspected double agent was the head of a unit in the BND's technical reconnaissance department. Germany views the arrest of an intelligence employee on suspicion of spying for Russia as a "very serious" issue, the foreign ministry said. Authorities will be given comprehensive support in the investigation, ministry spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann said at a news briefing in Berlin. "The Federal Chancellery and the Federal Chancellor [Olaf Scholz] were involved in this case at an early stage," she said. "It is very important that nothing becomes public that could give the Russian side the opportunity to gain insights". (12:40 GMT) France's defence minister arrives in Kyiv to discuss further military support for Ukraine. French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu travelled to Kyiv after a trip to Poland, where he announced a deal on Tuesday to sell Poland two French-made military satellites. 13:02 GMT) A Swiss court grants a six-month "stay of bankruptcy" to the operating company for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was built to bring Russian gas to Germany but was never used. The company's stay was extended from January 10 through July 10 by a regional court in the Swiss state of Zug, according to a notice published in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce. (13:21 GMT) A group of ethnic Chechens fleeing Russia arrived in Bosnia this week, hoping to cross into the European Union to avoid getting drafted to fight in Ukraine. A group of approximately 50 people, predominantly from Russia's Chechnya region, congregated near Bosnia's northwestern border with EU-member Croatia, the Bosnian security ministry said. "They want to reach the European Union because, in their own words, they are fleeing military draft" in Russia, the ministry said in a statement. Russians can enter Bosnia without a visa and stay in the country for a maximum of 90 days within a 180-day period. But to enter Croatia, which is set to join Europe's visa-free travel zone, the Schengen Area, on January 1, they must hold a valid visa. (13:40 GMT) Russia expels a Lithuanian diplomat and orders them to leave the country within five days. "On Dec. 28, Chargé d'Affaires of Lithuania in Russia, Jurgita Cibulskiene, was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry ... One of the diplomats of the Lithuanian embassy was declared 'persona non grata', he must leave the territory of the Russian Federation within five days," a Russian foreign ministry statement said. (14:01 GMT) Russia's economy contracted by more than 2 percent during the past 11 months, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said during a televised government meeting. The rouble also weakened sharply on Wednesday, sliding to the 72 mark against the dollar, as sanctions on Russian oil and their probable effect on export revenues put pressure on the Russian currency. The rouble lost approximately 8 percent against the dollar last week. (14:19 GMT) How the war in Ukraine unfolded https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/28/2022-review-visualising-how-the-russia-ukraine-war-unfolded (15:01 GMT) Zelenskyy says that "only a few civilians" were left in the eastern front-line town of Bakhmut, which has endured months of fierce fighting. "Last year, 70,000 people lived there. Now only a few civilians are left there," Zelenskyy said on Facebook. (15:29 GMT) Turkey's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, and the head of its National Intelligence Organisation (MIT), Hakan Fidan, were in Moscow for talks, the Turkish defence ministry said. The ministry gave no other details. (15:53 GMT) The head of Gazprom says they had a challenging year as the company seeks new markets following international sanctions over Moscow's Ukraine offensive. "I want to say right away that 2022, of course, has turned out to be very, very difficult," Alexei Miller said during an end-of-year conference. Miller noted a "total change in the energy markets" driven by Western sanctions on Moscow. (16:16 GMT) Passengers on Russian airlines' was down 15.7 percent in November year-on-year to 6.94 million passengers, data from the Rosstat federal statistics service showed, as the industry feels the effects of sanctions. (16:42 GMT) Ukraine has secured the release of 1,456 prisoners of war since Russia invaded, Zelenskyy told parliament in an annual address held behind closed doors. Kyiv and Moscow have held a series of prisoner swaps throughout the war. Russia is thought to hold thousands of Ukrainian prisoners of war, but the exact figures are unknown. (17:27 GMT) Finland's first floating liquefied natural gas terminal has been moored at the southern port of Inkoo, after the Nordic country was cut off from Russian gas imports earlier this year amid the war in Ukraine. The 291-metre-long (955-foot) and 43-meter-wide (141-foot) offshore support vessel Exemplar, which sailed to the Baltic Sea from Gibraltar and Spain earlier this month, has a capacity of 68,000 tonnes of LNG. "Finland will permanently phase out its dependency on Russian gas and will greatly improve society's security of supply," said Gasgrid Finland CEO Olli Sipilä. (17:41 GMT) French Minister for the Armed Forces Sebastien Lecornu has reaffirmed France's "reliable and durable" military support for Ukraine during an official visit to Kyiv. France has already provided weaponry like the Caesar howitzer artillery system and created a fund of 200 million euros (about $210m) for Ukraine to buy equipment directly from French manufacturers. (18:10 GMT) Zelenskyy has declared his country a "global leader" that "helped the West find itself again" during his end-of-year speech to parliament. "Ukraine became one of the global leaders," he told lawmakers, his cabinet, other senior officials and the top military brass. "Over 10 months of this year, we helped everyone. We helped the West find itself again, to return to the global arena and feel how much the West prevails. No one in the West fears nor will they fear Russia," he added. (18:59 GMT) Ukrainian officials are calling on residents to evacuate from Kherson amid renewed Russian attacks on the southern city. "I'm telling these people that Kherson is one of the most dangerous cities right now. So I ask them to imagine that they are going on vacation for a couple of weeks. It may be easier for them to decide to move this way. But still, a lot of people are staying in the city," Kherson city council member, Dmytro Poddubniy, told CNN. (19:21 GMT) Billionaire Kostyantyn Zhevago, the controlling shareholder of London-listed iron pellet producer Ferrexpo, has been arrested in France at Ukraine's request, an official at the local prosecutor's office has said. Zhevago was arrested on Tuesday evening at the Courchevel ski resort in the French Alps, Reuters reported, as Ukraine sought the businessman's extradition. (19:38 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia wants the situation in Ukraine resolved as quickly as possible, with a priority on defending civilians and saving soldiers' lives. "We are engaged in activities that will allow us to work far more efficiently in these territories in the near future," the state-owned TASS news agency quoted him as saying. Lavrov said Moscow would beef up its troops and technological capabilities in Ukraine. He added that mobilised troops had undergone "serious training" and that the majority were not yet at the front. (19:52 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named a retired Kuwaiti vice admiral as coordinator of shipments from Ukraine as part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative. Abdullah Abdul Samad Dashti will help coordinate the five-month-old operation by Turkey, Ukraine, Russia and the UN to ensure shipments of grains, oilseeds, fertilisers and other farm products can get safely to markets from Black Sea ports. (20:36 GMT) The United Kingdom says Russia has likely reinforced its defences along the frontline in the Luhansk region, as Ukrainian forces battle to recapture the key eastern city of Kreminna. 20221229 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/29/russia-ukraine-live-lavrov-rejects-zelenskyys-peace-formula (05:40 GMT) Russia will not use Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's "peace formula" as a basis for negotiations and believes Kyiv is still not ready for real peace talks, Russia's RIA news agency cited foreign minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Thursday. Lavrov also told RIA that Kyiv's idea of driving Russia out of eastern Ukraine and Crimea with Western help was "an illusion". (06:36 GMT) Russia has shelled more than 25 settlements around Kherson and Zaporizhia, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said. The Kherson region, at the mouth of the Dnieper river, serves as a gateway to Russian-annexed Crimea. The city of Kherson, which Ukraine liberated in November, has suffered intense mortar and artillery attacks from Russian forces across the Dnieper in recent days. (06:38 GMT) Heavy fighting has continued around the Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut, in the eastern province of Donetsk, and to its north, around the cities of Svatove and Kreminna in Luhansk, where Ukrainian forces are trying to break Russian defensive lines. The United Kingdom's defence ministry said Russia had likely reinforced the Kreminna section of the front line as it is logistically important and relatively vulnerable following Ukrainian advances further west. (06:41 GMT) Kyiv-based military analyst Oleh Zhdanov has noted that Kharkiv city and region had also come under heavy attacks which damaged a regional gas pipeline. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said in a Telegram post that the city had come under attack twice, "presumably" from Iranian Shahed drones, five of which Ukraine's eastern air command separately reported downing over the city of Dnipro. (06:42 GMT) Ukraine has reported a new wave of Russian missile attacks as blasts were heard in several cities which the authorities said came from air defence systems shooting down incoming missiles. Presidential office adviser Oleksiy Arestovych wrote on Facebook that more than 100 missiles were incoming in several waves and air raid alarms could be heard across the country. Blasts were heard in Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Odesa, according to a Reuters correspondent and local media reports. Power cuts were announced in the Odesa and Dnipropetrovsk regions, aimed at minimising potential damage to the energy infrastructure. (06:58 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it would ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Thursday, a similar volume to that reported in recent days. (07:09 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has said his country's military is working on new plans to cut off supplies of weapons and ammunition sent from abroad for the Ukrainian forces. During an interview on Russian television on Wednesday, Lavrov said there were calls among military experts to interrupt supply routes channelling weapons from the West to Ukraine. "We observe that Ukraine is receiving more and more and better Western weapons," Lavrov said. "Railway lines, bridges and tunnels" are being considered, he said. "I assume that they will make professional decisions on how to make these deliveries more difficult or, ideally, stop them altogether." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/29/russia-aims-to-disrupt-new-western-arms-supplies-to-kyiv-lavrov (07:26 GMT) The mayor of eastern Ukraine's Kharkiv has reported that Russian missiles have struck the city, causing a series of explosions. Ihor Terekhov said officials were determining what had been hit and whether there were any casualties. Kharkiv is Ukraine's second-biggest city with a population of almost 1.5 million people. (07:32 GMT) Ukraine has been hit with "massive" Russian missile attacks across the country, including in the capital, Kyiv, the military has said. "December 29. Massive missiles attack ... The enemy is attacking Ukraine from various directions with air and sea-based cruise missiles from strategic aircraft and ships," (07:34 GMT) The mayors of Ukraine's capital Kyiv and western Lviv report that Russian missiles have struck the cities. Kyiv's mayor Wladimir Klitschko warned of possible power cuts there and asked residents to charge their phones. Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine has been hit by missiles, too. Ukraine reported a series of Russian missile attacks on Thursday as blasts were heard in several cities which the authorities said came from air defence systems shooting down incoming missiles. (07:36 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reporting from Kyiv, says sirens were first heard across the capital at about 5am, followed by what "sounded like a heavy barrage" about half an hour ago. "It is very difficult to tell whether these are intercepted missiles, or the so-called kamikaze drones, or whether in fact one was a strike - there was one exceptionally large explosion which would suggest that that had not been intercepted," he said. "A few minutes later, there was what seemed to be interceptions in the skies above - there was a loud roar and a smoke trail and then puffs of smoke in the sky, which would suggest interceptions of drones," he added. "This was the first big barrage here on the capital city for more than a week." (07:49 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says more than 120 missiles had been fired at Ukraine. (07:51 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said on Telegram that the capital could experience power cuts and urged residents to charge their devices and stock up on reserves of water. (08:01 GMT) Lviv's mayor Andriy Sadovyi has said on Telegram that 90 percent of the city in western Ukraine is without electricity and electric public transport was not running. "There may be interruptions in water supply," he said. The city, close to Ukraine's border with Poland, has been a relatively safe haven during the war but has faced Russian missiles - including on Thursday. (08:21 GMT) A new wave of Russian strikes on Ukraine has left at least three people injured in the capital Kyiv, the city's mayor has said. (08:42 GMT) A burgeoning volunteer movement has taken on an increasingly prominent role in supplying Russian troops fighting in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/29/from-drugs-to-funds-volunteers-key-for-russian-army-in-ukraine (08:53 GMT) In the south, Odesa Governor Maksym Marchenko says air defence shot down 21 missiles over the region. "Fragments of one of the enemy missiles fell inside a residential building, fortunately there were no casualties," he said. He added that there was damage to energy infrastructure and emergency power cuts were enforced in the region. (08:58 GMT) Kharkiv Governor Oleg Synegubov says "critical infrastructure" has been targeted in the region of Kharkiv and its main city where four missiles hit eastern and southern neighbourhoods. (09:18 GMT) Kyiv's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, says all "16 missiles" have been shot down over Kyiv. Air defence units also shot down 21 missiles in the Odesa region in southwest Ukraine, its governor Maksym Marcheno said. (09:34 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine will end in military defeat due to Western support for Kyiv, according to Germany's economy minister Robert Habeck. "Nobody would have thought that 2022 would end like this," Habeck told the DPA news agency. "Putin is losing this war on the battlefield" because the Ukrainian army is receiving weapons from Europe, NATO and the US and is using them "skilfully and strategically, cleverly and heroically", the minister said. "I am in favour of Germany, together with the allies, supporting Ukraine in such a way that it can win this war," said Habeck, who had advocated for arms deliveries to Kyiv before the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (09:59 GMT) After a new barrage of missiles hit Ukraine on Thursday morning, Kyiv's mayor, Vitaliy Klitschko, says 40 percent of people are now without energy. (10:12 GMT) Putin will speak with Chinese President Xi Jinping via video link on Friday, according to the Kremlin. (10:30 GMT) Ukraine's military said it had shot down 54 missiles of 69 launched by Russia in its latest air attacks. "This morning, the aggressor launched air and sea-based cruise missiles, anti-aircraft guided missiles to the S-300 ADMS at energy infrastructure facilities of our country," wrote Ukraine's top general, Valery Zaluzhny, on Telegram. (10:46 GMT) Russian oil pipeline operator Transneft says Kazakhstan's KazTransOil has requested 1.2 million tonnes of capacity on the Druzhba pipeline for 2023 to facilitate additional oil shipments to Germany, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. The EU pledged to stop buying Russian oil via maritime routes from December 5 as part of broader sanctions over Ukraine. The Druzhba pipeline remains exempt from sanctions, but Germany's refineries in Leuna and Schwedt, are no longer ordering Russian crude for next year, Germany's economy ministry has said. (11:09 GMT) Bulgaria's foreign ministry says it will summon the Russian ambassador to Sofia "for explanations" after Moscow put Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian citizen and executive director of investigative news outlet Bellingcat, on a wanted list. Bellingcat's chief investigator on Russia is "wanted under an article of the Criminal Code", according to information published on Russia's interior ministry website earlier this week. (11:33 GMT) Ukraine's port city of Odesa has taken down monuments to two Russian heroes, including Catherine the Great. The city council took down the monuments under a November 30 decision, which also posted pictures of the process on its Telegram account. Under the city council decision, the monument to Catherine the Great, known as the "founder of Odesa" and one honouring 18th century Russian General Alexander Suvorov, are headed to the Odesa Fine Arts Museum, said a statement. (11:40 GMT) A Ukrainian S-300 missile fell onto the territory of Belarus, the Belarusian state-run BelTA news agency reported. The Belarusian defence ministry was investigating whether its air defence systems had shot down the rocket or it was a misfire. BelTA said there was no information about casualties. A Belarus military official says there is no cause for concern after air defence forces shot down a Ukrainian S-300 missile over a village near the Belarus-Ukraine border on Thursday morning. (12:29 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni says she believes Russia will realise the "enormous error" it made in invading Ukraine and that Rome would help Kyiv's war effort. She said there are no signs that Russia wants peace in Ukraine, urging continued international backing for Kyiv. (12:50 GMT) British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says that the UK will allocate 2.3 billion pounds ($2.77bn) in aid to Ukraine in 2023, adding that some of it would be non-military and humanitarian support. (13:11 GMT) A Russian regional governor says air defences had shot down a drone near the Engels airbase. Russia says Ukraine has already tried to attack the base twice this month, killing at least six Russian servicemen, although it said there was only slight damage to two aircraft. "Air defence systems shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Engels region," Saratov Governor Roman Busargin wrote in a message on Telegram on Thursday. Falling debris damaged residential property, but nobody was injured, he said. The Engels base is one of two that host Russia's airborne nuclear forces. (14:02 GMT) Russia will build four new ballistic missile submarines that will ensure the country's security for decades, Putin said. The new submarines and ships with modern navigation, communication and sonar systems will be equipped with high-precision weapons and robotic systems. Putin added that the Generalissimus Suvorov submarine, armed with Bulava (Mace) ballistic missiles, would "significantly increase the capabilities" of the country's nuclear naval forces. In addition, Putin said that the small rocket ship, Grad Sviyazhsk, is also a new-generation project, specifying that ships effectively perform combat tasks in Syria and during the special military operation in Ukraine. (14:45 GMT) Is the prospect of a 'winner' out of the question? | The Bottom Line Russia-Ukraine ongoing war https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FU8N-CxkIRM (15:31 GMT) Poland is prepared for Russia's response to the G7 price cap, which will stop the sale of oil to participating countries, the climate minister said. In response to a $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude, Putin on Tuesday signed a decree that bans the supply of crude oil and oil products from February 1 for five months to nations abiding by the cap. PKN Orlen, Poland's top refinery, has secured alternative oil supplies via its partnership with Saudi Aramco. (16:03 GMT) Belarus summons Ukraine's ambassador after shooting down a Ukrainian S-300 air defence missile in a field. "The Belarusian side views this incident as extremely serious," Belarusian foreign ministry spokesman Anatoly Glaz said. (16:32 GMT) Several refineries in Germany have come under strain due to the government's decision to completely stop Russian oil imports at the end of December. The Schwedt refinery, which supplies 90 percent of all petroleum products consumed in Berlin, will operate at 70 percent of its usual capacity from January, public broadcaster ZDF reported. Michael Kellner, state secretary at the economy ministry, told ZDF that Russian oil will be replaced with supplies via pipelines from Germany's Rostock port and neighbouring Poland. According to the government's plan, the pipeline from Rostock will fulfil about 55 percent of the Schwedt refinery's supply needs. Germany's ban on Russian oil imports could also hamper production at other refineries, such as Leuna, one of the country's biggest chemical industrial complexes. (16:52 GMT) Putin welcomed the return of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, noting an intention to strengthen cooperation with Israel "in the interest of ensuring peace and security in the Middle East", the Kremlin said (17:26 GMT) The Bank of Russia has said it is allowing banks from so-called "unfriendly" countries to transfer roubles out of Russia from correspondent accounts opened with Russian credit institutions. "In the face of sanctions pressure, such a payment channel will help to raise the sustainability of international settlement infrastructure," the central bank said. (18:07 GMT) Bulgaria has summoned Russia's ambassador "for explanations" after Moscow placed Bulgarian Christo Grozev, the executive director of the investigative website Bellingcat, on its list of wanted persons. (18:48 GMT) Ukraine has suggested a missile Belarus shot down over its territory might have been a ploy by Moscow aimed at bringing Minsk into the war. (19:30 GMT) Kazakhstan is preparing to deport a Russian security officer who had fled his country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine and hoped to find refuge in the West, according to his wife, who was quoted by the Reuters news agency. Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled to Kazakhstan and other neighbouring countries after the war started. Many of them were civilians, crossing legally as they sought to avoid mobilisation. As an officer of the Federal Protective Service, which is tasked with protecting the Russian president, Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, was barred from leaving Russia, and he illegally crossed into Kazakhstan in September when it became clear he could be sent to Ukraine. (20:39 GMT) A barrage of Russian missile strikes on Ukraine has resulted in "significant damage" to the national power grid, already battered by repeated bombardment, officials said. "Unfortunately, due to significant network damage, it is difficult for us to deliver electricity in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Kherson and Lviv regions," said the head of Ukraine's grid operator Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi. 20221230 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-drone-attack-sends-residents-to-shelter (06:33 GMT) Residents of Ukrainian capital Kyiv were urged to head to air raid shelters as sirens wailed across the city early on Friday morning, a day after Russia carried out the biggest aerial assault since the war started in February. (06:35 GMT) Britain says it has given Ukraine more than 1,000 metal detectors and 100 kits to deactivate bombs to help clear minefields, in the latest instance of military support. The metal detectors can help troops clear safe routes on roads and paths by helping to remove explosive hazards, the defence ministry said, while the kits can de-arm the fuse from unexploded bombs. Wallace said on Thursday Britain would allocate $2.77bn to Ukraine in military aid in 2023, matching the amount it has provided this year. (06:38 GMT) President Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-European and anti-corruption platform, has expressed hopes that crisis-hit Moldova would join the European Union before 2030. The EU accepted Moldova as a membership candidate in June, when it extended the same status to neighbouring Ukraine. (06:42 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said air commands across Ukraine repelled 54 Russian missiles and 11 drones in Thursday's assault. Zelenskyy acknowledged that most regions were suffering power outages. The areas where the loss of power was "especially difficult" included the capital, Kyiv, Odesa and Kherson in the south and surrounding regions, and the region around Lviv near the western border with Poland, Zelenskyy said. Officials had earlier said more than 120 missiles were fired during Thursday's assault. (06:51 GMT) President Joe Biden has signed off on a $1.7 trillion spending bill that will keep the US government funded through the next fiscal year - notably including another big package for Ukraine's war effort. The legislation includes $45bn in emergency military and economic aid for Ukraine, which is battling a full-scale Russian invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in Washington earlier this month to plead for increased US assistance. (07:05 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 310 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-310 (07:25 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said that it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Friday, a volume broadly in line with recent days. (07:46 GMT) Eight journalists have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February. This compares to a total of 12 media deaths there over the preceding 19 years, according to an analysis published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF). Ukraine is currently the most dangerous country in Europe for the media, after Russia itself, where 25 journalists have been killed over the past 20 years. (08:44 GMT) Bridget A Brink, the US ambassador in Kyiv has posted a new year's video message dedicated to the people of Ukraine, in which she promises that US support for the country is "ironclad". The tweet was posted under "The United States will continue to stand with Ukraine as partners and friends in 2023, and I wish you a peaceful New Year". The American people see all you are willing to sacrifice in the fight for your freedom and your country. Your determination strengthens our resolve, and as we approach the New Year, I want to assure you that our commitment to Ukraine is ironclad. We will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with you as partners and friends in 2023. And I wish you a peaceful and victorious New Year." (09:05 GMT) Russia's top diplomat in New Delhi traded barbs with a senior Indian politician on Twitter late on Thursday over the death of a Russian oligarch once reportedly critical of the Ukraine war, in a rare public spat involving Moscow and a country it views as a friend. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/30/russian-diplomat-indian-politician-spar-over-oligarchs-death (10:05 GMT) Putin says Russia and China will reach a trade turnover of $200bn earlier than planned. He said this year, Russia became one of the leaders in oil exports to China, second in pipeline gas supplies and fourth in deliveries of LNG. "Relations between Russia and China are the best in history they withstand all the tests," he said. Xi said Beijing is ready to strengthen strategic cooperation with Russia. "In the face of a difficult, far-ambiguous international situation, we are ready to increase strategic cooperation, provide each other with opportunities for development," he said. (10:16 GMT) Putin says he expects Xi to visit Russia in the spring 2023 in what would be a public show of solidarity from Beijing. Putin said: "We are expecting you, dear Mr Chairman, dear friend, we are expecting you next spring on a state visit to Moscow." He said the visit would "demonstrate to the world the closeness of Russian-Chinese relations". (10:45 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it carried out a "massive strike" on Ukraine's energy and military-industrial infrastructure on Thursday using high-precision weapons, Interfax reported. It said that the attacks had disrupted the production and repair of military equipment and the movement of reserve troops. (10:58 GMT) At least 15,000 people, including civilians, have gone missing in Ukraine since the war began in February, a Ukrainian official said. Russia has confirmed that it has 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers in captivity, Alyona Verbitskaya, the Ukrainian military ombudswoman, told the Bloomberg news agency. (11:16 GMT) The Kremlin says it is highly concerned over a Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile that flew into Belarus's air space on Thursday. Belarus's defence ministry said on Thursday its air defence forces had shot down a Ukrainian S-300 surface-to-air missile near the village of Harbacha in the Brest region, some 15km from the Belarus-Ukraine border. Belarus has summoned Ukraine's ambassador over the rogue missile and asked for an investigation into the incident. (11:44 GMT) Putin has "warmly congratulated Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the upcoming New Year, emphasising that mutually beneficial relations between Russia and Turkey are developing very dynamically, despite the difficult international situation", the Kremlin said. Putin said by acting together, Moscow and Ankara will be able to ensure further cooperation for the benefit of their people in the interests of strengthening stability and security. According to the Kremlin, Putin also sent holiday greetings to the leaders of Georgia's Abkhazia region as well as Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, South Ossetia, Bolivia, Brazil, Hungary, Venezuela, Vietnam, India, China, Cuba, Nicaragua, Serbia, and Syria. The Kremlin said Putin would not wish a happy New Year to Biden, Scholz, Macron, or leaders of other "unfriendly countries". (12:08 GMT) According to Chinese state media, China's president tells Putin that Beijing and Moscow should closely coordinate and cooperate in international affairs. Xi also told Putin that the road to peace talks in Ukraine would not be smooth and that China would continue to uphold its "objective and fair stance" on the issue, according to state broadcaster CCTV. (12:19 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Ukraine has suffered "one of the worst waves of missile attacks" after Russian air raids shelled critical infrastructure on Thursday and will announce a new anti-explosives kit. (12:51 GMT) Ukraine is investigating Russian war crimes as the conflict nears the end of the 10-month mark. The Associated Press (AP) news agency and Frontline have independently verified and recorded in a public database more than 600 incidents that appear to violate the laws of war. (13:16 GMT) International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach has reiterated that sanctions against Russia and Belarus must remain in place. Bach also said in a New Year's message that the IOC will continue to support Ukraine's Olympic community. The IOC imposed sanctions on Russian and Belarusian governments and states shortly after the start of the invasion in late February. (13:42 GMT) In an interview, the secretary of Belarus's Security Council said it was "unlikely" that a Ukrainian air defence missile downed on Thursday had entered Belarusian airspace by accident. "Kyiv is striving to provoke a regional conflict by any means," Alexander Volfovich told the Russian state-owned outlet Sputnik Belarus. "An example of this is the recent incident with the destruction of the Ukrainian S-300 missile. "There is little reason to believe that it entered our airspace by accident. By all appearances, it seems some plan was being realised here." A regional military official compared the missile to an incident in November, when a stray S-300 landed on the territory of NATO-member Poland, triggering fears of an escalation that were rapidly defused. (14:06 GMT) Russia will never be a liberal democracy and should be "pushed into their borders and locked up," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "The main thing now is ... to make our partners understand that no matter who is in power there, Russia will not turn into a liberal, democratic country ...They need to be pushed into their borders and locked up," said Kuleba. He said some people in the West still fear the consequences of a Russian defeat in Ukraine. "Many sincerely support Ukraine, but still cannot imagine Russia's defeat. I have already started to tell them that the world will not collapse if Russia collapses," he added. "Not a single inch of Ukrainian land will be subject to diplomatic or military concessions," he stressed, adding that Ukraine's tough negotiation stance was "war diplomacy". (14:31 GMT) Bulgaria's only nuclear power plant signs a nuclear fuel supply deal with a French firm to replace shipments from Russia. The state-owned Kozloduy plant on the Danube River currently relies on Russian fuel for its two Soviet-built 1,000-megawatt reactors. Under a 10-year agreement, Framatome, a subsidiary of French energy giant EDF, will supply nuclear fuel to Kozloduy's Unit 5 reactor from early 2025. Last week, Kozloduy signed a similar contract with Westinghouse Electric Sweden to deliver nuclear fuel for its other operational reactor, Unit 6, from 2024. With the two agreements in place, Bulgaria has "achieved full diversification of nuclear fuel deliveries" for its only nuclear power plant, interim energy minister Rossen Hristov said at the signing ceremony. (15:00 GMT) Kyrylo Tymoshenko, the deputy head of the president's office, announces a new package of Starlinks, part of SpaceX's internet service, from Poland. On Telegram, he wrote: "Ukraine received another batch of Starlinks, which will go to our 'Points of Invincibility', as well as for the energy and medical spheres," referring to the heated and powered spaces offering hot meals, electricity and internet connections for displaced Ukrainians. "We work to keep people connected," he added. "This is the third batch we have received from Poland, and the first part of a large batch that will arrive by the end of January." (16:05 GMT) The Russian Football Union wants its teams to return to international competition after European football's governing body, UEFA, banned Moscow from competition after Putin sent troops to Ukraine in February. "We are indeed considering the option of returning to UEFA competitions as soon as possible," said Alexander Dyukov, the president of the Russian Football Union. "It is important for us to take part in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers." (16:32 GMT) Russia's federal statistics agency revised its estimate for economic growth in 2021 from 4.7 percent to 5.6 percent, saying the country bounced back from the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic stronger than first believed. The Rosstat statistics office said the new figures were based on a more complete set of information on business performance, the balance of payments data and government accounts. However, independent analysts expect the country's economy to struggle for years due to the loss of crucial energy exports to Europe and access to Western technology and finance. (16:51 GMT) Foreign investors from "unfriendly" countries selling stakes in Russian assets may have to do so at half-price or less, the finance ministry said, with the Russian budget potentially taking a 10 percent cut of any transaction. Minutes from a commission meeting monitoring foreign investment listed measures that could apply to "foreign persons associated with foreign states that commit unfriendly acts against Russian legal entities and individuals" when selling assets. "Unfriendly" countries have imposed sanctions on Russia, including members of the European Union, the United States, Japan, Canada, Britain and Australia. "The sale of assets at a discount of at least 50 percent of the market value of the relevant assets indicated in the asset valuation report", one condition stated. (17:18 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said seven of the 16 drones launched in Thursday's assault targeted the capital. Two have been shot down "on approach" and five over the city. (17:40 GMT) Moscow's UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzya has said no civilians were tortured and killed in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, despite evidence of atrocities. "Not a single local person has suffered from any violent action," Nebenzia said, calling the photos and video of bodies in the streets "a crude forgery" staged by the Ukrainians. (18:08 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has called on NATO member states to supply more weapons to Ukraine. (18:27 GMT) 2022 in review: UN's limited diplomatic achievements in Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwOqTYORelI (18:49 GMT) Ukrainian forces are holding their positions against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region and making small advances in some areas, Zelenskyy has said. (19:43 GMT) Russia's authorities have announced that soldiers and state employees deployed in Ukraine will be exempt from income tax. The new measure concerns all those fighting in the four Ukrainian territories Russia has declared as its own but does not completely control: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. Soldiers, police, members of the security services and other state employees serving in the four regions no longer have to supply information on "their income, their expenditure, their assets", said the decree, which extends to the partners and children of those serving. (19:55 GMT) The US is "concerned" by China's alignment with Russia and has warned Beijing of consequences should it provide Moscow with military assistance in its war against Ukraine or in evading Western sanctions. "We are monitoring Beijing's activity closely," a State Department spokesperson said. "Beijing claims to be neutral, but its behaviour makes it clear it is still investing in close ties to Russia." US officials have consistently said they have yet to see Beijing provide material support to Russia for the war, a move that could provoke sanctions against China. Putin and Xi signed a "no limits" strategic partnership in February, a few days before Russia sent its forces into Ukraine. (20:19 GMT) Ukraine army's General Staff has said Russian forces have tried to advance near Bakhmut and Avdiivka, two focal points of their slow-moving campaign to take all of the Donetsk region, which together with neighbouring Luhansk makes up the Donbas. It added that Russian forces also shelled towns near Kupiansk in the northeast Kharkiv region, settlements in the Luhansk region and in the southern areas of the Zaporizhia region, and the city of Kherson, which Ukraine recaptured last month. (20:44 GMT) Given the level of its losses in Ukraine, the Russian army has lost power and will need at least five years to recover, Ukraine's defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, has said. "According to NATO intelligence, the Russians have huge losses of tanks, artillery, armoured personnel carriers and soldiers," Reznikov was quoted as saying by Ukrainska Pravda, an online newspaper. "The regular armed forces of the Russian Federation could be restored in five years at the earliest, perhaps not for 10 years," he said, adding the same applied to Russia's missile stocks. 20221231 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2022/12/31/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-rocked-by-russian-missile-attack (14:44 GMT) Russia has carried out its second major round of missile attacks on Ukraine in three days, Ukrainian officials have said, with explosions being reported throughout the country on New Year's Eve. At least one person has been killed and eight others wounded after a series of explosions hit the capital. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said one of those wounded by the blasts was a Japanese journalist who had been taken to hospital. A hotel just south of Kyiv's city centre was hit, and a residential building in another district was damaged, according to the city administration. (14:45 GMT) Vladimir Putin has said in his New Year's address that "moral, historical rightness" is on Russia's side as his country faces international condemnation for its offensive in Ukraine. Putin, breaking with tradition by delivering the New Year message flanked by troops rather than the Kremlin's walls, talked sternly and combatively about 2022 as the year that "clearly separated courage and heroism from betrayal and cowardice". While trying to rally support among Russians amid embarrassing battlefield setbacks and growing internal criticism of his military strategy, Putin thanked Russian troops, but he also demanded more from them. "Today we are fighting for this, protecting our people in our own historical territories, in the new constituent entities of the Russian Federation," he added, referring to Ukrainian regions that Russia claimed to have annexed. "Moral, historical rightness is on our side," he said. The Russian leader also said that "a real sanctions war was declared on us" after the world's top democracies slapped Moscow with a barrage of sanctions in response to military action in Ukraine. "Those who started it expected the total destruction of our industry, finances, and transport. That didn't happen," he added. (15:43 GMT) More than 200 captured soldiers have been freed by Russia and Ukraine in the latest prisoner exchange between the two sides. Russia's defence ministry said 82 Russian soldiers had been released by Ukraine, while the Ukrainian president's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Russia had handed over 140 Ukrainian service personnel. (16:16 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that his country will not forgive Russia and its aggression after Moscow conducted a barrage of strikes just hours before the New Year. (16:50 GMT) Russia has launched 20 cruise missiles over Ukraine on Saturday afternoon, of which Ukrainian forces have shot down 12, according to Ukrainian military chief Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi. At least four civilians were wounded in the Khmelnytskyi province of western Ukraine, according to regional Gov. Serhii Hamalii. Six people were wounded in the southern region of Mykolaiv. Mykolaiv Governor Vitalii Kim said that the Russians were targeting civilians more directly than just by attacking infrastructure as in the past. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFs4SeXfT4s (20:37 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has predicted victory in the war against Russia next year, saying it would come through hard work rather than miracles, as well as aid from foreign partners. "Happy new year! The year of our victory." 20230101 Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 493 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-493 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/1/russia-ukraine-live-updates-zelenskyy-putin-promise-victory (07:12 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy filled his emotional 17-minute New Year message with footage of Russia's attacks on his country and words of pride for Ukrainians withstanding attacks, darkness and cold. "We were told: you have no other option but to surrender. We say: we have no other option than to win," said Zelenskyy, dressed in his trademark khaki outfit and standing in darkness with the Ukrainian flag fluttering behind. "We fight as one team - the whole country, all our regions. I admire you all." (08:10 GMT) United States Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink has condemned Russian attacks on Ukraine in the early hours of Sunday as "cowardly". "Russia coldly and cowardly attacked Ukraine in the early hours of the new year. But Putin still does not seem to understand that Ukrainians are made of iron," she posted on Twitter. (08:55 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 312 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-312 (09:20 GMT) Homes, streets destroyed in Ukraine capital Ukraine blasts in Kyiv https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFs4SeXfT4s&t=3s (09:50 GMT) France will stand by Ukraine until its victory, President Emmanuel Macron has said in a televised New Year's speech. "During the coming year, we will be unfailingly at your side," Macron said. (10:55 GMT) The Russian intelligence services' interest in Germany continues to increase the longer the war in Ukraine lasts, according to Germany's domestic intelligence service. The head of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Thomas Haldenwang, also counts China and Iran among the states whose intelligence services are active in Germany. "Russia's intelligence interest here in Germany is not only unbroken, but is also increasing as the effects of the war continue," Haldenwang said in an interview with dpa news agency. "The current case also shows how real the danger of Russian espionage is," Haldenwang said, referring to a suspected double agent at the BND foreign intelligence agency who was arrested shortly before Christmas. (11:21 GMT) Wimbledon's ban on Russian and Belarusian players last year was unjust and changed nothing regarding the war in Ukraine, Belarusian player Aryna Sabalenka has said. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) barred players from both countries from appearing at SW19 - a decision that saw the organisation fined by the ATP last month. "This is really terrible because no one supports war - no one," Sabalenka told Australian paper The Age. "I'm just really disappointed sport is somehow in politics." "We're just athletes playing their sport. That's it. We're not about politics. If all of us could do something [about the war], we would do it. But we have zero control," she added. (12:10 GMT) President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has said Sweden taking over the presidency of the Council of the EU will be crucial to the bloc's ongoing support of Ukraine against Russia's invasion. "Your leadership will be crucial to preserve our unity in support of Ukraine," she tweeted. Sweden takes over the presidency from the Czech Republic on Sunday, giving the Scandinavian country a key leadership and mediating role in Brussels over the next six months. In a statement on his website, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson cited the Ukraine war, the battle against climate change and European competitiveness as key issues that need to be tackled. (12:45 GMT) Germany's import ban on oil from Russian pipelines is in force now as Berlin speeds up its effort to wean itself off Moscow's exports due to the war in Ukraine. An EU embargo on Russian crude oil transported by sea has been in place since December 5, but an exception was made for oil transported by pipeline. However, Germany and Poland pledged to avoid making use of these exceptions and to halt the use of oil coming through the Druzhba pipeline as of January 1. (13:26 GMT) For Ukrainians, 2023 has already begun on a grim note, as the death toll from Russia's massive New Year's Eve assault across the country climbed to at least three. (13:40 GMT) Moscow said its New Year attacks on Ukraine targeted the pro-Western country's drone production, claiming it had managed to scupper Kyiv's "terror attacks" against Russia. Russia's defence ministry said a raid hit "the facilities of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine" which is involved in the production of drones, and that the "plans of the Kyiv regime to carry out terrorist attacks against Russia in the near future have been thwarted". (16:45 GMT) The Ukrainian military claims to have inflicted heavy losses on Russia troops in Bakhmut, the small city in eastern Ukraine that has been the scene of fierce battles for months. About 170 Russian soldiers were killed in fighting for control of the bombed-out city on Saturday, the spokesman for the Eastern Group of the Armed Forces, Serhiy Cherevaty, said. Cherevaty described it as an "assembly line of death" for the Russian occupiers and said at least 200 more Russians were wounded. (17:41 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the Western allies must be ready to provide long-term support to Ukraine. Stoltenberg told the BBC that military support would ensure the survival of Ukraine as a sovereign country. "The Ukrainian forces had the momentum for several months, but we also know that Russia has mobilised many more forces, many of them are now training," Stoltenberg said. "All that indicates that they are prepared to continue the war and also try to potentially launch a new offensive," he added. (18:21 GMT) Russia's wave of drone attacks on Ukrainian cities at the turn of the year signalled that "Russia no longer has any military goals," a top official in Kyiv has said. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote on Twitter that Moscow has switched strategy after 10 months of grinding war on its neighbour. "Russia no longer has any military goals & is trying to kill as many civilians as possible and destroy more civilian facilities. A war to kill." (18:35 GMT) Ukraine's unity and sense of purpose contrast sharply with the fear that prevails throughout Russia, President Zelenskyy said. "They are afraid. You can feel it. And they are right to be afraid. Because they will lose. Drones, missiles, everything else will not help them. Because we stand united. They are united only by fear." (18:50 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu met with Ukrainian First Vice Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko in Brazil and discussed the implementation of the Black Sea grain deal. (19:36 GMT) Russia's New Year assaults on Ukraine have left four people dead and wounded dozens this weekend as Moscow claimed to have thwarted Kyiv's "terror attacks" on the homeland. 20230102 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/2/russia-ukraine-live-power-cuts-in-kyiv-as-drones-attack (07:00 GMT) Russian drones have targeted infrastructure in Ukraine's capital and surrounding areas, damaging energy facilities and causing some power outages, officials say. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the strikes knocked out some power and heating. "There are emergency power outages in the city," he said on the Telegram messaging app. Earlier, he said one person was wounded by debris from a destroyed drone that hit a road and damaged a building in a northeastern district of the capital. (07:04 GMT) Russia's Gazprom says it will ship 42.4 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Monday, a similar volume to that reported in recent days. (07:07 GMT) Russia has deployed multiple drones overnight to attack parts of Ukraine and dozens were shot down, Ukrainian officials say. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 40 exploding drones "headed for Kyiv" overnight, according to air defence forces, and all of them were destroyed. He said 22 drones were destroyed over Kyiv, three in the outlying Kyiv region and 15 over neighbouring provinces. (07:46 GMT) List of key events, day 313 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-313 (08:21 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says it has "successfully" shot down 39 Shahed-136/131 drones, two Orlan-10 drones and a Kh-59 cruise missile. (09:19 GMT) A ceasefire in the Russian war against Ukraine can be expected during 2023 and even as early as mid-year, a former German army and NATO general said. "I expect in summer, when both sides will say, this is going nowhere," Hans-Lothar Domrose told Germany's Funke media group. The most likely time for such a stalemate to arise would be between February and May, he said. "That would be the moment for ceasefire negotiations," said Domrose, who held senior positions in the international forces in Afghanistan and later in NATO command structures in Europe. But he stressed that this does not mean peace. "Ceasefire means the shooting stops. Negotiations are likely to take a long time, you need a mediator," he said, naming UN Secretary Generalá Antonio Guterres or the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (09:44 GMT) According to the latest British Ministry of Defence intelligence update, Ukraine and Russia are fighting to control the P66 highway in Kremina, Luhansk. "The P66 is a key supply route for the northern section of Russia's Donbas front from the Belgorod region of Russia", the update said. "Its use has been disrupted by Ukrainian artillery since October, but if Ukraine were able to secure the route, if would highly likely further undermine Russia's defence of Kremina". (11:34 GMT) An explosion at a facility in an occupied area of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region may have resulted in the deaths of "many hundreds" of Russian soldiers, former separatist official Igor Girkin said on Telegram. The soldiers, who were mainly mobilised Russians, were housed in the facility, he wrote. It was nearly destroyed when ammunition stored in the same building detonated "The number of dead and wounded goes into many hundreds," he posted. The Ukrainian military has not claimed the attack but said 400 Russian soldiers were killed in the blast. (12:35 GMT) Russian gas exports to countries outside a group of former Soviet republics plunged by 45.5 percent in 2022, figures from gas giant Gazprom show. Gazprom said in a statement that exports outside the Commonwealth of Independent States totalled 100.9 billion cubic metres compared with 185.1 billion in 2021. Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller said the company had been steadily increasing supplies to China, but at a conference last week, he admitted that Gazprom had had a "very, very difficult" year. (13:30 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen promised the EU's unwavering support to Ukraine in a New Year's call with Zelenskyy. She added that the EU will support Ukraine this winter with generators and will soon start disbursing a more than $19bn support package. Zelenskyy says he expressed thanks to the EU in a phone call with von der Leyen as he awaits new aid from the bloc. (13:50 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says 63 of its soldiers have been killed in a Ukrainian missile strike on their temporary accommodation in the town of Makiivka in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region. "As a result of a strike by four missiles with a high-explosive warhead on a temporary deployment point, 63 Russian servicemen were killed," the ministry said. Its statement is a rare announcement of Russian losses in Ukraine. Russian military bloggers said several hundred soldiers could have died in the attack. (14:45 GMT) A Ukrainian drone attack has damaged an electricity facility and cut power in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, its governor says. The morning attack was on the Klimovsky district, Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. About 12 hours later, the power supply had been fully restored, he said. (17:00 GMT) Ukraine has claimed responsibility for an attack on Russian forces in the occupied eastern town of Makiivka, which, according to the Russian defence ministry, killed 63 soldiers. "On December 31, up to 10 units of enemy military equipment of various types were destroyed and damaged" in Makiivka in the Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement. It said the number of Russian dead was still being established. (17:59 GMT) Samuel Ramani, an international relations specialist at Oxford University in the UK, said the latest attack by Kyiv on Russian troops in Makiivka was a retaliation for the wave of assaults on Ukraine. "Ukraine was answering to the wave of missile and drone strikes that occurred in the capital against civilian infrastructure on either side of the New Year," Ramani told Al Jazeera. "And Ukraine could have responded by striking Russian territory again like it did at Engels around Christmas time or responded by striking targets inside Donbas like it has done repeatedly. Ramani said that Makiivka "is a stronghold for Russian conscripts. Typically attacks of this nature in Popasna and other parts of the front line were targeting wider mercenaries." (18:24 GMT) French engineering group Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) has said it is stopping its activities in Russia after analysing the latest European sanction packages, which include a ban on engineering services with Russian firms. The group said its contract with Russian shipbuilding company Zvezda for 15 ice-breaking liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers would be suspended as of Jan. 8 and activities limited on the two most advanced ones (18:48 GMT) The suspected mastermind behind the removal of a Banksy mural in a Ukrainian town could face up to 12 years in prison if found guilty, Ukraine's interior ministry has said. The artwork, depicting a woman in a gas mask and a dressing gown holding a fire extinguisher, was taken off a wall in the town of Hostomel on Dec. 2, according to officials. The artwork by the renowned British artist had been valued at over 9 million hryvnia ($243,900), the ministry statement said. The mural was retrieved. Banksy confirmed he had painted the mural and six others in places that were hit by heavy fighting after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. (19:30 GMT) The head of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, has said that half of the 27-nation European Union will be in recession in 2023 as the bloc is "very severely hit" by the Ukraine conflict. "We expect one-third of the world economy to be in recession." The upcoming year will be "tougher than the year we leave behind" for the world economy, she said. "Why? Because the three big economies, US, EU, China, are all slowing down simultaneously," she told CBS's Face the Nation programme. (20:14 GMT) Russia is planning a protracted campaign of attacks with Iranian drones to "exhaust" Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "We have information that Russia is planning a protracted attack using Shahed drones," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "It is probably banking on exhaustion. Exhausting our people, our anti-aircraft defences, our energy." 20230103 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/3/russia-ukraine-live-russian-anger-grows-over-deadly-attack (07:17 GMT) Russian nationalists and some lawmakers have demanded punishment for commanders they accused of ignoring dangers in the aftermath of one of the Ukraine war's deadliest strikes. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/2/russia-says-63-troops-killed-in-ukrainian-attack-on-makiivka "What happened in Makiivka is horrible," wrote Archangel Spetznaz Z, a Russian military blogger with more than 700,000 followers on the Telegram messaging app. "Who came up with the idea to place personnel in large numbers in one building, where even a fool understands that even if they hit with artillery, there will be many wounded or dead?" he wrote. Commanders "couldn't care less", he said. Sergei Mironov, a legislator and former chairman of the Senate, Russia's upper house, demanded criminal liability for the officials who had "allowed the concentration of military personnel in an unprotected building" and "all the higher authorities who did not provide the proper level of security". Grigory Karasin, a member of the Senate and former deputy foreign minister, not only demanded vengeance against Ukraine and its NATO supporters but also "an exacting internal analysis". (07:18 GMT) The general staff of Ukraine's armed forces has said that up to 10 units of Russian military equipment in Makiivka were damaged or destroyed during an attack, without specifying their nature. In a rare admission of responsibility, the Ukrainian military confirmed having conducted "a strike on Russian manpower and military equipment". The attack followed a barrage of attacks on Ukrainian cities. "It should be noted that the Russian occupiers carried out 27 airstrikes against civilian infrastructure using the Shahed-136 UAV. All these drones were shot down," the military said in a statement on social media. (07:20 GMT) NATO countries will discuss their defence spending targets in the coming months as some of them call for turning a 2 percent target into a minimum figure, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the German news agency DPA. "Some allies are strongly in favour of turning the current 2 percent target into a minimum," (07:21 GMT) Ukraine and the European Union will hold a summit in Kyiv on February 3 to discuss financial and military support, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office has said in a statement. Zelenskyy discussed details of the high-level meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in his first phone call of the year. "The parties discussed expected results of the next Ukraine-EU summit to be held on February 3 in Kyiv and agreed to intensify preparatory work," the statement read. (07:45 GMT) The British defence ministry has said it is unlikely Russian forces will achieve a "significant breakthrough near Bakhmut in the coming weeks." (07:55 GMT) Russian authorities have banned the use of Ukraine's national currency in four regions Russia formally annexed in September, the US-based Institute for the Study of War has said. All transactions in Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia will have to be tendered in the Russian ruble, the think tank said. (08:40 GMT) Reinsurers are excluding Russia, Ukraine and Belarus from policies offered to their insurance clients and cutting back their exposure to US hurricanes, according to a report from reinsurance broker Gallagher Re, Reuters has reported. (09:06 GMT) As the Ukraine war becomes a "hurting stalemate" for both Russia and Ukraine, is the prospect of outright success for either side becoming impossible? Stephen Walt, a professor of international relations at Harvard University, argues that Kyiv and Moscow will soon have to make "awkward and painful" compromises if they do not want the conflict to turn into a "forever war". He tells host Steve Clemons that many Americans still believe there can be a decisive "Hollywood ending" to the conflict, but, like we have seen with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, this almost never happens in real life. (09:19 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 314 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-314 (09:35 GMT) Japan's "anti-Russian course" makes peace treaty talks "impossible", a senior Russian foreign ministry official has been quoted as saying by the state-owned TASS news agency. Russia and Japan have not formally ended World War II hostilities because of their standoff over islands, seized by the Soviet Union at the end of the war, just off Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido. The islands are known in Russia as the Kurils and in Japan as the Northern Territories. Japan has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and has moved to reduce its reliance on Russian oil and coal exports in recent months. (10:17 GMT) Kyiv's governor has urged residents to act if they hear air raid sirens and seek safety as soon as possible. "Don't lose your vigilance," Oleksiy Kuleba said in a Telegram post. "If you hear an alarm, go to safe places." (11:34 GMT) A Russian missile attack has destroyed an ice arena in the city of Druzhkivka in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, the country's ice hockey federation says. "Since the start of the war, the Russian occupiers have destroyed five ice stadiums," the federation said on its Telegram channel, naming them as the Druzhba venue in Donetsk, arenas in Mariupol and Melitopol, the Ice Palace in Sievierodonetsk and now the Altair arena in Druzhkivka, which was hit on Monday, it said. (11:54 GMT) 2022 in review: The UN's limited diplomatic achievements in Ukraine UN & Ukraine war limited achievements https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwOqTYORelI&t=63s (12:12 GMT) Vladimir Putin and his Kazakh counterpart, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, have held talks about cooperation in the energy sector, the Kremlin says. The presidents' discussions by phone followed Moscow's approval last week of a 10-year extension of a deal with Kazakhstan for the transit of up to 10 million tonnes of oil per year to China. Kazakhstan, the world's largest landlocked country, uses Russia's infrastructure to export its oil at a time when Western countries have imposed price caps and a ban on sea-borne Russian oil exports over the Kremlin's offensive in Ukraine. (13:52 GMT) Bulgaria has signed a long-term deal granting it access to Turkey's liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and transit network, a move that will help the country replace supplies once provided by Russia. The agreement between Bulgaria's state-owned gas operator Bulgargaz and Turkish state gas firm Botas will allow the EU member state to unload LNG at its neighbour's gas terminals and use the Botas network to transport gas. (14:25 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said any possible peace talks to end the war must take account of Russia's aggression. Moscow has recently rejected a 10-point peace plan put forward by Zelenskyy which calls for Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and withdraw all of its troops from his country. (15:29 GMT) The first regular shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the United States has arrived in Germany, part of a wide-reaching effort to help the country replace energy supplies it previously received from Russia. The tanker vessel Maria Energy arrived at the North Sea port of Wilhelmshaven, where its shipment of LNG will be converted back into gas at a special floating terminal that was inaugurated last month by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Germany has rushed to find a replacement for Russian gas supplies following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The facility in Wilhelmshaven is one of several such terminals being put in place to help avert an energy supply shortage. Germany has also temporarily reactivated old oil- and coal-fired power stations and extended the life of its last three nuclear power plants until mid-April. (15:58 GMT) What we know about Ukraine's attack in Makiivka https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/3/makiivka-attack-explainer (16:41 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has discussed further "defence cooperation" with the United Kingdom's Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. "We agreed to intensify our efforts to bring victory closer this year already. We already have concrete decisions for this," Zelenskyy tweeted following the pair's talks by phone. (17:57 GMT) A patriotic group which supports the widows of Russian soldiers has called on President Vladimir Putin to order a large-scale mobilisation of millions of men and to close the borders to ensure victory in Ukraine. Putin is under intense pressure to deliver victory in Ukraine more than 10 months since he sent troops as part of an operation he says was intended to defend Russians in eastern Ukraine. "We ask our President, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, to allow the Russian Army to carry out a large-scale mobilisation," the Soldiers' Widows of Russia group said in a post on Telegram. (18:54 GMT) Vladimir Putin plans to talk to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday 20230104, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 20230104 (08:50 GMT) Russia blames its soldiers' mobile phone use for deadly Makiivka attack https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/4/russia-now-says-89-killed-in-ukraine-attack-blames-mobile-phones "The number of our dead comrades has gone up to 89," Lieutenant General Sergey Sevryukov said in a video statement released by the Russian defence ministry early on Wednesday. The death toll was increased after additional bodies were found under rubble in the town of Makiivka, and the use of mobile phones by Russian soldiers was to blame for the attack, he said. "It is already obvious that the main reason for what happened was the switching on and massive use - contrary to the prohibition - by personnel of mobile phones in a reach zone of enemy weapons. This factor allowed the enemy to track and determine the coordinates of the soldiers' location for a missile strike." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/4/live-russia-says-phone-use-allowed-ukraine-to-target-its-troops (08:53 GMT) In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Russia is set to launch a major offensive. "We have no doubt that current masters of Russia will throw everything they have left and everyone they can round up to try to turn the tide of the war and at least delay their defeat," Zelenskyy said. "We have to disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for this. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail." Zelenskyy reiterated Ukrainian assertions that Moscow is planning a full-scale mobilisation, a step that Russian officials say is not currently being considered. (09:03 GMT) The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says Russia had launched seven missile strikes, 18 air raids and more than 85 attacks from multiple-launch rocket systems in the past 24 hours on civilian infrastructure in three cities - Kramatorsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. (09:33 GMT) According to a British Ministry of Defence intelligence update, with the extent of damage made to a vocational college in Makiivka, which was housing Russian soldiers, it is a "realistic possibility" that ammunition was stored near the building. "The Russian military has a record of unsafe ammunition storage from well before the current war, but this incident highlights how unprofessional practices contribute to Russia's high casualty rate", the update said. It added that the blast was "only 12.5km from the Avdiivka sector of front line" which is one of the most contested areas in the fighting. (09:48 GMT) In his nightly video address on Telegram, Zelenskyy says that Russia will throw everything they have to "postpone their defeat". "We have to disrupt this Russian scenario. We are preparing for this. The terrorists must lose. Any attempt at their new offensive must fail. This will be the final defeat of the terrorist state. I thank all partners who understand this", he said. "Russia mobilises those whom it wants to throw to death, we mobilise the civilised world. For the sake of life". (10:04 GMT) The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says three Russian ships are on standby in the sea of Azov in the Black Sea. "The Russian Federation continues to violate the International Convention for the Protection of Human Life at Sea 1974 (SOLAS), disabling auto-identification systems (AIS), on civilian vessels in the Azov Sea." (10:21 GMT) Russia says that mass production of new electronic warfare and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems will start in the next few months. "Within 1-2 months, it is planned to complete state tests and switch to mass production of a fundamentally new generation of aviation and ground electronic warfare and combat UAVs," Russian state-owned defence enterprise Rostec said on Telegram. Rostec added that it is increasing the production volume of weapons and special military equipment. "We are talking about attack and transport helicopters, new and modernised combat fighters, front-line bombers, strategic missile carriers, transport and combat training aircraft," the statement added. "Rostec also produces ground, air and sea-based electronic warfare equipment, state identification equipment, special-purpose measuring equipment, and much more". (11:05 GMT) A former Russian deputy prime minister has sent a piece of shrapnel from a French howitzer to President Emmanuel Macron. "In this envelope along with my letter you will see a fragment of a shell from a French 155-mm French artillery piece Caesar," Dmitry Rogozin said in his open letter to France's ambassador to Moscow, Pierre Levy, published on Telegram. "It punctured my right shoulder and lodged in the fifth cervical vertebra only a millimetre away from killing me or rendering me an invalid," he wrote. He said the incident occurred last month during a "work meeting" in a hotel restaurant in Donetsk. (11:20 GMT) German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock says that the EU had tried everything to stop the war in Ukraine but that Putin had nothing on his mind but to destroy Ukraine. Speaking at a conference in Portugal's capital Lisbon, Baerbock said Putin's stance was why it was "important to keep up the delivery of weapons so Ukraine can defend itself and protect people's lives". (11:43 GMT) Ukraine wants the United Nations to send peacekeepers to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to establish a safety zone, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company said. This is the first time a nuclear official has publicly suggested peacekeepers should be deployed without an agreement with Russia to create a safety zone at the plant. Petro Kotin, the head of Ukraine's state nuclear power company Energoatom, said the absence of a deal means the UN Security Council should deploy peacekeepers. "The problem is there is no solution (at) the level of IAEA," Kotin told Reuters news agency in an online interview from his office in Kyiv on Tuesday. "The process is not going forward. We would propose to bring this problem to the next level," he said. He added that a peacekeeping force would be a way to end Russian control of the plant. (12:03 GMT) The Ukrainian foreign minister says that Patriot air defence systems are expected to be deployed in Ukraine soon. In a briefing broadcast on the Ukrainian foreign ministry's Facebook page, Dmytro Kuleba said preparations for transferring the Patriot air defence systems have already begun. On December 21, US President Joe Biden announced a $1.85bn military aid package for Ukraine, including a Patriot missile defence system, during a joint news conference with Zelenskyy. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal added that Kyiv expects the US Congress to approve another package of almost $45bn, which includes new HIMARS multiple rocket launcher systems and the Patriot air defence systems. (12:23 GMT) Putin has sent a warship towards the Atlantic and Indian oceans armed with new hypersonic Zircon cruise missiles, which he said were unique worldwide. In a video conference with defence minister Sergei Shoigu and Igor Krokhmal, commander of the frigate named Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov, Putin said the ship was armed with Zircon hypersonic weapons. "This time the ship is equipped with the latest hypersonic missile system - Zircon - which has no analogues," said Putin. "I would like to wish the crew of the ship success in their service for the good of the motherland". Shoigu added that the hypersonic missiles, known as either Tsirkon or Zircon, could overcome any missile defence system. The missiles fly at nine times the speed of sound and have a range of more than 1,000km, Shoigu said. (12:46 GMT) Germany is looking for additional ways to help Ukraine protect its people and infrastructure, its foreign minister said, stressing that any dip in Europe's resolve on the issue would serve as a win for Moscow. "And this year, we must protect and further develop the joint European unity that made us strong last year," Baerbock said during a news conference with her Portuguese counterpart in Lisbon. (13:19 GMT) European companies, including pharmaceutical ones, who work in Russia must be labelled "supporters [of] the war", an adviser to Zelenskyy, Mikhailo Podolyak, says. (14:24 GMT) Zelenskyy has spoken with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, about developing their nations' defence ties, the Ukrainian president says on Telegram. "Together with Klaus Iohannis, we agreed on steps to further develop Ukrainian-Romanian cooperation, primarily in the defence sector," Zelenskyy wrote. "I thanked Romania for its solidarity and support in resisting Russian aggression." (14:46 GMT) Ukraine's efforts to increase grain exports are currently focused on faster inspections of ships rather than including more ports in the initiative, a senior Ukrainian official said. Three leading Ukrainian Black Sea ports in the Odesa region were unblocked in July under an initiative between Moscow and Kyiv brokered by the UN and Turkey. Under the deal, all ships are inspected by joint teams in the Bosphorus. But Kyiv accuses Russia of slowly carrying out inspections that cause weeks of delay and reduce the supply of Ukrainian grain to foreign markets. "Ukraine focuses on normalising inspections rather than opening new ports," the senior Ukrainian official said. (15:47 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz supports Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht following a controversial video on New Year's Eve, a government spokesman said. Lambrecht published a video on Instagram talking about the challenges of 2022 including Russia's war in Ukraine, while fireworks and explosions went off in the background. She has been widely accused of insensitivity, with opposition lawmakers even calling on her to resign. (16:09 GMT) Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the Czech government approved a draft law changing defence spending to align with the NATO alliance pledge of at least 2 percent of GDP from 2024. The legislation, which needs lawmakers' approval, is reacting to Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. Like most other NATO members, the Czech Republic has long missed a target of spending 2% of its GDP on defence. In 2023, defence spending is forecast at 1.52 percent of GDP. "We want this (2 percent) obligation... to be anchored in legislation," Fiala said. (16:38 GMT) Russia says Italy is not an "honest broker" or possible mediator in peace talks with Ukraine due to its position against Moscow. "Obviously, given the partisan position taken by Italy, we cannot regard it as either an 'honest broker' or a possible guarantor of the peace process," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. She added that it is "strange" for Moscow to hear proposals for mediation from countries that took "an unequivocal and very aggressive anti-Russian position." (17:17 GMT) France's Macron told Zelenskyy his government would send light AMX-10 RC armoured combat vehicles to help in the war against Russia, a French official said after a phone call between the two leaders. "This is the first time that Western-made armoured vehicles are being delivered in support of the Ukrainian army," the official said. Speaking to reporters, the official did not give any details about the volume or timing of the planned shipments but said talks would continue regarding the potential delivery of other vehicle types. The French-made AMX-10 is an armed reconnaissance vehicle with high mobility, which carries four people, according to the French armed forces ministry website. Paris has already delivered rocket launchers, air defence missile systems, anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles, and armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine. (18:03 GMT) Heavy fighting around the largely ruined, Ukrainian-held city of Bakhmut is likely to persist for the foreseeable future, and the outcome is uncertain as Russians make incremental progress, according to a senior US administration official. (19:18 GMT) McDonald's Corp is set to abandon Kazakhstan as disruptions triggered by the Ukraine crisis have left the nation without a substitute for Russian meat supplies, Bloomberg News has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. (19:44 GMT) The United States is looking at ways to target Iranian drone production through sanctions and export controls, and is talking to private companies whose parts have been used in production, the White House has said. 20230105 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/5/russia-ukraine-live-nato-warns-against-underestimating-russia (09:37 GMT) Ukraine says more than 800 Russian soldiers have been killed in the past 24 hours, mostly in fighting in the country's partly-occupied eastern Donetsk region. Giving its regular morning roundup of the war, Ukraine's military said Russian troops were focused on an offensive in the city of Bakhmut. It added they had launched unsuccessful attacks on the city of Avdiivka, in Donetsk, and the city of Kupiansk, in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The military said one aeroplane, a helicopter and three tanks were also destroyed amid the fighting. (09:41 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has warned it would be "dangerous to underestimate" Russia over the nearly yearlong war in Ukraine. "They have shown a great willingness to tolerate losses and suffering," Stoltenberg told a business conference in Norway. "We have no indication that President Putin has changed his plans and goals in Ukraine. So it's dangerous to underestimate Russia," he added. (10:00 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has told Putin in a phone call that peace efforts in the Russia-Ukraine war should be supported by a unilateral ceasefire and a "vision for a fair solution", according to his office. (10:12 GMT) The head of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, has called for both sides of the war in Ukraine to observe a Christmas truce. "I, Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, appeal to all the parties involved in the internecine conflict to cease fire and establish a Christmas truce from 12:00 on January 6 until 24:00 on January 7 so that Orthodox people can attend services on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day," he said. (10:36 GMT) https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-316 (10:48 GMT) Germany will always adjust its arms deliveries to Ukraine according to the needs on the battlefield, the country's vice chancellor has said after France became the first Western nation to commit to supplying Kyiv with light-armoured combat vehicles. "We will not stop to deliver weapons to Ukraine ... We will always adjust our deliveries to the need of the battlefield," Robert Habeck said at a Norwegian business conference. Ukraine has asked its Western allies to supply it with armoured vehicles, battle tanks, air defence systems and longer-range missiles. (10:51 GMT) Ukraine starts new year with major attack on Russian troops https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/5/ukraine-attacks-russian-barracks-deflects-iranian-drones Ukraine has started the new year with a major attack that killed many Russian soldiers in their barracks, and with a defensive victory - its air force said it managed to shoot down all the Iranian drones Russia launched against Ukrainian infrastructure since the beginning of the year. (11:20 GMT) Putin has told his Turkish counterpart that he is open to talks with Ukraine if Kyiv accepts the "new territorial realities" on the ground. (12:20 GMT) Ukraine suffered its sharpest economic decline in over 30 years in 2022 because of the war with Russia, according to official data. Preliminary economy ministry data published on Thursday showed a 30.4 percent drop in gross domestic product (GDP) last year and economic analysts said risks and uncertainty remain high, especially if Russia continues to attack critical infrastructure throughout the country. (12:55 GMT) A Ukrainian billionaire and former legislator suspected of embezzling more than $100m has appeared in a French court to answer the case against him. Mining magnate Kostyantyn Zhevago, 48, was arrested in the ski resort of Courchevel in the French Alps last week based on an international warrant issued by Ukraine. He told the court hearing in the Alpine city of Chambery that the case against him was politically driven and vigorously objected to extradition, saying he wanted to return to Ukraine but only to fight Russia's invading forces. (13:54 GMT) Belarus says it is continuing to build up a joint military grouping with Russia and is preparing for joint air force exercises with its neighbour and main ally. The Belarusian defence ministry said in a statement that the goal of creating such a joint force was "strengthening the protection and defence of the Union State (of Russia and Belarus)". "Personnel, weapons, military and special equipment of the armed forces of the Russian Federation will continue to arrive in the Republic of Belarus," the statement said. (14:32 GMT) Kyiv has rejected a call from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for a Christmas ceasefire as a "cynical trap". Patriarch Kirill suggested a truce from noon Friday through midnight Saturday, local time. The Russian Orthodox Church, which uses the ancient Julian calendar, celebrates Christmas on January 7. (14:45 GMT) The first batch of Russian prisoners who were offered amnesty in return for fighting in Ukraine has been released, the head of Wagner, the Russian mercenary group, has said. In a video published by Russia's Ria Novosti news agency, Yevgeny Prigozhin is seen telling a group of men, "You've worked through your contract. You worked honourably, with dignity." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/5/russian-ex-prisoners-released-from-ukrainian-frontline (15:17 GMT) Putin has instructed Russia's defence minister to introduce a ceasefire in Ukraine from noon local time (10:00 GMT) on Friday to midnight (22:00 GMT) on Saturday, in line with the Orthodox Christian Christmas. There was no immediate response from Ukraine, which earlier on Thursday rejected a call from the head of the Russian Orthodox Church for a truce as a "cynical trap". "Taking into account the appeal of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill, I instruct the Minister of Defence of the Russian Federation to introduce a ceasefire regime along the entire line of contact of the parties in Ukraine from 12:00 on January 6, 2023 to 24:00 on January 7, 2023," Putin said. "Proceeding from the fact that a large number of citizens professing Orthodoxy live in the areas of hostilities, we call on the Ukrainian side to declare a ceasefire and allow them to attend services on Christmas Eve, as well as on Christmas Day," he added. Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukraine's president, has slammed Russian President Vladimir Putin's order for a Christmas ceasefire and accused Moscow of "hypocrisy" for calling on Ukraine to also declare a truce. (17:09 GMT) Germany is working with allies to see what more it can do to support Ukraine in the war against Russia, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said during a visit to London. When asked about sending modern military vehicles to Ukraine, as France announced it would do this week, Baerbock said Germany is "going together with our partners", without confirming what kind of new weapons Berlin could send. Annalena Baerbock slammed a ceasefire ordered by Russia in Ukraine and said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin really wanted peace "he would bring his soldiers home". "A so-called ceasefire brings neither freedom nor security to people living in daily fear under Russian occupation," Baerbock wrote on Twitter. (17:41 GMT) US President Joe Biden said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin's order for a two-day Orthodox Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine was simply an effort to find breathing room for his war effort. (18:07 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has disbanded a fact-finding mission into a July attack in the front-line Ukrainian town of Olenivka that killed prisoners held by Moscow-backed separatists because the UN mission cannot deploy to the site, a UN spokesman said. Russia and Ukraine both requested an investigation, which Guterres had announced in August. (18:26 GMT) A UN spokesman said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres would welcome any truce in Ukraine during Orthodox Christmas, "knowing that this will not replace a just peace in line with the UN Charter and international law". (18:39 GMT) The US will send Ukraine nearly $3bn in military aid, in a massive new package that will, for the first time, include several dozen Bradley fighting vehicles, US officials said. The aid - totalling about $2.85bn - is the largest in a series of packages of military equipment that the Pentagon has pulled from its stockpiles to send to Ukraine. The Bradley fighting vehicle is a medium-armoured combat vehicle that can serve as a fortified troop carrier on the battlefield. It has tracks rather than wheels, but is lighter and more agile than a tank. It can carry about 10 people, and is seen as a critical way to move troops safely into battle. Also included in the aid package will be Humvees, mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles, or MRAPs, and a large number of missiles, as well as other ammunition. (18:58 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed doubt that the rejection of Russia's proposed truce by an aide to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy reflected the Ukrainian leader's view, Interfax news agency reported. "It is difficult for us to judge whether Podolyak's opinion reflects the view of the president of Ukraine," Interfax quoted Peskov as saying. (19:17 GMT) In addition to the United States's latest aid package, Germany will also supply Ukraine with armoured vehicles, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and President Joe Biden said in a joint statement issued after a telephone call. In a statement, the White House confirmed the US will supply Ukraine with Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and that "Germany intends to provide Ukraine with Marder Infantry Fighting Vehicles". "Both countries plan to train Ukrainian forces on the respective systems," the statement said. (20:03 GMT) The Pentagon said the world was deeply sceptical about President Putin's call for a 36-hour ceasefire in Ukraine. "I think that there's significant scepticism both here in the US and around the world right now, given Russia's long track record of propaganda, disinformation, and its relentless attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told reporters. "Our focus will continue to be on supporting Ukraine," Ryder added. (20:14 GMT) Kris Singh, the head of Holtec - a private US nuclear power company working in Ukraine - said Russia's occupation the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is a serious hit to the future of clean energy. Holtec works on the storage of spent nuclear fuel and wants to build next-generation small modular reactors in Ukraine. (20:40 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia was seeking a truce to use as a cover to stop Ukrainian advances in the eastern Donbas region and bring in more men and equipment. "They now want to use Christmas as a cover, albeit briefly, to stop the advances of our boys in Donbas and bring equipment, ammunitions and mobilised troops closer to our positions," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address, speaking pointedly in Russian rather than Ukrainian. 20230106 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/6/russia-ukraine-live-russias-christmas-truce-comes-into-force (09:13 GMT) Russian state media says a ceasefire ordered by President Putin on Thursday has come into effect in Ukraine. "At noon today, the ceasefire regime came into force on the entire contact line," Russia's state First Channel said. "It will continue until the end of January 7." (09:15 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has warned the United States that hypersonic missiles would soon be close to NATO's shores after the US embassy said in a video it stood in solidarity with Russians who opposed the war in Ukraine. "The main gift for the New Year with an ammunition package of Zircon missiles left yesterday for the shores of NATO countries," Medvedev said on Thursday, referring to President Vladimir Putin's deployment of a warship with hypersonic cruise missiles to the Atlantic. Medvedev said the missiles could be placed 160km off the US coast, adding: "So rejoice! It will bring to their senses anyone who poses a direct threat to Russia and our allies." (09:20 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has visited a military base where Russian troops are stationed, the defence ministry said. He and an unnamed representative from the Russian army discussed joint military drills, it said. (09:22 GMT) As well as Ukraine and the United States, the Institute for the Study of War think-tank has agreed that Putin's truce could be a ruse allowing Russia to regroup. "Such a pause would disproportionately benefit Russian troops and begin to deprive Ukraine of the initiative," the think-tank said late on Thursday. "Putin cannot reasonably expect Ukraine to meet the terms of this suddenly declared cease-fire and may have called for the cease-fire to frame Ukraine as unaccommodating and unwilling to take the necessary steps toward negotiations." (09:47 GMT) The United States believes that Putin's ally Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, is interested in taking control of salt and gypsum from mines near the city of Bakhmut, a White House official said on Thursday. There are indications, they said, that financial motives are driving Russia's and Prigozhin's "obsession" with Bakhmut. (10:03 GMT) Minsk's defence ministry says a train carrying Russian troops and equipment has arrived in Belarus. Belarus, who is a close Moscow ally, said it would receive more weapons and equipment from Russia on Thursday as the two boost their military cooperation. This has raised increasing concern that Belarus could be used as a staging post to attack Ukraine from the north. (10:37 GMT) As the ceasefire begins, Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford says from Kyiv, "There's huge scepticism here as we've heard from Zelenskyy over the real motivation for this unilateral ceasefire by the Russian president. Zelenskyy calls it a cover-up potentially giving Russian forces an opportunity to move more equipment to the front line." He added that despite the ceasefire, it is "highly unlikely" that Ukraine will change its game plan in terms of the conflict but that its refusal draws attention to Kyiv's move away from the Russian Orthodox Church. (10:58 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told Zelenskyy in a phone call that he would consider an invitation to visit Kyiv depending on "various circumstances", but nothing had yet been decided. Kishida also reaffirmed Tokyo's full support for Ukraine. (11:42 GMT) The Dutch police say they have identified a torso, wrapped in blue plastic, recovered from the IJ - Amsterdam's waterfront - in 2013 as that of missing Russian art dealer Aleksandr Levin. Police spokesperson Wendy Boudewijn said the deceased was identified through DNA testing in 2021 but did not earlier release the identity as they had not yet contacted Levin's next of kin. Since the February 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, cooperation between Moscow and Amsterdam has been severed, Boudewijn told Reuters news agency. According to the Dutch daily Telegraaf, Levin was a wealthy businessman who dealt with icons. His body, which had the head and limbs severed, was found in the water near Amsterdam's gentrified docklands across from the central train station in January 2013. (12:35 GMT) Ukraine's power grid operator Ukrenergo has issued a new appeal to civilians to save electricity as temperatures continue to fall and consumption rises. Russian missile and drone attacks on energy infrastructure since October have caused widespread damage, leading to winter blackouts and shortages of heating and water. After hitting nearly 10 degrees Celsius since the New Year, forecasters say they could soon plunge to -11C in Kyiv and to -18C in eastern Ukraine. (13:00 GMT) Russia says Ukraine is shelling Russian military positions during a 36-hour ceasefire, which Kyiv and its allies have dismissed as a sham. The Russian defence ministry said its positions had come under attack in the Luhansk, Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions but that its troops were observing the ceasefire. "Four mortar shells were fired at Russian positions by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of Lyman," it said. Kyiv says it has no intention of halting fighting for the Russian ceasefire, which Ukraine and its allies called a ploy to give Moscow time to regroup. Putin ordered the 36-hour ceasefire on Thursday, saying it would mark the Russian Orthodox Christian Christmas. (13:16 GMT) Ukrainian farms have harvested 49.5 million tonnes of grain from 93 percent of the expected area as of January 6, the agriculture ministry said. The ministry said farmers had harvested 10.7 million hectares of crops, with the grain yield averaging 4.64 tonnes per hectare In 2021, Ukraine harvested 32.2 million tonnes of wheat and 9.4 million tonnes of barley. (13:35 GMT) Adviser to Zelenskyy, Mikhail Podolyak, says Russia's ceasefire is a "primitive and cynical deception". On Twitter, Podolyak wrote, "January 6. Air alert all over. Children are again in cold bomb shelters. A fire station was shelled in Kherson." (14:03 GMT) Zelenskyy says he spoke with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson about the situation on the front line and the need to bolster Ukraine's defence forces. (14:38 GMT) World food prices dropped for a ninth month in December, but hit their highest level on record for the full year in 2022, UN data found. (15:11 GMT) German authorities recorded a sharp increase in conscientious objectors in 2022, which saw the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. "In 2021, we received 201 applications for conscientious objection," a spokesperson for the Federal Office for Family Affairs and Civil Society Functions told the German media group, Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RDN). For 2022, that number had risen to 951, he added. While Germany abolished mandatory military service in 2011, the figure refers to soldiers already serving in the Bundeswehr, reservists and a category called "non-servists". "We had 223 applications from servicewomen and men, 266 from reservists and 593 from non-servists," a defence ministry spokesman said later. Despite Germany not being actively involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it has been supplying Ukraine with weapons, with Berlin most recently announcing it would send armoured personnel carriers. (15:36 GMT) Daniel Hawkins, a journalist based in Moscow, tells Al Jazeera that the ceasefire's announcement came "as more of a surprise to most Russians than the fact it subsequently broke down". "This was quite a surprise to many Russians, albeit a positive one. The question was more of if this was a spontaneous response from Putin to the call by Patriarch Kirill to call this truce or if this was preplanned as a sort of PR operation. Hawkins explained that the truce was, in some ways, "if not set up to fail, perhaps expected to fail" as Kyiv rejected any ideas of a possible truce before Putin's statement on Thursday, and it affirmed the Kremlin's claims that "they are the ones who are seeking peace". "For Moscow, this was a gesture that was full of symbolism and is designed to send a message to the domestic audience that Moscow is the one seeking peace and Kyiv is the one rejecting this alleged olive branch", he added. (16:02 GMT) The US issues new sanctions for those supplying Iranian drones to Russia. The US Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on six executives and board members of Qods Aviation Industries (QAI), also known as Light Airplanes Design and Manufacturing Industries. It described Qods Aviation Industries, which has been under US sanctions since 2013, as a key Iranian defence manufacturer responsible for the production of drones. (16:26 GMT) German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht spoke with her US counterpart to coordinate fighting vehicles and air defence for Ukraine after Berlin joined Washington and Paris in sending more weaponry to Kyiv. In a statement, the German defence ministry spoke about coordinating further military support, particularly regarding infantry fighting vehicles and a Patriot missile defence system pledged by Berlin. (16:51 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz held a phone call with Zelenskyy about the situation in Ukraine. Berlin added that the Ukrainian president thanked Germany for providing Marder infantry fighting vehicles and other equipment. (18:22 GMT) The US Department of Defense has awarded L3Harris Technologies Inc a $40m contract to deliver 14 anti-drone weapon systems to bolster Ukraine's security forces, according to the defence contractor. The company said its Vehicle Agnostic Modular Palletized ISR Rocket Equipment (VAMPIRE) kit will allow Ukraine ground forces to target, shoot down enemy drones and defend against ground threats. Under the contract, L3Harris will deliver four VAMPIRE units by mid-2023 and 10 more by year-end. (19:30 GMT) The White House has announced a new $3.75bn military assistance package to help Ukraine and its neighbours on NATO's eastern flank as Russia's invasion of Ukraine grinds on. The latest tranche of assistance will include for the first time Bradley armored vehicles for Ukraine. The armored carrier is used to transport troops to combat and is known as a "tank killer" because of the anti-tank missiles it can fire. The biggest US assistance package to date for Kyiv includes a $2.85bn drawdown from the Pentagon's stocks that will be sent directly to Ukraine and $225mn in foreign military financing to build the long-term capacity of Ukraine's military and support its modernisation, according to the White House. It also includes $682mn in foreign military financing for European allies to help replace donations of military equipment they have made to Ukraine. (20:37 GMT) The United States says attacks in eastern Ukraine show that an Orthodox Christmas ceasefire announced by Putin was a "cynical" ploy. Department of State spokesman Ned Price recalled that he had called the ceasefire "nothing but cynical" when Putin announced it on Thursday. 20230108 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/8/russia-ukraine-live-news-bombing-in-eastern-ukraine-kills-one (10:37 GMT) Two thermal power plants in part of Ukraine's Donetsk region controlled by Russian forces were damaged in a rocket attack by the Ukrainian army, Moscow-installed officials and Russia's state TASS news agency has reported. Initial information suggested that the plants in Zuhres and Novyi Svit were hit and some people working there had sustained injuries, the officials said on their Telegram channels. One person was killed as a result of the attack on the Starobesheve power plant in Novyi Svit, TASS reported. (10:43 GMT) Ukraine's PM Denys Shmyhal said the war has resulted in a minefield of 250,000sq km in the war-torn nation. "It is currently the largest minefield in the world," Shmyhal told South Korea's Yonhap news agency. The mined area, according to Shmyhal, is equivalent to more than 40 percent of Ukraine's total land area. "It's not only making it difficult for people to travel, but also causing major disruptions in farming, which is one of our main industries," he said. (11:15 GMT) The Russian invasion of Ukraine has unleashed the largest wave of refugees since World War II, the UN refugee body has said. "More than 7.9 million people have fled the country, and another 5.9 million are internally displaced," said the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Germany, Katharina Lumpp. The total figure of almost 14 million represents more than a third of the country's total population of around 41 million. (11:56 GMT) Russia and Belarus have stepped up joint military training, drawing on Moscow's experience of fighting in Ukraine with an emphasis on urban warfare, the Belarusian defence ministry's TV channel has reported. "The regional grouping of [Russian and Belarusian] troops is being trained almost without interruption," the VoenTV channel reported. "The intensity of the exercises is only increasing. The goal is to be ready to fight back against an aggressor on all fronts." (12:41 GMT) Ukraine has placed dozens of Russian artists and other public figures on a sanctions list, according to a decree published by the president's office. The announcement on Saturday lists big names from the worlds of opera, film and pop music amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. One of the most well-known names is that of Vienna-based opera singer Anna Netrebko, who has come under fire for being too close to the Kremlin and too uncritical of Russian President Putin. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/8/ukraine-puts-dozens-of-russian-public-figures-on-sanctions-list (13:25 GMT) Moscow has said its army conducted a deadly "retaliatory strike" in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. Russia's defence ministry did not say when the strike occurred, but said "more than 600 Ukrainian servicemen were killed" when two buildings used as barracks were targeted in the city in the eastern region of Donetsk. The casualty number could not immediately be independently verified, but would represent one of the deadliest single attacks since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. The ministry said the attack was in response to a Ukrainian strike at the beginning of the year on the Russian-occupied town of Makiivka. (14:04 GMT) Sweden's prime minister has said the Nordic country is confident Turkey will approve its application to join NATO, but said Stockholm cannot meet some of Ankara's conditions. "Turkey both confirms that we have done what we said we would do, but they also say that they want things that we cannot or do not want to give them," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a defence think-tank conference in Sweden, without specifying to which conditions he referred. But Turkey has continued to block the bid, with Ankara saying the countries have not done enough to crack down on groups it considers to be "terrorist" organisations and to extradite people suspected of "terror-related" crimes. Turkish officials have most recently bristled at Sweden's top court's refusal to extradite journalist Bulent Kenes, who Turkey accuses of helping to plot a failed 2016 coup. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/12/19/swedens-top-court-blocks-turkish-journalists-extradition Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford reports from Kyiv, Ukraine during the first Orthodox Christmas since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. For Ukraine's 30 million members of the Orthodox Church, attending Christmas mass on Dec 25 has become not just a spiritual act, but also a political one. Ukraine orthodox christmas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLG1q9zHOYc (15:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that Ukraine has returned 50 captured Russian soldiers after negotiations, with Ukraine confirming the swap and saying 50 Ukrainian service members had also been freed. (15:53 GMT) Russia and Belarus will hold joint aviation drills next week, the Belarusian defence ministry has said. The drills will be held from January 16 to February 1, the ministry said in a statement. According to the statement, the Russian air divisions arrived in Belarus on Sunday. The drills will involve all the airfields and training areas of the Belarusian air force and air defence, the ministry added. (16:11 GMT) Reuters reporters have said there were no obvious signs of casualties at two dormitories in the city of Kramatork where Russia claimed a "retaliatory strike" had killed 600 Ukrainian soldiers that had been temporarily housed there. Russia's defence ministry did not specify exactly when the attack took place, but Reuters reporters visited the site - two college dormitories - on Sunday and reported that neither building appeared to have been directly hit by missiles or seriously damaged. They reported there were no obvious signs that soldiers had been living at the locations and no sign of bodies or traces of blood. One of the buildings had several broken windows, and stood by a courtyard that had a big crater in it, they reported. Ukrainian authorities did not immediately comment on the strike or on Russia's claim of hundreds of casualties. Kramatorsk's mayor earlier said there had been no casualties amid seven overnight Russian strikes on the city, which is located in the Donetsk region. (16:59 GMT) Ukrainian officials have denied Russian claims that a strike on dormitories in Kramatorsk killed 600 Ukrainian servicemembers. "This information is as true as the data that they have destroyed all of our HIMARS," Sergiy Cherevaty, spokesman for the Eastern group of the Ukrainian armed forces, told the Suspilne media outlet, referring to US-supplied rocket systems. Speaking to the BBC, Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, called the claim "propaganda". Two Reuters reporters who visited the dormitories where the soldiers had allegedly been killed said there were no signs of a mass casualty event. (17:45 GMT) Germany cannot rule out the delivery of Leopard tanks, heavier fighting vehicles than the previously announced Marders, to support Ukrainian military forces in the future, the country's economy minister told German broadcaster ARD. "Of course it can't be ruled out," Robert Habeck said. His comments come two days after Germany said it wants to deliver around 40 Marder infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine before the end of March, a decision Habeck said was good and long overdue. 20230109 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/9/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-says-bakhmut-is-holding-on (07:45 GMT) Ukrainian forces are repelling constant Russian attacks on Bakhmut and other towns in the eastern region of Donbas, they said, after denying Kremlin claims of 600 soldiers killed in a missile strike. Russia launched seven missile strikes, 31 air raids and 73 attacks from salvo rocket launchers in the past day, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces said in a daily report. Ukrainian forces repelled attacks on 14 settlements, including Bakhmut, it added. (08:13 GMT) Zelenskyy has denounced again what he called Russia's failure to observe a truce it had proclaimed for Orthodox Christmas by staging attacks on Ukrainian cities. "Russians were shelling Kherson with incendiary ammunition immediately after Christmas." "Strikes on Kramatorsk and other cities in Donbas - on civilian targets and at the very time when Moscow was reporting a supposed 'silence' for its army." (08:29 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, says there is no evidence yet to support Moscow's claims that it killed hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers with a strike on dormitories in Kramatorsk, in the eastern Donetsk region. (08:33 GMT) Russian-backed separatist forces in the eastern Donetsk region of Ukraine say they have seized a village near the key city of Bakhmut that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. The village of Bakhmutske in "the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," read a statement from separatist authorities on Telegram. AFP could not independently verify these claims. The village lies northeast of Bakhmut, a wine-making and salt-mining city that used to have a population of 70,000 people and is now an epicentre of fighting. The village is just outside the city of Soledar, also the scene of heavy fighting. (08:56 GMT) More Russian units 'moving into area' around Kreminna, around Bakhmut city, specifically a few kilometres north of Soledar. (09:53 GMT) Pope Francis says wars like in Ukraine, where civilian areas are subjected to what he referred to as indiscriminate destruction, are "a crime against God and humanity". (10:17 GMT) The Kremlin says it is confident about the defence ministry's statement that 600 Ukrainian soldiers had been "destroyed" in an attack on Kramatorsk city. According to Reuters news agency, a Russian missile attack on Kramatorsk missed its targets, and there were no apparent signs of casualties. (10:29 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has denied that a senior Russian official was discussing a potential peace deal with European officials. (10:39 GMT) The Kremlin says new deliveries of Western weapons to Kyiv would "deepen the suffering of the Ukrainian people" and would not change the course of the conflict. "This supply will not be able to change anything," Peskov said. Ukraine routinely asks Western allies for heavier weapons and air defences as the conflict continues. (10:41 GMT) The Bosnian Serb president, Milorad Dodik, has awarded Russian President Vladimir Putin with the highest medal of honour for his "patriotic concern and love" for the Republika Srpska entity, the Serb-controlled half of Bosnia and Herzegovina. (10:58 GMT) The Kremlin says it supports Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and condemns riots by supporters of the country's ex-President Jair Bolsonaro. "We condemn in the strongest terms the actions of the instigators of the riots, and we fully support Brazil's President Lula da Silva," Peskov told reporters. (12:00 GMT) According to Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, additional Western weapons to Kyiv will delay the end of the conflict. On Twitter, the Russian embassy in the UK wrote: "Zakharova: West's irresponsible actions & ammo supplies to Kyiv regime not only multiply victim numbers & delay Ukraine conflict end, but could also draw NATO into direct military confrontation with Russia. Yet instead of stopping, Ukraine's Western sponsors build up their supplies." (12:22 GMT) Russian actor Artur Smolyaninov faces criminal charges after allegedly making "anti-Russian" comments in a newspaper interview. In the interview with Novaya Gazeta Europe - a newspaper now banned in Russia - last week, Smolyaninov said he would fight for Ukraine, not Russia, if he had to participate in the conflict. The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said it has launched a criminal case against Smolyaninov after his interview with the "Western publication", without providing further details. (12:51 GMT) Russia has opted out of a European convention on fighting corruption. Putin asked the lower house of parliament, the State Duma, to stop following the Council of Europe's convention on fighting corruption that Russia signed in 1999. He argued that the opt-out resulted from the Council's decision to restrict Moscow's participation, which he called "unacceptable" and "discriminatory". The Council of Europe, the continent's top human rights organisation, suspended Russia's participation shortly after it sent troops into Ukraine on February 24. Peskov said Russia's withdrawal from the anti-corruption convention would not hinder official efforts to combat the issue. (13:32 GMT) The United Kingdom is considering supplying Ukraine with tanks for the first time, British broadcaster Sky News reports, citing a Western source. Sky said that discussions have been taking place "for a few weeks" about delivering the British army's main battle tank, the Challenger 2, to Ukraine. (13:57 GMT) Kyiv expects the EU to include Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom in its next round of sanctions, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says. Shmyhal said after talks in Kyiv with Frans Timmermans, a vice president of the European Commission, that Rosatom should be punished over the invasion of Ukraine. (14:20 GMT) Around 76 percent of foreign companies continue to operate in Russia, the head of Russia's lower legislative chamber said. Despite the exodus of dozens of foreign firms over the war in Ukraine, "75.9 percent of foreign companies stayed in Russia", State Duma speaker Vyacheslav Volodin said on Telegram. (14:46 GMT) A government spokesperson said that Germany has no plans to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. Last week the government announced it was sending Marder fighting vehicles to Kyiv, answering Kyiv's calls for more heavy weapons to fight back against Russian forces. Earlier on Monday, the economy minister also said Berlin could not rule out the delivery of the Leopard tanks, which are heavier fighting vehicles than the Marders. (14:58 GMT) According to RIA Novosti news agency, Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova says that she plans to meet her Ukrainian counterpart in Turkey on January 12-14. The Russian and Ukrainian human rights commissioners will meet in Turkey later this week, news agencies from both countries reported, to likely discuss more prisoner exchanges. Interfax quoted the Russian commissioner, Tatiana Moskalkova, as saying the meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets would occur during an international forum in Turkey between Thursday and Saturday. (15:26 GMT) Zelenskyy says he spoke to the newly elected Slovenian president, Natasa Pirc Musar, and discussed "defence cooperation". (16:25 GMT) Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with his newly appointed Chinese counterpart Qin Gang. They rejected "the US and its satellites' policy to establish hegemony in world affairs, provoking confrontation between Russia and China for this purpose, interference in their internal affairs, attempts by the West to restrain the development of our countries by imposing sanctions and other illegitimate methods," the statement said. (16:58 GMT) White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Iran could contribute to war crimes in Ukraine by providing drones to Russia. "Their weapons are being used to kill civilians in Ukraine and to try to plunge cities into cold and darkness which, from our point of view, puts Iran in a place where it could potentially be contributing to widespread war crimes," Sullivan told reporters. ( PJB: US policiy is to accuse others of exactly what the US is doing ) 20230110 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/10/russia-ukraine-live-fierce-fighting-ongoing-in-soledar (07:12 GMT) Ukrainian troops are repelling waves of attacks led by the Wagner Group around the salt mining town of Soledar and nearby fronts, officials in Kyiv have said. Ukrainian forces repelled an earlier attempt to take the town but a large number of Wagner Group units quickly returned, deploying new tactics and more soldiers under heavy artillery cover, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said. (07:16 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Bakhmut and Soledar were holding on despite widespread destruction. "Thanks to the resilience of our soldiers in Soledar, we have won for Ukraine additional time and additional strength," he said. He did not spell out what he meant by gaining time or strength. Zelenskyy added that new and fiercer attacks in Soledar had left no walls standing and that land in the eastern front was covered with Russian corpses. (07:26 GMT) Russian authorities have announced parallel criminal probes against an actor and a philanthropist critical of the war in Ukraine, amid a sweeping crackdown on dissent. Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that its chief Alexander Bastrykin ordered the launch of a criminal case against Russian film and theatre actor Artur Smolyaninov, who left the country after Moscow's forces invaded Ukraine and repeatedly spoke out against the war. Prominent philanthropist Boris Zimin, who funded several Russian independent media outlets as well as projects of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was placed on an international most wanted list on fraud charges. (07:36 GMT) Russian and Wagner forces are probably in control of most of the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar after tactical advances in the last four days, the British defence ministry has said in a regular intelligence update. "Soledar is 10km north of Bakhmut, the capture of which likely continues to be Russia's main immediate operational objective," it said. "Russia's Soledar axis is highly likely an effort to envelop Bakhmut from the north, and to disrupt Ukrainian lines of communication." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/10/russian-forces-likely-control-soledar-british-defence-ministry (07:52 GMT) A Russian warship armed with hypersonic cruise weapons has held exercises in the Norwegian Sea, the defence ministry has said. "The crew of the frigate 'Admiral of the Fleet of the Soviet Union Gorshkov' conducted an air defense exercise in the Norwegian Sea," the ministry said. Last week, President Vladimir Putin sent the frigate to the Atlantic Ocean armed with new generation hypersonic cruise missiles, a signal to the West that Russia will not back down. (08:07 GMT) Ukraine's General Staff of the Armed Forces has claimed that 710 Russian soldiers were killed in the last 24 hours. In a tweet, it said the the total Russian death toll from the war was 112,470. (08:44 GMT) The Russian energy ministry has said it has been working on additional measures to limit discounts to international benchmarks on Russian oil prices, after the West imposed price caps. Russia is the world's second largest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia, with oil and gas sales accounting for almost half of the country's state budget revenue. (08:53 GMT) One of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies has said that Russia is now fighting the US-led NATO military alliance in Ukraine. "The events in Ukraine are not a clash between Moscow and Kyiv - this is a military confrontation between Russia and NATO, and above all the United States and Britain," Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said. <=== "The Westerners' plans are to continue to pull Russia apart, and eventually just erase it from the political map of the world," Patrushev told the Argumenti i Fakti newspaper. (09:39 GMT) Inside a shelter dubbed "FemApartment", residents support one another as they help others affected by the Ukraine war. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/1/10/the-feminist-community-emerging-from-the-war-in-ukraine (10:11 GMT) Russia's defence minister says his country will continue developing its nuclear triad of ballistic missiles, submarines and strategic bombers because such weapons are the main guarantee of its sovereignty. "We will continue to develop the nuclear triad and maintain its combat readiness since the nuclear shield has been and remains the main guarantor of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of our state," Sergei Shoigu said. "We will also increase the combat capabilities of the aerospace forces - both in terms of the work of fighters and bombers in areas where modern air defence systems are in operation, and in terms of improving unmanned aerial vehicles." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/10/russias-defence-ministry-pledge-stronger-forces-as-war-continues (10:48 GMT) NATO's secretary general says the transatlantic military alliance must further strengthen its support for Ukraine. Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "failed" in his attempts to divide Western allies over the conflict. (11:46 GMT) Russia has appointed Colonel General Alexander Lapin as chief of staff of the country's ground forces, the state-owned TASS news agency reports. Lapin, previously commander of Russia's central military district, was criticised by Putin's allies in October after Russian forces were driven out of the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, a key logistics hub. His promotion, widely reported across Russian media but neither confirmed nor denied by the Kremlin, drew mixed reactions from influential Russian war bloggers. Igor Strelkov, a former leader of pro-Russian forces in Ukraine's Donetsk region, questioned Lapin's credentials as a commander and blamed him for Russian defeats. His promotion was, "to put it mildly, a misunderstanding", Strelkov wrote on Telegram. Another prominent war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, said Strelkov was wrong to blame Lapin for the Kharkiv defeats, but he said the general's new position was a "useless" role that would duplicate the function of the general staff. (12:03 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has chaired a meeting of finance ministers from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the UK, Britain's finance ministry said in a statement. The statement said Yellen used the meeting to discuss the need for close collaboration and develop greater resilience against global supply chain issues caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The ministers shared perspectives on global economic challenges and reflected on the distinct challenges stemming from Russia's illegal and unprovoked war against Ukraine," it added. (12:12 GMT) The European Union will impose new sanctions on Belarus, a key ally of Moscow, as it keeps up the pressure on Russia to end its war in Ukraine, the head of the bloc's executive arm has said. "We will keep pressure on the Kremlin for as long as it takes with a biting sanctions regime, we will extend these sanctions to those who militarily support Russia's war such as Belarus or Iran," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at a news conference. "And we will be coming forward with new sanctions against Belarus answering their role in this Russian war in Ukraine." (12:20 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 321 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-321 (13:10 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said he believes Finland and Sweden will join the transatlantic military alliance, just days after the government in Stockholm said it had done all it could to satisfy Turkey's reservations about its membership. "I'm confident that the accession process will be finalised and that all NATO allies will ratify the accession protocols in their parliaments. That also goes for Turkey," Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO's Brussels headquarters. (13:18 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Kyiv, says Soledar, the eastern Ukrainian town where battles are raging, is of "huge strategic importance" given its location and sprawling underground tunnels. "Soledar is a salt-mining town ... and it has a vast network of underground tunnels, around 200km of tunnels, in fact, some of which are as high as 30 metres," Stratford said. "The Russians are saying that the Ukrainians are using those tunnels as defensive positions and to store ammunition. "We can only speculate that the fighting there [in Soledar] is particularly intense because it is of such strategic and military importance, but whether we are going to start seeing such a thing as the siege we saw around the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol many months ago remains to be seen." (13:44 GMT) Moscow's reported appointment of Alexander Lapin as its ground forces' chief of staff is an example of a military power struggle, says Alexander Titov, a lecturer at Queen's University Belfast who specialises in Russian foreign policy. Lapin was previously commander of Russia's central military district. "Lapin was heavily criticised for Russian losses around Lyman in September and October and disappeared from the public view," Titov told Al Jazeera. "But now he has been brought back and seemingly given a promotion." Titov said the move was evidence of "power games" playing out within the Russian Ministry of Defence and security forces. He pointed to an apparent rivalry among Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov; Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner Group; and others. "I don't think it is settled that any faction is winning the games," he said. (14:56 GMT) Sweden's domestic security agency has warned that it expects Russia to increase activities threatening the country's telecoms and the power network. SAPO head Charlotte von Essen said Moscow's actions were "unpredictable," but stressed that "we can expect that Russian security-threatening activities against Sweden will increase." The sectors "where there is reason to be particularly vigilant to counter espionage and sabotage" are telecommunications, electricity supply and the transport of "critical material", von Essen said. She did not elaborate on what she meant by the latter. (15:42 GMT) Germany's foreign minister has made a surprise visit to the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, during which she promised more military support from Berlin. In a statement in advance of a meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba, Annalena Baerbock expressed Germany's support and solidarity with Ukrainians living through Russia's invasion and harsh winter conditions. (16:22 GMT) Armenia has refused to host military drills by the Collective Security Treaty Organisation, a Russian-led alliance of post-Soviet countries. The announcement reflects Yerevan's growing tensions with Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/10/armenia-cancels-russian-led-military-drills-amid-conflict (16:52 GMT) Ukrainian troops are expected to begin training on the Patriot missile defence system at a military base in the United States in the coming weeks, a US official has been quoted as saying by the Reuters news agency. The official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the training would occur at Fort Sill in Oklahoma, Reuters reported. Ukrainian troops have previously received some training in the US, including on Switchblade drones. "Training for Ukrainian forces on the Patriot air defence system will begin as soon as next week at Fort Sill, Oklahoma," Pentagon press secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists. "The training will prepare approximately 90 to 100 Ukrainian soldiers to operate, maintain and sustain the defensive system over a training course expected to last several months," Ryder said. (17:00 GMT) Poland's President Andrzej Duda has met with the prime minister and some of his ministers to discuss security issues amid the war in neighboring Ukraine, including Kyiv's request for delivery of Western-made heavy battle tanks. Earlier, a presidential aide said that Kyiv's request for German-made Leopard 2 tanks which Poland, among other countries, uses, would be on the agenda. (18:24 GMT) Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that Berlin needs to supply his military with Leopard tanks during a visit from German counterpart Annalena Baerbock to war-battered eastern Kharkiv. "The longer it takes to make the decision, the more people will die. The sooner this decision is made, the sooner this war will end with Ukraine's victory and there will be no more war in Europe," Kuleba told reporters during a press conference in Kharkiv with Baerbock. (19:10 GMT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told US President Joe Biden during a meeting in Mexico City that Canada would buy a US-manufactured National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System for Ukraine, according to a government source quoted by the Reuters news agency. Trudeau and Biden are being hosted by Mexico for a North American leaders summit. (20:15 GMT) Ukrainian forces have been still holding out in the eastern mining town of Soledar despite a massive Russian onslaught, according to Ukraine's deputy defence minister. The UK's defence ministry had said earlier that Russia had probably captured most of the town after four days of advances, a rare success for Moscow's troops after a string of humiliating retreats last year. "Heavy fighting to hold onto Soledar continues. The enemy disregards the heavy losses of its personnel and continues to storm actively," Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said in a statement. (20:37 GMT) Ukraine says its need for more weapons crucial The need for the West to supply Ukraine with an increased number of modern weapons is critical because Russia is gathering forces for another escalation, according to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. 20230111 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/11/russia-ukraine-live-news-fighting-rages-in-centre-of-soledar (08:18 GMT) Russian strikes hit eastern Ukraine's city of Kharkiv, the regional governor has said, just hours after a surprise visit by the German foreign minister with her Ukrainian counterpart. Annalena Baerbock pledged further German support for Kyiv on her unannounced trip, but Ukraine's top diplomat Dmytro Kuleba said Berlin's refusal to send his country battle tanks was costing lives. (08:19 GMT) The head of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group has claimed to have secured control of the salt mining town of Soledar in Ukraine's east, but uncertainty remains amid continued battles in the city centre. "A cauldron has been formed in the centre of the city in which urban fighting is going on," Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said. (08:25 GMT) US plans to train Ukrainian servicemen in the use of Patriot missiles provides further proof of Washington's participation in the Ukraine conflict, Russia's ambassador to the United States has said. "The decision of the US defence department to organise a training course at Fort Sill in Oklahoma is yet another confirmation of Washington's de facto participation in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of Kyiv's Nazi criminals," Anatoly Antonov said in a statement posted by his embassy. Antonov said the real aim of the US administration was to "inflict as much damage as possible on Russia on the battlefield by the hands of the Ukrainians". (08:29 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he had revoked the citizenship of Viktor Medvedchuk, once seen as Russian leader Vladimir Putin's top ally in Kyiv and accused of high treason. Medvedchuk, a former Ukrainian lawmaker who was handed over to Russia in a prisoner exchange last September, was stripped of his citizenship along with three others, Zelenskyy said in his daily address. (08:45 GMT) Kyiv has denied that forces from Russian mercenary group Wagner had taken the important gateway town of Soledar in east Ukraine, whose capture would pave the way for further gains in Donbas. "Soledar was, is and will be Ukrainian," the strategic communications branch of the Ukrainian military said in a statement, saying pictures released by the Wagner fighting group that Russian media said were taken in Soledar had been taken elsewhere. (09:16 GMT) The Kremlin says it is making military progress around the salt mining town of Soledar and has "positive momentum". (09:41 GMT) The Kremlin says it has not yet seen any cases of price caps on Russian oil imposed by the West last month in comments about possible losses. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Russia would do everything to protect itself from G7 plans to impose two sets of price caps on Russian oil products. A G7 official said on Tuesday that they would seek to set two price caps in February, one for products trading at a premium to crude oil and the other for those trading at a discount. (09:55 GMT) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova and her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Lubinets have agreed to a prisoner swap during a meeting in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The commissioners agreed on 40 prisoners of war each. (10:08 GMT) Ukraine's military denies that Russian forces have taken control of Soledar and added that the intensity of battles in the area could be compared with fighting in World War II. Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern military command, told Ukrainian television the battle for Soledar was essential and that Ukrainian forces had not allowed Russian forces to break through the front lines. He added that the military command was "working now on how to stabilise the situation with the maximum impact for the enemy and minimum losses for Ukraine". Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, says the situation in Soledar is "unclear" as both sides report differing battleground reports. (10:22 GMT) The number of Ukrainians who crossed into Poland since the war began has passed nine million, Poland's representative for the EU said in a tweet. (11:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its airborne units have surrounded the Ukrainian town of Soledar, which has been the focus of intensified fighting for months, from the north and the south. At the same time, Russia's air force struck Ukrainian positions in the city, Russian agencies reported. (11:25 GMT) Russian and Belarusian air defence forces have been reinforced with new missile units, according to Belarus's Ministry of Defence. "Anti-aircraft missile units advanced to designated areas and took up combat duty," the ministry said. It did not disclose how many units or missiles or where they were deployed. Belarus plans aviation drills with its close ally Russia beginning on Monday. (11:49 GMT) Greece and Malta lag behind their EU peers in freezing Russian assets, an internal document and an EU official says as the bloc considers confiscating the funds to help Kyiv. EU countries have so far reported freezing about 20.3 billion euros ($22bn) of sanctioned Russian assets. Almost every EU member has reported placing holds on millions of euros, but Greece has only notified the bloc of freezing assets worth 212,000 euros ($227,600), and Malta 147,000 euros ($158,000). "That is a bit surprising," said the EU official, who spoke to the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity. (12:12 GMT) NATO and EU will launch a task force to boost the protection of critical infrastructure in response to last year's attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines and Russia's "weaponising of energy". European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the sabotage of the gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last September showed the need "to confront this new type of threat". (12:33 GMT) Ukraine must "be ready" at the Belarus border even though it sees only "powerful statements" coming from its neighbour, Zelenskyy said on Telegram. He spoke after visiting the Lviv region, where he discussed border protection and the security situation in northwestern Ukraine. (12:58 GMT) Putin says that the situation in the areas of Ukraine that Russia annexed was "difficult in places". However, at a televised meeting with officials, Putin said Russia had all the resources it needed to improve life in the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow claimed to have annexed. (13:51 GMT) Russia says the EU is becoming a vassal of NATO, citing the signing of a joint declaration in which the two organisations pledged to deepen their cooperation in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Earlier on Tuesday, NATO and the EU pledged to "take our partnership to the next level" in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the move "confirms the complete subordination of the European Union to the tasks of the North Atlantic bloc, which is an instrument to guarantee US interests by force". She added that the Europeans faced "the unenviable fate of an American vassal, losing their positions in world politics and economics, falling into increasing dependence on Washington with every step". (14:07 GMT) The EU is prepared for a long war and will support Kyiv for as long as it takes, Sweden's foreign minister, Tobias Billstrom, said. (14:34 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister says Russian forces are trying without success to break through defensive lines to capture Soledar as fierce fighting rages on. "Heavy fighting continues in Soledar," Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram. (14:57 GMT) Estonia has told Russia to reduce the number of diplomats at its embassy in Tallinn by February, the foreign ministry said. The ministry said that Russia should cut the number of diplomats to eight, equivalent to the number of Estonian diplomats in Moscow. "In light of the fact that during the war of aggression, the staff of the Russian embassy is not engaged in advancing Estonian-Russian relations, it is our view that there are no grounds for the current size of the Russian embassy," the ministry said. Moscow said the expulsions were the latest example of "Russophobia". (15:22 GMT) In 2022, about eight out of 10 people seeking protection in Germany came from Ukraine as part of the largest flight of people in Europe since World War II, the interior ministry said. After Russia's invasion in mid-February, 1,045,185 people who fled Ukraine were registered in Germany, it said, adding that most of them were women and children. In addition to the Ukrainian refugees, more than 244,000 people filed asylum applications last year, 27.9 percent more than the year before. The majority of asylum applications came from people from Syria, followed by nationals of Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. (15:41 GMT) In a phone call, the Kremlin said, Putin discussed energy and transport projects with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi. Moscow and Tehran have moved to forge closer relations following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February. In a readout of the call, the Kremlin said the two leaders had discussed deepening their "mutually beneficial projects in the energy, transport and logistics sectors" and their desire to "normalise" the situation in Syria. (16:46 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov as the combined forces group commander for what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. Russia had previously promoted Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon" by the Russian media for his reputed ruthlessness, to be its top battlefield commander only last October following a series of Ukrainian counteroffensives. Surovikin will remain as a deputy of Gerasimov, the defence ministry said. (18:13 GMT) The head of Russia's private military firm Wagner has said his forces had completely "liberated" the eastern Ukrainian mining town of Soledar, killing approximately 500 pro-Ukraine troops. "I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the territory of Soledar from units of the Ukrainian army ... Ukrainian units that did not want to surrender were destroyed," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement. Minutes earlier, Zelenskyy had said fighting continued. (18:45 GMT) Zelenskyy said that fighting was ongoing in Soledar, an eastern Ukrainian city that Russian mercenary group Wagner claimed to control earlier, and that the front was "holding". "The terrorist state and its propagandists are trying to pretend" to have achieved some successes in Soledar, Zelenskyy said in his daily address, "but the fighting continues". (18:55 GMT) Brokering a deal on a safe zone around Ukraine's Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is getting harder because of the involvement of the military in talks, the head of the IAEA has said. "I don't believe that [an agreement] is impossible, but it is not an easy negotiation," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said in an interview with Italian public television RAI. "It has become ... a longer and more difficult [negotiating] table," said Grossi, who was speaking in Italian. (19:00 GMT) Poland is ready to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine that Kyiv requested, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced on a visit to the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. Warsaw is willing to deliver the tanks "within the framework of an international coalition", Duda said after meeting his Ukrainian and Lithuanian counterparts "As you know, there are a number of formal conditions that have to be met ... but most of all, we want this to be an international coalition," Duda said, adding that he is counting on other countries to contribute to deliveries. Any decision by Poland to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine would require the green light from Berlin. (19:53 GMT) Forces belonging to Russia's Wagner group found the body of one of two British voluntary workers who had been reported missing in eastern Ukraine, the group said in a statement. It did not mention the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both Britons had been found on his body. A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing men. 20230112 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/12/russia-ukraine-live-news-russia-names-new-commander-in-ukraine (07:31 GMT) Moscow has named a new commander for what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, now in its 11th month. Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was appointed as overall commander, only three months after General Sergei Surovikin - known for being "ruthless" in the Russian military - was put in charge of leading war efforts. Russia is struggling to cement control over the eastern town of Soledar, which would be Russia's most substantial gain since August. The appointment of Gerasimov over Surovikin is "highly likely to have been in part a political decision to reassert the primacy of the Russian [ministry of defence] in an internal Russian power struggle," the Institute for the Study of War has said. Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had increasingly criticised the ministry's conduct of the war since late 2022. "Surovikin, the previous theater commander in Ukraine, was a public favorite of Prigozhin, and Ukrainian intelligence reported Surovikin is a rival of Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu," the Washington-based think tank said in its latest assessment. Gerasimov's nomination is likely "a signal for Prigozhin and other actors to reduce their criticism" of the ministry, it added. 07:32 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the mercenary Wagner Group and a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said his forces had captured all of Soledar and killed about 500 Ukrainian soldiers after heavy fighting. "I want to confirm the complete liberation and cleansing of the territory of Soledar," Prigozhin said in a statement. "The whole city is littered with the corpses of Ukrainian soldiers," he said. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmpY3JSHtpo yt: Russia steps up assault on Soledar (07:32 GMT) Donetsk governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has told Ukrainian state TV that 559 civilians remain in Soledar, including 15 children, and it was impossible to evacuate them due to ongoing fighting. The town, which had a pre-war population of around 10,500, has been the theatre of heavy fighting as Russian and mercenary troops attempt to encircle Bakhmut, 10km to the south, which has been the focus of Russian offensive operations since September. (08:01 GMT) Russia has "almost certainly" allocated airborne forces to reinforce the Kreminna front line after assessing its vulnerability, the British defence ministry has said in a regular update. Kreminna, which had a population of more than 18,000 before the war, was the first town confirmed to have been taken by Russian forces in April in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. (08:42 GMT) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatiana Moskalkova has said both Moscow and Kyiv are interested in future contacts between their rights commissioners, the TASS news agency has reported. Following a meeting this week in Turkey with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, Moskalkova said she believed Ukraine was open to discussions. "They have taken a pragmatic approach and are ready for dialogue," Moskalkova said on Thursday, speaking of her Ukrainian counterparts. "We already have concrete results on the search for missing people, and return of children to their families. I hope the dialogue is continued. The most important thing is that it should not be politicised, but based exclusively on humanitarian and human rights principles," TASS quoted her as saying. (08:56 GMT) The Washington, DC-based Human Rights Watch has hailed the international response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, urging governments to show the same concern for civilians caught up in other conflicts. "Never in the history of responding to conflicts have we seen a coordinated international response where we have all the arsenal of the international community to protect human rights and ensure accountability," HRW said in its annual report. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/12/hrws-2023-report-finds-hope-amid-litany-of-human-rights-crises (09:22 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 323 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-323 (09:27 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Moscow has imposed sanctions on 36 individuals in connection with the "anti-Russian course" adopted by the United Kingdom's government. The list includes politicians, security officials and journalists, the ministry said in a statement. "Deliberately refusing constructive and constructive dialogue, London continues the line of confrontation, in collaboration with Washington, and spreads false information about Russia, [and] incites Russophobia," it said. (09:36 GMT) Russia is building up its forces in Ukraine but Kyiv's troops are holding out in fierce fighting for control of the eastern town of Soledar, Ukraine's deputy defence minister has said. Hanna Malyar told a news briefing that the number of Russian military units in Ukraine had risen to 280 from 250 a week earlier. "They [the Russians] are moving over their own corpses," Malyar said of the fighting for Soledar, which Wagner Group mercenaries have been fighting to take control of for weeks. "Russia is driving its own people to the slaughter by the thousands, but we are holding on," she added. ~/photos/events/20230111_soledar_and_bakhmut.png https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/11/why-does-putins-chef-need-ukraines-soledar-so-badly (10:09 GMT) A spokeswoman for Russia's foreign ministry has questioned whether Sweden has "something to hide" over blasts along the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September. Addressing reporters at a news briefing, Maria Zakharova also reiterated criticism of the Swedish government for not sharing information from the ongoing investigations into the incidents. (10:42 GMT) Car sales in Russia collapsed by 58.8 percent in 2022, the Association of European Businesses (AEB) has said, as the industry continues to reel from the effect of Western sanctions on Moscow. Total car sales for the year came in at 687,370, compared with more than 1.6 million in 2021, the AEB said. In the month of December, sales were down 50.2 percent. Several Russian carmakers suspended production for periods last year, as the industry struggled to source parts and establish new supply chains following the imposition of sanctions over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (11:56 GMT) Andrei Baevsky, a deputy of the parliament of the Donetsk People's Republic, said the western part of Soledar was now fully under the control of Russian forces as "pockets of resistance" remain. (TASS) (12:05 GMT) Russia could raise the upper age limit for citizens to be conscripted into the armed forces as soon as this spring, a senior politician has said, as part of Moscow's plans to boost the number of Russian troops by 30 percent. The chairman of the Russian parliament's defence committee, Andrei Kartapolov, said in an interview with the official parliamentary newspaper that Moscow could raise the upper age limit for conscription to 30 for this year's spring draft. But only after a one-to-three-year "transition period" would the lower limit be raised from 18 to 21 years, Kartapolov said. (12:36 GMT) Germany should not stand in the way of other countries' military support for Kyiv, the country's vice chancellor Robert Habeck said in reference to a Polish push to send German-built Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. (13:27 GMT) Will Israel and Russia forge closer ties under Netanyahu? Ukraine has expressed its disappointment in signals that the new Israeli government may establish closer ties with Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/12/israel-and-russia-may-forge-closer-ties-under-netanyahu (13:48 GMT) A delegation headed by the commander of Russia's ground forces, Oleg Salyukov, has visited Belarus to inspect the combat readiness of a joint force stationed there, the Belarusian defence ministry says. The visit took place a day after Salyukov was named one of the deputy commanders of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in the latest of a series of reshuffles. (15:18 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from near the city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, about 10km from Soledar, says there is a lot of "heavy shelling" taking place in the area. "In the last few minutes, we have heard heavy machine gun fire as well," Stratford said. "There's a [Ukrainian] checkpoint very close to us as well, at which we were prevented from going any further towards Bakhmut. It seems as if they're only allowing the military through," he added. Stratford said the situation in the region had changed "dramatically" within the past few months, with fighting intensifying as Moscow presses for control of Soledar and Bakhmut. "We have been speaking to soldiers who have been inside Bakhmut and asking them about the situation in the city and in Soledar. They said to us that Russian forces were in the centre of Soledar and in control of its salt-mine," he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/12/russian-forces-edge-closer-to-capturing-soledar (15:58 GMT) Who is Valery Gerasimov? Russia has appointed Valery Gerasimov as its overall commander of forces for the war in Ukraine. The 67-year-old previously played key roles in Russia's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014 and in Moscow's game-changing military support for President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's War. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/11/russias-top-general-put-in-charge-of-ukraine-war (17:14 GMT) Russia has released Taylor Dudley, a US Navy veteran who had been held in the country's Kaliningrad territory for nine months, negotiator and former US politician Bill Richardson announced. According to CNN, Dudley, 35, had crossed into Kaliningrad, an exclave between Poland and Lithuania, from Poland where he had been attending a music festival. (17:26 GMT) The German government's net borrowing rose to 115.4 billion euros ($124.5bn) in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, according to the finance minister, Christian Lindner. The government borrowing of 2022 was at its third-highest level in the country's history, following a record 215.4 billion euros ($233.7bn) in 2021 and 130.5 billion ($141.6bn) in 2020, according to the finance ministry. (18:45 GMT) More than a dozen senior European Union officials will visit Ukraine's capital Kyiv on February 2 to meet with the members of the Ukrainian government, a day before the EU-Ukraine summit, according to the European Commission spokeswoman. The visit demonstrates "the extent of our work with Ukraine" and shows the EU's support for the country, the European Commission spokeswoman Dana Spinant said. Spinant told AFP that "around 15 commissioners" - out of 27 - could visit Kyiv for the meeting. (19:24 GMT) Ukraine's Zelenskyy said Poland offering Leopard tanks to Ukraine may mean other countries will follow their example. The comment comes a day after Poland decided to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine as part of an international coalition. Kyiv has been requesting heavy military vehicles such as the German-made Leopard 2, which would represent a significant step-up in Western support to Ukraine. Ukraine's foreign minister Kuleba has urged Germany to supply Leopard tanks during his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock's visit to Kharkiv. 20230113 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/13/russia-ukraine-live-news-hot-battles-in-soledar-ongoing (07:57 GMT) Ukrainian forces are holding out against Russian forces after a "hot" night of battles in the eastern salt-mining town of Soledar, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar says. "The night in Soledar was hot, battles continued," she wrote on Telegram. "The enemy threw almost all the main forces in the direction of Donetsk and maintains a high intensity of offensive. Our fighters are bravely trying to maintain the defence." (08:00 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has promised that Ukrainian forces defending Bakhmut and Soledar in the east will be armed with everything they need to keep Russian troops at bay in some of the bloodiest battles of the war. "I want to emphasise that the units defending these cities will be provided with ammunition and everything necessary, on time and without interruption," Zelenskyy said. (08:02 GMT) A Russian foreign ministry official has said Belarus may enter the conflict in Ukraine if Kyiv decides to "invade" either country. In an interview with state media, Aleksey Polishchuk said Russia's joint drills with Belarus were designed to prevent escalation, but warned that Belarus may join the Ukraine conflict if it or Russia were invaded. (08:05 GMT) A close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin has suggested confiscating the assets of Russians who discredit the country's armed forces and oppose the war in Ukraine. Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of the Russian Duma, said current measures, such as fines for those who speak out against what Moscow calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine, were not strict enough. (09:11 GMT) A Russian foreign ministry official says joint military drills between Russia and its close ally Belarus were designed to deter "potential opponents from escalation and provocations". (09:31 GMT) The Pentagon says Russia's continuous troubles in Ukraine likely led to the latest shake-up in military leadership. "We've talked about some of those things in terms of its logistics problems, command and control problems, sustainment problems, morale and the ... failure to achieve the strategic objectives that they've set for themselves". On Wednesday, Moscow appointed Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov to oversee the military campaign in Ukraine. It was only October when Russia had put Sergey Surovikin in that position, who will now remain a deputy of Gerasimov. (09:56 GMT) President Zelenskyy, in his Thursday night address on Telegram, has said that during a meeting with general staff over Soledar, they "analysed in detail what decisions are needed, what reinforcements are needed, what steps should be taken by commanders in the coming days". "We discussed the situation with the supply of weapons and ammunition to the troops, relevant interaction with our partners." (10:13 GMT) Hungary's prime minister says the European Union's sanctions on Russia are a mistake and should be ended. Speaking to Hungarian state radio, Viktor Orban said if the sanctions on Russia are lifted, energy prices and inflation will fall in half. According to Orban, the EU must take a political decision. "It is certain that America won the war and Europe lost. There's a debate over whether Russia won or lost. If we talk in terms of money, we can't say that Russia lost too much", he said. He added that Hungary has no power to end the sanctions, but countries like France and Germany do. (10:35 GMT) Russia's neighbour Finland could donate some German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if other European nations also decide to do so, its president, Sauli Niinisto, says. Kyiv has requested heavy military vehicles, such as the Leopard 2. If its allies send the tanks, it would represent a significant increase in Western support. Finland could only share a limited number of tanks because the country's weapons are needed to guard its long border with Russia, the president told the Finnish news agency STT. Poland has said it would send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if there were a larger coalition of countries doing so. Germany has said it has no plans to send any. (10:53 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says its forces have taken control of Soledar, the state-owned TASS news agency reports. (11:19 GMT) France aims to deliver AMX-10 RC light combat tanks to Ukraine in two months, French Armed Forces Minister Sebastien Lecornu says in a statement. (11:37 GMT) Russian authorities should provide "urgent medical assistance" to jailed opposition politician Alexey Navalny, whose condition is critical given inhumane prison conditions and solitary confinement, a German government spokesperson said. The German government is trying to help Navalny but it is difficult in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the spokesperson said. (11:57 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will meet German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht in Berlin on Thursday, a spokesperson for the German ministry told the Reuters news agency. Washington and Berlin have coordinated sending aid and weapons to support Ukraine. Ukraine's allies have also proposed sending German-built Leopard battle tanks. (13:31 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the outskirts of Bakhmut, said Ukrainian special forces in the city believed Soledar was going to "imminently fall" to Russian troops, if it had not already. "They said there were very few Ukrainian soldiers left in Soledar and there were plans for getting the remainder of those out," Stratford said. "But things remain unclear - there has been no official recognition by the Ukrainians that it indeed has fallen," he added. Stratford said if Russia were to capture Soledar, it would put "huge pressure" on Bakhmut, which sits approximately 10km to the south. (13:44 GMT) The spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern military command denies that Russia has seized control of the town of Soledar and says Ukrainian units are still there. "Our units are there, the town is not under Russian control," the spokesperson, Serhiy Cherevatyi, told Reuters. (14:00 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem, reporting from Moscow, says there are two viewpoints in Russia on Soledar. While the Russian defence ministry says different forces were employed to capture Soledar, the Wagner Group claims the opposite on its Telegram channel. "The Wagner Group issued a statement in the form of an answer to a question on its Telegram channel, emphasising that only Wagner Group fighters were present in Soledar ... and that trying to discredit this group from taking Soledar is due to some bureaucracy, corruption within the official ranks," Hashem said. "However, this does not really affect the fact that Soledar, according to the Russians, has fallen to their hands, and this is going to be a big push for them to try to take Bakhmut." (14:27 GMT) Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian is expected to visit Moscow on Tuesday to meet his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. Discussions would include the Iran nuclear deal, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters The situations in Syria, Afghanistan and the Caucasus would also be on the agenda along with "interaction between the two countries at international platforms, including the UN", Tass quoted Zakharova as saying. Iran and Russia have become closer during the Ukraine war. Tehran supports Moscow with drones and has blamed the West for instigating the conflict. (15:07 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says he will "weigh every step carefully" and consult with allies on further weapons deliveries to Ukraine. Critics have complained about Scholz's hesitancy to take the next step regarding weapons deliveries, specifically on sending German-made Leopard 2 tanks, which Kyiv has asked for. Scholz has insisted that Germany wouldn't send such heavy armoured equipment to Ukraine on its own and pointed to a need to ensure that NATO doesn't become involved in the war with Russia. <=== (ha ha) 16:01 GMT) The EU needs to keep increasing pressure on Russia and supporting Ukraine, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said. "We need to keep increasing the pressure on Russia, and we will continue, of course, our unwavering support for Ukraine," she told a joint news conference with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Kiruna, Sweden. Von der Leyen said that Russia had cut 80 percent of gas supplies to the EU since the start of the war but that the EU had compensated by diversifying. "Hard work has paid off. Gas prices are lower now than before Russia's invasion," she said. (16:23 GMT) Poland and Lithuania want to lower the price cap on Russian oil and target its nuclear sector under new EU sanctions against Moscow and Belarus over the war in Ukraine, two senior diplomats say. The EU's leading Russia hawks will propose that the bloc bans more "Russian propaganda" media outlets and cuts more Russian banks from the SWIFT global messaging system for financial transactions. "It is more and more difficult to get the necessary unanimity in the EU for more sanctions," one of the diplomats told the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity. "Nonetheless, we will propose an ambitious new package." (16:52 GMT) Russia's latest appointment to chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, comes as the country repels battlefield losses and claims the highly sought-after town of Soledar. But Russia's military shake-up signals something more than just occurring because of its failures to maintain the territory it claimed in the early days of the war. To Nikolay Mitrokhin, a historian at Germany's Bremen University, the reshuffle of top generals was a sign that Moscow failed to set up a new offensive on Kyiv at the start of the new year. (17:34 GMT) The Russian army has praised the "courageous" forces of mercenary group Wagner after Moscow announced control of Ukraine's Soledar, in an unusual recognition of the private fighting force. "This combat mission was successfully implemented by the courageous and selfless actions of the volunteers of the Wagner assault squads," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, referring to the group's storming of Soledar. (18:40 GMT) A gas pipeline connecting Lithuania and Latvia has been hit by an explosion but there was no immediate evidence of an attack, according to Lithuania gas transmission operator Amber Grid. Video published by Lithuania's public broadcaster LRT showed a fire raging at the blast site in the Panevezys county in northern Lithuania. The explosion happened at about 5pm (19:00 GMT), according to Amber Grid. "According to initial data, no people were injured," it added. "The explosion took place away from residential buildings." Lithuania, like war-torn Ukraine, borders Russia and is situated on the Baltic Sea where the Russia-to-Germany Nord Stream gas pipelines were destroyed by explosions last year. 20230114 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/14/japan-us-and-europe-must-act-together-on-china-pm-kishida-says Japan, the United States and Europe must act in unison on China, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said in Washington, DC, during a visit with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other US and Japanese officials aimed at enhancing Tokyo's alliance with the US in the face of growing challenges from Beijing. China is the central challenge for both Japan and the US as China's vision for the international order differs from the views of Tokyo and Washington in some ways the allies "can never accept", Kishida said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/14/russia-ukraine-live-russian-missiles-hits-infrastructure-in-kyiv (08:53 GMT) Explosions have been reported in the Dniprovskiy district of the Ukrainian capital as a Russian missile attack hit critical infrastructure. "Missile attack on critical infrastructure facilities. Details are being checked," said Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office. (08:59 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko has called on residents in the Ukrainian capital to take shelter after a Russian missile attack in the morning hours. "Explosions in Dniprovskiy district. All agencies heading to the site. Stay in your shelters!" Klitschko wrote on Telegram. (09:14 GMT) President Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia's February 24 invasion. In an interview with The Associated Press on Friday, First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned that many factors need to be in place for him to be able to make the trip to New York, citing first and foremost the military situation on the ground. He said Ukraine's intelligence service had warned that Russia is planning "a very serious offensive in February". The visit would be Zelenskyy's second trip outside Ukraine since the war started, after a surprise visit to Washington, DC on December 21 to meet US President Joe Biden. (09:14 GMT) Russia says its forces have taken control of the war-scarred town of Soledar in east Ukraine, its first claim of victory in months of battlefield setbacks, while Ukraine maintains fierce fighting is still under way. (09:24 GMT) The deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, has said that a a residential building in the village of Kopyliv was hit and windows of the houses nearby were blown out. A total of 18 private houses were damaged in the outlying Kyiv region, according to regional Governor Oleksii Kuleba. "There are damaged roofs and windows," but no casualties, Kuleba said in a Telegram post. He added that a fire has been contained at a "critical infrastructure facility" in the region. (09:29 GMT) Two Russian missiles have hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, the governor of the region says. Oleh Syniehubov said Russian forces fired two S-300 missiles at the northeastern city's industrial district. The strikes targeted "energy and industrial objects of Kharkiv and the [outlying] region", Syniehubov said. No casualties have been reported, the governor said. (09:38 GMT) The governor of the central region of Cherkasy, Ihor Taburets, has warned Ukrainians that Russia could launch a massive missile strike on Saturday and urged residents to take shelter during air raid sirens. Vitaly Kim, governor of the Mykolayiv region in southern Ukraine, said 17 Russian Tupolev bombers had taken off from their air bases. His warning was issued shortly after air attacks in Kyiv and Kharkiv hit critical infrastructure. (09:51 GMT) The fighting and suffering in Ukraine continues "with no end in sight", the head of UN Political and Peacebuilding Affairs has told the Security Council. "It has created a humanitarian and human rights catastrophe, traumatised a generation of children and accelerated the global food and energy crises," Rosemary DiCarlo said. "And yet this grave damage could pale in comparison with the consequences of a prolonged conflict." DiCarlo said the UN human rights office had verified 18,096 civilian casualties since the invasion began. (09:58 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says the deployment of a group of at least 10 vessels from Russia's Black Sea Fleet on Wednesday was unlikely to be in preparation for amphibious assault operations. The fleet "continues to prioritise force protection over offensive or patrol operations", the ministry said in its latest intelligence update. (10:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natasha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, says four explosions were heard about 9:30am (07:30 GMT) in the Ukrainian capital. Air raid sirens were not heard prior to the blasts but were quickly triggered after the explosions. The alert has now ended, Butler said. "It seems that there were also strikes in other parts of the country, in the north in Chernihiv and Sumy, in the east in Kharkiv and also in the south around Zaporizhzhia, Kherson," she said. No casualties have been reported. (10:45 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has accused Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of shameful subservience to the United States and suggested he should ritually disembowel himself. The comment followed a meeting on Friday between Kishida and US President Joe Biden, after which the two leaders said any use of a nuclear weapon by Russia in Ukraine would be "an act of hostility against humanity". Medvedev, who was once seen as a Western-leaning reformer but has reinvented himself as a hawk since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, accused Kishida of having "betrayed the memory of hundreds of thousands of Japanese who were burned in the nuclear fire of Hiroshima and Nagasaki" after the US dropped atomic bombs on Japan at the end of World War II. He said such shame could only be washed away by committing seppuku - a form of suicide by disembowelment, also known as hara-kiri - at a meeting of the Japanese cabinet after Kishida's return from Washington. (11:17 GMT) Russian Ministry of Defence spokesman Igor Konashenkov says Russian forces have "liberated" Soledar and insisted that the victory carried "important significance" in Russia's push to capture the wider Donetsk region. Ukraine has refuted Moscow's claims of capturing the town. Russian military analyst Victor Litovkin told Al Jazeera: "Soledar opens the way for Russian military units to Kramatorsk, the largest city of the Donetsk People's Republic." "Only after the liberation of Bakhmut will an offensive operation be prepared to complete the liberation of Donetsk from Ukraine," he said. Moscow-based analyst Pavel Felgenhauer said capturing Soledar would be a "tactical victory". "Militarily, it doesn't carry that much strategic weight, but it's an important psychological victory for Russia." (11:42 GMT) More than 17 million tonnes of grain have been exported through the Black Sea grain corridor since shipments interrupted by the Russia-Ukraine war resumed on August 1, Turkey says. The UN, Turkey, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in July in Istanbul allowing Russian and Ukrainian wheat and fertilizers to be shipped around the world in an effort to check rising global food prices. Since then, at least 643 grain ships have left Ukrainian ports, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence said in a statement. (12:03 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the outskirts of the embattled cities of Bakhmut and Soledar, says there is no sign of a large-scale withdrawal of Ukrainian troops despite Russia claiming control of Soledar. Fighting was most intense on the western outskirts of Soledar, Stratford said. Ukrainian soldiers said "Russian saboteurs" were moving in from the west of the city. Stratford also reported from Bakhmut's ravaged city centre, where blasts of exploding artillery and rockets are almost constant. (12:12 GMT) The front-line city of Soledar, which Russia says it has captured, is still controlled by Ukrainian troops, local authorities say. "Soledar is controlled by Ukrainian authorities. Our military controls it," Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on national television. "Battles continue in and outside of the city," he said, adding that Soledar and nearby Bakhmut were the "hottest" spots on the front line. Zelenskyy made similar statements in a video address late on Friday (12:21 GMT) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has announced the UK will provide Challenger 2 tanks and other artillery systems to support Ukraine. Sunak's Downing Street office said in a statement that he made the pledge after speaking to Zelenskyy on Saturday. It did not say when the tanks were to be delivered or how many. British media have reported that four Challenger 2 main battle tanks will be sent to Eastern Europe immediately and eight more are to follow shortly thereafter. (12:47 GMT) Ukraine and Russia are locked in an information war as well as a deadly struggle on the ground in Soledar. The public quarrel between the Wagner Group and the Russian military has also highlighted an internal rift between the mercenary force and the Kremlin. Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based analyst, told Al Jazeera that disagreements have existed since the Wagner Group got involved in the Syrian conflict but that the group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has gone from being a "shadowy figure" to openly criticising the defence ministry. yt: Ukraine war: Russia's 'insane' fight for Soledar https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFkINtNgbo0 (13:25 GMT) A Turkish official says Ankara is ready to push for "local ceasefires" in Ukraine, warning that neither Moscow nor Kyiv has the military means to "win the war". President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin said it seemed unlikely that the warring sides would be ready to strike an "overarching peace deal" in the coming months, but he said the brutal cost of fighting might soon see them reconsider and accept localised truces in specific parts of the war zone. (14:09 GMT) Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki says he plans to discuss supplying Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine during a visit to Berlin on Monday. Asked in an interview with the RMF FM broadcaster if he thought he could persuade Chancellor Olaf Scholz to provide such heavy weapons to Ukraine, Morawiecki said, "No idea." He said he did not expect a decision on the issue in the coming days. Pressure has increased on Berlin to provide the tanks to Ukraine, but Germany has been reluctant to involve itself directly with Ukraine's use of heavy artillery. (14:24 GMT) A Russian missile attack has hit a residential building in the city of Dnipro in east-central Ukraine, according to a Ukrainian presidential official Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office. At least 10 people, including two children, have been injured by a Russian attack on an apartment block in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said. Kyrylo Tymoshenko, said 15 people had already been rescued from the rubble. (14:36 GMT) The Russian embassy in the United Kingdom has condemned London's announcement that it will send 12 Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. "Bringing tanks to the conflict zone, far from drawing the hostilities to a close, will only serve to intensify combat operations, generating more casualties, including among the civilian population", the statement said. It added the announcement "fully conforms to London's objectives of prolonging the conflict". (14:47 GMT) Russian missiles have struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine's Kharkiv and Lviv regions in the latest wave of attacks, according to local officials. Critical infrastructure was targeted in Kharkiv in Ukraine's east and Lviv in the country's west, the officials said. The mayor of Kyiv has also reported new explosions in the capital and said air defences were engaging targets. The explosions followed a wave of Russian strikes against critical infrastructure in Kyiv hours earlier. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5I8sznk7fo (15:36 GMT) Missile debris has been found in northern Moldova after the latest Russian air strikes on Ukraine, Moldova's Ministry of Interior Affairs says. "Following Russia's massive bombardment of Ukraine, a border police patrol discovered ... the remains of a missile originating from Russia's air attacks on Ukraine," the ministry said on Facebook. Moldova sits on Ukraine's southwestern border. Moldovan authorities have previously reported debris from Russian missiles falling in the country, including in October when the foreign ministry reported a missile shot down by Ukrainian air defences landed there. (15:51 GMT) A Russian missile has struck an apartment building in the east-central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, killing five people, Governor Valentyn Reznichenko has said, according to the Reuters news agency. "Twenty-seven people are injured. Six children are among them. All are in hospital," he said. (16:22 GMT) Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko says the coming days will be "difficult" on the energy front after Russia's latest missile attacks hit critical infrastructure in several regions. "Due to the shelling in the majority of the regions, emergency cut-offs are being introduced," Galushchenko wrote on Facebook. "The coming days will be difficult." Officials reported strikes near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Dnipro. (16:38 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said that the G7 summit in Hiroshima in May should demonstrate a strong will to uphold international order and rule of law after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kishida made the comment during a news conference in Washington, DC a day after a summit with US President Joe Biden. "The lesson of Ukraine has taught us that the security of Europe and the Indo-Pacific are inseparable," Kishida said. (17:21 GMT) Ukraine shot down 21 out of 33 incoming missiles fired by Russia on Saturday at targets across the country, Ukraine's top commander Valeriy Zaluzhnyi has said. Ukraine shot down 18 of 28 inbound cruise missiles and three out of five guided air-to-surface missiles, he posted on Telegram. Officials reported strikes across the country, including near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv and Dnipro. (18:31 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has called for more weapons from Western allies following the latest wave of missile attacks across the country that targeted critical infrastructure. (18:59 GMT) Estonia will acquire 12 more self-propelled howitzers from South Korea as boosts its military capacity in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Estonia's Centre for Defence Investment announced the deal worth $39m. The K9 Thunder self-propelled weapon systems made by South Korean arms manufacturer Hanwha Techwin are to be delivered by 2026. Estonia has responded to Russia's war on Ukraine as a direct security threat and has increased military spending and is massively upgrading its armed forces. "In light of the lessons learned from Ukraine, we have made quick decisions to equip both infantry brigades with additional K9 mobile howitzers," Defence Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement. (19:48 GMT) Sweden and Finland are unlikely to be able to join NATO before June, a senior Turkish official has said. The Nordic countries applied to join alliance in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their membership must be approved by all 30 NATO states. Only Turkey and Hungary have yet to approve the deal, with Ankara linking accession to several demands that Sweden and Finland tighten laws to rein in the activities of supporters of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. yt: Turkey-Sweden Tension over Erdogan effigy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8e4P4BNy58 20230115 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/15/russia-ukraine-live-death-toll-from-strike-in-dnipro-rises-to-14 (07:03 GMT) The death toll from a Russian missile attack that destroyed an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 18, while rescuers toiled through the night searching for survivors, officials said. (07:07 GMT) Ukraine's top military command says that Russia launched three air strikes, 57 missile strikes and carried out 69 attacks from heavy weapon rocket salvo systems on Saturday. Ukrainian forces shot down 26 rockets in the attacks which represent Russia's largest wave of strikes in two weeks and which came as Ukraine was observing the traditional Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year. The strikes hit also critical infrastructure in Kyiv and other places. (07:13 GMT) Ukrainian forces are fighting to retain control of Soledar in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, the regional governor says, contradicting Russian claims that Moscow's forces had captured the small town. (07:16 GMT) Russia has canceled at the last minute a scheduled exchange of prisoners of war, the Ukrainian body dealing with prisoners has said. "Another round of exchange of prisoners was planned today with the Russian side," the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said on the Telegram messaging app. "However, it was cancelled at the last moment at the initiative of the Russian side." The office of Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova did not immediately respond to Reuters request for comment. On Saturday Moskalkova said on her Telegram messaging app that Russian soldiers had allegedly reported instances of extortion while in Ukrainian captivity. (07:35 GMT) List of key events, day 326 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-326 (07:41 GMT) Ukraine has refuted Russian claims it has captured the eastern town of Soledar. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his forces are still fighting in the small salt-mining town, which Moscow wants to secure to help its offensive on nearby Bakhmut. The head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had accused Russia's military establishment of trying to "steal victory" in Soledar. (07:50 GMT) German arms maker Rheinmetall can only deliver repaired Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in 2024 at the earliest, its chief executive has been quoted as saying by Bild newspaper. Germany announced earlier this month that it would provide Ukraine with Marder infantry fighting vehicles to help repel Russian forces. But Kyiv has also requested heavier vehicles such as the Leopards, which would represent a significant step up in Western support to Ukraine. Repairing the tanks it has in stock would cost several hundred million euros and the company could not begin doing so before the order was confirmed, Papperger told Bild. "The vehicles must be completely dismantled and rebuilt," he said. (08:05 GMT) The death toll has risen to at least 20 after a strike on a residential building in Dnipro, a city in centre-east Ukraine, the Ukrainian regional governor has said. (08:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler reporting from Kyiv says that rescuers have managed to pull out dozens of people alive, including a three-year-old girl. "It's particularly difficult work for the rescuers, because they are having to work in very cold conditions, often without enough electricity, or in the night, without enough light because of the ongoing power shortages," Butler said. (09:37 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem reporting from Moscow says that one of the Russian ambassadors has responded on Twitter to the news that the UK is sending some of its tanks to Ukraine, "saying that this will make British tanks a legal target for the Russian troops. "However this is going to make things much more complicated for the Russians in the battlefield especially with what has been happening in the past few weeks, the setbacks that were taking place for the Russian military. This is maybe also going to take this whole confrontation to more escalation," Hashem said. "In the past few days Russia's ambassador to the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) was saying that there is a Western insistence on defeating Russia and China and one of these battlefields is Ukraine... this is what we're expecting to hear form the Russians in the coming days. (11:10 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says the special military operation is showing a positive trend and that he hopes Russian soldiers would deliver further gains after Soledar. "The dynamic is positive," Putin told Rossiya 1 state television. "Everything is developing within the framework of the plan of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff. "And I hope that our fighters will please us even more with the results of their combat," Putin said. (11:28 GMT) After the West imposed the most severe sanctions in modern history over the war in Ukraine, Russia's economy has shown remarkable resilience but the world's biggest producer of natural resources is now turning increasingly towards China. "The situation in the economy is stable," Putin said. "Much better than not only what our opponents predicted but also what we forecast." Putin said unemployment was a key indicator. "Unemployment is at a historic low. Inflation is lower than expected and has, importantly, a downward trend." Russia's economy contracted in 2022 under the weight of sanctions, but way less than most economists forecast. The $2.14 trillion economy is forecast by the Russian government to contract by 0.8 percent in 2023. (11:39 GMT) Military expert Samir Puri told Al Jazeera the real symbolism of the UK's announcement is that "it breaks through a threshold of providing main battle tanks from western European, North American, NATO countries to Ukraine. "The main battle tank is something that Ukraine has not been given; it's been given a lot of armoured personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles and other vehicles that carried troops. A main battle tank is a much larger gun, which the UK has said is now going to give these Challenger 2s. "I think it is also designed to spur other NATO nations to maybe matching that kind of promise and in particular prodding the Germans around their Leopard 2 tanks to either give Leopard 2s to Ukraine, or to allow Poland to give its Leopard 2s, which it needs to go back to Germany to ask permission to re-export to bolster Ukraine's offensive war potential," Puri said. Answering the question of why it has taken so long - almost a year since the start of the war - for main battle tanks to be sent to Ukraine, military expert Samir Puri told Al Jazeera that "it's quite a big step to provide main battle tanks". "The UK does have a couple hundred Challenger 2s, so it's not depleting its own arsenal," Puri said. "But I think it's because the war threatens to reach a sort of a stalemate situation, where the front line doesn't move farther. The Russians clearly are not going to give up. They're not going to collapse, either. "There's some analysis early in the war that Russia's army might come to collapse; its economy might be ruined. Well actually, the Russians appear to be willing to run very high risks with both their economy and their armed forces and their population as well. "I think there's that fear that if the stalemate develops, the line stabilises or the Russians even go back on the offensive, that actually the Ukrainians might find themselves in the worst position as 2023 moves forward rather than being able to capitalise on the gains of those previous aforementioned offensives that they had, September on, with Kherson and Kharkiv." (12:41 GMT) Ten Russian soldiers have been injured in a blast in the Belgorod region, the TASS news agency has reported, citing emergency services. TASS said there was a fire overnight in a local cultural centre where ammunition was also being stored, which caused the explosions. Russia's Belgorod region borders Ukraine and is home to a number of Russian military bases and training grounds. (13:42 GMT) Emergency blackouts are being applied in "most regions" of Ukraine due to the fresh barrage of Russian attacks, Energy Minister German Galushchenko has said. Ukraine's energy facilities are still reeling Sunday from what was a 12th wave of large-scale attacks on power infrastructure in recent months. The attacks targeted energy infrastructure in the Kharkiv, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Kyiv regions, Galushchenko said. On Sunday, operator Ukrenergo said that energy infrastructure was "being restored", but that the attacks had "increased the energy deficit". "The period of outages may increase," it acknowledged. (14:09 GMT) The spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry has said Moscow is not responsible for the attack on an apartment block in Dnipro, Ukraine that was destroyed yesterday, reported Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem from the Russian capital. "Rather, it is a Ukrainian anti-missile system that missed and hit the building and caused this massacre," Hashem reported the spokesperson as saying. (14:33 GMT) Ukrainian recruits are participating in a five-week United Kingdom-led training programme, the UK Ministry of Defence has announced on Twitter. (14:51 GMT) Three people have been killed and 13 injured in an ammunition explosion in Russia's Belgorod region, Reuters reported on Sunday, citing the RIA Novosti news agency. Authorities said earlier on Sunday that 10 Russian servicemen were injured in the blast in a cultural centre in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine and is the location of several Russian military bases and training grounds. The 112 and Baza Telegram channels, which are associated with Russia's law enforcement agencies, said the dead and injured were Russian conscripts who were called up to fight in Ukraine under Russia's mobilisation drive, announced last September. They reported that the blast occurred after a soldier mishandled a grenade in a local cultural centre that had been converted to store ammunition. (15:13 GMT) Ukraine has said there is little hope of pulling any more survivors from the rubble of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro on Sunday, a day after the building was hit during a major Russian missile attack. Zelenskyy said a child was among 25 people confirmed dead so far and 73 people had been wounded, including 13 children. Thirty-nine people had been rescued but a further 43 were missing, he said on the Telegram messaging app. (15:57 GMT) Ukraine can expect more deliveries of heavy weapons from Western countries soon, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said in an interview with German media. "The recent pledges for heavy warfare equipment are important - and I expect more in the near future," Stoltenberg said ahead of a meeting this week of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group, which coordinates arms supplies to Kyiv, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. (17:07 GMT) The German ministry of defence has said Russia's leaders and forces responsible for war crimes in Ukraine "must be held accountable". German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock will be travelling to the Hague, it added. (17:44 GMT) Belarus's Security Council has said that joint air force drills with Russia, due to start next week, were purely defensive in nature and would focus on reconnaissance missions and how to thwart a potential attack, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Minsk also said it was "ready" for any "provocative actions" by Ukraine, as a flurry of military activity in the country has triggered fresh fears in Kyiv and the West that Russia could be preparing to use its ally - which acted as a springboard for Russia's invasion last February - to mount a new ground offensive on Ukraine. 20230116 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/16/russia-ukraine-live-news-russia-belarus-start-military-drills (07:40 GMT) In his nightly address after the Dnipro strike, Zelenskiy called on Western allies to supply more weapons to end "Russian terror" and attacks on civilian targets. (08:14 GMT) Ukraine has insisted its forces were still battling to hold the town of Soledar in Donetsk region, with street fighting raging and Russian forces advancing from various directions. (08:40 GMT) The cargo ship MKK 1, travelling from Ukraine to Turkey, was grounded in Istanbul's Bosphorus Strait on Monday and traffic in the strait was suspended but no damage was reported, shipping agents Tribeca said. Several tugs were among vessels sent to provide assistance to the ship, the coastguard authority said. Television footage showed the bow of the ship, carrying 13,000 tonnes of peas, grounded close to the coastline on the Asian side of the Bosphorus. (09:15 GMT) Russian anti-aircraft defences have shot down three drones and continue to repel an ongoing attack over Sevastopol on the Crimean Peninsula, the city's Russian-installed governor says on Telegram. Russian officials have blamed Ukraine for the attacks. (09:27 GMT) Russia has produced nuclear warheads for the Poseidon super torpedoes to be deployed on the Belgorod nuclear submarine, the state-owned TASS news agency reports. "The first Poseidon ammunition loads have been manufactured, and the Belgorod submarine will receive them in the near future," TASS quoted an unidentified defence source as saying. Putin first announced the super torpedoes in 2018, saying they were a new type of strategic nuclear weapon with their own nuclear power source. In a 2018 speech, Putin said the torpedoes' range would be unlimited and they could operate at extreme depths. "They are very low noise, have high maneuverability and are practically indestructible for the enemy," Putin said. "There is no weapon that can counter them in the world today." (09:50 GMT) German Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht has offered her resignation to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, according to a statement seen by the German news agency dpa. Lambrecht has come under fire for months over Germany's response to the war in Ukraine and the slow pace of a huge project to modernise the armed forces. On Monday, Lambrecht said the "months-long media focus on me personally" had not allowed for a proper public debate about the role of the armed forces and German security policy. "I have therefore decided to vacate my position," she said. About 60 percent of Germans surveyed wanted to see Lambrecht resign, according to an opinion poll conducted by the public broadcaster ZDF released on Friday. (10:09 GMT) Poor weather conditions have damaged the quality of Ukraine's corn crop, Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi says. "It is much worse this year because ... we have entered into a lengthy, stretched winter harvest, which is rather difficult," Solskyi said at a news conference. "There are large swings in temperature, which... is, first, difficult for farmers to work in. Second, it harms quality," he said. He estimated potential losses due to the weather at a few percent for some farmers to 10 or 15 percent for others. (10:25 GMT) The tanks Britain plans to send to Ukraine "will burn", the Kremlin says. On Saturday, Britain said it would dispatch 14 of its Challenger 2 main battle tanks and advanced artillery support in the coming weeks. "They are using this country as a tool to achieve their anti-Russian goals," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "These tanks are burning and will burn just like the rest," Peskov said while insisting that new weapons from countries like Britain and Poland will not change the situation on the ground. (10:54 GMT) The Kremlin denies any conflict between the Ministry of Defence and the Wagner mercenary group, calling such reports an invention of the media. The tension between Wagner and the defence establishment was exposed on Friday when the ministry claimed to have captured the town of Soledar but did not mention Wagner's role in the fighting. The head of the mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, complained of attempts to minimise his forces' role and belittle their achievements. The ministry later issued an update praising the "courageous and selfless actions" of Wagner fighters. (11:15 GMT) Ukraine expects to receive the first 3-billion-euro ($3.25bn) instalment of an 18-billion-euro ($19.5bn) support package from the European Union this week, its prime minister says. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Twitter: "Ukraine and the EU have just signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the provision of 18 billion euros in macro-financial assistance. "We expect to receive a tranche of 3 billion euros this week. Many thanks to Ursula von der Leyen and Valdis Dombrovskis. This will help maintain macroeconomic stability going forward." (11:29 GMT) The European Commission aims to launch its scheme for EU-wide joint gas purchases "well before summer", Commissioner Maros Sefcovic says. Following the first meeting by EU representatives to coordinate the planned purchases, Sefcovic said he had urged member states to swiftly engage with key market players in their countries to estimate the volumes of gas needed to fill storage tanks before the next winter. Sefcovic said the commission aims to publish the aggregate demand to attract buyers in the next several months. (11:56 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Germany should send Ukraine all the weapons it needs, including tanks, to defend itself against Russia. Delivering the keynote speech at a ceremony marking former German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaueble's half-century in parliament, Morawiecki criticised German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's reluctance to send heavier weaponry. "I call for decisive actions by the German government," he said to applause from the mostly conservative German legislators at the ceremony. "The battle for freedom and our future is raging as we speak. ... Tanks must not be left in storehouses but placed in their hands," the prime minister said. (12:18 GMT) India is hopeful that trade in rupees with Russia will pick up after the two countries spoke about facilitating transactions in local currencies, an Indian trade ministry official said. India has been exploring a rupee trade settlement mechanism with Russia soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine in February, but the countries have not formalised the rules yet. India is looking to step up its exports of electronics to Russia, Satya Srinivas, a secretary at the trade ministry, told reporters in New Delhi. (12:43 GMT) Ukrainian football club Shakhtar Donetsk will allocate $25 million to help soldiers and their families, club President Rinat Akhmetov says a day after receiving a record transfer fee for the player Mykhailo Mudryk from Premier League club Chelsea. After the transfer of Mudryk to Chelsea on Sunday, Shakhtar said the club "will receive 70 million euros [$76m] for the player, and another 30 million euros [$32.5m] is envisaged as a bonus payment". "I am allocating $25m today to help our soldiers, defenders and their families," Akhmetov said in a statement on the club's website. Chelsea was formerly owned by the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. He put the club up for sale after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. Akhmetov said Shakhtar would play a friendly against Chelsea at their Donbas Arena. (13:23 GMT) Germany can reasonably hope to fill up its gas storage tanks at favourable prices for next winter, Economy Minister Robert Habeck says, but he cautions that the energy crisis is not over yet. (13:51 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem, reporting from Moscow, says the military drills between Belarus and Russia are being referred to as "technical drills" focused on the compatibility of their two air forces. "We all know that last month President Vladimir Putin went to Minsk, where he met his counterpart [Alexander] Lukashenko, where they agreed that Russia will provide the Belarusian air force with training to be able to use what they described as aircraft that could carry unconventional weapons," Hashem said. (14:09 GMT) Sweden has condemned Russia's attacks against Ukrainian infrastructure and civilian targets, including a missile strike on an apartment block in Dnipro, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says at a news conference with European Council President Charles Michel. (14:27 GMT) British Foreign Minister James Cleverly says the Russian government has placed sanctions on him. "I've been sanctioned by the Russian government. Good. If this is the price for supporting Ukrainian freedom, then I'm happy to be sanctioned #SlavaUkraini [Glory to Ukraine]," (14:48 GMT) The Kremlin says Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, had a phone call in which they discussed Ukraine. It said the question of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine was raised after talks between human rights commissioners from both countries in Turkey last week. "Vladimir Putin drew attention to the destructive line of the Kyiv regime, which relies on the intensification of hostilities with the support of Western sponsors increasing the volume of transferred weapons and military equipment," the Kremlin said in its readout of the call. It said the two presidents also discussed grain exports, ways to unblock Russian fertiliser shipments and energy issues. "Among the priorities is cooperation in the energy sector, including the supply of Russian natural gas and the creation of a regional gas hub in Turkey," the Kremlin said. (15:08 GMT) The Kremlin denies responsibility for a missile strike on an apartment block in the city of Dnipro that killed at least 35 people. "The Russian armed forces do not strike residential buildings or social infrastructure. They strike military targets," Peskov told reporters before the Kremlin spokesman referred to the "conclusion of some representatives of the Ukrainian side" that the strike could have been caused by air defence systems. Kyiv says the apartment building was hit on Saturday by a Russian ship-to-ship missile that Ukraine does not have the capabilities to shoot down. (15:33 GMT) More than 7,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights says. "Most of the civilian casualties recorded were caused by the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects, including shelling from heavy artillery, multiple launch rocket systems, missiles and air strikes," a statement from the agency said. The UN rights office said it had confirmed 7,031 civilian deaths but the actual toll could be "considerably higher" because casualty reports need to be corroborated and the areas where fighting is the most intense are inaccessible. Most of the recorded civilian deaths - 6,536 - happened in government-held areas of Ukraine compared with 495 recorded in Russian-held areas. (15:58 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has renewed his offer to help mediate an end to the conflict in Ukraine during a phone call with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin. (16:32 GMT) At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Latvia's head of state, President Egils Levis, tells Al Jazeera's James Bay that Russian attacks on civilians are a "war crime". "They are trying to target civilians in order to terrorise Ukrainian civilian people," he said in an interview. "It's a war crime, and the International Criminal Court is already dealing with Russian war crimes that are being investigated. But this is a tactic. [Because] they cannot win on the battlefield, they are now terrorising civilians." Levis said Latvia is calling for a special tribunal to be set up to deal with Russia's "crime of aggression" in its invasion of Ukraine. He added that weapons support for Ukraine is necessary because Russia is preparing a fresh offensive in February and March. (16:52 GMT) Russia said it intercepted a German naval plane over the Baltic Sea after it said the plane approached its territory. The defence ministry said that the German aircraft, a P-3 Orion maritime patrol plane, did not cross Russia's borders and turned back after the confrontation. (17:17 GMT) Germany has called for a special international tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders for the Ukraine war. The court should be based abroad but derive its jurisdiction from Ukrainian criminal law, and be able to investigate and try the Russian leadership, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a keynote speech at The Hague Academy of International Law. Baerbock said she discussed with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba the possibility of setting up such a tribunal along with some partners, public broadcaster ARD reported. A special institution is "not an ideal solution, not even for me", said Baerbock. "But the fact that we need this special solution is because our international law currently has a loophole." Calls have grown for a way to try to punish Russian leaders for the crime of aggression, as the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot do so under its rules. (17:33 GMT) Britain's defence minister Ben Wallace has outlined further military support for Ukraine, confirming the supply of 14 Challenger 2 tanks and setting out a number of other details. "Today, I can announce the most significant package of combat power to date to accelerate Ukrainian success. This includes a squadron of Challenger 2 tanks with armoured recovery and repair vehicles," Wallace said to parliament. The package also included 8 AS90 guns, hundreds more armoured and protective vehicles including Bulldog personnel carriers. (17:50 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in the United States to learn how to use the Patriot air defence system in hopes of protecting against Russian missile attacks. The Ukrainian personnel arrived Sunday evening at Fort Sill in the state of Oklahoma for training at the US Army Air Defense Artillery School, Colonel Curtis King of that facility said in a video posted on Twitter. (18:06 GMT) Russia is stepping up its use of S-300 and S-400 air defence systems to conduct raids on ground targets, suggesting that Moscow's stocks of ballistic missiles are running low, Ukraine's Air Force spokesman said. The official, Yuriy Ihnat, cited Ukrainian intelligence as claiming that Russia had fewer than 100 modern Iskander ballistic munitions left. He said Russia was, instead, using its S-300 and S-400 systems because of an abundance of munitions. (18:18 GMT) Slovakia has completed the delivery of eight Zuzana 2 howitzers ordered by Ukraine last year, the Defence Ministry in Bratislava announced. "As of today, we have handed over to Ukraine a complete battery of high-quality artillery systems produced by our own defence industry," Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said. (18:43 GMT) The German and Dutch foreign ministers have condemned the deportation by Russians of thousands of Ukrainian children, calling it a deliberate policy of cruel and inhumane abductions that is tearing families apart. Since Moscow launched its war in Ukraine nearly a year ago, Russians have been accused of deporting Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-held territories to raise them as their own. At least 1,000 children were seized from schools and orphanages in the Kherson region during Russia's eight-month occupation of the area, local authorities say. Their whereabouts are still unknown. (19:22 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the Russian missile attack on an apartment building in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro as a possible war crime, his spokesperson said. "A strike hit a residential building in Dnipro on Saturday evening, in one of the deadliest attacks in Ukraine since the start of the Russian invasion last February," Stephanie Tremblay told reporters. "The secretary-general condemned this attack, saying that this was another example of a suspected violation of the laws of war," she added. 20230117 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/17/ukraine-live-russia-shells-settlements-near-bakhmut-donetsk (07:03 GMT) Ukraine says Russia launched more than 70 rockets targeting its territory in the past 24 hours. It said Russian forces shelled more than 15 settlements near the city of Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, including the salt-mining town of Soledar, where Russia and Ukraine have waged fierce trench warfare for weeks. "Very heavy fighting is continuing in the two key sectors of ... Bakhmut and Avdiivka," Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said on YouTube. "We are trying to maintain our positions. Russian troops are active at night - we are in great need of night vision equipment." (07:08 GMT) President Zelenskyy says the attack on Dnipro and Russia's attempts to gain the initiative in the war underscore the need for the West "to speed up decision-making" in supplying weapons. Oleskiy Danylov, secretary of Ukraine's Security Council, also said on Monday night the need for an acceleration in weapons supplies because the government expected Russia "to attempt to make a so-called final push". "We must prepare for such events every day. And we are preparing ... The first and last question is always about weapons, aid to help us defeat this aggressor that invaded our country," Danylov said. (07:14 GMT) Zelenskyy has called on the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) to do more about Ukrainians he says have been forcibly taken to Russia. The OSCE is the world's largest regional security organisation, consisting of 57 states and encompassing the US and all European states, including Russia and all states of the former Soviet Union. "No international organisation has found the strength to gain access to the places of detention of our prisoners in Russia yet. This must be corrected," Zelenskyy said on Monday. The US State Department estimated last year that between 900,000 and 1.6 million Ukrainian citizens, including 260,000 children, have been forcibly deported into Russian territory. Russia denies deportations and says those arriving are war refugees. In November, the country's emergency ministry said some 4.8 million Ukrainians, including 712,000 children, had arrived in Russia since February. (07:18 GMT) Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited Russian troops involved in Ukraine, the ministry says. "Sergei Shoigu thanked the servicemen who courageously perform tasks in the special military operation zone, and presented state awards to the servicemen for their dedication and heroism," the ministry said in a statement on its Telegram messaging app. (07:26 GMT) Russian-installed authorities in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region say they are in control of Soledar, repeating their earlier claim about the salt-mining town where intense fighting has taken place. (07:32 GMT) Kremlin-controlled energy giant Gazprom will ship 32.6 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Tuesday, the company has said in its daily update, down almost 8 percent from the previous several days. Gazprom did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The company has shipped gas via Ukraine at between 35.4mcm and 35.5mcm for the past 10 days, having exported more than 40mcm per day at the end of last year and the first three days of 2023. A source familiar with the data has said the lower volumes probably reflected record-high winter temperatures across much of Europe over the new year period. (07:56 GMT) A former commander of Russia's Wagner mercenary group who had fought in Ukraine says he has fled to Norway and is seeking asylum after deserting in fear for his life. Andrei Medvedev, who joined the group on July 6, 2022, with a four-month contract, said in a video posted by the Gulagu.net rights group that he had crossed the border with Norway before being detained by Norwegian police. Medvedev, an orphan who joined the Russian army and served time in prison before joining Wagner, said from Oslo he had slipped away from the group after witnessing the killing of captured defectors from Wagner. "I am afraid of dying in agony," Medvedev told Vladimir Osechkin, founder of Gulagu.net, which said it had helped Medvedev to leave Russia after he approached the group in fear for his life. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/17/former-wagner-group-fighter-seeks-asylum-in-norway (08:06 GMT) Eastbound gas flows on the Yamal-Europe pipeline to Poland from Germany and flows of Russian gas to Europe via Ukraine have fallen, data from pipeline operators showed. Exit flows at the Mallnow metering point on the German border stood at 849,559 kilowatt hours (kWh) between 07:00 GMT and 07:00 GMT, down from about 1,729,000kWh in most of the previous day. Nominations, or requests, for Russian gas into Slovakia from Ukraine via the Velke Kapusany border point fell to 27.1 million cubic metres (mcm), from 29.8mcm the previous day, Ukrainian transmission system data showed. (08:13 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda says he hopes some of Ukraine's allies, including Germany, would provide Kyiv with tanks. (08:28 GMT) Australian Open organisers have banned Russian and Belarusian flags from the Melbourne Park precinct during the tournament after a complaint from the Ukraine ambassador to the country. On Monday, the red, white and blue stripes of Russia were held up by fans during a first-round clash between Ukraine's Kateryna Baindl and Russia's Kamilla Rakhimova on day one. Ukrainian fans reportedly called security and police to the stands. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/1/17/tennis-australian-open-bans-russian-flag-after-ukraine-complaint (08:41 GMT) North Macedonia's president has described the Western Balkans as a soft spot in Europe's security architecture and ripe for potential influence campaigns by Russia. "The soft spot in Europe's architecture and danger from the Kremlin is the Western Balkans," President Stevo Pendarovski told an event at the World Economic Forum, adding that he believed the United States should pay more attention to the situation in the region. (09:06 GMT) Russia's spy chief Sergei Naryshkin says another meeting with CIA Director William Burns is possible, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, met his US counterpart in November. (09:15 GMT) Russia says its armed forces will undergo "major changes" from 2023 to 2026, including changes in its composition and administrative reforms. The defence ministry said the changes would happen as Russia boosts the number of its military personnel to 1.5 million. (09:24 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych has tendered his resignation after a public outcry over comments he made suggesting a Russian missile that killed dozens of people in the central city of Dnipro had been shot down by Ukraine. "I offer my sincere apologies to the victims and their relatives, the residents of Dnipro and everyone who was deeply hurt by my prematurely erroneous version of the reason for the Russian missile striking a residential building," Arestovych wrote in a post on Facebook. The Ukrainian Air Force said the strike on a block of flats in Dnipro was conducted with a Russian Kh-22 missile, which Kyiv does not have the equipment to shoot down. (09:29 GMT) Suspicion has fallen on Russia over a series of confirmed or apparent acts of sabotage and espionage that took place late last year in Western Europe, experts say, with European countries increasingly taking measures in response. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/17/europe-awakens-to-the-threat-of-sabotage-by-russian-agents (09:50 GMT) Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko says he held talks with German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck on further support and assistance for Ukraine, including the supply of weapons from its Western ally. "Positive decisions have been made. Good news coming soon," Klitschko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He gave no other details of the meeting, which took place while the two were attending the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos. (09:54 GMT) As Russia presses its offensive, attacks are intensifying in Bakhmut, where Moscow's forces have destroyed buildings and sent thousands of people fleeing for safety in recent months. Al Jazeera, reporting from about 1km rom the eastern city, captured live footage of fighting. As our cameras were filming, a residential building was struck. The blast was so intense that it broke the windscreen of our team's car. Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford witnessed largely empty streets, save for small groups of patrolling Ukrainian troops, who warned Russian forces were attempting to force their way into the city from "every direction". "The shelling of Bakhmut is obvious," he said. "The Ukrainian military is scared now that because Russian forces have made such great gains around Soledar in the north, they're now trying to completely encircle the city." Bakhmut fierce Battle aljazeera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58elKoSPc_k (10:05 GMT) Several of Germany's European allies have ramped up the pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz to allow the supply of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine before a crunch meeting later this week. Berlin has so far resisted providing the modern tanks or allowing partners which have them to do so, saying Western tanks should only be supplied to Ukraine if there is agreement among Kyiv's main allies, particularly the United States. "We hope [for] and are trying to organise bigger support for Ukraine. We hope a few partners, allies, will give tanks to Ukraine," Polish President Andrzej Duda said at a panel at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland. (10:07 GMT) NATO surveillance planes are due to arrive in Romania on Tuesday to bolster the military alliance's eastern flank and help monitor Russian military activity. The transatlantic military alliance announced last week that it would deploy the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) surveillance planes to Bucharest, where they will start reconnaissance flights solely over NATO territory. The aircraft deploying to Romania belong to a fleet of 14 NATO surveillance aircraft usually based in Germany. About 180 military personnel will be deployed in support of the planes. (10:17 GMT) More than 9,000 civilians, including 453 children, have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion last February, according to a Ukrainian presidential aide. (10:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from the outskirts of Bakhmut, says the situation in the eastern Ukrainian city is becoming increasingly "tense". "There is an intensification in Russian shelling of the centre of the city and various areas on its outskirts too," Stratford said. "The situation for the remaining civilians in Bakhmut is horrifying - it's estimated there are about 2,000 civilians still inside the city, of a population that used to be about 70,000 pre-war," he added. "Many of them go to a volunteer centre in the centre of the city to get hot food and hot drinks - there has been no water supply in the city since October and no electricity since August." (10:30 GMT) Finland's foreign minister has said he is hopeful a decision will be made to supply German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine, adding his country stands ready to supply the units. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/16/will-the-west-deliver-the-tanks-ukraine-is-asking-for (10:41 GMT) The Kremlin says it will "make sense" for Russian and US spy chiefs to meet again as the war in Ukraine grinds on. "It can't be ruled out, and of course this kind of dialogue makes sense," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, met CIA Director William Burns in Turkey in November. Naryshkin said earlier on Tuesday that another such meeting was "possible", according to a report by Russia's state-owned TASS news agency. (11:05 GMT) Germany has appointed Boris Pistorius as the country's new defence minister a day after his scandal-hit predecessor resigned. Chancellor Olaf Scholz confirmed Pistorious, a fellow member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), as Christine Lambrecht's replacement and said the 62-year-old's experience had marked him out as the right person for the job. "Pistorius is an extremely experienced politician who has administrative experience, has been involved in security policy for years and, with his competence, assertiveness and big heart, is exactly the right person to lead the Bundeswehr [armed forces] through this era of change," Scholz said. (11:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Davos, says the topic of Ukraine is taking centre stage at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland. "[Ukraine] has economic ramifications around the world, including on the global food crisis and the global fuel crisis," Bays said. The main topic of discussion has centred on whether Ukraine's Western allies would supply it with the battle tanks Kyiv has requested, Bays said. "There is a lot of focus on Germany because it is the manufacturer of the Leopard 2 tank, which is not just a model that Germany has stocks of, [but] many other European countries do [too], ... but they are not allowed to give those tanks to Ukraine without Germany's permission," he said. (11:45 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says the Russian economy likely contracted by 2.5 percent in 2022 but it is performing better than most economists had predicted. Speaking at a meeting with top officials, including his finance minister and the central bank chief, Putin also said real wage growth needed to be stimulated. (12:00 GMT) Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic has called on Russia to crack down on alleged efforts by the Wagner Group to recruit Serbs to fight in Ukraine. Vucic criticised Russian websites and social media groups for publishing advertisements in the Serbian language in which the paramilitary group calls for volunteers to join its ranks. "Why do you, from Wagner, call anyone from Serbia when you know that it is against our regulations?" Vucic said late on Monday in a broadcast by the Belgrade-based Happy TV. Serbian law prohibits citizens from fighting in conflicts abroad. (12:39 GMT) Ukraine has called off search and rescue operations at the block of flats in the central city of Dnipro where dozens of people were killed by a Russian missile attack. The State Emergency Service said 20 people were still unaccounted after Saturday's attack and that the 44 confirmed dead included five children. Thirty-nine people had been rescued from the rubble and a total of 79 had been hurt, the service said. (13:47 GMT) The United States has imposed visa restrictions on 25 Belarusian nationals for what it says is President Alexander Lukashenko's "repression" of the country's people and their "democratic aspirations". "We will not stand by as this regime continues to harass and repress peaceful protesters, the democratic opposition, journalists, unionists, activists, human rights defenders, and everyday Belarusians," the US Department of State said in a statement. The department cited the "politically motivated trial in absentia" of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and "other democratic activists on baseless charges" as evidence of Lukashenko's curtailing of freedoms for the country's citizens. "We will continue to use all appropriate tools to hold to account those in Belarus standing in the way of their fellow citizens' democratic aspirations," it said. (14:27 GMT) Kazakhstan will no longer allow Russian citizens to stay in the Central Asian country indefinitely by doing so-called visa runs every three months, according to a government directive published this week. The Kazakh government will discontinue the practice from January 26 and will require Russians and citizens of other members of the Eurasian Economic Union, a post-Soviet bloc, to leave the country for at least 90 days after the permitted three-month stay. Tens of thousands of Russians, mostly young and middle-aged men, relocated to Kazakhstan last year. (14:44 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he discussed the need to increase military support for Ukraine during talks with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier. (15:18 GMT) Finland is prepared to support Ukraine in its war with Russia for as long as necessary, the country's prime minister has said "I think the only message that we need to send is that we will support Ukraine as long as needed. One year, two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years," Sanna Marin said at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Finland's government spent approximately 300 million euros ($325m) on support for Ukraine last year, about 190 million euros ($206m) of which was accounted for by military equipment. (15:54 GMT) Ursula von der Leyen, the president of the European Commission, has accused Russia of carrying out "atrocious war crimes" in Ukraine and called for a special tribunal to be formed to investigate and prosecute them. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/17/special-tribunal-needed-for-russian-war-crimes-in-ukraine-eu (16:58 GMT) Top US General Mark Milley has held face-to-face talks with his Ukrainian counterpart for the first time as Russia's offensive nears the one-year mark. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, travelled to an undisclosed site near the Ukraine-Poland border for the meeting with General Valerii Zaluzhnyi. (17:19 GMT) Ukraine's first lady has told the World Economic Forum that some states were failing to use their influence for ending Russia's war against her country. "What can life be in a world where tanks are allowed to strike at nuclear power stations? What will happen to inflation when state borders start to collapse, and the integrity of countries is trampled?" Olena Zelenska asked. "This war can go further, and make crises wider, if the aggressor does not lose," she added. (17:49 GMT) The Netherlands will send a Patriot missile defence system to Ukraine, Dutch news agency ANP has reported, citing prime minister Mark Rutte. Rutte is currently in Washington to meet Joe Biden. (18:15 GMT) British Foreign Minister James Cleverly has said the NATO allies are boosting arms supplies to Kyiv to demonstrate their determination to see Ukraine prevail against Russia, which should end the war now and open negotiations "in good faith". "The message we're sending to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and frankly to anyone else that cares to be watching is that we made a commitment to support Ukrainians until they are victorious," Cleverly told a forum at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, DC. Cleverly spoke to the United States think-tank ahead of meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top US officials on increasing support for Ukraine. Cheverly's trip follows Britain's announcement during the weekend that it will supply Ukraine with 14 Challenger 2 main battle tanks - the first modern Western tanks to be promised to Kyiv - and other heavy weaponry. (18:40 GMT) An intelligence update by the UK Ministry of Defence has refuted Russian claims that a Ukrainian air defence missile was responsible for the destruction of an apartment block in the city of Dnipro, which resulted int he death of more than 40 people. "An AS-4 KITCHEN large anti-ship missile, launched from a Tu-22M3 BACKFIRE medium bomber, highly likely struck a block of flats in Dnipro city which resulted in the death of at least 40 people," the Ministry of Defence assessment found. "KITCHEN is notoriously inaccurate when used against ground targets as its radar guidance system is poor at differentiating targets in urban areas," it added. (19:08 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official has blamed Russia for carrying out the bulk of more than 2,000 cyberattacks on Ukraine in 2022, speaking at a news conference that he said was itself delayed because of a cyberattack. The official, Yuriy Schygol, told reporters that his livestreamed conference was forced to start 15 minutes late because of a Russian hack, though he did not elaborate or present evidence for his assertion. (19:30 GMT) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny has used the second anniversary of his incarceration to reinforce his promise to keep up his opposition, as his family and allies started a campaign to free him. Navalny, 46, was arrested exactly two years ago as he returned to Russia from Germany, where he had been treated for poisoning with a deadly Soviet-era nerve agent in what he and some Western nations said was a Russian state assassination attempt. The Kremlin denied involvement. "I'm not going to surrender my country to them, and I believe that the darkness will eventually fade away," Navalny wrote on Twitter via his lawyers. Navalny is the highest-profile of the few remaining opposition voices in Russia. (19:51 GMT) Henry Kissinger has said that Russia's invasion shows there is no longer a point to keeping Ukraine out of NATO, the long-held aspiration of Kyiv that he had opposed. The 99-year-old former US secretary of state has for months advocated a ceasefire in the Ukraine war that would in effect accept some military gains by Russia. But speaking virtually to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Kissinger said that NATO membership for Ukraine would be an "appropriate outcome". "Before this war, I was opposed to membership of Ukraine in NATO because I feared that it would start exactly the process that we have seen now," Kissinger said. "Now that this process has reached this level," he said, "the idea of a neutral Ukraine under these conditions is no longer meaningful." 20230118 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/18/russia-ukraine-live-news-casualties-helicopter-crashes-near-nursery (08:25 GMT) An enormous fire has broken out in the middle of a residential block in Brovary after an aircraft crashed near a nursery just after 8am local time (6:00 GMT), Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler said. "Police in Brovary are reporting that at least three people have been killed and five injured," she said. "People in the area were soon evacuated and emergency services and firefighters are at the scene." Footage seen by the reporter showed fire engulfing the residential tower block, which has the nursery at its centre, as panicked residents fled the area. (08:26 GMT) An aircraft has crashed near a nursery outside the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, causing casualties, the regional governor said. "In the city of Brovary, a helicopter fell near a kindergarten and a residential building," the head of the Kyiv regional administration, Oleksiy Kuleba, said on Telegram. "Children and employees were in the kindergarten ... there are casualties recorded," he said, adding that everyone had been evacuated. Videos shared on social media showed a burning building and an object resembling a helicopter or drone crashing into a building. (08:33 GMT) Sixteen people including Ukraine's interior minister and other senior ministry officials have been killed as an emergency services helicopter crashed in Brovary, the national police chief has said. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrsky and his deputy, Yevheniy Yenin, were among the casualties, police said on Facebook. State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yurii Lubkovych was also killed, the chief of Ukraine's National Police Ihor Klymenko said. Klymenko added that two children died and 10 of them were in hospital. Nine of those killed were aboard the emergency services helicopter that crashed in Kyiv's eastern suburb. A total of 22 people were injured, including 10 children. (08:38 GMT) Russia's Lavrov blames Ukraine conflict on US 'hybrid war' against Moscow Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of preparing the ground for the conflict in Ukraine as part of what he called a "hybrid war" against Moscow. Speaking at a news conference in the Russian capital, Lavrov said the crisis in Ukraine started long before Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into the country. Washington and the West accuse Moscow of prosecuting an unprovoked colonial-style land grab in Ukraine, while Russia casts the clash as an historical one between it and the West. (08:59 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said Moscow has yet to see any serious proposals for peace in Ukraine and that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's own ideas on the subject were unacceptable. Lavrov said Moscow stood ready to discuss the conflict with Western countries and to respond to any serious proposals, but that any talks needed to address Russia's wider security concerns. Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Lavrov called again for NATO to remove its "military infrastructure" from Ukraine and other countries close to Russia's borders. (09:12 GMT) Poor visibility in Brovary may have been a factor behind the crash of the helicopter that killed at least 16 people, Peter Zalmayev has told Al Jazeera. However, the incident was "very suspicious, I would not rule out a possible terrorist act by the Russian Federation," the analyst at the Eurasia Democracy Initiative said. Helicopter pilots know the area they fly in and the potential obstacles regardless of weather conditions, according to Zalmayev. The Ukrainian government was also avoiding commenting on the nature of the mission that required the presence of senior interior ministry officials aboard the helicopter. (09:38 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, says the deaths in the helicopter crash outside Kyiv are a "huge blow" for the country "on a government level". "This is Ukraine's interior minister, one of the highest posts in the country; his deputy," Butler said. (09:53 GMT) Putin could announce a second wave of mobilisation against Ukraine in the coming days, according to the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW). This could come as soon as Wednesday, as the Kremlin leader is set to attend celebrations in St Petersburg to mark the breaking of the siege by German troops in January 1944. The ISW speculates, citing Russian bloggers, that Putin could officially declare war on Ukraine. The report added that Ukrainian and Western intelligence services have repeatedly warned of Putin's plans for a second mobilisation in mid-January. (10:10 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov says the US has assembled a coalition of European countries to solve "the Russian question" using Ukraine as a proxy, in the same way Adolf Hitler had sought a "final solution" to eradicate Europe's Jews. "Just as Hitler wanted a 'final solution' to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians ... they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat." (10:26 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has posted on Telegram about the helicopter crash in Brovary. "A terrible tragedy happened today in Brovary, Kyiv region. A helicopter of the State Emergency Service crashed, a fire broke out at the crash site." Zelenskyy said the death toll has reached 15, with 25 people injured, including 10 children, but the exact number of victims is still being established as rescue workers are at the site. "Among them are Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrskyy, his first deputy Yevhen Yenin, State Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Yuri Lubkovych, their assistants and the helicopter crew," Zelenskyy said. Head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mikhail Podolyak, said "all versions" of the helicopter crash will be investigated. On Twitter, Podolyak said: "Undeniable tragedy. The helicopter crash killed Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyy, MIA [ministry] leadership, children. Denys & his colleagues played a big role in ensuring Ukraine's defence. Investigation began. All versions will be checked. Sincere condolences to the families of the victims." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/18/who-was-denys-monastyrskyy-ukraines-interior-minister (11:00 GMT) Ukrainian officials have revised down the death toll from the helicopter crash near Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian emergency services, 16 people, including three children, died in the disaster in Brovary. Earlier, officials had said at least 18, then 15, then 14, people had died - tolls Al Jazeera had also reported. (11:23 GMT) The world is in a "sorry state" because of several "interlinked" challenges, including climate change and Russia's war in Ukraine, the UN chief said at the World Economic Forum. "We are looking into the eye of a category five hurricane. Our world is plagued by a perfect storm on a number of fronts," UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on the second day of a summit of world political and business leaders in Davos. Guterres said the world is "flirting with climate disaster" as commitments to help the environment are "nearly going up in smoke" while Russia's invasion of Ukraine adds to the interlinked challenges that are affecting the world. "Not only because of the untold suffering of the Ukrainian people, but because of its profound global implications on food and energy prices, on trade and supply chains, on questions of nuclear safety and on the very foundations of international law and the United Nations' charter," he said. (11:43 GMT) Lavrov says Moscow will be forced to take unspecified measures on its border if Finland joins the NATO military alliance. Finland and Sweden have applied to join the bloc and are currently in advanced negotiations over their accession. Lavrov said Finland and Russia had long had friendly relations, but that changed and Russia would therefore have to take "appropriate measures on our borders", if Finland - with which it shares a 1,300-km border - did become a NATO member. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said the US had assembled a coalition of European countries to solve "the Russian question" using Ukraine as a proxy, "Just as Hitler wanted a 'final solution' to the Jewish question, now, if you read Western politicians ... they clearly say Russia must suffer a strategic defeat," he said. Lavrov hails joint military drills between Moscow and Beijing as strengthening the two countries' new strategic partnership. The foreign minister accused the West of trying to anger China on issues such as the status of Tibet and Taiwan, adding that China was too powerful for the US to stand against, so Washington had to "mobilise" the West to support its anti-Beijing agenda. Russia and China signed a "no limits" partnership last February, days before Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine. Their economic links have strengthened in the face of Western sanctions against Moscow. (12:33 GMT) Lithuania's foreign minister says he is confident main battle tanks will be delivered to Ukraine after talks with partners at the World Economic Forum. Gabrielius Landsbergis told the Reuters news agency in an interview that after the UK announced it would send Challenger tanks, there was less argument for others not to. (13:36 GMT) Putin says a Russian victory in Ukraine is "inevitable". Speaking to workers at a factory in St Petersburg that makes air defence systems, the president said overall military equipment output was rising even as demand for it was growing because of the operation in Ukraine. "In terms of achieving the end result and the victory that is inevitable, there are several things. ... It is the unity and cohesion of the Russian and multinational Russian people, the courage and heroism of our fighters ... and, of course, the work of the military-industrial complex and factories like yours and people like you," Putin said. "Victory is assured. I have no doubt about it." (13:51 GMT) Canada will send 200 Senator armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine, Defence Minister Anita Anand has announced during a visit to Kyiv. Anand met with Ukrainian officials, including Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov. They discussed how Canada could continue helping Kyiv and updated him on Operation UNIFER, Canada's training mission for Ukrainian soldiers. The two defence ministers will meet again on Friday at Ramstein, a US airbase in Germany, where Kyiv's allies will discuss further military assistance. Since the war began, Canada has committed more than $5bn in financial, military and humanitarian to Ukraine. (15:16 GMT) The Ukrainian member of parliament, Oleskiy Goncharenko, told Al Jazeera's James Bay at Davos that the helicopter crash on the outskirts of Kyiv which left the interior minister dead was an "awful tragedy". "I knew the interior minister personally, and he was a decent man. It was very painful, and also, losing our children again is so painful. So this is a tragedy," he said. Goncharenko said that while an investigation has begun into the cause of the incident, there are two possibilities: "The first is an accident, and the second is a terrorist attack by Russia - an act of sabotage." "It will not affect us on the battlefield, but definitely we will now need a new minister, and I hope this will be again a strong man or woman," he said. (15:50 GMT) At the World Economic Forum of global leaders in Davos, Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenskaa, said with teary eyes, "another very sad day today - new losses" as she reacted to the news of a fatal plane crash. After opening the session, the forum held 15 seconds of silence to honour the Ukrainian officials killed in the incident. (16:06 GMT) Ukraine needs a "significant increase", and such support is the only way to a negotiated peaceful solution, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said. "This is a pivotal moment in the war and the need for a significant increase in support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told the Reuters news agency in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "If we want a negotiated peaceful solution tomorrow, we need to provide more weapons today." (16:26 GMT) Russian government officials were not invited to this year's Munich Security Conference. "We do not want to offer a stage for those who have stamped over international law," Christoph Heusgen, who chairs the annual event, told the Reuters news agency. (16:44 GMT) Zelenskyy began his keynote address at Davos with a minute of silence for the helicopter crash which left 14 people and honoured the 45 people who died in an apartment complex in Dnipro last week. He told attendees that Western supplies of tanks and air defence units should come more quickly than Russia could carry out attacks. (17:18 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda has said he is afraid that Russia is preparing a new offensive in Ukraine within months, adding that it was crucial to provide additional support to Kyiv with modern tanks and missiles. (17:38 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has written a letter inviting Chinese leader Xi Jinping for talks which was handed over in Davos to the Chinese delegation, according to his wife Olena Zelenska. "It was a gesture and invitation to dialogue and I hope very much that there will be a response to this invitation," his wife Olena Zelenska told reporters on Wednesday. Zelenskyy has repeatedly sought to make contact with Xi since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year in the hope that Beijing will use its influence over Russian leader Vladimir Putin. (18:08 GMT) Ukraine's Western backers will promise heavier and more modern weaponry to Kyiv at a key meeting in Germany, according to NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, as pressure grows on Berlin to send tanks. "The main message there will be more support and more advanced support, heavier weapons, and more modern weapons, because this is a fight for our values," Stoltenberg said. <=== ?? (19:03 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said there is no scope for meaningful negotiations between Ukraine and Russia at the moment, adding that this does not mean it will not happen in the future. "At the present moment. .. if one looks at the positions of Ukraine and the Russian Federation, they are totally opposed. So, negotiations at the present moment does not seem possible," he told Al Jazeera in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos. "I'm convinced both sides believe that time is working in their favour," the UN chief said. (19:43 GMT) US President Joe Biden has expressed condolences to the families of those killed in a helicopter crash in Ukraine and said Washington would honour the interior minister who was on board with a continued commitment to preserving Ukraine's democracy. He praised interior minister Denys Monastyrskyy's efforts to fight Russian aggression and push for reforms to strengthen Ukraine's democracy. "We will continue to honor that legacy through efforts to strengthen Ukraine's institutions, and in our unfailing partnership with the people of Ukraine to keep the flame of freedom bright," Biden said in a statement. (20:09 GMT) Germany will not allow allies to ship German-made tanks to Ukraine to help its defence against Russia or send its own systems unless the US agrees to send its own tanks, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing senior German officials. 20230119 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/19/ukraine-russia-live-news-kyiv-probes-deadly-helicopter-crash (07:51 GMT) Ukrainian authorities say they are investigating the circumstances surrounding a helicopter crash that killed the country's interior minister and 13 others. Wednesday's crash outside Kyiv came as the head of NATO said at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos that allies were set to provide "heavier weapons" to the war-battered country. Ukraine did not claim direct Russian involvement in the helicopter crash, but President Zelenskyy said the tragedy was a consequence of the war. (07:51 GMT) Zelenskyy says Kyiv is aiming to reclaim Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, as he called on his Western partners to provide him with more weaponry. "Our objective is to liberate all of our territories," he told an audience in Davos. "Crimea is our land, our territory, our sea, and our mountains. Give us your weapons and we will bring our land back." <=== (08:02 GMT) The US military says the Department of Defense has asked its forces stationed in South Korea to provide equipment to help Ukraine in the war against Russia, adding the move has "zero impact" on its operations in the Asian country. US Forces Korea (USFK), which has some 28,500 military personnel in South Korea, said the move is part of Washington's efforts to help Ukraine with its inventories. "This has zero impact on our operations and our ability to execute on our ironclad commitment to the defence of our ally, the Republic of Korea," USFK spokesperson Colonel Isaac Taylor said in a statement. USFK declined to provide further details, including what types of equipment and how much has been requested or already transferred. (08:03 GMT) Berlin will allow German-made tanks to be sent to Ukraine to help its defence against Russia if the United States agrees to send its own tanks, a German government source told Reuters news agency. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed the stipulation several times in recent days behind closed doors, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. (08:19 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says the "defeat of a nuclear power in a conventional war may trigger a nuclear war", referring to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. In a post on Telegram discussing NATO support for the Ukrainian military, Medvedev said: "Nuclear powers have never lost major conflicts on which their fate depends." (09:27 GMT) Ukraine has urged its Western allies to act quickly and supply tanks and air defence systems to Kyiv, saying it was paying with Ukrainian lives at the war's front lines for the slow pace of discussions over boosting military aid in foreign capitals. (09:32 GMT) Germany's incoming defence minister Boris Pistorius says it is his job to strengthen the country's military as Russia's bloody offensive in Ukraine continues to cast the shadow of war over Europe. (09:43 GMT) The Kremlin has said the sooner Ukraine accepts Russia's demands, namely Moscow's claims to Ukrainian territory in the country's east and south, the sooner war can end. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia would achieve its goals "one way or another", adding Kyiv would be better off accepting Russia's position and settling at the negotiating table. Ukraine has pledged to fight until Russia withdraws all of its troops from the country. (10:15 GMT) The president of the European Council Charles Michel has arrived in the Ukrainian capital for talks with Ukrainian officials, saying he hopes the coming year will be one of "victory and peace". (10:21 GMT) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has said Berlin remains one of Washington's most important allies at his first meeting with Boris Pistorius his new German counterpart before crunch talks on supplying German-made tanks to Ukraine. (10:51 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 330 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-330 (10:57 GMT) Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Ukraine's allies to double down on sending military equipment to support Kyiv and speed up an end to the war with Russia. "There is nothing to be lost by doubling down on the material that we are sending to Ukraine and there is nothing to fear in escalation, and the best thing for the world is to get this thing done, and done fast," Johnson said in an interview as part of the Reuters Impact Arctic Warning series at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "That is the cheapest solution. It's the solution that has the lowest in human life and suffering." (11:51 GMT) The Kremlin has warned that any Ukrainian attacks on the Russian-annexed Crimea would be "extremely dangerous" after The New York Times reported that US officials were warming to the idea of helping Kyiv attack the Black Sea peninsula. "It would mean taking the conflict to a new level, which would not bode well for global and pan-European security," he added. (12:17 GMT) The European Parliament has called on EU member states to back the creation of a special court to judge Russia "for the crime of aggression against Ukraine". The non-binding resolution was approved by a 472-19 vote with 33 abstentions. Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba hailed the move as an "important step toward a legal mechanism for putting [the] Russian leadership on trial and preventing such crimes in the future". (12:43 GMT) The war in Ukraine initially brought Europe and the United States closer together, but domestic realities may now be pulling them apart. https://www.aljazeera.com/program/the-bottom-line/2023/1/19/are-the-us-and-europe-uniting-or-drifting-apart https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2m_X3wqBUdw (13:09 GMT) Ukraine hopes battle tanks supplied by Western allies will become the backbone of a new fighting force as it seeks to push back invading Russian forces. (14:24 GMT) US Congressman Seth Moulton has told Al Jazeera the war in Ukraine is currently "in between phases" nearly 11 months after the conflict started. "What's happening behind the scenes is as important as what is happening on the front lines," Moulton told Al Jazeera on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. "Russia says it is getting more people to the front and gearing up for a new offensive, while Ukraine says it is gearing up for a Ukrainian counteroffensive," he said. "So the question is, what happens next." (14:35 GMT) The United Kingdom will send 600 Brimstone missiles to Ukraine to support the country in its fight against Russia, defence secretary Ben Wallace has said at a meeting with other European defence ministers at the Tapa army base in Estonia. (15:06 GMT) Denmark will donate 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems to Ukraine, the country's defence minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen has said. (15:42 GMT) Serbian and pro-Ukraine activists have filed criminal complaints against Russia's private military Wagner Group and its supporters, accusing it of recruiting Serbs to fight in Ukraine. Cedomir Stojkovic, a Belgrade-based lawyer who also leads the October civic group, said that those accused include Russia's ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, and Aleksandar Vulin, head of Serbia's state Security and Information Agency (BIA). "We have reasonable suspicion that Vulin ... gave orders, directives and guidelines that the activities of the Wagner Group in Serbia should not be prevented," he said. Stojkovic said that Botsan-Kharchenko, who enjoys diplomatic immunity, could not be prosecuted in Serbia, but that he should be ordered to leave the country. Once a criminal complaint is filed, it is up to the state prosecutor to decide whether or not to proceed. (15:59 GMT) The president of the European Council has called for Ukraine's Western allies to supply it with tanks as it faces down Russia's offensive. "I firmly believe that tanks must be delivered," Charles Michel said in a post on Twitter following talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv. (16:03 GMT) A group of nine nations including the United Kingdom, Poland and the Netherlands has pledged to pursue providing Ukraine with an "unprecedented set of donations" including battle tanks to help it fight off Russia's invasion. "We commit to collectively pursuing delivery of an unprecedented set of donations including main battle tanks, heavy artillery, air defence, ammunition, and infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine's defence," the countries said in a joint statement. The statement, published on the UK government's website, was made by the defence ministers of Britain, Estonia, Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, and representatives from Denmark, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and Slovakia following a meeting in Estonia. (16:35 GMT) Several countries will announce plans to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine on Friday at a meeting at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Lithuania's defence minister Arvydas Anusauskas has said. (17:12 GMT) Russia has rejected objections by the European Jewish Congress (EJC) to Russia's comparison of the United States to Adolf Hitler. Russia's foreign ministry said the congress discredited itself long ago when it ignored what it called manifestations of anti-Semitism and glorification of Nazi ideology in Ukraine. "The opinion of an organisation that has ignored the catastrophic level of anti-Semitism in Ukraine for many years is not interesting." "The European Jewish Congress managed not to notice the symbols of the [Nazi] SS, swastikas, and glorification of Nazi collaborators by the Kyiv regime. The structure has discredited itself in this direction," the ministry told Russia's state-run TASS news agency. Speaking earlier at a news conference in Moscow on Russia's foreign policy in 2022, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Washington seeks "the final solution of the Russian question" - using a term referring to the Holocaust - just as Hitler wanted to solve what he called the "Jewish question". (17:28 GMT) Weapons from Bulgaria reached Ukraine via intermediaries long before the first official military aid package was sent by the government in Sofia, media reported, citing Bulgaria's former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov. The exports did not run from government to government, but were moved through third-party companies in Bulgaria and abroad, according to Bulgarian news reports. Petkov confirmed that "partners" from Poland, Romania, the United States and United Kingdom "bought weapons from Bulgarian industry". "Yes, some of these weapons went to the Ukrainian army," he was quoted as saying. (17:47 GMT) The Russian army has launched a "local offensive" near the town of Orikhiv in southern Ukraine, where the front has been largely stagnant for months, a Russian-installed official said. "Our troops have gone into a local offensive around Orikhiv," the head of Moscow's installed authorities in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, Vladimir Rogov said, according to Russian state media. (17:59 GMT) A senior NATO commander warned that Western tanks would not be a "silver bullet" for Ukraine. "There is not a particular weapon system that is a silver bullet. A balance of all systems is needed," said US General Christopher Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, after a meeting of NATO military chiefs. But he added that "it's clearly the case that modern Western technology is outperforming Russian technology" on the battlefield in Ukraine. (18:28 GMT) The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said he worried the world was becoming complacent about the considerable dangers posed by the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia atomic plant in Ukraine. Russian forces captured the plant, Europe's largest, in March and it has repeatedly come under fire in recent months, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is working to set up a safe zone around the facility. Grossi, speaking to reporters in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said a nuclear accident could happen any day and reiterated the situation at the plant was very precarious. (18:44 GMT) Serbia's government said it will send humanitarian aid to Ukraine to support the country's power grid. "The Government of Serbia has decided to send humanitarian aid in priority equipment to Ukraine in order to support the country's electricity system," it said after a session of parliament. Serbia, which aspires to become EU member, has resisted implementing Western sanctions on Russian because of Moscow's war against Ukraine. (19:07 GMT) Poland's prime minister said he was "moderately pessimistic" about Germany giving other countries permission to re-export Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. "I am moderately sceptical, moderately pessimistic because the Germans are defending themselves against this like a devil protects himself against holy water," Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters. 20230120 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/20/russia-ukraine-live-news-west-to-decide-on-fresh-arms-pledges (06:59 GMT) Defence leaders of NATO and other countries are gathering at Ramstein Air Base in Germany to hammer out future military aid to Ukraine amid ongoing dissent over who will provide the modern battle tanks that Kyiv says are desperately needed to recapture territory from Russia. German officials have conveyed their hesitancy to allow allies to give Leopard 2 tanks unless the United States also sends Ukraine M1 Abrams tanks, a US official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The US has so far declined to provide Abrams tanks, citing the extensive and complex maintenance and logistical challenges with the high-tech vehicle. (07:04 GMT) Poland is ready to take "non-standard" action if Germany opposes sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Deputy Foreign Minister Pawel Jablonski has told private radio RMF FM. Asked whether sending tanks to Ukraine would be possible even with German opposition, Jablonski said, "I think that if there is strong resistance, we will be ready to take even such non-standard action ... but let's not anticipate the facts." Berlin faces mounting pressure to supply the German-made tanks or at least clear the way for others - such as Poland - to deliver them from their own stock. (07:09 GMT) Zelenskyy says his government is expecting "strong decisions" from the representatives of 50 countries meeting to discuss boosting Ukraine's military aid. (07:14 GMT) Russia and China will conduct naval drills in the Indian Ocean off the coast of South Africa next month, in another indication of their strengthening relationships with Africa's most developed country. The South African armed forces said they will engage in "a multinational maritime exercise" from February 17 to 27 near Durban and Richards Bay. The announcement comes days before Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to visit South Africa and hold talks with his counterpart Naledi Pandor. (07:41 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to unveil his vision for modernising the military, taking into account the effect of the war in Ukraine and evolving threats around the world. The spending plan for 2024-30 is expected to include higher military spending in line with NATO expectations that members spend 2 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. (07:56 GMT) Russia's mercenary Wagner Group "almost certainly now commands up to 50,000 fighters in Ukraine and has become a key component of the Ukraine campaign", the British Ministry of Defence has said. (08:21 GMT) Retired British Army Major General Arthur Denaro told Al Jazeera that tanks are important in Ukraine as they contribute to what is known as the "all arms battle", or the combined arms tactics. "It is the integration of that 'all arms battle' that makes an attacking force or a defending force much more potent," Denaro said. On the potential shipment of Leopard 2 tanks by Western allies, the retired military officer said having those modern tanks on the battlefield would be "a game-changer," given that those currently used by Ukraine are only slightly better than those used by Russia. (08:35 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Washington for a new package of arms and munitions for Kyiv. "Thank you" US President Joe Biden for providing Ukraine "with another powerful defense support package worth $2.5 billion," Zelenskyy wrote in English on Twitter. The Ukrainian leader hailed the Stryker armoured personnel carriers, Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and Avenger air defence systems included in the package as an "important help in our fight against the aggressor". (08:49 GMT) Finland has announced a 400-million-euro ($434 million) military aid package to Ukraine, including heavy artillery as well as munitions but no Leopard tanks. (09:02 GMT) Senior Kremlin officials are holding high-level meetings with the Belarusian leadership, an "activity that could be setting conditions for a Russian attack against Ukraine from Belarus, although not necessarily and not in the coming weeks," the Institute for the Study of War has said. (09:24 GMT) Russian-backed forces in Donetsk claim that Russian troops have taken control of Klishchiivka, a small settlement south of Bakhmut. Klishchiivka, which had a pre-war population of around 400 people, is located around 9 kilometres south of Bakhmut, where the Wagner mercenary group have been locked in a battle with Ukrainian forces. On Thursday, the Wagner Group also said it had taken Klishchiivka. (09:42 GMT) The Kremlin's spokesman says Western countries supplying additional tanks to Ukraine will not change the course of the conflict and that they would add to the problems of the Ukrainian people. (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin says its relations with the United States are at an all-time low, halfway through US President Joe Biden's term, and there is currently no hope of improvement. (10:24 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has called on allies to "dig deeper" to support Ukraine as a meeting of Kyiv's supporters opened in Germany. NATO and defence leaders are meeting at Ramstein Air Base for the latest in a series of arms-pledging conferences held since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 11 months ago. (11:02 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem, reporting from Moscow, says the Kremlin's warnings to the West have intensified as Ukraine's allies discuss sending it more arms. "The Kremlin has stated that the NATO summit and providing Ukraine with more weapons is going to take this conflict to another level," Hashem said. On Thursday, Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, warned of a nuclear conflict if Russia loses the Ukraine war. (11:21 GMT) Britain says it has joined a group pursuing accountability for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "These atrocities must not go unpunished," British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement, citing the deaths of sold (11:46 GMT) Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen, reporting from the meeting of Ukraine's allies at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, said whether Germany sends Leopard 2 tanks is currently the "million-dollar question". "The one key thing that Ukraine really wants and it says it needs, the Leopard 2 tanks, has not been mentioned so far as a contribution by Germany," Vaessen said. "The president of Ukraine has been addressing this meeting here in Ramstein, and he made a very emotional plea," Vaessen said. "He said time was running out, and he was pointing at the hesitation by Germany." (12:02 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has begun an espionage case against a US citizen, but it has not named the person or said whether the suspect is in custody. (12:15 GMT) Germany's foreign intelligence service is alarmed by losses the Ukrainian army is suffering in the eastern city of Bakhmut, the German magazine Der Spiegel reported. The Ukrainian army is losing a three-digit number of soldiers every day, the BND intelligence service told a group of Bundestag lawmakers at a secret meeting this week, Spiegel reported. (12:34 GMT) The EU's top diplomat says some European countries are prepared to send heavy tanks to Ukraine. "This is the discussion that will take place in Ramstein today, where the EU will be represented," Josep Borrell told reporters in Madrid. "We have to give Ukraine the arms necessary not only to repel, which is what they're doing, but also to regain terrain." "I think Ukraine needs the combat arms and heavy tanks that it has asked for and some European countries are prepared to give, and I hope that is the decision that is taken," he said. (13:14 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said countries backing Ukraine need to focus not only on sending new weapons to Kyiv but also on providing ammunition for older systems. (13:26 GMT) Putin has discussed Russia's war in Ukraine with his Security Council, state media reports, citing the Kremlin. According to the RIA news agency, the meeting was attended by former president Dmitry Medvedev, Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu as well as other high-profile officials. (13:42 GMT) Addressing the US-hosted meeting at the Ramstein Air Base, Zelenskyy said partners needed "not to bargain about different numbers of tanks but to open that principal supply that will stop evil". Make the meeting a "Ramstein of tanks", Zelenskyy said. (14:01 GMT) Germany's defence minister says no decision has been reached at the Ramstein meeting on whether to deliver Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. "Today, we still cannot say when a decision will be taken and what the decision will be when it comes to the Leopard tank," Boris Pistorius said during the conference hosted by the US at its airbase in Germany. Germany's defence minister says Berlin is not alone among Ukraine's allies in its concerns about the delivery of battle tanks to Kyiv. The impression that "there is a united coalition and that Germany is standing in the way is wrong", Boris Pistorius said. "There are many allies who say we share the view that I have put forward here." (14:41 GMT) For the first time since Russia's war in Ukraine began, a United Nations humanitarian convoy has arrived in the eastern region of Donetsk with aid for civilians. The UN said its convoy arrived near the front-line town of Soledar. Food, drinking water, medicines and other supplies were unloaded in a Ukrainian-controlled area, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported from Geneva. (15:05 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron says 400 billion euros ($433bn) will be allocated to the military from 2024 to 2030, up from the 295 billion euros ($320bn) budgeted from 2019 to 2025. Macron said the 2019-2025 defence bill was meant to start building capacities back up after chronic underinvestment in the previous decades. He said the 2024-2030 budget reflects a "transformation" programme to adapt the military to the possibility of high-intensity conflicts. (15:20 GMT) The battle for Bakhmut https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/20/mapping-the-battle-for-bakhmut ~/photos/events/20230111_soledar_and_bakhmut.png (15:40 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeated his offer to mediate between Russia and Ukraine in a phone call with Zelenskyy, the Turkish presidency says. (16:05 GMT) Poland's defence minister Mariusz Blaszczak says no decision was reached on supplying Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine at a meeting of Kyiv's allies at Ramstein Air Base. (16:41 GMT) Senior US officials are urging Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a top Biden administration official says. Speaking to the Reuters news agency on the condition of anonymity, the official said the US was sticking to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine. (17:25 GMT) US General Mark Milley expressed strong doubt that Ukraine would succeed in driving Russian troops out its territory this year. At a US-hosted meeting on Ukraine in Germany, Milley told reporters, "From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all, every inch of ... Russian-occupied Ukraine." (17:41 GMT) The head of NATO's Military Committee, Adm. Rob Bauer, said any decision to supply tanks to Ukraine must be taken by each nation supporting the country's efforts to fend off Russia's invasion. "It is a sovereign decision by a sovereign state, which Germany is," he told a news conference in Lisbon. "It is important that Ukraine wins this war...we need to seriously look at what Ukraine requires and if possible give them what they ask for," he said, adding that had to be done in a timely fashion. (18:23 GMT) Ukraine will still have to fight to ensure a supply of modern heavy armour, Zelenskyy said after allied nations failed to agree on whether to hand over German-made Leopard battle tanks. (18:55 GMT) The US has designated Russia's Wagner Group as a "transnational criminal organisation", raising pressure on the private Russian army fighting in Ukraine. Wagner "is a criminal organisation that is committing widespread atrocities and human rights abuses," White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said. (19:28 GMT) Russia's Wagner paramilitary group has denied it was recruiting Serbians to fight in Ukraine, a day after activists filed criminal complaints against the organisation in Belgrade. Among those named in the complaints were Russia's ambassador to Serbia, Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, and Aleksandar Vulin, the head of Serbia's state Security and Information Agency. "I do not recruit Serbs," Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement, adding he had never heard of either Botsan-Kharchenko or Vulin. (20:11 GMT) Two businessmen were charged in indictments unsealed in a US court for allegedly facilitating a sanctions evasion and money laundering scheme in relation to a $90m yacht belonging to sanctioned Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg. The two businessmen - Vladislav Osipov, 51, a Russian national, and Richard Masters, 52, a UK national, - were charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to commit offences against the US, the US Department of Justice said in a statement. 20230121 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/21/ukraine-russia-live-think-faster-kyiv-tells-west-on-arms-aid (14:33 GMT) Ukrainian defence minister Oleskii Reznikov has said he had "a frank discussion" with German defence minister Boris Pistorius about the supply of Leopard tanks, adding that the talks would continue. (14:43 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Kyiv's allies to "think faster" about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks coveted by Kyiv. "You'll help Ukraine with the necessary weapons anyway and realize that there is no other option to end the war except the defeat of Russia," Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter. "But today's indecision is killing more of our people. Every day of delay is the death of Ukrainians. Think faster." (14:46 GMT) The Russian army has said that its troops launched an offensive in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, where fighting this week intensified after several months of an almost frozen front. In its daily report, Moscow's forces said they led "offensive operations" in the region and claimed to have "taken more advantageous lines and positions". (15:26 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attended a memorial service to commemorate seven senior interior ministry officials killed in a helicopter crash this week, a new blow to a nation already grieving its many war dead. Minister of Internal Affairs Denys Monastyrskyy, his deputy and five other high-ranking ministry officials were killed when their French-made Super Puma helicopter plummeted amid fog into a nursery on the eastern outskirts of Kyiv on Wednesday. Another seven people were killed, including one child, in the crash. Officials are still investigating the cause of the crash. (16:18 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said it held a training exercise on repelling air attacks in the Moscow region. "In the Moscow region, a training session was held with the personnel of the anti-aircraft missile brigade of the Western Military District on repelling air attacks on important military, industrial and administrative facilities," the ministry said in a statement. It said an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was involved in the training as combat was simulated. "As they marched, soldiers repelled an attack by a mock enemy sabotage group on a military convoy," the statement said. (17:25 GMT) The private Russian military group Wagner plans to send the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers killed in fighting in the captured town of Soledar to territory held by Ukraine, according to a website linked to the group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin. The RIA FAN website - part of Prigozhin's media holdings - quoted a Wagner commander as saying the mercenary company would send the bodies from Soledar to Ukrainian-held territory in four or five convoys totalling about 20 trucks. (18:25 GMT) RT France, the French arm of the Russian state broadcaster, will shut down after its French bank accounts were frozen over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to the channel's director. "After five years of harassment, the authorities in power have achieved their goal: the closure of RT France," Xenia Fedorova said in a Twitter statement. She said 123 employees were at risk of not being paid for January and could lose their jobs because of the account freeze - part of the latest European Union sanctions against Russia. (19:52 GMT) The head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner has published a short letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of, after Washington announced new sanctions on the group. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said that Wagner, which has been supporting Russian forces in their invasion of Ukraine and claiming credit for battlefield advances, would be designated a significant Transnational Criminal Organization. A letter in English addressed to Kirby and posted on the Telegram channel of Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin's press service read: "Dear Mr Kirby, Could you please clarify what crime was committed by PMC Wagner?" (20:35 GMT) Moscow will retaliate against French media in Russia after the bank accounts of RT France, the French arm of its state broadcaster, were frozen, according to Russian news agencies quoting an anonymous foreign ministry source. The blocking of RT France accounts will lead to retaliatory measures against the French media in Russia," the TASS and RIA Novosti news agencies quoted the foreign ministry source as saying. 20230122 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-333 Fighting Russian troops have increased shelling of Ukraine's eastern regions outside the main front line in the Donbas industrial area, according to officials from Zaporizhia and Sumy regions. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has urged Kyiv's allies to "think faster" about stepping up their military support, a day after they failed to agree on sending battle tanks Kyiv says it needs. Germany's new defence minister Boris Pistorius plans to visit Ukraine soon as Berlin faces pressure to allow the shipment of German-made tanks to Ukraine. Senior US officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of US weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official said. The US will impose additional sanctions next week against Russian private military company the Wagner Group, which US officials say has been helping Russia's military in the Ukraine war, the White House said. The head of Wagner published a letter to the White House asking what crime his company was accused of. Diplomacy Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is considering visiting Kyiv in February and holding talks with President Zelenskyy. Economy Western countries are working to structure price caps on Russian refined petroleum products to ensure a continued flow of Russian diesel, but the markets are complicated and there is a chance things do not go to plan. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/22/france-germany-renew-alliance-strained-amid-war-in-ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/22/timeline-political-tensions-between-sweden-and-turkey https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/22/germany-would-not-block-poland-sending-tanks-to-ukraine Germany is ready to authorise Poland to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine to help Kyiv fight the Russian invasion if Warsaw makes such a request, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday. "If we are asked the question, then we will not stand in the way," Baerbock told LCI television on Sunday after a Franco-German summit meeting in Paris. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/22/russia-advances-towards-two-towns-in-zaporizhzhia-region Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the region, said offensive actions were concentrated around two towns: Orikhiv, around 50km south of Ukrainian-controlled regional capital Zaporizhzhia, and Hulyaipole, further east. 20230123 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/23/russia-ukraine-live-poland-to-push-for-tanks-to-ukraine (09:59 GMT) Poland will ask Germany for permission to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says. Warsaw is building a coalition of nations ready to send German-made Leopards, but even if there is no permission from Berlin, Warsaw will make its own decisions, Morawiecki added. "Even if, eventually, we do not get this permission, we - within this small coalition - even if Germany is not in this coalition, we will hand over our tanks, together with the others, to Ukraine," he said. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Sunday that Poland hasn't formally asked for Berlin's approval, but "if we were asked, we would not stand in the way." (10:31 GMT) Russia's foreign intelligence service accuses Ukraine of storing Western-supplied arms at nuclear power stations. The agency said in a statement that US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers, air defence systems and artillery ammunition had been delivered to the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant in the northwestern city of Varash. "The Ukrainian armed forces are storing weapons and ammunition provided by the West on the territory of nuclear power plants," the agency said, adding that an arms shipment to the Rivne power station had taken place in the last week of December. (10:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is in South Africa to hold talks with his counterpart in Pretoria. The South African government said the talks with Naledi Pandor are routine, but opposition parties have condemned the visit as insensitive. Pandor has insisted that South Africa will not be dragged into taking sides in the Ukraine war and has criticised the West for its selective condemnation of Russia while ignoring other acts of aggression, such as the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory. The South African military is to host a joint military exercise with Russia and China from February 17 to 27, which coincides with the first anniversary of the conflict. (10:36 GMT) Russia says it is downgrading diplomatic relations with NATO member Estonia, accusing the Baltic nation of "total Russophobia". The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has ordered the Estonian envoy to leave next month. Both countries would be represented by an interim charge d'affaires instead of an ambassador. The move was made in response to an Estonian decision to reduce the size of the Russian embassy in Tallinn, Moscow said. (10:39 GMT) Russia says no new date has been set for talks with the US on the START nuclear arms treaty. Sergei Ryabkov, the deputy foreign minister, said conditions were not suitable for new talks on the agreement, which caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads of each side. "The situation does not, frankly speaking, allow for setting a new date, ... taking into account this escalation trend in both rhetoric and actions by the United States," Interfax quoted Ryabkov as saying. In November, talks between Moscow and Washington on resuming inspections under the new START nuclear arms reduction treaty were due to take place in Egypt, but Russia postponed them. (10:40 GMT) The Kremlin says it remains interested in contact with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) but there are no plans for a meeting between the head of the nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, and President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a report by the Russian foreign intelligence service, which argues that Ukraine is storing weapons at its nuclear power stations, demonstrated the importance of dialogue with the IAEA. (10:52 GMT) The Kremlin dismisses US sanctions on the Wagner Group, saying they will have no practical effect. "I don't think that in practical terms it has any significance for our country and even less for the Wagner private military company," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. (11:09 GMT) EU countries and their partners must do everything possible to ensure Ukraine wins against Russia, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says. "It's important that we as an international community do everything we can to defend Ukraine, so that Ukraine wins and wins the right to live in peace and freedom again," Baerbock said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers. Baerbock declined to make any specific comment on the sought-after Leopold 2 tanks. (11:16 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the longer Ukraine rejects peace talks, the harder it will be to resolve the conflict. Russia has repeatedly said it is open to talks, but Ukraine and the US say they see no sign that Moscow is serious about ending the war and instead suspect it of trying to buy time to regroup. "The longer they [the Ukrainians] refuse, the harder it will be to find a solution," Lavrov said at a news conference during a visit to South Africa. (11:31 GMT) Lavrov says the terms of the Black Sea grain initiative, which clears the way for Ukrainian grain to be exported from its southern Black Sea ports, were "more or less being fulfilled". However, Russia still faces problems exporting its agricultural products, Lavrov said. (11:46 GMT) Norwegian police have apprehended a former commander of the Wagner mercenary group, Andrey Medvedev, who fled to the Nordic country, an official says. "He is apprehended, ... and we are considering whether to seek a court's decision for internment," police lawyer Line Isaksen told the Reuters news agency, declining to give details. A lawyer for Medvedev said last week that he had fled the Wagner Group in July and is seeking asylum in Norway. The Gulagu.net group, which helped Andrey Medvedev escape, said he would face "brutal murder" if he is returned to Russia. (12:02 GMT) Ukraine needs several hundred tanks from its Western allies to retake Russian-occupied territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff said. "We need tanks - not 10-20, but several hundred," the official, Andriy Yermak, wrote on Telegram. "Our goal is [restoring] the borders of 1991 and punishing the enemy, who will pay for their crimes." (12:29 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says European Union membership negotiations should start this year. "Ukraine is making every effort, and I am convinced that we should start pre-accession negotiations by the end of 2023," he said. Kyiv officially applied for EU membership on February 28, four days after Russia invaded. (13:05 GMT) Zelenskyy promises to combat corruption after Ukrainian police detained the deputy infrastructure minister on suspicion of receiving $400,000 to facilitate the import of generators into Ukraine. On Telegram, the president wrote: "Today, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dismissed a deputy minister who was exposed by NABU [the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine]." Zelenskyy added that measures to fight corruption would be announced this week. (13:39 GMT) Latvia's foreign minister says he has told Russia's ambassador in Riga to leave the country by February 24 in a decision taken in solidarity with Estonia. (14:00 GMT) Hungary will not block the EU from implementing a measure to provide more military aid to Ukraine, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says in a video on his Facebook page. Szijjarto spoke as EU foreign ministers met in Brussels to discuss more military aid to Kyiv. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he hoped ministers would approve another 500 million euros ($544m) in support. (14:18 GMT) Why is Germany reluctant to provide Leopard tanks? Germany - Ukraine Leopard tanks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYyeoCMV7I4 (14:36 GMT) A former Wagner Group mercenary will not be deported to Russia, his Norwegian lawyer Brynjulf Risnes says. (15:06 GMT) Germany's armed forces have begun moving the first two of three promised Patriot anti-aircraft missile squadrons to Poland. The air defence systems are expected to be delivered near Zamosc in southeastern Poland by Wednesday afternoon. "Patriot is a purely defensive system," said the head of the German forces in Poland, Colonel Jorg Sievers. (16:06 GMT) Sending Leopard tanks to Ukraine is not an "easy decision to make" for Germany, Julian Pawlak, a research associate from the Federal Armed Forces University in Hamburg, tells Al Jazeera. "On the one hand, you have the voices from the Chancellery saying that they need to be careful and do not want to be hasty in their decisions. On the other side of course, it's a new image of giving the green light for again sending German tanks to the east of Europe," Pawlak said in a reference to Nazi Germany's war on the Eastern Front in World War II. But the tanks will only make a difference on the battlefield if used with the other weapons that Ukraine currently has, and its current stock of firearms is running out, Pawlak said. "Time is running out regarding the old Soviet-style tanks and ammunition, so at some point in the future, numbers will go down, and Ukraine will depend more and more on Western ammunition and Western assets," he said. (16:36 GMT) The Kremlin says hesitancy over whether to provide German-made Leopard tanks to Kyiv shows increasing "nervousness" within the NATO military alliance. "Of course, all countries that take part, directly or indirectly, in pumping weapons into Ukraine and raising its technological level bear responsibility" for continuing the conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. (16:52 GMT) US prosecutors say a former top FBI official has been charged with violating sanctions on Russia by receiving concealed payments from oligarch Oleg Deripaska. According to federal prosecutors in Manhattan, Charles McGonical, who led the agency's counterintelligence division in New York, was arrested on Saturday for allegedly taking the payments in return for agreeing to investigate a rival oligarch. Deripaska is at large. Charles McGonigal, who led the agency's counterintelligence division in New York before retiring in 2018, faces four counts, including sanctions violations and money laundering. Federal prosecutors in Manhattan say McGonigal, 54, received concealed payments from Deripaska, who was sanctioned in 2018, in exchange for investigating a rival oligarch in 2021. He is also charged with unsuccessfully pushing in 2019 for the lifting of the sanctions on Deripaska. McGonigal is expected to appear in federal court in Manhattan later on Monday along with Sergey Shestakov, a former Soviet diplomat who later became a US citizen and was also charged in the case. (17:30 GMT) The EU has ratified a new military aid package to Ukraine worth $544m, as the EU's 27 foreign ministers met in Brussels on Monday. (17:46 GMT) The UK Ministry of Defence's latest intelligence update has said Russian forces continue to "endure operational deadlock and heavy casualties". The report also says new disciplinary measures introduced by Valery Gerasimov, Russia's chief of the general staff and newly appointed commander in Ukraine, have been met with scepticism, in particular in response to the decision to ban soldiers from growing their beards. (18:03 GMT) It is "too early" to talk about a potential 2024 re-election bid for Vladimir Putin, the Kremlin has said. The Russian president "has not made any statements on the matter", Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. In 2021, Putin signed a law that will allow him to run for the presidency twice more in his lifetime, potentially keeping him in office until 2036. (18:54 GMT) The European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell has said Germany is not blocking the export of Leopard 2 tanks, as Berlin faces mounting pressure to supply them to Ukraine. Asked about the issue, Borrell told a news conference today: "It seems Germany's not going to ban the exporting of these weapons, if some EU member states who have them want to send them." He also outlined details of the EU's newly approved military aid package to Ukraine, which brings the total amount of military support for Ukraine to $3.9bn, he said. The total figure of the bloc's support to Ukraine - including military, financial, economic and humanitarian aid - now stands at $53bn, he added. (19:10 GMT) The European Union has launched a civilian mission to help monitor Armenia's border with Azerbaijan, bolstering the bloc's role in a region viewed by the Kremlin as Russia's back yard. The move comes as Moscow - focused on its war in Ukraine - has been losing influence after decades of domination over former Soviet states. The initiative was requested by Armenia and expands upon a 40-strong mission that was deployed for two months late last year. The new mission has a two-year mandate and will conduct "routine patrolling and report on the situation", an EU statement said. (19:42 GMT) American actor and director Sean Penn will premiere a documentary he filmed in Kyiv featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at next month's Berlin film festival, organisers have said. Penn's "Superpower", billed as "the chronicle of a film project that reality forced to change into something less controllable but more meaningful", will be the most prominent among the Ukraine entries at the festival. Penn was in Kyiv to shoot a documentary in late February 2022 when the Russian invasion began. 20230124 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/24/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-troops-shell-donetsk (05:52 GMT) Russian forces continued to pound the Donetsk region in Ukraine's east on Monday. One person was killed and two injured in the shelling of a residential district of the town of Chasiv Yar that damaged at least nine high-rise buildings, Pavlo Kyrylenko, governor of Donetsk region, said on Telegram. (06:30 GMT) Poland says it is willing to send German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine without approval, but will first seek permission from Berlin, as Kyiv presses its allies for heavy weaponry. "We will seek this approval," Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on Monday. "Even if we didn't get such an approval in the end, we will give our tanks to Ukraine anyway - within a small coalition of countries, even if Germany isn't in that coalition." (06:45 GMT) President Zelenskyy says personnel changes are being carried out at senior and lower levels, following the most high-profile corruption allegations since Russia's invasion. In an overnight address, Zelenskyy did not identify the officials to be replaced, and said part of the crackdown would involve toughening oversight on travelling abroad for official assignments. (07:13 GMT) The deputy head of Ukraine's presidential office Kyrylo Tymoshenko has requested President Zelenskyy to relieve him of his duties. "I thank the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the trust and the opportunity to do good deeds every day and every minute," Tymoshenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. Tymoshenko gave no reason for his resignation. (07:45 GMT) Russia is set to make changes to its transport law which will make it mandatory for people to book a time and place for any intended crossing of the border by car, TASS news agency reported. The law is due to come into force on March 1. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, many Russian citizens and residents fled the country, with the number growing significantly after the government declared the mobilisation of some 300,000 personnel for the military in September. (08:12 GMT) Finland's foreign minister has called for a "timeout" of a few weeks in negotiations between Finland, Sweden and Turkey on the two Nordic nations' bid to join NATO. "A timeout is needed before we return to the three-way talks and see where we are when the dust has settled after the current situation, so no conclusions should be drawn yet," Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Reuters in a telephone interview. "I think there will be a break for a couple of weeks," he added. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Sweden should not expect his country's support for NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm last week that also involved the burning of the Muslim holy book Quran. (08:40 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Prosecutor General Oleksiy Symonenko was removed from his post, the Prosecutor General's Office said. (09:20 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says he is confident the transatlantic military alliance will find a solution soon on the delivery of battle tanks to Ukraine. (09:25 GMT) Zelenskyy says he will make changes to the government and security services as part of a renewed crackdown on corruption, nearly a year since Russia invaded the country. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/ukraines-zelenskyy-renews-war-on-corruption-amid-scandals (09:30 GMT) Zelenskyy's shake-up of Ukraine's top personnel is a response to a "public demand" for "justice", an adviser to the president says. Mykhailo Podolyak said in a post on Twitter that Zelenskyy's decisions "testify to the key priorities of the state". "The president sees and hears society. And he directly responds to a key public demand - justice for all," he added. (09:57 GMT) Russia's new military reforms respond to the possible expansion of NATO and the use of Kyiv by the "collective West" to wage a hybrid war against Russia, the newly-appointed general in charge of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine has said. "Today, such threats include the aspirations of the North Atlantic Alliance to expand to Finland and Sweden, as well as the use of Ukraine as a tool for waging a hybrid war against our country," Valery Gerasimov told the news website Argumenty i Fakty in remarks published late on Monday. It was the first public remark by Gerasimov, who is also the chief of Russia's military general staff, since his January 11 appointment to lead Moscow's war effort. Under Moscow's new military plan, an army corps will be added to Karelia in Russia's north, which borders Finland. In Ukraine, Russia will add three motorised rifle divisions as part of combined arms formations in the Kherson and Zaporizhia regions - two of four partly-occupied Ukrainian territories that Moscow moved to unilaterally annex last September. (10:24 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 335 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-335 (10:30 GMT) Germany has now received Poland's official request to re-export Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, the Polish defence minister has said. "The Germans have already received our request for permission to transfer Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine," Mariusz Blaszczak said in a post on Twitter. Ukraine wants the German-made Leopard 2, one of the most widely used Western tanks, to help it break through Russian lines and recapture territory this year. Germany, whose approval is required for re-exports of the Leopard, has held back until now. Berlin has said it is willing to act quickly if there is a consensus among its Western allies over sending battle tanks to Ukraine. (11:14 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, says German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will have to "make his mind up" on whether to permit the re-export of German-made battle tanks to Ukraine following Poland's formal request to do so. "He knows that around the cabinet he chairs, there are ministers who have openly said that if there is a request to release tanks that Germany has sold to other European Union countries that Berlin won't stand in their way," Kane said. "But he also knows that he would then be a chancellor who is allowing German-made offensive weapons systems to be used against forces of the Russian Federation," he added. "That is a central issue for any German chancellor, given the historical legacy that this country has vis-a-vis Russia." (11:20 GMT) Two deputy ministers have resigned from Ukraine's Ministry of Communities and Territories Development as part of a widespread exit of senior officials linked to a crackdown on corruption by Zelenskyy. Vyacheslav Negoda and Ivan Lukerya both confirmed on their Facebook pages that they have resigned. (12:12 GMT) Poland's prime minister says he is hoping for a quick response from Germany on whether Warsaw can re-export German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. "I hope that this answer from Germany will come quickly because the Germans are delaying, dodging, acting in a way that is difficult to understand," Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference. Morawiecki also said Poland will ask the EU for compensation for the cost of the units it wants to send to Kyiv, calling the move a "test of goodwill". 12:54 GMT) Ukraine's government has dismissed five regional governors and an array of other senior officials in the biggest shake-up of the country's political leadership since Russia launched its invasion in February. Among more than a dozen senior Ukrainian officials who have resigned or were dismissed were the governors of the Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. All five regions have witnessed major fighting over the past year, giving their governors an unusually high national profile. A deputy defence minister, a deputy prosecutor, a deputy head of Zelenskyy's office and two deputy ministers responsible for regional development were among the other officials to leave their posts. (13:43 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said there are shortages of some medicines in Russia, despite the country producing more of its own drugs in the face of sweeping Western sanctions over the war. "While prescription drugs are exempt from sanctions imposed over the conflict, their delivery to Russia has been hit by transport, insurance and customs hurdles caused by the war and other restrictive measures, industry figures say. "There has been a shortage of some drugs, despite the fact that we saw production of pharmaceutical products in the [first] three quarters of last year grow by about 22 percent," Putin said during a televised meeting with officials. "Sixty percent of medicines on the market are domestic drugs. Nevertheless, a deficit has formed in some drugs, and prices have risen," he added. (13:48 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has hit back at media reports in the West that Russia is running low on missiles and artillery, saying Moscow has "enough of everything". "Our opponents are watching, they periodically make statements that we don't have this or that," Medvedev said during a visit to a Kalashnikov factory in Izhevsk, about 1,000 kilometres east of Moscow. "I want to disappoint them. We have enough of everything," he added. (14:14 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister says the country has enough coal and gas reserves for the remaining months of winter despite repeated Russian attacks on its energy system. Denys Shmyhal told a government meeting that the situation in the energy sector remained difficult but under control after a months-long Russian campaign of drone and missile attacks on critical infrastructure that damaged about 40 percent of the energy system. "For now, all Russia's attempts to plunge Ukraine into darkness have failed," Shmyhal said. "We have enough reserves to continue and end the heating season in normal mode. About 11 billion cubic metres of gas are stored in gas storages and nearly 1.2 million tonnes of coal are in storages," he added. (14:59 GMT) The German government will handle Poland's request to re-export Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine with urgency, an economic affairs ministry official has said. "I can only tell you: We will urgently work on taking a decision," Sven Giegold told a defence conference in Berlin organised by Handelsblatt, adding that the defence ministry was in the lead on the matter. (15:16 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers in the field now use German Gepard anti-aircraft guns to defend their skies, German anti-tank weapons to pierce Russian armour, and German howitzers to shell enemy troops. But the prize that Ukraine urgently seeks to regain territory before an expected Russian offensive in the coming months, the German-manufactured Leopard 2 battle tank, remains frustratingly out of reach. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/as-pressure-mounts-germans-remain-conflicted-over-leopard-tanks (15:32 GMT) Turkey has indefinitely postponed a new round of talks with Sweden and Finland on the Nordic neighbours' NATO membership bids, Turkish state media have reported. The meeting was due to take place in Brussels in February, state broadcaster TRT reported, citing Turkish diplomatic sources. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman said earlier this month that NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg was also due to attend. On Monday, Erdogan said Sweden should not expect Turkey's support for its NATO membership after a protest near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm at the weekend. (15:42 GMT) The "Doomsday Clock", which symbolises the extent to which humanity is in peril from human-made technologies, has been set closer to midnight than ever before in large part because of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the risk of nuclear escalation. "We are living in a time of unprecedented danger, and the Doomsday Clock time reflects that reality. Ninety seconds to midnight is the closest the Clock has ever been set to midnight, and it's a decision our experts do not take lightly," said Rachel Bronson, president and CEO of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, which runs the clock. (16:05 GMT) Military drills between South Africa and Russia scheduled to take place next month have brought new scrutiny on the former's neutral stance on the nearly yearlong conflict in Ukraine. The drills will happen off South Africa's coast from February 17 to 27 and will take place during the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/why-is-south-africa-neutral-in-ukraine-russia-war (16:35 GMT) An inspection of Ukrainian nuclear plants found no military equipment stashed at the sites, debunking a claim from Russia, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says. Rafael Grossi made the remarks after Russia's foreign intelligence service on Monday accused Ukraine of storing Western-supplied arms at nuclear power stations across the country. Grossi told the European Parliament that the IAEA, the UN nuclear watchdog, had established a permanent presence at all Ukrainian nuclear facilities, and he had ordered inspections on Tuesday to ascertain whether any of them contained military equipment. "The result of those inspections was negative," he said. (16:52 GMT) Bulgaria's defence ministry says the country's navy has defused a naval mine that had drifted close to its Black Sea coast, a day after it carried out a controlled explosion of another mine. The ministry said the navy was alerted to the object that was some 14.8 nautical miles (27.4 kilometres) east off the coast near Cape Kochan late on Monday by a motor boat sailing under a Ukrainian flag. Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey, all of which have coasts along the Black Sea, have had special diving teams defuse mines that drifted into their waters. (17:29 GMT) Twenty-five people have been killed and more than 90 injured in Russia's border region of Belgorod since the start of Moscow's assault on Ukraine, according to the region's governor. "Ukraine, the enemy, is targeting peaceful settlements. There are 25 dead, 96 people were wounded," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told Putin in televised remarks. This is the first time Russian officials have announced an official death toll for a Russian region since the start of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. (18:04 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has decided to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and allow other countries such as Poland to do so while the US may supply Abrams tanks, according to Spiegel, the German publication. The decision concerns at least one company of Leopard 2 A6 tanks that will be provided out of Bundeswehr stocks, Spiegel said. Other allies intend to go along with Germany in supplying their Leopard tanks to Kyiv, the magazine reported. The US may supply Abrams tanks, according to a source familiar with the matter quoted by the Reuters news agency. (19:12 GMT) Legislators in the US have praised Ukraine's government for taking swift action against corruption and insisted that the military and humanitarian aid to Kyiv should continue. A slew of senior Ukrainian officials were dismissed in Ukraine's biggest political shake-up of the war so far, which Kyiv said showed Zelenskyy was in tune with his public following corruption allegations. "It's a defining moment for Ukraine. It's a defining moment for all of us, Germany, the United States, all of our allies. We expect that President Zelenskyy will follow through with a promise he made that Ukraine is going to change on the corruption front," Republican Senator Lindsey Graham told a news conference days after returning from Kyiv among others who made similar statements. (19:33 GMT) British volunteer Chris Parry and his colleague Andrew Bagshaw have been killed while attempting a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar in eastern Ukraine, Parry's family has said in a statement released by Britain's foreign office. (20:30 GMT) The G7 and other partner countries have pledged to maintain their support for Ukraine's energy sector, including delivering equipment and other humanitarian aid during winter, according to a US State Department statement following a meeting of the group's foreign ministers. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi cohosted the meeting, in which countries also promised to continue coordinating on Ukraine's efforts to "modernize and decarbonize its energy grid," the department said after the virtual meeting. The foreign ministers reiterated calls for Russia to halt attacks on Ukraine's energy and heating systems, the State Department added in a statement. 20230125 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/25/russia-ukraine-live-news-germany-us-tank-delivery (07:38 GMT) The United States and Germany are expected to announce their decision to deliver battle tanks to Ukraine in a move that Kyiv hailed as a potential game changer in the war effort. While there was no official confirmation yet, two US officials told Reuters news agency said that the US was posed to start the process for the delivery the M1 Abrams. And German media outlet The Spiegel reported that Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to provide at least one company of the much awaited Leopard 2 tanks. Scholz had come under intense pressure and criticism for not allowing the dispatch of the German-made tanks, considered by Ukraine key for a win on the battlefield. Under a licence agreement, other countries which have bought the Leopard 2 must receive a green light from Berlin before being able to send the tanks abroad. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/germany-clears-the-way-for-leopard-2-tank-deliveries-to-ukraine (07:39 GMT) The possible deliveries of battle tanks by Washington to Ukraine will be a "another blatant provocation" against Russia, Anatoly Antonov, Russia's ambassador to the US, has said. "It is obvious that Washington is purposefully trying to inflict a strategic defeat on us," Antonov said in remarks published on the embassy's Telegram messaging app. "If the United States decides to supply tanks, then justifying such a step with arguments about 'defensive weapons' will definitely not work. This would be another blatant provocation against the Russian Federation." (07:42 GMT) The British ministry of defence gives its latest bulletin on the situation in Ukraine. The focus is on the Russian-made tanks, the T-14 Armata, which Moscow has prepared in small number "for the type's first operational deployment" in the war-torn country, the ministry said. "However, in recent months, deployed Russian forces were reluctant to accept the first tranche of T-14 allocated to them because the vehicles were in such poor condition. It is unclear exactly what aspects of the vehicles prompted this reaction, but within the last three years, Russian officials have publicly described problems with the T-14's engine and thermal imaging systems. In 2021, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu described the planned production run for 2022 as only an "experimental-industrial" batch. Therefore, it is unlikely that any deployed T-14 tanks will have met the usual standards for new equipment to be deemed operational," the ministry added. (07:55 GMT) The Russian Defence Ministry says that the Admiral Gorshkov tested strike capabilities in the western Atlantic Ocean. In a statement seen by Reuters, the ministry said the frigate had run a computer simulation on hypersonic Zircon missiles. Zircon missiles have a range of 900 km, and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them. The statement did not say the frigate had launched a missile. (08:25 GMT) The Russian-installed governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region has said that units of the Wagner private military company were making progress in the town of Bakhmut, with fighting ongoing in previously Ukrainian-held neighbourhoods. Bakhmut has been the focus of intense fighting for months. It's fall to Russian forces could mark Moscow's most significant victory after months of military setbacks. (09:10 GMT) As the war is expected to intensify, the Ukrainian Red Cross is preparing for more aid to assist the civilian population in the country's war-plagued zones, the organization's general secretary told Reuters. "Everyone expects some intensification of the fighting," Maksym Dotsenko told the news agency during a visit to the German capital Berlin. "I cannot say that all the needs are covered. But I can say that in general the situation is under control," Dotsenko said. The Red Cross, he said, is ready to provide generators to hospitals and other places in case of more Russian attacks on critical infrastructure. "Of course, we need more financial support," he added, but there was no need for donations of clothing. The Red Cross, Ukraine's biggest civil organization, has no access to Russian-occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, but is operating in the rest of the country. It has increased its staff to 1,500 employees from 400 before the war and more than doubled the number of volunteer workers, Dotsenko said. So far, five of the organisation volunteers have died in the conflict. (09:33 GMT) Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida says he "will consider" visiting Ukraine. "Nothing has been decided at this point, but we will consider," Kishida told the nation's parliament after a ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker asked the premier about a possible trip to Ukraine. Kishida added that whether to visit Ukraine depends on the "consideration of various circumstances." (09:50 GMT) Spanish police have arrested a 74-year-old man suspected of sending letter bombs to several embassies and institutions in late 2022, TV station La Sexta reported. The devices were sent to targets including Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, the Ukrainian embassy in Madrid, government offices, a European Union satellite company and the US embassy between November 24 and December 2. One person was slightly injured as a result of the packages. (10:15 GMT) The Kremlin warns the Abrams battle tanks, which are likely to be supplied to Ukraine by the United States, will "burn". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said while the Abrams shipments were not confirmed, they would be a waste of money. "I am certain that many experts understand the absurdity of this idea. The plan is disastrous in terms of technology," he said. "But above all, it overestimates the potential it will add to the Ukrainian army. These tanks burn just like all the others," he added. (10:39 GMT) The Kremlin expresses alarm that the "Doomsday Clock" has edged closer to midnight than ever. The "Doomsday Clock", created by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists to illustrate how close humanity has come to the end of the world, on Tuesday moved its "time" in 2023 to 90 seconds to midnight, 10 seconds closer than it has been for the past three years. "The situation as a whole is really alarming," said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. He said there was no prospect of any detente based on "the line that was chosen by NATO under US leadership". "This imposes on us a duty to be particularly careful, to be alert and to take appropriate measures." (10:47 GMT) The Ukrainian military has told AFP news agency that it has pulled out of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region, which Russian forces said they captured earlier this month. "After months of heavy fighting, including over the past weeks, the Armed Forces of Ukraine left [Soledar] and retreated along the outskirts to pre-prepared positions," said military spokesman Sergiy Cherevaty. (10:57 GMT) Germany will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and approve partner countries' requests for its re-export. Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in a statement, "This decision follows our well-known line of supporting Ukraine to the best of our ability. We are acting in a closely coordinated manner internationally." The goal is to establish two battalions with Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine quickly, the statement said, adding Germany would first step in and provide 14 Leopard 2 tanks from military stocks. Training of Ukrainian troops in Germany will begin soon. It will also provide logistics and ammunition. (11:00 GMT) Al Jazeera's Dominic Kane, reporting from Berlin, says there will be questions over "why it has taken Germany so long" to reach a decision on supplying Ukraine with tanks after weeks of deliberation on the issue. "What we know for now is that a company of Leopard 2 tanks - 14 tanks - will be in the first slice of resources sent to Ukraine," Kane said. "But then there is also this idea of re-exports being allowed, which the Polish and Finnish governments, among others, have been calling for," he added. "Remember also, that the United States government is talking about sending M1 Abrams tanks and the United Kingdom is sending 14 Challenger 2 tanks," he said. (11:12 GMT) Poland's prime minister has thanked German Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his decision to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. (11:22 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Germany and other NATO allies' move to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine was the "right decision". "The right decision by NATO Allies and friends to send main battle tanks to Ukraine. Alongside Challenger 2s, they will strengthen Ukraine's defensive firepower. Together, we are accelerating our efforts to ensure Ukraine wins this war and secures a lasting peace," Sunak tweeted. (11:32 GMT) Spanish daily El Pais reported that Spain is expected to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's government had earlier agreed to send the German-made battle tanks as long as there was a coordinated plan at the European level, the daily said. El Pais reports that the Spanish army has 108 Leopard 2 main battle tanks. (11:49 GMT) France has welcomed Berlin's decision to send Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine and allow other states to do the same. "France welcomes the German decision, which extends and amplifies the support we have provided with the delivery of the AMX10 RC", the Elysee said in a statement, referring to a France-made lighter combat vehicle Paris is also aiming to send to Ukraine. (12:05 GMT) The Russian embassy in Germany says Berlin's decision to approve the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine means it is abandoning its "historical responsibility to Russia" arising from Nazi crimes during World War II. The embassy said in a statement that the decision would escalate the conflict to a new level. "This extremely dangerous decision takes the conflict to a new level of confrontation and contradicts the statements of German politicians about the unwillingness of the Federal Republic of Germany to be drawn into it," Ambassador Sergey Nechayev said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/russia-denounces-germany-over-dangerous-tanks-decision (12:19 GMT) Finland's defence minister Mikko Savola says Finland will participate in the group of countries sending tanks to Ukraine, although the contribution would be limited in scope. He declined to comment further on the size of Finland's contribution. (12:44 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency have discussed developments in Ukraine. According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Cavusoglu and Rafael Grossi exchanged views in a phone call on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is currently under Russian control. Fears of a nuclear catastrophe persist as shelling around the plant is reported. Turkey has repeatedly called on Kyiv and Moscow to end the war through negotiations and has offered to mediate. (13:27 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 336 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-336 (13:50 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, said that Germany's approval to send Leopard tanks to Ukraine is "clearly very good news". "For Ukraine, they have been waiting for this decision from the Germans for many weeks now ... we've heard reactions from Ukraine's defence minister also from a top presidential aide saying this is a very good first step," Butler said. Butler explains that Zelenskyy has made it clear that they need not 10 -15 tanks but "at least 300 tanks" to help them defeat Russian forces on the ground. "There is also a real question of time," she added. "[This is] a big challenge for Ukrainians because once they receive these, that are already taking some time, you have to have soldiers who are going to be trained on them and also trained on how to maintain them and every day that passes is absolutely crucial." (14:17 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Germany's decision to supply tanks to Ukraine confirms a "pre-planned war" against Moscow. For months Kyiv has asked for Western tanks that it desperately needs to give its forces the ability to break through Russian defensive lines and recapture occupied territory in the east and south. (14:41 GMT) US President Joe Biden is scheduled to make a speech on continued US support to Ukraine at midday (17:00 GMT), the White House says. (15:15 GMT) UNESCO has designated the historic centre of Odesa a World Heritage Site in danger. The UN's cultural agency hopes the status, awarded by a panel that met in Paris, will help protect Odesa's cultural heritage and enable access to international aid. (15:31 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Germany plans to send further military support to Ukraine beyond the delivery of 14 Leopard 2 battle tanks. He listed air defence systems, heavy artillery and multiple rocket launchers as possible future arms deliveries. (16:17 GMT) Slovakia is ready to send 30 T-72 tanks to Ukraine "immediately" if it can receive Western tanks to replace them, defence minister Jaroslav Nad said. Nad told a briefing that Slovakia had sent 30 Soviet-era BVP-1 infantry fighting vehicles to Ukraine last year after agreeing that Germany would deliver 15 Leopard 2 tanks to Slovakia to take their place. "We still have 30 T-72 tanks and would be ready to send them immediately to Ukraine, even tomorrow, if there would be an option to receive Western tanks - Leopards or any other in exchange," Nad said. "There is no space for decrease in Slovakia, but there is space for exchange," he said. (16:44 GMT) US President Joe Biden spoke with European allies about supporting Ukraine, the White House said. Biden discussed "our close coordination on support for Ukraine" with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. (17:08 GMT) President Joe Biden has announced that the US will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine. Speaking at the White House, he said, "I'm announcing that the United States will be sending 31 Abram tanks to Ukraine the equivalent of one Ukrainian battalion. Secretary Austin has recommended this step because it all enhance Ukraine's capacity to defend his territory to achieve strategic objectives." Biden also said Washington was giving Ukraine the necessary parts and equipment, and will be providing Ukrainian personnel with training. (17:28 GMT) President Biden has made it clear that sending Abram tanks to Ukraine is not an offensive threat to Russia, Kimberly Halkett, Al Jazeera's White House correspondent reports. "This is more of a signal to Americans here in the US who might be worried about 'mission creep' if you will. Russia is a nuclear power and there are many Americans who are worried about the escalation and the impact this might have," Halkett said, reporting from Washington, DC. "The US president is speaking as much to the world as he is to a domestic audience when he said this is about protecting Ukraine," she added. Halkett called the move a policy reversal for the president "given the fact that his own Pentagon generals were somewhat resistant to sending these tanks because they are cumbersome and that this is an older technology." "Abrams tanks were designed back in the [19]70s and although they have been upgraded, they operate on jet fuel. So there's a tremendous amount of logistics involved in facilitating these on the battlefield. It won't be happening quickly," she said. (17:53 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said there was a window of opportunity for international partners to speed up efforts to support Ukraine in its conflict against Russia. "The prime minister said it was now clear Russia was on the back foot, and there was a window for international partners to accelerate efforts to secure lasting peace for Ukraine," Sunak's office said in a statement after he spoke to the leaders of the United States, Germany, France and Italy. (18:01 GMT) President Biden's decision to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine is a policy reversal "given the fact that his own Pentagon generals were somewhat resistant to sending these tanks because they are cumbersome and that this is an older technology," Kimberly Halkett, Al Jazeera's White House correspondent reports. "Abrams tanks were designed back in the [19]70s and although they have been upgraded, they operate on jet fuel. So there's a tremendous amount of logistics involved in facilitating these on the battlefield. It won't be happening quickly," she said. (18:50 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed Washington's decision on Abrams tanks as an "important step on the path to victory", while also thanking Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz for the Leopards. (19:01 GMT) Sweden's defence minister has said he does not "exclude" Stockholm sending Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, after Germany gave the green light for them to be given to Kyiv. Sweden, which has broken with its doctrine of not delivering weapons to a country at war, last week pledged a major package of arms for Ukraine, including modern howitzers and armoured vehicles. (19:19 GMT) Russian and Belarusian athletes could participate in Asian events, with the International Olympic Committee looking at options for their return to international competitions. "No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport," the IOC said in a news release Wednesday. In addition, the IOC "welcomed and appreciated" the Olympic Council of Asia's offer to accept Russian and Belarusian athletes into qualifying events for Paris 2024. (19:39 GMT) Germany's announcement that it will provide 14 Leopard tanks to Ukraine has prompted calls for more heavy armour. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his ministers are also seeking to break a "taboo" on the provision of jets such as United Staes-made F-16s. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had spoken to Poland's Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau about further military aid, including fighter jets - a request that has been repeatedly put to NATO allies without success. (20:11 GMT) The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has said it can hear cases brought by Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia over alleged human rights violations in the breakaway Luhansk and Donetsk regions of Ukraine, and the shooting down of Flight MH17. The decision does not rule on the merits of the cases, but it does show the Strasbourg-based court considers Russia can be held liable for rights violations in the separatist regions. "Among other things, the Court found that areas in eastern Ukraine in separatist hands were, from 11 May 2014 and up to at least 26 January 2022, under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation," the court said in a ruling on Wednesday. The cases will now move on to the merits stage, expected to take another one to two years before a final decision is issued. The impact of any ruling will be largely political as Russia's parliament in June voted to end the ECHR's jurisdiction in the country and has previously ignored ECHR rulings it disagreed with. (20:23 GMT) Russia's oldest human rights organisation, the Moscow Helsinki Group, has been liquidated after a court ruled it did not have the correct registration, the latest in a series of closures that critics say is reminiscent of the Soviet era. Founded in 1976 by Soviet dissident scientists, the group produced annual reports on Russia's human rights situation and was one of the country's few remaining independent rights organisations after the closure of Nobel Prize-winner Memorial in 2021. Its original aim was to monitor the Soviet Union's compliance with the Helsinki Accords, an East-West agreement aimed at easing tensions at the height of the Cold war, but it later expanded to advocate for democracy and civil rights. (20:34 GMT) Ukraine has said that Russia was upping the pressure in the fight for Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region, and that Kyiv's forces were outnumbered and outgunned. "The enemy is intensifying pressure in the Bakhmut and Vuhledar sectors. Now in Donbas, against their superior number of soldiers and weapons, we have the advantage of professional military command and the courage of soldiers," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said in a statement. 20230126 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-air-raid-alert-across-country (06:32 GMT) Zelenskyy has praised commitments made by the US and Germany and urged allies to provide large quantities of tanks quickly. "The key now is speed and volumes. Speed in training our forces, speed in supplying tanks to Ukraine. The numbers in tank support," he said in a nightly video address. "We have to form such a 'tank fist', such a 'fist of freedom'." (06:34 GMT) Russian forces have launched an unsuccessful overnight drone attack on Ukraine, mainly targeting central regions and the capital Kyiv, the Ukrainian military has said. Anti-aircraft defences downed all 24 drones, country's military command said in a morning report. "There's a major danger of further aviation and missile attack across the entire territory (of Ukraine)," it said in a statement. "Attack UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicle) were launched from the eastern coast of the Sea of Azov. According to preliminary information, the enemy used 24 Shaheds. All 24 were destroyed," the Ukrainian air force said in a statement online. (06:36 GMT) Two Russian missiles have been spotted over the territory of the Mykolaiv region, its governor Vitaly Kim has said on the Telegram messaging app. (06:41 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged a senior UN official to help find a way to resolve what Ukrainian authorities decry as a serious consequence of 11 months of war - the deportation to Russia of thousands of adults and children. (06:42 GMT) Poland's army will receive its first Abrams tanks from the US in spring, the defence minister has said. "This spring we will receive the first Polish Abrams, which will be used by the Polish army," Mariusz Blaszczak told public broadcaster Polskie Radio 1. "This year 58 Abrams will arrive in Poland." (07:02 GMT) Russia's Gazprom said it will ship 24.2 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine. (07:19 GMT) Germany has confirmed that it will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and approve their re-export from other countries, in a move that was hailed by Kyiv's Western allies and decried by Russia as a dangerous escalation. Moscow has slammed Berlin's move to supply Ukraine with battle tanks and accused Germany of abandoning its "historical responsibility to Russia" arising from Nazi crimes in World War II. (07:23 GMT) Slovakia is not prepared to pass on its Leopard tanks to Ukraine as they replace fighting vehicles already sent to its embattled neighbour, according to Slovakian Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad. The agreement with Germany that the promised Leopard 2A4s would be delivered to Slovakia still applies, Nad told the TASR news agency. Under the agreement, one Leopard tank was handed over to Slovakia in December by then defence minister Christine Lambrecht, with 14 more to be delivered by the end of 2023. (07:29 GMT) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has informed his Polish counterpart Mariusz Blaszczak about the details of the German delivery of Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine. "The Polish initiative to support our eastern neighbours with modern tanks is entering the implementation phase," Blaszczak wrote on Twitter on Wednesday evening. Earlier, the German government had decided that Germany would hand over 14 Leopard 2A6 main battle tanks to the Ukrainians as a first step. Poland had exerted considerable pressure on Germany in the discussion about the battle tank deliveries. Already last week, Polish President Andrzej Duda announced that 14 Leopard battle tanks would be handed over to Ukraine. (07:40 GMT) List of key events, day 337 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-337 (07:43 GMT) Ukraine says it has shot down a cluster of Iranian-made attack drones launched by Russian forces from the Sea of Azov in the south of the country. (07:57 GMT) Footage has emerged showing Novak Djokovic's father at a pro-Russian demonstration at the Australian Open. A group gathered on the steps outside Rod Laver Arena following Djokovic's quarter-final victory over Russian Andrey Rublev holding Russian flags, one of which bore the face of Vladimir Putin, and chanting "Serbia, Russia." A post on a pro-Russian YouTube channel shows Srdjan Djokovic standing with a man holding the Putin flag and wearing a T-shirt with the pro-war Z symbol on it. Djokovic Sr then makes a comment to the man, which is translated on the video as "long live the Russians". Tennis Australia said four people had been questioned by police and evicted from the site over "inappropriate flags and symbols" and threatening security guards. https://www.aljazeera.com/sports/2023/1/26/australian-open-tennis-djokovic-father-pro-russian-flags (08:06 GMT) Spectators have been banned from having Russian or Belarusian flags at the Australian Grand Slam after Ukraine's ambassador to Australia and New Zealand, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, demanded action when they were seen among the crowd last week. Myroshnychenko said on Twitter that the latest incident was shameful. "It's a full package. Among the Serbian flags, there is: a Russian flag, Putin, Z-symbol, so-called Donetsk People's Republic flag," he tweeted with a link to the video. "It's such a disgrace... @TennisAustralia @AustralianOpen." (08:07 GMT) Ukraine says Russian forces have fired more than 30 missiles at targets across the country, in the latest wave of attacks that have put pressure on Ukraine's air defence systems. "We expect more than 30 missiles, which have already started to appear in various territories. Air defence systems are working," Yuriy Ignat, a Ukrainian military spokesman, told local media. (08:11 GMT) Turkish firm Karpowership has signed a memorandum of understanding with state-owned trader JSC Energy Company of Ukraine (ECU) to enhance electricity supply cooperation and fast-track the use of 500 megawatts (MW) floating power stations to alleviate the nation's energy crisis, according to a statement. Karpowership and ECU will work alongside national and international organisations to develop and finance the implementation of 500 MW, enough to power over 1 million households. 08:16 GMT) "The enemy launched more than 15 cruise missiles in the direction of Kyiv. Thanks to the outstanding work of our air defences all the targets were destroyed," the Kyiv City Military Administration quoted its head, Serhiy Popko, as saying on Telegram. "Despite this, the danger of air strikes has not passed," he added. "Remain in shelters until the end of the air-raid alert." (08:22 GMT) Russian missile impacts have been reported at unspecified sites in Ukraine's central region of Vinnytsia and other parts of the country, Yuriy Ignat, the Air Force spokesman has said. The regional governor confirmed impacts in Vinnytsia region and said there were no casualties. (08:24 GMT) Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko has urged residents to stay in shelters after an explosion was heard in Ukraine's capital amid what officials said was a Russian missile salvo. (08:37 GMT) Zelenskyy has reiterated his rejection of negotiations with Russia before a withdrawal of Russian troops. (08:39 GMT) Zelenskyy acknowledged in an interview with British broadcaster Sky News in both Ukrainian and English broadcast that Ukrainian troops were under pressure in the Zaporizhzhia region in the south of the country as well as in the east. "It's just an extraordinary number. They don't care about it. I mean, they don't count their people ... But from what we have already seen and counted, there are thousands of people dead from their side, and they are just throwing them, and throwing them, and throwing them and throwing them," Zelenskyy said in Ukrainian. (08:52 GMT) Authorities in Ukraine's southern region of Odesa say that two energy facilities have been hit by Russian missiles, in the latest attack by Moscow's forces against critical infrastructure. (09:02 GMT) The Kremlin says it sees the promised delivery of Western tanks to Ukraine as "direct involvement" of the US and Europe in the conflict, and this involvement is growing. (09:03 GMT) The mayor of Ukraine's capital Kyiv says one person has been killed and two more have been wounded after Russia launched more than a dozen missiles in its latest large-scale aerial offensive. "As a result of a rocket hitting a non-residential building in the Golosiivsky district, there is information that one person is dead and two wounded," Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement on social media. The Kyiv city military administration said the death was due to parts of a missile falling. (09:04 GMT) A German citizen has been arrested at Munich airport on suspicion of treason for allegedly passing intelligence onto Russia, the prosecutor general's office has said. The man, identified as Arthur E., was arrested on Sunday upon arriving in Germany from the US, the prosecutor said in a statement. He is said to be an associate of Carsten L., an employee of the German foreign intelligence service (BND) who was arrested in December on suspicion of spying for Russia. Arthur E., who is not a German intelligence employee, is believed to have passed onto the Russian intelligence service information he had obtained from Carten L., according to the prosecutor's statement. (09:42 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council has said the United States and NATO are parties to the conflict in Ukraine, according to a report by Russia's state-owned TASS news agency. TASS quoted Nikolai Patrushev, one of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, as saying that what was happening in Ukraine was the result of a years-long "hybrid war" being waged by the West against Russia. He accused the US and NATO, which is led by Washington, of seeking to drag out the conflict. The Kremlin says promises from Ukraine's Western allies to deliver tanks to Kyiv are evidence of their direct and growing involvement in the war. "There are constant statements from European capitals and Washington that the sending of various weapons systems to Ukraine, including tanks, in no way signifies the involvement of these countries or the alliance in hostilities in Ukraine," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. "We categorically disagree with this, and in Moscow, everything that the alliance and the capitals I mentioned are doing is seen as direct involvement in the conflict. We see that this is growing," he added. (09:51 GMT) Ukraine says it will now push for Western fourth-generation fighter jets, such as the American F-16, after securing dozens of high-end battle tanks from NATO allies. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/ukraine-eyes-fighter-jets-after-securing-advanced-nato-tanks (10:12 GMT) Germany's defence minister says Berlin intends to deliver the Leopard 2 tanks it has pledged to Ukraine by early April at the latest. "The aim with the Leopards is to have the first company in Ukraine by the end of March, beginning of April," Boris Pistorius said. He added that training of Ukrainian troops on German Marder infantry fighting vehicles will start in the next few days, with training on the heavier Leopard 2 tanks due to start "a little later". (10:42 GMT) The US ambassador to Ukraine has denounced Russia's latest wave of missile attacks on Ukraine as "cruel" and a "strategic failure". "Waves of Russian drones and missiles can't stop Ukraine's heroic defenders, its brave people or our determined, unified support," Bridget Brink said on Twitter. (10:51 GMT) France's foreign minister has arrived in the Ukrainian city of Odesa on a visit intended to underscore her country's backing of Kyiv. Catherine Colonna said in a post on Twitter that she was travelling to "show France's support for Ukraine's sovereignty, now as before". Although delayed by a new wave of Russian strikes overnight and on Thursday morning, Colonna was still set to meet her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in the Black Sea port city, AFP reported. (11:32 GMT) Ukrainian air defences shot down 47 of the 55 missiles Russian forces fired at Ukraine in Moscow's latest wave of attacks, the country's top general has said. Moscow used the Kh-47 Kinzhal hypersonic missile, among other models, in the attacks, General Valery Zaluzhny said in a post on Telegram. Twenty of the incoming missiles were shot down around the capital, Kyiv, he added. "The goal of the Russians remains unchanged: psychological pressure on Ukrainians and the destruction of critical infrastructure," Zaluzhny said. "But we cannot be broken!" (12:22 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister has ruled out resuming talks with Sweden and Finland over their NATO bids, saying such a move would be "meaningless". Speaking at a news conference, Mevlut Cavusoglu also said there was no offer to evaluate Sweden's and Finland's NATO membership separately after Ankara pulled out of trilateral talks scheduled for next month following recent protests in Stockholm. Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said his country wants to restore NATO dialogue with Turkey. (12:46 GMT) The United States and Germany have pledged to send state-of-the-art battle tanks to Ukraine, paving the way for several of its European allies to follow suit. The moves, announced by President Joe Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Wednesday, will see Washington deploy 31 Abrams tanks while Berlin will supply Kyiv with 14 German-made Leopard 2 units at first. ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/which-countries-are-supplying-tanks-to-ukraine (13:13 GMT) Fighting on two fronts: Zelenskyy battles corruption and Russia Ukraine is undergoing its biggest political shake-up since the beginning of the war as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's anti-corruption drive. Meanwhile, Kyiv's allies in the West have pledged to deliver highly sought-after battle tanks to help it battle Russia's invasion. Some have speculated the two events may be linked. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/26/ukraine-corruption-scandal-battle-tanks (14:11 GMT) Russian authorities have designated independent news outlet Meduza as an "undesirable organisation", effectively outlawing the site from operating in the country and banning Russian citizens from cooperating with the organisation or its journalists. The designation is the latest in a years-long campaign by the Kremlin to curb independent media outlets and stop their reporting from reaching ordinary Russians in a crackdown that has escalated since Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine last February. In a statement announcing the decision, Russia's General Prosecutor said the Latvia-based news outlet "poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional system and the security of the Russian Federation". There was no immediate response from Meduza, which is one of Russia's most widely read independent news sites. (14:59 GMT) At least 11 people have been killed by Russia's latest wave of missile attacks, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU) says. The raids, which targeted several different areas including the capital Kyiv and the southern region of Odesa, wounded 11 others, SESU said in a Telegram post. (15:37 GMT) The United States has formally designated the Wagner Group as a "transnational criminal organisation". The shadowy paramilitary group is closely aligned with the Kremlin and has been heavily involved in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The US Department of the Treasury said it had taken the move as part of action targeting dozens of people and entities in an effort to degrade Russia's ability to wage the war. The declaration freezes any US assets that the Wagner Group may have and prohibits US nationals from providing funds, goods, or services to the group. Washington also designated other entities it accused of supporting the Wagner Group's military operations, including Russia-based Joint Stock Company Terra Tech and China-based Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co LTD, and targeted entities and individuals linked to Russia's defence industry. (16:34 GMT) The Challenger 2 tanks the United Kingdom is supplying to Ukraine are expected to arrive in the country at the end of March, a defence minister has said. Alex Chalk said in a statement to Parliament that the UK will begin training Ukrainian soldiers in how to use and fix the contingent of tanks at the start of next week ahead of the anticipated delivery. (17:00 GMT) The International Olympic Committee's efforts to find a "pathway" for Russians to take part in the 2024 Paris Games despite the invasion of Ukraine were strongly criticised by the United Kingdom on Thursday. The UK's Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan said the IOC's move was a "world away from the reality of war". "We condemn any action that allows President Putin to legitimise his illegal war in Ukraine," Donelan said. Ignoring calls from Ukraine to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from next year's Olympics, the IOC said on Wednesday that a way to allow competitors from those countries to take part should be "further explored". Russia and their allies Belarus have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since the invasion of Ukraine last February. However, the IOC said "no athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport". (17:30 GMT) France and Italy are close to finalising the technical details to supply an SAMP/T air defence system to Ukraine, two diplomatic sources said on according to Reuters news agency. Kyiv has asked its Western allies for more air defence systems and specifically requested the SAMP/T, known as Mamba, in November. France's Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu will travel to Italy on Friday to meet his Italian counterpart Guido Crosetto, with both sides wanting to push ahead with the SAMP/T talks. (18:07 GMT) Hungary's foreign minister has asked the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to begin negotiating an end to the war in Ukraine. "We urge the international community to replace the war rhetoric by peace rhetoric, " Peter Szijjarto said. "I humbly ask the representatives the so-called superpowers, to sit around the negotiating table and negotiate about how peace could be created in our neighborhood." Szijjarto stressed the economic impact the war is having on his country, including an influx of migrants and elevated energy costs since the war began. (18:40 GMT) Ukraine has threatened to boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to take part, a prospect described as "unacceptable" by the country's sports minister. "Such a situation is unacceptable for our country," Ukrainian Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit said. (19:46 GMT) The United States has imposed sanctions on a Chinese company for allegedly providing satellite imagery in Ukraine to help Russia's Wagner mercenary group. The US Treasury Department and State Department announced a slew of actions as they formally designated the Wagner Group as a transnational criminal organisation, a move previewed last week by the White House. The new sanctions "will further impede the Kremlin's ability to arm its war machine that is engaged in a war of aggression against Ukraine, and which has caused unconscionable death and destruction," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Among the firms targeted was Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co, a Chinese firm that the Treasury Department said has provided satellite imagery over Ukraine to the Wagner Group. <=== (19:58 GMT) With Russian forces pushing in eastern Ukraine, the United Nations' refugee agency chief has told AFP news agency that Kyiv and European governments should prepare for a possible wave of people fleeing the fighting. Moreover, he said that despite repeated offers of assistance, Russia was still only granting the agency limited access to Ukrainians there. "I cannot make military predictions, this is not my expertise," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said in the Ukraine capital. "But one thing I can say is, of course any exacerbation of war risks causing further displacement, one way or another, and we need to be ready for that." (20:20 GMT) Former US President Donald Trump has slammed the decision to send top-of-the-line tanks to Ukraine, calling the effort to repel the Russian invasion a "crazy war". In his latest criticism of aid to Ukraine, Trump said that sending the Abrams M1 tanks amounts to an escalation that could lead to nuclear war. "FIRST COME THE TANKS, THEN COME THE NUKES," Trump wrote on his social media site. "Get this crazy war ended, NOW. So easy to do!" <=== 20230127 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/27/russia-ukraine-live-news-explosions-near-zaporizhzhia-says-un (10:21 GMT) US President Joe Biden has the key to ending the conflict in Ukraine by directing Kyiv, but Washington does not want to use it, says the Kremlin. "The key to the Kyiv regime is largely in the hands of Washington," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing. "Now we see that the current White House leader ... does not want to use this key. On the contrary, he chooses the path of further pumping weapons into Ukraine," he added. Moscow has often accused Washington of giving Ukraine orders and prolonging the conflict by supplying Kyiv with weapons. (10:21 GMT) The UN's nuclear watchdog has reported explosions near Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power station. "Yesterday, eight strong detonations were heard at around 10 am local time [08:00 GMT], causing office windows at the plant to vibrate, and more were audible today," Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said in a statement late on Thursday. However, Renat Karchaa - an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, the company operating Russia's nuclear plants - said Grossi's comments were unfounded. "I can only describe this as a provocation," the Tass news agency quoted him as saying. "Before you provide such information, you need to check it and establish that it is not based on rumour." (10:22 GMT) Japan has tightened sanctions against Russia, adding goods to an export ban list and freezing the assets of officials and entities. The decision comes after Russia launched a missile attack in Ukraine, killing at least 11 people on Thursday, following German and US approvals to supply tanks to Kyiv. Among the new sanctions, Japan will prohibit shipments of items to 49 organisations in Russia on February 3 that could be used to enhance its military capability. (10:22 GMT) The Kremlin says Washington has been "demonising" the Wagner Group for years without any basis after the US labelled the mercenary group a transnational criminal organisation. The move to designate the group is part of the US Treasury Department's effort to affect Russia's ability to wage war. "Wagner personnel have engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic [CAR] and Mali," the Treasury said in a statement on Thursday. (10:41 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russian commentators have claimed that forces made "significant advances" in Zaporizhia and Donetsk regions. "Russian units have probably conducted local, probing attacks near Orikiv and Vuhledar, but it is highly unlikely that Russia has actually achieved any substantive advances," the ministry said in its daily intelligence update. (11:01 GMT) Hungary will veto any EU sanctions against Russia's nuclear energy sector, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on state radio. Ukraine has called on the 27-nation bloc to include the Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom in its sanctions, but Hungary, which has a Russian-built atomic plant that it plans to expand with Rosatom, has blocked that. "We will not allow the plan to include nuclear energy in the sanctions to be implemented," Orban said in the interview. "This is out of the question." (11:20 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Thursday's missile strike is proof of "everything we have been talking about with our partners". "This Russian aggression can and should be stopped only with adequate weapons. The terrorist state will not understand anything else. Weapons on the battlefield, weapons that protect our skies," he said. Zelenskyy added that partners must work "even harder" for a war crimes tribunal against Russia. "I am grateful to everyone in the world who is really fighting terror together with us, who is speeding up the supply of necessary defence equipment to Ukraine, and who is willing to increase sanctions pressure on the terrorist state," Zelenskyy said. (11:50 GMT) The new US ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, is expected to attend a meeting at the Russian foreign ministry next week, the RIA news agency said. The meeting comes as Moscow's relations with the US are at an all-time low. Last week, the Kremlin dismissed the idea that the two sides could turn things around during Biden's term in office, adding that there was "no hope" for improvement in the foreseeable future. (12:06 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has met Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki to shore up support for Russia, Eritrea's information minister says, adding that the talks focussed on the "dynamics of the war in Ukraine". Lavrov has been on a week-long tour of the continent, starting in South Africa to plan joint military drills with it and China and then finishing with a surprise visit to Eritrea. Eritrea is one of the few African countries that voted against a UN resolution condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lavrov's visit to Africa coincides with others by senior US officials who are crisscrossing the continent to shore up ties with US allies there. (12:30 GMT) Poland will send an additional 60 tanks to Ukraine on top of the 14 German-made Leopard 2 tanks it has already pledged, the Polish prime minister said in an interview with Canadian television. Warsaw, which has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest allies, had pressed hard for Germany to send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine and to allow other countries to do so as well, a demand which Berlin agreed on Wednesday. (12:54 GMT) A planned guest appearance by Zelenskyy at Italy's biggest showbiz event, the Sanremo Music Festival, is attracting criticism as Italian public support for Kyiv's war effort turns tepid. Zelenskyy is expected to participate briefly via video link on the closing night. "I expect songs from the Italian song festival, not something else," Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, the right-wing League party leader, said on the La7 TV channel. "If Zelenskyy has time ... to link up to the Sanremo festival, it's his choice," Salvini said, adding that he was not sure "how appropriate" it is to mix entertainment with talk of war. Other Italian politicians echoed Salvini's comments. (13:12 GMT) Any attempt to push Moscow out of international sports is "doomed to fail", Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says. Ukraine says it does not rule out boycotting the Olympic Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The International Olympic Committee, which is eager to see Russia and Belarus back in international competitions, has said the Olympic Council of Asia has offered Russian and Belarusian athletes the chance to compete in Asia, giving them a qualification pathway for the Paris Olympics. (13:28 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 338 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-338 (13:43 GMT) The RIA news agency reported that Russia's defence ministry carried out massive missile bombardment of Ukraine's energy infrastructure during the last 24 hours. It said that the same attacks had hit Ukrainian defence industry targets and that one of the attacks had disrupted a shipment of Western-made arms. (14:10 GMT) A 74-year-old Spanish man arrested for sending several letter bombs sent to institutions, including the prime minister's office and the Ukrainian Embassy in Madrid in late 2022, wanted to pressure Spain to drop its support for Ukraine, an investigating magistrate said. The man, Pompeyo Gonzalez Pascual, is under formal investigation over possible aggravated "terrorism charges", according to court documents. The suspect used Russian messaging apps such as VK and the encrypted email service Protonmail, which could indicate a risk of him fleeing to Russia, the magistrate added. "There is no indication that the person under investigation belongs to or collaborates with any terrorist gang or organised group," the statement said. (14:35 GMT) President Vladimir Putin spoke with top security officials about the status of Russia's efforts to legally expand the outer boundaries of its continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean. In 2021, Russia filed a submission to the UN seeking to redefine its continental shelf, which is believed to contain vast untapped oil and gas reservoirs. A continental shelf is an area of typically shallow water bordering a country's shoreline that is considered an extension of its territory. (14:53 GMT) Tennis star Novak Djokovic defended his father after a video showed him posing at the Australian Open with some holding Russian flags, saying he was "misused" by the individuals and that his family was against the war. "He [Srdjan] was passing through, made a photo, it has escalated. He was misused in this situation by this group of people," Djokovic told reporters. "I can't be angry with him or upset because I can say it was not his fault. He went out to celebrate with my fans. "After that, he felt bad and he knew how that's going to reflect on me, the whole media pressure and everything that has happened in the last 24-48 hours." The video led to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese reiterating support for Ukraine and criticising supporters of Russia's invasion. (15:14 GMT) How will Western tanks change the battlefield? Germany & US send tanks to Ukraine https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miISh7_r5lI (15:35 GMT) There is no basis for allegations that China provides aid to Russia, China's embassy in Washington said. The US Treasury sanctioned on Thursday the China-based Changsha Tianyi Space Science and Technology Research Institute Co Ltd, known as Spacety China, accusing it of providing radar satellite imagery over locations in Ukraine to a Russia-based technology firm. Chinese embassy spokesperson Liu Pengyu said China opposed unilateral sanctions and that Beijing is committed to dialogue for peace. "The allegation that China provides 'aid' to Russia has no factual basis, but is purely speculative and deliberately hyped up," he said. "The US must not undermine China's legitimate rights and interests in any form when handling the Ukraine issue and the US-Russia relations." (16:01 GMT) Russia's communications regulator Roskomnadzor says it has blocked the websites of the CIA and FBI, accusing the US government agencies of spreading false information, the state-owned TASS news agency reported. "Roskomnadzor has restricted access to a number of resources belonging to state structures of hostile countries for disseminating material aimed at destabilising the social and political situation in Russia," Roskomnadzor said in a statement published by Russian news agencies. TASS quoted Roskomnadzor as saying that the two websites had published inaccurate material and information that had discredited the Russian armed forces. In light of the invasion of Ukraine, Russia has made it a criminal offence to speak badly about its armed forces, which could result in up to five years in jail, while "false information" about the military carries a maximum sentence of 15 years. (16:23 GMT) Ukraine will need an additional $17bn in financing this year for energy repairs, de-mining and rebuilding infrastructure, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. He told a government meeting that five high-voltage substations across Ukraine were hit during Russia's air attacks on Thursday. (16:58 GMT) The latest wave of Russian shelling killed at least 10 Ukrainian and wounded 20 others, the office of Ukraine's president said. Six people died in the Donetsk region, two in Kherson, and two in the Kharkiv region. The attacks come a day after a Russian missile attack that left at least 11 people dead. (17:13 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki accused Russian President Putin of building "new camps" on Holocaust Remembrance Day. The prime minister did not elaborate on his accusation against Russia but it was a claim previously made by Zelenskyy last year. In an address in October, Zelenskyy spoke of Olenivka, "a concentration camp where our prisoners are kept". 17:27 GMT) Russia said that Latvia's ambassador had two weeks to leave the country after Latvia ordered the Russian ambassador to leave. "Latvia's ambassador Maris Riekstins was ordered to leave the Russian Federation within two weeks," the foreign ministry in Moscow said in a statement. Latvia's decision to downgrade ties would "have consequences", the ministry added. The latest expulsion comes after Russia downgraded diplomatic relations with Estonia, ordering its ambassador to leave the country on Monday. In retaliation, Estonia asked Russian ambassador to leave Tallinn. Latvia on Monday also ordered the Russian ambassador to leave and said it was downgrading diplomatic ties in solidarity with Estonia. Moscow has accused both Baltic countries of "total Russophobia" and taking "hostile steps against Russia". (17:41 GMT) European Union ambassadors discussed extending sanctions to Belarus, Moscow's ally, to crack down on Russian companies routing banned products through its neighbour. EU diplomats said the discussions were intended to align sanctions on Belarus closer to those on Russia. Among the proposals are restrictions on imports from Belarus of oil, coal and gold, as well as exports of certain machinery and technology that could be used by the military, officials said. An agreement will likely be made next week as discussions among EU countries would continue, according to an EU official. The official said the bloc was trying to strike a balance, making clear Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko's support for Moscow was unacceptable, while trying to not inflict too much hardship on the civilian population. (18:19 GMT) Ukraine said it was setting up drone assault companies within its armed forces as part of an idea to build up an "army of drones" that will be equipped with Starlink satellite communications. Commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi signed off on the creation of the units in a project that will involve several ministries and agencies, the General Staff said. "The most professional servicemen" have already been chosen to lead the companies, each of which will receive drones and ammunition, Starlink terminals and other equipment, it said on Facebook. "We are doing everything to provide soldiers with modern technologies," it said. Starlink is a satellite internet system operated by Elon Musk's SpaceX company, and widely used both by civilians and the military in Ukraine. (18:35 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy said the situation at the front remained extremely acute, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive. Zelenskyy in an evening address said Russian forces were not just storming Ukrainian positions but also destroying the towns and villages around them. Zelenskyy also invited the International Olympic Commission (IOC) President Thomas Bach to visit the front-line city of Bakhmut. "I am inviting Mr Bach to Bakhmut so that he can see for himself that neutrality does not exist," Zelenskyy said. "It is obvious that any neutral banner of Russian athletes is stained with blood." (18:53 GMT) The Ukrainian foreign ministry will summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about "unacceptable" remarks Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban made about Ukraine, a ministry spokesman said. Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook that Orban told reporters that Ukraine was a no man's land and compared it with Afghanistan. (19:45 GMT) A total of 321 heavy tanks have been promised to Ukraine by several countries, according to Ukraine's ambassador to France. "As of today, numerous countries have officially confirmed their agreement to deliver 321 heavy tanks to Ukraine," Ambassador Vadym Omelchenko said in an interview with French TV station BFM. "Delivery terms vary for each case and we need this help as soon as possible," he added. Omelchenko did not provide a breakdown of the number of tanks per country. (20:06 GMT) Ukraine will launch an international campaign to prevent Russian athletes from competing in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, President Zelenskyy said. "Today we will a start a marathon for fair play aimed at clearing the management of international Olympic structures of hypocrisy as well as [preventing] any attempts to drag representatives of the terrorist state into world sport," Zelenskyy said in a video address. "It is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian athletes would be stained with blood ... Olympic principles and war are fundamentally opposed to each other." Sport minister Vadim Guttsait earlier said Ukraine would not rule out boycotting the Games if Russian and Belarusian athletes took part. They have been banned in some sports while they are allowed to compete under a neutral flag in others. ... https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/germany-war-russia-baerbock "We are fighting a war against Russia", Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told the Council of Europe. 20230128 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/28/russia-ukraine-live-news-fierce-battle-in-eastern-vuhledar (07:24 GMT) Ukrainian troops were locked in a "fierce" confrontation with Russian soldiers for control of the town of Vuhledar southwest of Donetsk as the two sides battle along the southern front. Both sides claimed success in the small administrative centre of apartment blocks surrounded by flat fields, a short distance from the strategic prize of the village of Pavlivka. "The encirclement and subsequent liberation of this city solves many problems," said Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed leader of the Donetsk region. "Soon, Vugledar may become a new, very important success for us," he was quoted as saying by Russian news agencies. (07:26 GMT) Moscow says that Latvia's ambassador has two weeks to leave Russia, accusing the EU Baltic country of "total Russophobia". The latest expulsion comes after Russia downgraded diplomatic relations with Estonia earlier in the week and ordered its ambassador to leave the country, having made the same accusation against Tallinn. Estonia retaliated, asking the Russian ambassador to leave Tallinn, and in solidarity, Latvia also ordered the Russian ambassador to leave and said it was downgrading diplomatic ties. (07:29 GMT) President Zelenskiy has said the situation at the front remained extremely acute, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia is stepping up an offensive. Zelenskyy in an evening address said Russian forces were not just storming Ukrainian positions but also destroying the towns and villages around them. (08:00 GMT) The UK ministry of defence says Russia "highly likely" suffered more than 300 casualties in a strike on a military accommodation in the city of Makiivka near Donetsk city on January 1. If confirmed, the tool would represent one of the deadliest attacks on Russian forces since the start of the war. "We assess that the majority were likely killed or missing, rather than wounded," the British ministry said in its daily bulletin published on social media. Russia had previously said that 89 of its troops were killed in the attack. (08:06 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov will hold a meeting with Lynne Tracy, the new US ambassador to Moscow, early next week, the RIA news agency reports. Tracy arrived in Moscow earlier this week. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously said that the new US ambassador would not improve ties between the two countries because of what she called Washington's ongoing "hybrid war" against Russia. According to Ryabkov, the traditional presentation of copies of credential by Tracy is already agreed upon. "It will take place literally at the beginning of the week. It is expected that the transfer of copies of credentials by Ambassador Tracy will be made to me," he said. (09:11 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 339 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-339 (09:17 GMT) A senior Ukrainian presidential aide has slammed the International Olympic Committee accusing it of siding with Russia days after it said the Olympic Council of Asia had offered Russian and Belarusian athletes a chance to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. IOC "proposes to the world promotion of violence, mass murders, destruction", Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, adding. that is why "it insists Russian athletes should participate in contests as real 'ambassadors of death'". (09:28 GMT) Three people have been killed and at least two others wounded after Russian forces struck a residential neighbourhood in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka, the regional governor said. (11:10 GMT) Ukraine has said it would summon Hungary's ambassador to complain about a "completely unacceptable" remark Prime Minister Viktor Orban made about Ukraine. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko, writing on Facebook, said Orban had told reporters that Ukraine was a no man's land and compared it with Afghanistan. (11:57 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said before an EU-Ukraine summit next week that Kyiv had unconditional support from the bloc and that the country needed to prevail against Russian attacks to defend European values. "We stand by Ukraine's side without any ifs and buts," von der Leyen said in a speech on Saturday at an event of her party, the Christian Democratic Union of Germany, in Duesseldorf, Germany. Ukraine "is fighting for our shared values, it is fighting for the respect of international law and for the principles of democracy and that is why Ukraine has to win this war", she said. (12:13 GMT) The director of the Auschwitz Nazi death camp memorial has compared the recent killing of people in Ukraine by Russian forces with similar suffering experienced during World War II. Marking the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the camp, set up on Polish soil by Nazi Germany where more than 1.1 million people - most of them Jews - perished in gas chambers and from starvation, cold and disease, the memorial site's director compared Nazi crimes to those Russians have recently committed in Ukrainian towns such as Bucha and Mariupol. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/28/russias-megalomania-in-ukraine-war-cited-at-auschwitz-memorial (12:47 GMT) Ukraine's dairy factories struggle with ongoing power cuts Nearly half of Ukraine's power infrastructure has been damaged by Russian attacks. It has led to widespread energy shortages and power cuts, affecting people and businesses, including food and drink companies. Ukraine power cuts Impacts on dairy factories (14:22 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has once again called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headed by Thomas Bach not to allow Russian athletes to compete at Summer and Winter Games. "It is obvious that any neutral flag of Russian athletes is stained by blood," said the president on social media. (14:58 GMT) British intelligence has said Russia is deliberately misrepresenting the number of its casualties in its invasion of Ukraine. On Saturday, the Ministry of Defence in London pointed to an attack on a Russian military shelter in the Donetsk region on New Year's Eve. Russia reported the deaths of 89 soldiers. British intelligence reports, however, say it is highly likely that there were more than 300 victims. (15:39 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of striking a hospital in the eastern Luhansk region, leaving 14 dead and injuring 24 others. The ministry said in a statement that on Saturday morning in the town of Novoaidar, "the Ukrainian armed forces deliberately attacked the building of a district hospital" with a US-made HIMARS multiple-launch rocket system. The ministry added that 14 were killed and 24 wounded among the "hospital patients and medical staff." (16:38 GMT) Turkey and Sweden are again at odds as the Nordic country, along with Finland, attempts to join NATO. The latest blockade in negotiations came after a far-right activist destroyed a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. Turkey, like all NATO members holds a veto over Sweden's bid to join the alliance. Sweden and Turkiye Can they ovecome their differences? (17:04 GMT) Ukraine and its Western allies are engaged in "fast-track" talks on the possibility Kyiv receiving more long-range missiles and military aircraft, a top Ukrainian presidential aide has said. On an online video channel, Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to President Zelenskyy, said Ukraine's supporters in the West "understand how the war is developing" and the need to supply planes capable of providing cover for the armored fighting vehicles. Podolyak said that some of Ukraine's Western partners maintain a "conservative" attitude to arms deliveries, "due to fear of changes in the international architecture." (17:38 GMT) German arms-maker Rheinmetall is ready to greatly boost the output of tank and artillery munitions to satisfy strong demand in Ukraine and the West, CEO Armin Papperger has told Reuters. Rheinmetall makes a range of defence products but is probably most famous for manufacturing the 120mm gun of the Leopard 2 tank. Demand for certain munitions has surged both within Ukraine and as Western allies seek to backfill their own stocks. (18:14 GMT) Poland's armed forces recruited 13,742 new professional soldiers last year, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said. He added the number is a "record since the abolition of conscription". Compulsory service ended in Poland in 2008. Poland's armed forces have a total of 164,000 servicemen and women, including 36,000 members of volunteer homeland security units. Warsaw is currently raising investments in defence since the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine, with Poland's army due to expand to 250,000 professional soldiers and 50,000 homeland security members. (19:00 GMT) The US Department of the Treasury's top sanctions official will warn countries next week that they could lose access to G7 markets if they do business with entities subject to Washington's sanctions. Treasury official Brian Nelson will travel to Oman, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey the week of January 29 and meet with government officials, as well as businesses and financial institutions, according to a statement. "Individuals and institutions operating in permissive jurisdictions risk potentially losing access to G7 markets on account of doing business with sanctioned entities," the Treasury said. 20230129 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/29/germanys-scholz-says-he-will-continue-talks-with-putin Chancellor Olaf Scholz has again pushed back against demands in Germany and from Ukrainian officials for fighter jets to repel Russia's invasion, urging Western nations not to join a "bidding war" for sophisticated weapons. Last week, Germany announced it will deliver its Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine after weeks of pressure from NATO and European Union allies. "The fact we've only just made a decision [on sending tanks] and already the next debate [fighter jets] is firing up in Germany - that just seems frivolous and undermines people's trust in government decisions," said Scholz in an interview with the German newspaper Tagesspiegel on Sunday. "I can only advise against entering a bidding war over weapons systems." Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk has pressed Germany for dozens of its Tornado combat aircraft, and urged the international community to join a "fighter jet coalition" for his country. 20230130 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-fighting-donetsk-weapons-zelenskyy (06:53 GMT) Russian missiles have killed three people in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, while fighting rages in the eastern Donetsk region where Russia again shelled the key town of Vuhledar, Ukrainian officials said. (06:55 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is facing a difficult situation in Donetsk and needs faster supplies of weapons and new types of weaponry, just days after allies agreed to provide Kyiv with heavy battle tanks. (06:58 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister says "small steps" would be needed for Moscow and Washington to come closer to an agreement on bilateral issues, the RIA news agency reported. "We hope that the tactics of small steps will allow us to come to mutually acceptable solutions on the most important issues of the bilateral agenda," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency. (07:11 GMT) Zelenskyy says allowing Russia to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics would be like showing that "terror is somehow acceptable". He said he has written to French President Emmanuel Macron as part of his campaign to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Games. (07:33 GMT) Senior Chinese diplomat Wang Yi is set to visit Moscow in February, Russia's Vedomosti newspaper says, citing two sources. According to the newspaper, Wang may visit Russian President Vladimir Putin, one of the sources said. (08:03 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister says it is "quite possible" the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States would end after 2026. "This is quite a possible scenario," Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told the RIA news agency in an interview. US-Russia talks on resuming inspections under the New START treaty, which expires in February 2026, were called off at the last minute in November 2022. Neither side has agreed on a time frame for new talks. (08:26 GMT) Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson claims Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened him with a missile strike during a phone call in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said Putin had asked him about the prospects of Ukraine joining NATO, to which he had responded it would not be "for the foreseeable future". "He threatened me at one point, and he said, 'Boris, I don't want to hurt you but, with a missile, it would only take a minute' or something like that. Jolly," Johnson said, recalling the "very long" and "most extraordinary" call in February 2022 which followed a visit by the then-prime minister to Kyiv. (08:51 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine is expected to weigh on long-term energy demand and accelerate the world's shift to renewables and low-carbon power as countries boost domestic energy supplies, oil giant British Petroleum has said in a report. In its benchmark 2023 Energy Outlook, BP Plc said the Ukraine war will slow global economic activity by 2035 by about 3 percent compared with last year's forecast due to higher food and energy prices as well as reduced trade activity. (09:16 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 341 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-341 (09:21 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has signalled that Ankara could accept Finland into NATO before taking any action on the membership of its Nordic neighbour Sweden. Sweden and Finland applied last year to join NATO after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, dropping their longstanding military nonalignment. (09:35 GMT) Iran has summoned Ukraine's charge d'affaires in Tehran over comments by a Ukrainian official on a drone strike on a military factory in the central Iranian province of Isfahan, according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. A senior aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had linked the incident on Sunday directly to the war in Ukraine. Kyiv accuses Iran of supplying hundreds of drones to Russia. (09:53 GMT) An adviser to Ukraine's president has accused the International Olympic Committee (IOC) of being a "promoter of war" after the body said it would "explore a pathway" for athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international competitions as neutrals. "[The] IOC is a promoter of war, murder and destruction. The IOC watches with pleasure Russia destroying Ukraine and then offers Russia a platform to promote genocide and encourages their further killings," Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. "Obviously Russian money that buys Olympic hypocrisy doesn't have a smell of Ukrainian blood. Right, Mr. Bach?" he added, referring to IOC President Thomas Bach. Ukraine warned last week that it may boycott the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris if Russian and Belarusian athletes are allowed to compete. (10:17 GMT) When Russia invaded Ukraine, it expected a quick victory. But almost a year later, Moscow continues to spend huge sums to send more soldiers and equipment to the front lines. Meanwhile, international sanctions are also targeting its primary source of revenue: oil and gas exports. (10:20 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Boris Johnson of lying after the former British prime minister said President Vladimir Putin had threatened the United Kingdom with a missile strike during a phone call in the run-up to the invasion of Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that what Johnson said was not true, or "more precisely, a lie". Johnson, speaking to the BBC for a documentary, said the Russian leader had threatened him with a missile strike that would "only take a minute". (10:44 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged South Korea to increase military support to Ukraine, citing other countries that have changed their policy of not providing weapons to countries in conflict following Russia's invasion. "At the end of the day, it's a decision for you to make, but I'll say that several NATO allies who have had as a policy to never export weapons to countries in a conflict have changed that policy now," Stoltenberg said during a visit to Seoul. "If we don't want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they [Ukrainians] need weapons, that's the reality," he added. (11:35 GMT) Russia has moved additional forces and equipment to its western Kursk region on the border with Ukraine, according to the region's governor. Roman Starovoit was quoted by Russia's Interfax news agency as telling a regional government meeting that it was "necessary to provide comprehensive support for the reception, deployment and arrangement of additional forces" in the area. Local authorities say Kursk has repeatedly been subjected to Ukrainian shelling since Russia invaded its neighbour almost a year ago. Some of Russia's troops entered from the Kursk region, although the areas of northeastern Ukraine that they seized have since been retaken by Kyiv's forces. (12:04 GMT) Since the invasion of Ukraine in February, Russian-occupied territories there have experienced regular sabotage from the Ukrainian resistance. But in Russia and Belarus, a secret network of activists is also doing its best to slow down the Russian war machine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/25/russian-saboteurs-seek-to-hamper-putins-war-machine (12:18 GMT) Poland's prime minister has set out a plan to increase defence spending, saying the country needs to arm itself "faster" in light of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The country's defence budget will amount to 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) this year, Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters. Poland's military spending in 2022 equalled 2.4 percent of its GDP, the third highest percentage among NATO countries, according to figures from the transatlantic alliance. (12:33 GMT) Finland's foreign minister says it is maintaining its plan to join NATO at the same time as Nordic neighbour Sweden despite a potential Turkish block on the latter's bid. "Our strong wish is still to join NATO together with Sweden," Pekka Haavisto told a news conference in Helsinki. "I still see the NATO summit in Vilnius in July as an important milestone when I hope that both counties will be accepted as NATO members at the latest," Haavisto said. His remarks came after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signalled on Sunday that Ankara could agree to Finland joining NATO ahead of Sweden, amid growing tensions with Stockholm. Last week, Turkey suspended NATO talks with Sweden and Finland over protests in Stockholm that included the burning of a Koran. (12:48 GMT) Ukraine's president says he met with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in the southern Ukrainian region of Mykolaiv and discussed the impact of Russian missile and drone strikes with regional officials. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a Telegram post that he had "reviewed the state of the region's energy infrastructure, the means of its protection and the pace of recovery" during his talks with regional authorities. (13:20 GMT) Slovenian authorities have detained two men suspected of spying for the Russian military intelligence service, the Ljubljana-based Delo newspaper reported. Delo said the detainees were members of the Russian military intelligence organisation GRU and had false identities. The two had registered a real estate and antiques business in Ljubljana as a cover-up, with one holding Argentine citizenship, it added. Last April, Slovenia expelled 33 Russians working in the country's embassy following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (13:56 GMT) Liberation has not diminished the hardship for residents of Kalynivske, Ukraine, both those returning and the ones who never left. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/1/30/russians-gone-from-ukraine-village-fear-and-hardship-remain (15:05 GMT) Ukraine's military will spend nearly $550m on drones this year, and 16 supply deals have already been signed with Ukrainian manufacturers, the defence minister says. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used a wide array of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, for attacks and reconnaissance during 11 months of war. "In 2023, we are increasing the procurement of UAVs for the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Oleksii Reznikov said in a Facebook post. Ukraine has received significant supplies of drones from its partners, from Turkey's missile-equipped Bayraktar TB2 to the Norwegian-made Black Hornet reconnaissance drone, which weighs less than 33g. Kyiv is now seeking to boost domestic production to build what officials describe as an "army of drones". (15:29 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have held talks by phone on cooperation within the OPEC+ group of oil-producing countries to maintain oil price stability, the Kremlin says. The pair held the discussions as ministers from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies led by Russia, a group known collectively as OPEC+, prepare to hold a virtual meeting on Wednesday. Russian oil production has so far shown resilience in the face of Western sanctions imposed after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in February and price caps introduced by Western countries in December. (15:56 GMT) Tanks provided by the United Kingdom to Ukraine will be on the front line before summer, defence minister Ben Wallace says. Asked in parliament when the 14 Challenger 2 tanks London has agreed to supply would be deployed onto the battlefield, Wallace said: "It'll be this side of the summer or May. It'll be probably towards Easter time." He said security reasons prevented him from setting out the timetable of training for Ukrainian forces on using the tanks but it would begin with instruction on the operation of individual vehicles before progressing to how to fight in formation. The UK government said last week that its plan was for the Challenger 2 tanks to arrive in Ukraine by the end of March. (16:01 GMT) France and Australia have agreed to cooperate to manufacture "several thousands" of 155mm shells to help Ukraine, French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu says. Lecornu announced the aid after he met with his Australian counterpart, Richard Marles, who said the "multimillion-dollar" project to provide the shells would help ensure Ukraine "is able to stay in this conflict and ... see it concluded on its own terms". (16:35 GMT) Croatia's president has criticised Western nations for supplying Ukraine with heavy tanks and other weapons, saying such arms deliveries will only prolong the war. "I am against sending any lethal arms there," Zoran Milanovic told reporters in the Croatian capital. "It prolongs the war," he said, adding it was "mad" to believe that Russia could be defeated in a conventional war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/30/croatian-president-slams-western-arms-to-ukraine (17:22 GMT) Norway will send part of its fleet of German-made Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine "as soon as possible", indicating perhaps late March, its defence minister said. Norway was among several European countries that promised last week to deliver the tanks long sought by Ukraine in its battle against Russian forces, after Berlin gave its blessing despite fears of retaliation by Moscow. The country has 36 Leopard 2 tanks, but has not said how many it will provide to Kyiv. (17:39 GMT) The Ukrainian government has banned senior public servants and lawmakers including women from travelling abroad during the war with Russia. Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for Ukraine's border guard service, said that the measure - adopted last week - had entered force. "They can now only leave as part of a work mission," he said. Under the new measure, senior officials will only be able to travel abroad if they are visiting their children, or in the event of medical treatment or following the death of a loved one, he added. (18:42 GMT) How Putin made himself Maidan-proof by waging war on Ukraine https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2023/1/30/how-putin-made-himself-maidan-proof-by-waging-war-on-ukraine (19:05 GMT) Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen says the Israeli embassy in Kyiv would return to full capacity in the coming weeks and he would soon be the first minister from the Middle East to visit the Ukrainian capital. Cohen spoke at a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on a visit to Israel. (20:19 GMT) The Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, Oleksii Makeiev, has stressed how important fighter jets are in the war against Russia. "We have not yet asked Germany for fighter jets," Makeiev told the broadcaster Deutsche Welle. But they are important, he said, because they are needed to shoot down Russian missiles. (20:29 GMT) President Emmanuel Macron has said France doesn't exclude sending fighter jets to Ukraine, but he has laid out multiple conditions before such a significant step might be taken. France has sent Ukraine air defence systems, rocket launcher units, cannon and other military equipment and has pledged to send armored surveillance and combat vehicles, but it has stopped short of sending battle tanks or heavier weaponry. Asked at a news conference in The Hague if France is considering sending warplanes, Macron said "nothing is excluded" as long as certain conditions are met. The president said providing such equipment should not lead to an escalation of tensions, be used "to touch Russian soil" or "weaken the capacities of the French army". (20:40 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has rejected fierce criticism from Ukrainian officials, who have accused it of promoting war after the body said Russians could potentially be given the opportunity to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak at the weekend described the Lausanne-based body as promoting "violence, mass murders, destruction" and said a Russian presence at the games would constitute giving the country "a platform to promote genocide". "The IOC rejects in the strongest possible terms this and other defamatory statements," the IOC said in a statement. "They cannot serve as a basis for any constructive discussion." In his nightly video address, President Zelenskyy pledged to "protect sports structures and the international Olympic movement from being discredited through the efforts of some representatives of sports bureaucracy to allow Russian athletes at international competitions". 20230131 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/1/31/russia-ukraine-live-news-western-allies-at-odds-over-fighter-jets (07:27 GMT) The administrator of Russian-controlled parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province, Denis Pushilin, says Russian troops have secured a foothold in Vuhledar, a coal-mining town whose ruins have been a Ukrainian bastion since the outset of the war. Pushilin said Ukrainian forces were throwing reinforcements at Bakhmut, Maryinka and Vuhledar, towns running from north to south just west of Donetsk city. (07:27 GMT) A debate among Kyiv's allies over whether to provide fighter jets for its war against Russia has seen US President Joe Biden ruling out giving F-16s, while French and Polish leaders say "nothing is excluded" when it comes to military assistance. French President Emmanuel Macron said any such move would depend on several factors including the need to avoid escalation and assurances that the aircraft would not "touch Russian soil." Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in remarks posted on his website that any such transfer would take place "in complete coordination" with NATO countries. The debate comes days after the US and Germany agreed to send battle tanks to Ukraine following mounting pressure. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has agreed to supply Ukraine with Leopard 2 battle tanks, while Washington will send dozens of M1 Abrams tanks. Ukraine's defence minister Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is expected in Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron, amid a push by Kyiv to secure Western fourth-generation fighters like F-16s. Reznikov will also meet his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu. (07:42 GMT) Russian forces may be aiming to develop a new axis of advance into Donetsk, Britain said in a regular intelligence update, after having likely conducted attacks around the Ukrainian towns of Pavlivka and Vuhledar in the past three days. "There is a realistic possibility that Russia will continue to make local gains in the sector," the update added. "However, it is unlikely that Russia has sufficient uncommitted troops in the area to achieve an operationally significant breakthrough." (07:48 GMT) Russia's Gazprom's gas exports to the European Union via Ukraine have reached a record low of 951.4 million cubic metres in the first 30 days of January, Russian business newspaper Vedomosti has reported, citing Gazprom figures. Gazprom had shipped between 41-43 million cubic metres via Ukraine daily during the second half of 2022. However, from January 5, daily volumes began to fall sharply, with only 24.4 million cubic metres shipped daily by January 19. The decline is primarily the result of reduced demand for Russian gas in Europe amid an unusually warm and windy winter, Vedomosti reported. (08:01 GMT) The Belarusian defence ministry says Russia and Belarus have started a week-long session of staff training in preparation for joint drills in Russia in September. The two countries' military agencies will "train decision making in the use of the regional grouping of forces," the ministry said in a statement quoted by Russia's TASS news agency. In October, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced the launch of efforts to build a regional grouping of troops, the core of which consists of Belarusian servicemen. Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler says Ukraine is preparing for battle at the border with Russia's close ally, Belarus. (08:09 GMT) NATO will continue to strengthen its partnership with Japan amid the ongoing Ukraine war, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said ahead of a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. (08:27 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry has criticised Croatian President Zoran Milanovic for saying Crimea would never return to Ukrainian control, describing his comment as "unacceptable." In remarks on Monday detailing his objection to Zagreb providing military aid to Kyiv, Milanovic said it was "clear" that the Black Sea peninsula, which Russia seized from Ukraine in 2014, "will never again be part of Ukraine". "We consider as unacceptable the statements of the president of Croatia, who effectively cast doubt on the territorial integrity of Ukraine," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko wrote on Facebook. (09:15 GMT) The Interfax news agency reported that a Russian court fined the streaming service Twitch 4 million roubles ($57,000) for failing to remove "fakes" about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. Moscow has long objected to foreign tech platforms' content distribution that contravenes its restrictions and has seen Russian courts regularly impose penalties. (09:34 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 342 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-342 (09:56 GMT) In his nightly Telegram address, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he spoke to the Danish delegation about the country's defence needs, "about what can help us liberate our territory - our south, our east. And about our needs in the context of rebuilding Ukraine." "Russian terror must lose everywhere and in everything - both on the battlefield and in the absence of ruins in our country - so that we can rebuild everything and thus prove that freedom is stronger," he said. (10:17 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov had met with the new US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, and discussed arms control, the foreign ministry said. Last week the ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said that Tracy would not improve ties between the two countries because of what she called Washington's continuing "hybrid war" against Russia. (10:40 GMT) Last week, Germany approved the delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine as pressure mounted from Western allies. The US followed swiftly afterwards and signed off on M1 Abrams tanks that Kyiv desperately needs to aid its war efforts. Now the focus has shifted to the US-made F-16 fighter jets that President Joe Biden has already said will not be sent. But the jets, experts say, could change the dynamics of the battlefield in Ukraine's favour; however, they risk escalating the conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/31/f-16s-would-give-ukraine-an-advantage-but-risk-escalation (10:52 GMT) Russia says calls by Lithuania to supply Ukraine with fighter planes highlight the "extremely aggressive position" of the Baltic states and Poland and that "major European countries" should counteract this. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said that NATO should stop drawing "red lines" and supply Ukraine with whatever weapons it needed, including fighter jets and long-range missiles. The Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "In general, we see an extremely aggressive position from representatives of the Baltic countries and Poland. They are apparently ready to do anything to provoke the growth of further confrontation, with little regard for the consequences." He added: "Of course, it is very sad that under these conditions, the leaders of major European countries, who drive all European processes, unfortunately, do not play a balancing role." <=== (11:16 GMT) Japan and NATO plan to further strengthen their partnership as they share concerns over Russia's growing military cooperation with China, according to a joint statement issued by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. "The world is at a historical inflection point in the most severe and complex security environment since the end of World War II," the two leaders said in the statement. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/31/natos-stoltenberg-calls-for-stronger-partnership-with (11:37 GMT) Finnish, Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic unions will quit a global media federation in protest over "corruptive activity", including allowing Russian state media journalists in Ukraine to stay as members, the Finnish union said. The Nordic members also accused the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), which represents 600,000 journalists, of longstanding undemocratic practices and unethical finances. "We call this corruptive activity," Hanne Aho, the chairwoman of the Union of Journalists in Finland, told the Reuters news agency. "We have decided to resign together with the Norwegian, Danish and Icelandic unions. We will hand in our letters of resignation on Tuesday." Aho said the Nordic unions had for years tried to raise problems internally. Their last straw was the IFJ not taking action against the Russian Union of Journalists for setting up regional journalists' associations in Ukrainian territories invaded by Russia. (12:20 GMT) Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet with Republican lawmakers this week to pressure US allies to sustain aid to Ukraine. Johnson is scheduled to speak at a private Republican club in Washington on Tuesday evening, said Representative Joe Wilson, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. On Wednesday, Johnson will also discuss the need for "Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses" at the Atlantic Council think-tank. (12:37 GMT) Britain does not believe it is practical to send its fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. "The UK's ... fighter jets are extremely sophisticated and take months to learn how to fly. Given that, we believe it is not practical to send those jets into Ukraine," the spokesperson told reporters. "We will continue to discuss with our allies about what we think what is the right approach." (12:50 GMT) Russia will begin car inspections for weapons and explosives in regions with a high threat level, according to a presidential decree. The decree, published on the government's legislative portal, said that "inspections of vehicles using technical means for detecting weapons and explosives" would begin in regions where "a level of terrorist threat has been confirmed". Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the Russian government has designated a "yellow" threat level relating to confirmed information about a planned attack bordering or near Ukraine. Russian officials have repeatedly described artillery and air attacks against Russian territory as "terrorism" by Ukraine. (13:06 GMT) Russia says its forces have taken control of Blahodatne, a village north of Bakhmut. Blahodatne, about five kilometres north of Bakhmut, was captured with the help of aerial support, Moscow's defence ministry said. On Saturday, the Wagner Group said its forces had taken control of Blahodatne, but Kyiv said it had repelled an attack on the village. (13:23 GMT) Ukraine will receive 120 to 140 tanks in the "first wave" of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries, foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba said. Earlier this month, Ukraine secured pledges from a group of Western countries to supply main battle tanks to help Kyiv's forces fight back against Russia. "The tank coalition now has 12 members. I can note that in the first wave of contributions, the Ukrainian armed forces will receive between 120 and 140 Western-model tanks," Kuleba said during an online briefing. (14:11 GMT) Russian tech giant Yandex reports that fragments of its code had been leaked online, with a preliminary investigation revealing violations of some of its internal policies. "The company is taking this matter extremely seriously and has initiated a thorough investigation into the cause, content and implications of the leak," Yandex's Dutch holding company said in a statement. "Many of these and other issues which came to light following the code leak have already been fixed or are in the process of being fixed," it said. Since Russia invaded Ukraine last February, many Russian companies and news websites have suffered sporadic hacking attempts. (14:27 GMT) A former Wagner Group member seeking asylum in Norway has apologised to Ukrainians living in the Scandinavian country, who object to his presence there. "I'm a scoundrel to you, but I only ask you to take into account that I have come to realise that, albeit belatedly, and I spoke against all that," Andrey Medvedev said in an excerpt from his interview with Norwegian broadcaster NRK. (14:44 GMT) According to a posting by the US Department of Commerce, seven Iranian entities were added to its trade blocklist for contributing to Russia's military efforts by helping with the production of drones. The entities are Design and Manufacturing of Aircraft Engines, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organisation, Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company, Paravar Pars Company, Qods Aviation Industry, and Shahed Aviation Industries. (15:03 GMT) Ukraine hopes to secure widespread international support for banning Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics, the sport minister said. Last week, the International Olympic Committee backed a proposal by the Olympic Council of Asia to allow Russia and Belarus to compete in Asia, which could potentially include Olympic qualifying events. "This is unacceptable for us," sport minister and former Olympic champion Vadym Huttsait told the Reuters news agency. (15:20 GMT) French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said, "there is no taboo" when asked about supplying fighter jets to Ukraine. Lecornu reiterated France's position regarding supplying arms to Ukraine, saying it should not weaken France's defence capacity, that it should help Ukraine and that the weapons be used only by Ukraine to defend itself. Lecornu was speaking after meeting with his Ukrainian counterpart Oleksiy Reznikov in Paris. France will send 12 additional Caesar howitzers to Ukraine, French defence minister Sebastien Lecornu said. He added that France would also send 150 army staff to Poland to train up to 600 Ukrainian soldiers a month. Adding to 18 already delivered, the artillery pieces would be financed from a 200 million euro ($217m) fund France set up to fund arms for Kyiv, Lecornu said in a joint Paris news conference with his Ukrainian counterpart. (15:54 GMT) The US Department of the Treasury said that is no indication that US funds have been misused in Ukraine. However, it would continue to work closely with authorities to ensure appropriate safeguards were in place. This is the Treasury's first comment after Ukraine's government dismissed several senior officials last week following corruption allegations. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/24/ukraines-zelenskyy-renews-war-on-corruption-amid-scandals (16:11 GMT) Russia says it welcomes moves by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to allow its athletes to compete in the Olympics after the world's top sport body looked at options for their return to international events. "Certainly, there is some attempt by the International Olympic Committee to allow our athletes to participate in international competitions," Stanislav Pozdnyakov, head of Russia's Olympic Committee, told reporters. "Maybe in the future Olympic Games as well, of course, we welcome it entirely," he added while cautioning against what he said were "additional conditions" imposed on Russian athletes. (16:29 GMT) A draft document showed that the European Union and Ukraine intend to increase cooperation in renewable energy and hydrogen after Russian attacks have severely damaged energy systems. (16:49 GMT) Ukraine protested Hungary's ambassador over "disparaging" comments by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban and urged Budapest to stop its anti-Ukrainian rhetoric. "The Hungarian side was urged to stop this negative trend in order to avoid irreparable consequences for the relations between the two countries," the foreign ministry said after summoning the Hungarian ambassador. (17:15 GMT) Lithuania's foreign minister has urged European Union countries not to host Russian ambassadors, as diplomatic tensions between the Baltics and Moscow rise following the invasion of Ukraine. "There is little use in having an ambassador, a Russian ambassador, in any European capital," Gabrielius Landsbergis told a news conference in Riga. "In most cases it's no longer a diplomatic institution, it's an institution of propaganda, covering up crimes of war and in general promoting a genocidal agenda," he said. (17:32 GMT) The Dutch government has called on semiconductor makers in the Netherlands to do more to prevent their chips from ending up in Russia in violation of international sanctions. A report by the national broadcaster NOS found that millions of Dutch-made chips have made their way to Russia since it invaded Ukraine on February 24, mostly by way of intermediate traders in China. Chipmakers active in the Netherlands include NXP Semiconductors and Nexperia, owned by Wingtech Technology of China. (17:50 GMT) US President Joe Biden has said he will be discussing Ukraine's latest requests for advanced weaponry to defend against Russia with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "We're going to talk," Biden told reporters, speaking the morning after he answered with an emphatic "no" when asked at the White House whether he favoured sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. Most recently, the United States and Germany agreed to send advanced tanks, following the earlier lead of Britain. Now, Ukraine is pressuring for fighter jets and long-range missiles that could hit Russian targets far behind the front lines. (18:11 GMT) Britain has trumpeted new legislation requiring property-ownership disclosure aimed at cracking down on Russian oligarchs and corrupt elites laundering illicit wealth. Foreign companies holding UK property have until the end of Tuesday to identify their "beneficial owners" in a new public register, making Britain one of the first countries to do so. Only four Russian nationals appeared on the register as of Tuesday morning. They were: Vladimir Potanin, one of Russia's wealthiest businessmen; Russia's former first deputy prime minister Igor Shuvalov and his wife; and Alexander Frolov, the former chief executive officer of Evraz, a Russian steel and mining company. Absent from the register as of Tuesday morning were some sanctioned Russians who have been linked to UK properties, including Roman Abramovich. (18:35 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, presidential adviser to Zelenskyy, has urged western allies to provide more military support amid renewed calls from top Ukrainian officials for fighter jets. Podolyak posted to Twitter that some EU representatives "believe Ukraine shouldn't be given weapons as the war will spread to Europe". But, he said: "War is already in the center of Europe." He also warned that if Ukraine does not get weapons the war will spread to the EU because Russia "won't stop the expansion". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/31/f-16s-would-give-ukraine-an-advantage-but-risk-escalation Air defence experts say US-built F-16 fighter jets would offer Ukraine an edge over the Russian air force, but only if combined with powerful missiles and targeting information which the West would also have to provide, drawing it more actively into the war. (19:08 GMT) From NATO's secretary general to the Ukrainian president, the war in Ukraine dominates the publicly known names submitted by Tuesday's deadline for the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize. The list of nominees submitted to the committee is kept secret for at least 50 years, in line with Nobel statutes. But those eligible to nominate people - including former laureates, lawmakers and cabinet ministers from any country in the world, and some university professors - are free to reveal the name of the person or organisation they have proposed. Most of the names that have been publicly disclosed so far are involved in the nearly year-long conflict that has been raging in Ukraine, or are opponents of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Lawmaker Christian Tybring-Gjedde, from Norway's populist Progress Party, hinted on Facebook shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 that he would nominate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He has also proposed fellow Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg, whom he says "deserves the prize for his exemplary work as NATO secretary general at a difficult time for the alliance: a brutal and unprovoked offensive against a peaceful neighbouring country". (19:28 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has insisted that the sporting sanctions on Russia and Belarus, imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, were "non-negotiable". The IOC said the rules banning Russians from competing in the Paris 2024 Games under the Russian flag, anthem or colours would remain in place. From its own territory and that of Belarus, Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, three days after the closing ceremony of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games, in violation of the Olympic truce and charter. The IOC duly sanctioned Moscow and Minsk. However, the IOC said last week it was examining a "pathway" for Russians to take part in the Paris Olympics, probably as neutral athletes rather than under their national flag. That announcement sparked an immediate backlash from Kyiv. Ukraine has threatened to boycott the Summer Games if Russians are allowed to compete. (19:49 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will try to revitalise some topics of discussion during an upcoming trip to China and will bring up the war in Ukraine, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has said. (20:14 GMT) The United States has put new trade restrictions on seven Iranian entities for producing drones that Russia has used to attack Ukraine, the US Department of Commerce has said. (20:37 GMT) Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met Republican legislators, pressing the United States to sustain aid to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia's assault. Johnson spoke with US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, the top Republican, in his office and is scheduled to speak at a private Republican club in the evening. On Wednesday, Johnson will discuss the need for "Western unity and support for Ukraine and what more can be done against the threat Russia poses" at the Atlantic Council think tank. The Republicans took over the House from the Democrats at the start of this year and some hardline members among the Republicans have called for an end to US military and other assistance to Ukraine, which amounts to tens of billions of dollars. "I am here primarily to recognise and pay tribute to the immense US contribution to the security of the Ukrainian people," Johnson said in a statement. <=== (20:47 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister has announced that a summit with the European Union will take place in Kyiv on Friday that would send a "powerful signal" to Moscow and the world, almost a year after Russia launched its invasion. "The Ukraine-EU summit will be held in Kyiv on February 3," Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told a government meeting, calling the event "extremely important" for Kyiv's bid to join the European bloc. "The fact that this summit will be held in Kyiv is a powerful signal to both partners and enemies." No details were provided on who would be attending on the European Union side. (07:35 GMT) Here's a quick roundup of the latest from the battlefield in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region: * The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut came under renewed fire as did Klishchiivka and Kurdyumivka, villages on the southern approaches to the town. * Bakhmut has suffered a relentless bombardment for months, as Russian forces resorted to the same destructive tactics they used to capture two cities further north - Severodonetsk and Lysychansk - in June and July. * Kyiv's military general staff says Russian forces have made no headway in attempts to advance on Avdiivka, the second focal point of Russian attacks in the Donetsk region. * Russian forces also tried to advance near Lyman, a town further north in the Donetsk region that was recaptured by Ukrainian forces in October, the military said. * Russia was reaching further west in Donetsk by firing on the town of Vuhledar and a half dozen other towns and villages, the Ukraine military said. Vuhledar is about 148km southeast of the main fighting in and around Bakhmut. * Britain's Ministry of Defence said the Russian force in the new Vuhledar assault was at least the size of a brigade, a unit typically comprising several thousand troops. (07:38 GMT) The US has accused Russia of violating the New START treaty, the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries, saying Moscow was refusing to allow inspection activities on its territory. The treaty came into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia can deploy, and the deployment of land and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them. "Russia's refusal to facilitate inspection activities prevents the United States from exercising important rights under the treaty and threatens the viability of US-Russian nuclear arms control," a State Department spokesperson said in emailed comments to Reuters. Russian ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying that "arms control cannot be isolated from geopolitical realities" and Russia saw it as inappropriate to invite the US military to its strategic facilities at the moment. (07:50 GMT) Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he was willing to serve as a mediator in the Ukraine war, following US calls for more active involvement. "I've been around long enough to know that there has to be a right time and the right circumstances. If they arise, I'll certainly consider it," Netanyahu told CNN. The Israeli leader said he believed the Ukraine war was of "monumental importance" but added: "We have our own back yard to deal with." He also said that Israel was "certainly looking into" providing military assistance to Ukraine. So far, Netanyahu made no firm commitments to Kyiv, while preserving a relationship with Russia, which controls the skies in neighbouring Syria and has turned a blind eye to Israeli attacks on targets of arch-nemesis Iran. He also confirmed that the US has shifted a little-known stockpile of artillery it stations in Israel to Ukraine and he cast the Jewish state's own operations against Iran as part of a similar effort. "The US just took a huge chunk of Israel's munitions and passed it on to Ukraine. Israel also, frankly, acts in ways that I will not itemise here against Iran's weapons productions which are used against Ukraine," he said. (08:00 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says some of the war's most intense shelling has likely taken place along the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine in recent days. Attacks "included continued Russian shelling of Kherson city with artillery firing from the east of the river", the ministry said in its daily bulletin. (08:07 GMT) Spain plans to send between four and six German-built Leopard 2A4 tanks to Ukraine, El Pais newspaper reported, citing unidentified government sources. (08:39 GMT) Russian forces have killed at least four people in the Donetsk region as several villages came under Russian fire, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has said in a situational update on his Telegram channel. Among other villages, Kyrylenko mentioned attacks in Vuhledar and Novoukranka in the past 24 hours. (08:46 GMT) Prominent Russian journalist Alexander Nevzorov was sentenced in absentia to eight years in jail by a Moscow court after it found him guilty of spreading 'fake news' about the Russian army, state media reported. Investigators opened a case against Nevzorov last year for posts on social media in which he accused Russia's armed forces of deliberately shelling a maternity hospital in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, an assertion Moscow said was false. Nevzorov's wife wrote on Instagram in March that she and her husband were in Israel. (08:56 GMT) Yan Gagin, an aide to senior Russian-installed official Denis Pushilin, says that Russian forces are encircling Bakhmut and are battling to take control of the highway that connects the city to the nearby town of Chasiv Yar. "Bakhmut is now operationally surrounded, our forces are closing the ring around the city," Gagin said on state television. "Fighting for control of the Chasiv Yar-Bakhmut highway is now underway," he added. (09:19 GMT) The US is readying more than $2bn worth of military aid for Ukraine that is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time as well as other munitions and weapons, according to a report by the Reuters news agency. The aid is expected to be announced as soon as this week, Reuters reported, citing two US officials briefed on the plan. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/1/us-readying-new-2-billion-ukraine-weapons-package-report (09:32 GMT) Sergei Naryshkin, the head of Russia's SVR Foreign Intelligence Service, has accused NATO of "raising the stakes" in Ukraine by supplying Kyiv with additional military support, including more advanced weapons. "They still have dreams of a strategic defeat over Russia," Naryshkin said in a televised interview with the state-run RIA news agency. "But this will not happen," he added. (09:43 GMT) Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen has arrived in Kyiv ahead of expected talks with his Ukrainian counterpart. "After almost one year of war, Ukraine is not forgotten. Together with President Zelenskyy and the brave people of Ukraine - we stand for European values," Van der Bellen said in a post on Twitter. (09:46 GMT) A guard told me, 'We will shoot you': Life in a Donetsk prison Natalya Zelenina, a Ukrainian social worker, was imprisoned by Russia-backed separatists in grim, gruelling conditions for five years. But on October 17, she was among 108 women freed from captivity in a prisoner exchange. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/1/life-as-a-imprisoned-social-worker-in-donetsk (09:59 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak says Ukraine is "in talks" with its allies over the supply of "longer-range missiles and attack aircraft" to help repel Russian forces. "Each war stage requires certain weapons. The concentration of RF's [the Russian Federation's] reserves in the occupied territories requires specifics from Ukraine and its partners," Podolyak said in a post on Twitter. "So: 1. There is already a tank coalition (logistics, training, supply). 2. There are already talks on longer-range missiles & attack aircraft supply," he added. (10:11 GMT) The Kremlin has welcomed a Russian company's offer of "bounty payments" for soldiers who destroy Western-made tanks on the battlefield in Ukraine, saying it would spur Moscow's forces to victory. The Russian company Fores this week offered 5 million roubles ($72,000) in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture US-made Abrams or German Leopard 2 tanks in Ukraine. (10:26 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara looks positively on Finland's application for NATO membership but does not support Sweden's bid. "Sweden should not bother to try at this point. We will not say 'yes' to their NATO application as long as they allow burning of the Quran," Erdogan said in a speech to his AK Party deputies in parliament. Last week, Turkey suspended NATO talks with Sweden and Finland over protests in Stockholm that included the burning of a Quran. (10:54 GMT) Belarus says it has taken Russian Iskander ballistic missile systems into service after its operators had received training in Russia. The missiles are capable of hitting targets at a range of up to 500km, the Belarusian defence ministry said. "Having completed the theoretical course, the artillerymen carried out practical training at the Belarusian firing ranges," it added. (11:10 GMT) Ukrainian security officials have raided the home of billionaire businessman Ihor Kolomoiskiy in what several media outlets said was an investigation into possible financial crimes. David Arakhamia, head of the Servant of the People party's parliamentary faction, said there were also searches at Ukraine's Tax Office and that the management team of the Customs Service would be dismissed. "The country will change during the war. If someone is not ready for change, then the state itself will come and help them change," he said in a Telegram post. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says it has uncovered embezzlement worth more than $1bn at two oil companies which until November were partly owned by billionaire Ihor Kolomoiskiy. (11:15 GMT) The Kremlin says the US will escalate the war in Ukraine, albeit not change its course, if it supplies Ukraine with longer-range rockets as part of a new package of military aid reportedly being readied. "Yes, this is a direct way to escalate tensions, to increase the level of escalation, we can see that," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. (11:57 GMT) Latvia will not send its athletes to an Olympic Games that includes Russian and Belarusian nationals while the war in Ukraine continues, a spokesperson for the country's Olympic committee has said. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said last week it is open to including Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals at the 2024 Paris Games and has opened a door to them competing in qualifiers. "If we need to make a decision now, of course, we will not go to such a competition," the spokesperson for Latvia's Olympic committee told the Reuters news agency. "But the Paris Games is a year and a half away. We will see what happens in Ukraine - we hope the Ukrainian people will win this war, and we will be in a new situation." (12:20 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda says his US counterpart Joe Biden will likely visit Central Europe in February as the war in Ukraine nears the one-year mark. "The president will most likely be coming to our part of Europe in February," Duda said during a news conference in Riga, Estonia. "Our part of Europe means Central Europe ... this is an area stretching from Romania to Estonia." (14:33 GMT) Ukraine's energy minister says the country has sufficient gas reserves to see it through the winter despite a months-long Russian campaign of drone and missile strikes on its critical infrastructure. "These are sufficient volumes to get through and complete this very difficult heating season for our country," German Galushchenko said in a statement. About 11 billion cubic metres of gas was in storage as of Wednesday, and Ukraine also has 1.2 million tonnes of coal for its power plants, Galushchenko said. (15:10 GMT) Sweden's government should "act differently" if it wants to clinch Turkish support for its bid to join NATO, Hungary's foreign minister has said, adding that a recent Quran-burning protest outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm was "unacceptable". Peter Szijjarto made the remark at a news conference following talks with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Hungary's capital Budapest. Both diplomats addressed a January 21 anti-Turkish protest in Sweden that increased tensions between Ankara and Stockholm. "As a Christian and as a Catholic, I must say that burning of a holy book of another religion is an unacceptable act," Szijjarto said. He also criticised a statement by Sweden's prime minister that while the burning of the Quran was inappropriate and "deeply disrespectful", it fell under Swedish freedom of speech protections. "Stating that the burning of a sacred book is part of freedom of speech is just plain stupidity," Szijjarto said, adding that "perhaps they [Sweden] should act differently than that" if they want to secure Ankara's backing. (15:35 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a government meeting that shelling of Russian regions from Ukraine must not be permitted, according to reports by state media outlets. "The priority task is to eliminate the very possibility of shelling, but this is the business of the military department," Putin was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency. (16:23 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said that Ukrainian lives will be saved by a sophisticated air-defence radar that France is supplying to Kyiv. Speaking through an interpreter at a handover ceremony for the radar with his French counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov described the French-made GM200 as a "very effective" improvement for Ukraine's network of about 300 different types of air-defence radars. Thales, the manufacturer, says the radar detects and tracks rockets, artillery and mortar shells, missiles, aircraft, drones and other threats. (16:49 GMT) The United States has imposed sanctions on 22 individuals and entities in multiple countries that Washington accused of being tied to a global sanctions evasion network supporting Russia's military-industrial complex. The move, which comes as Washington looks to increase pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, is part of US efforts to target sanctions evasion around the world and limit Russia's access to revenue it needs for the war, the US Department of the Treasury said in a statement. The action targeted a sanctions evasion network that the Treasury said is led by Russia and Cyprus-based arms dealer Igor Zimenkov, who - along with his son, Jonatan - were hit with the new measures. (17:09 GMT) Germany needs to quickly order new Leopard tanks to replace those going to Ukraine, Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has said, adding he did not care where the money came from. "For me, the crucial fact is that we have to order new tanks, not in a year but swiftly so that production can begin," he told reporters on a visit to a tank battalion in the western town of Augustdorf that was chosen to supply 14 of its Leopard 2 tanks to Kyiv. "Where the money will come from? Let me casually put it like this: Frankly, I don't care. It is essential that we can provide them (the tanks) quickly," Pistorius added. (17:23 GMT) Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina has voiced strong opposition to the possible participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year's Olympics in Paris. Athletes from the two countries are banned from most major sports events in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine but while continuing sanctions against the two countries the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is considering allowing their athletes back as neutrals at events including the 2024 Games. (17:49 GMT) A Russian government commission has approved the sale of telecoms company Vimpelcom to senior managers by its Dutch owner Veon, the Russian economic news outlet RBC reported, citing two unnamed sources. Veon said in November that it would sell Vimpelcom to a team led by CEO Aleksander Torbakhov for 130 billion roubles ($2.2 billion), joining a long list of Western companies that have sold up in Russia. The disposal is notable in that Veon, unlike many Western investors, is receiving money for its asset - one that accounts for about half of Veon's revenue. (18:17 GMT) Britain has not made a "solid decision" not to send its fighter jets to Ukraine but does not think it is the right approach at the moment, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said. (19:08 GMT) Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom says his country is implementing an initial deal agreed with Turkey on its NATO membership but that compromises on freedom of expression are not part of the pact. Turkey, having signed a memorandum at a NATO summit last year to clear the way for Sweden and Finland to join, has been angered by a series of protests in Sweden against Turkey and its president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Right-wing Danish-Swedish politician Rasmus Paludan set a Quran on fire in one protest, and Erdogan has now held out the prospect that Turkey could allow Finland to join, but not Sweden. (19:26 GMT) Russian troops are trying to gain ground near the strategic town of Lyman as fierce fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar says. (19:30 GMT) International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol says he does not expect major supply problems or disruptions from a European Commission proposal to set price caps on Russian oil products. "There might be some transition difficulties, but we know that the second half of this year, a significant amount of new refinery capacity will come on line and we will see a lot of rerouting of the product around the world, and as a result, I don't expect a major disruption," Birol told reporters in Ottawa. (19:38 GMT) Germany's defence minister has shown off the tanks Berlin is preparing to send to Kyiv but recognised a "bitter loss" for the under-equipped German military. The arms delivery announced last week is necessary so the "Ukrainians win the war", Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on a visit to army barracks in Augustdorf. But for the roughly 550 soldiers in the battalion stationed in the northwestern German town, the loss of 14 of their Leopard 2 tanks would be deeply felt, Pistorius said. "Their hearts bleed at the idea that these tanks have to be given up, but they understand that is the way it is," he said. "Ukraine needs all the support we can give it." (20:18 GMT) A senior Ukrainian lawmaker has called for the United States to impose secondary sanctions on China and India if they keep buying Russian energy, urging total solidarity against Moscow's invasion. On a visit to Washington, Oleksandr Merezhko, who heads the foreign affairs committee in Ukraine's parliament, also called for greater ties with Taiwan, the self-governing democracy claimed by Beijing. Merezhko said he has faced criticism at home that a tougher stance on oil purchases could push China to step up support to Russia, with Beijing for now stopping short of military assistance to Moscow. (07:20 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Russia has amassed thousands of soldiers and could launch a major new offensive to mark the anniversary of the initial invasion on February 24. (07:29 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have picked up momentum on the battlefield in the east as they push for gains that they could show on the first anniversary of their invasion. He said Moscow was determined to make progress north and south of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, before Ukraine gets newly pledged Western battle tanks and armoured vehicles. (07:39 GMT) At least three people have been killed and 20 injured after a Russian missile destroyed one apartment building and damaged seven in Kramatorsk, about 55 km northwest of Bakhmut, police has said. (07:54 GMT) Russia's role as a reliable arms exporter is highly likely being undermined by its invasion of Ukraine and international sanctions, the British defence ministry has said. "Russia will almost certainly prioritise deploying newly produced weapons with its own forces in Ukraine over supplying export partners," it said in its latest intelligence update. Its ability to sustain support services for existing export contracts, such as providing spare parts and maintenance, will likely be disrupted for at least three to five years, it added. (07:59 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Kyiv for meetings intended to highlight support for Ukraine as the first anniversary of Russia's invasion nears. Von der Leyen and the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, are scheduled to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday. (08:07 GMT) At least seven people have died in a fire in Crimea after flames ripped through temporary accommodation housing construction workers on the outskirts of the city of Sevastopol, Russian-installed officials have said. Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Russian-appointed governor, said the fire had broken out in a two-storey dormitory housing construction workers for the Tavrida highway, a new road linking the Crimean cities of Sevastopol and Simferopol. He said in a post on his Telegram channel that the fire had been put out by Thursday morning. Citing local law enforcement agencies, the state-run TASS news agency said the blaze broke out overnight as a result of an electrical appliance short-circuiting. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said it had opened an investigation into the cause of the fire and that investigators were working on the site. (08:17 GMT) Shell has marked a record profit in 2022 following a surge in energy prices linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Annual profit more than doubled from a year earlier, reaching just under $40 billion and far exceeding the previous record of $31 billion in 2008. The British company's record earnings mirror those reported by US rivals earlier this week and are likely to intensify pressure on governments to raise taxes on the sector. (08:32 GMT) Ukraine has launched coordinated searches of residences linked to a divisive oligarch and former interior minister as well as tax offices, as it seeks to expand a clampdown on corruption and fulfil EU accession requirements. The searches come ahead of a key summit with the EU on Friday and appeared to be part of a push by Kyiv to reassure military and financial donors in European capitals and Washington that Ukraine is tackling systemic graft. The searches have targeted influential billionaire Igor Kolomoisky and former interior minister Arsen Avakov, according to the head of Zelenskyy's party, David Arakhamia. Law enforcement also raided tax offices in the capital and senior customs officials were fired. (08:42 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused the United States of direct involvement in the explosions that severely damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines linking Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea in September. Lavrov provided no evidence for his claim during an interview on state TV. President Vladimir Putin has previously accused Britain of blowing up the pipelines, which London denied. (09:14 GMT) Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow has plans to overshadow pro-Ukrainian events arranged by Western allies to mark the anniversary of February 24. Lavrov said Russian diplomats were working on something to ensure Western-led events in New York and elsewhere were "not the only ones to gain the world's attention". Russia will emerge from the current situation stronger and better able to defend itself, says Sergey Lavrov. In an interview on state TV, Lavrov said Russia was ready for peace in Ukraine but that you must be prepared to defend yourself if you want peace. (09:53 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 344 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-344 (10:45 GMT) Zelenskyy has called the missile attack on an apartment building in Kramatorsk the "daily reality of our country". "A country bordering absolute evil. And a country that has to overcome it in order to reduce to zero the likelihood of such tragedies happening again," Zelenskyy said in his daily late-night address. (10:51 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow does not need any help from its ex-Soviet allies for its military campaign in Ukraine. Lavrov said Russia had everything it needed for the conflict and had not asked members of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) to support its war efforts. The CSTO is a Moscow-led alliance that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. (11:21 GMT) Norway will increase spending from its sovereign wealth fund in the coming years to fund military and civilian aid to Ukraine, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told parliament. The Nordic country's $1.3 trillion wealth fund has seen a sharp rise in revenue inflows as the price of Norwegian oil and gas exports soared following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (11:49 GMT) Zelenskyy calls for more sanctions against Russia and said he had discussed a new EU package of measures with the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. At a joint news conference in Kyiv with von der Leyen, Zelenskyy said the speed of the EU sanctions campaign against Russia had "slightly slowed down" and should be stepped up. (12:04 GMT) Belarus's defence ministry says it has completed a two-week-long joint air force drill with Russian forces. A flurry of joint military activity in Belarus has prompted fears in Kyiv and the West that Moscow could prepare to involve Minsk in the conflict. The ministry said a wide range of tasks had been completed during the drills, which it added were "exclusively defensive in nature". (12:36 GMT) The Brussels-based think tank, Bruegel, said the EU should extend a target to cut gas demand by at least six months to October this year to ensure there is enough for next winter. EU countries agreed last year to reduce natural gas demand by 15 percent between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023, compared with the average of the same period in the previous five years. "Assuming limited Russian exports continue, and weather conditions are typical, demand up to October 1, 2023 must remain 13 percent lower than the previous five-year average," Bruegel said. Bruegel's analysis showed that if Russian gas transit through Ukraine were to halt, demand savings would need to rise to 17 percent and extend to 20 percent if all Russian pipeline gas exports cease, including via Turkey. (12:57 GMT) President Vladimir Putin is expected to use an event to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany to rally Russians around his military campaign in Ukraine later on Thursday. Putin is due to give a speech in Volgograd, a city in the south of Russia, which until 1961 was called Stalingrad and the site of the bloodiest battle of World War II when the Soviet Red Army broke advancing German forces. (13:36 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said not to exaggerate the role of the US mercenary group Mozart in Ukraine. Commenting on reports of the groups' rebranding, Peskov said, "I suggest not to exaggerate the importance of such a PMC [private military company]. We are not aware of any significant role played by such a PMC, with this name." Last week, Ukrainian news portal strana.ua, citing Mozart's founder Andrew Milburn, said the Mozart Group is ceasing operations in Ukraine under this name, and its contractors will operate under a new one. In January, the British newspaper, The Telegraph, said Mozart expects to receive a contract from the Ukrainian army for "military training". (14:17 GMT) Former Russian President and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, says Russia's arms suppliers would "significantly" increase their deliveries in 2023 to help its forces inflict a "crushing defeat" on Ukraine. "Our armed forces regularly receive full supplies of various types of missiles. The delivery of all kinds of military hardware will increase significantly in 2023," Medvedev said in a post on social media. Medvedev, who was pictured inspecting missiles during a visit to an arms production factory, said fresh supplies would enable Russia to "inflict a crushing defeat on the Ukrainian neo-Nazis who have been fed weapons by a variety of Western scum". (14:41 GMT) Ukraine hopes to start talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a financing programme in a few months, the Interfax news agency quoted Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko as saying. The IMF approved a four-month monitoring programme for Ukraine in December to maintain its economic stability after Russia's invasion and help promote donor financing. The government estimated it needs $38bn to cover its budget deficit this year and $17bn to make urgent repairs to energy and other infrastructure. (15:23 GMT) Putin compared the fight against Ukraine and its Western allies to Russia's victory against Nazi Germany in World War II during a speech marking 80 years since the decisive battle of Stalingrad. Putin said Russia was sure it would be victorious in Ukraine, as it had been 80 years ago. He added that Russia again confronted Germany, as he criticised its decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to support Ukraine's war efforts. (15:42 GMT) The Baltic nations and Poland call to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from competing in the Olympics and other sporting events during the war in Ukraine. Last week, The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that athletes from the two countries might be allowed to earn places for the Paris 2024 Games by qualifying in the Asian games. (16:02 GMT) Russia will make more use of its capability as the West increases arms deliveries to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Peskov was asked to comment on an earlier remark by Putin that Russia's response would go beyond using armoured vehicles. (16:21 GMT) European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said a centre for prosecuting aggression in Ukraine would be set up in The Hague. (16:42 GMT) An Italo-French SAMP/T air defence system will be running in Ukraine within the next two months, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. "I believe it will be operational within seven to eight weeks," Antonio Tajani, who is also deputy prime minister, told a TV show in remarks confirmed by his spokesman. The system can track several targets and intercept 10 at once. It is the only European-made system that can intercept ballistic missiles. Kyiv has repeatedly asked its Western allies for more air defence systems and specifically requested the SAMP/T, known as Mamba, in November. (17:10 GMT) Support for sending heavy weapons to Ukraine appears to be waning in Germany. A poll shows that some fear sending Leopard tanks will lead to an escalation of the war. ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvYA9peXCUQ (17:33 GMT) Parliamentarians of 20 countries have urged Austria to bar Russian delegates from a gathering of the world's largest security body later this month, in a letter seen by the AFP news agency. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)'s parliamentary assembly is to be held in Vienna on February 23-24, the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. (17:44 GMT) A Ukrainian court has ordered the detention of a former deputy defence minister suspected of corruption. The State Bureau of Investigation did not name the former official but said he was suspected of involvement in ministry purchases of food at inflated prices and low-quality equipment for the military. The agency released the information after the resignation of Deputy Defence Minister Vyacheslav Shapovalov last month after a media report alleging his ministry purchased food at higher-than-market prices. (18:21 GMT) Austria's government said it ordered four Russian diplomats based in Vienna, including two at Moscow's mission to UN agencies in the city, to leave the country. The diplomats were given a week to leave Austria. (18:31 GMT) President Vladimir Putin whipped up support for his army's intervention in Ukraine comparing the fighting to Nazi Germany's invasion and issuing threats. Arriving in the southern city of Volgograd for commemorations to mark the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, Putin sought to boost support for his war. "Again and again we are forced to repel the aggression of the collective West. We aren't sending tanks to their borders but we have something to respond with, and it won't be just about using armoured vehicles. Everyone should understand this. A modern war with Russia will be completely different." (19:15 GMT) Russia announced advances north and south of the eastern city of Bakhmut in the embattled Donetsk region. Russian forces are pushing from both the north and south to encircle Bakhmut, using superior troop numbers to try to cut it off, Ukrainian military analyst Yevhen Dikiy said. (19:37 GMT) The United States backs allowing athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete as neutrals in the Olympic Games, while opposing the display of their national flags or emblems, the White House says. If athletes are invited to an international event such as the Olympics, "it should be absolutely clear that they are not representing the Russian or Belarusian states", Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters. (19:55 GMT) The United Kingdom is not ruling out supplying Ukraine with fighter jets, the defence minister says. But Ben Wallace cautioned such aircraft would not be a "magic wand" in Ukraine's defence against Russia. (20:08 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees no chance of a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine until Russia agrees to withdraw from occupied territories. "The moment they let it be known that troop withdrawal is happening, the way is clear for talks with Ukraine - I'm pretty sure of that," Scholz said. "But we still have to work a bit towards that." Ukraine rejects negotiations until Russian troops have fully withdrawn from Ukrainian territory - including Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. (20:38 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country deserves to start European Union accession talks "this year". "I believe that Ukraine deserves to start negotiations on EU membership this year," he said, adding further integration with the European bloc would inspire Ukrainians and give them "motivation" to fight against Russian troops. On Friday, Kyiv hosts a high-profile EU-Ukraine summit. 20230201 https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3057.html Milito en Ukrainio, la elprovo de provizoj Pro tio ke ĝi postulas konsiderindajn amasojn da soldatoj kaj ekipaĵoj, kaj pro tio ke ĝi okazas sur novaj terenoj - precipe la kosmo - la konflikto inter Kievo kaj Moskvo havas senprecedencan naturon. Krom se unu el la konfliktantoj ekellaciĝos, ĝi verŝajne ne finiĝos per milita venko. Dume, la diplomatio restas senmova. ... 20230203 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/3/russia-ukraine-live-air-raid-sirens-as-eu-summit-begins (09:31 GMT) CIA Director William Burns says the US intelligence agency believes the next six months will be "critical" for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion. Speaking on Thursday in Washington, DC, Burns said Russian President Vladimir Putin was betting on waning Western support for Ukraine and "political fatigue" that would afford his military a chance to make battlefield gains. "Putin, I think, is betting right now that he can make time work for him," he told a foreign policy event at Georgetown University. "The key is going to be on the battlefield in the next six months, it seems to us." (09:36 GMT) Russian-installed authorities in Crimea say they have nationalised about 500 properties in the occupied peninsula, including some belonging to senior Ukrainian politicians and business figures. Vladimir Konstantinov, the speaker of the Crimean parliament, said in a Telegram post the move targeted "accomplices of the Kyiv regime" and that the nationalised properties included banks and tourist and sport infrastructure. According to a document published on a Crimean government website, properties belonging to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk and businessmen Igor Kolomoisky, Rinat Akhmetov and Serhiy Taruta were among those confiscated. (09:37 GMT) The Kremlin has rejected as a "hoax" reports that CIA Director William Burns had offered Moscow a secret peace deal that involved ceding Ukrainian territory to Russia. The claim, reported by the Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung, has also been dismissed by Washington. (09:43 GMT) Air raid alerts have sounded in Kyiv and across Ukraine as EU leaders and Ukrainian officials gather in the country's capital for a summit. (09:49 GMT) The president of the European Council has said there will be "no let up" in the EU's support for Kyiv in the face of Russia's offensive as he readies for talks with Ukrainian officials. "Back in Kyiv for the EU-Ukraine summit with [Volodymyr] Zelensky [European Commission President] Ursula von der Leyen and [EU foreign policy chief] Josep Borrell," Charles Michel said in a post on Twitter. "There will be no let up in our resolve. We will also support you every step of the way on your journey to the EU," he added. (09:58 GMT) The office of Ukraine's prosecutor general says it has opened a criminal case against Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Moscow-aligned Wagner Group, which is fighting in Ukraine. (10:06 GMT) Norway will order 54 new German-made Leopard 2 tanks for its army from the Munich-based Krauss-Maffei Wegmann company, the prime minister says. "We ensure that we have the same tanks as our Nordic neighbours and many key NATO allies," Jonas Gahr Store said at a news conference. He added that Norway, which shares a border with Russia, will have the option to buy another 18 tanks at a later time. "This further strengthens our relationship with Germany," Store said. The Nordic nation, a NATO member, had been weighing whether to choose either German-made Leopard 2 A7 tanks or the rival Korean-produced K2 Black Panther, made by Hyundai Rotem, as part of a new bout of military procurement. (10:40 GMT) NATO's secretary general has called on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the New START nuclear arms control accord. "We note with concern that Russia has failed to comply with legally binding obligations, including on inspection and call on Russia to fulfill its obligations under the Treaty," Jens Stoltenberg said in a post on Twitter. He made the remarks after the United States on Tuesday accused Russia of violating the treaty by refusing to allow inspections on its territory. Moscow denies those allegations and has accused Washington of having "destroyed the legal framework for arms control and security". New START came into force in 2011 and was extended in 2021 for five more years. It caps the number of strategic nuclear warheads that the US and Russia may deploy and the deployment of land- and submarine-based missiles and bombers to deliver them. (11:06 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 345 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-345 (11:20 GMT) Al Jazeera's Natacha Butler, reporting from Kyiv, says there is a lot for EU and Ukrainian officials to talk about at Friday's summit and "one of the main things, from Ukraine's point of view, is its future membership of the EU." "Its candidacy was approved by the bloc last June, but what Kyiv now wants is for negotiations over its ascension process to be fast-tracked," she said. "However, most EU leaders are saying that is unlikely to happen because there are a number of criteria and conditions that have to be fulfilled by any country that wants to be part of the EU in areas such as media law, the judiciary and on things like corruption. "And there is a lot more work that needs to be done generally in Ukraine to meet the standards needed to become a full member." (11:53 GMT) Germany has approved the export of Leopard 1 battle tanks to Ukraine from industry stocks, a spokesman for the country's government says. He declined to comment on the number of tanks that would be exported. Amid mounting international pressure last month, the German government announced the planned delivery of the more modern Leopard 2 tanks from army stocks. Germany aims to provide 14 Leopard 2 tanks from its own inventory. (12:21 GMT) Russia's monthly budget revenues from oil and gas fell in January under the impact of Western sanctions on Russian exports, reaching their lowest levels since August 2020 , finance ministry data shows. Monthly tax and customs revenue from energy sales was down 46 percent in the space of a year, according to the ministry. (13:02 GMT) Russia's state-owned Promsvyazbank says it has bought two credit institutions in eastern Ukraine's partly occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Promsvyazbank has focused its business on serving state employees and the defence sector since it was bailed out by the central bank in 2017. (13:07 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a new scheme to provide Ukraine with 35 million energy-efficient LED lightbulbs. "Together, we are bringing light to Ukraine," von der Leyen said in a Twitter post. (13:36 GMT) Poland believes it could be possible to build a coalition of some 40 countries to support a call to block Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics. (14:14 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has said there are no rigid timelines for Ukraine to join the EU. "There are no rigid timelines, but there are goals that you [Ukraine] have to reach," Von der Leyen told a news conference following a summit in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Von der Leyen also said the EU's next sanctions package against Russia would target components in Russian drones used in Ukraine. (14:36 GMT) Ukraine President Zelenskyy says Ukraine will fight to hold on to the "fortress" city of Bakhmut for as long as possible, urging allies to supply long-range weapons to help push back Russian forces. "Nobody will give away Bakhmut. We will fight for as long as we can. We consider Bakhmut our fortress," Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv with top EU officials following a summit. "Ukraine would be able to hold Bakhmut and liberate occupied Donbas if it received long-range weapons," he said. (15:10 GMT) Denmark opposes Russian athletes participating in the Paris Olympics next year even under a neutral flag, its culture minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt says, according to the local news agency Ritzau. "The government's line is clear. Russia must be banned from all international sports as long as their attacks on Ukraine continue," he said. (15:35 GMT) The head of the European Commission has announced that the EU is working on a 10th sanctions package against Russia. "The 10th package is on its way," Ursula von der Leyen said in a recorded joint press conference with Zelenskyy and European Council President Charles Michel. "We have the aim to have it in place by the 24th of February." Von der Leyen said the new package was worth about 10 billion euros ($10.8bn). "The plan is to focus once more on technology that can and should not be used by Russia's war machine," she said. "In other words, we look deeper into components that were found, for example, in drones to make sure that there's zero availability for Russia of these technologies or the drones' production, for example, in Iran." (16:08 GMT) Al Jazeera's Inside Story looks into whether the increase in arms deliveries will result in the war becoming a European conflict. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hz_Xeuu2l8 (16:37 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister said that new tanks supplied by NATO countries would serve as an "iron fist" in a counteroffensive by Kyiv. The official, Oleksii Reznikov, told a news briefing with his Polish counterpart that Western supplies of 155mm artillery were vital for Ukraine to fend off Russian forces. "The new tank coalition with the main tanks of NATO countries - we need this for the counteroffensive, we will use it like an iron fist to break through their defensive lines," he said. (17:14 GMT) The United States has announced a new package of arms and munitions for Ukraine worth $2.2 billion. The list included more ammunition for the HIMARS rocket systems that have allowed Ukraine forces to target behind Russian lines, more air defense units and armored vehicles, the Pentagon said. (17:20 GMT) Ukraine has said it had started replacing millions of regular light bulbs with energy-saving LED lamps as part of an EU-funded project to help with energy shortages caused by Russian strikes. For months Moscow has systematically targeted Ukraine's energy grid, leaving millions in the dark and cold in the middle of winter. The EU said in December it would fund the purchase of 30 million LED light bulbs for Ukraine worth 30 million euros ($33 million) to help deal with the large-scale blackouts. (17:46 GMT) EU countries have agreed on a European Commission proposal to set price caps on Russian oil products, the Swedish presidency of the European Union has said. EU diplomats said the price caps agreed by ambassadors for the 27 EU countries are $100 per barrel on premium oil products such as diesel and a $45 cap per barrel on discounted products such as fuel oil. The proposal is that they apply from February 5. (17:56 GMT) France and Italy have finalised technical talks for the joint delivery of a SAMP/T-MAMBA air defence system to Ukraine in spring 2023, the French Defence Ministry said. "This will allow Ukraine to defend itself against Russian drones, missiles and plane attacks, through the coverage of a significant part of the Ukrainian territory," a ministry statement said. (19:24 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after hosting a summit with the EU in Kyiv that it was "possible" to start official accession talks this year. "What exactly did we agree upon today?" Zelenskyy said in his traditional evening address to the nation. "There is an understanding that it is possible to start negotiations on Ukraine's membership in the European Union this year." (19:34 GMT) Turkey's airport ground service provider Havas told Russian airliners it may stop providing services to their United States-origin aircraft, in a letter dated January 31. Havas told Russian airliners it was responding to US export controls over the Ukraine war in its letter obtained by Reuters. Havas also advised Russian airliners to plan flights with aircrafts containing less than 25 percent US technology. (19:35 GMT) Ukraine's Elina Svitolina has said that the ban on Russian and Belarusian players competing at Wimbledon must continue after they were excluded from last year's championships. Wimbledon barred players from the two countries due to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a decision which was swiftly condemned by the men's and women's tours, as well as Novak Djokovic and Martina Navratilova. However, Svitolina, the 2019 Wimbledon semi-finalist, said nothing had changed from last year's reason for the ban. (20:28 GMT) Canada has imposed sanctions on 38 people and 16 entities that it says are "complicit in peddling Russian disinformation and propaganda". Those targeted include Russian state-owned media group MIA Rossiya Segodnya and singer Nikolay Victorovich Baskov, who performed in a pro-war concert in Moscow. 20230204 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/4/russia-ukraine-live-dozens-of-soldiers-freed-in-prisoner-swap (10:56 GMT) Dozens of Russian and Ukrainian prisoners of war have returned home following a prisoner swap, officials on both sides said on Saturday. Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said in a Telegram post that 116 Ukrainians were freed. Russian defence officials, meanwhile, announced that 63 Russian troops had returned from Ukraine following the swap, including some "special category" prisoners whose release was secured following mediation by the United Arab Emirates. (10:59 GMT) Ukraine's prosecutor general is launching a criminal case against the Russian head and founder of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/3/ukraines-prosecutor-launches-criminal-case-against-wagner-chief (11:15 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said the supply of more advanced US weaponry to Ukraine will only trigger more retaliatory strikes from Russia, up to the extent of Russia's nuclear doctrine. "All of Ukraine that remains under Kyiv's rule will burn," journalist Nadana Fridrikhson quoted him as saying in a written interview with her. On Friday, the Pentagon said a new rocket that would double Ukraine's strike range was included in a $2.175bn US military aid package. (11:30 GMT) Zelenskyy: Ukraine will fight for Bakhmut 'as long as we can' https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/4/ukraine-will-fight-for-bakhmut-as-long-as-we-can-zelenskyy (11:46 GMT) The United States has warned Turkey in recent days about the export to Russia of chemicals, microchips and other products that can be used in Moscow's war effort in Ukraine, and it could move to punish Turkish companies or banks contravening sanctions. Brian Nelson, the US Treasury Department's top sanctions official, visited Turkish government and private sector officials on Thursday and Friday to urge more cooperation in disrupting the flow of such goods. In a speech to bankers, Nelson said a marked year-long rise in exports to Russia leaves Turkish entities "particularly vulnerable to reputational and sanctions risks", or lost access to G7 markets. (12:01 GMT) Portugal will send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said, without specifying how many will be shipped. Costa added that Portugal is in talks with Germany to obtain parts needed for the repair of a number of inoperable Leopard tanks in Portugal's inventory. (12:19 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 346 Fighting, military aid * Pete Reed, a humanitarian paramedic and United States Marine Corps veteran, was killed while he was evacuating civilians in Bakhmut after his ambulance was shelled, his wife Alex Potter said on social media. * Western allies have pledged precision rockets and missile systems to Ukraine after Zelenskyy called for sophisticated weapons to push back Russian forces. * A $2.2bn US military aid package to Ukraine includes a new rocket, the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb, that would double the country's strike range, the Pentagon has said. Diplomacy * Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country's prosecutor general has said in a newspaper interview, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at the international level. * Canada has imposed sanctions on 38 people and 16 entities that it says are "complicit in peddling Russian disinformation and propaganda". (12:35 GMT) A serious accident at a high-voltage substation in Ukraine's Odesa region has caused emergency power outages in the regional capital, Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. (14:02 GMT) Russia said the EU-Ukraine summit on Friday confirmed that the 27-member bloc's support for Kyiv is just for the sake of serving the US and NATO's "hegemonic aspirations". In a written response, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the European Union, by "violating" its own standard requirements for candidacy and declaring "common values" with Kyiv, stands in solidarity with "the total suppression of dissent, violation of freedom of speech and expression, gross violation of linguistic and confessional rights in Ukraine". Zakharova called the EU's readiness to provide further support to Ukraine while calling for peace "equally hypocritical," saying all of the EU's military deliveries and financial support towards Kyiv leads to "an increase in the number of victims of the conflict, including those among the civilian population". (14:45 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and President Zelenskyy agreed on the importance of the international community speeding up assistance for Ukraine. "The Prime Minister said he was focused on ensuring the UK's defensive military equipment reached the front line as quickly as possible," Sunak's office said in a statement, after a phone call between the two leaders. "Both leaders agreed that it was vital that international partners accelerated their assistance to Ukraine to help seize the opportunity to push Russian forces back," the UK statement added. (15:05 GMT) The United States and Russia faced off over a World Health Organization report on the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, with Moscow saying it was politically motivated and Washington calling for it to be swiftly updated. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus's report was presented to the organisation's executive board, on which both Russia and the US sit. It covered events in the first nine months of 2022 and classed the situation in Ukraine, as one of eight acute global health emergencies. The report documented more than 14,000 civilian casualties, with 17.7 million people in need of humanitarian assistance and 7.5 million Ukrainian refugees displaced across Europe. Of 471 attacks with heavy weapons on healthcare facilities globally, 448 occurred in Ukraine, the WHO report said. Russia's representative to the WHO board called it politicised and one-sided and described its references to Ukraine as unfounded accusations. (16:36 GMT) An accident at a electrical substation, already damaged by Russian attacks, has left half a million households without power in the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa, authorities said. Odesa region governor Maksym Marchenko described the accident as "serious," adding that the energy minister and the head of state-run electricity grid operator Ukrenergo had been sent to the city. "A number of generators will be delivered to the region of Odesa within the next 24 hours," he said. "We expect the first generators to arrive tonight." (17:28 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen travelled to Kyiv for an annual EU-Ukraine summit, where she promised the bloc's support for Kyiv.` https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I60B-LvpoGE (17:45 GMT) Ukraine's Ministry of Defence has released footage on Twitter of the remains of the Mariupol Drama Theatre. (18:02 GMT) Russia's Gazprom said it will ship 29.3 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Saturday. (18:22 GMT) Officials warned that repairs could take weeks after the fire at an overloaded electrical substation in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on Saturday, leaving nearly 500,000 people without power. The government said it would appeal to Turkey for help and ordered the energy ministry's stocks of high-power generators to be sent to the city. (18:43 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said in his nightly video address that the situation on the front lines was getting tougher and Russia was throwing more and more troops into battle. (19:00 GMT) Germany has collected evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, the country's prosecutor general has said in a newspaper interview, adding that he saw a need for a judicial process at international level. He said the amount of evidence was in the "three-digit" range. (19:54 GMT) Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman has warned that Western sanctions against Russia could result in a shortage of energy supplies in the future. Asked how trade measures would affect the energy market, Prince Abdulaziz told an industry conference in Riyadh, "All of those so-called sanctions, embargoes, lack of investments, they will convolute into one thing and one thing only, a lack of energy supplies of all kinds when they are most needed." The prince also said Saudi Arabia was working to send liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to Ukraine. LPG is most commonly used as a cooking fuel and in heating. 20230205 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/5/russia-ukraine-live-news-wagner-battle-for-bakhmut (09:48 GMT) Fierce fighting is ongoing in the northern parts of the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the head of Russia's private Wagner Group Yevgeniy Prigozhin said, adding that his soldiers were "fighting for every street, every house, every stairwell" against Ukrainian forces who were not retreating. (09:53 GMT) The British ministry of defence says Russian forces have made, over the last week, "small advances in its attempts to encircle" Bakhmut which is now "increasingly isolated". In its daily bulletin, the ministry also said that two main roads into the city "are likely now both threatened by direct fire" due to Russian soldiers advancing. "Earlier in the week, Wagner paramilitary forces highly likely seized a subordinate route which links Bakhmut to the town of Siversk," it said. "While multiple alternative cross-country supply routes remain available to Ukrainian forces, Bakhmut is increasingly isolated," it added. (10:28 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin "has not made any threats against me or Germany" in their telephone conversations, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in an interview with the newspaper Bild am Sonntag. The last phone call between the two leaders was at the start of December. Scholz also said he made it clear to Putin that they had very different views of the war in Ukraine. "I make it very clear to Putin that Russia has sole responsibility for the war," Scholz said. "Russia has invaded its neighbour for no reason, in order to take parts of Ukraine or the whole country under its control." There is an agreement with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that weapons supplied by the West must only be used on Ukrainian and not on Russian territory, he added. (10:42 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revoked the citizenship of several former influential politicians in the latest step to "cleanse" Ukraine of pro-Russian influences. State media said they included several top politicians from the office of Viktor Yanukovych, Ukraine's pro-Russian president removed from office in 2014. (11:09 GMT) Citing government and military sources, Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravda reports that Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov "may leave his post" next week to be likely replaced by the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov. "As an option, it is considered that Reznikov will become the new Minister of Justice," read the report, adding that there "was no doubt" that the minister should remain part of the government. Ukrainian media The Kyiv Independent also cited a government source as saying that Reznikov was likely to be replaced in the very near future. Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda, Reznikov said he did not hold any talks about his resignation. (11:23 GMT) Power has been partially restored in the southern city of Oseda after a fire at a damaged electrical substation had left nearly 500,000 people without electricity. (12:29 GMT) Members of the Ukrainian air force have left for training on the SAMP/T-MAMBA air defence system, the Kyiv Independent reports citing air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk. The coaching is expected to end in spring, it added. (13:06 GMT) Price caps on Russian oil likely hit Moscow's revenues from oil and gas exports by nearly 30 percent in January, or about $8 billion, from a year ago period, International Energy Agency's chief Fatih Birol has said. G7 nations, the European Commission and Australia this week approved a $100 per barrel price cap on diesel and a $45 per barrel cap on discounted products such as fuel oil starting from February 5. This followed a similar measure they implemented in December barring Western-supplied maritime insurance, finance and brokering for seaborne Russian crude unless it was sold below a $60 price cap. 13:41 GMT) Ukraine will not use longer-range weapons pledged by the United States to hit Russian territory and will only target Russian units in occupied Ukrainian territory, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. "We always tell our partners officially that we will not use weapons supplied by foreign partners to fire on Russian territory. We only fire on Russian units on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory," Reznikov told reporters at a news conference. His comment came after the US confirmed that a new rocket that would double Ukraine's strike range was included in a more than $2bn US military aid package to help Kyiv fight back Russian forces. While the US rebuffed Kyiv's request for a 300-km range missile, it agreed for the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which has a range of 150km. (14:09 GMT) Ukraine expects a possible Russian offensive this month, but Kyiv has the reserves to hold back Moscow's forces even though not all the West's latest military supplies will have arrived in time, Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. Reznikov told reporters that Russia could launch the new attack in February for symbolic reasons around the first anniversary of its invasion, but that Moscow's resources were not ready from a military point of view. Reznikov said the offensive would likely be launched in the east - where Russia is trying to capture all the heavily-industrialised Donbas region - or the south where it wants to widen its land corridor to the occupied peninsula of Crimea. He estimated that Russia had 12,000 troops in Belarusian military bases, a number that would not be enough to launch a significant attack from Belarus into Ukraine's north, reopening a new front. (15:06 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that Ukraine plans to carry a false flag operation in the near future to accuse Moscow of committing war crimes. For this purpose, the ministry said in a message on social media citing "several independent sources", Kyiv plans to blow up three medical buildings and "accuse Russia of an allegedly 'deliberate attack' on civilian objects". "The bombing of the medical institutions will be presented as another 'atrocity' of Russian troops, requiring a response from the world community and accelerating the supply of long-range missiles to Kyiv (to be used) for strikes on Russian territory," the defence ministry said. (15:49 GMT) Ukraine has shipped 5.5 million tons of grain in January this year, which is 1.3 million tons less compared to December, the country's ministry of agriculture has said in a statement. The downward trend is due to Russian inspectors' obstruction of outbound vessels, the ministry said. "Thus, in the first month of the new year, deliveries of absolutely all agricultural crops decreased," read the statement. The export of corn decreased by 700,000 metric tons, and wheat by 250,000 metric tons. (16:10 GMT) Ukraine's defence chief says an audit is under way after corruption scandals, but he declined to confirm reports that he could soon be forced to resign. "We have started an internal audit" of all procurement contracts, Oleksii Reznikov told reporters, but declined to say if he would stay on as defence minister. "It is one person - the commander-in-chief, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy - who decides whether I will be defence minister or not," he said. His comment came after Ukrainian media, citing government and military sources, reported that Reznikov was going to be replaced in the near future. (16:44 GMT) Helping to arm Ukraine so it can defend itself against Russia is the swiftest path to achieving peace, the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has written in an article for a Maltese newspaper ahead of a visit on Tuesday to the island. "Like all authoritarian rulers, [Russian President Vladimir] Putin responds only to strength in his opponents," Cleverly wrote in the Times of Malta. He added that he was delighted that Germany and the United States had joined Britain in agreeing to send tanks to Ukraine. (17:23 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will pay a two-day visit to Mali this week in a bid to strengthen defence and security ties, the west African country's government has said. Lavrov will arrive in Bamako on Monday. It is the first time a Russian foreign minister has officially visited the West African nation and reflects Moscow's focus on extending its reach on the continent while it is at loggerheads with Western powers over its invasion of Ukraine. The continent has remained divided in UN votes over the invasion of Ukraine, with Mali abstaining on a vote in October to condemn Russia. (17:42 GMT) Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that the reluctance of Kyiv's Western allies to send jets to war-torn Ukraine would cost it "more lives." "I am sure that we will win this war, I am sure we will liberate all the occupied territories," Reznikov told reporters in Kyiv, AFP reports. But without the delivery of Western jets, "it will cost us more lives". (18:04 GMT) Germany's prosecutor general has said that his office had collected "hundreds" of pieces of evidence showing war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine, calling for an international effort to bring leaders to justice. "At the moment we are focusing on mass killings in Bucha and attacks on Ukraine's civil infrastructure," prosecutor Peter Frank told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. He said most of the evidence came from interviews with Ukrainian refugees. (18:24 GMT) Ukraine expects a possible major Russian offensive this month, but Kyiv has the reserves to hold back Moscow's forces even though not all the West's latest military supplies will have arrived in time, Ukraine's defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said. (19:52 GMT) Fierce battles are raging in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region as Russia intensifies pressure before the first anniversary of its invasion of the country, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. "Things are very difficult in Donetsk region - fierce battles," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "But however difficult it is and however much pressure there is, we must endure ... We have no alternative to defending ourselves and winning." (20:34 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, under pressure from a corruption scandal at his ministry, is set to be transferred to another government job, the head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's parliamentary bloc has said. David Arakhamia, chief of the Servant of the People bloc, said the defence ministry would be headed up by Kyrylo Budanov, head of the GUR military intelligence agency, according to Reuters. 20230206 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/6/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-defence-minister-set-to-resign (07:29 GMT) Ukrainian forces are in control of the village of Bilohorivka, Luhansk Governor Serhiy Haidai said on Sunday. "Information is being spread in the Russian Federation about the alleged capture of Bilohorivka and the removal of our people from there," Haidai told the national broadcaster. "Our troops remain in their positions, nobody has captured Bilohorivka, nobody has entered there, there is no enemy there." Bilohorivka is the last part of Luhansk held by Ukrainian forces. (07:36 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov has said he discussed the New START nuclear arms control treaty with new US Ambassador Lynne Tracy last week, the Interfax news agency reported. He said Russia is committed to the treaty but that no date had been set for new talks, citing the conflict in Ukraine. Talks between Moscow and Washington on the New START treaty were scheduled for last November but were called off at the last moment. (07:48 GMT) Repair crews are working round the clock to restore power systems in the Black Sea port of Odesa after a fire left hundreds of thousands of residents without electricity, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says. (08:12 GMT) A drone has exploded outside the Russian city of Kaluga, Governor Vladislav Shapsha revealed, adding that nobody was injured in the blast. "It has been established that the drone exploded in the air at an altitude of 50 metres in the forest near the city at five o'clock in the morning," he wrote on Telegram. Kaluga is about 150km southwest of Moscow and 260km from the Ukrainian border. The governor did not make clear the source of the drone. (08:45 GMT) Ukraine has sent letters to companies that back the International Olympic Committee, urging them to keep Russian athletes out of the Paris Olympic Games, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Zelenskyy has been spearheading a drive to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the games under a neutral flag. (11:23 GMT) The Kremlin says the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief, Rafael Grossi, will not meet President Putin during his visit to Moscow this week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Grossi would meet officials from the state nuclear energy firm Rosatom and the foreign ministry. Peskov added that Moscow expected "a substantive dialogue". (11:31 GMT) Putin offers Syria and Turkey assistance following a major earthquake that killed at least 2400 of people and injured many thousands in the two countries. "Please accept my deep condolences on the numerous human casualties and large-scale destruction caused by a powerful earthquake in your country," Putin said in his message to the Turkish president. "We are ready to provide the necessary assistance in this regard." In a similar message to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Putin said Russia shared "the sadness and pain of those who lost their loved ones" and offered help. Russia said it had two Ilyushin-76 aircraft with rescuers ready to fly to Turkey to help the rescue effort. The emergency ministry added that 100 rescuers had been put on alert. (11:50 GMT) Norway's prime minister has proposed to provide about 75 billion Norwegian crowns ($7.3bn) in aid to Ukraine over five years. "We aim to secure a unified agreement on this in parliament," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere told a news conference after meeting Norwegian opposition leaders. The Nordic country has seen profits soar to record levels following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the price of gas sold to Europe increased last year. (12:01 GMT) Germany expects it will soon have sufficient commitments from other EU countries to send a contingent of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a government spokesperson said. "Germany's commitment stands," Wolfgang Buechner said, declining to name any specific countries that had so far committed to sending the German-made tanks. Germany has promised 14 of its tanks and wants to assemble two battle tank battalions in cooperation with other EU countries. (12:18 GMT) Turkey's Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under construction, was not damaged during Monday morning's earthquake that struck southwest Turkey and northwest Syria, said an official from the Russian company building the plant. "Earth tremors of about magnitude 3 were felt here... but our specialists have not revealed any damage to building structures, cranes and equipment," said Anastasia Zoteeva from Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom. "Nevertheless, we are carrying out extensive diagnostic measures to make sure that construction and installation operations can continue safely," the RIA news agency quoted Zoteeva. (12:41 GMT) World Athletics has cleared six more Russians to compete internationally as neutral athletes, but they remain frozen out as Russia is still banned from the sport following the invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago. That means track and field athletes cannot qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games despite the International Olympic Committee's proposal that Russia and Belarus could earn qualification spots through competitions in Asia. (13:16 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 348 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-348 (13:31 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers have arrived in the United Kingdom for military training on AS90 howitzers, the British Ministry of Defence says. The ministry said on Twitter: "A warm welcome to Ukrainian personnel who have arrived in the UK this weekend to get to grips with the AS90. "The AS90 is an armoured self-propelled artillery weapon which the UK is providing to help Ukraine defend its homeland and retake territory." (13:54 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Iraqi counterpart have discussed unpaid bills owed to Russian oil companies because of US sanctions over the war in Ukraine. "The sanctions should not be imposed on Iraq because its cooperation continues with Russian companies," Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein told reporters in Baghdad as he stood alongside Lavrov. Hussein said there would be a meeting "in the coming months" with Russia to discuss the issue. (14:28 GMT) Putin has approved the sale of Mercedes-Benz's local financial services division to Russian car dealer Avtodom. Mercedes-Benz suspended production at its factory in Russia and halted exports to the country in March. In October, it said it would entirely quit the Russian market and sold stakes in its Russian assets to a local investor. The carmaker joined an exodus of global companies from Russia after Moscow sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February last year. Under Russian law, Putin is required to approve the sale of stakes in Russian finance or energy ventures while approval from a separate government commission is required for deals involving firms from "unfriendly" countries that have imposed sanctions against Russia. (14:52 GMT) Founder and head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has published a video of himself in the cockpit of a military aircraft, challenging Zelenskyy to an aerial duel. The clip was released on Telegram by Prigozhin's press service, which said it was filmed on an Su-24 bomber operated by Wagner. "Volodymyr Oleksandrovych [Zelenskyy], we have landed. We have bombed Bakhmut," Prigozhin said in the short video. "Tomorrow, I will fly a MiG-29. If you so desire, let's meet in the skies. If you win, you take Artyomovsk [Bakhmut]. If not, we advance until Dnipro." The video was the latest in a series of statements and videos in which Prigozhin has sought to promote himself and his private army as the spearhead of Russian military operations in eastern Ukraine. (15:16 GMT) The US is preparing to impose a 200 percent tariff on Russian-made aluminium as soon as this week, Bloomberg News reports. The US is targeting the Russian metal because Moscow has been dumping aluminium on the US market and harming American companies, Bloomberg cited people familiar with the matter as saying. The move has been contemplated for months, the report added. (15:49 GMT) Zelenskyy will no longer address Italy's Sanremo Music Festival, its organisers said after criticism from across the political spectrum. Sanremo, which runs from Tuesday to Saturday, is an event first held more than 70 years ago and was the inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest. Zelenskyy was expected to speak via video on the closing night, but a manager for Italian state broadcaster RAI said the festival's presenter, known as Amadeus, would instead read out a statement by the Ukrainian leader. Politicians from Italy's right, left and centre had criticised Zelenskyy's planned appearance at the song festival, saying it would not be appropriate as Ukraine is at war. (16:12 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov will not be replaced this week despite intense speculation suggesting otherwise, the leader of Zelenskyy's party in parliament says. "There will be no personnel changes in the defence sector this week," David Arakhamia, leader of the Servant of the People faction, wrote on Telegram. Reznikov, who has been defence minister since November 2021, has recently become embroiled in a corruption scandal in which his ministry is accused of selling overpriced food to the army. Arakhamia did not explain why Reznikov will remain in office for the time being. Major General Kyrylo Budanov is Reznikov's presumed successor, but he would be forced to resign from the army to take the top military job. According to Ukrainian law, only civilians can hold the position of defence minister. (16:47 GMT) Russia has sentenced a famous cookbook author and blogger to nine years in prison after convicting her in absentia of spreading false information about the military. The charges against Veronika Belotserkovskaya, who lives abroad, were brought over her Instagram posts that the authorities alleged contained "deliberately false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to destroy cities and the civilian population of Ukraine, including children". Belotserkovskaya responded by writing that she is "on one hand, perplexed, and on the other hand, of course, proud". (17:12 GMT) Russia's state Investigative Committee says it is examining the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian forces near the towns of Soledar and Bakhmut. The Donetsk People's Republic - one of Russia's proxies in the territories it seized and occupied in eastern Ukraine - reported the use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian drones near the two locations. "As a result, servicemen of the Russian armed forces are experiencing a deterioration in their health and characteristic symptoms of poisoning," it said, without providing details or naming the alleged substance. (17:37 GMT) Russia's finance ministry says budget revenue in January was 35 percent lower compared with the same month in 2022, the last month before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. The ministry also said the budget deficit for January was 1.77 trillion roubles ($23.9bn), about 60 percent of the shortfall that had been planned for the entire year. Oil and gas revenue, the backbone of Russia's economy, was down 46 percent compared with January 2022. (18:22 GMT) Ukraine's main Catholic church says it will move to a new calendar that will see Christmas celebrated on December 25 rather than January 7 as Ukrainian institutions break cultural links to Russia. The move by the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, which counts just under one-tenth of Ukrainians as worshippers, was welcomed by Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko. 20230207 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-preparing-for-new-attacks-kyiv (09:11 GMT) Serhiy Haidai, governor of the mainly Russian-occupied Luhansk province, has told Ukrainian television: "We are seeing more and more (Russian) reserves being deployed in our direction, we are seeing more equipment being brought in. "They bring ammunition that is used differently than before - it is not round-the-clock shelling anymore. They are slowly starting to save, getting ready for a full-scale offensive. "It will most likely take them 10 days to gather reserves. After Feb. 15 we can expect (this offensive) at any time." (09:21 GMT) The European Union said Zelenskyy has been invited to take part in a summit of EU leaders, amid reports he could be in Brussels as soon as this week, in what would be only his second known foreign trip since the invasion began. Zelenskyy's office has not commented on the meeting, which comes soon after EU leaders met in Kyiv. (09:33 GMT) The war is reaching a pivotal point as its first anniversary approaches, with Ukraine no longer making gains as it did in the second half of 2022 and Russia pushing forward with hundreds of thousands of mobilised reserve troops. Russia said its forces had captured Mykolaivka, a village in the eastern Donetsk region. (09:40 GMT) Russia's state Investigative Committee has said it is examining the alleged use of chemical weapons by Ukrainian forces near Bakhmut and nearby Soledar. Ukraine's Armed Forces say they have never used chemical weapons anywhere at any time and accused Moscow of engaging in disinformation and of itself using banned weapons. (09:53 GMT) According to an intelligence update from the British Ministry of Defence (MoD), it is "highly likely that Russia has been attempting to restart major offensive operations" since early January to claim more of the Donetsk region. "Russian forces have only managed to gain several hundred metres of territory per week. This is almost certainly because Russia now lacks the munitions and manoeuvre units required for successful offensives," the MoD said. The update added that military commanders "likely" require "undermanned, inexperienced units to achieve unrealistic objectives due to political and professional pressure". "Russian leaders will likely continue to demand sweeping advances. It remains unlikely that Russia can build up the forces needed to substantially affect the outcome of the war within the coming weeks," the update said. (10:10 GMT) In Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's nightly address, he said that at a general staff meeting, "particular attention" is being paid to the situation in Bakhmut. At the meeting, Zelenskyy said, they also discussed ammunition supply. (10:28 GMT) Russia's defence minister says Western arms shipments to Ukraine are effectively dragging NATO into the conflict and warn this could lead to an "unpredictable" level of escalation. <=== "The US and its allies are trying to prolong the conflict as much as possible," defence minister Sergei Shoigu was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. "To do this, they have started supplying heavy offensive weapons, openly urging Ukraine to seize our territories. In fact, such steps are dragging NATO countries into the conflict and could lead to an unpredictable level of escalation," he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/7/nato-role-in-ukraine-threatens-unpredictable-escalation-russia UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed concern about the war's recent direction. Peace prospects "keep diminishing" and "the chances of further escalation and bloodshed keep growing", he said in a speech late Monday. "I fear the world is not sleepwalking into a wider war - I fear it is doing so with its eyes wide open." (10:44 GMT) Russia's VTB Bank's losses last year were due entirely to sanctions, CEO Andrei Kostin, said in a rare admission that Western sanctions had hurt parts of Russia's financial sector. Western countries blocked several Russian banks' access to the international SWIFT payments system soon after Moscow invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year, leaving lenders such as Sberbank and VTB to shut down operations across much of Europe. In an interview with state television channel Rossiya 24, Kostin said the bank had managed to grow its retail and corporate loan portfolios but that sanctions accounted for all the lender's losses. "The main thing on which we incurred losses is that from February 24 to March 10, before decisions were made about restrictions on issuing funds in foreign currency to the population, $26bn was withdrawn from our accounts," Kostin said. (11:01 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 349 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-349 (11:24 GMT) Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo opposes the presence of Russian competitors at the 2024 Olympics "while the war continues" in Ukraine, her office said. It represents a change in the position of Hidalgo, who said last month she believed Russians could take part "under a neutral flag" to avoid "depriving athletes of competition". The International Olympics Committee has previously said Russian and Belarusian athletes could potentially play in the 2024 Games if they qualify for the Asian Games, which has sparked condemnation by Ukraine and its allies. (11:46 GMT) The Labour Party's defence policy chief says the United Kingdom must set out a new strategy to boost military production to support Ukraine better. John Healey said the country needs to step up its defence production, end cuts to its armed forces, and fulfil its commitments to NATO. (12:06 GMT) Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson says he is ready to restart negotiations over its application to join NATO as soon as Turkey wants. Finland and Sweden sought NATO membership shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, but Turkey has yet to approve what must be a unanimous process. Ankara suspended talks last month as tensions rose following protests in Stockholm, where a far-right politician burned a copy of the Quran in front of its embassy. "The first thing we need to do is calm down the situation. It is hard to have good talks when things are literally burning around you," Kristersson told a news conference during a visit to Estonia. Last week, Turkey said it looks positive on Finland's application but does not support Sweden's. (12:49 GMT) Ukraine's parliament approves changes to the 2023 state budget to raise spending to support small businesses and channel more funds into reconstruction and recovery projects following Russia's invasion. Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the parliamentary budget committee, said spending had been increased by 5.5 billion hryvnias ($150m). The increase included funds to finance and modernise hospitals in Kyiv and the western city of Lviv and to rebuild bridges damaged in the conflict. (13:25 GMT) Russia demands the US embassy in Moscow to stop spreading what it regards as fake news regarding its military operation in Ukraine and has threatened to expel US diplomats, the TASS news agency reported. Citing a senior Russian foreign ministry source, TASS said an official note had been delivered to the US embassy in Moscow warning that diplomats engaged in "subversive activities" would be expelled. Last week, the new Washington ambassador to Moscow, Lynne Tracy, arrived in the Russian capital last month. (13:56 GMT) Earlier on Tuesday, Russia warned that the increase in Western arms could lead to NATO's involvement in the conflict. Currently, the US is the biggest arms supplier to Ukraine, followed by the UK and Germany. Will Ukraine war become a wider European conflict? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hz_Xeuu2l8&t=15s (14:22 GMT) The US will support India's G20 presidency as New Delhi seeks the backing of its partners ahead of crucial meetings starting this month. "We support India on a range of issues, including addressing current food and energy security challenges and continuing our efforts to build a resilient global economy," a spokesperson for the US embassy in New Delhi said in a statement to the Reuters news agency. "We are also working with India in the G20 to continue to support women's economic empowerment. We look forward to deepening our bilateral partnership with India on a range of important regional and global issues in the year ahead." India has kept its trade and defence ties with Russia despite calls from the US and other Western nations following the invasion of Ukraine. Officials from the US, Europe and China are expected to head to India in late February and early March for meetings of finance and foreign ministers. (14:52 GMT) Zelenskyy calls for an end to the spread of "rumours or any other pseudo-information" that could undermine unity. An address to parliament appeared intended to end public speculation over whether Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov will be removed from his position. "We are taking personnel and institutional steps at various levels in the defence and security sector that can strengthen Ukraine's position," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram, citing his speech to parliament. On Sunday, David Arakhamia, a senior lawmaker and Zelesnkyy ally, said Reznikov would be replaced after a corruption scandal at the ministry, but, a day later, Arakhamia said there would be no personnel changes this week. (15:28 GMT) A Russian court has upheld an earlier verdict to revoke the license of an independent newspaper that has been critical of the Kremlin as part of a relentless crackdown on dissent. Novaya Gazeta's appeal was rejected after a September ruling by a district court in Moscow approved a petition by Russia's media regulator to revoke Novaya Gazeta's license. Dmitry Muratov, Nobel Peace Prize-winning editor-in-chief of the newspaper, denounced Tuesday's ruling, saying that it "serves a bunch of people who want to leave the nation facing only propaganda." The regulator accused the newspaper of failing to submit its newsroom charter to authorities on time, a claim it rejected for what it described as an attempt to censor an independent voice. (16:01 GMT) Zelenskyy announces that a group of rescuers will be going to Turkey to help in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake on Monday that hit the south of the country and northern Syria. (16:25 GMT) The German security council approves the delivery of 178 Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine from industry stocks, the German outlet Spiegel Online reported without citing its sources. It added that some would be sent in the summer, but the bulk of the tanks would be delivered next year. (16:50 GMT) A fire broke out at a US drone factory in Latvia that was used to build drones for Ukraine's military and NATO allies. Fire brigades and ambulances were at the factory run by US firm Edge Autonomy. Footage of the fire has flooded social media. According to its website, the California-based company produces long-range uncrewed aircraft for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. (17:11 GMT) An adviser to the head of Russia's nuclear plants operator Rosenergoatom says the construction of protective structures for key facilities at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine is nearing completion, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. Europe's largest nuclear power plant was captured by Russian troops in March in the opening days of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. It remains close to the front lines and has repeatedly come under fire, raising fears of a nuclear disaster. "The erection of engineering and construction structures, which are designed to provide additional protection for important infrastructure facilities of the nuclear power plant, including those related to the storage of radioactive materials, is at the completion stage, TASS quoted Renat Karchaa as saying. Karchaa did not provide any other information about the structures. 17:33 GMT) Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands say they plan to provide Ukraine with at least 100 refurbished Leopard 1 battle tanks, a pledge that comes as Kyiv anticipates a new Russian offensive around the anniversary of its invasion. The announcement followed Germany agreeing last month to allow deliveries of the more modern German-made Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine. 20230208 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/8/russia-ukraine-live-president-zelenskyy-to-visit-the-uk (09:26 GMT) European Union moves to add "exemptions" to its price cap on Russian oil products show that the commodity is still in demand, Russia's deputy prime minister has said. "Yesterday we saw another change to the European Union's regulations, the exemptions," Alexander Novak said in comments published by the state-run TASS news agency. "This once again emphasises that our oil products are in demand in Europe, once European politicians indicated that their actions defy any logic and take such decisions and think how to get out of this situation," he added. The EU said last week it agreed to set price caps on Russian refined oil products to limit Moscow's ability to finance its war in Ukraine. However, the bloc has also introduced several exemptions to the way its price cap works. (10:27 GMT) Three European countries have promised Ukraine that it will get at least 100 Leopard 1 tanks in the "coming months". The German, Dutch and Danish defence ministries said on Tuesday that training on the units would be provided to Ukrainian forces, ahead of the delivery of more advanced battle tanks in the future. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/7/european-countries-promise-ukraine-more-tanks (10:46 GMT) Key events from day 350 of the war https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-350 (10:58 GMT) Western sanctions against Russia are creating a parallel oil market, the chief executive officer of French oil giant TotalEnergies has said. "We had a relatively transparent, well-functioning global oil market ... I understand the political objective, but I don't think we have fully appreciated the consequences," Patrick Pouyanne told reporters after his company posted a record profit for 2022. "There is no longer a unified oil market ... With all these bans, we are creating a grey market for oil," he said, adding that Russia was "without a doubt capable of selling its products elsewhere". "The weapon Russia has is to reduce volumes and raise prices," Pouyanne said. (11:15 GMT) Ukraine's president has arrived in the UK for only his second wartime visit outside of his home country since Russia launched its invasion. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak welcomed Zelenskyy as he touched down at London's Stansted Airport. A large convoy of vehicles left the airport shortly after the plane landed for the drive to central London, where Zelenskyy will hold talks with Sunak at his official Downing Street residence. Zelenskyy will also address the UK parliament and meet with King Charles III and British military chiefs during his visit. (12:01 GMT) The UK government has announced further sanctions on Russia, targeting manufacturers of military equipment and individuals with ties to the Kremlin. Foreign secretary James Cleverly said the new measures would "accelerate the economic pressure on [Russian President Vladimir Putin] - undermining his war machine to help Ukraine prevail". The sanctions package, announced as Zelenskyy visited the UK, targets six organisations providing military equipment such as drones to Russia's army. It also includes new measures targeting eight individuals and one organisation connected to "nefarious financial networks that help maintain wealth and power amongst Kremlin elites", the UK government said in a statement. (12:08 GMT) Ukraine grain exports in the 2022/23 season are down nearly 30 percent due to a smaller harvest and logistical difficulties caused by the Russian invasion, agriculture ministry data shows. Total exports for the season so far amount to 28.2 million tonnes. The season runs until June. The volume to date included about 10.1 million tonnes of wheat, 16.2 million tonnes of corn and about 1.9 million tonnes of barley. Exports at the same stage of the prior season were 39.9 million tonnes. (12:16 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have destroyed a drone workshop in Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv. "Workshops (belonging to) an aviation industry company in the city of Kharkiv where unmanned aerial vehicles and loitering munitions were being upgraded have been destroyed," the ministry was quoted as saying by Russia's state-owned RIA news agency. (12:21 GMT) "Our objective remains to ensure a Ukrainian victory in this conflict," Rishi Sunak told parliament ahead of an anticipated address by Ukraine's president, who is on a visit to the UK. "We will continue to support Ukraine to ensure a decisive military victory on the battlefield this year." (12:51 GMT) Estonia's Foreign Intelligence Service has said it believes Russia still has the strength to exert "credible military pressure" on the Baltic region, where it assessed the security risk had risen for the medium and long term. "A military attack against Estonia is unlikely in 2023" due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but "in the mid-to-long term, Russia's belligerence and foreign policy ambitions have significantly increased the security risks for Estonia," the Estonian service said in its annual report. "Russia considers the Baltic states to be the most vulnerable part of NATO, which would make them a focus of military pressure in the event of a NATO-Russia conflict," it added. (13:00 GMT) An international team of investigators has suspended its criminal investigation into the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, saying they have insufficient evidence to launch any new prosecutions. Dutch prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer said that the probe had "reached its limit" with all leads having been "exhausted" as the team began laying out the evidence it uncovered in its long-running investigation. The investigators said there were "strong indications" that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "decided on supplying" the Buk missile system used to shoot down the plane, killing all 298 people on board. "Although a lot of new information has been discovered about various people involved, the evidence is at the moment not concrete enough to lead to new prosecutions." Russia has always denied any involvement in the downing of the plane. (13:22 GMT) Zelenskyy has told UK parliamentarians in a showpiece address that Russia will be defeated in the war, saying the world needs "Ukrainian bravery" to persevere. "I have come here and stand before you on behalf of the brave," Ukraine's president said, paying tribute to Ukraine's military. "I thank you for your bravery ... London has stood with Kyiv since day one." Zelenskyy also said a victory for Ukraine against Russia would deter future aggressors. "The victory will change the world and this will be a change that the world has long needed," he said. "The United Kingdom is marching with us towards the most important victory of our lifetime. It will be a victory over the very idea of the war." Zelenskyy, wearing his trademark khaki military fatigues, told the UK Parliament that combat aircraft would be "wings for freedom". The president, who planned to meet later with King Charles III, noted that the British monarch was a qualified military pilot. "The king is an Air Force pilot," Zekenskyy said, adding that "in Ukraine today, every Air Force pilot is a king". "I will be leaving Parliament today, thanking you all in advance for powerful English planes," he said. (14:18 GMT) The Netherlands will hold Russia to account for the downing of passenger flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine in 2014, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte says. Rutte said it was a "bitter disappointment" that the international investigation into the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight, which took off from Amsterdam, had ended without further prosecutions for lack of evidence. "We will continue to call the Russian Federation to account for its role in this tragedy," Rutte said in a statement. (14:52 GMT) Zelenskyy is expected to travel to Paris after his visit to the UK, French President Emmanuel Macron's office says. Macron will host his Ukrainian counterpart on Wednesday evening, his office said, without providing details. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is also expected to travel to Paris to meet with Zelenskyy and Macron, Scholz's spokesman said. (15:27 GMT) The UK wants to start training Ukrainian fighter pilots as soon as possible, a spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says. The spokesperson said, however, that the UK had yet to decide on whether to supply fighter jets to Kyiv. "The prime minister has tasked the defence secretary with investigating what jets we might be able to give, but to be clear, this is a long-term solution rather than a short-term capability, which is what Ukraine needs most now," the spokesperson said. (15:59 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says the United States has questions to answer about the explosions on the undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. Commenting on a report published earlier on Wednesday that said Washington was involved in the blasts, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova called on the White House to comment on the "facts" that had been presented. (16:31 GMT) Western partners could deliver the first battalion of Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine in the first three or four months of this year, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius says on a trip to the Polish capital. "We need to proceed as fast as possible, of course," Boris Pistorius said in Warsaw, adding that a battalion would consist of about 31 tanks. Germany has pledged to deliver highly sought-after Leopard 2 units to Ukraine from its own stocks and has also approved the re-export of the German-made tanks to Kyiv by other allies in Europe. (16:49 GMT) Portugal will send three Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine next month after it has repaired the German-made units, Prime Minister Antonio Costa has said. The announcement came after Costa said on Saturday that his country was in talks with Berlin to obtain parts needed to repair inoperable Leopard tanks in Portugal's inventory. "Right now we are implementing the recovery and maintenance plan for the Leopard 2 tanks and, according to the plan, we are in a position to be able to send three of them in March," Costa told the Portuguese parliament. "This is what we are working towards." (17:03 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is flying to Paris to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and French President Emmanuel Macron, German government sources told the Reuters news agency. Macron will host the meeting between the three leaders in the French capital on Wednesday, the French presidency said. (17:24 GMT) Russia's embassy to UK has warned London against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, saying such a move will have "military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world", Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was in London on Wednesday, where he called on the United Kingdom to give Ukraine fighter jets as the next stage in the West's supplies of weapons to help Kyiv fight off the Russian invasion. (17:55 GMT) The White House has dismissed a blog post by a US investigative journalist alleging that the United States was behind explosions of the Nord Stream gas pipelines as "utterly false and complete fiction." Journalist Seymour Hersh claimed an attack was carried out last September at the direction of President Joe Biden. "This is utterly false and complete fiction," Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said. Spokespeople for the CIA and State Department have told Reuters news agency the same. (18:14 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says nothing is off the table when it came to supplying Ukraine with jets to fight Russia, adding that training Ukrainian pilots was the first step towards them being able to use such planes. "The first step in being able to provide advanced aircrafts is to have soldiers or aviators that are capable of using them. That is a process that takes some time. We've started that process today," Sunak said at a news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after announcing Britain would train Ukrainian pilots. "Nothing is off the table and our leadership on this issue is something that we all collectively should be very proud of." (19:10 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Russian President Vladimir Putin has no interest in resolving the Ukraine conflict through diplomatic means. "As President Zelenskyy said, 'Diplomacy is the only way to definitively end Russia's war of aggression and to create a path to peace that is both just and durable. Clearly, President Putin has no genuine interest in diplomacy right now," Blinken said to reporters after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, . "The best way to hasten prospects for real diplomacy is to keep tilting the battlefield in Ukraine's favour," he added. (19:31 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron has undergone significant change on his stance towards Ukraine after seeking to keep channels open to Russia in the early phase of the conflict. "I believe he has changed," Zelenskyy said in an interview with Le Figaro daily. "And that he changed for real this time. After all, he [Macron] opened the door to tank deliveries," he said. He also supported Ukraine's candidacy for the EU. I believe it was a real signal. We had a lot of conversations with France, Germany and other countries. I believe that confidence is real today," he added. 20230209 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/9/russia-ukraine-live-zelenskyy-to-lobby-eu-leaders-in-brussels (09:18 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Brussels to rally EU leaders to step up support for his war-ravaged country on the third leg of his European tour, officials said. Zelenskyy flew into the seat of the European Union with French President Emmanuel Macron to address the bloc's parliament and attend a summit. The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell reaffirmed to reporters the bloc will deliver more military support to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said the Netherlands is not ruling out any kind of military support. "We have consistently said that we rule nothing out as long as there is not an Article Five situation between NATO and Russia," he said. (09:20 GMT) Russia's Wagner mercenary group has stopped recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has said. "The recruitment of prisoners by the Wagner private military company has completely stopped," Prigozhin said in a response to a request for comment from a Russian media outlet published on social media. "We are fulfilling all our obligations to those who work for us now," he said. (09:21 GMT) A regional governor says Russian forces have significantly stepped up attacks near the town of Kreminna and are trying to break through Ukrainian defences. "I can confirm that there has been a significant increase in attacks and shelling. And it is in the direction of Kreminna that they are trying to build on their success by pushing throughout defenders' defences," Serhiy Haidai, governor of the mostly occupied Luhansk region, told Ukrainian television. "So far they have had no significant success, our defence forces are holding firmly there." Breaking through Ukrainian lines would take Russian forces closer to the much larger city of Kramatorsk. (09:24 GMT) The Russian embassy in Britain has warned London against sending fighter jets to Ukraine, according to Russia's TASS news agency. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the United Kingdom on Wednesday, calling on allies for fighter jets to help fight Russian forces. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said "nothing is off the table", including combat aircraft for Kyiv. In a statement, the Russian embassy said the "bloodshed, next round of escalation, and resulting military and political consequences for the European continent and the entire world" would be on London's conscience if the UK sent fighter jets. "Russia will find a way to respond to any unfriendly steps taken by the British side," TASS quoted the embassy as saying. (09:32 GMT) Spain's left-wing coalition government is divided on its response to the Ukraine war. The ruling Spanish Socialist Workers' Party supports the NATO policy of sending arms to support Ukraine and pledged earlier this month to send five Leopard tanks to Kyiv. But the far-left Unidas Podemos, the coalition's junior partner whose votes prop up the minority government, has adopted a different approach. (09:47 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov says there will be consequences for the United States after a blog by a US investigative journalist alleged Washington was behind the blast that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Ryabkov also told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency that Seymour Hersh's report was not a surprise for Russia, who has repeatedly said the West was behind the explosions. Earlier on Thursday, Vyacheslav Volodin, the chairman of the Russian State Duma, said that the report should become the basis for an international investigation. (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin says it will be Ukrainians who suffer if Britain or other Western countries decide to send fighter jets to Kyiv. (10:31 GMT) International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach has called on Ukraine to drop threats to boycott the 2024 Olympics over the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes. In a letter to Ukraine's National Olympic Committee (NOC) president Vadym Gutzeit, seen by the Reuters news agency, Bach said claims that allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes back into the Games would promote the invasion were "defamatory". The IOC has said a boycott would violate the Olympic Charter and that its inclusion of Russian and Belarusians is based on a UN resolution against discrimination within the Olympic movement. (10:47 GMT) Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the invitation of Zelenskyy to Paris, where he met his French counterpart and the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, was "inappropriate". "I believe our strength is community and unity ... but there are times when favouring internal public opinion risks being to the detriment of the cause, and this seems to me to be one of those cases," she said in Brussels. Following his visit to London and Paris, Zelenskyy arrived in Brussels on Thursday to push EU leaders for more weapons in the fight against Russia's invasion and for a quick start to EU membership talks. (10:51 GMT) Zelenskyy has thanked the European Parliament for helping Ukraine defend itself against the Russian invasion before joining a summit of EU leaders to ask for more weapons. "Thank you," Zelenskyy told EU politicians, who gave him a long standing ovation, some of them wearing the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. (11:12 GMT) The Polish prime minister says NATO must take any decision on supplying fighter jets to Ukraine as a whole, and Poland will not be the first to provide such aircraft. "Our position is clear, we can only act within the entire formation of NATO," Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters. (11:27 GMT) When asked if China had exported navigation equipment and fighter jet parts to Russia, a commerce ministry spokesperson said China has always required its firms to abide by domestic laws. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Chinese state-owned defence companies had provided technology that Russia's military needs, citing Russian customs records. "The Chinese government has always required enterprises to strictly comply with national export control and other laws and regulations ... and ensure that relevant exports are in line with China's national security interests and international interests," a commerce spokesperson Shu Jueting told a regular briefing. China's Anti-Foreign Sanctions Law, which came into force in June 2021, grants Chinese companies a legal basis for side-stepping international sanctions that harm Chinese entities and result in them only having to comply with domestic laws and regulations. (11:41 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 351 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-351 (11:59 GMT) As the anniversary of the war approaches, Ukrainian officials report that Russian attacks are intensifying in the east of the country. (12:15 GMT) Zelenskyy tells European Union leaders in Brussels there is no free Europe without a free Ukraine. "Europe should not have grey zones; our whole continent should be open to European destiny," Zelenskyy told the 27 national EU leaders gathered for a summit in Brussels weeks before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Unity of Europe is fundamental to security," he said, adding a "free Europe cannot be imagined without free Ukraine". "Europe is free, Europe will be free and Europe is united," he said. (12:36 GMT) The British government is wary of sending fighter jets to Ukraine if it can potentially place the UK's safety at risk, Number 10 has said. A spokesperson for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak declined to comment on "speculation about the provision of jets" before a decision on sending any has been taken when asked whether the UK has spares to give away. "The UK has significant numbers of Typhoons and F-35s," the official said. "Of course, we would never do anything that would put UK safety at risk." The spokesperson added that the UK would work with international partners to "work out how we could supply [Ukraine] with NATO-standard capabilities". (12:52 GMT) Vladimir Putin says Russia should build a system for developing drones and that the country should be a "source of technology and competence". Russian forces have extensively used drones in Ukraine, including those bought from Iran. Speaking at a meeting with senior officials broadcast on state television, Putin added foreign companies were losing out due to leaving the Russian market amid Western sanctions. The potential, he said, for domestic business expansion was "colossal", and Russia had not lost out from the departure of the foreign businesses. (13:11 GMT) Elon Musk's SpaceX should choose between Ukraine and Russia, a senior Ukrainian official said after the company said it was curbing Kyiv's use of Starlink internet devices for controlling drones. Gwynne Shotwell, president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, said on Wednesday that the Starlink service, which has provided Ukraine with the internet, was "never meant to be weaponised". Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Zelenskyy, criticised the decision on Twitter and said, "A year of Ukrainian resistance & companies have to decide: Either they are on the side of Ukraine & the right to freedom, and don't seek ways to do harm. Or they are on Russia's side & its 'right' to kill & seize territories." "SpaceX (Starlink) & Mrs. Shotwell should choose a specific option." (13:27 GMT) Ukraine will win the war against Russia and become an EU member, Zelenskyy said in his first in-person speech at the European Parliament. He said Ukraine is fighting the nearly year-old war to "defend the European way of life," based on the rule of law, open societies, and the inviolability of borders. Zelenskyy stressed that, while Ukraine is "fighting, defending itself, it is also modernising and reforming its institutions" so that it could become an EU member. "Ukraine is going to be a member of the European Union." (13:46 GMT) New European sanctions against Russia will include new export bans worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.7bn) and will take on Putin's propagandists, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters. "We will target Putin's propagandists because their lies are poisoning the public space in Russia and abroad", von der Leyen said during a joint news conference with Zelenskyy. (14:25 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said during a visit to a tank factory in the Siberian city of Omsk that Moscow would increase production of tanks in response to Western arms supplies to Ukraine. "As we know, our adversary [Ukraine] has been begging abroad for planes, missiles, tanks. How should we respond? It is clear that in this case, it is natural for us to increase production of various armaments, including modern tanks," Medvedev said in video footage of his visit on Telegram. (14:42 GMT) Talks between the CEO of Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom and the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, have begun in Moscow, Russian nuclear industry newspaper Strana Rosatom reported. It said that the talks would focus on creating a safe zone around the Zaporizhzia nuclear plant in Ukraine. Russian forces have controlled the plant since March 2022. (15:02 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says investigations into last September's explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines have been conducted so that their findings would remain hidden, the state-run TASS news agency reported. (15:38 GMT) Zelenskyy tells reporters that he has discussed enhancing Ukraine's military capabilities during a meeting in Paris with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz but he could not release details. "There are certain agreements which are not public but which are positive. I don't want to prepare the Russian Federation, which is constantly threatening us with new aggressions," Zelenskyy said during a joint press conference in Brussels with European Council President Charles Michel and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. (16:01 GMT) Russia might take political or legal action in response to a report alleging that the US was involved in the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipelines last year, the TASS news agency reported, citing a foreign ministry official. In a blog post, Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh cited an unidentified source as saying US navy divers had planted explosives on the pipelines in the Baltic Sea on the orders of President Joe Biden. <=== The White House dismissed the report as "utterly false and complete fiction", and Norway, which is investigating the explosions, said the allegations were "nonsense". (16:27 GMT) The Ukrainian army's armoured vehicles will be repaired in the Czech Republic, the Czech defence ministry said. The ministry said that state-owned company VOP CZ signed a memorandum of understanding with Ukraine's government arms manufacturer Ukroboronprom on the repairs on Monday. "The memorandum ... contains a specific plan and timetable for the repairs or securing of spare parts," said Ales Vytecka, director of the Czech government's AMOS agency for military cooperation, who co-signed the memorandum. The Czech Republic has been one of the top weapons providers to Kyiv among NATO allies, supplying Ukraine with armoured personnel carriers, tanks or howitzers. (16:52 GMT) As the war in Ukraine continues, France and the United States have become more aligned. With France becoming one of Ukraine's biggest backers alongside the US, the two countries are focused on "changing the course" of the war. But at the beginning, France argued that it needed to differentiate itself from the rest of the West in case it was needed as a mediator. (17:20 GMT) Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began nearly one year ago, the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been a persistent concern. The plant was occupied by Russia soon after it launched the invasion, and Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of risking a dangerous nuclear accident as the plant has come under fire on several occasions. The International Atomic Energy Agency has called for the implementation of a safe zone around the plant to keep it from being shelled. On Thursday, Russia indicated that it was prepared to move forward with efforts to create a zone around the plant after a meeting between the heads of the UN nuclear watchdog, Rafael Grossi, and Russia's state nuclear firm Rosatom. The plant produced about 20 percent of Ukraine's power before Russia's invasion but has not produced any electricity since September. (17:42 GMT) Italy's Prime Minister Georgia Meloni said her exclusion from a dinner between French and German heads of state with Zelenskyy was "inappropriate". French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met with Zelenskyy in Paris on Wednesday night ahead of an EU summit on Thursday. In prior years Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi had worked closely with Macron and Scholz, but Meloni was not invited to the meeting. Meloni told reporters on Thursday that "our strength in this fight is unity", and reportedly met with Zelenskyy at the sidelines of the summit. Some members of Meloni's far-right coalition have been criticised as sympathetic to Russia, but Meloni has pledged continued support for Ukraine. Macron stated that the dinner had been appropriate, as "Germany and France have had a special role on the Ukraine question for eight years". (18:03 GMT) A senior health official has said that about one in four Ukrainians are at risk of developing acute mental health issues as Russia's war strains the Ukrainian population. Michel Kazatchkine, a special adviser to the World Health Organization's Regional Office for Europe, said on Thursday that the war could also put pressure on the health systems of surrounding regions, as the economic fallout of the conflict stretches "constrained" budgets. Kazatchkine noted that during a recent trip to the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, he witnessed scores of military members suffering from depression and anxiety. "Mental health is becoming a predominant public health issue in Ukraine," he told reporters in Geneva. "The war and its consequences have led to an increased use of licit and illicit psychoactive substances." ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/9/ukraine-slams-roger-waters-over-un-security-council-speech Ukraine has denounced Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters for claiming that Russia's invasion was "not unprovoked". 20230210 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/10/russia-ukraine-live-explosions-in-kyiv-as-air-raid-sirens-blare (08:40 GMT) Russia has launched missile and drone attacks, a day after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited some European countries to push for long-range weapons. (08:42 GMT) High-voltage facilities in eastern, southern and western Ukraine were hit by Russian missiles, disrupting power supplies, grid operator Ukrenergo said. "Enemy aviation is in the air and ships which can carry Kalibr missiles are in the sea. The enemy launched the missiles. The air alert will be long," said Maksym Marchenko, regional governor of the southern region of Odesa. "Please do not ignore the air alert sirens and go to the shelters." (08:46 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has not ruled out sending fighter jets to Ukraine at some point, but says that Kyiv needed more immediate military firepower. His assessment follows President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's tour of European capitals to seek more arms for Ukraine. The Ukrainian leader attended an EU summit on Thursday, saying some European leaders had offered warplanes to Ukraine, but failed to name the countries. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, who has strongly supported Ukraine throughout the war, says NATO must act together on jets for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it would be Ukrainians who suffer if Britain or other Western countries supply fighter jets to Kyiv. (08:48 GMT) In Kharkiv, "critical infrastructure facilities were targeted" resulting in fires that were "quickly" put out, governor Oleg Sinegubov said, amid an onslaught of nationwide Russian attacks. He said nobody was injured but some parts of the city were without power. "Energy and industrial infrastructure" suffered damaged in Zaporizhzhia, leaving sections of the city without electricity, local official Anatoly Kurtev said. Kurtev said 17 attacks were recorded over the course of an hour, "the largest number" since Russia invaded nearly one year ago. (09:19 GMT) Moscow says Ukraine could use long-range Western arms to attack deep into Russian territory. Earlier, Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said Kyiv would only use weapons provided by the United States to target Russian forces on Ukrainian territory. But Alexei Polishchuk, a department head at the Russian foreign ministry, told RIA: "There can be no trust in such statements because the Ukrainian authorities have time and again demonstrated their untrustworthiness and inability to make agreements." (09:42 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United Nations says Moscow has not been able to export any grain as part of the Black Sea deal struck last year due to Western obstacles, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. The deal facilitates the export of Ukrainian agricultural products through Black Sea ports with the supervision of Turkey and the UN. However, the deal was not intended to facilitate Russian grain exports, and Moscow continues to export large volumes of grain and other agricultural products outside the agreement. (09:59 GMT) The Dutch energy minister, Rob Jetten, says the Netherlands has virtually halted imports of natural gas, coal, oil, and petroleum products from Russia. The Netherlands, which imported 16 billion euros ($17.18bn) worth of energy from Russia in 2021, is still working on cutting off the last of the shipped liquefied natural gas (LNG), the government said in a statement. (10:17 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser has reiterated calls for Western allies to provide Kyiv with long-range missiles and fighter jets after the Russian missile and drone attack on Friday. Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on Twitter, Russia "has been striking at" Ukrainian cities all night and morning. Their "intention is the same: mass destruction & killing", he said, adding, "Enough talk & political hesitation. Only fast key decisions: long-range missiles, fighter jets, operational supplies logistics for Ukraine or else genocide can't be stopped." (10:28 GMT) A top Ukrainian general says two Russian missiles crossed into Romanian and Moldovan airspace before entering Ukraine on Friday. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said two Kaliber missiles launched from the Black Sea had entered Moldovan airspace, then flew into Romanian airspace before entering Ukraine. The Ukrainska Pravda media outlet quoted the air force spokesperson saying separately that Ukraine could shoot down the missiles but it did not because it did not want to endanger civilians in foreign countries. (10:45 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will deliver his annual address to the national assembly, a joint meeting of Russia's two houses of parliament, on February 21, the Kremlin said. The address will mark exactly one year since Russia recognised two breakaway Ukrainian regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent states, an essential step before Putin decided to launch a "special military operation" in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. (11:01 GMT) Ukraine has shot down 10 Russian missiles over the capital, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Klitschko wrote on Telegram, "According to the air defence forces, 10 missiles were shot down over Kyiv. There is damage to electrical networks. There are no casualties. Energy workers are working to restore networks." Russia unleashed a new barrage of missile strikes on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, causing power outages and restricting water supplies. (11:25 GMT) A British Ministry of Defence update says Russian forces have "likely made tactical gains in two key sectors" since February 7. "On the northern outskirts of the Donbas town of Bakhmut, Wagner Group forces have pushed 2-3km further west, controlling countryside near the M-03 main route into the town," the ministry says. (11:43 GMT) Ukraine's leading electricity producer DTEK said four thermal power plants were damaged in Russian missile attacks. In a statement, it said that, according to preliminary information, two employees had been wounded. (11:51 GMT) The Romanian defence ministry said a Russian missile launched off a ship near Crimea crossed into Moldovan airspace, about 35km northeast of Romania's border, before hitting Ukraine. "The Romanian Air Force's surveillance system detected on Friday an air target, most likely a cruise missile launched from a Russian ship in the Black Sea near the Crimean Peninsula," the ministry said. "The closest point of the target's trajectory to Romania's airspace was recorded by the radar systems at approximately 35 kilometres northeast of the border." (12:04 GMT) Moldova says a Russian missile violated its airspace on Friday morning and has summoned the Russian ambassador. "The Ministry of Defence, in cooperation with the responsible structures of the country, closely monitors the situation in the region and strongly condemns the violation of the airspace of Moldova," the defence ministry said. The foreign ministry said the Russian ambassador had been urgently summoned and added: "We resolutely reject the latest unfriendly actions and statements against Moldova, which is absolutely unacceptable for our people. (12:15 GMT) A spokesperson for the German defence ministry said that sending fighter jets to Ukraine is not an issue for Germany. "That is not an issue for us," a defence ministry spokesperson told a regular government news conference in Berlin. A foreign ministry spokesperson added: "This is not a debate at the moment." (12:33 GMT) Channels between Russia and NATO remain open, but normal diplomatic relations between the two sides are out of the question, Russian deputy foreign minister Alexander Grushko said. "Military channels have remained open to date - in particular a telephone communication line between Russia's chief of the General Staff and the commander of NATO troops in Europe," Grushko said in an interview on state TV. But he added that "normal diplomatic contacts and dialogue are out of the question". (13:20 GMT) Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni dismissed the complaints of those who have criticised her decision to continue sending arms to Ukraine. "Those who say Ukraine should not be helped are working against the sovereignty and freedom of a nation," Meloni told a news conference at the end of an EU summit. She said she hoped Italy would be able to announce that it was ready to supply Ukraine with a SAMP/T missile defence system in the coming days. (13:41 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 352 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-352 (14:06 GMT) The Czech Olympic Committee has rejected the idea of athletes from Russia and Belarus returning to international competitions as long as Russia's war against Ukraine continues, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky says. However, the Czech Republic does not plan to boycott the Paris Olympic Games next year if athletes from the two countries are allowed to participate, Lipavsky told the CTK news agency. (14:25 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Brussels, said the Russian missile that entered Moldovan airspace would become a grave matter if it had gone over Romania. "It would be a very serious matter because Romania is a member of NATO. Romania is denying this [happened and] put out a statement saying they think this was likely a cruise missile," Bays said. Outside of the rogue missile, Bays explains that the recent resignation of Moldova's prime Mminister, Natalia Gavrilita, due to the country's financial situation signals something much more significant. "Instability [in Moldova] is linked to Russia because, remember, there is a separatist area of Moldova not under the government's control, called Transnistria, and that area is pro-Russian," he said. (14:49 GMT) Switzerland has rejected a request from Madrid to allow Spain to re-export Swiss-made anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine. "Spain's request for a waiver of the non-re-export obligation was examined in the light of the same criteria as an export of war material from Switzerland," the government said. "The requests were, therefore, answered in the negative." Switzerland's War Materials Act does not allow the export of war materials if the destination country is involved in an internal or international armed conflict. However, sending weapons to Ukraine is becoming a sensitive topic in Switzerland as the population favours repealing the provision. (15:11 GMT) The Polish sport minister said that creating a team of refugees would allow some Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete, which could be the basis of a compromise. "It may be a compromise for the IOC [International Olympic Committee] to create a team of refugees, which could include people of Russian and Belarusian nationality who are dissidents," Kamil Bortniczuk told a news conference. The IOC has previously said that Russian and Belarusian athletes could qualify for the 2024 Paris Games through the Asian Games, but many countries have denounced the plan. (15:29 GMT) Finnish parliamentary groups say they might ratify NATO's founding treaties in the coming weeks ahead of neighbouring Sweden. The two Nordic countries sought NATO membership shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine last year and said they wanted to join "hand in hand". However, Turkey has objected to Sweden's candidacy while giving Finland the green light. (15:58 GMT) Zelenskyy took part in an online meeting attended by 35 ministers to discuss demands that Russian and Belarusian athletes be banned from the 2024 Olympics, a Lithuanian sport ministry spokesman said. He added that Zelenskyy's message to participants was that neutrality principles could not apply to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (16:24 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the West's efforts to "isolate" Russia have failed and Moscow is building stronger relations worldwide. "Today we can affirm that the West's plans to isolate Russia by surrounding us with a sanitary cordon have been a fiasco," Lavrov told Russian diplomats after returning from a nearly week-long tour of Africa. "Despite the anti-Russian orgy orchestrated by Washington, London and Brussels, we are strengthening good neighbourly relations in the widest sense of this concept with the international majority," he said. Lavrov visited Mali, Mauritania, Sudan and Iraq. He also recently visited South Africa, Eswatini, Angola and Eritrea. (16:46 GMT) The Russian gas company Gazprom is seeking compensation from Bulgaria over its refusal to pay in roubles for natural gas, Bulgaria's interim energy minister says. Gazprom cut its gas supplies, on which Bulgaria was almost fully reliant, at the end of April after EU member states refused to pay in roubles following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "There is an ongoing correspondence," interim Energy Minister Rossen Hristov told national TV channel BNT. "Claims have been made by the Russian side for a certain amount of money. We have answered back. ... I do not want to comment further because of confidentiality." "They want us to pay for something they believe that we owe them," he said, adding that steps are being taken to defend Bulgaria's interests. Sofia's long-term gas contract with Gazprom, set in US dollars, expired at the end of 2022. Russia sought payment in roubles to help shore up its currency as it faces a barrage of Western sanctions. 20230211 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-353 Fighting * Ukrainian officials said Moscow had started a new offensive ahead of the February 24 anniversary of its invasion. Britain said Russian forces were making gains north of the city of Bakhmut which they are trying to surround, but are having a more difficult time attacking Vuhledar further south, where they abandoned more than 30 armoured vehicles in a failed assault. * Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, said * Russian forces must capture Bakhmut to proceed with their campaign but faced fierce resistance from Ukrainian defenders. * Reuters could not verify the battlefield accounts. Diplomacy * Moody's downgraded Ukraine's sovereign debt to "Ca" from "Caa3", meaning it is "highly speculative and ... likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest". The firm said the war will likely create long-lasting challenges for the country. * US President Joe Biden will travel to Poland from February 20 to 22 to meet allies and speak about Ukraine, the White House said. * French President Emmanuel Macron did not rule out sending fighter jets to Ukraine at some point but said Kyiv needed more immediate military firepower. * Thirty-five countries backed calls by Ukraine for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be barred from participating in the summer Olympics next year. The International Olympic Committee wants to allow them to compete under a neutral flag. Other * Russia put popular singer Zemfira on a list of foreign agents on grounds that she supported Ukraine and criticised Russia's "special military operation" there. * Russia said it would cut oil production by about 5 percent in March, a decision that the White House said showed Russian President Vladimir Putin was willing to weaponise energy. * Putin said Russia's economy had overcome the worst effects of sanctions and was expected to show modest growth this year. 20230212 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-354 Fighting * Ukraine's top military commander says the country's forces are holding their defences along the front line in the eastern region of Donetsk, including the besieged town of Bakhmut, with the fiercest battles for the cities of Vuhledar and Maryinka. * The head of Russia's Wagner Group said it could take two years for Moscow to control all of the two eastern Ukrainian regions whose capture it has stated as a key goal of the war. * Galina Danilchenko, the Russia-installed mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, said one civilian died and two people were injured in overnight shelling by Ukrainian forces. Diplomacy * NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss recent findings about September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, said Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman. * US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov discussed "priorities", including air defence and artillery, for upcoming meetings of Kyiv's allies in Brussels, both sides said. * Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said calls from more than 30 countries to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics were unacceptable, TASS news agency reported. Corruption * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sacked a senior security figure, promising to continue his drive to clean up the government. 20230213 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-355 Fighting * Russian troops have managed to advance 2km to the west in four days along the front line in Ukraine, the Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing a statement by the Russian defence ministry. * Russia's Wagner Group has claimed to have taken the village of Krasna Hora, on the northern edge of Bakhmut, founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said. * A 53-year-old woman was killed on Sunday after Russian forces shelled an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Nikopol, the regional governor said. * The Russia-installed mayor of the Ukrainian city Melitopol said one civilian was killed and two people were injured in overnight shelling by Kyiv forces. * British arms and military vehicles could be manufactured in Ukraine under licence, easing the country's dependence on supplies of arms from Western allies, British newspaper The Telegraph reported. Diplomacy * US defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, and Ukrainian defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, discussed priorities, including air defence and artillery, for upcoming meetings of Kyiv's allies in Brussels. * Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said calls from more than 30 countries to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Olympics were unacceptable, TASS news agency reported. * International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said his organisation is not on the wrong side of history after opening the door for Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in next year's Summer Games in Paris. * NATO should hold an emergency meeting to discuss recent findings about September explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines, Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman said late on Saturday. ... https://tass.com/world/1575437 NEW YORK, February 13. /TASS/. Starlink satellite communication network is necessary to ensure communication in Ukraine, it should not be used for escalation that could lead to a World War III, US businessman Elon Musk, founder of SpaceX, which owns satellite communications facilities, said on Monday. "Starlink is the communication backbone of Ukraine, especially at the front lines, where almost all other Internet connectivity has been destroyed. But we will not enable escalation of conflict that may lead to WW3 (World War III - TASS)," Musk wrote on Twitter. Last week, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said the company had restricted military drones in Ukraine from accessing the Starlink network because the latter, according to her, was "not designed to be used for offensive or military operations." ... https://tass.com/world/1575415 BEIJING, February 13. /TASS/. Washington is currently not interested in ending the conflict in Ukraine, the Chinese newspaper Global Times said. According to the newspaper's experts, the US is not ready or unwilling to negotiate with Russia at the moment. The administration of US President Joe Biden is not going to allow the conflict to end and will continue to use it to undermine the positions of Russia and the EU, and Ukraine is the price Washington is willing to pay for this. <=== "The multiple rounds of Russia-Ukraine talks in the last year that reached no meaningful result have proven that even if Moscow and Kiev reach some agreements, Washington will immediately get involved and ruin the entire process," the newspaper quoted Chinese military expert Song Zhongping as saying. He stressed that the main issue at the moment was not the possibility of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, but the possibility of Washington and Moscow reaching "at least some tacit consensus to avoid an escalation." 20230213 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/13/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-says-energy-system-withstanding-attacks (09:56 GMT) Russia's foreign spy service says it has received intelligence that the US military is grooming individuals affiliated with ISIL (ISIS) and al-Qaeda to attack targets in Russia and other parts of the former Soviet Union, without providing any evidence to support its claim. "They will be tasked with preparing and carrying out terrorist attacks against diplomats, civil servants, law enforcement officers and personnel of the armed forces," the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said in a statement. "Special attention is paid to attracting immigrants from the Russian North Caucasus and Central Asia." (10:00 GMT) Russian forces are likely strengthening and expanding their defensive positions in occupied parts of Zaporizhia and Luhansk in Ukraine's south and east respectively, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has said. "Despite the current operational focus on central Donbas, Russia remains concerned about guarding the extremities of its extended front line," the ministry said in its latest daily intelligence update posted on Twitter. "This is demonstrated by continued construction of defensive fortifications" in the Zaporizhia and Luhansk regions, it added. (10:18 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says Moscow's troops have pushed forward a few kilometres along the front lines in Ukraine. The ministry said Russian forces had managed to advance two kilometres to the west in four days. However, it did not say along which part of the long front line, encompassing several Ukrainian regions in the country's south and east, they had moved. "The Russian servicemen broke the enemy's resistance and advanced several kilometres deeper into its echeloned defence," it said. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said its forces had repelled Russian attacks in the country's Donetsk, Kharkiv, Luhansk and Zaporizhia regions. The military reported heavy Russian shelling all along the front line and said 16 settlements had been bombarded near the city of Bakhmut, in Donetsk, where intense battles are being fought. (10:24 GMT) Ukraine's power grid is meeting consumers' energy needs after repair work was carried out following the latest wave of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure, the country's energy minister has said. German Galushchenko said emergency repairs had been completed rapidly after Russian attacks on Friday that struck energy facilities across the country. "And today, on the first business day of the week, despite a significant increase in consumption, Ukraine's power system continues to meet the electricity needs of consumers," Galushchenko said in a statement. The national power grid operator, Ukrenergo, said additional power units had been put into operation at several thermal power plants following the repair work. (10:46 GMT) Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of the Russian region of Chechnya, has said Moscow will achieve its goals in Ukraine by the end of the year. Kadyrov's forces have played a prominent role in the war in Ukraine since Russia invaded almost a year ago, and he has forged an informal alliance with the increasingly prominent Wagner Group militia chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and other nationalist hardliners who back the war. In an interview broadcast on state television's flagship Rossiya-1 channel, he said Russia had the forces to take the capital Kyiv - from which it was driven back in the early weeks of the war - and that it needed to capture Ukraine's second city Kharkiv and its main port, Odesa. "I believe that, by the end of the year, we will 100 percent complete the task set for us today," Kadyrov said. (11:31 GMT) The United States has told its citizens to leave Russia immediately due to the war in Ukraine and the risk of arbitrary arrest or harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies. "US citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately," the US embassy in Moscow said in a new travel advisory note issued on Sunday. The embassy also advised nationals to "exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions". "Do not travel to Russia," it added. (11:57 GMT) Hungary's foreign minister has announced that he is paying a visit to Minsk on Monday with the aim of keeping "channels of communication open". Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a post on his Facebook page that during his trip to Belarus he would represent the Hungarian stance of trying to achieve peace in Ukraine. (12:22 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the military alliance plans to increase its targets for ammunition stockpiles, which are being depleted by the war in Ukraine "The war in Ukraine is consuming an enormous amount of ammunition," Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference at NATO's headquarters in Brussels. "... This puts our defence industries under strain, so we need to ramp up production and invest in our production capacities." NATO defence ministers are due to meet in Brussels on Tuesday to discuss possible further military aid for Ukraine. (12:43 GMT) Moldova's president has accused Russia of planning to use foreign saboteurs to bring down her country's leaders, stop it from joining the European Union and use it in the war against Ukraine. President Maia Sandu levelled the accusations after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last week that his country had intercepted plans by Russian secret services "for the destruction of Moldova" - claims that were later confirmed by Moldovan intelligence officials. (12:59 GMT) NATO's secretary general says a feared new major Russian offensive in Ukraine has already started. "We see no sign whatsoever that [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin is preparing for peace. ... What we see is President Putin and Russia still wanting to control Ukraine," Jens Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels. "We see how they are sending more troops, more weapons, more capabilities," he said. "The reality is that we are seeing the start [of a new offensive] already." Stoltenberg also said he expected the issue of fighter jets to be discussed at a two-day meeting of NATO defence ministers that starts on Tuesday. He stressed that NATO countries supplying combat aircraft to Ukraine would not make the alliance part of the conflict. (14:04 GMT) Ukraine has accused former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of spreading Russian propaganda after he said all Zelenskyy had to do to prevent the war in Ukraine was to "stop attacking" territory held by Russia-backed separatists in the east. In comments on Sunday, Berlusconi said he judged the Ukrainian president's behaviour "very, very negatively" and said that if he were still head of Italy's government, he would not seek a meeting with Zelenskyy. "Berlusconi's ridiculous accusations against the Ukrainian president are an attempt to kiss Putin's hands, which are covered in blood up to the elbows," Oleg Nikolenko, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry, wrote on Facebook. "At the same time, the Italian politician should understand that by spreading Russian propaganda, he encourages Russia to continue its crimes against Ukraine, and therefore, bears political and moral responsibility," he added. Nikolenko also welcomed a statement by the office of the current Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, reiterating the government's "firm and convinced" support for Ukraine. (14:19 GMT) Key events from day 355 of the war https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-355 (14:41 GMT) France's foreign affairs ministry has "strongly" advised French nationals against going to Belarus given the "new offensive launched by Russia in Ukraine". Earlier on Monday, the United States told its citizens to leave Russia immediately due to the war in Ukraine and what it said was the risk of arbitrary arrest and harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies. (15:23 GMT) Russia has said it would be "inappropriate" to extend the Black Sea grain deal unless sanctions affecting its agricultural exports are lifted and other issues are resolved. "Without tangible results on the implementation of the Russia-UN Memorandum, above all on the real removal of sanctions restrictions on Russian agricultural exports... the extension of the Ukrainian document is inappropriate," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said in an interview with the RTVI broadcaster. Russia's agricultural exports have not been explicitly targeted by Western sanctions, but Moscow says blocks on its payments, logistics and insurance industries are a "barrier" to it being able to export its own grains and fertilisers. (16:18 GMT) Norway's intelligence agencies see Russia as posing the main security threat to the country and to the remainder of Europe, the Nordic nation's defence minister has said. "Russia today poses the biggest threat to Norwegian and European security, and the confrontation with the West will be long-lasting," Bjorn Arild Gram said. Gram's remark came after Norway's government received annual threat assessments from the country's three security services: the domestic and the foreign intelligence agencies and the Norwegian National Security Authority, or NSM. The deputy head of the foreign Norwegian Intelligence Service Lars Nordrum said that Norway's oil and gas installations could be targeted by Russian sabotage. NSM head Sofie Nystrøm warned that "all of Europe will suffer" if Norwegian gas and oil installations were hit. (16:35 GMT) Germany's foreign minister has said she expects all NATO member states to ratify Finland and Sweden's bids to join the alliance "without further delay." An accession of the two Nordic countries would strengthen the alliance as a whole, Baerbock said at a news conference in Helsinki with her Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto. Sweden and Finland sought NATO membership shortly after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year and have said they want to join "hand in hand". In order for a new country to join the alliance, the unanimous approval of all of its 30 existing members is required. Turkey and Hungary have yet to back Sweden and Finland's accession. (17:39 GMT) Russia has its natural gas exports plummeted by 25 percent in 2022 after the Ukraine conflict brought turmoil to Moscow's ties with key buyers in Europe. Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak announced the figures and attributed the fall in gas exports to "the refusal of European countries to buy Russian gas". "Gas production in 2022 totalled 673.8 bcm. Exports decreased by 25.1 percent to 184.4 bcm," Novak said. He also said that Russian oil exports had increased 7.6 percent over 2022 compared to a year earlier. (18:11 GMT) Russia is delaying the launch of a ship to bring two Russian cosmonauts and an American astronaut back from the International Space Station (ISS) while it investigates a pressure loss in another module, according to its space agency. Roscosmos and the US space agency NASA had said that a Soyuz MS-23 ship would be launched on February 20 to bring back Sergey Prokopyev, Dmitry Petelin and Frank Rubio. But in a video statement, Roscosmos head Yury Borisov said a decision had been taken to push back the launch until no later than March 10 while a team investigates the cause of a pressure loss in the cooling system of the Progress MS-21 cargo ship, which is due to undock from the ISS on February 18. (19:00 GMT) A Russian military frigate has docked in Cape Town ahead of military drills with South Africa and China. The Russian consulate in Cape Town tweeted a photo of the ship, the Admiral Gorshkov, in the harbour, saying it was on "its way to Durban, where it will take part in joint ... drills". The exercises named "Mosi", which means "smoke" in the local Tswana language, are scheduled to begin on Friday and last until February 27 off the port cities of Durban and Richards Bay. (20:04 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers who have arrived at a Polish military base straight from the front line have praised the Leopard battle tanks whose ins and outs they have been learning under the watchful eye of allied instructors. "As of today, I can say that the machine is very high quality, very good," Ukrainian army Major Vadym Khodak told reporters attending the training showcase in the southwestern village of Swietoszow. "And what I like is that our soldiers like it very much," he said of the 105 Ukrainian soldiers who are receiving tank training from Polish, Canadian and Norwegian instructors. (20:45 GMT) Moldova's president has accused Russia of planning to use foreign saboteurs to bring down her tiny country's leadership, stop it joining the European Union and use it in the war against Ukraine. President Maia Sandu, whose country borders Ukraine, has repeatedly expressed concern about Moscow's intentions towards the former Soviet republic and about the presence of Russian troops in the breakaway Transnistria region. 20230214 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/14/russia-ukraine-live-russia-is-preparing-for-more-war-nato (10:28 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry has rejected an accusation by Moldova's President Maia Sandu, who said on Monday that Moscow was planning to use agents to bring down her leadership and stop her country from joining the European Union. "Such claims are completely unfounded and unsubstantiated," the ministry said. It blamed Ukraine for stirring tension between Russia and Moldova, saying Kyiv was trying to draw the Moldovan government "into a tough confrontation with Russia". (10:29 GMT) Stoltenberg says NATO has to ensure Ukraine gets the weapons it needs "to win this war" as Putin is not preparing for peace but instead "for more war". "We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace, what we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, new offensives and new attacks," said the NATO chief. "This is a grinding war of attrition, therefore a battle of logistics," added Stoltenberg. (10:30 GMT) Russian forces have been targeting Ukrainian positions along the front line in the Donetsk region, according to local officials. "There is not a single square metre in Bakhmut that is safe or that is not in range of enemy fire or drones," regional Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukraine's national broadcaster. Only about 5,000 civilians are left in the city out of a pre-war population of about 70,000, Kyrylenko said. (10:32 GMT) The Kremlin says NATO demonstrates its hostility towards Russia daily and is becoming increasingly involved in the conflict. "NATO is an organisation which is hostile to us and which proves this hostility every day," spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It is trying its best to make its involvement in the conflict around Ukraine as clear as possible," Peskov said. Russia says weapons supplies to Ukraine by NATO countries are dragging out the conflict and raising the possibility of a further escalation. (10:36 GMT) A Ukrainian worker has been killed and many others injured recently while trying to repair the power supplies following Russian air raids, according to Energy Minister German Galushchenko. He said there had been several accidents "in recent days" in the southern region of Mykolaiv and in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. (10:36 GMT) Russia's gymnastics and wrestling federations say they have been invited to participate in this year's Asian Games, which could potentially allow their athletes to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. "We received an invitation to take part in the Asian Games," Vasily Titov, head of the Russian gymnastics federation, told Match TV. "We will reply that we are interested, and then they will come up with conditions for our participation." Mikhail Mamiashvili, president of Russia's wrestling federation, said it had also received an invitation. The Asian Games are scheduled to take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8. (11:01 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says in the last three days, the Wagner mercenary group has made further small gains in the north of Bakhmut "into the village of Krasna Hora". But, in its daily intelligence update, the ministry found that "the tactical Russian advance to the south of the town has likely made little progress". (11:51 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says it is important Sweden and Finland join the organisation as soon as possible, but ratifying them at the same time was not the "main question". Finland and Sweden must gain approval from all 30 members before joining the military alliance formally. Stoltenberg's comments come days after Turkey suggested it could greenlight Finland's bid to join without accepting Sweden into the alliance after far-right hardliners burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm last month. (12:03 GMT) Ukraine urgently needs more military aid, the United States and the NATO military alliance pledged. Western defence chiefs met in Brussels to discuss new arms provisions to Kyiv and maintaining existing supplies. "Ukraine has urgent requirements to help it meet this crucial moment in the course of the war," US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a meeting of the so-called Ramstein group of allies. (12:25 GMT) The Norwegian government will send eight Leopard 2 battle tanks and other equipment to Ukraine to aid in the war with Russia. "It is more crucial than ever to support Ukraine's fight for freedom," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said in a statement. The Nordic country added that it would also send four special-purpose tanks from its armoured engineering division, depending on what Ukraine needs the most. The defence ministry said Norway would also set aside funds for ammunition and spare parts. Norway, which shares a border with Russia in the Arctic, has 36 Leopard 2 tanks. (12:51 GMT) Wagner Group chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that he founded and financed the Internet Research Agency, a company Washington says is a "troll farm" which meddled in the 2016 US presidential election. Prigozhin, Putin's ally, spent years operating on behalf of the Kremlin in the shadows but, in recent months, has become one of the most high-profile figures connected with Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "I was never just the financier of the Internet Research Agency. I thought it up, I created it, I managed it for a long time," Prigozhin said in a post shared on social media by the press service of his Concord catering group. "It was created to protect the Russian information space from the West's boorish and aggressive anti-Russian propaganda," Prigozhin said. Prigozhin was first sanctioned by the United States for his links to the Internet Research Agency in 2018 and charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States. (13:18 GMT) Moldova has temporarily closed its air space, the country's national airline Air Moldova said. (13:51 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 355 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-355 (14:13 GMT) The United Kingdom will mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine with a national moment of silence in solidarity with Kyiv. The government said Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would lead a one-minute silence at 11:00 GMT on February 24 and encouraged individuals and organisations across the UK to participate. "As we approach the anniversary of Russia's barbaric and deplorable invasion of Ukraine, as a nation, we pay tribute to the incredible bravery and resilience of the Ukrainian people," Sunak said. "Russia's unjustifiable attack brought war and destruction to our continent once again, and it has forced millions from their homes and devastated families across Ukraine and Russia," he said. The minute of silence will come just more than two weeks after Zelenksyy made a surprise visit to London. (14:35 GMT) Putin said in a letter to his Serbian counterpart that Russia appreciates Serbia's "balanced foreign policy" and backs its efforts to protect its territorial integrity. Despite its EU membership ambition, Belgrade has refused to apply sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. "Serbia is an important and reliable partner of Russia," Putin told President Aleksandar Vucic in a letter released to media by the Serbian presidency. "We highly appreciate the balanced foreign policy course Belgrade is implementing in a complicated international environment. We support your efforts to protect your territorial integrity and resolve the Kosovo issue," Putin said. "I am convinced that a further development of the Russian-Serbian strategic partnership reflects the best interest of our brotherly nations." (15:00 GMT) NATO partners should swiftly admit Sweden and Finland to the defence alliance, Germany's foreign minister said, adding that Sweden had taken tangible steps to address Turkey's concerns. "It was right and important that [Sweden] responded regarding the concerns of Turkey, approached Ankara and undertook tangible steps to confront those concerns," Annalena Baerbock told reporters during a visit to Stockholm. Baerbock said it was up to all NATO states to act so that Sweden and Finland could join "hand in hand". (15:21 GMT) The Polish defence minister said that discussions on supplying F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would likely be fruitful, but pressure must be applied. "We are aware that our potential in this area is limited, because we have only 48 F-16 aircraft, but the allies have much more potential, so I think that this conversation will ... end with positive decisions," Mariusz Blaszczak told reporters in Brussels. "You just have to apply pressure." (15:31 GMT) On Wednesday, the EU will launch an ad hoc group to investigate how frozen Russian funds, including central bank reserves, can be used for reconstruction work in Ukraine, the Swedish government said. "The mandate is to contribute to mapping which funds have been frozen in the European Union ... and secondly, how to legally proceed to access those funds," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told a news conference in Stockholm. He said that no prior model exists for handling Russian assets, and the EU must establish appropriate legal procedures. "It's Russian taxpayers, not all other taxpayers, who must bear the cost of the necessary reconstruction work," Kristersson added. The ad hoc group will be headed by Anders Ahnlid, the head of Sweden's National Board of Trade, a government agency. (15:55 GMT) Top US general Mark Milley has said that Russia failed to achieve its aims in Ukraine, as the country remains independent. "In short, Russia has lost," Milley said. "They've lost strategically, operationally and tactically." He added that Russian forces are paying "an enormous price" on the battlefield and have resorted to sending "conscripts and prisoners to imminent death" in recent months. (16:12 GMT) Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin has said that the US and its partners are "working hard" to supply Ukraine with the equipment it needs, including tanks and ammunition, before an expected offensive in the coming months. "What Ukraine wants to do at the first possible moment is to create momentum and establish conditions on the battlefield that continue to be in its favour," Austin said. "And so, we expect to see them conduct an offensive sometime in spring." (16:31 GMT) Russian forces have made incremental progress in the last day or two in trying to capture Bahkmut, but it is unclear if it will fall, White House spokesperson John Kirby said. (16:53 GMT) Zelenskyy met with the Canadian foreign affairs minister, Melanie Joly, about the support Ukraine's forces need. On Telegram, the Ukrainian president wrote, "further cooperation in the field of security and defence was discussed in detail. Canada's support of the Ukrainian army is invaluable in these turbulent times for us." (17:26 GMT) According to the latest estimates from Norway, the conflict has wounded or killed 180,000 Russian soldiers and 100,000 Ukrainian troops. Other Western sources estimate the war has caused 150,000 casualties on each side, AFP reports. (17:49 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has chosen three new deputies after a corruption scandal beset his ministry nearly a year into his country's fight to repel a Russian invasion. Oleksii Reznikov, who has pledged to tackle corruption after a media report that his department bought food at inflated prices, tapped a general, a civic activist and a former diplomat for the posts. One of Reznikov's deputies resigned last month following the allegation, which the ministry has denied. Two others, Ivan Rusnak and Oleg Haiduk, were dismissed on Tuesday. Senior officials last week rowed back on an initial announcement that Reznikov would also be replaced. (18:07 GMT) Moldova has barred fans from attending a football match against a Serbian team, officials announced on Tuesday, a day after the Moldovan president said saboteurs from Serbia could be part of an alleged Kremlin coup plot. The Moldovan Football Federation said it was "informed by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova about the impossibility" of allowing fans at a February 16 match in Chisinau between FC Sheriff of Tiraspol and FK Partizan of Belgrade. The federation said it would allow fans to receive refunds but did not give an explanation for the move. "We apologise to football fans for the inconvenience caused," it said in a statement. (18:22 GMT) Moscow has held at least 6,000 Ukrainian children, likely many more, in sites in Russian-held Crimea and Russia whose primary purpose appears to be political re-education, according to a US-backed report published on Tuesday. The report said Yale University researchers had identified at least 43 camps and other facilities where Ukrainian children have been held that were part of a "large-scale systematic network" operated by Moscow since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The children included those with parents or clear familial guardianship, those Russia deemed orphans, others who were in the care of Ukrainian state institutions before the invasion and those whose custody was unclear or uncertain due to the war, it said. "The primary purpose of the camp facilities we've identified appears to be political re-education," Nathaniel Raymond, one of the researchers, said in a briefing to reporters. Some of the children were moved through the system and adopted by Russian families, or moved into foster care in Russia, the report said. (18:38 GMT) A US jury has convicted a wealthy Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin of charges that he and others made tens of millions of dollars by hacking US computer networks to obtain secret, inside information about multiple companies which they used to make trades. Vladislav Klyushin, the owner of a Moscow-based information technology company called M-13 that did work for the Russian government, was found guilty on Tuesday by a federal jury in Boston of charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and securities fraud following a trial, prosecutors said. Of the five Russian nationals charged with carrying out the nearly $90m scheme, Klyushin, 42, was the only one to be arrested and face trial after he was apprehended in Switzerland during a ski trip in March 2021 and extradited to the United States. The other four remain at large. (18:49 GMT) A British citizen has died in Ukraine, the foreign ministry said on Tuesday, the eighth to die in the country since Russia invaded last year. "We are supporting the family of a British national who died in Ukraine, and are in contact with the local authorities," the ministry said in a statement. The identity of the individual is not yet known. (19:11 GMT) A South Korean court has granted two Russians who fled their country to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine the right to apply for refugee status. The two men, who have been stranded at the Incheon International Airport near Seoul since last October, will be able to leave the terminal building and enter the country, the court said. The court denied a similar request from a third Russian citizen, without detailing the reasons for the decision. 20230215 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/15/russia-ukraine-live (09:43 GMT) Ukraine has accused Russia of "obstructing" the Black Sea grain deal and appealed to the UN and Turkey to press Moscow to immediately stop doing so. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said in a joint statement that Russia had intentionally slowed down inspections and demanded unregulated documentation to hamper the agreement. The agreement, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey and signed in July last year, was extended by another 120 days in November and is up for renewal again next month. Russia has signalled that it is unhappy with some aspects of the deal and with sanctions imposed on it. (09:52 GMT) The UN's humanitarian aid and refugee agencies have said they are seeking $5.6bn this year to provide help to millions of people in need of support in Ukraine as well as countries that have taken in Ukrainians who have fled the war. The bulk of the joint appeal - $3.9bn - is for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which aims to help more than 11 million people by funneling funds through more than 650 partner organisations. Refugee agency UNHCR is seeking $1.7bn to help some 4.2 million refugees who have fled to 10 host countries in eastern and central Europe. (09:57 GMT) Germany's defence minister says he is in favour of raising NATO's military spending target as the war in Ukraine rumbles on. "I think moving towards the two percent target alone will not be enough, it can only be the basis for further steps," Boris Pistorius said as he arrived for talks with other NATO defence ministers at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels. "We are in the process of coordinating our position on this within the government," he added. NATO leaders agreed in 2014 to move towards spending at least two percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence within a decade. Several allies are now pushing for higher military spending, given there is a war raging in Europe. But others, including Germany itself, are currently far away from meeting even the two percent goal. (10:06 GMT) Russia says its troops have broken through two fortified lines of Ukrainian defences in the partly occupied eastern Luhansk region, pushing Kyiv's forces back several kilometres in places. The Russian Defence Ministry said the Ukrainians had retreated in the face of Russian attacks. (10:09 GMT) Ukrainian forces have repelled some Russian attacks in Luhansk, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office has said after Moscow claimed its own troops had made advances in the eastern region. "Over the past day, units of the Defence Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks by the (Russian) occupiers in the Nevskyi, Kreminna and Bilohorivka districts," Zelenskyy's office said in a statement. (10:37 GMT) The delivery of German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine came "a bit too late", the country's vice chancellor has said. "With the decision to send the tanks we are doing what we can," Robert Habeck told the newspaper Die Zeit in comments published on Wednesday. "A bit too late, but it's done ... Everyone is expecting a terrible Russian offensive ... Time is pressing," he added. Habeck also said that Germany was not up for a debate on sending warplanes, which Ukraine says it needs to repel Russia's offensive. (11:00 GMT) In the isolated farming village of Posad-Pokrovske in southern Ukraine, two brothers and their wives have decided to stay put despite Russia's deadly offensive. "We are 80, we've worked all our lives, in the same garden and now we're waiting for death," Stepan Kovalyov, one of the brothers, said. "What else can we be waiting for?" https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/2/15/elderly-brothers-eke-out-life-among-ruins-of-ukraine-war (11:04 GMT) Russia is pouring troops and military equipment into Luhansk but Ukrainian forces are maintaining their defensive lines in the eastern region, its governor has said. "The Russians are attacking in waves with the support of aviation," Serhiy Haidai said in a Telegram post. "[But] Our defenders hold the defence." (11:16 GMT) Russia's foreign minister has said Moscow will focus on ending what he called a Western "monopoly" over global affairs as part of a new foreign policy approach. "The Anglo-Saxons - and the rest of the collective West, unquestioningly submitting to them - seek to impose their dictates on world affairs at any cost," Sergey Lavrov told legislators in Russia's State Duma. "Our renewed foreign policy concept will focus on the need to end the West's monopoly on shaping the framework of international life, which in the future must be determined not in its egoistic interests but on a fair, universal balance of interests," he added. The Kremlin has often accused Western countries, led by the "Anglo-Saxon" United States and Britain, of trying to dominate global politics and meddle in others' affairs, while seeking to suppress rising powers in Asia, Latin America and Africa. (11:51 GMT) Sweden's government will present a NATO accession bill to parliament in March, the country's foreign minister has said. Tobias Billstrom set out the plan in a speech outlining the Swedish government's foreign policy priorities for the year. Sweden and Finland both applied to join the transatlantic military alliance last year following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but their ascension has been held up by Turkey and Hungary. Ankara has accused the government in Stockholm of being too lenient towards groups it deems to be "terrorist" organisations or existential threats, including Kurdish groups. (12:07 GMT) Russian journalist Maria Ponоmarenko has been sentenced to six years in a penal colony for accusing the country's air force of bombing a theatre in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol last April where women and children were sheltering. In its ruling, the Lenin district court in the Siberian city of Barnaul found Ponomarenko guilty of spreading "fake news" and also banned her from working as a reporter for five years, according to a court service statement. State prosecutors had asked for a nine-year sentence. (13:12 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has called on the alliance's member states to invest more in defence spending as Russia's war in Ukraine continues. "It is obvious that we need to spend more," Stoltenberg said after a meeting with NATO defence ministers in Brussels. He added that member states should commit to spending a minimum of two percent of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence. NATO leaders agreed in 2014 to move towards meeting that spending target within a decade. (13:16 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister says President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asked him to remain in his current post amid intense speculation over the former's political future. Asked in an interview with the Reuters news agency whether he expected to continue as defence minister in the months to come, Oleksii Reznikov replied, "Yes, it was the decision of my president." Reznikov's future was thrown into doubt in recent weeks after a senior parliamentarian from Zelenskyy's party said he would be replaced amid a corruption scandal linked to his ministry. (13:37 GMT) Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the 30 members of the NATO military alliance have committed at least $80bn worth of military, humanitarian and financial aid to Kyiv. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/15/infographic-how-much-have-nato-members-spent-on-ukraine (14:01 GMT) Global rights group Amnesty International has slammed Russia's jailing of journalist Maria Ponomarenko over her reporting of the Mariupol theatre bombing in Ukraine last year. Ponomarenko was sentenced to six years in a penal colony for accusing the Russian air force of attacking the venue, where women and children were sheltering, last April. (14:25 GMT) US defence secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukraine has a "good chance" of taking the initiative on the battlefield as its war with Russia nears the one-year mark. Austin also told reporters after a meeting with NATO defence ministers in Brussels that for every system the alliance's member states provide to Kyiv, it will provide associated training to Ukrainian troops too. "We're laser-focused on making sure that we provide a capability and not just the platform," he said. (15:10 GMT) The European Union's top diplomat says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has been a "wake-up call" for the bloc and that Kyiv must triumph in the conflict. Josep Borrell said in a post on Twitter that Moscow's offensive had "highlighted the importance of our common security and defence policy". "The EU has reacted strongly and we will continue to support Ukraine. Ukraine must win the war so it can win the peace," he added. (15:33 GMT) Six Russian balloons were spotted over Kyiv and most were shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital's military administration has said. It said the balloons may have been carrying corner reflectors and reconnaissance equipment but did not specify when they flew over the capital, although air alerts were issued in Kyiv on Wednesday. "According to information that is now being clarified, these were balloons that move in the air under the propulsion of wind," the military administration said in a Telegram post. "The purpose of launching the balloons was possibly to detect and exhaust our air defences," it added. (16:02 GMT) Several Russian strategic bombers and fighter jets were intercepted by North American air defence forces earlier this week as they flew over international airspace near Alaska, the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) has said. <=== The aircraft, which were identified on Monday, did not enter US or Canadian airspace and did not pose a threat, the joint US-Canadian centre said in a statement. It added that the Russian flights were in no way related to the mysterious spate of airborne objects shot down by the US military over North America in the past few weeks, the details of which remain unknown. "NORAD had anticipated this Russian activity ... Two NORAD F-16 fighters intercepted the Russian aircraft," it said. Russia said on Wednesday that it had carried out several flights over international waters in recent days, including in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia. (16:29 GMT) Russia has lost about half its best tanks in the year since it invaded Ukraine and is struggling to replace them, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) has said. In its annual Military Balance report, a key reference tool for defence experts, the IISS said loss rates for some of Russia's most modern classes of tank were as high as 50 percent, forcing it to rely on older Soviet-era models. "They're producing and reactivating nowhere near enough to compensate for those loss rates. Their current armoured fleet at the front is about half the size it was at the start of the war," Henry Boyd, a research fellow at the IISS, told the Reuters news agency. He estimated Russia's tank losses at between 2,000 and 2,300. (16:57 GMT) Germany's defence minister has said that ammunition stocks for German-made Gepard battle systems, which are used in Ukraine in the country's fight against Russia, are "highly sufficient". Stocks should "suffice until the summer" (around midyear in Europe), Boris Pistorius told reporters in Brussels, where NATO defence ministers were gathered for talks. Germany has signed contracts with Rheinmetall to restart the production of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft guns it has delivered to Kyiv. Germany's own military decommissioned the weapons in 2010. (17:25 GMT) President Zelenskyy has said that the situation near the east town of Bakhmut was the "most difficult" on the front line, but Ukrainian troops have so far been successfully holding back Russia's advances. "The situation in Bakhmut is the most difficult on the territory of our country," Zelensky told a news conference. "It's not easy for our soldiers in the east but they don't call it 'fortress Bakhmut' for nothing," he said, adding that Ukrainian forces were "firmly holding" their positions. (18:31 GMT) German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has criticised Switzerland for refusing to supply munitions for German-made Gepard anti-aircraft guns being used by Ukraine to repel Russia's invasion. "Some countries still have munitions but are reluctant to supply them to Ukraine for historical reasons," Habeck said in an interview with Die Zeit newspaper. "We are in talks with Switzerland, and I have to be clear: I cannot understand why Switzerland does not provide Gepard munitions," he said. Berlin has sent German-made Gepard systems and munitions to Ukraine as part of a package of weapons to help the country repel Russia's invasion. Germany's own production of munitions, however, is limited and it has asked Switzerland for authorisation to send Ukraine Swiss-made ammunition. 20230216 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/16/russia-ukraine-live-nato-urges-approval-of-sweden-finland-bids (09:35 GMT) Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen has arrived in Kyiv ahead of talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, marking the first public wartime visit by a high-ranking Israeli official. Cohen was set to attend the reopening of the Israeli embassy in the Ukrainian capital, Israel's foreign ministry said. (09:46 GMT) Russia launched 36 missiles at targets across Ukraine in the early hours of Thursday morning, the chief of Ukraine's armed forces has said. Valery Zaluzhnyy said in a Telegram post that Ukrainian air defences had shot down 16 of the missiles - a lower rate of success than against some previous Russian waves of Russian attacks. Ukrainian authorities said targets in the north, west, south, east and centre of the country were struck. (09:54 GMT) President Alexander Lukashenko has warned Belarus is ready to fight alongside its main ally Russia in Ukraine if his country is attacked. "I am ready to fight with the Russians from the territory of Belarus in only one case: If even one soldier comes onto the territory of Belarus to kill my people," the state-run Belta news agency quoted Lukashenko as telling a news conference. <=== "If they commit aggression against Belarus, the response will be the most severe, and the war will take on a completely different nature," he added. (10:01 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has urged Turkey to ratify Sweden and Finland's bids to join the transatlantic military alliance. (10:07 GMT) A year of Russia's war in Ukraine: Your simple guide https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/after-a-year-of-war-in-ukraine-what-might-happen-next (10:16 GMT) The United States will provide $200m to the Czech Republic for military upgrades and replacement of equipment the country is sending to Ukraine, the US Embassy in Prague has said. The donation is in addition to an earlier $106m pledged by Washington last year, Czech news agency CTK reported. (10:40 GMT) Key events from day 358 of the war https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-358 (10:48 GMT) Switzerland has launched proceedings to confiscate more than 130 million Swiss francs ($140m) linked to the entourage of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich. The Swiss government said it had initiated proceedings with the Federal Administrative Court to seize money presumed to be of "illicit origin". The people involved were linked to Yanukovich, who fled to Russia after being deposed in 2014. (11:38 GMT) Norway to donate $7.4bn in aid to Ukraine Norway's parliament has signed off on aid totalling 75 billion kroner ($7.4bn) to Kyiv as part of a five-year support package, making the Nordic nation one of the world's biggest donors to war-torn Ukraine. The money will be split evenly between military and humanitarian assistance over five years, broken down to 15 billion kroner ($1.5bn) annually. (12:05 GMT) Moldova's parliament is set to approve presidential aide Dorin Recean as prime minister after the country's former government resigned last week amid political turbulence overshadowed by Russia's war in Ukraine. (12:40 GMT) Greece and Bulgaria will consider reviving a pipeline project to transport crude oil from the Greek port of Alexandroupolis on the Aegean Sea to Bulgaria's Black Sea port of Burgas, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has said. Bulgaria has been looking to build a 300km trans-Balkan oil pipeline to secure non-Russian crude oil supplies for its only oil refinery on the Black Sea. (12:56 GMT) Russia's State Duma has signed off on the termination of 21 international treaties aligned with the Council of Europe. The move came after Moscow was expelled from the Strasbourg-based human rights watchdog last March over its invasion of Ukraine. (13:10 GMT) Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began nearly a year ago, the world has been broadly categorised into three camps - countries allied with Ukraine, those impartial to the conflict, and the nations that have defended Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/mapping-where-every-country-stands-on-the-russia-ukraine-war (13:58 GMT) Russia surrounds Bakhmut as Ukraine sends in troops https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/russia-surrounds-bakhmut-as-ukraine-sends-in-troops (14:02 GMT) Russia says it is expelling four Austrian diplomats in a tit-for-tat move with tensions soaring over the war in Ukraine. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said Vienna had taken an "unfriendly and unjustified step" in expelling four Russian diplomats in a case that appeared to be related to espionage allegations. The ministry said the move had undermined Austria's previous position as an unbiased and neutral state. The diplomats were given until February 23 to leave Russia, it added. (14:11 GMT) Israel's foreign minister has said his country is "committed to the sovereignty" of Ukraine during the first visit by an Israeli minister to the war-torn nation since Russia launched its invasion. "Israel stands firmly in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and remains committed to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," Eli Cohen said during a news conference in Kyiv with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. While Israel has condemned Russia's invasion, it has limited its assistance to Kyiv to humanitarian aid and protective gear to date. (14:59 GMT) A year into the Ukraine war, Russians quietly call for peace Despite strict government censorship and the threat of jail, residents of Russia's capital are finding subtle ways to express alarm and dissent about the Kremlin's year-long offensive in Ukraine. The messages are barely visible but are omnipresent throughout Moscow - scrawled on signposts, graffitied on walls, or pasted as stickers on drain pipes. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/2/16/moscows-silent-calls-for-peace (15:08 GMT) US President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on March 3 for talks focused on Ukraine, the White House has said. (15:42 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said he was aware that Russia would attack Ukraine on the evening before Moscow launched its invasion. "I went to bed. But it was a very short night because I knew that at some stage, within hours, someone was going to wake me up - and that was exactly what happened," Stoltenberg told the AFP news agency. "Around four o'clock, I was called by my chief of staff, and he just briefly told me that they have started, meaning the invasion has started. [It was] No surprise, because we knew," he added. Stoltenberg had warned for months prior to February 24, 2022, that Russia might invade Ukraine as Moscow deployed military units near the two countries' shared border in preparation for its eventual attack. (16:01 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner Group has predicted that Bakhmut will fall under Moscow's control within a couple of months. (16:10 GMT) US defence secretary Lloyd Austin has said Washington is ready to defend the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania if required, and will keep a "persistent" military presence in the region. "We are committed to Article 5, you can bet on that," Austin said, citing the requirement in the NATO charter that each member of the alliance defend each other if they come under attack. Speaking in Tallinn after talks with Estonian leaders, he also said the US will continue to keep a "persistent, rotational" military presence in the region. "The United States remains steadfastly committed to the freedom and sovereignty of our Baltic allies," he told reporters. (16:18 GMT) Moldova's parliament has approved a pro-Western government led by new Prime Minister Dorin Recean after he pledged to revive the economy and chart a course towards the European Union. Recean, 48, was nominated on Friday by President Maia Sandu to replace Natalia Gavrilita whose government resigned following a difficult 18 months in office. (16:56 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says Ukraine has returned 101 prisoners of war (POWs) from territory controlled by Kyiv in the latest such swap between the two sides. Nearly all had been defending the besieged southern city of Mariupol before it fell to Russian forces, Andriy Yermak said on Telegram. (17:09 GMT) The United Kingdom's support for Ukraine will not change if the main opposition Labour Party wins power in an election next year, Labour leader Keir Starmer has said during a visit to Ukraine. The UK has been a leading supporter of Ukraine under the governing Conservatives, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has followed predecessor Boris Johnson's example by visiting Kyiv. Johnson is popular in Ukraine, and has a street named after him. But an election is widely expected next year in the UK, and opinion polls give Labour a strong lead over the Conservatives. (17:24 GMT) The European Commission has abandoned plans to sanction Russia's nuclear sector or its representatives in its next sanctions package, Politico has reported, citing three diplomats. The head of the EU executive, the European Commission, had originally told EU countries that it would try to draw up sanctions targeting Russia's civil nuclear sector, but that plan has now failed, according to the report. (17:35 GMT) Germany plans to adjust its Energy Security Act to allow a quick sale of Russian energy group Rosneft's stake in the Schwedt refinery without the need for prior nationalisation, a draft law has shown. Under the planned adjustment to the law, the condition of prior nationalisation of assets put under government trusteeship could be withdrawn if the sale of the assets is needed to ensure that Germany's energy sector remains functional, the draft law, seen by Reuters on Thursday, showed. Germany took control of the Schwedt refinery, which was majority owned by Rosneft, and put Rosneft Deutschland under a trusteeship of the German industry regulator but Rosneft still holds 54.17 percent of the refinery. (18:13 GMT) The Berlin Film Festival is under way with audience and producers taking part in person for the first time since the pandemic. The war in Ukraine is one of the stand-out parts of this year's Berlinale. The festival's artistic director, Carlo Chatrian, says the films are trying "to make us be more aware of all these matters, but at the same time, to give an insight from a very personal point of view" of the conflict. (18:23 GMT) Russia has switched its aerial strike tactics to fool Ukraine's air defenses, using decoy missiles without explosive warheads and deploying balloons, a senior Ukrainian official has said. "The Russians are definitely changing tactics" as the war approaches its one-year anniversary, Mykhailo Podolyak, Zelenskyy's adviser, said in an interview with The Associated Press. The goal of the decoy missiles, Podolyak said, is to overwhelm Ukraine's air defense systems by offering too many targets. "They want to overload our anti-aircraft system to get an extra chance to hit infrastructure facilities," Podolyak said, adding that Ukraine's air defenses are adapting to the challenge. (18:26 GMT) The United States and its allies plan a major array of new sanctions against Russia for the February 24 anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, a senior US official has said. "You will see around the 24th a big new package of sanctions from both the US and all of our G7 partners," Victoria Nuland, the under secretary of state for political affairs, told reporters. "These sanctions will deepen and broaden in certain categories where we have been active before, particularly in limiting the flow of technology to the Russian defense industry," she said. (18:28 GMT) American warplanes have intercepted Russian military aircraft near the state of Alaska for the second time this week, the joint US-Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has said. The "routine" intercept of the four Russian planes - which included Tu-95 bomber and Su-30 and Su-35 fighter aircraft - took place on Tuesday, NORAD said in a statement. "Russian aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace," it said. This was the second intercept - when an aircraft makes visual or electronic contact with another plane - in two days, with the first taking place on Monday. "NORAD... assesses that this Russian flight activity is in no way related to recent NORAD and US Northern Command operations associated with airborne objects over North America during the last two weeks," it added. (18:34 GMT) A top Estonian defense leader has warned that if Putin is not stopped now, he could entangle the region in a larger conflict, perhaps one with even greater security implications for the US. That's because Russia has shown it will keep trying to retake territories that were once part of the Soviet Union and, so far, economic sanctions and its significant military losses in Ukraine have not changed Putin's larger goals, said Kristjan Mäe, the head of the Estonian Ministry of Defense's NATO and EU department, as US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited the Baltic nation. (18:54 GMT) Billionaire financier George Soros has said that if Russia was defeated in the Ukraine war it would result in the dissolution of what he called the "Russian empire", something he said would be greeted by former Soviet republics. Soros said the United States would support Ukraine, but that Biden had warned Zelenskyy that there were limits and that World War III had to be avoided. Soros didn not disclose the source of his information. (18:59 GMT) Moscow's parliamentary speaker Vyacheslav Volodin has called last year's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines between Russia and Germany a "terrorist attack", blaming Biden. He instructed the Duma, or Russian parliament, to determine the damage done to the gas pipelines last September when a series of blasts caused suspicious leaks. Volodin said only further investigations into the incidents could lead to compensation from foreign entities. The legislators pressed, once again, for a United Nations investigation into the acts of sabotage. The explosions were directed against Russia and Germany, Volodin said. The United States had "carried out" the attack, he said. (19:01 GMT) Israel will expand existing aid to Ukraine and help rebuild the country, foreign minister Eli Cohen has said, during the first official Israeli visit to Kyiv since Russia's invasion a year ago. (19:04 GMT) The United Kingdom and Poland have agreed on the importance of accelerating support to Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to 10 Downing Street. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Polish President Andrzej Duda met at Downing Street with European security and support for Kyiv top issues on the agenda. 20230217 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/17/russia-ukraine-live-ukraine-war-to-dominate-munich-conference 09:33 GMT) The United States believes Crimea should be demilitarised and supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the Moscow-annexed Black Sea peninsula, Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland has said. "No matter what the Ukrainians decide about Crimea in terms of where they choose to fight etcetera, Ukraine is not going to be safe unless Crimea is at a minimum, at a minimum, demilitarised," Nuland told the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. She also said Russia had a host of military installations crucial to the conflict located on the peninsula, which was seized by Moscow in early 2014. "Those are legitimate targets, Ukraine is hitting them and we are supporting that," Nuland said. Ukraine has repeatedly said it wants to reclaim all territory annexed by Russia. Moscow has warned any attacks on Crimea would risk a major escalation of the war. (09:43 GMT) Negotiations on extending the UN-backed Black Sea grain deal will begin next week, a senior Ukrainian official has said. "I think common sense will prevail and the corridor will be extended," deputy infrastructure minister Yuriy Vaskov said during a grain conference in Kyiv organised by the ProAgro agriculture consultancy. (09:52 GMT) World leaders are preparing to gather for the Munich Security Conference, with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron among those expected to attend. US Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, China's top diplomat Wang Yi and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg will also be attending the three-day conference. (09:58 GMT) Russia is intensifying its offensive in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region, its governor has said. "Today it is rather difficult on all directions because the number of attacks rose significantly, shelling also increased a lot, even with the air force," Serhiy Haidai told Ukrainian television. "There are constant attempts to break through our defence lines," he said of fighting near the town of Kreminna. (10:02 GMT) Russia bombarded Ukraine with missiles on Thursday, Kyiv said, while the head of the Wagner mercenary group predicted the long-besieged city of Bakhmut would fall within a couple of months. Following a pattern of heavy bombardments after Ukrainian battlefield or diplomatic gains, Russia launched 36 missiles in the early hours of the morning, Ukraine's Air Force said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/16/ukraine-pounded-by-fresh-missiles-russia-eyes-capturing-bakhmut (10:27 GMT) The head of the Finnish Parliament's foreign affairs committee says the legislative body will vote on February 28 to approve necessary legislation that will allow the country to join NATO. "The goal is that the national legislative process required to join NATO is finished during this electoral term," Jussi Halla-aho told reporters just two weeks before the parliament breaks for elections. The legislation is likely to be passed, given that most members of parliament are in favour of joining the alliance, bringing Finland a step closer to membership. However, Finland will not become a NATO member until existing members Turkey and Hungary ratify its bid. (10:38 GMT) As the first anniversary of the war approaches, Ukrainians say Russians could and should be doing more to stop the bloodshed. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/2/17/for-many-ukrainians-everyday-russians-are-as-guilty-as-putin (10:42 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Ukraine's president, has reiterated Kyiv's position that it will not hold peace talks with Moscow unless Russia withdraws its forces from Ukraine. "Negotiations can begin when Russia withdraws its troops from the territory of Ukraine. Other options only give Russia time to regroup forces and resume hostilities at any moment," Podolyak said in a post on Twitter. (11:05 GMT) Russia has accused the United States of "inciting" Ukraine to escalate the war by condoning attacks on Russian military targets in annexed Crimea. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova's comments came after US undersecretary of state, Victoria Nuland, said Washington supported Ukrainian strikes on military installations on the Black Sea peninsula, which Moscow seized in 2014. "Now the American warmongers have gone even further: They incite the Kyiv regime to further escalate the war," Zakharova told reporters when asked about Nuland's remarks. "They supply weapons in huge quantities, provide intelligence and participate directly in the planning of combat operations," she said, adding that some US officials dreamed like "crazies" of defeating Russia. (11:19 GMT) A former security guard at the British embassy in Berlin has been sentenced by a London court to 13 years and two months in prison for passing highly sensitive information to Russian authorities. The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales heard David Ballantyne Smith, 58, collected confidential information for more than three years, including "secret" government communications with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other sensitive documents. Judge Mark Wall said the charges for which Smith was sentenced involved conduct between 2020 and 2021, but that his "subversive activities had begun two years before". Smith pleaded guilty in November to eight offences under the Official Secrets Act, including one charge relating to passing information to General Major Sergey Chukhrov, the Russian military attaché to Berlin, in November 2020. (11:42 GMT) The World Health Organization has appealed for more funds to support Ukraine's health sector, which has been hard-hit by Russia's invasion. Hans Kluge, the UN health agency's regional director for Europe, said additional support was needed to ensure that mental health and rehabilitation services could be provided. (11:47 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has lauded Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom, saying the company will thrive despite attempts by the West to cut its clout. "Despite unfair - to put it bluntly - competition, direct attempts from the outside to hinder and restrain its development, Gazprom is moving forward, launching new projects," Putin told CEO Alexei Miller. "Over the previous 30 years, global gas consumption has almost doubled, and in the next 20 years, according to expert estimates, it will add at least another 20 percent, and maybe more," he added. "In the so-called transition period, the demand will be enormous. Moreover, more than half of this increase will fall on the countries of the Asia-Pacific region, first of all, of course, on the People's Republic of China, bearing in mind the growth rates of its economy." (12:13 GMT) Russia has appointed new commanders for three of the country's military districts, the state-owned RIA Novosti news outlet has reported. Lieutenant-General Andrey Mordvichev was chosen as the new commander of the country's Central Military District, replacing promoted Colonel-General Aleksandr Lapin, RIA reported. Lapin was appointed chief of staff of the country's ground forces last month. RIA also reported that Yevgeny Nikiforov had become chief of the Western Military District and Sergey Kuzovlev was appointed as commander of the Southern Military District. (12:27 GMT) Finland's president has said the fate of his country's bid to join NATO is now in "Turkey's hands". Sauli Niinisto's remarks came after the Finnish parliament agreed to vote later this month to approve legislation paving the way for it to join NATO. "It is an expression of our will. Turkey's stance towards our will is exclusively and only in Turkey's hands," Niinisto told reporters on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference. (12:42 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says there should be no "taboo" on the supply of military aid to Ukraine. Speaking at a joint news conference with visiting Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Zelenskyy said Kyiv had a "common understanding" with the Netherlands on the issue. "There should not be any taboo on the supply and support of weapons to our army, to our Ukraine, because it supports and protects our sovereignty," he said. Ukraine has repeatedly appealed to its allies in the West for fighter jets in recent weeks, but no country has yet publicly committed to providing them. (13:06 GMT) Russia says it has summoned the Dutch ambassador over what it called "obsessive attempts" by the Netherlands to hold it responsible for the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in Ukraine in 2014. In a statement, the Russian foreign ministry accused the joint investigation team set up to establish who was responsible of being "politicised". Prosecutors said last week at The Hague they had found "strong indications" that Russian President Vladimir Putin had approved for use in Ukraine the Russian BUK missile system used to shoot down the plane over eastern Ukraine in 2014, killing all 298 people onboard. At the time, Russian-backed separatists were fighting Ukrainian forces for control of the eastern Donbas region. ( PJB: and the civilian MH17 flew over a war zone ) (13:20 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there was "no alternative" to victory, as Kyiv presses its fightback against Russia's forces. "There is no alternative to Ukrainian victory ... No alternative to Ukraine in the EU. No alternative to Ukraine in NATO," he told the Munich Security Conference, via video link. He also called for Ukraine's Western allies to "hurry" and speed up their deliveries of weapons amid fears a new Russian offensive is getting under way. It is "obvious" Ukraine will not be the last stop in Putin's invasion, Zelenskyy says. "He's going to continue his movement all the way, ... including all the other states that at some point in time were part of the Soviet bloc," Ukraine's president told the Munich Security Conference via video link. Zelenskyy also said he did not think Russia could win the war. He likened Ukraine to David and Russia to Goliath in the biblical tale in which the underdog David, armed only with a sling, defeats a giant in combat. Zelenskyy said David won against Goliath by action rather than conversation and Goliath "has no chances". (14:01 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says allies of Ukraine who can supply Kyiv with battle tanks "should really do so now". Addressing the Munich Security Conference, Scholz said he would be "intensively campaigning" for movement on the issue. Scholz's call marked a dramatic reversal of roles as he had for months been under pressure from allies to approve the delivery of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. Germany finally relented in January, saying it would itself send a company of 14 Leopard 2 A6 tanks, with the aim of assembling, along with allies, two tank battalions for Ukraine. (14:31 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has urged Ukraine's allies to intensify their military support for Kyiv. "We absolutely need to intensify our support and our effort to the resistance of the Ukrainian people and its army and help them to launch a counter-offensive," Macron told the Munich Security Conference. He added such a counter-offensive would allow for "credible negotiations, determined by Ukraine, its authorities and its people" to take place on ending the war. (15:22 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has warned Western journalists that if they behave unprofessionally and treat Russia or its people in a rude way, they will not be tolerated. Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that when senior Western correspondents met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow this week, some complained about their working conditions, including the issuance of visas and accreditation. "How many years were they provided with conditions that were absolutely favourable?" Zakharova asked reporters. "That is all over now. Now they will live in a new way," Zakharova said. "If they do their job professionally, they will work; if not, then foreign journalists will not work. If they treat us, our country and our people rudely, then they are simply not welcome here." (15:34 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for talks in Moscow today while Western leaders congregate at the Munich Security Conference. Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported that the pair would discuss military cooperation and security issues during their meeting. (16:05 GMT) 'I was naive about Russia': Central Asians on the Ukraine war Central Asian states keep close ties with Moscow, but younger citizens in some of the region's former Soviet nations are questioning traditional alliances as the war in Ukraine rages. www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/17/where-does-central-asia-stand-on-russia (16:46 GMT) Russia has summoned Italy's ambassador to the country after Moscow said a number of performances by Russian artists in Italy had been cancelled. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry accused Italian authorities of discriminating against Russian artists, without providing further detail. "Decisions by the Italian authorities unfortunately indicate a tendency to discriminate against Russian artists and restrict cultural and humanitarian exchanges," it said. In December, an Italian theatre called off a performance by prominent Russian dancer Sergei Polunin amid an online backlash over his tattoos of President Vladimir Putin. (17:05 GMT) Ukraine was weathering a wave of Russian attacks on its power grid and seeing recovering supplies despite Russia's campaign against key infrastructure, energy operator Ukrenergo has said. After humiliating defeats on the ground, Russia has since October pummelled Ukraine's energy facilities, leading to power shortages that have left millions in the cold and dark during winter. "There has been no shortage of electricity in the energy system during the entire working week, and none is expected so far," Ukrenergo said on the Telegram. (17:27 GMT) The head of Russia's mercenary group Wagner has claimed the capture of the village of Paraskoviivka just north of Bakhmut, an eastern Ukraine city that's the scene of the longest-running battle of Moscow's offensive. "The settlement of Paraskoviivka is completely under the control of Wagner PMC units. Despite the blockade of ammunition, despite heavy losses and bloody battles, the guys completely occupied the entire territory of Paraskoviivka," Yevgeny Prigozhin said as quoted by his press service. (17:49 GMT) French supermarket chain Auchan was accused of being a "weapon of Russian aggression" by Ukraine after media reports that its shops had been used to supply goods to the Russian army. The revelations in Le Monde newspaper in France and investigative websites Bellingcat and The Insider cast a new spotlight on the Mulliez family which owns Auchan as well as DIY chain Leroy Merlin and sports retailer Decathlon. Estimated to be France's eighth wealthiest, the family has resisted public pressure to stop trading in Russia despite the risks of being linked to the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. The reports said employees at Auchan in Russia had collected store goods worth two million rubles ($27,000), including woollen socks and gas bottles, which were sent to soldiers marked as humanitarian aid. (18:16 GMT) Ex-Soviet Belarus has said it was limiting access for Polish trucks on its territory and announced the expulsion of a liaison officer following Warsaw's decision to close a border crossing. The foreign ministry in Minsk summoned Poland's charge d'affaires to condemn Warsaw's decision to close one of its three existing border crossings with Belarus as "unilateral" and "inhumane". In response, Polish goods trucks will now only be able to enter and leave Belarus through crossings on their common border, and no longer via third countries Lithuania and Latvia. "All responsibility for the deterioration of the conditions for the operations of their carriers lies with the initiator of the restrictive measures, that is the current government of Poland," said a ministry statement. (18:46 GMT) The International Monetary Fund has said it reached a staff-level agreement with Ukraine, paving the way for discussions on a full-fledged lending program that would support Kyiv's bid to join the European Union. The IMF, in a statement, said inflation in Ukraine has begun to decelerate while gradual economic recovery is expected this year. 20230218 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/18/us-russia-committing-crimes-against-humanity-in-ukraine The United States has determined that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" during its nearly year-long invasion of Ukraine, US Vice President Kamala Harris has said. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, days before the anniversary of Moscow launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Harris said Russian forces had conducted "widespread and systemic" attacks on the country's civilian population. 20230219 (11:55 GMT) Moscow says Western countries have not yet shown they are open or willing to engage in talks to resolve the conflict in Ukraine. "So far, there is no readiness or openness for peace initiatives on the part of the collective West," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by the TASS news agency on Sunday. (11:58 GMT) Ukrainian officials have urged members of the US Congress to press President Joe Biden's administration to send F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv, saying the aircraft would boost Ukraine's ability to hit Russian missile units with US-made rockets, lawmakers said. The lobbying occurred over the weekend on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in talks between Ukrainian officials and Democrats and Republicans from the US Senate and House of Representatives. "They told us that they want [F-16s] to suppress enemy air defences so they could get their drones" beyond Russian front lines, Senator Mark Kelly, a former astronaut who flew US navy fighters in combat, told the Reuters news agency. Last month, Biden said no when asked if he would approve Ukraine's request for the US fighter jets. Italian PM Meloni to visit Kyiv: Reuters Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni plans to travel to Kyiv on Monday to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Reuters news agency reports, citing a political source. Meloni, who took office in October, has said she plans to visit Kyiv before the February 24 anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year. Despite friction on the issue within her right-wing ruling coalition and divided public opinion, Meloni has been a firm supporter of Ukraine. (12:44 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the US has slammed allegations made by US officials that Moscow has been involved in "crimes against humanity" in Ukraine. "We consider such insinuations as an attempt, unprecedented in terms of its cynicism, to demonise Russia in the course of a hybrid war unleashed against us," Anatoly Antonov said, according to a statement by the Russian embassy on Telegram. "There is no doubt that the purpose of such attacks is to justify Washington's own actions to fuel the Ukrainian crisis." (12:57 GMT) The war between Russia and Ukraine can only be ended through negotiations, French President Emmanuel Macron says. "I want Russia's defeat in Ukraine, and I want Ukraine to be able to defend its position, but I am convinced that the end [of the conflict] will ultimately not be reached militarily," Macron said in an interview with broadcaster France Inter and newspapers Le Figaro and Le Journal du Dimanche. Macron said Ukraine now needs a military offensive to bring Russia back to the negotiating table. However, he said he does not believe Russia should be attacked on its own soil, as some have suggested. "Above all, these observers want to crush Russia. This has never been and never will be France's position," he said. Chechnya's leader: One day I plan to set up my own military company Ramzan Kadyrov, the leader of Russia's Chechnya region, says he plans eventually to set up his own private military company in the style of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group. "When my service to the state is completed, I seriously plan to compete with our dear brother Yevgeny Prigozhin and create a private military company," Kadyrov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said on social media. "I think it will all work out." (13:41 GMT) France says it will begin delivering the armoured vehicles it has promised Ukraine by next weekend. The AMX-10 vehicles, sometimes described as light tanks, are used for armed reconnaissance and attacks on enemy tanks. Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu told the Le Parisien newspaper of the upcoming weapons deliveries in Sunday's edition. He also said the training of Ukrainian crews on the AMX-10 is now "nearly complete" and overall training is intensifying. (13:54 GMT) Russia's former chess champion and leading Kremlin critic Garry Kasparov says Ukraine must defeat Moscow as a "pre-condition" for a democratic transition in Russia. "Liberation from Putin's fascism runs through Ukraine," Kasparov said at a panel discussion on Russia's "democratic future" at the Munich Security Conference, also attended by other prominent Kremlin critics. Kasparov urged the West to keep up its support for Kyiv, arguing, "No expenditure is too much for Ukraine." (14:08 GMT) Ukrainian troops conducting weekend exercises near the small eastern town of Siversk say they are preparing to defend one of the possible targets of a new Russian offensive. Siversk, which had a pre-war population of 10,000 people, is 35km north of Bakhmut, which has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks. Siversk is also on a road to another of the key towns in the Donetsk region, Sloviansk. "If they occupied Bakhmut, then we would be semi-encircled because on the left side we have the Siverskyi Donets River, and the enemy will advance from the right, and it is possible to cut us off if they reach the Bakhmut highway," said the deputy Siversk battalion commander, who uses the nom de guerre Han. Capturing Bakhmut would give Russian forces a stepping stone to advance on two bigger cities further west, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. But Ukraine and its Western allies say success there would be a largely Pyrrhic victory for Moscow, given the time taken and losses sustained. (14:22 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has warned top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi of consequences should Beijing provide material support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The top diplomats of the two superpowers met at an undisclosed location on the sidelines of a global security conference in Munich. Poor relations between the two countries have worsened since Washington said China flew a spy balloon over the US before American fighter jets shot it down on President Joe Biden's orders. The dispute also came at a time when the West is closely watching Beijing's response to the Ukraine war. In an interview to be aired on Sunday morning on the NBC News programme Meet the Press with Chuck Todd, Blinken said the US was very concerned that China is considering providing lethal support to Russia. He said he made it clear to Wang that such an action "would have serious consequences in our relationship". (14:42 GMT) Russia has criticised Macron over remarks about wanting to see Russia defeated. It says Moscow still remembers the fate of Napoleon Bonaparte and accuses the French president of duplicitous diplomacy with the Kremlin. Macron said in an interview with broadcaster France Inter and newspapers Le Figaro and Le Journal du Dimanche that France wanted Russia to be defeated in Ukraine but had never wanted to "crush" it. "France did not begin with Macron, and the remains of Napoleon, revered at the state level, rest in the centre of Paris. France - and Russia - should understand," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. Macron has drawn criticism from some NATO allies for delivering mixed messages regarding his policy on the war between Ukraine and Russia. (14:58 GMT) The Kremlin says the US is a "major provocateur" of international tensions for condoning attacks on Crimea, warning that the remarks about the Russian-occupied Ukrainian peninsula underscored the depth of disagreement between the two countries. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to comments by US Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland, who said the US considers Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014, should be demilitarised and Washington supports Ukrainian attacks on military targets on the peninsula. "Nuland belongs to a very broad camp of the most aggressive 'hawks' in American politics," Peskov said in comments published by the TASS news agency. "This is a point of view we know well." (15:16 GMT) Ukraine war expected to cost Germany $171bn by year's end The Ukraine war will have cost the German economy around $171bn, or about 4 percent of its gross domestic output, in lost value creation by the end of the year, the head of the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce estimates. That means GDP per capita in Europe's largest economy would be $2,143 lower than it otherwise would have been, Peter Adrian told the Rheinische Post. German industry is set to pay about 40 percent more for energy in 2023 than in 2021 before the crisis triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24 last year, a study by Allianz Trade said last month. Germany, which for decades relied on relatively cheap Russian pipeline gas, now has especially high energy prices compared with the US, which has its own natural gas reserves, while France has abundant nuclear power. "The gas price is around three to five times higher than in the United States," he said, adding electricity was four times as expensive as in France. (15:35 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says the West must provide more military aid to Ukraine and speed up its deliveries, otherwise the war in Ukraine will be over. "Much more has to be done and much quicker. There is still a lot to be done. We have to increase and accelerate our military support," Borrell said in a speech at the Munich Security Conference. "We are in urgent war mode," he added. "This shortage of ammunition has to be solved quickly. It is a matter of weeks." (15:47 GMT) UK intelligence: Russia likely using information-gathering balloons in Ukraine Russia is likely using balloons to gather information about Ukraine's defence systems and force it to use up ammunition by shooting them down, the latest UK intelligence update on the war says. The UK Ministry of Defence said that on February 12, Ukraine's air force sighted a number of balloons near the eastern city of Dnipro. Ukrainian armed forces also said that on Wednesday, they spotted and shot down several balloons over Kyiv. (16:00 GMT) 143,000 Russian forces killed since war began: Ukrainian military Nearly 143,000 Russian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the war in Ukraine almost a year ago, according to the Ukrainian military. The latest update from Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said the number of casualties on the Russian side had reached 142,860, up 590 since Saturday. It also said 3,310 tanks and 6,545 armoured combat vehicles had been destroyed. (16:18 GMT) Russia says Ukraine is planning to stage a nuclear incident on its territory to pin the blame on Moscow ahead of a UN meeting. It did not provide evidence for the accusation. Since the start of its invasion of Ukraine nearly a year ago, Russia has repeatedly accused Kyiv of planning "false flag" operations with non-conventional weapons, using biological or radioactive materials. No such attack has materialised. Russia's Ministry of Defence said in a statement that radioactive substances had been transported to Ukraine from a European country and Kyiv was preparing a large-scale "provocation". "The aim of the provocation is to accuse Russia's army of allegedly carrying out indiscriminate strikes on hazardous radioactive facilities in Ukraine, leading to the leakage of radioactive substances and contamination of the area," it said. (16:48 GMT) Russian shelling has killed three adult members of a family in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson on Sunday, regional authorities said. Four others - including two children - were injured when a shell flew into the yard of a house in the village of Burgunka, officials said. (17:02 GMT) The Biden administration is planning to impose new export controls and a fresh round of sanctions on Russia, targeting key industries, Bloomberg News reports. The new sanctions will target Russia's defence and energy sectors, financial institutions and several individuals, the report said. (17:17 GMT) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has backed a call for the bloc's members to buy arms jointly to help Ukraine but warned it would not solve Kyiv's urgent need for more ammunition now. Borrell was responding to an Estonian proposal for the EU to place large ammunition orders on behalf of multiple member states to speed up procurement and encourage European arms firms to invest in increasing their production capacities. EU officials and diplomats say they are urgently exploring the possibility of joint procurement of 155 millimetre artillery shells to help Kyiv defend itself against Russia. EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the Estonian plan in Brussels on Monday. (17:27 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and US President Joe Biden will discuss possibly increasing US troop presence in Poland and making it more permanent. "We are in the process of discussion with President Biden's administration about making their (troop) presence more permanent and increasing them," Morawiecki said on CBS's "Face the Nation." Biden will visit Poland over Feb. 20-22 to mark the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of neighboring Ukraine. The United States bolstered its troop presence in Poland ahead of the Feb. 24, 2022, invasion and currently has roughly 11,000 personnel on rotation there, according to CBS. Biden said last June that the United States would set up a new permanent army headquarters in Poland in response to Russian threats. Biden will meet with Polish President Andrzej Duda and Eastern European allies and speak about Ukraine, but has no plans to cross into neighboring Ukraine, according to the White House. (17:58 GMT) One year on, countries beyond Ukraine borders feeling effects of war https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/2/19/a-year-of-war-in-ukraine-has-left-developing-countries-picking-up-pieces (19:39 GMT) First Lady Olena Zelenska has said that Ukraine needs more weapons to fight back Russia's invasion. "To fight back, you need to have weapons. Otherwise, you can die. We also need help to restore human capital, infrastructure, houses, schools, kindergartens, because war is not only a frontline, it is also an economic crisis and a humanitarian catastrophe," Zelenska said. In an interview to South Korean TV company Channel A, the first lady also warned that the war, which began about a year ago, can have a "spill-over effect". "This is not a gladiatorial fight that can be watched from the stands. The battle can spill over to the 'stands' at any moment." (20:38 GMT) Ukraine's military is inflicting "extraordinarily significant" losses on Russian forces near the town of Vuhledar in the eastern Donbas region, Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "The situation is very complicated... We are breaking down the invaders and inflicting extraordinarily significant losses on Russia." He referred to several towns in Donbas, where fighting has been focused for months, saying "the more losses Russia suffers there in Donbas - in Bakhmut, Vuhledar, Marinka, Kreminna - the faster we will be able to end this war with Ukraine's victory". 20230220 (09:43 GMT) China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, is expected to hold talks on Monday with Russian officials over the war in Ukraine as part of a visit to Moscow. His trip comes after the United States warned Bejing over the weekend against providing weapons to Russia. China hit back at the US on Monday, saying Washington was in no position to make demands. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/us-in-no-position-to-make-demands-china-slams-blinken-comments "China's comprehensive collaborative partnership with Russia is based on the basis of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties, and is a matter within the sovereignty of two independent countries," foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a regular daily briefing in Beijing. (09:48 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Moldova's leaders of pursuing an anti-Russian agenda, saying relations between the two countries are "very tense". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov's remarks came after Moldova's parliament last week approved a pro-Western government led by new Prime Minister Dorin Recean after he pledged to revive the economy and chart a course towards the European Union. Russia has rejected claims made by Moldova's president that Moscow is plotting to destabilise the former Soviet republic. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/13/moldovan-president-warns-of-russian-interference (09:53 GMT) The European Union's top diplomat has urged the bloc to ensure that Ukraine has enough ammunition to continue its fight against Russia's invasion. "It is the most urgent issue. If we fail on that, the result of the war is in danger," Josep Borrell said before a meeting with the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels. "The Russian artillery shoots about 50,000 shots a day, and Ukraine needs to be at the same level of capacity. They have cannons but they lack ammunition," he added. (10:09 GMT) US President Joe Biden has made an unannounced visit to the Ukrainian capital, days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. Biden's visit to Kyiv came as air raid sirens blared across the city and other parts of Ukraine. There were no initial reports of Russian missile or air attacks. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/us-president-joe-biden-makes-unannounced-visit-to-ukraines-kyiv (10:15 GMT) The White House has released a statement from US President Joe Biden to mark his visit to Kyiv. Here are his remarks in full: "As the world prepares to mark the one-year anniversary of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, I am in Kyiv today to meet with President Zelenskyy and reaffirm our unwavering and unflagging commitment to Ukraine's democracy, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. When Putin launched his invasion nearly one year ago, he thought Ukraine was weak and the West was divided. He thought he could outlast us. But he was dead wrong. Today, in Kyiv, I am meeting with President Zelenskyy and his team for an extended discussion on our support for Ukraine. I will announce another delivery of critical equipment, including artillery ammunition, anti-armor systems, and air surveillance radars to help protect the Ukrainian people from aerial bombardments. And I will share that later this week, we will announce additional sanctions against elites and companies that are trying to evade or backfill Russia's war machine. Over the last year, the United States has built a coalition of nations from the Atlantic to the Pacific to help defend Ukraine with unprecedented military, economic, and humanitarian support - and that support will endure. I also look forward to traveling on to Poland to meet President Duda and the leaders of our Eastern Flank Allies, as well as deliver remarks on how the United States will continue to rally the world to support the people of Ukraine and the core values of human rights and dignity in the UN Charter that unite us worldwide." (10:24 GMT) Ukraine's president has said his French counterpart is "wasting his time" after Emmanuel Macron suggested over the weekend that the war would have to be settled by negotiations. Responding to Macron's remarks, Zelenskyy said in an interview published on Sunday that any such dialogue would be "useless". "In fact, Macron is wasting his time. I have come to the conclusion that we are not able to change the Russian attitude," he told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. (10:36 GMT) The US will provide Ukraine with a new military aid package worth $500m, President Joe Biden has said. Biden said the package would be announced on Tuesday and that Washington would also provide more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) in Ukraine's possession. (10:39 GMT) Ukraine's president has lauded Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv as the first anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches. "Joseph Biden, welcome to Kyiv! Your visit is an extremely important sign of support for all Ukrainians," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. The US leader's visit comes at a crucial moment in the war as Biden looks to keep allies unified in their support for Ukraine with the war expected to intensify in the coming months as both sides prepare for anticipated spring offensives. Zelenskyy is pressing allies to speed up the delivery of pledged weapon systems and is calling on the West to deliver fighter jets to Ukraine - something that Biden to date has declined to do. (10:44 GMT) Measuring militaries: How do Russia and Ukraine stack up? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/measuring-militaries-how-do-russia-and-ukraine-stack-up (10:56 GMT) US President Joe Biden says his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin was "plain wrong" in his plan for the offensive in Ukraine. "He was counting on us not sticking together. He was counting on an inability to keep NATO united and he was counting on us not to be able to bring in others on the side of Ukraine," Biden said at a news conference in Kyiv alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "He thought he could outlast us. I don't think he's thinking that right now," he added. "He has just been plain wrong. And one year later, the evidence is right here in this room, we stand here together." (11:10 GMT) A German government spokesperson welcomed US President Joe Biden's trip to Ukraine. Steffen Hebestreit said during a government press conference that the visit was a "good signal," but declined to provide further comment. (11:33 GMT) Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow, says US President Joe Biden's visit to Kyiv will "reinforce" the Kremlin's view that the war in Ukraine is a broader conflict against the collective West. "This [visit] is happening just 24 ahead of the very important state of the union address from the Russian president where he is going to tell his audience, the people of Russia, that he is fighting an international hegemony of sorts," Bin Javaid said. "Russia has always insisted that it had to go to war because it could not sustain the level of hostility that it was seeing accumulating on its border from NATO and the Western alliance," he added, noting that Biden's trip was "going to reinforce that view". (11:37 GMT) Sergei Markov, a Russian political scientist and former spokesman of President Vladimir Putin, claims that Moscow had guaranteed Biden's safety during his trip to the Ukrainian capital. "Joe Biden came to Kyiv only with a personal guarantee for security from Vladimir Putin, that there will be no rocket and aviation strikes ... during the visit," Markov told Al Jazeera. He argued that Biden had a lot to gain from the visit, in terms of domestic politics. "Leaders inside the [US] Democratic Party believe he's not physically and mentally able" to carry out presidential duties, Markov said, adding that the trip was a "big victory" for Biden against his political opponents. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/2/20/photos-bidens-surprise-visit-to-kyiv-ukraine (11:42 GMT) Intelligence agencies in the Netherlands have warned that Russia appears to be preparing for the disruption and sabotage of critical offshore infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea. "Dutch vital maritime infrastructure in the North Sea, such as internet cables, gas pipes and windmill farms, can be vulnerable for sabotage," the Dutch military and general intelligence agencies AIVD and MIVD said in a joint report. "Russia is secretly charting this infrastructure and is undertaking activities which indicate preparations for disruption and sabotage." (11:47 GMT) Turkey is not exporting products that could be used in Russia's war effort, the country's foreign minister has said after Washington warned Ankara about the sale of chemicals, microchips and other items. "It is not true that we have exported to Russia products that can be used in the defence industry," Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "We asked the United States to notify [us] if there are any violations on this issue," he added. His remarks came after a top US Treasury official visited Turkish government and private sector officials earlier this month to urge more cooperation in disrupting the flow of goods that can be used by Moscow's defence industries. (11:59 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stressed Washington's strong support for Sweden and Finland's quick NATO accession. Blinken's remarks, delivered while on a visit to Turkey, came as his Turkish counterpart stressed the need for more concrete action on the part of the Nordic countries. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/us-urges-nordics-accession-to-nato-in-turkey-visit (12:14 GMT) Ruslan Strilets, Ukraine's environment minister, says Russia's offensive in Ukraine has caused more than $51bn of environmental damage to date. "From the first day of the war, we began to develop new methodologies which we use now to calculate all of the environmental damage," Strilets told Al Jazeera from Kyiv. "The figure of $51bn will only increase because every day we see new damage and new cases," he added. Strilets said some of Ukraine's natural environments had been "lost forever" as a result of the conflict. "But any money, any time, will help us to repair what Russia destroyed. We have burnt trees and a lot of pollutants in the air," he said. (12:23 GMT) Joe Biden has departed from Kyiv after making a surprise visit to the Ukrainian capital, according to reporters travelling with the US President. Biden's lightning visit marked his first trip to Ukraine since Russia launched its offensive on February 24 last year. He had been scheduled to travel to Poland today. (12:40 GMT) Belarus is expelling three Polish diplomats, a spokesman for the Polish foreign ministry has said, as tensions between the two countries rise. "They have to leave Belarus by the end of the day on Wednesday," Lukasz Jasina said. He added Warsaw was "thinking about a good and proper response to this". The trio were two consuls from Grodno and the go-between of the Polish border guard in Minsk. (12:51 GMT) Zelenskyy has warned China against supporting Russia, saying doing so would bring about a world war. "For us, it is important that China does not support the Russian Federation in this war. In fact, I would like it to be on our side," Zelenskyy told the German newspaper Die Welt. "At the moment, however, I don't think it's possible," he said. "But I do see an opportunity for China to make a pragmatic assessment of what is happening here ... because if China allies itself with Russia, there will be a world war, and I do think that China is aware of that." (13:11 GMT) The US notified Russia of Biden's trip to Kyiv hours before the visit took place, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan says. "We did so some hours before his departure for deconfliction purposes, and because of the sensitive nature of those communications, I won't get into how they responded or what the precise nature of our message was, but I can confirm that we provided that notice," Sullivan said. He added that Biden wanted to send a "clear, unmistakable message" of enduring US support for Ukraine with his presence. Jon Finer, a deputy national security adviser, said the entire operation had been meticulously planned over months with the final decision on whether to go ahead with the visit taken on Friday. (13:58 GMT) Six Russian soldiers have been killed in a fire in a bunker in western Russia's Kursk region, state media report, citing the Ministry of Defence. The ministry said the fire was the result of a "gross violation" of safety rules, the state-owned RIA Novosti news agency reported. The fire occurred near the village of Ulanok, fewer than 10km from Ukraine's northeastern border with Russia, the TASS news agency reported, citing emergency services. (14:51 GMT) Sweden's Military Intelligence and Security Service (MUST) says Russia poses a clear military threat in the country's immediate area. "The European Security Order as we know it has ceased to exist...and with that the risks for Swedish security have also increased," Lena Hallin, head of MUST told a news conference. (15:19 GMT) Jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has accused President Vladimir Putin of destroying Russia's future for the sake of his own personal ambition. In a post on social media ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine, Navalny said Russia had hit "rock bottom" and could only recover once the "Putin dictatorship" had been dismantled. Navanly also called for Moscow to "reimburse" Kyiv for the damage inflicted during the war. (16:03 GMT) Poland has announced more curbs to road traffic with Belarus, hours after saying Minsk was expelling three of its diplomats. Freight traffic for Belarusian vehicles at the Kukuryki-Kozlowicze border crossing will be suspended as of 7pm local time (18:00 GMT) on Tuesday, the Polish interior ministry said. The decision was linked to Minsk curbing traffic for Polish road freight on Belarus' borders with Latvia and Lithuania, it added. The move came after Poland announced on February 9 that it was closing a border crossing into Belarus at Bobrowniki, citing "state security" concerns, driving already hostile relations between the two countries to a new low. (16:22 GMT) The founder of Russia's mercenary Wagner Group has accused unspecified officials of deliberately denying his fighters sufficient ammunition. In a seven-minute long audio message published on Monday by his press service, Yevgeny Prigozhin said he was required to "apologise and obey" in order to secure ammunition for his troops. Speaking at times with a raised voice and occasionally swearing, he said: "I'm unable to solve this problem despite all my connections and contacts." Prigozhin said Russia's military production was now sufficient to supply the forces fighting at the front, and that the supply difficulties his fighters were experiencing were the result of conscious decisions. "Those who interfere with us trying to win this war are absolutely, directly working for the enemy", he said. (17:10 GMT) Air raid sirens howled as Biden walked alongside Zelenskyy during a historic visit to war-time Kyiv. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: "This is a historic visit, unprecedented in modern times, to have the President of the United States visit the capital of a country at war where the United States military does not control the critical infrastructure." (17:26 GMT) Ukraine is still fighting "a brutal and unjust war", Biden says days before the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion. "One year later, Kyiv stands, and Ukraine stands. Democracy stands," Biden declared after meeting Zelenskyy at Mariinsky Palace. "The Americans stand with you, and the world stands with you." Biden spent more than five hours in the Ukrainian capital, consulting with Zelenskyy on next steps, honouring the country's fallen soldiers and meeting US embassy staff. (17:33 GMT) EU members should approve their 10th package of sanctions against Russia this week, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says. "It is going to be approved in the next hours. Before the 24th [of February] in any case", he told reporters, referring to the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (17:36 GMT) China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, has called for negotiations and peace for the sake of the world, and Europe in particular, ahead of a visit to Moscow. "We would like a political solution to provide a peaceful and sustainable framework for Europe," Wang said during a stop in Hungary that could result in billions of dollars of new Chinese investment in the country. In a Facebook video filmed during a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, Wang said the world was afflicted by disorder and wars. "Let me echo what we have just heard [from you] and jointly declare to the world that China and Hungary gladly work together with other peace-loving countries to bring the current hostilities to a halt as soon as possible," Wang told Szijjarto. (17:50 GMT) A Ukrainian soldier has compared Germany's Leopard 2 tanks to a Mercedes as he underwent training with them ahead of their arrival on the battlefield. He is among dozens of Ukrainian soldiers whom Germany is training on Leopard 2 simulators and then the tanks themselves in Munster at its largest military training ground before sending the armoured vehicles to Ukraine. (18:04 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says after meeting the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that he hopes to clinch at least $15bn for his country, which is trying to cover budget deficits and continue fighting Russia's invasion. "We are looking for the launch of a new multi-year support programme valued at more than $15 billion," Shmyhal wrote on the Telegram messaging app after talks in Kyiv with IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva. A video posted on Zelenskyy's Telegram account showed Georgieva meeting him and senior Ukrainian officials. (18:19 GMT) Missiles and mortars kill and maim people, but Russia's year-long war in Ukraine is also poisoning the air, ground and sea, says Ruslan Strilets, Ukraine's minister of environmental protection, who is building a case that Russia should pay for what he calls its ecological "crimes". Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused a large amount of gases that cause global warming to be released into the atmosphere. It has also created energy challenges in developing countries, which have intensified global discussions about climate justice. 20230221 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/21/russia-ukraine-live-news-putin-to-deliver-major-speech-on-war (07:22 GMT) President Vladimir Putin will update Russia's elite on the war in Ukraine, nearly one year to the day since ordering what he calls a "special military operation" against Ukraine. Putin will address members of both houses of parliament, military commanders and soldiers in central Moscow on Tuesday. (07:27 GMT) President Joe Biden is set to consult with allies from NATO's eastern flank in Poland, a day after he made an unannounced visit to Ukraine and met Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Biden would underscore in his Warsaw address that Russian President Vladimir Putin wrongly surmised "that Ukraine would cower and that the West would be divided" when he launched his invasion. "He got the opposite of that across the board," Sullivan said. The Polish president's foreign affairs adviser has said Biden and Duda will discuss reinforcing Poland's security and increasing the NATO presence in the country. (07:30 GMT) Beijing is "deeply concerned" about the year-old conflict in Ukraine, which appeared to be "intensifying and even getting out of control", China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang said. Beijing initiated a "no limits" partnership with Moscow shortly before Russia's invasion of Ukraine last February and has avoided using the word "invasion" or condemning Russian actions. The US has warned of consequences if China provides military support to Russia, which Beijing said on Monday it was not doing. "We urge certain countries to immediately stop fuelling the fire," Qin said during a speech at the Lanting Forum on global security in Beijing, stressing that China would "work with the international community to promote dialogue and consultation, address the concerns of all parties and seek common security". Qin was speaking as top diplomat Wang Yi was expected in Moscow for possible talks with Putin. (07:35 GMT) The European Commission is exploring to leverage the bloc's budget to provide down payments to arms manufacturers in order to incentivise increased production, the Financial Times has reported, citing people briefed on the plans. (07:44 GMT) The United Nations office for Human Rights (OHCHR) has reported nearly 19,000 civilian casualties in Ukraine since the war started in February. Of these 7,199 people were killed and 11,756 were injured. (08:04 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is travelling to Kyiv in her first visit to the war-torn country, Italian news agency ANSA reports. Her visit comes after Ukrainian leader Zelenskyy thanked Italy for the delivery of a new aid package and acknowledged that Rome's support for Ukraine's war effort has not changed. The Italian government has been questioned over its stance toward the conflict due to a number of controversial comments made by one of Meloni's coalition partner, ex-premier and Forza Italia leader Silvio Berlusconi who blamed Zelenskyy for starting the war. (08:32 GMT) Moscow, Russia - As the first anniversary of the war approaches on Friday, Al Jazeera spoke to Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian defence analyst who served as a senior research officer in the Soviet Academy of Sciences. Felgenhauer, who has published widely on Russian foreign and defence policies, military doctrine, arms trade and the military-industrial complex, believes the war is likely to escalate but could end this year. According to him, after 12 months of bloody battles, "the intensity of the fighting is too high for it to be maintained for long". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/21/qa-dr-pavel-felgenhauer-russia-ukraine-war (08:37 GMT) Mapping major battles of the Ukraine war, one year on https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/2/21/mapping-the-major-battles-of-the-ukraine-war (08:41 GMT) Russia's defence minister and chief of general staff are trying to destroy the Wagner private military company by depriving its fighters of munitions, the head of the mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin has said. "There is simply direct opposition going on," Prigozhin said in a voice message posted on his Telegram channel. He said it was "an attempt to destroy the Wagner (private military company)." This is not the first time Prigozhin has criticized Russian officials as part of an ongoing rivalry between himself and parts of Russia's military elite. In a seven-minute audio message published on Monday by his press service, an apparently angry and emotional Prigozhin said he was required to "apologise and obey" to secure ammunition for his fighters. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/20/russian-officials-denying-ammunition-to-wagner-fighters-founder (08:48 GMT) Belarus says there is a "significant grouping" of Ukrainian forces at its border. "At present, a significant grouping of the Ukrainian army is concentrated in the immediate vicinity of the Belarusian-Ukrainian section of the state border," the defence ministry said in a post on Telegram. "The probability of armed provocations, which can escalate into border incidents, has been high for a long time," it said. (09:13 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has begun his state of the nation speech in Moscow. Putin says Russia tried to settle the conflict in the Donbas region which had been simmering since early 2014 by peaceful means but was eventually forced to take action. "We were doing everything possible to solve this problem peacefully, negotiating a peaceful way out of this difficult conflict, but behind our backs a very different scenario was being prepared," the Russian leader said. Putin claimed that in February 2022, prior to Russia launching its invasion, "everything was prepared" for a punitive action by Kyiv in the region, which lies in eastern Ukraine., "I would like to repeat, they started the war, and we used force in order to stop it," he said. (09:25 GMT) Russia's president has again railed against the West, accusing it of seeking "unlimited power" in world affairs. "The West uses Ukraine as a ram against Russia," Putin said. "The Western elite does not conceal their goal, which is to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. It means to finish us forever and grow a local conflict into global opposition. That's the way we understand it and accordingly, we will respond to that," he added. Putin also said Moscow was defying attempts by Ukraine's allies to hamper its economy through an unprecedented package of sanctions. He claimed trillions of dollars were at stake for the West, but that Russia's income flows had not dried up. (09:28 GMT) Putin has warned the West against supplying additional military aid to Ukraine, saying such support will draw a military response from Moscow. "One circumstance must be understood by everyone ... The more long-range weapons arrive in Ukraine from the West, the more we will have to push the threat from our borders, that's natural," he said, and pledged to "systematically" press on with Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Russia would "carefully and consistently resolve the tasks facing us". (09:37 GMT) Marwan Kabalan, an academic and writer, says Putin's speech is aimed at appeasing the Russian elite and population since Moscow has not achieved its war goals in Ukraine. "He underestimated power of Ukraine military" and Western support, as well as the "will of Europeans" to free themselves of Russian energy supplies, Kabalan told Al Jazeera. "He cannot tell the people of Russia any good news about this, this special operation as he calls it has been going on now for almost a year and the objectives have not been achieved. "He could not remove government of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, he is not preventing expansion of NATO. (09:37 GMT) Putin has accused Ukraine's leaders of taking the country's population "hostage", adding Kyiv is "serving the interests of foreign powers". "The people of Ukraine themselves have become hostages of the Kyiv regime and its Western masters, who have actually occupied this country in a political, military, and economic sense," the Russian leader said. "The regime is not serving their national interest," he added. (09:45 GMT) Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid, reporting from Moscow, says Putin's "combative speech" was aimed at "detailing the inevitability" of the war in Ukraine from the Kremlin's perspective. "He'd like to tell his people that it is not Russia who initiated this war," Bin Javaid said. "He accused the West of being behind the 'Nazis' [in Ukraine], as he likes to call them, and that it was important for Russia to 'denazify' its border," he added. (09:49 GMT) Putin promises special fund for relatives of soldiers killed in Ukraine Putin has said he understands the difficulties faced by relatives of Russian soldiers who have died fighting in Ukraine and pledged to provide them with "targeted support" via a new special fund. "We all understand, I understand how unbearably hard it is now for the wives, sons, daughters of fallen soldiers, their parents, who raised worthy defenders of the fatherland," the Russian president said. (09:55 GMT) Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukraine and its allies in the West will see Putin's speech as a continuation of the Kremlin's narrative over the war. "What leaders are likely going to see from this speech is that nothing has really changed," Basravi said. (10:06 GMT) Putin has reiterated criticism of the West as decadent, saying it is heading for "spiritual catastrophe". "They distort historical facts and constantly attack our culture, the Russian Orthodox Church, and other traditional religions of our country," Putin said. "Look at what they do with their own peoples: the destruction of the family, cultural and national identity, perversion, and the abuse of children are declared the norm. And priests are forced to bless same-sex marriages," he added. "As it became known, the Anglican Church plans to consider the idea of a gender-neutral God ... Millions of people in the West understand they are being led to a real spiritual catastrophe." (10:15 GMT) Putin says Russia has all the financial resources it needs to guarantee its national security and development despite sweeping economic sanctions imposed by the West over the war in Ukraine. The Russian president said domestic companies had rebuilt their supply chains in response to the sanctions. He added that Moscow was working with other countries to build new payment systems and financial architecture. (10:24 GMT) Putin has now been speaking for more than an hour, covering topics ranging from the war in Ukraine to what he says is a decadent West intent on subjugating Russia. He is currently talking about domestic issues, including agriculture, scientific initiatives and infrastructure plans. (10:41 GMT) A leading official in the United States has described Putin's claims that the West and Kyiv are to blame for the war in Ukraine as an "absurdity". "Nobody is attacking Russia," White House NSA Jake Sullivan told reporters. "There's a kind of absurdity in the notion that Russia was under some form of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else." (10:57 GMT) The United Nations Office for Human Rights (OHCHR) says at least 8,006 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since Russia began its offensive 12 months ago. Another 13,287 civilians have been wounded amid the conflict, OHCHR said. (11:09 GMT) Putin says Russia is suspending its participation in the New START treaty with the United States. The agreement is the last major pillar of post-Cold War nuclear arms control between the two countries and limits their strategic nuclear arsenals. "I am forced to announce today that Russia is suspending its participation in the strategic offensive arms treaty," Putin said in his state-of-the-nation address. He added Russia needed to be ready to test nuclear weapons if the US moves to do so itself. (11:18 GMT) Putin says 'the truth' is with Russia as he wraps up marathon speech Russia's president has now concluded his marathon state-of-the-nation address. The speech, which lasted for nearly two hours, concluded with Putin promising that Russia would "respond to any challenges". "We are confident in our power. The truth is with us," he said. Putin's audience in Moscow rose to their feet as the Russian national anthem played out at the conclusion of his address. (11:31 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from Brussels, says the New START treaty was the last of the big arms agreements that the United States had signed with Russia. "In the days after the Cold War, there was a real effort from both ... to reduce the number of their nuclear warheads," Bays said from Brussels, where Ukraine's foreign minister is meeting with European Union leaders. "Obviously, arms negotiation has been much, much more difficult in recent years and NATO allies say that Russia wasn't really complying with New START anyway," he added. "But it is interesting that Putin has decided to suspend participation in this treaty ... and I think, probably, that's for international consumption at this stage. "I think there was an element of this speech that was aimed at the international community because although Europe seems to be very much on the same page with the US in terms of support for Ukraine, beyond Europe ... when it comes to the issue of when should the war stop and when should there be negotiations many believe a ceasefire should come soon, if not now. "That is the difference that Putin was potentially trying to exploit in his speech." (11:41 GMT) Australia's government says it is aligned with 34 other nations on the call for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from its competitions, despite not being marked as a signatory to the statement. (12:10 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has summoned US ambassador Lynne Tracy over what it says is Washington's increasingly "aggressive course", accusing it of widening its involvement in the war in Ukraine. "In this regard, the ambassador was told that the current aggressive course of the United States to deepen confrontation with Russia in all areas is counterproductive," the ministry said. (12:16 GMT) Mapping major battles of the Ukraine war, one year on https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/2/21/mapping-the-major-battles-of-the-ukraine-war (12:30 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it gave no security guarantees to US President Joe Biden after Washington informed Moscow in advance that he would be visiting Kyiv on Monday. "The United States did notify Russia about Biden's visit to Kyiv through a diplomatic channel. We did not give guarantees of his safety," FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov was quoted by the state-owned TASS news agency as saying. (12:37 GMT) NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said he regrets Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the United States. Speaking during a joint news conference with Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba and the European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, Stoltenberg urged Moscow to reconsider the move. (12:51 GMT) Six civilians have been killed and 12 others wounded by Russian shelling of a market and public transport stop in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Ukraine's military says. (12:55 GMT) Italy's prime minister has denounced Putin's marathon state-of-the-nation speech as "propaganda". "A part of my heart hoped for some different words, for a step ahead. It was propaganda," Giorgia Meloni said during a visit to the Ukrainian city of Irpin. Her trip to Ukraine came a day after US President Joe Biden visited the Ukrainian capital. (13:35 GMT) After Putin's combative speech in Moscow, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters, "Nobody is attacking Russia. There's a kind of absurdity in the notion that Russia was under some form of military threat from Ukraine or anyone else." NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg also responded to Putin's address with identical words. "Nobody is attacking Russia," Stoltenberg said, "Russia is the aggressor." (13:40 GMT) President Joe Biden is rallying NATO allies in Poland to demonstrate that the United States is squarely behind Ukraine and committed to bolstering the alliance's eastern flank. In Warsaw, he said on NATO, "We have to have security in Europe ... It's the single most consequential alliance, I would argue, maybe the most consequential alliance in history - not just modern history, but in history. (13:43 GMT) US President Joe Biden's visit to Poland is an important sign of the United States's commitment to maintaining security in Europe, Polish President Andrzej Duda said. "Your visit is an important sign of security, a signal of US responsibility for the security of the world and Europe. America can keep the world order," Duda told Biden during their bilateral meeting. (14:09 GMT) A spokesman for the US Department of State has said it is "unclear" if Putin's move to suspend Russia's participation in the New START nuclear treaty will have a "practical impact". "We haven't seen any reason to change our nuclear posture, our strategic posture just yet," Ned Price told CNN. (14:34 GMT) The head of Russia's influential Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, has told China's top diplomat that Moscow and Beijing must stick together against the West, according to reports carried by Russian state news agencies. Patrushev and Wang Yi held talks in the Russian capital on Tuesday. (14:59 GMT) Ukraine's education ministry has told the country's schools to hold classes remotely starting Wednesday for the remainder of this week because of the risk of Russian missile attacks. Hundreds of schools have been destroyed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Those that are still standing were only allowed to hold in-person classes this academic year if they had a functioning bomb shelter. (15:25 GMT) Putin's decision to suspend Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty is "deeply irresponsible", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says. (15:47 GMT) G7 foreign ministers have said their countries will continue to impose economic costs on Russia over its offensive in Ukraine. "We will impose further economic costs on Russia, and on individuals and entities - inside and outside of Russia - that provide political or economic support to these violations of international law," the ministers said in a joint statement. (16:02 GMT) Plane, motorcade, train: How Biden got to Kyiv in secret https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/21/plane-motorcade-train-how-joe-biden-got-to-kyiv-in-secret (16:16 GMT) The United Kingdom has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to reconsider his decision to suspend Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States. "Arms control is vital to the security of our planet and this is another example of Putin jeopardising global security for political gain," UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesperson said, describing Putin's move as "rash". (16:39 GMT) Polish President Duda urges West not to waiver in backing Ukraine Poland's president has urged Western leaders to maintain support for Ukraine as Russia's offensive nears the one-year mark. "I call on all European states, NATO states, to show solidarity with Ukraine, to provide military support to Ukraine, so that they have something to fight with," Andrzej Duda said ahead of a speech by the US president in Warsaw. "Do not be afraid to provide this support." (16:41 GMT) France's foreign ministry has called on Russia to "show responsibility" and reverse its decision to suspend participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty. "The New START Treaty is an essential instrument in the international architecture of nuclear arms control and strategic stability", the ministry said in a statement. (16:54 GMT) Biden begins his highly anticipated speech in Poland's capital, saying NATO is more "united than ever before" almost a year after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. "Democracy was too strong for Putin," Biden said. He added that the Russian leader's offensive has driven the "NATOisation of Finland and Sweden". The US president says Russia's leader believes the West's staying power may wane as Moscow continues to press ahead with its offensive. Putin "still doubts our conviction", Biden said. But the West's support for Ukraine "will not waiver", he added, and Kyiv's allies "will not tire". (17:11 GMT) During his speech, Biden says the US and its partners will announce more sanctions against Russia this week. He has warned of "hard and bitter days" ahead but has said the US and its allies will "have Ukraine's back" for the long haul. (17:41 GMT) Russia will continue to observe limits on the number of nuclear warheads it can deploy under the New START Treaty despite Moscow's decision to suspend its participation in the landmark agreement, the Russian foreign ministry has said. "In order to maintain a sufficient degree of predictability and stability in the sphere of nuclear missiles, Russia intends to adhere to a responsible approach and will continue to strictly observe the quantitative restrictions provided for by the New START treaty within the life cycle of the treaty," the ministry said in a statement. Russia's foreign ministry has also said it will continue to notify the United States of planned test launches of inter-continental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). (17:55 GMT) US President Joe Biden said war-torn Ukraine will "never be a victory for Russia" as he delivered a speech in Poland before the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. "A dictator bent on rebuilding an empire will never be able to ease the people's love of liberty, brutality will never grind down the will of the free. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia - never," Biden told a crowd gathered outside the Royal Castle in Warsaw. He said that his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin thought he was "tough" but then met the "iron will of America".(18:12 GMT) Supply of Italian fighter jets to Ukraine "not on the table", says PM Meloni The supply of military planes to Ukraine "is not on the table", Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has said after talks in Kyiv with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking in a news conference alongside Zelenskyy, Meloni said Italy was considering sending more air defence systems beyond the SAMP/T-MAMBA on which it has worked with France. (18:40 GMT) Belgium has launched an investigation after a suspected Russian spy ship was spotted off its North Sea coast, perhaps surveying key energy and communications links, a minister has said. The boat was spotted in November after being reported in Dutch waters and had turned off its AIS beacon, a compulsory device allowing shipping authorities to identify and track vessels. Justice Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne, who is also Belgium's minister for the North Sea, said, "We don't know the exact motives of this Russian ship, but let's not be naive. "Especially if it behaves suspiciously near our wind farms, undersea gas pipelines and data cables, and other critical infrastructure," he added. (19:08 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has brushed off criticism from Silvio Berlusconi, saying Italy's ex-prime minister did not have to live under daily bombardment and blackouts caused by Russian air raids. Zelenskyy was asked at a news conference with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni about remarks by Berlusconi this month saying he would not want to meet Zelenskyy, blaming him for Russia's war in Ukraine. "I think Mr Berlusconi has not had to get up at three in the morning because of blackouts to start washing clothes, making food for his children two days in advance because there may not be power for the next two-three days because of the great love of the brotherly Russian people," he said. He said he thought Berlusconi would benefit from travelling to Ukraine to see with his own eyes the "bloody trail left by the brotherly Russian Federation". "Then we can talk at the same level," he said. (20:18 GMT) US President Joe Biden affirmed support for Moldova's sovereignty in a meeting with the country's president, the White House has said, days after Chisinau said it foiled a Russian coup attempt. "President Biden reaffirmed strong US support for Moldova's sovereignty and territorial integrity," in his meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu, the White House said in a statement.(20:35 GMT) EU close to finalising 10th sanctions package against Russia The EU is close to agreement on a 10th sanctions package against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, and EU governments hope to reach a deal on Wednesday if they can overcome differences about a ban on Russian rubber and diamond imports, EU diplomats say. Among those the bloc is seeking to target are people involved in the illegal deportations of about 6,000 Ukrainian children. The sanctions package, worth 11 billion euros ($11.7bn), is also likely to include, for the first time, a ban on all exports to seven Iranian entities believed to be making items used by Russia in the war. The EU also plans to ban sales to Russia of all dual-use and electronic components used in armed systems, such as drones, missiles and helicopters - basically anything that can be found in Russian weapons on Ukrainian battlefields. The EU is also likely to cut off more Russian banks - including the private Alfa-Bank, the online Tinkoff bank and the commercial lender Rosbank - from the SWIFT global messaging system. 20230222 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/22/russia-ukraine-live-moscows-duma-to-suspend-new-start-treaty (09:43 GMT) Russia's parliament moved to suspend Moscow's participation in the New START treaty, as officials lined up to blame the United States and the West for the breakdown of the last remaining nuclear pact between Washington and Moscow. In a session on Wednesday morning, Russia's State Duma, the lower house, voted to approve the suspension of the treaty. The Federation Council, the upper chamber of parliament, was due to vote on the same proposal after 3pm (12:00 GMT) in Moscow. Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, said the move was a "long overdue" response to the US and NATO effectively declaring war on Russia. (09:45 GMT) Russia poses a serious threat to Swedish security and has become increasingly aggressive in its actions, Sweden's security police said. "Russia is currently the single biggest threat (to Sweden)," the Swedish Security Service said in a statement. "The regime's actions are unpredictable and it is inclined to take big risks." "Russia considers Sweden to be part of Europe, NATO and the collective West and that increases the threat to Sweden," Daniel Stenling, head of counter-intelligence, told a news conference. The Security Service said China and Iran were the other two most prominent threats to Sweden, and that the two were cooperating with Russia. (10:13 GMT) France regretted Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the New START treaty, and called on Moscow to act responsibly and reconsider its decision.(10:30 GMT) China's most senior foreign policy official Wang Yi is scheduled to meet Russia's foreign minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, where he plans to sound out Russia's positions on Chinese leader Xi Jinping's peace initiative to end the war. (11:08 GMT) About 1.1 million Ukrainian refugees entered Bulgaria since the war broke out in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, a senior UN official said. Speaking in the capital city of Sofia, Seda Kuzucu, representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, added that Bulgarian authorities registered more than 151,000 of these refugees for temporary protection, according to the state-run BTA news agency. At present, nearly 50,000 Ukrainian refugees reside in Bulgaria, she added. (11:24 GMT) Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Ryabkov, has denounced US President Joe Biden's speech in Poland on Tuesday as a "doomed attempt to put pressure" on Moscow, Russian news agency TASS reported. "I assess this speech as one of many attempts doomed to failure to put pressure on the Russian Federation," Ryabkov told reporters. "There is nothing new in the text. We have all heard it dozens of times. There are no glimmers of common sense in Washington's politics." He noted that Biden's speech "validated" Russia's decision to suspend participation in the New START treaty. Biden's speech in Warsaw warned Moscow that the West's support for Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion "will not waver", and that NATO will not be divided. (11:35 GMT) The head of the Wagner mercenary outfit, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has urged Russians to pressure Russia's regular army into sharing ammunition with his fighters in Ukraine. (12:10 GMT) About 10 million people in Ukraine are at risk of mental illnesses such as anxiety, stress and PTSD, with children and elderly people separated from their families being affected the worst, Dr Hans Kluge, the WHO Europe regional director, has said. (12:48 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a meeting in Moscow with China's top diplomat that cooperation between Beijing and Moscow was important to "stabilise the international situation". "The cooperation between China and Russia on the world stage is very important to stabilise the international situation," Putin said at the meeting with Wang Yi. Putin also said he was looking forward to a visit to Moscow by Chinese President Xi Jinping and to deepening the partnership between the two countries. In comments broadcast on Russian state TV, Wang Yi said relations between Beijing and Moscow could not be influenced by other countries. (13:07 GMT) Spain will send six of its German-made Leopard tanks to bolster Ukraine's fight against Russia, Defence Minister Margarita Robles says. The six tanks are currently being repaired and Spain could send more Leopards to Ukraine "if it is necessary" and Madrid's allies ask it to do so, she told parliament. (13:28 GMT) Biden is wrapping up a four-day visit to Poland and Ukraine by reassuring allies on NATO's eastern flank that his administration is highly attuned to the looming threats and other impacts caused by Russia's war on Ukraine. Before departing Warsaw, Biden is holding talks with leaders from the Bucharest Nine, a collection of nations in the easternmost parts of the NATO alliance. The group was formed in response to Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula. The alliance consists of Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Slovakia. (13:44 GMT) Russia's war in Ukraine: After a year of conflict, what next? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/22/russias-war-in-ukraine-after-a-year-of-conflict-what-next (13:59 GMT) Russia will stick to agreed limits on nuclear missiles and keep informing the United States about changes in its deployments, a senior defence official said, despite the "suspension" of its last remaining arms control - known as New START - with Washington. A top defence ministry official, Major-General Yevgeny Ilyin, told the lower house, or Duma, that Russia would continue to observe agreed limits on nuclear delivery systems - meaning missiles and strategic bomber planes. RIA news agency quoted Ilyin as saying it would also continue to provide Washington with notifications on nuclear deployments in order "to prevent false alarms, which is important for maintaining strategic stability". (14:15 GMT) President Putin has hailed Russian soldiers fighting in Ukraine during a rally in Moscow, calling on the crowds to chant "Russia, Russia" to show their support for those he said were defending the fatherland. Tens of thousands of people packed into Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, which has a capacity of 81,000, waving white, blue and red Russian flags and listening to patriotic songs before Putin arrived. "They fight heroically, courageously, bravely. We are proud of them," Putin said at the "Glory to Defenders of the Fatherland" event, held on the eve of Russia's February 23 holiday celebrating those who serve in the armed forces. "Today, they are supported by the whole country," Putin said of Russian forces in Ukraine, adding he had just been updated by military chiefs on the situation at the front. "When we are together, we have no equal. To the unity of the Russian people." (14:29 GMT) NATO's Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine must get the help it needs and that Russia could not be allowed to chip away at European security. (14:48 GMT) Sanctions against Russian nuclear energy would harm Hungary's interests and should not be brought forward by the European Union, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said. Hungary's 12.5-billion-euro ($13.3bn) nuclear project, which has been significantly delayed, was awarded in 2014 without a tender to Russia's Rosatom, and Szijjarto said Hungary lobbied hard to prevent either the company or its officials being brought under EU sanctions. "We had to act forcefully against the listing of Rosatom or Rosatom officials," Szijjarto said. "Any sanctions on nuclear energy or Rosatom would harm Hungary's fundamental national interests." Hungary has opposed including nuclear power in EU sanctions against Russia, and also urged a ceasefire and peace talks over Ukraine to prevent further escalation of the war into a broader conflict. (15:16 GMT) US President Biden said Russia's decision to suspend the New START Treaty - a 2010 agreement that limits the number of Russian and US deployed strategic nuclear warheads - was a "big mistake". He spoke ahead of a meeting with eastern European leaders in Warsaw, where he reaffirmed US commitment to their security. "As NATO's eastern flank, you are the front line of our collective defence," Biden said. "You know better than anyone what is at stake in this conflict. Not just for Ukraine, but for the freedom of democracies throughout Europe and around the world." (15:49 GMT) European Union countries failed to agree on new sanctions against Russia meant to be in place for the one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on Friday, diplomatic sources in the bloc's hub Brussels said. The proposed package includes trade curbs worth more than 10 billion euros ($10.6bn), according to the bloc's chief executive, including a ban on EU imports of Russian rubber. It would also bar EU exports to Russia of tech equipment and spare parts that Moscow might use on the battlefield. The Brussels-based executive also wants the 27 EU countries to better track Russian assets on their soil as the bloc seeks ways to use them to help rebuild Ukraine from the war. Some countries, however, pushed back against the spectre of facing fines for failing to report, according to the sources. "There are several issues outstanding, including on rubber and reporting obligations," said one of the sources. (16:04 GMT) Russia says it is studying a newly released paper on Beijing's Global Security Initiative, Chinese leader Xi Jinping's flagship security proposal. "The positions of the two countries on the most pressing international issues coincide or are close, which the Russian and Chinese leadership has repeatedly spoken about," Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharkova said at a briefing. "The same can be said for the Global Security Initiative," she added. (16:24 GMT) What is the New START nuclear deal, and why did Russia suspend it? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/22/what-is-the-new-start-nuclear-deal-and-why-did-russia-suspend-it (16:42 GMT) All members of the Bucharest Nine, the nations on NATO's eastern flank that joined the alliance after being dominated by Moscow during the Cold War, have jointly condemned Russia's war in Ukraine, a Polish presidential adviser said. "All allies agreed that they would support each other in the event of a threat," Marcin Przydacz, an adviser to Polish President Andrzej Duda told reporters. (17:31 GMT) Slovenia's iconic band Laibach will hold a concert in Ukraine's capital next month, saying this will make them the first foreign group to perform a full show in Kyiv since the beginning of the invasion. The industrial rock band will hold a "very special concert" on March 31st at the Bel Etage Music Hall in Kyiv, a statement said. The concert will be dubbed 'Eurovision' in reference to the pop song contest which Ukraine won in 2022 but which will be hosted by the UK in Liverpool instead of Ukraine this year because of the war. "While the rest of Europe prepares to celebrate its idea of freedom and solidarity on 9 May in Liverpool, Laibach will be taking Eurovision back to Ukraine - where it belongs and where the only true and real vision of Europe is taking place right now," the concert announcement said. Laibach is Slovenia's best known band which has won fame abroad for its totalitarian visual style, toying with populist imagery and almost martial-rhythm songs, sang in husky, deep vocals. (18:08 GMT) The Czech Republic has supplied hundreds of pieces of heavy military equipment to Ukraine over the past year including 89 tanks, Prime Minister Petr Fiala has after meeting US President Biden. Detailing for the first time the extent of Czech supplies, coming under cooperation of the state and the private sector, Fiala said the country has shipped 226 fighting and armoured infantry vehicles, 38 howitzers, 33 multiple rocket launchers, six air defence systems and four helicopters. (18:39 GMT) Olena Zelenska has urged the United Nations to establish a special tribunal to try Russia for crimes of aggression to ensure Moscow's invasion "never will be repeated" anywhere. (19:04 GMT) Russian troops managed to break through Ukrainian defences near the eastern town of Kreminna on Tuesday but were pushed back and lost some of their heavy equipment, a senior Ukrainian official has said. Luhansk regional governor Serhiy Haidai made his remarks in an interview with Ukrainian television. In earlier comments, he said the attack had been repulsed but made no mention of pro-Moscow forces breaching Ukrainian positions. (19:49 GMT) WHO's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge says he is "amazed" at Ukraine's health system still "standing" despite Russia's ongoing invastion of the country. "We had so many doom scenarios ... [such as] explosion of infectious disease, COVID-19, TB, HIV and that the health system would collapse. The health system is standing," he told Al Jazeera from Copenhagen, Denmark. "This is thanks to I would say two major things - a heroic health workforce. I cannot underscore this enough. And second, international support for salaries and medicines, and this has to continue." (20:15 GMT) South Africa's military has defended its decision to host naval exercises jointly staged with Russia and China and coinciding with the one-year anniversary of the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine. Originally slated to start last week, the exercise dubbed Mosi-II kicked off on Wednesday along South Africa's eastern coast. The exercises have been criticised by the United States and the European Union. (20:30 GMT) US President Biden in a meeting with nine eastern Europe NATO allies has assured America's his "ironclad" commitment to Article 5 of the alliance's treaty, the White House said in a statement. The article states that an armed attack against one or more NATO members will be considered "an attack against them all". (20:42 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine as a violation of the founding UN Charter and international law and called out Russian threats about the possible use of nuclear weapons. "We have heard implicit threats to use nuclear weapons. The so-called tactical use of nuclear weapons is utterly unacceptable. It is high time to step back from the brink," Guterres told the 193-member UN General Assembly at a meeting to mark the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. 20230223 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/23/russia-ukraine-live-moldova-shrugs-claim-ukraine-plans-to-invade (09:25 GMT) Moldova has dismissed claims by Russia's defence ministry that Ukraine planned to invade the breakaway region of Transnistria - and instead called for calm. Russian news agency RIA said Ukraine, which borders Moldova, planned to stage a false flag operation in which they would claim Russian troops had attacked from the breakaway Moldovan region as a pretext to invade. TASS news agency quoted Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin as saying separately that the West had instructed Moldova's government in Chisinau to stop all interaction with Transnistria's Moscow-backed authorities. (09:29 GMT) Russian forces are possibly preparing for another offensive around the town of Vuhledar in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, the UK said in an intelligence bulletin. The bulletin said the town had experienced heavy shelling in the last 48 hours. (09:35 GMT) Ukrainian forces have repelled 90 Russian attacks in the northeast and east over the past 24 hours, the military has said. Russian troops attacked near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region and around Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Shakhtarsk in the Donetsk region, where Russia is concentrating its offensive efforts, according to the Ukrainian military. (09:36 GMT) A Russian SU-25 fighter plane has crashed in Russia's Belgorod region near the border with Ukraine, the regional governor said. The cause of the incident was not yet known, but the RIA state news agency said the pilot was still alive after ejecting himself from the plane, citing emergency services. In a post on the Telegram messenger app, Belgorod's governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said investigators were on the scene near the town of Valyuki, and that the reason for the crash was being established. Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago. (09:56 GMT) Sweden is open to sending some of its Leopard battle tanks to Ukraine, its defence minister told local news agency TT. The statement comes as the Nordic country was preparing to present another package of aid to Ukraine. The latest instalment includes armoured infantry fighting vehicles, which defence minister Pal Jonson told the news agency would be the country's main contribution in terms of equipment for ground warfare. Sweden was also preparing to send Ukraine the advanced Archer artillery system. However, support in the Swedish parliament has been growing to additionally contribute some of the country's 120 or so Leopard tanks. (10:05 GMT) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has arrived in Kyiv, becoming the latest world leader to visit the war-torn country's capital ahead of the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. "Returning to Kyiv today, one year since the start of the war," Sanchez tweeted with a video of him stepping off the train in the Ukrainian capital. "We will stand with Ukraine and its people until peace returns to Europe." (10:10 GMT) The global economy is "in a better place" than predicted a few months ago in the wake of the COVID pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said. The "global economy is in a better place than many predicted a few months ago" she said ahead of a G20 finance ministers' meeting in India. "In the fall many were worried about a sharp economic slowdown across the world. The challenges we face are real and the future is always uncertain but the outlook has improved." (10:14 GMT) The Czech government has approved a further military aid shipment to Ukraine and will continue to send equipment from stocks, defence minister Jana Cernochova has said. Cernochova did not disclose any specific equipment being shipped but said the country, from its army reserves, has so far sent 38 tanks, 55 armoured vehicles, four aircraft and 13 self-propelled howitzers, alongside larger shipments from the private sector. (10:23 GMT) Finland will send three Leopard 2 battle tanks to Ukraine, the Finnish defence ministry has said. The announcement makes Finland the latest European country to send the German-made tanks to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Spain announced it would send six Leopard battle tanks to the country. Ukraine's foreign minister said last month he expected to receive 120 to 140 Western tanks - including the German Leopard 2 - in a "first wave" of deliveries from a coalition of 12 countries. (10:50 GMT) 'China wants to be an arbiter' in conflict: AJ correspondent Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera's Osama Bin Javaid said China has not revealed any details of a purported peace plan for the conflict. Bin Javaid added that officials have said a peace plan was not discussed as Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Moscow. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/23/wang-yi-meets-putin-in-sign-of-deepening-china-russia-ties (11:04 GMT) Sweden and Turkey plan to resume discussions in March on Sweden's membership of NATO, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson has said. "We have already been given a date for this discussion," Kristersson told the SVT broadcaster, without giving an exact date. Sweden, together with Finland, applied for NATO membership in May, following Russia's invasion. All 30 existing members of the defence alliance must ratify the accession of any new country, but Turkey has been blocking the procedure for a long time, accusing Sweden, in particular, of not taking enough action against Kurdish groups and individuals Ankara classifies as "terrorists". At the end of January, Turkey cancelled planned consultations with Sweden and Finland scheduled for February, according to media reports. The move came after a far-right politician set fire to a Quran in front of a mosque in Stockholm. (11:17 GMT) Ahead of the first anniversary of the Russian invasion, Mansur Mirovalev, who has covered Ukraine for Al Jazeera for years, reflects on his most difficult year as a journalist, father and son. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/2/23/emotional-paralysis-hopes-and-horrors-covering-the-ukraine-war (11:45 GMT) The Ukraine war began to visibly affect international relationships in the 52nd week of the conflict, as Washington declared Russian President Vladimir Putin a failure, Moscow revived nuclear threats and China assumed a more assertive posture towards the United States. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/23/ukraine-war-shifts-global-power-relations-as-china-asserts-role (12:00 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said the delayed Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will be deployed this year, in comments made on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine. The RS-28 Sarmat liquid-fuelled missile - dubbed Satan 2 by Western analysts - was first announced by Putin in 2018 and was supposed to have been deployed last year. CNN reported that the United States believes Russia carried out a test of the Sarmat just before US President Joe Biden visited Ukraine earlier this week, but that the test failed. The Russian defence ministry has not commented on that report. The 35-metre issile, which Putin says will make Russia's enemies "think twice", has a range of 18,000km, although some estimates put that number higher. It can carry at least 10 multiple targetable re-entry vehicles - each with a nuclear warhead - which can each be aimed at a different target. It can also deliver hypersonic Avangard glide vehicles that can travel further and faster, flying in an unpredictable path to spoof missile defences. (12:12 GMT) Ukrainian Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov has told a briefing that Russia is stepping up fighting to wear down Ukrainian units. "The enemy, having an advantage in the resource of human mobilisation, is deliberately intensifying hostilities in an effort to deplete the units of the armed forces of Ukraine," Gromov said. Kyiv has said Russia is suffering heavy casualties as it throws recently mobilised troops into battle, but Gromov said Moscow was using better-prepared soldiers from regular units in the already months-long battle for Bakhmut (12:23 GMT) Speaking to Al Jazeera, Samantha de Bendern, an associate fellow at Chatham House, said that "Western weapons have been decisive" in Ukraine's ability to reclaim territory from Russia. (12:33 GMT) Activists have painted a 500 square metres Ukrainian flag outside the Russian embassy in London. The Led By Donkeys group said it "safely halted cars" before pouring about 320 litres of yellow and blue paints onto the street. "Contrary to what the Russian dictator and his apologists claim, Ukraine is an independent state and a people with every right to self-determination. The existence of a massive Ukrainian flag outside his embassy in London will serve to remind him of that," the group said. (12:50 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has imposed sweeping 50-year sanctions on Russian financial institutions including the central bank, all commercial banks, investment funds, insurers and other enterprises. "It is a complete block on financial institutions of the Russian Federation accessing markets and assets in Ukraine. A complete block," Andriy Pyshnyy, governor of the National Bank of Ukraine, said on Facebook. "We should weaken it with all available means. It is the financial sector which is a strategic 'donor' of this war." (12:58 GMT) Russia is clearly developing into a war economy, with spending on defence increasing and state revenues shrinking, the German Economic Institute (IW) has said in a report. Russia will this year hike spending on internal and external security by 25 percent to 124.7 billion euros ($132.1bn), according to the report, to which Reuters had exclusive access and which cited projections that Russia's state Duma signed off on in October. Until 2025, this amount of defence spending is expected to remain constant, representing more than 14 percent of the budget, the IW said. While defence spending rises, revenues are falling. Compared with 2022, revenues from oil and gas exports will decline by more than 20 percent due to Western sanctions imposed over the invasion of Ukraine, the IW said. Russia had a budget deficit of almost 4 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2022, and in 2023 this percentage is likely to increase along with spending. (13:18 GMT) Western European countries should be faster and more generous in supplying Ukraine with weapons, Polish Premier Mateusz Morawiecki has said in Copenhagen after meeting Danish counterpart Mette Frederiksen. "I would like them to be exactly like Denmark and Poland. A longer version is to be more generous in terms of weapon delivery and more quick," Morawiecki told reporters. (13:32 GMT) Germany will propose measures to close loopholes in EU sanctions against Moscow that are letting embargoed goods flow into Russia and feed its "war machine", its economy ministry says. Export data have shown that embargoed goods are still arriving in Russia through third-party states despite the sanctions, the ministry said. Under its proposal, companies would have to submit declaration forms detailing the end use of exports to third-party nations of goods that are key for the "Russian war machine" (13:36 GMT) Four people have been arrested after the campaign group Led By Donkeys painted a Ukrainian flag on the road outside the Russian embassy in London. The Metropolitan Police said three men and one woman were arrested. "At 08:45 today officers attended Kensington Palace Gardens, where paint had been thrown on the highway," the Met said in a tweet. "Four people, three males and one female, were arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and obstructing the highway." (13:39 GMT) Finance ministers from the Group of Seven have urged the International Monetary Fund to deliver a new aid package to Ukraine by the end of March, according to a statement released after a meeting in India. (13:49 GMT) Three ambulance workers trying to evacuate people from their homes in the Russian-controlled city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine have been killed by Ukrainian shelling, a Russian-installed official in the region says. The medical team had gone in to rescue civilians after an initial wave of Ukrainian shelling when Kyiv's forces started firing again and they were hit, the Russian news agency TASS reported, saying a number of other medical workers had been injured in the same attack. Dmitry Gartsev, the Russian-installed head of the local health ministry, said on his Telegram channel that doctors were fighting to save the life of a fourth ambulance worker. There was no immediate comment from Ukrainian authorities. (14:00 GMT) The sanctions introduced by G7 nations against Russia after its invasion of Ukraine should be implemented by all G20 countries, Italian Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti says. (14:25 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has seen signs China is considering supplying arms to Russia and warns Beijing against taking any such step. "We haven't seen any supplies of lethal aid from China to Russia, but we have seen signs that they are considering and may be planning for that," Stoltenberg told Reuters in an interview. (14:26 GMT) Zelenskyy says he has not seen any Chinese peace plan but would welcome a meeting between Ukraine and China. "We would like to meet with China," he said during a news briefing in Kyiv with visiting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. (14:31 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has accused the West of using Ukraine to try to break up Russia but said he thought the attempt would fail. "Using Ukraine, the collective West is seeking to dismember Russia to deprive it of its independence," Shoigu said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies. "These attempts are doomed to fail." (14:40 GMT) A Russian arbitration court has ordered a subsidiary of Swiss commodities trader Glencore to pay about $125m to Russian state lender Sberbank in a row over unpaid oil supplies. (14:58 GMT) The US wants to see tougher and more effectively enforced sanctions against Russia and additional support for Ukraine, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says during meetings of the Group of 20 leading economies in the Indian technology hub of Bengaluru. (15:04 GMT) Global trade grew more than expected last year despite the upheaval caused by the Russia-Ukraine war as badly affected countries managed to switch suppliers or products, the World Trade Organization (WTO) says. The global trade watchdog had forecast just 3 percent growth for 2022 as the conflict caused major disruptions to exports, including wheat and fuels. However, WTO Chief Economist Ralph Ossa, presenting its latest analysis of the war's impact on trade, said global trade had "held up well". "We have not seen the worst predictions foreseen at the onset of the war," he said in a statement. (15:35 GMT) Al Jazeera's Shihab Rattansi, reporting from the United Nations, says the General Assembly is voting on a draft resolution written by the EU and Ukraine. "It's a very simple resolution; they've kept it to the basics. The US, the EU and Ukraine want as much unity against Russia as possible. What the resolution says is that it is incontrovertible that the UN Charter forbids other countries to invade other countries, and therefore, Russia must leave Ukraine immediately," Rattansi said. "We know from previous UN General Assembly resolutions, anything more coercive, anything strongly worded, anything that includes more of the rhetoric we normally hear from the US, the EU and Ukraine, is unlikely to garner huge amounts of support." (15:40 GMT) Moldovan President Maia Sandu has lauded the "heroism of Ukrainians" in their war against Russia, which will see its first anniversary on Friday. "Russia invaded a country neighbouring us, a country that wants to live in freedom and dignity," Sandu said in a statement after meeting her Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, in Bucharest. "Ukraine withstands the invasion thanks to the heroism of Ukrainians and the help of friendly countries." Noting that Moldova has been subject to energy "blackmail" by Russia, Sandu said some elements wanted her country to fall and "establish a puppet government" subservient to the interests of the Kremlin. "The Republic of Moldova remains standing, dignified, determined on its way to the EU, thanks to the firmness and solidarity of people and help from friends," she said. "In this complicated period, Romania is with us, sincerely and disinterestedly. While some blackmail us, others embrace us." (15:59 GMT) Spain may increase the number of Leopard 2A4 tanks it will send to Ukraine to 10 from the six promised earlier and will discuss potential aircraft deliveries with its NATO and EU partners, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says during a visit to Kyiv. The German-made battle tanks are part of more than 50 2A4s Spain had mothballed in reserve, and they require repairs and refitting. (16:20 GMT) Since the war started, the profits of defence companies have increased significantly. But as Al Jazeera's Step Vaessen reports from Brussels, it is proving to be a challenge for NATO and Europe to ramp up an industry that was scaled back after the Cold War. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V4f14025k8 (16:27 GMT) European Union countries have failed to agree on their 10th set of sanctions against Russia, which they had planned to have in place for Friday's one-year anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, diplomatic sources have told Reuters. The 27 EU countries need to agree unanimously to introduce sanctions. The sources said Poland was blocking the package over proposed exemptions to a ban on EU imports of Russian synthetic rubber. Polish diplomats said the exemptions were so big they would render the sanctions ineffective. Other sources said the exemptions were proposed to accommodate Italy and were backed by Germany. (16:39 GMT) Estonia's defence begins in Ukraine, the Baltic state's prime minister, Kaja Kallas, says. "We see clearly that our defence right now starts also from Ukraine because Ukraine is fighting with the same threat, ... so as long as they are fighting there, they are weakening the same enemy as we have," Kallas said in an interview with the AFP news agency. (16:44 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that in October 2021, he personally shared with Zelenskyy Washington's assessment that Russia would likely invade Ukraine. "He took it very stoically, very seriously," Blinken said. The top US diplomat said he delivered the news to the Ukrainian president on the sidelines of an international summit in Europe. He added that while Russia was openly amassing forces on Ukraine's border, the US had "exclusive" information about Moscow's plans. Blinken praised Zelenskyy's leadership throughout the conflict, calling him an "extraordinary figure" on the world stage. (17:03 GMT) Asked whether he thinks the US will succeed in its efforts to dissuade China from coming to Russia's aid in Ukraine, Blinken said: "I certainly hope so, and ultimately, I believe so. But the proof will be in the pudding." The top US diplomat said Washington has conveyed warnings to Beijing against assisting Moscow in its war efforts on several occasions and many other countries have shared the same message. (17:14 GMT) China's deputy UN ambassador, Dai Bing, has told the UN General Assembly that one year into the Ukraine war, "brutal facts offer an ample proof that sending weapons will not bring peace." "Adding fuel to the fire will only exacerbate tensions," he said. Western powers have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in weapons since Russia invaded. The US and NATO have accused China of considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. (17:38 GMT) Putin has "already failed" in his fundamental objective of erasing Ukraine's identity as an independent country, but the fighting should end in a "just and durable" way, Blinken says at an event held by The Atlantic magazine. "By just, I mean an outcome that reflects the basic principles of the UN Charter when it comes to things like territorial integrity and sovereignty," Blinken said. "Durable in the sense that when this ends, it needs to end in a way that makes it much less likely - if not impossible - that Russia will simply repeat the exercise a year or five years later," the US secretary of state said. But the details of how to go about ending the war will be up to the Ukrainians, Blinken added. (17:43 GMT) The West will continue to support Ukraine for as long as necessary, but it would not be "clever" for Ukraine to use weapons it receives to mount attacks on Russian territory, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says. Interviewed by ZDF public television, Scholz said sending Ukraine warplanes to fight the Russian invasion "currently makes no sense". (17:44 GMT) Germany would be fine with a Europe-wide ban on Russian gas, but other countries would not, meaning it would be better to focus on sealing gaps in the sanctions regime rather than expanding it, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck says. Germany companies are no longer using any Russian gas, he said. "So as far as I'm concerned, we can cut the link completely," he said. But several countries in Eastern Europe are much more reliant on Russian energy, he added. (18:52 GMT) Biden will meet virtually on Friday with G7 leaders and Zelenskyy and will announce a new wave of sanctions against Russia for its year-long invasion of Ukraine, White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre says. (19:25 GMT) Tens of thousands of people have fled Russia since the start of its war in Ukraine. Putin's partial military mobilisation meant many could have been conscripted to fight. Georgia has provided an escape route for thousands of young Russians. But for many, the welcome has been far from warm. Russians in exile: Newcomers face challenges in Georgia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNdiS6X3VoM (19:28 GMT) Hungary plans to send a delegation to Sweden and Finland to resolve "political disputes" that have raised doubts among some Hungarian lawmakers of whether to support the two Nordic nations' applications to join NATO, a senior Hungarian lawmaker says. Mate Kocsis, the head of the nationalist Fidesz party's parliamentary caucus, said during a news briefing that a "serious debate" had emerged within the caucus over the NATO accession of Sweden and Finland, according to the state news agency MTI. Some ruling party lawmakers, he said, resented that "politicians from these countries have insulted Hungary in a crude, unfounded and often vulgar manner in recent years, and now they are asking for a favour". (19:31 GMT) Blinken says countries like India and South Africa, which have not joined the West in denouncing Russia's invasion of Ukraine, are likely on a trajectory away from alignment with Moscow but that process would not happen "in one fell swoop". "There are countries that have long-standing, decades-long relationships with Russia, with the Soviet Union before, that are challenging to break off in one fell swoop," the US secretary of state said in an interview with The Atlantic. "It's not flipping a light switch. It's moving an aircraft carrier." (20:45 GMT) The UN General Assembly has passed a non-binding resolution that calls for Russia to end hostilities and withdraw from Ukraine. Of the UN's 193 member nations, 141 voted to condemn Moscow's invasion. Seven countries - Belarus, Eritrea, Mali, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia and Syria - voted against the resolution. Other countries abstained. The UN General Assembly's overwhelming vote to demand Russia "immediately" and "unconditionally" withdraw from Ukraine included a call for a "just and lasting" peace. A day after China's top diplomat visited Moscow and pledged a deeper partnership with Russia, Beijing abstained from the vote - the fourth time it has done so on such action "since Russia invaded Ukraine" on February 24 last year. There were a total of 32 abstentions. Although it is non-binding, the resolution in the UN's largest body is seen as a global test of sentiment on the war. 20230224 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/24/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-china-calls-for-truce-peace-talks (02:52 GMT) Paris lit up the Eiffel Tower in blue and yellow, and people draped in Ukrainian flags gathered at a vigil in London as the world marks one year of war between Ukraine and Russia. (02:52 GMT) The Australian government has said it will send more drones to Ukraine to aid its fight against Russia. It has also imposed new targeted financial sanctions against 90 Russian individuals and 40 entities. The latest targets include Russian ministers overseeing energy, resources and industry sectors, and key players in defence, including arms manufacturer Kalashnikov Concern, aviation firm Tupolev and submarine developer Admiralty Shipyards. He did not specify how many drones would be shipped, the models involved, or whether they would be armed. (02:55 GMT) China has called for a ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, saying that it wants to prevent the crisis in Ukraine from getting out of control. The call for a ceasefire came in a 12-point peace plan issued by Beijing's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday. The plan also called for the opening of peace talks and urged the end of Western sanctions imposed on Russia. It called for measures to ensure the safety of nuclear facilities, the establishment of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians, and steps to ensure the export of grain after disruptions caused global food prices to spike. The peace proposal mainly elaborated on long-held Chinese positions, including referring to the need for all countries' "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity be effectively guaranteed". It also called an end to the "Cold War mentality" - its standard term for US hegemony and interference in other countries. China has insisted that nuclear weapons must not be used in the Russia-Ukraine war. In its 12-point paper on a "political settlement" of the crisis, China said "nuclear weapons must not be used and nuclear wars must not be fought". It added that the threat or use of nuclear weapons should also be opposed. China also highlighted the need to protect civilians, saying that "parties to the conflict should strictly abide by international humanitarian law" and "avoid attacking civilians or civilian facilities". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/china-calls-for-russia-ukraine-cease-fire-proposes-peace-talks (03:11 GMT) Despite Western-led sanctions aimed at punishing Russia over its war in Ukraine, growing demand for Russian energy imports has helped keep the country's besieged economy afloat. China and India, both of which have declined to condemn Russia or impose sanctions over the war, were the biggest buyers of Russian crude oil last year. China's imports of Russian crude oil spiked 8 percent in 2022, the equivalent of 1.72 million barrels per day (bpd), according to Chinese customs data, making Russia the East Asian giant's second-biggest supplier. Kpler, a commodities market analysis firm, has estimated that China will import some 5.62 million bpd in February, beating the previous all-time high. India, which has emerged as the biggest customer of Russian oil, in January imported a record 1.4 million bpd of the commodity - a more than 9 percent rise from December. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/2/24/how-china-and-indias-appetite-for-oil-and-gas-kept-russia-afloat (03:15 GMT) White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan says the US will provide Ukraine with an additional $2bn in security assistance. (04:09 GMT) Will Russia's struggle in Ukraine help Taiwan - or hurt it? As Russia's war in Ukraine enters its second year, its struggles to make advances have once again given rise to questions about what lessons China may have learned from its close ally. Will China conclude that it might be better to attack Taiwan before it is better prepared to defend itself? Or has Putin's war shown the perils of rushing into such a conflict? The short answer: Predicting China's behaviour is a challenge because its decision-making is opaque to much of the outside world. Instead, China watchers often look at past actions and subtle changes, such as in the wording of official statements. From these, analysts interviewed by Al Jazeera reached a similar conclusion: While there is reason to worry in the long term, China is unlikely to attack Taiwan soon. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/2/23/will-russias-ukraine-struggle-help-taiwan-or-hurt (04:42 GMT) Ukraine has called China's position paper "a good sign" and said it expects Beijing to be more active in its support of Kyiv. "We hope they also urge Russia to stop the war and withdraw its troops," said Zhanna Leshchynska, Ukraine's charge d'affaires in China. (05:00 GMT) China's military is learning from Russia's invasion of Ukraine that any attack on Taiwan would have to be swift to succeed, but the Taiwan Strait would make that challenging, the island's defence minister has said. (05:32 GMT) Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - In the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the corporate world's response revealed an East-West divide. As North American and European firms rushed to cut ties with Russia, Asian companies largely sat out campaigns to isolate and punish Moscow that went beyond their legal obligations under sanctions. That picture is largely unchanged as the biggest war in Europe since World War II enters its second year. Out of the more than 1,100 companies that announced plans to withdraw from Russia or scale back or suspend operations in the country - including such household names as McDonald's, Coca-Cola, Starbucks, Apple and Nike - fewer than 100 are from Asia, according to data from the Chief Executive Leadership Institute (CELI) at the Yale School of Management. (05:50 GMT) French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire says G20 financial leaders must condemn Russia's aggression against Ukraine. His comments to the Reuters news agency came as G20 officials said India, which holds the current G20 presidency, does not want the bloc to discuss additional sanctions on Russia and is also pressing to avoid using the word "war" in the communique language to describe the conflict. (06:42 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner Group says his fighters have captured a village near Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut, the scene of fierce fighting between the two sides for months. Berkhivka "is entirely under our control", Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement released by his press service on the one-year anniversary of Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. (07:27 GMT) The United Kingdom has issued more sanctions against Russia, including export bans on every item it has used on the battlefield. The Foreign Office said the internationally coordinated sanctions and trade measures would target aircraft parts, radio equipment and electronic components. It will also target more executives, including those at the nuclear power plant Rosatom and defence groups. (08:13 GMT) China has called for urgent peace talks as it released a 12-point paper calling for a "political settlement" to end the war in Ukraine. The paper calls for all parties to "support Russia and Ukraine in working in the same direction and resuming direct dialogue as quickly as possible". Western powers quickly rebuffed the proposal while warning against Beijing's ties to Moscow. (08:32 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has said his country would be victorious in its Ukraine offensive and is ready to fight until the Polish border to counter "threats". "Victory will be achieved," Medvedev said on Telegram, "This is why it is so important to reach all the goals of the special military operation. To push back the borders of the threats against our country as far as possible, even if this is to the borders of Poland." (08:45 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says Putin will not reach his aims in Ukraine, a year after Moscow's troops invaded the country. "The earlier the Russian president realises that he will not reach his imperialistic goal, the bigger the chance that the war will end soon. Putin has it in his hands. He can end this war," Scholz said. (08:55 GMT) In 2019, French President Emmanuel Macron told The Economist that Europe could no longer rely on NATO for its defence but needed to become a geostrategic power in its own right. "What we are currently experiencing is the brain death of NATO," he said, in what has become an infamous quote. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/has-the-ukraine-war-strengthened-europe-or-weakened-it (09:06 GMT) Russia has to lose its war in Ukraine so it stops seeking to conquer territories it once controlled, Zelenskyy has told a conference in Lithuania via video link. "Russian revanchism must forever forget about Kyiv and Vilnius, about Chisinau and Warsaw, about our brothers in Latvia and Estonia, in Georgia and every other country that is now threatened," he said. (09:23 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has travelled to Kyiv in a show of backing for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, according to a government spokesman. "A year after the start of Russian hostilities, the Prime Minister @MorawieckiM went to Kyiv to give a clear and measurable signal of further support in defending Ukraine against Russia," Piotr Muller said in a post on Twitter. (09:46 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has poured cold water on a Chinese proposal for a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying Beijing was not well-placed to negotiate an end to the war. "China doesn't have much credibility because they have not been able to condemn the illegal invasion of Ukraine," he told reporters in Tallinn, adding Beijing had signed an agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin only days before the invasion. <=== European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen echoed Stoltenberg's sentiments, saying China had not shared a peace plan but some principles. "You have to see them against a specific backdrop, and that is the backdrop that China has already taken sides by signing, for example, an unlimited friendship right before the invasion," she said. "So we will look at the principles, of course, but we will look at them against the backdrop that China has taken sides." (10:31 GMT) The United States has announced a new $2bn package of long-term security assistance for Ukraine on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. The aid will include more rounds of ammunition and a variety of small, high-tech drones, the Pentagon said in a statement. The package will not include the F-16 fighter jets that Ukraine has repeatedly requested. Washington also announced new sanctions against Russia and its allies, new export controls and tariffs aimed at undermining Moscow's ability to wage war. The sanctions are aimed at targets in Russia and "third-country actors" across Europe, Asia and the Middle East that are supporting Russia's war effort, the White House said in a fact sheet. (10:52 GMT) King Charles condemns Russia's 'unprovoked' attack on war anniversary King Charles III has praised Ukraine's "remarkable courage and resilience" on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion. "It has now been a year that the people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginably from an unprovoked full-scale attack on their nation," the British monarch said in a statement. (11:09 GMT) Al Jazeera's Charles Stratford, reporting from Brovary, near Kyiv, says there is "intense" fighting taking place around the "flashpoint" city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. "The fighting there has been going on for months but it has become particularly intense in the last few weeks," Stratford said. "We know that Russian forces have taken control of villages to the south of Bakhmut and control the city's western sections," he added. "They are trying to encircle Bakhmut and the estimates are that thousands of soldiers on both sides have been killed in the battle for the city." (11:16 GMT) A spokesperson for Germany's government has cautiously welcomed the 12-point plan presented by China for a ceasefire in Ukraine but noted important elements, such as Russian troops' withdrawal, were missing from the proposal. "It is important that China now discusses these ideas directly with Ukraine, as this is the only way to find a balanced solution that takes Ukraine's legitimate interests into account," the spokesperson said. (11:26 GMT) Zelenskyy delivers rousing video address on war anniversary (11:33 GMT) Ukraine welcomes China's proposal to mediate between Kyiv and Moscow, the country's first deputy foreign minister has said. "We welcome any initiative that is actually aimed at finding peace and resolving the war ... we are the country that is most interested in having any kind of peace, because we've been suffering this hell for a year," Emine Dzhaparova told Al Jazeera from Kyiv. "The document ... that we received today in the morning is called the political position of China about the crisis. We will study it thoroughly," she added. "The only thing that I want to clarify is what is the basis for this peace - because we believe in justice and fair peace, not appeasement." (11:40 GMT) Poland's president says his country has delivered a first batch of German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine. "The prime minister couldn't be here, he went to Kyiv to bring Leopard tanks which are the first batch delivered to Ukraine," President Andrzej Duda said in his opening remarks to a meeting of Poland's National Security Council in Warsaw. (11:52 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukraine's president has said any plan to end Russia's war in Ukraine must involve the withdrawal of Moscow's troops back to Ukraine's 1991 borders. Mykhailo Podolyak made his remarks after China presented a 12-point plan for a ceasefire in Ukraine. He was referring to Ukraine's borders at the time of the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991. "Any 'peace plan' with ceasefire only and, as a result, a new delimitation line and continued occupation of Ukrainian territory isn't about peace, but about freezing the war, a Ukrainian defeat, [and the] next stages of Russia's genocide," he said in a post on Twitter. "Ukraine's position is known - the withdrawal of Russian troops to the borders of 1991." (12:06 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has warned that any actions threatening its peacekeepers in Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria will be seen as a direct attack on Russia. "Any action that threatens their security will be considered under international law as an attack on the Russian Federation," the ministry said. Russia's defence ministry accused Ukraine on Thursday of planning to invade Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region after a false flag operation, an assertion that was dismissed by the Moldovan government. (12:13 GMT) Ukraine's top war crimes prosecutor says officials have recorded more than 69,000 cases of violations of the laws of war since Russia launched its invasion a year ago. "We are trying to see ... what we should focus on first. For example, where there is attacks on infrastructure, where we have civilians being killed," Yuriy Belousov told Al Jazeera. "We are trying to structure investigations to use modern technologies of gathering evidence ... using solutions to give us a chance to work with this workload," he added. Asked if he believes justice will be served, Belousov said he was "confident" it would. "It's not just a matter of Ukraine ... The whole world supports us. We have support from more than 20 countries that have started their own investigations," he said. "We have support from International Criminal Court, and all our forces have been focused on gathering evidence. That's why we are sure that we will prosecute. It will take time. Some will be prosecuted in our national courts, some will be prosecuted in other countries." (12:21 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine on the anniversary of Moscow's offensive. "President [Vladimir] Putin's decision has ripped apart families, forced millions from their communities, destroyed homes, schools, hospitals, and other civilian infrastructure, exacerbated a global food crisis, destabilised energy markets, and undermined international peace and security," Blinken said in a statement. "This war has shredded Russia's international reputation, left Russia weakened and isolated, and decimated its economy. This war is an attempt to seize territory from Ukraine and thwart its independent, democratic trajectory," he added. Blinken also praised Ukraine's "fight" and its people's "resolve and resilience", saying they had "emerged as an inspiration to the world, showing they will not be cowed". "The United States stands strongly with Ukraine as it defends itself, and we will continue to do so until Ukraine's sovereignty is respected and the people of Ukraine can shape their chosen, democratic future in freedom and peace," he said. (13:15 GMT) United States officials often stress that Russia has failed in its war in Ukraine, citing Moscow's battlefield setbacks and its failure to capture Kyiv in a lightning offensive a year ago. Al Jazeera examines Washington's notable moves to help Kyiv fight against Moscow's invasion over the past year, ranging from billions of dollars in aid to sanctions and weapons packages. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/five-key-ways-the-us-has-supported-ukraines-war-effort (13:25 GMT) Poland will send more tanks to Ukraine "in a few days", Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in Kyiv after Warsaw announced the dispatch of four Leopard 2 tanks. "We were able to transfer our tanks very soon ... also in a few days we are delivering very good PT-91 tanks - 60 tanks will come to Ukraine," Morawiecki told reporters. (13:36 GMT) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was joined outside his official residence by wife Akshata Murthy, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Vadym Prystaiko, and dozens of Ukrainian troops being trained by the UK for a minute's silence marking the anniversary of Russia's war on Ukraine. In parliament, legislators held a minute of silence in the Commons chamber. Deputy Commons speaker Dame Rosie Winterton said "Slava Ukraini" - meaning "Glory to Ukraine" in the Ukrainian language - as the silence came to an end. King Charles III also issued a message praising the "remarkable courage and resilience" of the Ukrainian people. (13:50 GMT) Sweden has announced that it would deliver about 10 Leopard 2 tanks and anti-air systems to Ukraine, the latest Western country to pledge heavier weapons. Speaking at a news conference to mark the anniversary of the war in Ukraine, Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and defence minister Pal Jonson said the Nordic country would send "around" 10 of Sweden's Leopard 2A5 tanks as well as the anti-air missile systems IRIS-T and HAWK to Ukraine. (14:01 GMT) China's foreign minister has told his Belarusian counterpart that Beijing is willing to work with Minsk to deepen mutual political trust between the pair, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. China will continue to support Belarus's efforts to oppose external forces interfering in its internal affairs, Qin Gang said in a phone call with Sergei Aleinik, the statement said. A year ago, Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine and Russia, allowed Russia to use its territory as a launchpad for its attack on Ukraine. President Alexander Lukashenko said earlier in February that Belarus was ready to do so again. Kyiv has voiced concerns for months that Belarus could join the war on Russia's side, a potential threat that has forced it to divert troops to defend the north of Ukraine while waging war with Russia in the east and south. (14:04 GMT) Western leaders slam Russia on first anniversary of Ukraine war https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/west-voices-support-for-ukraine-a-year-into-russias-invasion (14:12 GMT) Sofiya Fedyna, a member of Ukraine's parliament and a volunteer in the country's military, says residents in the country's capital have "adjusted" to the war after a year of fighting. "At the beginning, Kyiv was emptying and there was a very harsh atmosphere [in the city], we didn't know what might happen or where the rockets might fall," Fedyna told Al Jazeera. "Even now, we don't know, but Ukrainians are a bit adjusted and have enormous faith in the armed forces of Ukraine," she added. "We are afraid, but we understand that if we step back we will be the next ones to be killed by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin's regime. "We are fighting for our chance to be alive, for our children and for our future ... and we have to go on." (14:14 GMT) Russian economist Nick Korzhenevsky, from statistical service SberIndex, said Russian expenditures have "ballooned" since the start of war. "The direct expenditure that Russia now commits to the war is around $100bn a year," he told Al Jazeera, speaking from Warsaw. "That's what they have to spend. And then there's also economic losses, I would say that's another $20-30bn a year." "The official expenditure forecast for this year is $400bn. The government receipts will be around $350bn. But what's most interesting is that just before the war started the plans for expenditures for this year were officially only $300bn." Korzhenevsky said that the effects of sanctions on Russia will be felt in the medium and long term. (14:22 GMT) Canada has said it will provide Ukraine with more than $32m in support to further strengthen its security. The aid includes $7.5m for demining efforts and more than $12m to counter chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, Canada's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement. (14:57 GMT) The United States will impose a 200 percent tariff on aluminium and derivatives produced in Russia effective from March 10, the White House has said. Washington will also apply a 200 percent tariff on aluminium imports with any amount of primary aluminium smelted or cast in Russia, starting on April 10, it added. Russian aluminium is produced by Rusal, which accounts for about 6 percent of global supplies. Supplies to the US accounted for 7 percent of Rusal's revenue in the first half of 2022. Russian aluminium accounts for only a small portion of total US supplies. (15:22 GMT) Olga Krasnyak, an associate professor at the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, says there is strong support among Russians for what the Kremlin calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. "Even some people who had certain reasons not to support this conflict, because Ukraine is our brotherly nation, [now] understand that it is neccesary," Krasnyak told Al Jazeera from the Russian capital. "We see that Western countries have turned their back on Russia and started to oppose Russia," she added. (15:25 GMT) Germany will supply Ukraine with another four German-made Leopard 2 A6 battle tanks, the country's defence ministry has said. "Germany is thus increasing the number of tanks it is handing over from 14 to 18," the ministry said. (15:44 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has told the UN Security Council that any new peace proposals for an end to the war should be aligned with the demands made in a recent UN General Assembly resolution. "Ukraine will resist as it has done so far, and Ukraine will win. Putin is going to lose much sooner than he thinks," Dmytro Kuleba told the 15-member Security Council. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution late on Thursday calling for the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine and a halt to fighting in the country. (16:01 GMT) The UN Security Council should not be fooled by calls for a temporary or unconditional ceasefire in Ukraine and should not fall into the "false equivalency" of calling on both sides to stop fighting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. Russia will use any pause in fighting to consolidate control of territory and replenish its forces, Blinken said after China called for a ceasefire as part of a position paper on the war. "No member of this council should call for peace while supporting Russia's war on Ukraine and on the UN Charter," Blinken said. (16:20 GMT) Dozens of people have been detained by police in Russia after taking action to commemorate the first anniversary of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, protest monitoring group OVD-info says. In Moscow, at least three people laying flowers on a monument to prominent Ukrainian poet Lesya Ukrainka were quickly detained by police officers, OVD-Info said. At least 15 people were detained laying flowers at a monument to Ukrainian writer Taras Shevchenko in St Petersburg, it added. Russians all across the country actively protested against the war in Ukraine during the first week of the invasion. Large rallies quickly fizzled after thousands were detained, but single-person protests - and detentions - have persisted throughout the year. (16:25 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says many countries are supporting Ukraine despite feeling the economic "pain" of the war because to do otherwise would be to "abandon the UN Charter itself". He noted, for example, that Europe has taken "extraordinary steps" to end its dependence on Russian energy. "Nations around the world continue to stand with Ukraine because we all recognise that if we abandon Ukraine, we abandon the UN Charter itself and the principles and rules that make all countries safer and more secure," Blinken told the UN Security Council. (16:33 GMT) Ukraine's president has said China's interest in the war is "not bad" after Beijing called for a comprehensive ceasefire as part of a 12-point plan for dealing with the conflict. "China has shown its thoughts. I believe that the fact that China started talking about Ukraine is not bad," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a news conference on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion. "But the question is what follows the words. The question is in the steps and where they will lead to." Zelenskyy added there were points in the Chinese proposals that he agreed with "and there are those that we don't". "But it's something." (16:43 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he wants countries from Latin America and Africa, as well as China and India, to join a peace formula proposed by Kyiv to end the war with Russia. Zelenskyy called for a summit with Latin American leaders and said Kyiv should take steps to build relations with African countries. (17:28 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) is taking action against third-country actors "materially supporting Russia's war in Ukraine", the bloc says in a statement, reaffirming its support for Ukraine. "We call on third-countries or other international actors who seek to evade or undermine our measures to cease providing material support to Russia's war, or face severe costs," said the group consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the United Kingdom and United States. (17:35 GMT) The White House believes Moscow might provide Iran with fighter jets and other military equipment in exchange for its expanded support for Russia's war in Ukraine, according to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby. Kirby told reporters the US has information that Iran shipped artillery and tank rounds to Russia in November and Russia was offering "unprecedented defence cooperation" in return, including on missiles, electronics and fighter jets. He said Iran was also seeking to buy attack helicopters, radar systems and combat trainer aircraft. (17:52 GMT) Zelenskyy has urged the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, to increase the speed of weapons deliveries to Ukraine. (18:10 GMT) Zelenskyy says he plans to meet China's president but did not say when such a meeting might take place. "I plan to meet Xi Jinping and believe this will be beneficial for our countries and for security in the world," he said at a news conference in Kyiv on the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy had earlier reiterated that he would not hold talks with Putin. (18:52 GMT) European Union countries have been unable for a third day running to agree on new sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine a year ago, with Poland rejecting Italy's demand for laxer new curbs on rubber imports, according to diplomats quoted by the Reuters news agency. Poland said the proposed restrictions on EU imports of Russia rubber included such a big quota of imports exempted and such long transition periods that they would have no effect in practice. Other EU countries were baffled that Warsaw - a leading Russia hawk in the bloc - was risking having no new sanctions announced on the anniversary of Russia's attack against Ukraine over just one element of a broader package. (19:32 GMT) The World Bank has announced an additional $2.5bn in financing for Ukraine, aimed at supporting essential services and core government functions. The development lender has mobilised more than $20.6bn in emergency financing for Ukraine to date. (19:53 GMT) Canada is imposing new Russia-related sanctions and sending four more Leopard 2 Tanks to Ukraine, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said, marking the anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new sanctions would target 129 individuals and 63 entities including Russian deputy prime ministers and other officials, Trudeau told reporters in Toronto. (20:22 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says Beijing does not have credibility to propose a ceasefire in Ukraine. Indicating that China is not impartial, Stoltenberg pointed out that it had signed an agreement with Russia only days before the invasion of Ukraine a year ago. 20230225 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/25/g20-meeting-ends-without-consensus-over-russias-war-in-ukraine Finance chiefs of the world's largest economies were unable to agree on a joint statement condemning Russia for its war on Ukraine on Saturday, with China and Russia itself declining to sign. India, which as chair of the Group of 20 (G20) economies was hosting a meeting in the city of Bengaluru, was reluctant to raise the issue of the war but Western nations insisted they could not back any outcome that did not include a condemnation. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/25/russia-halts-pipeline-oil-supplies-to-poland-refiner-pkn-orlen Russia has halted oil supplies to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline, the chief executive of Polish refiner PKN Orlen says, adding that the company would tap alternative sources to plug the gap. The supply halt via the pipeline - exempted from EU sanctions imposed on Russia following its full-scale invasion of Ukraine - came a day after Poland delivered its first Leopard tanks to Ukraine. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/25/as-long-as-it-takes-us-aid-to-ukraine-sustainable-experts-say Washington, DC - The words "as long as it takes" have become a rallying cry for American officials as they support Ukraine's fight against the Russian invasion, signalling an open-ended commitment to help Kyiv. US President Joe Biden put it bluntly on Tuesday when he said in a speech that the United States and its allies will "not tire" of backing Ukraine - a message seemingly directed at his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. The US Congress approved more than $100bn for Ukraine through four spending bills last year - funds that the Biden administration has been dispensing through periodic military, humanitarian and budgetary aid to Kyiv. Igor Lukes, a professor of international affairs at Boston University's Frederick S Pardee School of Global Studies, said that if Putin were to conquer Ukraine and get to its western borders, Russia would be "eyeball to eyeball" with several NATO countries, including Poland and Romania. (PJB: and if NATO takes over Ukraine, Russia wouldn't?) ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/25/thousands-rally-in-berlin-paris-to-call-for-peace-in-ukraine Protesters in Paris and Berlin capitals have rallied to demand peace in Ukraine, a day after the anniversary of Russia's invasion. Thousands of people protested in the Germany capital on Saturday to condemn the government's supply of arms to Ukraine and call for peace talks to end the war. The organisers were criticised before the protest for downplaying Ukraine's right to defend its territory from Russian aggression and failing to distance themselves from the far right and far left, where pro-Russia views are common. One of the organisers, lawmaker Sahra Wagenknecht of the ex-communist Left party, said that there was no place for neo-Nazis at the rally, but that anyone who wanted peace "with an honest heart" was welcome. While most placards at the protest reflected traditional left-wing positions, some participants bore banners with the slogan "Americans go home" and the logo of a far-right magazine. Some waved Russian flags. Wagenknecht accused the German government of seeking to "ruin Russia," and said that Moscow should be made an "offer" in order to resume peace talks. Another of the organisers, prominent feminist author Alice Schwarzer, said it was time to look beyond left and right. The two women have also launched a petition which claims to have gathered more than 645,000 signatures. Protesters jeered whenever she and Wagenknecht mentioned the name of German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who has strongly backed the delivery of arms to Ukraine. Police said about 13,000 people took part in the rally at Berlin's iconic Brandenburg Gate, but organisers claimed that 50,000 people participated. 20230226 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-alleges-arm-twisting-un-vote (07:36 GMT) A top Russian diplomat to the UN has accused the West of "cowboy" methods and "arm twisting" of some countries during last week's United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote that demanded Moscow withdraw its troops from Ukraine. "The methods of achieving the result are again 'cowboy'," Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's deputy UN ambassador, said on the Telegram messaging platform. (07:45 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces will be ready to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces occupying large swathes of the country in the spring, Ukrainian deputy military intelligence chief Vadym Skibitsky has said. In interview comments with Germany's Funke Media Group published on Sunday, Skibitsky said the exact timing depended on several factors, notably Western arms shipments. "We are trying to drive a wedge into the Russian front in the south between Crimea and the Russian mainland," he added. "It's possible that we will also destroy weapons depots or military equipment on Russian territory, for example around the city of Belgorod, from where attacks on Ukraine are launched. This poses a threat to [the Ukrainian city of] Kharkiv, for example." (07:52 GMT) Ukraine's military says Russia has conducted an unsuccessful offensive near Yahidne over the past day, rejecting claims by Russia's Wagner mercenary group that its fighters had captured the village near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said on Saturday his forces had captured Yahidne. On Friday, he had claimed control of Berkhivka, an adjacent village on the outskirts of Bakhmut. (08:01 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia cannot "ignore" NATO's nuclear capabilities "In today's conditions, when all the leading NATO countries have declared their main goal as inflicting a strategic defeat on us, so that our people suffer as they say, how can we ignore their nuclear capabilities in these conditions?" Putin told Rossiya 1 state television, according to TASS. He added the West had one goal "to disband the former Soviet Union and its fundamental part - the Russian Federation." (08:14 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will visit China in April to seek the Chinese government's help with ending Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The announcement on Saturday came after China published a 12-point position paper that called for a ceasefire and a "political settlement" to end the year-long conflict. Macron said he would visit China in "early April". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/26/macron-to-visit-china-seek-xis-help-to-end-russia-ukraine-war (08:27 GMT) Close Russia ally Belarus has has said it has as many as 1.5 million potential military personnel outside its armed forces. The comments from State Secretary of the Security Council Alexander Volfovich, a senior Belarussian official, follows an order last month by President Alexander Lukashenko to form a new volunteer territorial defence force of up to 150,000 people. "The structures of the organisations, not the Armed Forces, will amount to somewhere up to 1.5 million people in the event of a declaration of martial law and the switch of the economy to a war mode," said Volfovich, according to the state BelTA news agency. (08:40 GMT) In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the US and Western countries imposed unprecedented sanctions on Moscow, with Russia's banking, energy, access to global trade and its oligarchs all targeted in an attempt to undermine President Vladimir Putin's war effort Counting the Cost: Who's paying the price ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONTduH3662E (08:51 GMT) Ukraine plans no more outages to ration electricity - barring future Russian strikes - and has been able to amass some power reserves, the energy minister has said. "Electricity restrictions will not be introduced, provided there are no strikes by the Russian Federation on infrastructure facilities," Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said in remarks posted on the ministry's Telegram messaging platform. "Outages will only be used for repairs." Russia in October began bombing Ukraine's energy infrastructure, leaving millions without power and heat for days in the winter months. Halushchenko said the heating season has been extremely difficult, "but our power engineers managed to maintain the power system, and for the third week in a row, electricity generation has ensured consumption needs, we have reserves." (09:31 GMT) Many African nations have held onto their neutral positions a year since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But even if official positions have not moved, some countries are showing more willingness to appear closer to Russia, Piers Pigou, the International Crisis Group's senior consultant for Southern Africa, told Al Jazeera. They include South Africa, who is currently holding joint military drills with China and Russia. The demonstration of close ties would be hard to imagine a year ago and underscores a changing attitude found elsewhere on the continent. (10:22 GMT) Switzerland "cannot be neutral" about Russia's war on Ukraine and must allow weapons deliveries to Kyiv, Ukraine's envoy to the country says. "Our country is fighting not only for its survival but for all of Europe, for the free world," Ambassador Iryna Venediktova said in an interview with the SonntagsZeitung newspaper. She made the comments as Swiss legislators have increasingly questioned the country's longstanding neutrality while debating sending military aid to Ukraine. (10:44 GMT) A more than five-week session of the UN Human Rights Council is to open on Monday, with a senior Russian envoy expected to attend. The council, made up of 47 member countries, takes up an extensive array of human rights issues and typically meets three times a year. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov, known more for his expertise on defence matters, is to attend on Thursday, marking the highest level of representation since Moscow suspended its council membership. It did so as the UN General Assembly was expected to strip it of its seat on the council. Last year, scores of diplomats walked out of the council chamber as Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared by video. The walkout signalled opposition to Russia's invasion of Ukraine days earlier. (11:04 GMT) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius says he is sceptical of China's 12-point plan to end the war in Ukraine. Pistorius cited unconfirmed reports that China is negotiating to provide weapons to Russia even as it portrays itself as a peacemaker in the conflict. "When I hear reports - and I don't know whether they are true - according to which China may be planning to supply kamikaze drones to Russia while at the same time presenting a peace plan, then I suggest we judge China by its actions and not its words," he told German public broadcaster Deutschlandfunk in an interview. (11:28 GMT) Reporting from Moscow, Al Jazeera's Osama bin Javaid says Putin's most recent televised statements show he is continuing to portray the invasion of Ukraine as a wider existential struggle with the West. "President Vladimir Putin, in his interview, has said that this is not just an issue of war with Ukraine," he said. "This is an existential issue for Russia. He's accused the West and the NATO alliance of trying to dismember Russia, saying that since the time of the Soviet Union and now with the Russian Federation, their aim remains the same: to make Russia disintegrate. "This is something we have been hearing from him in the buildup to the one-year anniversary. Another thing that Putin has said which is of note is again about the nuclear capabilities of not just the United States but also other Western powers, saying that for Russians to consider their defence, they have to take all of it into account." (11:50 GMT) There has been no development for months in the discussion of possible NATO security guarantees for Ukraine, a German government spokesperson says. "At the recent meeting of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron with Ukrainian leader [Zelenskyy], this issue played no role at all," the spokesperson said in a statement. The statement followed a recent report by The Wall Street Journal that said some of NATO's biggest European members are floating a defence pact with Ukraine. (12:14 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has shown TV journalists the temporary accommodation in which he says he has been living since the beginning of Russia's invasion. "This is where I live," Zelenskyy said in the film by journalist Dmytro Komarov, broadcast on Friday by Ukrainian TV's 1+1 channel. The president also said he was there when the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. A clip of the film was posted on Twitter by Zelenskyy's domestic political adviser Anton Gerashchenko. In the video, the windows of the makeshift accommodation are covered with thick curtains. Pillows and a flowered bedspread lie on a single bed, and a television, a chair and a desk can also be seen. Zelenskyy also showed the camera team his walk-in wardrobe, including several olive green and camouflage jackets and military boots. (13:42 GMT) Moscow ally Algeria plans to reopen its embassy in Kyiv, which has been closed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine a year ago, the foreign ministry says. "This decision comes within the framework of safeguarding the interests of the Algerian state," a ministry statement said, adding that the embassy would reopen soon. It did not provide details. A charge d'affaires will run the mission when it reopens, it said. Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune announced the planned reopening during a television broadcast on Friday, acknowledging Algeria's longstanding relations with Russia. (13:59 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister says a reconciliation between Moscow and Kyiv is not possible within the next century. "Reconciliation, cooperation - no, not in the next 100 years," Denys Shmyhal said in an interview with the German weekly magazine Focus. "Russia must first change, be democratised, demilitarised and denuclearised." When asked about how Russia should be disarmed, Shmyhal listed further sanctions, a refusal to cooperate with Russia, confiscation of Russian assets and further military aid to Ukraine as prospects. (14:26 GMT) The US has made clear behind closed doors that if China provides lethal aid to help Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, it would have serious consequences, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan says. "Beijing will have to make its own decisions about how it proceeds, whether it provides military assistance, but if it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China," Sullivan said in an interview with CNN's State of the Union programme. (15:22 GMT) The US is "confident" that China is considering providing lethal equipment to support the Russian forces invading Ukraine, according to CIA Director William Burns. Such a step by China would be "a very risky and unwise bet", the intelligence chief said in an interview aired Sunday on the CBS network's Face the Nation programme. "I hope very much that they don't," Burns said. His comments, along with others by national security adviser Jake Sullivan, constituted the latest blunt US warning to China to stop short of providing lethal weapons to Russia. (16:54 GMT) US Republican Representative Michael McCaul, chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, has cited reports that drones are among the lethal weapons China has considered sending to Russia. McCaul said Chinese leader Xi Jinping is preparing to visit Moscow next week for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin has alluded to a Xi visit but the timing has not been confirmed by Russia or China. Russia and China signed a "no limits" partnership in February 2022 shortly before Russian forces invaded Ukraine. Economic links between Russia and China have deepened while Moscow's connections with the West have shriveled. (17:08 GMT) As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, CIA Director William Burns has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is being "too confident" in his military's ability to grind Ukraine into submission. Burns, in a television interview, said the head of Russia's intelligence services had displayed in their November meeting "a sense of cockiness and hubris" that reflected Putin's own beliefs "that he can make time work for him, that he believes he can grind down the Ukrainians that he can wear down our European allies, that political fatigue will eventually set in." That conversation, in which Burns warned of the consequences if Russia were to deploy a nuclear weapon in Ukraine, was "pretty dispiriting," Burns said. (17:25 GMT) Russian online bank Tinkoff, run by TCS Group Holding, has said it would suspend trading in euros from Monday following the imposition of a further set of European Union sanctions. The EU agreed to a 10th round of punitive measures late on Friday to punish Russia for invading Ukraine a year ago. The package includes cutting off more banks, among them Tinkoff and the private Alfa-Bank, from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) system. "Withdrawals in euros will be available. Euro trading will be suspended from Feb. 27, 2023," Tinkoff said in a statement, adding that trading in other currencies would not be affected. ... https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/feb/26/labour-left-breaks-with-jeremy-corbyn-over-sending-weapons-to-ukraine Senior Labour MPs on the left of the party are putting themselves at odds with former leader Jeremy Corbyn over the war in Ukraine by calling on the Ministry of Defence to do more to arm Kyiv against the Russians. This weekend the MP for Norwich South, Clive Lewis, a former territorial army officer and shadow defence secretary under Corbyn, questioned why the MoD was selling used Apache helicopters on the open market rather than giving them to the Ukrainians "in their hour of need". On Saturday night the MoD said the advert for Apache helicopters had been removed. Corbyn, by contrast, has urged western countries to stop arming Ukraine, insisting that providing weapons will only prolong the conflict. "Pouring arms in isn't going to bring about a solution; it's only going to prolong and exaggerate this war," Corbyn said in an interview with a Beirut-based TV channel last August. "We might be in for years and years of war in Ukraine." He added: "What I find disappointing is that hardly any of the world's leaders use the word peace; they always use the language of more war, and more bellicose war. This war is disastrous for the people of Ukraine, for the people of Russia, and for the safety and security of the whole world, and therefore there has to be much more effort put into peace." --- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSaxPEnyCu0 [PROOF] WE DID IT! | Seymour Hersh First Nord Stream Interview Seymour Hersh is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist noted for his recent reporting on the US being involved in the Nord Stream pipeline explosions. This was his first interview after publishing his article on Nord Stream. Check Out Seymour's Substack: https://seymourhersh.substack.com/ --- https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/27/russian-plane-destroyed-near-minsk-airfield-belarus-opposition A Russian A-50 military surveillance aircraft has been damaged in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarusian capital of Minsk, according to Belarus partisans and members of the exiled opposition. "Those were drones. The participants of the operation are Belarusian," Alexandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian antigovernment organisation BYPOL, was quoted as saying on Sunday on the organisation's Telegram messaging app and on the Poland-based Belsat news channel. "They are now safe, outside the country." Belsat is a Polish broadcaster focused on Belarusian news that Minsk has branded as extremist. BYPOL, which includes former law enforcement officers who support opposition politicians, has been branded a "terrorist" organisation. "Partisans ... confirmed a successful special operation to blow up a rare Russian plane at the airfield in Machulishchy near Minsk," tweeted Franak Viacorka, a close adviser of opposition figurehead Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. "This is the most successful diversion since the beginning of 2022," he added. 20230227 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/27/russia-ukraine-live-us-warns-china-against-supporting-russia (10:38 GMT) Russia's former president and an ally of President Vladimir Putin says continued arms supplies from the West to Ukraine risks a global nuclear catastrophe. The latest comments by Dmitry Medvedev follow Putin's nuclear warning last week and remarks that the confrontation with the West is a battle for the survival of Russia and the Russian people. "Of course, the pumping in of weapons can continue .... and prevent any possibility of reviving negotiations," Medvedev said in remarks published in the daily Izvestia. "Our enemies are doing just that, not wanting to understand that their goals will certainly lead to a total fiasco. Loss for everyone. A collapse. Apocalypse where you forget for centuries about your former life until the rubble ceases to emit radiation." (10:39 GMT) Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a Russian A-50 surveillance plane at an airfield near Minsk on Sunday. "Those were drones. The participants of the operation are Belarusian," Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of the anti-government organisation BYPOL, was quoted as saying on the organisation's Telegram channel and the Poland-based Belsat news channel. Front and central parts of the A-50 aircraft as well as the radar antenna were damaged due to two explosions in the attack at the Machulishchy air base, BYPOL said. (10:40 GMT) The United States and NATO are warning China against supplying lethal aid to Russia, possibly including drones. CIA Director William Burns said the US intelligence agency believes Beijing is considering military aid to Russia but has not reached a final decision. "If it goes down that road, it will come at real costs to China," US national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN. China declared a "no limits" alliance with Russia shortly before the invasion began a year ago. (10:41 GMT) China has maintained communications with all sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, including Kyiv, a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson in Beijing says. "China's position on the Ukraine crisis is consistent and very clear," Mao Ning said. "The core is to call for peace and promote dialogue and promote a political solution to the crisis," she said. "We have always maintained communication with the sides involved, including Ukraine." (10:43 GMT) United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk warns that human rights gains made in recent decades were being reversed and cited Russia's "senseless" invasion of Ukraine as a current example of oppression. "Much of the progress made over decades is being reined back and even reversed in some parts," Turk said in a speech on the opening day of a five-week session of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. (11:13 GMT) The Kremlin says China's peace plan that urges both Russia and Ukraine to agree to a gradual de-escalation should be examined in detail. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/24/all-you-need-to-know-about-chinas-plan-for-russia-ukraine-war Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said any initiatives that might bring peace closer were worthy of attention. "We are paying a great deal of attention to the plan of our Chinese friends," Peskov told reporters. "Of course, the details need to be painstakingly analysed, taking into account the interests of all the different sides. This is a very long and intense process." (11:28 GMT) The Kremlin says it is worried about the state of affairs in Moldova's breakaway Transnistria region and accuses Ukraine and other European countries of stirring up tensions there. Last week, Moscow said any actions that threaten Russian soldiers in Transnistria would be seen as an attack on Russia itself. The Kremlin has an estimated 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria, which it refers to as a "peacekeeping" force. Kyiv is concerned that those forces could be used to attack Ukraine from the west. (11:51 GMT) The governor of Luhansk province, the largely Russian-occupied northern half of the Donbas region, says Moscow has been escalating shelling and infantry assaults in the Bilohoryvka, Svatove-Kupiansk and Kreminna areas for several weeks. "There is no fleeing," Serhiy Haidai told state television. "Our units do not leave territory. ... Of course, everything can change at any moment." "On the other hand, Western heavy offensive equipment is on the way, and therefore in any week, the military command can conduct an operation following the same plan as they did in the Kharkiv region." he said, referring to Ukraine's recapture of a northeastern sector from Russian forces last year. <=== (12:13 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock calls Putin's suspension of Russia's participation in the New START nuclear arms reduction treaty with the US "irresponsible". Speaking at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Baerbock said Putin, who announced the suspension last week, should be urged to return to the treaty. (12:38 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says talks with Sweden and Finland over their NATO membership bids would resume on March 9, but he adds that Turkey believes Sweden had still not fulfilled its obligations under an agreement signed last year. "Unfortunately, we have not seen satisfactory steps from Sweden on the implementation of the Madrid memorandum," Cavusoglu said at a news conference in Ankara. "It is not possible for us to say 'yes' to Sweden's NATO bid before we see these steps," he said, noting that the March 9 meeting would be held in Brussels. In January, Turkey cancelled talks with Sweden and Finland on their NATO applications after a Danish far-right politician burned a copy of the Quran outside the Turkish embassy in Stockholm. (12:59 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says its forces have destroyed a Ukrainian ammunitions depot near the eastern city of Bakhmut and shot down four HIMARS missiles and five drones launched by Ukrainian forces. In a daily military update on its Telegram channel, the ministry also said "up to 60 Ukrainian servicemen, four motor vehicles and two D-30 howitzers have been neutralised" in the southern province of Kherson. (13:19 GMT) A Ukrainian court has imprisoned two captured soldiers accused of taking part in Russian shelling of residential areas in eastern Ukraine. The Security Service of Ukraine said one of the soldiers received a 10-year sentence and the other was jailed for nine years. It did not name the defendants or say when they were sentenced but said both had fought in eastern Ukraine and were captured last year. (13:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 369 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/11/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-264 (14:07 GMT) The Russian oil pipeline company Transneft says it has started pumping oil from Kazakhstan to Germany via Poland through the Druzhba pipeline and has halted deliveries to Poland. The TASS news agency cited Transneft as saying the paperwork had not been completed for the supply of oil to Poland in the second half of February and that Polish customers had been cut off. Oil "should have been pumped to Polish refineries in the second half of February", a Transneft spokesperson said. "However, routing orders with confirmed resource and transit payment were not executed." "In addition, operational changes were made to the schedule, excluding supplies for Polish consumers." (14:37 GMT) Russia's invasion of Ukraine has triggered "the most massive violations of human rights" in the world today, the head of the UN says. The invasion "has unleashed widespread death, destruction and displacement", Secretary General Antonio Guterres said in a speech to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva. "Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure have caused many casualties and terrible suffering," Guterres said. (15:01 GMT) Konstantin Kosachev, a Russian senator, told Al Jazeera that China's peace plan to end the Ukraine war is more "applicable" than the one Zelenskyy announced in December. "We are definitely against the so-called peace plan which was introduced several months ago by Ukrainian President Zelenskyy," Kosachev said. "This peace plan is absolutely unrealistic while the Chinese plan is more applicable." "At least it does not put the responsibility on one side; it does not put forward any one-sided demands, and [because of] that, this plan is definitely much more flexible, much more applicable, in comparison with the plan introduced earlier." Kosachev said Russia has been willing to negotiate a peace deal with Ukraine since April. "Any peace talks with Ukraine will only take place if they take into account that they're based on the real situation now on the ground and not on any predetermined preconditions," he said. (15:55 GMT) Putin has presented Hollywood action star Steven Seagal a top state award for international humanitarian and cultural work, a state decree shows. The decree announced the presentation of the Order of Friendship and mentioned Seagal's work as the Russian foreign ministry's special representative for humanitarian ties with the US and Japan. The US-born actor and martial arts practitioner has worked in Japan and has long admired Putin, from whom he received a Russian passport in 2016. Seagal also has US and Serbian citizenship. The actor backed Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 as "very reasonable", joined a pro-Kremlin party in 2021 and visited a Russian-controlled part of eastern Ukraine last year where he met with a Russian-backed separatist leader. (16:44 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has made a surprise visit to Kyiv to reaffirm US support for Ukraine and promote economic aid. Yellen met with Zelenskyy and other top government officials days after the first anniversary of the war, repeating US assurances delivered by President Joe Biden a week ago. "America will stand with Ukraine as long as it takes," Yellen told Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Shmyhal said the two discussed further US sanctions on Russia aimed at weakening its economy and military and "confiscating frozen Russian assets and putting them to the benefit of the recovery of Ukraine". (17:34 GMT) The United States is transferring an additional $1.2bn to Ukraine as it fights to resist Russia's invasion, according to US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. On a trip to Kyiv following US President Joe Biden's surprise visit last week, Yellen met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and announced the transfer of "an additional amount of over $1.2bn" to his government. This would be the first tranche of about $10bn the US will provide in the coming months, she said in a speech. (18:59 GMT) The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Ukraine's telecom regulator has said that they have signed a new memorandum of understanding to cooperate on telecommunications infrastructure resilience, 5G and other related security issues. The FCC and Ukraine's National Commission for the State Regulation of Electronic Communications, Radio Frequency Spectrum and the Provision of Postal Services of Ukraine (NCEC) announced the formal partnership at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain. NCEC Commissioner Liliia Malon noted the agreement's importance given Ukraine's damaged telecom infrastructure after Russia's 2022 "invasion". (19:35 GMT) The EU has said that it extended by one year sanctions on Belarus over Minsk's continued repression of the opposition and its support for Russia's war on Ukraine. The bloc has hit Belarus with multiple waves of sanctions since "strongman" Alexander Lukashenko launched a brutal campaign of repression against demonstrators protesting a disputed election in 2020. Lukashenko, who has been in power for nearly three decades, is a key ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. (20:01 GMT) China has been "anything but an honest broker" in efforts to bring peace to Ukraine, and "very clearly" has taken Russia's side, US State Department spokesman Ned Price has said. China has provided Russia with "diplomatic support, political support, with economic support, with rhetorical support," Price told a news briefing. (20:55 GMT) Zelenskyy says Ukraine can only defend its skies if an "aviation taboo" is ended by its allies. "Our pilots and anti-aircraft units and other experts of our air force are doing a great job," he said in a speech. "But we will be able to completely protect our skies when the aviation taboo is fully lifted in relations with our partners." The president has been lobbying his allies to send fighter jets to Ukraine. 20230228 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/2/28/russia-ukraine-live-situation-around-bakhmut-extremely-tense (07:06 GMT) The commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, has said that the situation around the besieged town of Bakhmut is "extremely tense". "Despite significant losses, the enemy threw in the most prepared assault units of Wagner, who are trying to break through the defences of our troops and surround the city." (07:07 GMT) The Russian defence ministry has said that the US is planning a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals. The ministry cited former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan as saying that "Russian troops plan to use chemical weapons in the special military operation area". "We regard this information as the intention of the United States and their accomplices to carry out a provocation in Ukraine using toxic chemicals," Igor Kirillov, chief of the radiation, chemical and biological defence troops of Russia's armed forces said during a briefing on Tuesday. (07:41 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has visited Kazakhstan for a series of meetings with top diplomats of Central Asian nations as tensions soar over Russia's war in Ukraine. Blinken sat down for talks with Kazakh Foreign Minister Mukhtar Tileuberdi and then with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev on Tuesday. A meeting of the so-called C5+1 group, made up of the US and the former Soviet republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, was expected to follow. (08:21 GMT) Ukraine War - Is victory possible? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZlyO7ahFHU (08:49 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russian leader Vladimir Putin, is due in Beijing to begin a three-day state visit Tuesday as geopolitical tensions rise over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Lukashenko's three-day state visit comes as Beijing's relations with the US have plummeted and geopolitical tensions rise over the war in Ukraine. (09:08 GMT) Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukrainian forces are facing a "very difficult" situation in Bakhmut. "As we understand, the situation now is that Russian forces, led by the paramilitary Wagner Group, have been pushing from the north, south and east on Bakhmut," Abdel-Hamid said. "The Ukrainian forces are still holding their ground, albeit it is precarious ground, in the western part of the city," she added. "It would be significant if indeed the Russians do take control of Bakhmut on several levels - because it will give Russia a military victory that it hasn't had in a very long time ... and would also pave the way for Russia to reach nearby Slovyansk and Kramatorsk." (09:18 GMT) A hacking attack caused some Russian regional broadcasters to put out a false warning on Tuesday, urging people to take shelter from an incoming missile attack, the country's emergencies ministry has said. "As a result of the hacking of servers of radio stations and TV channels, in some regions of the country information about the announcement of an air alert was broadcast," the ministry said in a statement. "This information is false and does not correspond to reality." Among the regions where the fake messages were broadcast was Crimea, the peninsula Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported. Radio stations played a loud siren sound with a message stating: "Attention, attention. An air alert is being issued. Everybody head to shelters now. Attention, attention. Missile threat." Several radio stations put out similar warnings last week, and websites run by Russia's state TV conglomerate went down during President Putin's annual state-of-the-nation address to Russian lawmakers on February 21 in what state media said was a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack. (09:41 GMT) Key events from day 370 of the war ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-370 (10:03 GMT) The Pulkovo Airport in Russia's second-largest city of Saint Petersburg temporarily suspended all flights on Tuesday morning before resuming services amid unconfirmed Russian media reports of an unidentified object in the area. Russian news agencies reported later on Tuesday that flights had resumed and that a temporary airspace ban within a 200km radius of Pulkovo had been lifted by noon (09:00 GMT). (10:19 GMT) The Kremlin has repeated its position that Russia is open to negotiations to end the war in Ukraine but reiterated that new "territorial realities" cannot be ignored. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia would never renounce its claims to four Ukrainian regions that Moscow declared it had annexed last year following referendums that Kyiv and the West slammed as bogus and illegal. "There are certain realities that have already become an internal factor. I mean the new territories. The constitution of the Russian Federation exists, and cannot be ignored. Russia will never be able to compromise on this, these are important realities," Peskov said on Tuesday. Russia proclaimed it had annexed the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions last September. Peskov said Russia was open to negotiations if Kyiv ceded the regions, none of which is fully controlled by Moscow's forces. (10:50 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces carried out air defence drills involving interceptor jets after Saint Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport was forced to suspend all flights on Tuesday for an hour. In a statement issued about an hour after flights restarted, the ministry said it was conducting drills, which involved the dispatch of fighter jets, in Russia's western airspace. "During the training, air defence forces worked on the detection, interception and identification of targets, as well as interacting with emergency services and law enforcement agencies," Russian news agencies cited the ministry as saying. It said fighter planes flew sorties as part of the exercise. The unannounced drills caused several flights to reroute and airlines to reschedule flights for the rest of the day. (11:01 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Ukraine will become a member of the transatlantic military alliance in the "long term". He, however, stressed that the immediate issue is Ukraine remaining an independent nation in the face of the Russian invasion. "NATO allies have agreed that Ukraine will become a member of our alliance, but at the same time that is a long-term perspective," Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Finland's capital Helsinki. Prior to launching Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24 last year, President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was intent on preventing NATO from expanding further eastwards and gaining a "military foothold" in Ukraine, which was part of the Soviet Union prior to its collapse in 1991. <=== (11:15 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence has accused Ukraine of launching attempted drone strikes against infrastructure in two southern Russian regions. "Overnight, the Kyiv authorities attempted to use unmanned aerial vehicles to attack civilian infrastructure facilities in the Krasnodar and Adygea regions," the ministry said in a statement. It said its anti-drone defence systems repelled the attacks, causing the drones to veer off course and fail to inflict any damage. "One fell into a field. The other, deviating from its trajectory, did not harm the intended target," the ministry said. (12:04 GMT) Poland will cut its oil imports from Russia to close to zero in February and March, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says, as Warsaw continues reducing its dependence on Russia. On Saturday, Polish refiner PKN Orlen said Russia had halted supplies of oil to Poland via the Druzhba pipeline. PKN Orlen said it would tap other sources to plug the shortfall. (12:09 GMT) A drone that was likely targeting civilian infrastructure has crashed near Moscow, the regional governor says, after Russia's Ministry of Defence reported downing two Ukrainian drones. "As for the incident with the crash of a UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] in the district of Kolomna, ... the target was probably a civilian infrastructure facility, which was not damaged," Andrei Vorobyov said in a statement. "There are no casualties or damage on the ground." He said authorities were investigating the incident. Kolomna lies 110km southeast of the Russian capital. (12:54 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin told the FSB security agency to increase its activity to counter operations by Ukraine and the West. In a speech to FSB officials, Putin said the agency had to stop "sabotage groups" entering Russia from Ukraine, step up protection of key infrastructure, and prevent any attempts by Western security services to revive what he called "terrorist" or "extremist cells" on Russian territory. "Western intelligence services have traditionally always been actively working in Russia, and now they have thrown additional personnel, technical and other resources against us. We need to respond accordingly," Putin said. He instructed the FSB to prevent illegal weapons from flowing into the country and to strengthen security in the four regions of Ukraine that Moscow "seized". (13:16 GMT) Finnish foreign minister Pekka Haavisto says Hungary intends to send a parliamentary delegation to Finland on or around March 9 to discuss its pending NATO membership. Hungary and Turkey are the only NATO member countries that have yet to ratify Finland's and Sweden's applications to join the alliance. Turkey will resume NATO membership talks with Finland and Sweden on March 9, according to Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu. (13:36 GMT) The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US had warned China about giving material support to Russia, including targeting Chinese individuals/companies for violating sanctions. During a news conference in Astana, Kazakhstan, Blinken said, "China can't have it both ways when it comes to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. You can't be putting forward these proposals on the one hand while actually feeding the flames of the fire that Russia has started with the other hand." "So I hope that China will take what we said very seriously but not only what we said, what many other countries around the world are saying, and refrain from any further consideration," he added. (13:57 GMT) During his address to the FSB security agency, Putin urged Russians to guard against traitors in their midst. "It's necessary to identify and stop the illegal activities of those who are trying to divide and weaken our society; to use separatism, nationalism, neo-Nazism and xenophobia as weapons." He said Russia had always experienced such activity. "And now the attempts, of course, are at their most active. Attempts to activate all this scum on our land." (14:15 GMT) The US will not hesitate to target Chinese companies and individuals if Beijing violates US sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. If China provides lethal aid to Moscow, it will be a severe problem for Beijing's relationship with countries worldwide, Blinken told reporters during a trip to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. (15:13 GMT) A senior Belarusian official dismissed a claim by anti-government activists that they had blown up a Russian military surveillance aircraft over the weekend. Aliaksandr Azarov, leader of Belarusian anti-government organisation BYPOL, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Belarusian "partisans" had used drones to attack a Russian Beriev A-50 spy plane. But the Belarusian deputy foreign minister Yuri Ambrazevich told the Reuters news agency on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Tuesday, "Given the absence of an official reaction, I am deeply convinced that this is another fake [claim] aimed at highlighting certain failures in our national security." While Belarus has allowed Russia to use its territory to launch attacks on Ukraine, it has refrained from getting directly involved in the war. (15:40 GMT) Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda is insisting on far-reaching measures on top of what has been imposed in the 10th EU sanctions package on Russia. "We will keep up the pressure. There will be packages 11 and 12. We will not sit back," Nauseda said on the Lithuanian Baltic Sea resort of Palanga, according to the BNS agency. He said he was particularly committed to punitive measures against the state-owned nuclear power company Rosatom and the Russian nuclear industry. (16:05 GMT) The finance ministry said that Russian officials are discussing lifting some capital restrictions on foreign investment to encourage inflows from so-called "friendly" jurisdictions. "This is still under discussion, but there is a request both from friendly investors and Russian businessmen about freeing new money being brought in to the country from the restrictions, so to speak," Ivan Chebeskov, head of the finance ministry's financial policy department, told a business forum. According to the finance ministry, many Russian investors who are storing capital abroad would like to invest in Russia but are seeking guarantees that they can freely take money abroad again. (16:32 GMT) Ukraine has appealed to the UN and Turkey to start negotiations on extending a grain export deal, but a Ukrainian government source said there had been no response. Yuriy Vaskov, Ukraine's deputy minister of restoration, told the Reuters news agency last week that Kyiv would seek an extension of at least one year, including Mykolaiv's ports. "We have sent a letter requesting that we start dealing with this issue as March 18 is very soon, but we have not had any feedback so far," a source said. Last July, the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. (16:48 GMT) The US undersecretary of defence for policy, Colin Kahl, described the front line in Ukraine as a "grinding slog" and said he did not expect Russia to be able to make significant territorial gains in the near term. "So you may see small portions of territory change hands in the coming weeks and months. I do not think that there's anything I see that suggests the Russians can sweep across Ukraine and make significant territorial gains anytime in the next year or so," Kahl told a House of Representatives hearing. (17:24 GMT) Finland has initiated the construction of its planned 200-kilometre fence on the Russian border, the country's border guard has said. Although the current Finland-Russia border secured primarily by light wooden fences, has "worked well" in the past, Brigadier General Jari Tolppanen said that the war in Ukraine had changed the security situation "fundamentally". Helsinki fears Moscow could use migrant flows at the frontier for political purposes. Terrain work will begin "with forest clearance and will proceed in such a way that road construction and fence installation can be started in March", the Finnish Border Guard said in a statement. In total, Finland plans to fence 200km of its 1,300km border with Russia at a cost of around 380 million euros (around $400m). (17:48 GMT) Russia's governing body for chess said it has been admitted into the game's Asian Chess Federation and will leave Europe as Russian players face restrictions over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The shift, which will take place on May 1, was finalised by a vote at the Asian Chess Summit in Abu Dhabi and comes as other Russian sports federations, including football, are considering a similar switch. The head of the Chess Federation of Russia (CFR) hailed the move as a "historic event". "For the first time, a chess federation, one of the strongest in the world, has moved from one continent to another," CFR President Andrei Filatov was quoted as saying in a statement. According to the statement, 29 delegates at the summit voted in favour of Russia joining Asia's federation, with one against and six abstaining. (18:30 GMT) Ukraine's head of military intelligence has brushed aside claims that China is considering furnishing arms to Russia, telling US media that he saw no "signs that such things are even being discussed", AFP has reported. Senior US officials have said they were "confident" China was considering the supply of lethal equipment to Moscow, with a diplomatic pressure campaign underway to discourage it from doing so. But when asked about the possibility in an interview with Voice of America published on Monday, Ukrainian military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said, "I do not share this opinion." "As of now, I do not think that China will agree to the transfer of weapons to Russia," he said. "I do not see any signs that such things are even being discussed." (19:03 GMT) The EU is planning to extend its gas consumption reduction measures into next winter to replenish stocks, the bloc's energy ministers have said. Confronted by soaring energy costs after Russia invaded Ukraine last year, the 27-member bloc agreed last July to reduce gas usage between August 2022 and March 2023 by 15 percent. According to the EU statistics agency Eurostat, gas consumption in the EU fell by 19.3 percent between August and January, compared with the same period between 2017 and 2022. (19:26 GMT) The International Criminal Court's (ICC's) top prosecutor has been in Ukraine to investigate Russia's campaign of missile and drone attacks on power and other infrastructure, which has killed hundreds of civilians and left millions with no electricity or water. Russia says the attacks are legitimate and aimed at weakening the enemy's military, but Ukraine casts them as a means of intimidating civilians. The Geneva Conventions and additional protocols shaped by international courts say parties involved in a military conflict must distinguish between "civilian objects and military objectives" and that attacks on civilian sites are forbidden. "Generally, we see clearly a pattern, I think, in terms of the number, scale and breadth of attacks against the power grids of Ukraine, and we need to look at why that's taking place," ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said. "Are they legitimate targets or not?" (20:22 GMT) Russia and the US are bickering over whether Russian fertiliser could be donated to Syria, as Moscow heightens complaints about obstacles to its fertiliser shipments before the renewal of a deal allowing grain ships to leave Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Some 260,000 tonnes of Russian fertiliser have been stuck in several European ports, most of it in Latvia. Russian fertiliser producer Uralchem-Uralkali has been working with the United Nations to donate the fertiliser to countries in need. During a UN Security Council meeting on Syria, Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said the fertiliser held at European ports could not be donated to Syria because of US sanctions imposed under the Caesar Act, which came into force in June 2020. US deputy UN ambassador Robert Wood said the US "is not the cause of any reported delays in Russia's ability to deliver fertiliser to Syria, as claimed by Russia". "If Russia wants to donate fertiliser, it can do so," Wood said. "Russia should work directly with the UN to distribute agricultural donations inside Syria to its local partners." (20:29 GMT) There is "no evidence" Ukraine is misusing the tens of billions of dollars in assistance it has been given since Russia invaded last year, a senior US Pentagon official has told lawmakers. Members of the House Armed Services Committee questioned the defence department's number three, Colin Kahl, and two other officials, as Republicans seek to step up oversight of US aid to Ukraine after taking control of the lower chamber of Congress. "There's no evidence that the Ukrainians are diverting it to the black market," Kahl told lawmakers. "That's not surprising given the intensity of the fight and the fact that they are clearly using what we are providing them and what our allies and partners are providing them to maximum effect," he said. "I think our assessment is if some of these systems have been diverted, it's by Russians who have captured things on the battlefield." 20230301 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/1/did-ukraine-start-a-drone-war-on-russia "UFOs" have rained on Russia in recent days - some dangerously close to the capital Moscow and President Vladimir Putin's hometown. Russian officials and media, using that term - "unidentified foreign objects" - seem unnerved and are accusing Ukraine of drone attacks. Throughout the war, Ukrainian leaders and top brass have routinely refused any responsibility for attacks on Russian soil - and often resort to ridiculing disorganised Russian servicemen. A Ukrainian military expert said that even though Kyiv can and should attack Russia's territory, it does not want to divulge details of its operations there. "We are allowed to deliver strikes on the aggressor nation in principle, but we stick to the rule that if and when it happens, [the strikes] should target military sites firstly," Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko, former deputy chief of Ukraine's general staff of armed forces, told Al Jazeera. But because of many circumstances, at this stage, we won't declare what and how we are doing on enemy territory," he said. Analysts have said Kyiv is preparing to launch more attacks with its growing fleet of domestically produced unmanned aircraft - and top pro-Kremlin figures are worried. "I have a bunch of questions," Tina Kandelaki, acting head of the TNT television network, wrote on Telegram. Is this our new reality? How many regions will be [hit] by the next attack? Does the defence ministry have a plan to protect our cities? Who can guarantee security for our people?" she wrote. On February 26, two blasts rocked an airfield in pro-Putin Belarus damaging one of the most precious Russian weapons - one of only nine A-50 planes that can identify the locations of Ukrainian air defence units. Belarusian "guerrilla fighters" claimed responsibility. On Monday night, at least four drones fell short of reaching a power station in the western Russian city of Belgorod that sits less than 40km from the border. And on Tuesday, an "unidentified flying object" was spotted over St Petersburg, where Putin was born. Air space over Russia's second-largest city that lies almost 1,500km north of Ukraine was briefly closed, and fighter jets took off as part of a rehearsal - drills to "train for interception and identification of a conditional target," a defence official reportedly said. A Tu-141 was, most likely, used to attack the Tuapse oil refinery on Tuesday. Russian media claimed that the other attacks were carried out by Russian-made Granat-4 drones, Chinese civilian models loaded with UK-made plastic explosives, or the UJ-22 unmanned aircraft made in Ukraine. The UJ-22s look like smaller versions of WWII fighter jets and were made public in 2021. They can carry bombs or jet-propelled anti-tank grenades and fly up to 800km. The production of brand new, Ukrainian-made drones is not centralised, and Russia will hardly be able to destroy the manufacturer with pinpoint attacks, Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch said. "The industrial potential will be enough, and the potential is decentralised, there isn't a large holding or plant that has a monopoly on drones in Ukraine, so Russia's chances of hitting the industrial premises are very doubtful," he said. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/1/russia-ukraine-live-ukraine-defeated-winter-terror-minister (10:44 GMT) Hungarian President Katalin Novak has urged legislators to ratify Finland and Sweden's NATO bids "as soon as possible". "It is a complex decision, with serious consequences, so careful consideration is necessary," Novak said on Facebook. "My position is clear-cut: in the present situation, the accession of Sweden and Finland is justified. I trust the National Assembly will make a wise decision as soon as possible." Mevlut Cavusoglu, the Turkish foreign minister, has said talks with Sweden and Finland over their NATO membership bids would resume on March 9. However, he said Sweden had still not fulfilled its obligations under a memorandum signed last year. (10:46 GMT) On Facebook, Ukraine's foreign minister said that Ukraine had "survived" a months-long onslaught of Russian attacks on critical infrastructure throughout winter. "We survived the most difficult winter in our history. It was cold and dark, but we were unbreakable." (10:47 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address that the battle for Bakhmut was one of the "most difficult", adding the city's defence was essential. he Ukrainian military said: "The enemy continues to advance in the direction of Bakhmut. He does not stop storming the city of Bakhmut." (10:56 GMT) The Kremlin said that it did not believe a statement by Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak that Ukraine does not attack Russian territory. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was speaking a day after Russian officials blamed Ukraine for several attempted drone strikes, the latest of many inside Russian territory for which Ukraine has not publicly claimed responsibility. Asked about Podolyak's denial of Ukrainian attacks, Peskov said: "We don't believe him." (11:22 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said during a visit to China that his country fully supports Beijing's peace plan. "Today's meeting is taking place at a very difficult time, which calls for new, unorthodox approaches and responsible political decisions," Lukashenko told China's President Xi Jinping. He added that Belarus "fully supports the initiative on international security that you've put forward." (12:03 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says its forces have repelled what it described as a "massive" drone attack on Crimea by Ukrainian troops and that there were no casualties, according to TASS news agency. TASS quoted the Ministry of Defence spokesperson, Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov, who said: "An attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a massive attack by drones on the objects of the Crimean peninsula was prevented. "Six Ukrainian attack drones were shot down by air defence systems. Another four Ukrainian drones were disabled by electronic warfare. There were no casualties and destruction on the ground," he said (12:23 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says he has no plans to meet either the foreign ministers of Russia or China during the G20 meeting in New Delhi. The war in Ukraine is expected to be an important part of the discussion on Thursday and will end Blinken's brief tour of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang will attend the meeting. (12:43 GMT) Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said Ukrainian forces are fiercely resisting Russia's attempt to seize Bakhmut and are throwing enormous extra reserves into the battle. "The Ukrainian army is throwing extra reserves into Artyomovsk and trying to hold the town with all their strength," Prigozhin said in a short audio message released by his press service. "Tens of thousands of Ukrainian army fighters are putting up furious resistance. The bloodiness of the battles is growing by the day." (13:05 GMT) Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing to meet with his Chinese counterpart in Moscow. TASS reported that Putin said he would try to show Xi Jinping the Moscow metro's Big Circle Line (BCL). "In terms of its length, the 70-kilometre BCL has become the world's largest underground metro ring, overtaking our friends in China - the current leader, the Beijing metro ring line. We will meet with the President of the PRC, if the program allows, we will be happy to show [BCL] to our guests In any case, I think it will be possible to show the delegations," Putin said at the ceremony of launching traffic along the entire Big Circle Line of the Moscow metro. (13:44 GMT) Russian deputy foreign minister Sergey Ryabkov says Moscow can not review its suspension of the New START nuclear arms treaty with the United States until the US changes its policy on Ukraine, Interfax reported. Last week, Putin announced that Russia was suspending its participation in the deal, accusing Washington of trying to inflict a "strategic defeat" on Russia in Ukraine. Ryabkov said the two countries continued to discuss issues around the treaty via "closed channels", Interfax said. (14:11 GMT) German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock plans to counter any Russian propaganda at the G20 meeting of counterparts in New Delhi, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. (14:24 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany would ramp up ammunition production while ensuring it has enough replacement parts and repair capacity in its defence industry after providing military support to Ukraine. "This will remain an ongoing task because we have said that we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary," Scholz said in Berlin following a meeting with Latvia's Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš. (14:53 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Moscow will only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its agricultural producers are taken into account. "[The] Russian side stressed that continuing the package agreement on grain is possible only if the interests of Russian agricultural and fertiliser producers in terms of unhindered access to world markets are taken into account," it said. The Black Sea grain deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, is up for renewal this month. (15:16 GMT) Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the State Duma, says he is introducing amendments to a wartime censorship law that would increase the maximum penalty for discrediting the army from five to 15 years in prison and extend the law to cover the Wagner mercenary force. (15:44 GMT) A Polish government official says Russia was behind a cyberattack that blocked access to an online tax-filing system. "Russians are responsible for yesterday's attack - it must be made clear," Janusz Cieszynski, an official responsible for digitalisation, told broadcaster Polsat News. "We have information that makes it very likely that this was the adversary." The Russian embassy in Warsaw said in an emailed response that it is "already used to the fact that in the West you can now accuse Russia of anything without evidence. This is another such case in the well-known style of saying it is 'highly likely'." (16:08 GMT) The leaders of China and Belarus have called for a ceasefire and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. The joint call was made at a meeting in Beijing between Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, a close ally of Russia, and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. (16:30 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with his Indian counterpart on Wednesday, a day before attending the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in India. Besides meeting Indian foreign minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Lavrov also held talks with counterparts from Turkey, South Africa, and Brazil, a senior Indian diplomat overseeing diplomatic engagements on the sidelines of the G20 meeting said. He is due to meet Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang later in the day. India has declined to blame Russia for the war, seeking a diplomatic solution and sharply boosting its purchases of Russian oil. (16:50 GMT) Russia's industry ministry said no decision had been made on selling Volkswagen's last asset in Russia after a report that car dealer group Avilon was set to buy Volkswagen's factory in Kaluga, south of Moscow. The Moscow-based RBC daily reported that Avilon was set to buy the factory, citing two unidentified sources. But Volkswagen considered various scenarios, including selling Volkswagen Group Russia's assets to a third party, but a decision had not yet been made. (17:32 GMT) Ukraine's military might pull its troops back from the key stronghold of Bakhmut, an adviser to Ukraine's president says in remarks that suggest Russia could capture the eastern city that has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. Kremlin forces have waged a bloody, months-long offensive to take Bakhmut, a city of salt and gypsum mines that has become a decimated ghost town. "Our military is obviously going to weigh all of the options," Alexander Rodnyansky, economic adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told CNN. "So far, they've held the city, but if need be, they will strategically pull back. We're not going to sacrifice all of our people just for nothing." (17:41 GMT) The EU is looking to allocate an additional 1 billion euros ($1.07bn) for urgently needed ammunition for Ukraine as Kyiv burns through vast <=== numbers of shells, according to a proposal seen by the AFP news agency. In a bid to speed up ammunition to Ukraine, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is proposing using an additional 1 billion euros in joint funds to get member states to dig into their stockpiles. The money would come from the bloc's European Peace Facility, which has already dedicated 3.6 billion euros ($3.84bn) towards arming Ukraine. (17:47 GMT) The US Attorney General Merrick Garland has branded Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia's mercenary Wagner military force fighting in Ukraine, a war criminal. (18:18 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces has said that Russian troops were continuing to advance near the embattled city of Bakhmut, the focal point of repeated attacks by pro-Moscow units. ... Pokero https://eo.mondediplo.com/article3059.html 20230302 https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/3/2/what-history-shows-how-will-the-war-in-ukraine-end While each conflict is unique and tends to defy history, a clear-cut defeat of either side in this war is unlikely, said experts. A more likely scenario is protracted fighting leaving both sides exhausted but unwilling to admit defeat, resulting in a frozen conflict or an eventual uneasy truce. The likelihood of a quick end to hostilities is remote. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/2/ukraine-clings-on-in-bakhmut-despite-relentless-russian-attacks Ukrainian forces were hanging onto their positions in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut amid constant attacks as Russian troops pushed to claim their first significant victory for more than half a year. Russia says seizing the salt-mining town of Bakhmut, now the site of the longest and bloodiest battle since Moscow invaded its neighbour just over a year ago, would put it on a path to securing full control of the rest of the strategic Donbas industrial region, one of its main objectives. Ukraine says Bakhmut has limited strategic value but has nevertheless put up fierce resistance. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/2/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-tries-to-encircle-bakhmut (07:48 GMT) Ukraine says its forces are hanging onto their positions in the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut, which is under constant attack from Russian troops seeking to claim their first major victory for more than half a year. Delivering a regular morning roundup of the situation across the frontlines, the Ukraine military general staff said on Thursday that the enemy was continuing to advance toward Bakhmut and "is storming the city". It said Ukrainian forces were repelling attacks in the city and in other settlements in the Donetsk region that were coming under fire. (08:02 GMT) German Foreign Minister Baerbock has called on her Russian counterpart to return to the full implementation of the New START nuclear arms control treaty. "I ask you, Mr [Sergei] Lavrov, to return to full implementation of new START," Baerbock said during the first G20 session on multilateralism, according to the German delegation. In February, President Vladimir Putin said Russia is suspending participation in the treaty with the United States after accusing the West of being directly involved in attempts to attack its strategic air bases. (08:07 GMT) The battle for Bakhmut began about seven months ago, but in recent weeks Russian advances from three sides have left defenders with the only way out to the west. "There is a danger that our garrison in Bakhmut will be encircled," military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said in a post on YouTube assessing the situation as "critical". "The enemy is attempting to sever the routes used to supply our forces in Bakhmut and halt all movement along them," he said. "The Russian forces cannot win street battles in Bakhmut or take the city by attacking head-on. The only way they can take the city is to surround it." (08:09 GMT) Ukraine says Bakhmut has limited strategic value but has nevertheless put up fierce resistance. Not everyone in Ukraine is convinced that defending Bakhmut can go on indefinitely. "I believe that sooner or later, we will probably have to leave Bakhmut. There is no sense in holding it at any cost," Ukrainian member of parliament Serhiy Rakhmanin said on NV radio late. "But for the moment, Bakhmut will be defended with several aims - firstly, to inflict as many Russian losses as possible and make Russia use its ammunition and resources," Rakhmanin said, adding that no lines of defence should be allowed to collapse. (08:16 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has praised Ukrainians for surviving a winter marked by systematic Russian attacks on energy and water facilities, which plunged millions into darkness and cold. https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/3/2/photos-ukraine-says-survived-its-most-difficult-winter (08:23 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday called for a "fast and fair" investigation into last year's still-unexplained explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea, the TASS news agency reported. Speaking ahead of a G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in India, Lavrov also said Moscow must be involved in the probe into the blasts. (08:29 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday accused the West of "shamelessly burying" the Black Sea grain initiative that facilitates the export of Ukraine's agricultural products from its southern ports, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. While remaining in the agreement, Russia has repeatedly railed against the West's approach to the deal, struck last July, saying countries that have imposed sanctions on Moscow are not doing enough to ease restrictions on Russia's own exports, in particular of fertilisers. (08:33 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday urged Beijing not to arm Russia in its war against Ukraine, following US claims China was considering such a move. "My message to Beijing is clear: use your influence in Moscow to push for the withdrawal of Russian troops," Scholz said in a speech to the German parliament. "And do not supply weapons to the aggressor Russia." (08:46 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded at a Group of 20 meeting attended by Russia that Moscow renew a UN-brokered deal to allow exports of Ukrainian grain, which expires this month. A Group of 20 (G20) meeting of foreign ministers in India has been marred by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, said on Thursday. "Unfortunately, this meeting has again been marred by Russia's unprovoked and unjustified war against Ukraine," Blinken said, adding that G20 countries must continue to call on Russia to withdraw from Ukraine. (08:56 GMT) Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that Germany and its allies were in talks with Kyiv over future security guarantees in preparation of a sustainable peace for Ukraine. "We are speaking with Kyiv and other partners over future security guarantees for Ukraine," Scholz said in a speech to the German parliament. (09:31 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov says Moscow was forced to suspend its participation in the New START nuclear arms treaty because the United States was using it to help Ukraine attack Russian strategic sites. Speaking at the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ryabkov said that the US and its Western allies wanted to see Russia strategically defeated in Ukraine. "The situation further degraded after US attempts to assess the security of Russian strategic facilities outlined under the New START treaty by assisting the Kyiv regime in conducting armed attacks against them," Ryabkov said. "Under these circumstances, we were forced to announce the suspension of the treaty." (09:50 GMT) Russian forces claim they are fighting a "Ukrainian sabotage group" in Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine, after the group took hostages in a shop, Russian news agencies reported. "A group of Ukrainian saboteurs infiltrated two villages, taking local residents hostage in one of them. Soldiers from Rosgvardia clashed with the militants," TASS quoted an unnamed source in Russia's security services as saying. A Bryansk official also said that a Ukrainian "sabotage group" had shot and killed one person after crossing into Russia from Ukraine. "Today, a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group penetrated the Klimovsky district in the village of Lubechanye. Saboteurs fired on a moving car. As a result of the attack, one resident was killed and a ten-year-old child was wounded," Bryansk Governor Alexander Bogomaz wrote on his Telegram channel. (10:08 GMT) Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni asked for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's help in facilitating "just peace" in Ukraine as G20 ministers meet in New Delhi. Modi called on G20 ministers to find common ground on global issues and said India was ready to contribute to efforts to restore peace. "From the start of the Ukraine conflict itself, India has made it clear that this dispute can only be solved through dialogue and diplomacy, and India is fully ready to contribute to any peaceful response," he said. (10:42 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will chair an emergency meeting of Russia's Security Council later on Thursday, a Russian lawmaker said. The meeting comes after officials said a Ukrainian sabotage group had infiltrated Russia and taken hostages in the Bryansk border region. (11:05 GMT) A senior adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhalio Podolyak, said Russian reports of a sabotage attack by Ukrainian forces in Russia's Bryansk region are a "deliberate provocation". "The story about [the] Ukrainian sabotage group in RF [Russian Federation] is a classic deliberate provocation," Podolyak wrote on Twitter. "RF wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country & the growing poverty after the year of war. The partisan movement in RF is getting stronger & more aggressive. Fear your partisans ..." (11:24 GMT) The founder of the Wagner mercenary forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has published a video showing his fighters in what he said was almost the centre of Bakhmut. In a post on Telegram, Prigozhin's press service cited him as saying: "The lads are mucking about, shooting home video. They brought this from Bakhmut this morning, practically the centre of the city." In the video, uniformed men are shown lifting a Wagner banner, with one of the men shown dancing and holding a guitar, referencing Wagner's informal nickname of "the musicians". (11:47 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke for less than 10 minutes on the margins of the G20 meeting in New Delhi, a senior US State Department official said. At the meeting, Blinken emphasised to Lavrov that Washington is prepared to support Ukraine to defend itself for as long as it takes, the official said. (12:18 GMT) Pavel Felgenhauer, a Russian military analyst, told Al Jazeera that the hostage situation in Bryansk is yet to be "confirmed". "There's a lot of accusations because it is an armed conflict ... right now, of course, there are no reports of any kind of chemical or radioactive footprint there in this present Bryansk situation. It seems right now a rather strange story; the Ukrainians say it's not them, and Russians say it's them," Felgenhauer said. Despite this incident, he said, it is currently not enough for Russia to begin a new offensive or be used in any "pretext situation". (12:25 GMT) The Kremlin says measures are being taken to destroy "Ukrainian terrorists" who had mounted a cross-border attack and were reported by Russian officials to have taken hostages. State news agencies cited Russian officials saying earlier that Russian forces were battling a Ukrainian sabotage group that had infiltrated the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin was receiving regular updates from security agencies and defence minister Sergey Shoigu about the situation. Peskov denied reports that Putin was planning to hold an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Thursday but said he would have a meeting of the council on Friday when it convenes regularly. (12:37 GMT) Most G20 members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine on Thursday, with only Russia and China disagreeing, the current summit president of India said after meeting the bloc's foreign ministers in New Delhi. After the meeting, India's "chair's summary & outcome document" stuck mainly to the language used in a similar statement it released following a meeting of G20 financial leaders last week. In that gathering, Russia and China disagreed with statements condemning the war. (12:50 GMT) Putin says a Ukrainian sabotage group had knowingly fired at civilians in what he called a "terrorist act" in Bryansk, on the border of Ukraine. In televised remarks, Putin said Russia would prevail in the face of such attacks. (13:07 GMT) As the Ukraine war enters a second year, Al Jazeera spoke to young Russians about the conflict. With social media, Gen Z Russians are able to access a wider range of information compared with what they are told on state media. But many still support the conflict, with some Russian students going as far as reporting teachers who are critical. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/2/a-year-on-what-do-young-russians-think-of-the-war-in-ukraine (13:57 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 372 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-372 (14:28 GMT) Foreign minister Qin Gang said that China will maintain communication and coordination with Russia at all levels at the G20 meeting in New Delhi. On the Ukraine crisis, Qin told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that China supports all efforts to promote peace talks and is willing to play a constructive role in this regard, according to a statement by the Chinese foreign ministry. (14:52 GMT) Blinken has accused Putin of weaponising global food supplies and called on Russia to extend "without delay" an initiative set to expire this month that allows the export of grain from Ukraine. "The unprecedented levels of food insecurity have been driven primarily by climate [change], by COVID and by conflicts, but the crisis has been worsened intentionally by President Putin, who's weaponised the hunger of people across the globe," Blinken said. (15:00 GMT) Blinken has said that he urged his Russian counterpart Lavrov to reverse Moscow's "irresponsible decision" to freeze its participation in the New START treaty, which places limits on the US and Russian nuclear arsenals. "Mutual compliance is in the interest of both our countries. It's also what people around the world expect from us as nuclear powers," Blinken said. "I told the foreign minister [Lavrov] that no matter what else is happening in the world or in our relationship, the United States will always be ready to engage and act on strategic arms control, just as the United States and the Soviet Union did even at the height of the Cold War." Blinken has said that he implored Lavrov to end the conflict in Ukraine during their brief meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in India. (15:28 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he raised the case of Paul Whelan, a former US Marine detained in Russia, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, revealing that Washington has put forward a "serious proposal" to secure his release without providing details. (15:45 GMT) Tatiana Kukhareva, a journalist in Moscow, told Al Jazeera that the alleged Bryansk attack has left two dead and raised alerts across other border villages. "The death toll has just risen to two. Another local citizen has died, according to local authorities, from this attack, and an 11-year-old boy has been injured," she said. "Other border regions have already voiced concerns. One governor has said that [security] on the border will be put on higher alert [with] similar statements from Sevastopol." (16:02 GMT) The Parliament of Moldova has adopted a declaration condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A narrow majority of 55 lawmakers in the 101-seat assembly voted for the declaration, which states that Moscow's invasion began with the seizure of the Crimean Peninsula in February 2014 and demands the withdrawal of all Russian troops from Ukraine. The declaration says Russia is waging an illegal, unprovoked and unfounded war of aggression in Ukraine and calls for an international tribunal to prosecute war crimes. (16:29 GMT) A new team of monitors from the UN nuclear watchdog arrived at Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia atomic power station, a Russian official told TASS news agency. "Seven people arrived - three IAEA specialists and four employees of the UN Security Department," Renat Karchaa, adviser to the general director of the Russian nuclear agency Rosenergoatom, told the state-run TASS. Russia had previously accused the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of disrupting the latest monthly rotation of staff at the plant, which it said had been scheduled for February 7. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi has been pressing both sides to establish a demilitarised "safe zone" around the plant in fear of a nuclear accident. (16:53 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he discussed the evasion of Western sanctions against Russia in talks with Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan in Berlin. "Naturally, we talked about this question," Scholz told reporters, adding that Germany was monitoring the situation. (17:04 GMT) Ukraine sees no need to limit wheat exports for the July 2023-June 2024 season because the winter harvest looks to be larger than expected, albeit smaller than in peacetime, a top agriculture ministry official says. Ukraine was the world's fifth largest wheat exporter before the war with Russia began last year, and its shipments were especially important to poor countries in Africa and the Middle East. (17:10 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Ukrainian saboteurs of crossing into western Russia and firing on villagers. Ukraine has denied the claim and warned that Moscow could use the allegations to justify stepping up its own attacks in the ongoing war. The exact circumstances of the alleged attack reported in the Bryansk region were unclear, including what the strategic purpose of such an assault might be. Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukrainian "terrorists" for an incursion, claiming that they deliberately targeted civilians, including children in "yet another terror attack, another crime". "They infiltrated the area near the border and opened fire on civilians," Putin said during a video call. "They saw a civilian vehicle with civilians, with children in it, and they fired on them." Putin told his Security Council they needed to discuss additional "anti-terrorism measures" to safeguard facilities controlled by law enforcement bodies. (17:35 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have met briefly at a meeting of top diplomats from the Group of 20 (G20) nations in the first high-level meeting in months between the two countries. US officials said Blinken and Lavrov chatted for roughly 10 minutes on the sidelines of the G20 conference in New Delhi. The short encounter comes as relations between Washington and Moscow have plummeted while tensions over Russia's war with Ukraine have soared. (18:04 GMT) Ukraine has ordered the mandatory evacuation of vulnerable residents from the front-line city of Kupiansk and adjacent northeastern territories amid fears that Russia will retake the key city and rail hub. "Mandatory evacuation of families with children and residents with limited mobility began in Kupiansk community ... due to constant shelling of the territory of the community by Russian troops," the Kharkiv region military administration said. (18:20 GMT) A Russian regional politician will appear in court next week to face accusations that he discredited the armed forces by posting a video of himself listening to Putin's state of the nation speech with spaghetti draped over his ear. Mikhail Abdalkin, a Communist party lawmaker in the Samara regional parliament, seemed to bring to life the Russian idiom "to hang noodles on one's ears," which indicates deceiving or feeding false information to a listener. Abdalkin said on social media that the Novokuybyshev city court would hear his case on March 7. His party had already previously reprimanded him. (18:40 GMT) The US government has called on companies to ensure they comply with Russia-related sanctions, warning that a failure to do so could lead to potential prosecution or enforcement actions. "Given the proliferation of sanctions and export controls imposed in response to Russia's unjust war, multinational companies should be vigilant in their compliance efforts and be on the lookout for possible attempts to evade US laws," the departments of Justice, Commerce and Treasury said in a joint notice. "Businesses of all stripes should act responsibly by implementing rigorous compliance controls." (18:54 GMT) Biden will host European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen for talks in Washington on March 10, the White House says. The two leaders will talk about their "strong cooperation" in supporting Ukraine and fighting the climate crisis as well as challenges posed by China, the White House said in a statement. (19:02 GMT) The US is not providing Ukraine with intelligence for targets inside Russia, the Pentagon says, calling such Russian accusations "nonsense". "I don't have any information in regards to whether or not the Ukrainians have conducted these type of operations. I'd refer you to them," Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters. "I can say definitively that the notion of the US providing intelligence or information to the Ukrainians to target locations inside Russia is nonsense. We are not at war with Russia nor do we seek war with Russia," Ryder said. (20:02 GMT) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has told his Ukrainian counterpart that he will encourage countries to join peace talks to end the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. "I reaffirmed Brazil's desire to talk with other countries and participate in any initiative related to building peace and dialogue. War cannot interest anyone," Lula said on Twitter after a video call with Zelenskyy. (20:12 GMT) Bangladesh's foreign minister has said at the G20 meeting in New Delhi that companies making "runaway profit" from the war in Ukraine should compensate less developed countries affected by the conflict. "In this war, some companies are making runaway profit, ... energy companies and the defence companies," AK Abdul Momen told CNBC on the sidelines of the foreign ministers meeting. "Therefore, we will argue that those companies that are making runaway profit, they should dedicate at least 20 percent of the profit to those countries that are most affected, like us," he said without naming specific companies. (20:28 GMT) The US will announce a new military aid package for Ukraine on Friday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has told reporters. Ongoing military aid to Ukraine will be a topic of discussion between Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz when the two leaders meet at the White House also on Friday, Kirby said. (20:48 GMT) Two US nationals have been arrested in Kansas City for sending US aviation technology to Russia, US Commerce Department official Matthew Axelrod has said. 20230303 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/3/russia-ukraine-live-news-battle-for-bakhmut (07:23 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will hold confidential talks in Washington, DC with US President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine. There are growing concerns among the Western allies that China may provide weapons to Russia as its invasion of Ukraine grinds into a second year. Scholz set off on the one-day trip, which unusually will not include a press delegation, late on Thursday. (07:30 GMT) Washington will announce a new $400m military aid package for the Kyiv government, officials say. The aid is expected to comprise mainly ammunition, including guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS) for HIMARS launchers, for Bradley Fighting Vehicles, as well as armoured vehicle launched bridges, two US officials and a person familiar with the development said according to Reuters. The US has provided nearly $32bn in weaponry to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia. (07:40 GMT) Russia cannot be allowed to wage war with impunity, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia has said in a statement following a meeting in New Delhi. The so-called Quad group also said that the use, or threat of use, of nuclear weapons in Ukraine was "inadmissible". "If we allow with impunity Russia to do what it's doing in Ukraine, then that's a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it too," Blinken said. (07:57 GMT) Ukrainian forces clinging to the eastern city of Bakhmut have dug new trenches in an attempt to hold back Russian attackers. Russian forces have been attacking Bakhmut in Donetsk province for months, sometimes in waves and the site has become one of the bloodiest battles of the war. "Fighting is going on in Bakhmut round the clock...The situation is critical," Volodymyr Nazarenko, a deputy commander in the National Guard of Ukraine, told Ukrainian NV Radio. (08:23 GMT) The Group of 20 (G20) is no longer an economic forum and has become a platform to discuss geopolitical issues, according to the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell. The Russia-Ukraine war has dominated two recent meetings of G20 foreign and finance ministers in India, the current president of the bloc. (08:38 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, has said in a video that the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut was "practically surrounded" by Russian forces and that Kyiv's forces had access to only one road out. Prigozhin in the video called on Kyiv to withdraw its forces from the city which Wagner has been trying to capture for months. (08:58 GMT) Germany has asked Switzerland to sell it some of its mothballed Leopard 2 tanks, the Swiss government has said, in a deal that could allow Germany and other countries to increase military aid to Ukraine. Germany wants Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to manufacturer Rheinmetall, which would allow the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. Germany, Poland, Portugal, Finland and Sweden are among countries sending Leopard tanks to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian attack, creating gaps in their own arsenals. (09:24 GMT) The United Nations food agency's world price index dropped in February for the 11th consecutive month and is now down 19 percent from a record high hit last March> The Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) price index, which tracks the most globally traded food commodities, averaged 129.8 points last month against 130.6 for January, the agency said on Friday. This was the lowest reading since September 2021. (09:49 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 373 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-373 (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin says it will take measures to prevent a repeat of Thursday's border incursion by what it called Ukraine-backed nationalists. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Friday that additional measures were being taken to protect the border. "Of course, yesterday's terrorist attack will be investigated and measures will be taken to prevent similar events in the future," he said. But a Ukrainian presidential adviser accused Russia of staging the incident as a false "provocation". (10:33 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia "will not let the West blow up gas pipelines again" and that Moscow would no longer rely on the West as an energy partner. Moscow has accused the West of being responsible for the blasts that damaged the Nord Stream pipelines in September, an assertion they have dismissed, and has called for an international investigation. Last month, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American investigative journalist also accused the US of orchestrating the blast. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/2/8/us-has-questions-to-answer-over-nord-stream-blasts-russia-says (10:57 GMT) The US, India, Australia and Japan have agreed that "the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible" during Russia's war on Ukraine. The foreign ministers of the four countries agreed on the joint statement after a meeting in the Indian capital, New Delhi, on Friday, the Hindustan Times newspaper reported. According to the report, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken had warned that "if we allow with impunity Russia to do what it's doing in Ukraine, then that's a message to would-be aggressors everywhere that they may be able to get away with it, too". (11:22 GMT) US President Joe Biden will host German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Washington on Friday for talks setting out their support for Ukraine after friction over tank deliveries to Kyiv. In an address to parliament on the eve of the meeting, Scholz said the partnership between two of Ukraine's biggest backers was "closer and more trusting than ever". This will be the German chancellor's first trip to Washington since February 2022. (11:52 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said Ukraine is "not involved in internal conflicts" in Russia, referring to the Bryansk attack. Podolyak tweeted, "Explosions at critical facilities; unidentified drones attacking RF's [Russian Federation] regions; clashes of gangs; partisans attacking populated areas - all these are direct consequences of the loss of control inside RF. And consequences of war ... Ukraine is not involved in internal conflicts in RF..." (12:15 GMT) A German defence ministry spokesperson said Germany would not send Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine if Switzerland agreed to send them. "There are existing and assessed contractual regulations," the spokesperson said when asked at a regular news conference how Berlin could guarantee this. Germany asked Switzerland to sell some of the tanks back to arms maker Rheinmetall, allowing the company to backfill gaps in the armaments of European Union and NATO members. (12:38 GMT) The US Department of Justice arrested two men on allegations that the pair illegally exported technology to Russia and provided repair services for aviation equipment. Cyril Gregory Buyanovsky and Douglas Robertson were charged with conspiracy, exporting controlled goods without a licence, falsifying and failing to file electronic export information and smuggling goods violating US law. The Department of Justice says Buyanovsky and Robertson owned and operated KanRus Trading Co, which allegedly supplied aircraft electronics to Russian companies and provided repair services for equipment used in Russian-manufactured aircraft. (12:59 GMT) Putin signed a decree enabling the state to suspend the directors and shareholders of companies that fail to meet state defence contracts under martial law conditions. The new decree would apply to companies that "violate their obligations under a state contract, including failing to take measures to guarantee production deliveries". A year into the war with Ukraine, the economy is on a war footing, with defence factories working around the clock in three shifts to meet the army's needs. (13:20 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart and discussed Blinken's brief conversation with Russia's Sergey Lavrov, US spokesperson Ned Price said. "The secretary underscored to foreign minister Kuleba the United States's enduring support for Ukraine as it defends itself against Russia's brutal attacks, including the ongoing targeting of civilian infrastructure and resulting civilian casualties," Price added. (13:41 GMT) As the Wagner Group fights to capture the eastern city of Bakhmut and deliver a win that Russia desperately needs in Ukraine, the shadowy group has taken a leading role in the conflict. But what exactly is the Wagner Group, and how important has it been to Russia's war efforts? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24mBVyLO4lA (14:00 GMT) Ukraine is managing to generate as much power as it needs despite repeated attacks on its energy network, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. Russia has carried out waves of air raids on energy facilities that, at times, have left millions of people without power, but Ukraine has quickly done repairs. "Ukraine is for now provided with [power] generating and network capacities," Shmyhal said. "The next step is to secure the network infrastructure for the next [heating] season." He said the government would continue reforms to meet its wartime challenges, adding that personnel changes would happen "but we did not discuss them for the near future." (15:15 GMT) Ukraine's envoy to Berlin said Germany is taking more of a leadership role in organising deliveries of weapons and has stopped making what he referred to as excuses to avoid sending arms. In January, Berlin agreed to send its Leopard tanks after being reluctant to send arms in fear that it might escalate the conflict. "What has changed in the last few months is we are not just discussing the current order of the day but we are strategically planning according to what is needed and what can be delivered," Ukrainian Ambassador Oleksii Makeiev told the Reuters news agency. "There are no more excuses now but facts that we talk about." The envoy said the military items Kyiv most needed were air defence systems, battle tanks, artillery and ammunition. (15:45 GMT) The international aid group Save the Children has called for long-term protection of Ukrainian children and their families beyond 2025. At the start of the war, the European Union activated the Temporary Protection Directive to give Ukrainian refugees temporary residency and access to housing and essential services in EU member states. But NGOs have said the plan, which can last one to three years, should extend beyond that as the war continues. Ylva Sperling, Europe director at Save the Children, said: "Governments across Europe need to begin investing in options to help families from Ukraine to stay legally beyond 2025. "Though the vast majority of refugees long to go home, the war in Ukraine shows no signs of abating. Ensuring they can stay legally in Europe for the years to come will give children a sense of security, stability and belonging in their host countries." (16:26 GMT) The war in Ukraine is firmly in its second year with no clear end in sight after initially intended to last a matter of days. Margaret Macmillan, a war historian and emeritus professor at the University of Oxford, said the war is something "we didn't think we'd see" again, referring to the wars in Iraq and Serbia. But as the conflict drags along, many historians and experts predict the end of the war will result in both sides being unwilling to admit defeat and resulting in a frozen conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/3/2/what-history-shows-how-will-the-war-in-ukraine-end (16:50 GMT) A Ukrainian court sentenced a Russian pilot to 12 years in prison for war crimes for dropping eight bombs weighing 2.5 tonnes around a television tower in Kharkiv last year, prosecutors said. Ukrainian anti-aircraft guns shot down the pilot, and the Ukrainian National Guard captured him. Several captured Russian soldiers have already been sentenced to lengthy prison terms for war crimes. The latest prison sentence comes as officials, including Zelenskyy, gather in Lviv later on Friday for an international conference to discuss war crimes investigations and the international tribunal Ukraine wants. (17:23 GMT) The Russian embassy in London is the site of regular protests against the yearlong invasion of Ukraine. Russia's ambassador to the United Kingdom has accused NATO powers of turning Ukraine into a Western-backed fortress to oppose Russian influence in Eastern Europe, saying the possible supply of long-range weapons to Kyiv risks forcing Russia to push deeper into Ukraine. (17:41 GMT) It would be an absolute "red line" if China provided weapons to Russia, a senior European Union official has said, adding that the EU would respond with sanctions. The comments echo remarks by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday warning Beijing against providing such aid to Moscow as it continues to fight in Ukraine. (17:51 GMT) The US has announced another round of military aid for Ukraine, a package of ammunition and other support valued at $400m. The package will be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorises the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in announcing the aid. "This military assistance package includes more ammunition for US-provided HIMARS and howitzers, which Ukraine is using so effectively to defend itself, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Armored Vehicle Launched Bridges, demolitions munitions and equipment, and other maintenance, training, and support," he said. (18:21 GMT) For the first time, tactical bridges to move tanks and armoured vehicles will be included in a military aid package announced by the US. The bridges could be used by Ukrainian troops who have been training in "combined arms manoeuvre" warfare, which is the coordinated use of artillery shelling, alongside tank and armoured vehicle attack movements, to retake territory seized by Russian forces. The additional ammunition is being sent to help boost stocks in anticipation of a coming offensive. "Assault bridging is essential for combined arms operations. It allows armoured vehicles to cross narrow rivers and ditches that would otherwise cause a whole force to slow down," Jack Watling, a senior research fellow for Land Warfare at the London-based Royal United Services Institute, told Reuters. (19:19 GMT) US Attorney General Merrick Garland has made an unannounced visit to Lviv, Ukraine at the invitation of the Ukrainian prosecutor general, a Department of Justice official said. "The attorney general held several meetings and reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbour," the official said. (20:02 GMT) In a meeting with US President Joe Biden, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has stressed the importance of maintaining Western support for Ukraine. "This is a very, very important year because of the dangerous threat to peace that comes from Russia invading Ukraine," he said. The German leader lauded the transatlantic cooperation between the US and Europe in providing the "necessary support" for Kyiv. "I think it is very important that we give the message that we will continue to do so as long as it takes and as long as it is necessary," Scholz said. Biden has hailed Germany's military and political support for Ukraine, telling Scholz that Berlin's assistance made a "world of difference" in the war. "You stepped up to provide critical military support, and I would argue that beyond the military support, the moral support you gave Ukrainians has been profound," Biden told his German counterpart. The US president also praised Germany for increasing its defence spending and diversifying its energy supplies away from dependence on Russian oil and gas. 20230304 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/4/russia-ukraine-live-news-fighting-rages-on-in-bakhmut (08:05 GMT) Russian artillery has pounded the last routes out of Bakhmut, aiming to complete the encirclement of the besieged Ukrainian city and bring Moscow closer to its first major victory in half a year after the bloodiest battle of the war. Meanwhile, the head of Russia's Wagner private army said the city, which has been blasted to ruins in Russia's more than seven-month onslaught, was almost completely surrounded with only one road still open for Ukraine's troops. (08:08 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu has carried out an inspection of the front line in eastern Ukraine, the ministry said on Saturday, as fighting rages around the eastern city of Bakhmut. The defence ministry said Shoigu had "inspected a command post on the front" in the direction of the southern Donetsk region, without specifying the exact place or time. The ministry released a video that showed Shoigu travelling in a helicopter, then talking to a soldier in front of damaged buildings. (08:35 GMT) Ukrainian forces in the eastern city of Bakhmut are facing increasingly strong pressure from Russian forces, British military intelligence has said. Kyiv is reinforcing the area with elite units, while regular Russian army and forces of the Russian private military Wagner group have made further advances into Bakhmut's northern suburbs, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter. (09:25 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 374 Fighting * The commander of a Ukrainian drone unit active in Bakhmut said in a video that his unit had been ordered to withdraw immediately from the city. Diplomacy * US President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz met in the Oval Office on Friday, declaring themselves in "lockstep" on maintaining pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. * A senior European Union official has said Beijing giving Moscow weapons would be an "absolute red line" and the EU would respond with sanctions, Reuters news agency reported. (10:48 GMT) Ursula von der Leyen says Russia "must pay" for its crimes, adding she was "proud" of the agreement to start an international centre for prosecuting the crime of aggression in Ukraine. "We must do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice," she tweeted. (11:11 GMT) Africa's National Olympic Committees have followed their Asian counterparts in giving the green light on Saturday for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Russia and its ally Belarus have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since Russian forces invaded Ukraine last February. The motion - to allow Russians and Belarusians to compete under a neutral flag - was passed unanimously by the executive committee of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) at their meeting in Nouakchott, Mauritania. "The members came out unanimously in favor of the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in all international competitions," the ANOCA said in a statement. (11:35 GMT) Germany is making slow progress in enforcing sanctions against Russian oligarchs and institutions, according to government numbers seen by Reuters news agency. Berlin has frozen about 5.25 billion euros ($5.57bn) in assets belonging to sanctioned oligarchs since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to the German finance ministry, Reuters said. The figure was 4.28 billion euros six months ago. (11:56 GMT) German defence contractor Rheinmetall is in negotiations about building a tank factory in Ukraine, the newspaper Rheinische Post has reported, citing an interview with its CEO Armin Papperger. "A Rheinmetall plant can be set up in the Ukraine for around 200 million euros ($212.64m), which can produce up to 400 Panthers a year," Papperger was quoted as saying. Panthers are the company's latest battle tank models. "Talks with the Ukrainian government are promising and I hope for a decision in the next two months," he added. Rheinmetall makes ammunition, other military equipment and also the Leopard tanks that Germany decided to send to Ukraine, which the company produces jointly with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. (12:19 GMT) The president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, called on Saturday during a visit to Ukraine for the country to be allowed to begin EU membership negotiations this year. "I am hopeful that accession negotiations can begin already this year," Metsola said in the western city of Lviv. "Ukraine's future is in the European Union." Brussels granted Kyiv formal candidate status in June last year, four months after Russia launched an all-out invasion, but the process of joining the European Union usually takes several years. "The pace with which the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine parliament) and the government is making progress on the EU application impresses me," she said. (12:40 GMT) North Korean state media has weighed in on allegations that Western nations were involved in blasts that damaged Russia's undersea Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, in the latest move by Pyongyang to express support for Moscow. In an article carried by North Korean state news agency KCNA, international affairs critic Ahn Cheol-hyuk backed Russian calls for an impartial investigation, saying the world needs to be aware of the "vicious coerciveness, war and conspiracy maneuvers of the United States". (13:18 GMT) Pressure has mounted on Ukrainian troops and civilians hunkering down in Bakhmut, as Kyiv's forces tried to help residents flee the beleaguered eastern city amid what Western analysts say may be preparations for a Ukrainian withdrawal. A woman was killed and two men were badly wounded by shelling while trying to cross a makeshift bridge out of Bakhmut on Saturday, according to Ukrainian troops who were assisting them. A Ukrainian army representative who asked not to be named for operational reasons told The Associated Press that it was now too dangerous for civilians to leave the city by vehicle and that people had to flee on foot instead. (14:05 GMT) A year since the invasion of Ukraine, Russian artists and performers say they are victims of cancel culture in the West. Several prominent artists have been shunned and performances have been cancelled. Russia says its artists are being discriminated against and its culture being appropriated by Western powers. Russian culture, Artisist shunned by west, aljazeera https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exEnGJs041w (14:36 GMT) In addition to Leopard 2 tanks, German armaments company Rheinmetall wants to buy 96 Leopard 1 tanks from Swiss defence firm Ruag to send to Ukraine, the Swiss newspaper Tages- Anzeiger has reported. The deal involves used and non-operational Leopard 1 tanks, which Ruag bought in 2016 in Italy and which are still there. "Rheinmetall wanted to buy the vehicles and made it clear that they would be delivered to Ukraine after being reconditioned," a spokesperson for Ruag told Tages-Anzeiger. Ruag requested a non-binding preliminary clarification from the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, and received a negative answer, according to Tages-Anzeiger. The deal could however still go through and is likely to be discussed by Switzerland's Federal Council. When, exactly, is unclear. (16:02 GMT) Speaking at a meeting with European Parliament President Roberta Metsola in Lviv, Zelenskyy says Ukraine is working to fulfil recommendations to join the European Union. "Ukraine is working to complete the implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission as soon as possible and begin negotiations on joining the EU this year," he said. 20230305 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/5/russia-ukraine-live-russia-attempting-to-encircle-bakhmut (11:39 GMT) Ukraine officials said they were holding off attacks from Russian troops still attempting to surround Bakhmut, a now-destroyed eastern Ukrainian city that Moscow has been trying to capture for months. Ukraine has pledged to defend "fortress Bakhmut" but has faced Russian troops determined to take the city that has turned into a political prize as the battle drags on. Sergiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukrainian forces, said on Saturday the Bakhmut situation was "difficult but under control" in the city he described as a "priority target for the enemy". There is fighting in and around the city, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said, warning that Ukrainian supply routes were narrowing. "The Russians may have intended to encircle Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian command has signalled that it will likely withdraw rather than risk an encirclement," ISW said on Saturday. (13:21 GMT) The Russian army has hit a command centre of the Ukrainian forces' Azov Regiment in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, the Russian defence ministry said. The ministry did not elaborate on the attack. The Azov Regiment, which had far-right and ultranationalist origins and is now a unit of Ukraine's national guard, garnered international attention for its resistance to the Russian siege of Mariupol's vast steelworks last year. The Russian ministry did not mention in Sunday's bulletin the battle around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces are trying to capture. ()14:00 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Ankara is working hard to extend a UN-backed initiative that enabled Ukraine to export grain from ports blockaded by Russia following its invasion. The Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey last July allowed grain to be exported from three Ukrainian ports. The agreement was extended in November and will expire on March 18 unless an extension is agreed upon. (14:28 GMT) The British intelligence says recent evidence suggests an increase in "close combat" in Ukraine, probably due to Russia's shortage of munitions. It said Russian mobilised reservists were being ordered to assault a Ukrainian concrete strongpoint armed with only "firearms and shovels", likely entrenching tools employed for hand-to-hand combat. (14:50 GMT) The remaining 3,000 civilians in Bakhmut - which once boasted a population of more than 73,000 - are living in shelters without access to gas, electricity or water. (15:15 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has met commanders of his army in the war zone in Ukraine, according to Moscow. Shoigu was informed about the current situation and further plans on the front, the Russian defence ministry announced. A soundless video showed him alongside the chief of general staff and commander of the Russian troops in Ukraine, Valery Gerasimov, as well as his deputy Sergey Surovikin. (15:38 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War says Russian forces appear to have secured sufficient ground to "conduct a turning movement" against parts of Bakhmut. This "is different from the aim of an encirclement, which is to trap and destroy enemy forces". It instead aims to force the enemy to abandon prepared defensive positions. The Ukrainian command has signalled that it will likely withdraw rather than risk an encirclement, the Washington, DC-based think tank said. (16:00 GMT) Ukraine is reinforcing the Bakhmut area with elite units, while the regular Russian army and forces of the private military Wagner Group have made further advances into the city's northern suburbs. (16:25 GMT) Russia has said it would only agree to extend the Black Sea grain deal if the interests of its own agricultural producers are taken into account. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, reiterated Moscow's position. Russia's agricultural exports have not been explicitly targeted by Western sanctions, but Moscow says restrictions on its payments, logistics and insurance industries are a "barrier" to it being able to export its own grains and fertilisers. (17:09 GMT) Soldiers returning from the front lines in eastern Ukraine need treatment for their physical wounds. But the World Health Organization says doctors need to prioritise their mental health too. (17:28 GMT) Estonians are voting in a general election that the centre-right Reform Party of Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, one of Europe's most outspoken supporters of Ukraine, is favourite to win. She faces a challenge from the populist opposition EKRE party that is seeking to limit the Baltic nation's exposure to the Ukraine crisis and is blaming the government for citizens' economic misery. Kallas, 45, is seeking a second term, with her standing enhanced by her international appeals to impose sanctions on Moscow. (17:51 GMT) More than a thousand people have gathered on Moscow's Red Square for the 70th anniversary of the death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, whose divisive legacy looms over the Ukraine conflict. Kyiv says the offensive is driven by Stalin-era imperialistic tendencies, while the heightened repression of critics inside Russia is reminiscent of Soviet methods. But in Russia, many praise him for singlehandedly defeating Hitler in 1945 - a version heavily contested by historians - and restoring Russia's grandeur. People waving communist flags or holding portraits of the late dictator waited in a long line to lay flowers on his grave near the Kremlin wall. 20230306 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/6/russia-ukraine-live-frontline-will-fall-without-weapons-wagner (10:24 GMT) Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says Russia's front lines near Bakhmut could collapse if his forces are not given the ammunition they were promised. "For now, we are trying to figure out the reason: is it just ordinary bureaucracy or a betrayal," Prigozhin, referring to the absence of ammunition, said in his press service Telegram channel on Sunday. "If Wagner retreats from Bakhmut now, the whole front will collapse," Prigozhin said. <=== "The situation will not be sweet for all military formations protecting Russian interests." (10:27 GMT) US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says even if Bakhmut falls, it will not mean that Moscow has regained momentum. "I think it is more of a symbolic value than it is strategic and operational value," Austin told reporters in Jordan, adding that he would not predict if or when Bakhmut would be taken by Russian forces. "The fall of Bakhmut won't necessarily mean that the Russians have changed the tide of this fight," Austin added. (10:29 GMT) The governor of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine has said one person was wounded by falling debris after Russian forces shot down three missiles near the town of Novy Oskol. Belgorod borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region and has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of Russia's invasion. (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin says it is for all stakeholders to decide if the damaged Nord Stream gas pipelines should be sealed up. "Of course, this is a decision that should be taken collegially by all shareholders," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Sources familiar with the plans told the Reuters news agency that the Nord Stream pipelines are set to be sealed up and mothballed with no immediate plans to repair or reactivate them. (10:52 GMT) The Ukrainian government has named a new head of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU). The new NABU chief's name, Semen Kryvonos, was announced during a livestreamed cabinet meeting. He had been serving as head of the state inspection of architecture and urban planning. The European Union has made fighting corruption a top priority for Ukraine as it seeks membership. (11:06 GMT) Ukrainian officials say Russia attacked Ukraine several times at night, with 13 of 15 drones shot down. "The drones had taken off from the north," air force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said on television. The eastern city of Kramatorsk, still under Ukrainian control, was particularly hit. "The rocket attacks overnight have destroyed a school and damaged 15 apartment buildings," Kramatorsk Mayor Olexander Goncharenko wrote on Facebook, adding that no one was killed nor injured. (11:26 GMT) Russia's FSB security service says it thwarted a Ukraine-backed car bomb attack against a prominent nationalist businessman. The FSB, Russia's intelligence agency, said it intervened to stop the plot, which involved attaching a remote-controlled homemade bomb to the underside of a car used by Russian tycoon Konstantin Malofeyev. In a statement, the FSB accused the Ukrainian security services of being behind the assassination attempt, which it said had been organised on their behalf by Ukraine-based Russian far-right activist Denis Kapustin. Malofeyev, the target of the alleged murder plot, supports President Vladimir Putin, owns a conservative TV channel that promotes nationalist views and strongly supports Russia's war in Ukraine. (11:40 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak tweeted: > Being a devil's advocate is beneficial sometimes but more often it > leads to a historic fiasco. When (Hungarian foreign minister, Peter) > Szijjarto says that "the goal is to stop killing people & cease fure", > it calls for the surrender of Ukraine & advocates ru-genocide. > It's worth studying history more attentively. (12:00 GMT) Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin says his representative was denied access to the headquarters of Russia's army after he complained about a lack of ammunition. Prigozhin said via his press service's Telegram channel that he had written to the army's commander, saying his men urgently needed ammunition. "On March 6, at 8 o'clock in the morning, my representative at the headquarters had his pass cancelled and was denied access to the group's headquarters," Prigozhin said. "We are continuing to smash the Ukrainian army in Bakhmut," he said. (12:23 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 376 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-376 (12:39 GMT) The commander of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut, Volodymyr Nazarenko, says there has been no order to retreat and "the defence is holding". "The situation in Bakhmut and around it is very much hell-like, as it is on the entire eastern front," Nazarenko said in a video posted on Telegram. Zelenskyy has discussed the situation in Bakhmut with senior commanders, and two top generals supported continuing to defend the eastern city, his office said. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the armed forces commander-in-chief, and Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, "spoke in favour of continuing the defensive operation and further strengthening (Ukrainian) positions in Bakhmut", it said in a statement on its website. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/2/ukraine-clings-on-in-bakhmut-despite-relentless-russian-attacks https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/6/what-happens-when-ukraine-leaves-bakhmut (13:28 GMT) Ukraine's grain exports are down 26.6 percent at 32.9 million tonnes in the 2022-2023 season after Russia's invasion caused a smaller harvest, agriculture ministry data show. The volume so far in the July-to-June season includes about 11.4 million tonnes of wheat, 19.1 million tonnes of corn and 2.1 million tonnes of barley. Exports during the same time in the previous season were almost 44.8 million tonnes. The ministry said grain exports so far in March were 641,000 tonnes, down from 1.33 million tonnes in the same period last year. (13:48 GMT) Andrey Kelin, Russian ambassador to the United Kingdom, told Al Jazeera that the war in Ukraine could be understood as a "civil war" as he blamed the West for creating an "existential threat" for Russia. (14:39 GMT) The European Union is getting closer to a landmark agreement to jointly procure ammunition to help Ukraine and replenish members' stockpiles. EU defence ministers are to discuss plans this week to speed up the supply of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine, which is pleading for more artillery shells to fight Russian forces. Hanno Pevkur, the defence minister of Estonia, said he believes the ministers will reach a consensus to pursue joint procurement when they meet in Stockholm on Wednesday. But he said key issues were still up for debate, such as how to pay for the joint purchases. (15:03 GMT) Russian wheat prices have fallen despite continued uncertainty surrounding the fate of a Black Sea grain export agreement, analysts say. Prices for Russian wheat with 12.5 percent protein content delivered free on board from Black Sea ports were down $4 per tonne from last week to $292, the IKAR agriculture consultancy said. Russian wheat exports are rising. They totalled 890,000 tonnes last week, compared with 530,000 the previous week, said Sovecon, a Black Sea agricultural markets research firm, citing port data. The market is still waiting for clarity on whether the Black Sea grain exports deal will be extended this month. (16:03 GMT) Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth says the global natural gas market has been more fundamentally changed for the long term by Russia's invasion of Ukraine than by oil markets. "Gas markets, I think, are structurally changed for the longest," (16:27 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says there would be "consequences" if China sends weapons to Russia for Moscow's war in Ukraine but he is pretty optimistic that Beijing will refrain from doing so. When asked by CNN if he could imagine sanctioning China for aiding Russia, Scholz replied: "I think it would have consequences, but we are now in a stage where we are making clear that this should not happen, and I'm relatively optimistic that we will be successful with our request in this case, but we will have to look at [it], and we have to be very, very cautious." US officials have warned recently that China was considering providing arms and ammunition to Moscow. (16:54 GMT) The Russian government has branded the global anti-corruption group Transparency International as "undesirable", effectively banning it from operating in the country. The Russian prosecutor's office charged that while "formally acting as an organisation fighting corruption around the world, it interferes in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation, which poses a threat to the foundations of the constitutional order and the security of the Russian Federation". The Berlin-based group is known for an annual index ranking countries, including Russia, on their degree of corruption. (17:16 GMT) Exiled Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has been handed a 15-year prison term after being convicted in absentia of treason and "conspiracy to seize power", a verdict she said was punishment for her efforts to promote democracy. Tsikhanouskaya, 40, a former English teacher, fled to neighbouring Lithuania in 2020 after running against incumbent Alexander Lukashenko in a presidential election, which official results showed Lukashenko won by a landslide. (17:48 GMT) Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk dedicated her first WTA singles title to those "fighting and dying" in her home country amid Russia's ongoing invasion after she defeated Russian Varvara Gracheva 6-3 7-5 to win the inaugural Austin Open on Sunday. The 20-year-old collapsed on the court and covered her face with her hands after securing the title but declined to shake the hand of her Russian opponent at the net. (18:09 GMT) Ukraine's economy ministry has lowered its GDP growth forecast for 2023 to 1 percent, the Interfax Ukraine news agency reports, citing a deputy minister. The ministry had previously projected that the economy, which has been hit by Russia's invasion and shrank by about a third last year, would grow 3.2 percent this year. (18:23 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has urged the International Criminal Court to probe footage circulating on social media that he said showed Russian forces killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war. "Horrific video of an unarmed Ukrainian POW executed by Russian forces merely for saying 'Glory to Ukraine'. Another (piece of) proof this war is genocidal," Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media. (18:42 GMT) German authorities have said they uncovered a hacking network with links to Russia that targeted over 600 victims in an operation conducted with the FBI and Europe's policing agency. Dutch and Ukrainian police were also involved in the operation. The network is accused of "digital blackmail" and "computer sabotage", and allegedly targeted its victims with ransomware, extorting large sums from them. (18:55 GMT) Russian freelance journalist Andrei Novashov has been handed an eight-month corrective labour sentence after being convicted of knowingly distributing false information about the Russian army, his former employer said. Siberia.Realities, a local project of US broadcaster Radio Free Europe which Russian authorities have designated a "foreign agent", said a court in the Siberian region of Kemerovo had handed down the guilty verdict. Novashov was reported to have been found guilty of discrediting the army for four posts on social media, plus a repost of an article which accused Russian forces of shelling civilian infrastructure in their campaign to capture the Ukrainian city of Mariupol last year. (19:16 GMT) The Norwegian state raked in record oil and gas revenues last year after the war in Ukraine sent energy prices soaring, official figures have shown. Norway earned $140bn in revenues from oil and gas, according to estimates by Statistics Norway (SSB). It was "by far the highest ever recorded in the statistics" and almost three times what was earned in 2021, according to SSB. Norway became Europe's largest supplier of natural gas in 2022 as Russia cut deliveries and the Scandinavian country increased its own exports. (19:53 GMT) The US's list of recently sanctioned entities for alleged support for Russia's war in Ukraine includes two Canadian companies, US and Canadian authorities have said. The two electronics distribution companies from Montreal - Cpunto Inc and Electronic Network Inc - were listed for "acting contrary to the national security or foreign policy interests of the United States" and are subject to US export restrictions, according to the US Commerce Department. The Commerce Department list did not mention what the two companies shipped or attempted to ship that triggered US action. (20:08 GMT) Ukraine has broadened a request for controversial cluster bombs from the United States to include a weapon that it wants to cannibalise to drop the antiarmour bomblets it contains on Russian forces from drones, according to two US legislators. According to the Reuters news agency, Kyiv has urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve sending the weapons, but it is by no means certain that the Biden administration will sign off on that. Cluster munitions, banned by more than 120 countries, normally release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area, threatening civilians. Ukraine is seeking the MK-20, an air-delivered cluster bomb, to release its individual explosives from drones, said US Representatives Jason Crow and Adam Smith, who serve on the House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. That is in addition to 155 mm artillery cluster shells that Ukraine already has requested, they said. They said Ukrainian officials urged US legislators at last month's Munich Security Conference to press for White House approval. 20230307 https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/3/7/will-russia-sanctions-dethrone-king-dollar The United States dollar has ruled the financial world for nearly eight decades since the end of World War II. Now, another war is setting the stage for many countries to explore a move away from the dollar for trade, raising questions over the currency's future dominance. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 triggered a wave of US-led financial sanctions against Moscow. The two most powerful among them have been the decision by Western governments to freeze nearly half ($300bn) of Russia's foreign currency reserves and the removal of major Russian banks from SWIFT, an interbank messaging service that facilitates international payments. These sanctions, which some have called the "weaponisation" of the dollar, have predictably made Russia and China, the two biggest geopolitical rivals of the US, promote their alternative financial infrastructures. But it isn't just Beijing and Moscow. From India to Argentina, Brazil to South Africa and the Middle East to Southeast Asia, nations and regions have accelerated efforts in recent months towards arrangements aimed at reducing their dependence on the dollar. At the heart of these de-dollarisation initiatives is the fear in many capitals that the US could someday use the power of its currency to target them the way it has sanctioned Russia, according to political economists and sanctions experts. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-vows-to-defend-bakhmut (10:39 GMT) China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang says the conflict in Ukraine looks to be driven by an "invisible hand" pushing for the protraction and escalation of the crisis. The "invisible hand", he said, is "using the Ukraine crisis to serve certain geopolitical agendas". "Conflict, sanctions, and pressure will not solve the problem ... The process of peace talks should begin as soon as possible, and the legitimate security concerns of all parties should be respected." (10:40 GMT) Ukraine's top generals have pledged to keep defending the eastern city of Bakhmut, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said he discussed Bakhmut with top commanders, and they said "not to withdraw" and instead strengthen the city's defences. "The command unanimously supported this position. There were no other positions. I told the commander-in-chief to find the appropriate forces to help our guys in Bakhmut," Zelenskyy added. (10:43 GMT) Ukraine has opened a criminal investigation into the "brutal and brazen shooting of an unarmed person" after a video spread on social media prompting a public outcry. The 12-second video shows an apparently unarmed man in a uniform with a Ukrainian flag logo on his arm standing and smoking a cigarette in a wooded area. The man says, "Slava Ukraini!" - or Glory to Ukraine - before multiple shots are heard. (10:43 GMT) The Kremlin says the US is driving the Ukraine conflict, saying China's foreign minister was joking when he said an "invisible hand" was to blame. "Here we can probably disagree with our Chinese comrades. This is of course a joke. You know what the joke is: this is not an invisible hand, this is the hand of the United States of America, this is the hand of Washington," Peskov told reporters. "Washington does not want this war to end. Washington wants and is doing everything to continue this war. This is the visible hand." Referring to China's peace plan, Peskov said Moscow was in constant contact with Beijing, and it was natural for such a "powerful and authoritative" country to have a voice on world problems. (10:49 GMT) China must advance its relations with Russia as the world becomes more turbulent, Foreign Minister Qin Gang said. Speaking to reporters at an annual parliamentary session in Beijing, Qin said the close interactions between both leaders, Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, provided the anchor for China-Russia relations. Asked whether it is possible that China and Russia would abandon the US dollar and euro for bilateral trade, Qin said countries should use whatever currency is efficient, safe and credible. "Currencies should not be the trump card for unilateral sanctions, still less a disguise for bullying or coercion," he said. (11:13 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu said that the seizure of Bakhmut would allow Moscow's forces to mount further offensive operations. Shoigu also said the West was increasing its arms deliveries to Ukraine but promised they would not change the course of events on the battlefield. "The liberation of Artemovsk continues," Shoigu said in televised remarks, using the old Soviet-era name for Bakhmut. <=== "The city is an important hub for defending Ukrainian troops in the Donbas. Taking it under control will allow further offensive actions to be conducted deep into Ukraine's defensive lines," Shoigu said. (11:27 GMT) The Kremlin said it did not recognise the price cap introduced by Western countries on its oil exports after the United States said that the cap was "working well". "We do not and will not recognise any cap. We are working so that this system does not harm our own interests," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. Russia's economy has proved resilient despite tough Western sanctions, but the price cap has complicated its efforts to sell oil globally. Last month, Moscow said it would cut output by 500,000 barrels per day in March in response to the price cap. (11:42 GMT) A Russian opposition activist who used social media to condemn the war in Ukraine received an eight-and-a-half-year jail sentence after a Moscow court found him guilty of spreading false information about the army. Dmitry Ivanov, who ran a protest channel on Telegram for students of Moscow State University, denied any wrongdoing. Ivanov told the court he stood by his original statements, which he said were factually accurate. (12:06 GMT) Ukraine has started online talks with partners on extending the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a senior Ukrainian government source told the Reuters news agency. The source added that Ukraine had not held discussions with Russia but that it was Kyiv's understanding that its partners were talking to Moscow. (12:25 GMT) A further 10 Leopard 2 tanks from Poland will be sent to Ukraine this week, the Polish defence minister said. "Four [tanks] are already in Ukraine, another 10 will go to Ukraine this week," Mariusz Blaszczak told a news conference. (12:48 GMT) Ukraine's military identified a soldier who it said was shot dead by "Russian invaders" in a video spread on social media. On Telegram, the Ukrainian military identified the unarmed man as Tymofiy Shadura from the 30th Mechanized Brigade. It said he had been missing since February 3 after hostilities around the eastern city of Bakhmut. (13:05 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 377 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-377 (13:30 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will meet Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Wednesday to discuss extending the Black Sea grain deal with Moscow. "The secretary-general has just arrived in Poland on his way to Ukraine," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, adding that Guterres will discuss the continuation of the deal "in all its aspects and other pertinent issues." (13:55 GMT) Belarus detained what it said was a "terrorist" and more than 20 accomplices over a sabotage attempt at a Belarusian airfield, President Alexander Lukashenko was cited as saying. Anti-government activists said last month they had blown up a sophisticated Russian military surveillance aircraft Beriev A-50 in a drone attack at an airfield near the Belarusian capital Minsk, a claim disputed by Moscow and Minsk. "The Security Service of Ukraine, the leadership of the CIA, behind closed doors, are carrying out an operation against the Republic of Belarus. A terrorist was trained," the Belta news agency quoted Lukashenko as saying. The suspect detained over the attack was a dual Russian-Ukrainian national, Belta quoted Lukashenko as saying. More than 20 people involved in the incident have been arrested so far, while other suspects are still hiding abroad, he added. (14:45 GMT) Thousands of people in Ukraine have sustained complex injuries linked to the war and need rehabilitation services and equipment, a senior World Health Organization (WHO) official said. These include fractures, amputations, spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries and burns, Dr Satish Mishra from the WHO's regional office for Europe told a media briefing. Attacks on healthcare facilities, fewer healthcare workers and power shortages were all making it difficult for people to get care, he added. (15:14 GMT) The Russian defence ministry said that 90 Russian prisoners of war had been returned from Ukraine after talks, the RIA news agency reported. "On March 7, as a result of the negotiation process, 90 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime, who were in mortal danger in captivity," a news release from the ministry said. (15:42 GMT) The British defence ministry said over the weekend that Ukrainian forces "likely stabilised their defensive perimeter following previous Russian advances" in Bakhmut. The ministry's daily update added, "a Russian strike destroyed a bridge over the only paved supply road into Bakhmut still under Ukrainian control, around 02 March. Muddy conditions are likely hampering Ukrainian resupply efforts as they increasingly resort to using unpaved tracks." (16:07 GMT) New US intelligence suggests that a pro-Ukrainian group carried out the attack on the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, The New York Times reports. The newspaper found no evidence that Zelenskyy or his top lieutenants were involved in the operation in September, in which explosions struck the pipelines in the Baltic Sea. In February, Seymour Hersh accused the US of carrying out the attack on the pipelines. (16:34 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry denies that Kyiv was involved in attempted sabotage at a Belarusian airfield last month. Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko accused Ukrainian and US intelligence services of involvement in the drone attack, for which Belarusian anti-government activists have claimed responsibility. "It is clear that this is another attempt to create an artificial threat from Ukraine for the sake of justifying [Belarusian] support for Russia's aggression," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said in a statement. (17:52 GMT) A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Kyiv was "absolutely not involved" in last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines and has no information about what happened. Mykhailo Podolyak made the comments in a statement to Reuters following the release of a New York Times report citing US officials suggesting a pro-Ukrainian group was responsible. (18:12 GMT) Russia's deputy UN envoy has said that a New York Times report on who could be responsible for the attacks on the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year "only proves that our initiative on launching an international investigation under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General is very timely". Russia plans to call a vote in the UN Security Council by the end of March on its draft resolution asking Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish such an inquiry, Deputy Russian UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy told Reuters. (18:44 GMT) Russia says that media reports about who might be behind last year's attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines underscored the need to answer Moscow's questions about what had happened. In a statement, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said those responsible for leaks to the media wanted to divert the public's attention and avoid a proper investigation. 20230308 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/8/russia-ukraine-live-news-wagner-claims-capture-of-east-bakhmut (05:59 GMT) Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries has taken full control of the eastern part of Bakhmut, its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said. "Units of the private military company Wagner have taken control of the eastern part of Bakhmut," Prigozhin said in a voice recording on the Telegram messaging platform of his press service. "Everything east of the Bakhmutka river is completely under the control of Wagner." (06:45 GMT) United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Kyiv where he hopes to negotiate an extension of the UN-brokered wartime grain export deal between Russia and Ukraine to avoid worsening a global grain shortage. Guterres plans to meet President Zelenskyy to press for an extension of the deal. The Black Sea Grain Initiative is currently scheduled to expire on March 19. (07:18 GMT) Seoul approved export licenses for Poland last year to provide Ukraine with Krab howitzers, which are built with South Korean components, a defence acquisition official in the country told Reuters news agency. The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia. Seoul officials have previously declined to comment on the Krabs, fuelling speculation over whether South Korea had formally agreed or was simply looking the other way. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration's (DAPA) technology control bureau reviewed and approved the transfer, said Kim Hyoung-cheol, director of the Europe-Asia division of the International Cooperation Bureau. (07:37 GMT) European Union defence ministers are preparing to meet to discuss a plan to rush one billion euros of ammunition to Ukraine as pressure mounts on Kyiv's allies to boost supplies to its war effort. Ukraine's critical shortage of ammunition will top the agenda at the meeting in Stockholm, where European leaders will try to replenish the thousands of 155-millimetre howitzer shells Kyiv's forces are firing each day in its fight against Russia's offensive. (07:58 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 378 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-378 (08:18 GMT) European Union countries will need to decide quickly on new funds to jointly procure ammunition for Ukraine, Estonia's Defence minister Hanno Pevkur has said. "When we bring this fresh money, then this will also increase the capacity of the industry. Which is what we need anyway also for the future, that the European industries are capable of producing more shells," Pevkur said before a meeting of EU defence ministers in Stockholm. (08:38 GMT) The Ukrainian government says it was not involved in the sabotage last year of the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, the country's defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov has said. (08:58 GMT) Existing European funds will need to be prioritised for procuring ammunition for Ukraine before any decision on fresh funds can be expected, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell has said. (09:20 GMT) US President Joe Biden spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed Russia's invasion of Ukraine and challenges posed by China, the White House said in a statement. The White House added that the two leaders also discussed cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region and the transition to clean energy. (09:41 GMT) The Kremlin says reports on the Nord Stream pipeline attacks are a coordinated effort to divert attention. "Obviously, the authors of the attack want to divert attention. Obviously, this is a coordinated stuffing in the media," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state RIA news agency. "How can American officials assume anything without an investigation?" Peskov also said that Nord Stream shareholder countries should insist on an urgent, transparent investigation. "We are still not allowed in the investigation. Only a few days ago we received notes about this from the Danes and Swedes," Peskov said. (10:32 GMT) The head of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, Andriy Yermak, discussed the current situation in Kyiv and defence support to Ukraine with US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. "Andriy Yermak informed (Sullivan) of the current situation at the front and the decisions made by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the military leadership regarding the course of the defence operation in the Bakhmut sector," said a statement by the Ukrainian presidency following a phone conversation between the two officials. The statement added that the officials also discussed ongoing international efforts to provide defence and financial support to Ukraine. (10:58 GMT) China announced over $210,000 in assistance to Ukraine for its nuclear safety program. "China will donate 200,000 euros (approximately $210,814) to Ukraine's nuclear safety and security technical assistance program, aiming to strengthen the safety of Ukraine's nuclear facilities with concrete actions," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a news conference in Beijing, according to Chinese daily Global Times. Beijing's announcement comes after Kyiv said diplomatic talks between Ukraine and Russia on the power plant had reached a "dead end," as fighting continued. (11:34 GMT) A top European Union court granted a challenge to revoke sanctions against the mother of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group fighting in Ukraine. The EU blacklisted Violetta Prigozhina, saying business links with her son made her complicit in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "The General Court annuls the restrictive measures applied to Ms Violetta Prigozhina, mother of Mr Yevgeniy Prigozhin, in the context of Russia's war against Ukraine," the bloc's second-highest court said. (11:52 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov urged his EU counterparts to support a plan to buy 1 million artillery shells to help Kyiv fight Russia's invasion and replenish stocks. Speaking to reporters just before a meeting of ministers in Stockholm, Reznikov said Ukraine urgently needed the shells to defend against Russian forces and launch a counter-offensive. Reznikov said he supported a proposal by Estonia for EU countries to join together to buy 1 million 155-millimetre shells for Ukraine this year at the cost of 4 billion euros ($4.22 billion). Officials have warned that Ukraine is firing shells faster than its allies can make them, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to ramp up production. (12:10 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg warned that Bakhmut might fall into Russian hands in the coming days following months of intense fighting. (13:01 GMT) The IMF's representative to Ukraine said that an International Monetary Fund mission is scheduled to start policy discussions with the Ukrainian authorities. The representative, Vahram Stepanyan, said the IMF team would be led by Gavin Gray, the IMF mission chief for Ukraine. "An IMF mission, led by Gavin Gray, starts policy discussions today with the Ukrainian authorities on a potential Fund-supported program," Stepanyan said in a brief statement that provided no further details. Ukrainian officials have said they hope to agree to a $15bn multiyear programme with the IMF. (13:22 GMT) Zelenskyy praised Ukrainian women on International Women's Day for taking a central role in defending the country against Russia. "I think it is important to give thanks today. To thank all the women who work, teach, study, rescue, heal, fight - fight for Ukraine," Zelenskyy said in a short video on Telegram. It was also a day "to remember, think about and thank all women who gave their lives for our country", he added. (13:43 GMT) Russia's demands for the extension of the Black Sea grain deal have not yet been met, a Turkish diplomatic source said, adding that Ankara is "working very hard" to ensure the agreement continues. "Turkey is working very hard for the extension of the Black Sea grain deal; negotiations are still going on," the source said. "Russia's concerns, or rather the difficulties that it is facing, have not been overcome yet. But Turkey is doing its part for an agreement between all parties," the source added. Russia signalled that obstacles to its agricultural exports must be removed before the deal continued. (14:06 GMT) Ukraine's president and United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the Black Sea grain deal extension, after talks in Kyiv. (14:34 GMT) In response to rising anti-war sentiment, Russia has implemented laws to punish those who speak out against the army and Moscow's "special military operation". Now, rights groups worry are warning of a growing trend - a crackdown on children opposed to the conflict. When 12-year-old Masha Moskalyova drew a mother and a child with the captions "no to war" and "glory to Ukraine", the Russian security service responded by arresting her father and taking Masha into care. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/8/russian-crackdown-on-dissent-targets-children (15:22 GMT) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he had suggested that the bloc spend one billion euros ($1.6bn) for the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine and refill their stockpiles. "I propose to mobilise another billion euros," he told reporters after a meeting of EU defence ministers in Stockholm, Sweden. (15:50 GMT) China will maintain cooperation with Russia despite "global backlash", US intelligence agencies said. "Despite global backlash over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, China will maintain its diplomatic, defence, economic, and technology cooperation with Russia to continue trying to challenge the United States, even as it will limit public support," agencies said in a report tied to the Senate Intelligence Committee's annual hearing on worldwide threats to US security. The report found that Russia likely does not seek conflict with the US and NATO, but the war in Ukraine carries a "great risk" of that happening and there is "real potential" for Russia's military failures in Ukraine to hurt Putin's domestic standing, raising the potential for escalation. (16:14 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy should come to Ukraine to see "what's happening" on the ground. "Mr McCarthy, he has to come here to see how we work, what's happening here, what war caused us, which people are fighting now, who are fighting now. And then after that, make your assumptions," Zelenskyy said in an interview with CNN. McCarthy, a Republican, has repeatedly said he defends Ukraine, but there should be "no blank cheque" when aiding Kyiv. According to CNN, the House speaker said he does not have plans to visit Ukraine. (16:45 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries, said that sanctions against him and his fighters were justified, and he did not plan to fight them in court. "As for contesting sanctions against me and sanctions against PMC Wagner, I am not going to contest them and I believe that at the moment they are imposed quite reasonably," he said in a statement. He made the statement after a European court revoked European Union sanctions on his mother, Violetta Prigozhina, ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove she was linked to her son's actions in Ukraine. (17:41 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group Yevgeny Prigozhin has said his fighters captured all of the eastern part of Bakhmut, as one of the bloodiest battles of the year-long war ground on amid the ruins. "Everything east of the Bakhmutka River is completely under the control of Wagner," Prigozhin said on Telegram. The city centre is on the west side of the river that bisects Bakhmut. If true, that would mean Russian forces now control nearly half the city in their costly push to secure their first big victory in several months. Prigozhin has issued premature success claims before that could not be verified. (17:54 GMT) European Union countries have agreed to speed up supplies of artillery rounds and buy more shells to help Ukraine but still have to work out how to turn these aims into reality. Under a plan drawn up by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU states would get financial incentives worth one billion euros ($1.06 bn) to send more of their artillery rounds to Kyiv while another one billion euros would fund joint procurement of new shells. Borrell said he hoped the plan would be finalised at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers on March 20. (17:59 GMT) Deputy Ukrainian prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk says fewer than 4,000 civilians - including 38 children - remain in the embattled city of Bakhmut, out of a pre-war population of some 70,000. (18:18 GMT) Russia's military is likely unable to sustain its current level of fighting in Ukraine and probably won't capture significantly more territory this year, US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines has said. After major setbacks and large battlefield losses, "We do not foresee the Russian military recovering enough this year to make major territorial gains," Haines told a Senate hearing. Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin "most likely calculates that time works in his favour", Haines said. (18:33 GMT) Top UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan will meet senior Russian officials in Geneva next week to discuss extending a deal that allows the Black Sea export of Ukraine grains, a UN spokesperson has said. "That's the next step, and we'll see whether anything further is needed than that," deputy UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters. "The Secretary-General will continue to do all he can to remove obstacles to the export of Russian fertilisers." (18:42 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said after meetings with Zelenskyy in Kyiv that the Black Sea Grain Initiative was "critically necessary" for the world, underlining its importance to global food security and food prices. (19:16 GMT) Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska is visiting the United Arab Emirates, a country that still remains open to Russia despite Western sanctions, on International Women's Day. The UAE remains one of the few direct routes out of Moscow, for both people fleeing conscription and for the wealthy who want to park their money in a nation with access to Western financial markets. The US Treasury has expressed concerns with the Russian money flowing into Dubai's red-hot real estate market. (19:38 GMT) Leaders of nine Social Democratic parties in Europe have declared unwavering support for Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion and discussed future European security. Social Democrats from Germany, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Ukraine, Poland, Sweden, Slovenia, Finland and Croatia met in Warsaw for a two-day conference about the war and the ways it has altered European politics. Former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven, president of the Party of European Socialists, said there was no going back to "business as usual" with Moscow. He stressed that Europe must make sure Ukraine wins the war and that any peace agreement is struck on Kyiv's terms. (20:02 GMT) Power supply difficulties have been overcome for the time being, unless new Russian attacks damage the system, the head of the utility Ukrenergo, Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, has said on Ukrainian television. "The hardest winter in our history is over," he said in Kyiv. "The power system is now able to meet existing consumption, and that's a very good sign for all of us." In the past 25 days, there have been no more power shortages and no deficit is foreseeable, he added. Kudrytskyi attributed the improved situation to successful repairs to the power grid and the completed maintenance of Ukraine's nuclear power plants. (20:17 GMT) Zelenskyy has called for "democratic success" in Georgia, where thousands of protesters have rallied against a controversial "foreign agent" bill reminiscent of Russian legislation used to silence critics. "There is no Ukrainian who would not wish success to our friendly Georgia. Democratic success. European success," Zelenskyy said in his evening address to the nation. 20230309 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/9/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-strikes-hit-ukrainian-power-stations (05:50 GMT) Ukrainian officials say Russian missiles hit several cities across Ukraine including the capital, Kyiv, the Black Sea port of Odesa, and the northeastern city of Kharkiv. The missile attacks set off air raid sirens across Ukraine, officials said. In Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko reported explosions in the city's southern Holosiivskyi district. (06:26 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar says the resistance in the eastern city of Bakhmut should be considered a "victory". "This is victory - the fact that our soldiers have been destroying the most powerful and professional 'Wagner' units there for several months in a row," Maliar said. "The enemy has superior forces in terms of manpower and weapons, but in these conditions, our fighters bravely confront the enemy almost on an equal basis," she said. (06:47 GMT) European Union countries say they have agreed to speed up supplies of artillery rounds and buy more shells to help Ukraine but still have to work out how to turn these aims into reality. Under a plan drawn up by foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, EU states would get financial incentives worth $1.06bn to send more of their artillery rounds to Kyiv while another $1.06bn would fund joint procurement of new shells. Borrell said he hoped the plan would be finalised at a meeting of EU foreign and defence ministers on March 20. (06:54 GMT) Kyiv says the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is under Russian control, lost its electric power supply because a Russian missile attack. "The last link between the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the Ukrainian power system was cut off," Energoatom, the state nuclear company, said. The Energoatom said the fifth and sixth reactors were shut down and electric power needed for the plant's functioning is now supplied by 18 diesel generators, which have enough fuel for 10 days. (07:23 GMT) A group of retired Canadian Olympians say Canada's Olympic committee should reverse its support for Russian and Belarusian participation at next year's Paris Games, unless Russia withdraws from Ukraine. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) set out a path in January for those athletes, who were banned from many international competitions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, to compete without their flags and anthems. (07:55 GMT) Ukrainian air force says Russia fired 81 missiles, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and eight drones at Ukraine during Thursday's early morning attacks. Kyiv destroyed 34 cruise missiles and four Shahed suicide drones, the air force said, adding that eight drones and guided missiles were also prevented from reaching their targets. The Ukrainian military cannot intercept the Kinzhal missile. (08:56 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow "won't avoid responsibility" for its latest wave missile strikes on Ukraine. (09:19 GMT) Russian shelling killed three people in Kherson after Moscow unleashed a massive missile barrage in the early hours of Thursday morning, Ukraine's presidential chief of staff said. (09:35 GMT) Slovakia needs to decide on sending MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad said, adding that Poland has expressed willingness to collaborate. "I think it is time to make a decision," Nad said on Facebook. "People are dying in Ukraine; we can really help them, there is no room for Slovak politicking." (10:03 GMT) The Kremlin said that there are still "a lot of questions" remaining over the Black Sea grain deal and that there were no plans for a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (10:30 GMT) The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost all external power supply and is relying on diesel generators, a last line of defence to prevent a meltdown from overheating reactor fuel, the UN atomic watchdog confirmed. "This morning at around 5 am local time, Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant lost all off-site power when its last remaining 750 kilovolt line was disconnected, its only remaining back up 330 kilovolt line having been damaged a few days ago and under repair," the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said in a statement. (10:51 GMT) The Kremlin said it doubted the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines could have been carried out without state support after the New York Times reported that a pro-Ukrainian group might have been responsible for the attack. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was vital to identify who was behind the attacks. He added that it was incomprehensible that Russia would blow up its own infrastructure. (11:07 GMT) Poland said it had delivered the additional 10 Leopard 2A4 tanks it had promised to Ukraine, while allies would send theirs shortly. (11:22 GMT) Lithuania's security services said hackers with links to Russia and China have repeatedly attempted to break into Lithuanian government computers. "The most active cyber groups that act against Lithuania are connected with Russia and China," the Baltic nation's military intelligence and counter-intelligence agencies said in an annual report. "Their priority remains continuous long-term collection of information related to Lithuanian internal and foreign affairs," the agencies said. (11:41 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had carried out a "massive retaliatory strike" on Ukrainian infrastructure after what Putin called a "terrorist attack" in Russia's Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, last week. (12:02 GMT) Russian state news agencies reported that security services in the Moscow-backed breakaway Transnistria region of Moldova said they had thwarted an assassination attempt against the region's leader. It quoted security officials as saying Ukraine's intelligence agencies had ordered the attempt. "The ministry of state security informs about the prevention of a terrorist attack. On the instructions of the Security Service of Ukraine, a crime was being prepared against a number of officials. The suspects have been detained," Russia's state-owned TASS news agency quoted the security services as saying. A spokesman for the Security Service of Ukraine said leadership was convening on the matter and could comment later. (12:43 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 379 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-379 (13:05 GMT) The chief of the Lithuanian military intelligence said Russia has enough resources to continue the war in Ukraine for two years. "The resources which Russia has at the moment would be enough to continue the war at the present intensity for two years", the chief, Elegijus Paulavicius, told reporters in Vilnius. "How long Russia is be able to wage the war will also depend on the support for Russia's military from states, such as Iran, North Korea. But if you look at what Russia has today, such as the strategic reserve, equipment, ammunition, armaments - it can wage it at the present intensity for two years", he added. (13:30 GMT) South Korean media reported that Hyundai Motor Co, which suspended operations last March, is in talks with a Kazakh company to sell its manufacturing plant in Russia. (14:20 GMT) The Swedish government will send an anti-terrorism bill to parliament to persuade NATO member Turkey to lift objections to Sweden joining the defence pact. A spokesperson for Swedish justice minister Gunnar Strommer said the government would submit its bill to parliament on Thursday after formally approving it earlier in the day. (14:52 GMT) European Union countries and companies should not sign new contracts to buy Russian liquefied natural gas, the EU's energy policy chief said. "We can and should get rid of Russian gas completely as soon as possible, still keeping in mind our security of supply," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told a meeting of EU lawmakers. "I encourage all member states and all companies to stop buying Russian LNG, and not to sign any new gas contracts with Russia once the existing contracts have expired," Simson said. The EU has pledged to quit Russian fossil fuels by 2027 and replaced about two-thirds of Russian gas last year. (15:30 GMT) During a meeting with the US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who arrived in Israel on Thursday, defence minister Yoav Gallant said Israel is doing its "best" to help Ukraine. "We are doing our best efforts in coordination with the United States to help the Ukrainian government to protect its people and we are doing it under the understanding of what are the Israeli interest in the region," Gallant said. (15:58 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the EU is ignoring any talks on investigating the Nord Stream gas pipeline blasts. Russia has repeatedly asked to be allowed to join the investigations into the blasts, which occurred last year and ruptured three of the four pipelines of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas links that connect Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea. A New York Times report published Tuesday said that US intelligence reviewed by United States officials suggested that a pro-Kyiv group may have been behind the attacks. (16:22 GMT) The Financial Times reports that the US has privately urged some commodity traders to let go of concerns about shipping price-capped Russian oil to keep supplies stable. Treasury officials met executives and traders at Trafigura and Gunvor, among others, and offered reassurances over expanding their role in Russian crude and fuels trade without breaching Western restrictions, FT said, citing people familiar with the meeting. (16:44 GMT) Ukraine will take part in the EU scheme to jointly buy gas to procure two billion cubic metres of the fuel before next winter, the EU energy policy chief said. EU countries plan to pool together and sign their first joint gas contracts in the coming months to help fill storage in advance of peak winter demand as countries swap out Russian gas. "Ukraine has indicated that on top of their own domestic production, they might need, for a secure winter, another two billion cubic metres," EU energy commissioner Kadri Simson told a news conference. (17:13 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz can detect no willingness on the part of Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, he has told the NBR group of German newspapers. "Unfortunately, I see no willingness at the moment," Scholz was quoted by NBR as saying, adding Ukraine must decide what conditions it is ready to accept for peace. Scholz said that the energy supply in Europe's biggest economy would be sufficient next winter and that the German economy was heading for growth rates last seen in the 1950s and 1960s due to heavy investment in climate protection. (17:15 GMT) Russia has introduced personal sanctions against 144 government officials, journalists, lawmakers and other public figures from the three Baltic states who are deemed "most hostile" to Moscow, the Russian foreign ministry has said. Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania - ruled from Moscow during the Cold War but now members of the European Union and NATO - have been among the strongest critics of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The ministry said the move was a response to what it called active lobbying by the three Baltic republics for more sanctions against Russia and to their "interference in our internal affairs, inciting Russophobic sentiments". (17:33 GMT) Ukraine's air force says Russia fired 81 missiles, including six Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and eight drones at Ukraine during early morning attacks on Thursday. (17:57 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has launched a new attempt to get Finland and Sweden accepted as members of the world's biggest military organisation by the time US President Joe Biden and his counterparts meet for their next summit in July. Representatives from the Nordic neighbours and Turkey met at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg organised the talks after convincing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month to come back to the table. Opening the meeting, Stoltenberg said that "Finland and Sweden have taken unprecedented steps to address legitimate Turkish security concerns," a statement from his office said. "It is now time for all allies to conclude the ratification process." (18:04 GMT) Russia and the United Nations will hold talks in Geneva on Monday on renewing the Ukraine grain export deal, with the UN saying the fate of millions rests on its extension. The UN and Turkey-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), which has helped ease the global food crisis caused by the invasion, will automatically renew on March 18 unless Moscow or Kyiv object. But Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that extending the deal was becoming "complicated", as he claimed a parallel agreement on Russian exports was not being respected. While the BSGI concerns the export of Ukrainian grain, the second agreement, between Moscow and the UN, aimed to facilitate the export of Russian food and fertilisers, which are exempt from Western sanctions imposed on Moscow. "If the package is half fulfilled, then the issue of extension becomes quite complicated," Lavrov said during a press conference in Moscow. (19:10 GMT) The leader of Moldova's breakaway region says his government will appeal to the UN Security Council to probe a "terrorist act" and ensure the security of Transnistria. (19:18 GMT) A group of lawyers representing Russians targeted by European sanctions have written to senior EU officials to allege that their clients have been victims of "flawed" evidence and "gross misrepresentations". Several of the 1,473 individuals and 205 entities that have been hit with EU visa bans and asset freezes since 2014, when Russia seized Ukraine's Crimea region, have lodged legal challenges. "Like all litigants, those sanctioned should be entitled to due process, yet since the initial listings, decisions have been contaminated by material mistakes and irregularities," they wrote. "Reading through the 'evidence' gathered by the Council, many individuals have been listed only on the basis of publicly available sources, gathered from a simple Google search, including from questionable online-tabloid articles or anonymous blogs," they allege. (19:56 GMT) Defense and military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer told Al Jazeera from Moscow that the Russian attacks were strategically targeting Ukraine's power grid system. "They were called retaliatory attacks, but it's more or less the same that's been continuing for some months during this winter by Russia attacking the Ukrainian power grid system, hoping that it'll break down and the power could soften up Ukrainian leadership and people and that they would agree for a ceasefire that will stop these attacks," Felgenhauer said. "These attacks are spectacular. Hypersonic missiles were used, but the strategic objective has not been achieved. The power grid in Ukraine despite all the attacks continues to work more or less and Ukraine does not seem to show a desire right now to agree on Russian terms of a ceasefire." (20:00 GMT) Russia says it launched missile raids on Ukrainian cities in retaliation for an attack in the Russian region of Bryansk region last week. (20:15 GMT) The White House has called the latest barrage of Russian missile attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Ukraine "brutal" and "unjustified". It is "devastating to see these brutal, unjustified attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine," Principal Deputy Press Secretary Olivia Dalton told reporters aboard Air Force One. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/9/russia-takes-east-bakhmut-as-ukraine-builds-up-forces Zelenskyy said his top commanders were in favour of "continuing the defence operation and further strengthening our positions in Bakhmut", a city with a pre-war population of about 70,000 people. He did not elaborate on the reasons but the Institute for the Study of War suggested that Bakhmut has been a meat grinder for Russian forces, diverting them from other parts of the 800km-long front. "The Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut remains strategically sound as it continues to consume Russian manpower and equipment as long as Ukrainian forces do not suffer excessive casualties," the United States-based think tank said in a war assessment. Ukraine, meanwhile, continues to enrich its arsenal with Western-donated equipment in preparation for a major spring counteroffensive. Germany and Poland said they will deliver 28 Leopard tanks this month while Canada doubled its initial donation of four. That brought the tally of allied battle tanks bound for Ukraine to 227. The US also announced a new $2bn military aid package that for the first time included tactical bridges. These are driven into position and unfolded to span rivers in offensives involving battle tanks and armoured fighting vehicles. Ukraine has had a very high demand for guided artillery and rockets and the Pentagon has had to improvise by finding cheap and plentiful components. One answer has come in the form of ground-launched small-diameter bombs, which pair artillery shells and rocket motors. In the same vein, the head of NATO Allied Air Command said on Monday that the US had provided Ukraine with kits that turn unguided, artillery shells into precision-guided munitions with a range of 72km. A strategic goal will be an attempt to "drive a wedge into the Russian front in the south - between Crimea and the Russian mainland", Vadym Skibitsky, Ukraine's deputy head of military intelligence, told the German media group Funke.` 2023031o https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/10/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-war-driven-by-empires-pope (10:12 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov says Russia and the US remain in contact over the New START nuclear arms treaty despite suspending participation in the deal, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. Ryabkov said he had no expectations for significant progress. The 2010 nuclear agreement limits the number of strategic warheads each side can deploy. (10:13 GMT) Pope Francis says the war in Ukraine is driven by the interests of several "empires" and not just Russia's. In interview excerpts published by Italian dailies La Repubblica, La Stampa and Corriere della Sera, Francis said the conflict was fuelled by "imperial interests, not just of the Russian empire, but of empires from elsewhere". <=== The pontiff was speaking to Italian Swiss television RSI in an interview due to be broadcast on Sunday. (10:13 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors has backed the reappointment of Rafael Grossi to a second four-year term as director general. Diplomats at the closed-door meeting said the International Atomic Energy Agency's board approved his reappointment by acclamation, meaning that no vote was held and no country expressed opposition. (10:14 GMT) Putin has congratulated Xi Jinping on his third term as China's leader, hailing the strengthening ties between the two countries. "Dear friend, please accept sincere congratulations on the occasion of your reelection," Putin said in a statement released by the Kremlin. "russia highly values your personal contribution toward the strengthening of ties ... and strategic cooperation between our nations." (10:48 GMT) Wimbledon has not taken a decision on the participation of Russian and Belarusian players at the competition this year, organisers told the Reuters news agency. "We have not yet made a decision on entries for the championships 2023," a spokesperson for the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC), which organises Wimbledon, told Reuters. "We are continuing to work very closely with the UK government and key stakeholders in tennis on this matter." (11:15 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence says Russia deployed "at least 80 long-range strikes" in Thursday morning's missile barrage on Ukrainian infrastructure. "This was the first major wave of long-range strikes since 16 February 2023 and likely one of the largest since December 2022. Ukrainian officials reported at least 11 civilians killed," the ministry said in its daily intelligence update. It added that the gap between strikes was likely due to Russia needing to "stockpile a critical mass of newly produced missiles directly from industry before it can resource a strike big enough to credibly overwhelm Ukrainian air defences". (11:38 GMT) Governor Oleh Synyehubov says while the energy supply in Kharkiv "is difficult" after sustaining damage, infrastructure has been restored. "Nevertheless, critical infrastructure has already been restored in the city, and water supply has been almost completely restored. The region is more than 90 percent healed. Electric transport does not yet have enough voltage and does not work," he said in an interview posted on Telegram. Synyehubov said the "most intense fighting" was going on in the Kupiansk direction, where Russian forces were trying to "restore previously lost positions". (11:53 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says a conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in New Delhi last week was "constructive", the TASS news agency reported. In an interview on Russian state TV, Lavrov said the pair spoke for 10 minutes and discussed nuclear arms issues and the conflict in Ukraine. "We spoke constructively, without emotions, we shook hands," Lavrov said. "Everything I heard was a position that has already been expressed and underlined in public many times before. I gave my honest, detailed assessment about the New START treaty, and why we saw it necessary to suspend it," he said. (12:17 GMT) Lithuania's parliament has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and other sports bodies to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes until the war in Ukraine ends, war criminals are prosecuted, and reparations are paid. The parliamentary motion, which passed unanimously, said it was confident any victories by Russian or Belarusian athletes would be exploited for propaganda purposes by the governments in Moscow and Minsk. Ukraine has spearheaded a call to ban athletes from Russia and its close ally Belarus from the Paris 2024 Games after the IOC said in January it was open to including Russian and Belarusian athletes as neutrals. Last week, African Olympic committees passed a resolution supporting the participation of the athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics as neutrals. (12:38 GMT) Pavel Felgenhauer, a Moscow-based defence analyst, says the Wagner Group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, is becoming "very significant" as the war progresses. "He has this private army that has dramatically expanded during the last year from several thousand deployed somewhere in Syria or the Central African Republican to tens of thousands of fighters with its own tanks and artillery," Felgenhauer said. "He is a very vocal political figure in modern Russia with his own private army fighting out there and with connections in the Kremlin," he added. But, Felgenhauer said there is a lot of "infighting" in Russia as Prigozhin continues to criticise the defence ministry for its failures. (13:02 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would raise China's approach to Russia and the war in Ukraine when he meets French President Emmanuel Macron. "We'd urge all countries not to be providing support to Russia, or trying to circumvent sanctions," he said. The US has said China is considering supplying arms to Russia and warned Beijing against such a move. But China has denied the US claims and said that "sending weapons will not bring peace". (13:21 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 380 aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-380 (14:21 GMT) Russian investigators said that Kremlin-installed courts in Ukraine had sentenced three Ukrainian servicemen to jail for allegedly mistreating civilians. "The supreme courts of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics issued sentences in three criminal cases against Ukrainian citizens Viktor Pokhozey, Maksym Butkevych and Vladislav Shel," Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement. "All of them were found guilty of mistreating the civilian population and using prohibited methods [of fighting] in an armed conflict," the statement added. (14:48 GMT) The central bank said Russia's current account surplus fell to $12.9bn in January-February from $37.7bn in the same period last year. The country's current account surplus hit a record high in 2022, which was helped by a fall in imports and robust oil and gas exports that kept foreign money flowing despite Western sanctions over the invasion of Ukraine. (15:16 GMT) The Wagner mercenary group has announced the opening of recruitment centres in dozens of cities in Russia. "Recruitment centres for PMC Wagner have opened in 42 Russian cities," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a statement, referring to his private military company. Fighters will be recruited in sports centres and martial arts clubs, according to a list released by Prigozhin. (15:38 GMT) Prigozhin says he has thanked the Russian government for a "heroic" increase in ammunition production. The Putin ally had complained that the Ministry of Defence had been withholding supplies from his Wagner Group mercenaries. Prigozhin said his men had been "blown away" because they had started to receive ammunition deliveries labelled as produced in 2023. (15:56 GMT) Switzerland's government says it will not allow the transfer of Swiss-made arms to a third country despite growing pressure from fellow European nations to send them to Ukraine. "The Federal Council is committed to the values of Swiss neutrality and will continue to work to ensure the benefits of neutrality are realised," it said in a statement. (16:19 GMT) Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said Ukraine was preparing a counteroffensive near Bakhmut. "Yes, it is a well-known fact that the enemy is preparing a counteroffensive. Of course, we are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening," he said on Telegram. (16:50 GMT) The Group of Seven (G7) and other organisations renewed their pledge to support Ukraine's energy sector, Japan's foreign ministry said after the group convened. Japan's foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Japan intends to provide about 10 autotransformers and 140 units of power-related equipment to Ukraine, according to a statement released by the Japanese foreign ministry. (17:40 GMT) Canada has banned the import of all Russian aluminum and steel products in a move that Ottawa said was aimed at denying Moscow the ability to fund its war against Ukraine. "Ukraine can and must win this war. We continue to do everything we can to cut off or limit the revenue used to fund Putin's illegal and barbaric invasion of Ukraine," Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland said in a statement. 20230311 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/11/wagner-says-russian-fighters-near-central-bakhmut-killing-zone The chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner has said that his forces are close to the centre of the front-line city of Bakhmut. Speaking as artillery boomed in the background, Prigozhin said that the most important thing now was to receive more ammunition from the army and "move forward". He said his forces needed 10,000 tonnes of ammunition each month for the battle. 20230312 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/12/russia-ukraine-live-hundreds-killed-in-battle-for-bakhmut (06:36 GMT) Serhiy Cherevatyi, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, has said that 221 pro-Moscow troops were killed in the clashes in the contested city of Bakhmut. The official added that more than 300 troops were injured in the fighting in the city. (06:41 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says that up to 210 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the Donetsk region, where clashes have been ongoing. (06:44 GMT) Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, has asked Pope Francis and other religious leaders to persuade Ukraine to stop a crackdown against a historically Russian-aligned wing of the church. On Friday, Kyiv ordered the Ukrainian Orthodox Church to leave a monastery complex where it is based, the latest move against a denomination the government says is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow. Kirill urged religious leaders and international organisations to "make every effort to prevent the forced closure of the monastery, which will lead to a violation of the rights of millions of Ukrainian believers", said a statement posted on the church's website. (07:16 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister has urged Germany to speed up supplies of ammunition and to start training Ukrainian pilots on Western fighter jets. Dmytro Kuleba told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper in an interview that ammunition shortages were the "number one" problem in Ukraine's fight against Russia. He said German weapons manufacturers had told him at the Munich Security Conference last month they were ready to deliver but were waiting for the government to sign contracts. "So the problem lies with the government," Kuleba was quoted as saying. (08:16 GMT) Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olga Stefanishyna has said that the high human cost of Russia's assault on Bakhmut. "Thousands of Russian soldiers died at a considerable rate in this battle," she said in an interview with the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche. "The human mass of its infantry is a formidable weapon, it seems inexhaustible in volume and in time." However, even if it did capture the "small town", she added, "it will not impact the strategic corridors we still control in the region". (08:48 GMT) A top Ukrainian commander has said his forces' ongoing defence of Bakhmut in the face of fierce and sustained Russian attacks was necessary to "buy time" for a planned counteroffensive. "The real heroes now are the defenders who are holding the eastern front on their shoulders, and inflicting the heaviest possible losses, sparing neither themselves nor the enemy," the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, said. (09:45 GMT) Ukrainian foreign minister "sharply" has criticised the decision to reject President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's request to speak at the Oscars ceremony, according to a report. "The decision not to invite Zelenskyy to deliver a speech during the Oscars ceremony, where one of the leading Best Foreign Language Film nominees is an anti-war Picture, is highly hypocritical," Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with Germany's Bild am Sonntag newspaper. (10:33 GMT) Russia's advance seems to have stalled in Moscow's campaign to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to a leading think tank said in an assessment of the longest ground battle of the war. The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War said there were no confirmed advances by Russian forces in Bakhmut. Russian forces and units from the Kremlin-controlled paramilitary Wagner Group continued to launch ground attacks in the city, but there was no evidence that they were able to make any progress, ISW said. (11:25 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said that Russian representatives had not yet taken part in negotiations on extending the Black Sea grain deal. "There have been no negotiations on this subject, especially with the participation of Russian representatives," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said. The next round of talks on extending the deal will be held in Geneva on March 13 between Russia's delegation and top United Nations trade official Rebeca Grynspan, Zakharova said. (12:51 GMT) Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar has said he believes that a deal allowing Ukrainian grain to be exported via the Black Sea will be extended from its current March 18 deadline. The deal was extended for 120 days in November and will renew on March 18 if no party objects. However, Moscow has already signalled it will only agree to an extension if restrictions affecting its own exports are lifted. (13:19 GMT) Ukraine's prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, has thanked Canada for its decision to ban imports of Russian aluminium and steel products, and urged other countries to follow suit. (13:33 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has reportedly said there is infighting in the Kremlin inner circle, that the Kremlin has ceded centralised control over the Russian information space, and that President Vladimir Putin apparently cannot readily fix it. According to Institute for the Study of War, a policy research organisation focused on US national security, Zakharova made these comments during a panel discussion attended by Kremlin journalists and academics about the "information and cognitive warfare in modern realities" in Moscow on March 11. In the forum, Zakharova reportedly stated that the Kremlin cannot replicate the Stalinist approach of establishing a modern equivalent to the Soviet Information Bureau due to fighting among unspecified Kremlin "elites". (13:51 GMT) Ukraine's military repelled more than 92 Russian assaults in five areas over the past day, the general staff of Ukraine's armed forces claimed in its morning briefing, the Kyiv Independent reports. According to the general staff report, Russian forces are concentrating their efforts on conducting offensives toward Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Mariinka, and Shakhtarsk in Donetsk oblast. (14:05 GMT) The impact of the heavy casualties Russia continues to take varies dramatically across its regions, the UK's Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence update. In proportion to the size of their population, the richest cities of Moscow and St Petersburg have been left relatively unscathed. This is especially true for the families of the country's elite. In many of the eastern regions, deaths are likely running, as a percentage of population, at a rate 30+ times higher than in Moscow. In places, ethnic minorities take the biggest hit; in Astrakhan, some 75 percent of casualties come from the minority Kazakh and Tartar populations. (14:23 GMT) Moldovan police have said they arrested members of a network "orchestrated by Moscow" in a bid to destabilise the small ex-Soviet nation via anti-government protests. The White House on Friday accused Russia of seeking to destabilise the Romanian-speaking country of 2.6 million people bordering Ukraine with the aim of installing a pro-Russian government. Moldova, formerly part of Russia's sphere of influence, is now governed by authorities who are firmly focused on European integration. This comes just days after Pro-Moscow separatists in Transnistria, a breakaway region of Moldova, say they had thwarted an assassination attempt on their leader, which they accuse Ukrainian security services of organising. (14:38 GMT) Switzerland is scrapping outdated Rapier surface-to-air missiles that could have been used by Ukraine to shoot down low-flying targets, Swiss newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ) reports. A spokesperson for the Swiss Federal Office for Defence Procurement (Armasuisse) said that all Rapier short-range anti-aircraft missile systems would be dismantled, NZZ reported on Saturday. <=== The Swiss government prohibits countries that purchase Swiss arms from re-exporting them without permission. In February, the Swiss government refused to let Spain transfer Swiss-made anti-aircraft guns to Ukraine. (14:58 GMT) Swiss neutrality is more important than ever, President Alain Berset has said, defending the controversial ban on transferring Swiss-made arms to Ukraine. "Swiss weapons must not be used in wars," <=== he told the NZZ am Sonntag weekly. The long tradition of neutrality has been hotly debated since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Despite pressure from Kyiv and its allies, Switzerland has continued to block countries that hold Swiss-made weaponry from re-exporting it to Ukraine. To date, requests from Germany, Spain and Denmark have been rejected under the War Materiel Act, which bars all re-export if the recipient country is in an international armed conflict. (15:28 GMT) Amnesty International has criticised Saudi Aramco's "record" profits, which the company said totalled $161.1bn last year. "It is shocking for a company to make a profit of more than $161 billion in a single year through the sale of fossil fuel - the single largest driver of the climate crisis," Agnes Callamard, secretary-general of Amnesty International, said in a statement. <=== "It is all the more shocking because this surplus was amassed during a global cost-of-living crisis and aided by the increase in energy prices resulting from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine." Global energy prices surged after Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Saudi Aramco - a mostly state-owned energy giant, and the world's second most valuable company behind Apple - said in a filing with the Saudi stock market that net income for 2022 was up 46 percent from $110bn in 2021. The results, the strongest since Aramco became a listed company in 2019, were "predominantly due to the impact of higher crude oil prices and volumes sold, and stronger refining margins," it said. (16:34 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Ukraine will fight on in the city of Bakhmut, comparing the Russians' advance to a thief breaking into one's house and trying to "steal everything". (16:56 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has tweeted about holding talks today with the Czech Republic's new President Petr Pavel. 20230313 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/13/ukraine-is-worlds-third-largest-arms-importer-sipri-says Countries in Europe have sharply increased their imports of major weapons in response to tensions with Russia, a prominent think tank has said, with Ukraine emerging as the world's third-largest arms importer. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in a new report on Monday, said European states bucked global trends and increased their imports of major arms by 47 percent in the five-year period between 2018 and 2022. The US, France and South Korea were the biggest suppliers to NATO states in Europe over the past five years, while the US, Poland, Germany and the United Kingdom supplied the most weapons to Ukraine last year. Many of the arms supplied to Ukraine, however, were second-hand items from existing stocks. They included some 228 artillery pieces and an estimated 5,000 guided artillery rockets from the US, 280 tanks from Poland and more than 7,000 anti-tank missiles from the UK, SIPRI said. The war in Ukraine also had a limited impact on the total volume of arms in the past five-year period, it added. Meanwhile, although the level of US arms exports to Ukraine saw a sharp increase, it was still below the levels Washington sent to four other states last year - Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Japan, SIPRI said. This is because US supplies to Ukraine involved relatively less advanced and mainly second-hand military equipment, while the other four states received advanced new weapons, such as combat aircraft and air defence systems. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/13/russia-ukraine-live-situation-in-bakhmut-very-tough-wagner (10:27 GMT) At least one person was wounded in the Russian region of Belgorod after Russian forces shot down four missiles, the region's governor said. "At this time, one person is known to have been injured," Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Telegram. "There is also damage from rocket debris in two residential buildings." Belgorod, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, has repeatedly come under fire since the beginning of the Ukraine war. (10:27 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping is planning to travel to Moscow to meet his Russian counterpart as soon as next week, people familiar with the matter told the Reuters news agency. China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and the Kremlin declined to comment. (10:29 GMT) One of President Vladimir Putin's top allies doubts that a pro-Ukrainian group blew up the Nord Stream gas pipelines last year. Last week the New York Times reported that intelligence reviewed by US officials suggested that a pro-Ukraine group attacked the pipelines in September. Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev cast doubt on the report, questioning if such a group would have the capability to carry out sabotage. (10:52 GMT) The head of the Wagner mercenary force said in an interview published on Sunday that he had ambitions to turn his company into an "army with an ideology" that would fight for justice in Russia. "After the capture of Artyomovsk [Bakhmut], we will begin to reboot," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a clip posted on Telegram. "In particular, we will start recruiting new people from the regions." "The Wagner private military group must turn from just a private, the best, army in the world which is capable of defending the state, into an army with an ideology. And that ideology is the struggle for justice." (11:10 GMT) The Kremlin has not ruled out Russian President Vladimir Putin attending a summit of G20 leaders in September in New Delhi. Asked whether Putin will attend the Delhi summit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "It can't be ruled out. Russia continues to participate fully in the G20 framework. It intends to continue to do that. But no decision has been made yet." (11:25 GMT) The Russian diplomatic mission in Geneva says negotiations between United Nations officials and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin on a possible extension to the Black Sea grain deal have begun. But the deal is set to expire on March 18 if a renewal agreement is not reached beforehand. Moscow has already signalled that it will agree to an extension only if restrictions on its exports are lifted. (11:44 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russian forces have lost "more than 1,100" soldiers during the battle for Bakmut. In his nightly Telegram address, Zelenskyy said, "In less than a week, starting from 6th March, we managed to kill more than 1,100 enemy soldiers in the Bakhmut sector alone, Russia's irreversible loss, right there, near Bakhmut," He said Russian forces had also sustained 1,500 "sanitary losses" - soldiers wounded severely enough to keep them out of further action. (12:08 GMT) Asked about reports that India is abiding by a Western price cap on Russian oil exports, the Kremlin has said it would be guided by its contacts with India rather than by news reports. On Sunday, Bloomberg said India would not breach Western sanctions on Russian oil prices. India has significantly increased oil imports from Russia since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine. (12:26 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, Prigozhin has "likely lost access to recruiting in Russian prisons due to his ongoing disputes with the Russian MoD leadership". The Wagner mercenary group owner "is highly likely pivoting recruitment efforts towards free Russian citizens. Since the start of March 2023, Wagner has set up outreach teams based in sports centres in at least 40 locations across Russia," a ministry intelligence update said. The ministry said masked Wagner recruiters were seen in schools "distributing questionnaires entitled 'application of a young warrior'". (13:15 GMT) A senior Russian lawmaker has introduced a bill to change the age of compulsory military service to 21 to 30 years of age from the current 18 to 27 years. Andrey Kartapolov, a former general, introduced the bill. He is chairman of the State Duma's defence committee and represents the ruling United Russia bloc.Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu also plans to increase the number of serving combat personnel to 1.5 million from 1.15 million. (13:35 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 383 aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-383 (14:20 GMT) The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese leader Xi Jinping plans to speak with Zelenskyy for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine. People familiar with the proposed call said it would likely occur after Xi visits Moscow next week to meet with Putin and reflects Beijing's efforts to mediate the conflict. (14:52 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak has criticised the Academy Awards after Zelenskyy was not granted permission to send a video message to the ceremony. In a Twitter post, the adviser referenced the academy awarding a documentary about imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny and said: "If Oscar is outside of politics, how should we understand the documentary manifesto Navalny where internal Russian politics is overflowing?" "If Oscar is out of the context of the war in Ukraine & the mass genocide of Ukrainians, why do you constantly talk about humanism & justice?" he asked. (15:20 GMT) The International Criminal Court (ICC) is expected to seek arrest warrants against Russians involved in the conflict in Ukraine "in the short term", a source with knowledge of the matter tells the Reuters news agency. The ICC's prosecutor is expected to ask a judge to approve issuing warrants against several Russians for the abduction of children from Ukraine to Russia and the targeting of civilian infrastructure, the source said on the condition of anonymity. (15:46 GMT) Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has accused Zelenskyy of meddling in his country's political affairs by commenting on recent protests. The demonstrations were held against legislation that would have required all people, media and civil society organisations that received more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. During those rallies, Zelenskyy thanked protesters for waving Ukrainian flags, saying it showed respect, and wished Georgians "democratic success". "When a person who is at war ... responds to the destructive action of several thousand people here in Georgia, this is direct evidence that this person is involved, motivated to make something happen here too, to change," Garibashvili said in an interview with Georgian IMEDI television, referring to Zelenskyy. (16:06 GMT) Russia began the closed-door trial of opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who faces up to two decades in prison on treason charges for making comments critical of the Kremlin. Kara-Murza, 41, was charged over comments made at three public events abroad, his lawyer told the TASS news agency, insisting the words "did not pose any threat to the country". "A true Russian patriot, he stands accused of high treason for his tireless fight for a Putin-free Russia," his wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, wrote on social media. (16:51 GMT) Russia is not opposed to extending the Black Sea grain deal, but only for 60 days, the RIA Novosti news agency cited Russia's deputy foreign minister, Sergey Vershinin. (17:16 GMT) The UK's Royal Navy has said it is escorting a Russian frigate and tanker in waters close to the UK having shadowed the vessels through the Channel on Sunday morning. (17:25 GMT) Finland's prime minister has said that she was open to discussing giving fighter jets to Ukraine, despite facing criticism at home, as Kyiv has pleaded for more advanced weapons systems. While Finland is currently operating a fleet of F/A-18 Hornet jets, it announced in December 2021 that it was ordering 64 F-35A multi-role fighter jets from US contractor Lockheed Martin. "We have new F35 fighters coming... When these old Hornets are decommissioned, we can discuss their future use," Prime Minister Sanna Marin told reporters. However, while Finland plans to replace the jets - the model of which entered into production in the 1980s - the new aircraft are not due to arrive until 2025. (17:51 GMT) Ukrainian soldiers have wrapped up a four-week training course in Spain on how to operate the Leopard 2 tanks Western allies have agreed to deliver to help Kyiv fight Russian forces, the Spanish government has said. The 55 Ukrainian trainees arrived mid-February in Spain and are scheduled to fly to Poland on Wednesday as they start to make their way back to Ukraine and the front line, government sources said. They have been training 12 hours a day, six days a week, at a Spanish military base in the northeastern city of Zaragoza, Captain Contreras, who declined to give his first name, told reporters Monday during a tour of the San Gregorio training military camp. (17:59 GMT) Russia's position to extend grain deal 'only for 60 days contradicts document' signed by Turkey, UN: Ukraine Russia's position to extend the Black Sea grain deal "only for 60 days contradicts the document" signed by Turkey and the United Nations, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration Oleksandr Kubrakov has said. (18:04 GMT) The United Kingdom has detailed plans to bolster military and security spending to confront the "epoch-defining challenge" posed by China while also countering Russia, as London updated its strategic foreign and defence policy. In a "refresh" of the so-called Integrated Review, the UK government identified "the threat posed by Russia to European security" as the most pressing short- to medium-term priority. But the 63-page report - compiled after months of work across government - also labelled China a "systemic challenge with implications for almost every area of government policy". (19:10 GMT) Ukraine has not confirmed a call between Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to US national security adviser Jake Sullivan. Sullivan said Washington has been publicly and privately encouraging Xi to talk to Zelenskyy so that they hear "not just the Russian perspective" on the ongoing war. (19:13 GMT) US State Department spokesperson Ned Price has said it is a "critical moment" in negotiations on the UN-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Washington hopes will be extended before it expires on March 18. (19:24 GMT) The Biden administration is allowing thousands of Ukrainians who fled their homeland when Russia invaded a year ago to stay in the United States longer, the administration has said. The decision provides relief to Ukrainians whose one-year authorisation to remain in the US was set to expire soon. The Homeland Security Department said the extension is for certain Ukrainian nationals and their immediate family members who were let into the US before the Uniting for Ukraine program started. Ukrainians who came in under the Uniting for Ukraine program generally got two years of humanitarian "parole" in the US, whereas those who arrived before them generally got permission to stay only for one year. (20:05 GMT) The UN has affirmed its commitment to the Black Sea grain deal, saying its chief would do everything possible to preserve its "integrity" after Moscow floated renewing it for a shorter period. "The UN Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres] has confirmed that the UN will do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the Black Sea Grain Initiative and ensure its continuity," the UN said in a statement after a meeting in Geneva on its renewal. Russia is seeking a 60-day continuation of the deal, half the previous extension. (20:09 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says Kyiv's membership in the EU and NATO should not be seen as "charity" or a "payoff" but as something in the "best pragmatic interest of the European community". "The EU and NATO membership of Ukraine will guarantee long-term peace and stability," Kuleba said during a speech at the Oxford-Ukraine Summit in the UK. "On the other hand, adding more ambiguity would be incredibly reckless. Half-baked solutions like keeping Ukraine in the background or in the waiting room would invariably result in new Russian aggression, which is not in Europe's best interests." Kuleba argued that it is not necessary to consider what Russia says because Putin is "done" and the Kremlin has "laid out all of its cards on the desk". He also contended that Ukraine must triumph to ensure that Moscow is not rewarded for "what it has done". (20:23 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Ukraine's future depended on the outcome of battles in key points in the east of the country. 20230314 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/14/russia-ukraine-live-news-russia-does-not-recognise-icc-kremlin (10:26 GMT) Russia does not recognise the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court, the TASS news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. "We do not recognise this court, we do not recognise its jurisdiction," Peskov said. (10:28 GMT) The Kremlin says a peaceful resolution in Ukraine is impossible without considering the war's "new realities". Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia's position regarding ending hostilities was "well known". Moscow has repeatedly said Ukraine would need to accept the four regions it claims to have annexed as Russian territory. (10:28 GMT) Informal dialogue between the United Nations and parties to the Black Sea grains deal continues over an extension, a UN spokesperson said, adding that talks with Russia have ended. "The talks completed yesterday as agreed, but consultations continue with all parties," a spokesperson for the humanitarian office of the UN said in an emailed response to Reuters questions. Griffiths and top UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin in Geneva on Monday. Vershinin suggested renewing the deal for 60 days, or half the term of the last extension. (10:30 GMT) A senior diplomat says Moscow has not been informed about the progress of an investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline blasts and has handed in a report to prove this to the United Nations. Russia prepared an "official document" based on its correspondence with Denmark, Sweden and Germany, and has given copies to the UN Security Council and the UN General Assembly, said Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy UN ambassador. "The documents allow our colleagues at the UN to verify that the allegations that these countries have informed us of the progress of their investigations are not true," Polyanskiy said on Telegram. Denmark, Germany and Sweden told the Security Council in a joint letter in February that the "Russian authorities have been informed regarding the ongoing investigations" by their national authorities. (10:31 GMT) A senior Ukrainian government official said that Ukraine would stick to an agreement signed last year on a 120-day extension of the Black Sea grain deal. "We will follow the agreement strictly," the official anonymously told the Reuters news agency. Russia's TASS news agency cited Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko as saying the deal had been extended for 60 days. But Ukraine argues the July agreement clearly states that extensions are possible for a minimum of 120 days, and the original contract should be changed if parties want shortened terms. (11:07 GMT) Becoming "further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia" is not a vital US national interest, said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in comments released on Monday. On Monday, Fox News host Tucker Carlson posted on Twitter responses to a questionnaire from Republican presidential candidates and possible hopefuls on the war in Ukraine. "While the US has many vital national interests ... becoming further entangled in a territorial dispute between Ukraine and Russia is not one of them," DeSantis replied. "The Biden administration's virtual 'blank check' funding of this conflict for 'as long as it takes,' without any defined objectives or accountability, distracts from our country's most pressing challenges," he said. Public opinion polls show DeSantis as the most potent threat to former Republican President Donald Trump as the party's nomination for the 2024 presidential contest. (11:31 GMT) Russia's lower house of parliament, the State Duma, voted to approve an amendment that would punish those found guilty of discrediting "volunteer" groups fighting in Ukraine, extending a law that censors criticism of Russia's armed forces during the war. The amendment is seen as a move to "protect" fighters working for the private Wagner Group. Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin has welcomed the proposals. (11:55 GMT) In his Monday night address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in eastern Ukraine was "very tough" and "very painful". "As always, today I was in touch with our commanders and intelligence. It is very tough in the east, very painful. We need to destroy the enemy's military might, and we will," he said. (12:19 GMT) Russia says it has agreed to extend the Black Sea grain export deal out of "goodwill". Asked why Russia had extended the deal for 60 days as opposed to the 120-day period set out in the grain agreement, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow's decision was "a gesture of goodwill ... in the hope that after such a long time, the obligations that have been assumed will be fulfilled". Peskov criticised the West for not doing enough to remove obstacles to Russia's agricultural and fertiliser exports and said contacts over the deal would continue. He added: "It is obvious that the second part of the deal, which concerns us, has not yet been fulfilled. ... The deal cannot stand on one leg." (12:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 384 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-384 (13:00 GMT) Serbia is under pressure to impose sanctions on Russia, a spokesperson for Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs says after a Serbian minister said the country should join Western sanctions against Moscow. "Some strange position: America puts pressure on Serbia, and the Serbian minister calls for an action against Russia," Maria Zakharova wrote on Telegram. Serbia has repeatedly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine, but at the UN, it has resisted Western pressure to impose sanctions. On Monday, Rade Basta, Serbia's economy minister, said Belgrade was paying "a high price" for its refusal to join an international embargo against Russia. "Our country is already paying a high price for not imposing sanctions on Russia, and that is becoming unbearable," Basta wrote on his Instagram account. (14:04 GMT) Poland could dispatch fighter jets to Ukraine in four to six weeks, Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says. Poland has said it would be prepared to send Soviet-designed MiG-29 jets to Ukraine as part of a coalition of countries. However, Kyiv's allies are taking a cautious approach to the transfer of fighter jets, so it is unclear how long this might take. "That could happen in the coming four to six weeks," Morawiecki said at a news conference when asked how long it could be before Warsaw supplies the aircraft. (14:27 GMT) Russia is involved in a battle for its existence, President Vladimir Putin says during a visit to an aviation factory in the far eastern region of Buryatia. "For us, this is not a geopolitical task but a task of the survival of Russian statehood, creating conditions for the future development of the country and our children," he said. In response to a question about the economy, Putin said that since the West imposed unprecedented sanctions on Russia last year, the economy has proved more robust than expected. "We have increased our economic sovereignty many times over. After all, what did our enemy count on? That we would collapse in two to three weeks or in a month," he said. (14:52 GMT) The German military is suffering from a greater shortage of weapons and equipment than before Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the parliamentary commissioner for the armed forces says in her annual report. "The Bundeswehr has too little of everything, and it has even less since February 24, 2022," Eva Hoegl told reporters in Berlin. She denounced the government for being slow not only in spending but also in replenishing the military's stocks after rushing arms to Kyiv. "Our troops welcome the support for Ukraine although it tears big holes [into their stocks] when howitzers, multiple rocket launchers or Leopard tanks are handed over to Kyiv," Hoegl said, demanding orders to be placed more swiftly. (15:45 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged the British government to respect the "autonomy of sport" after an attempt to lobby sponsors against Russian and Belarusian athletes participating at next year's Paris Games. Last week, United Kingdom Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer wrote a letter to 13 of the biggest Olympic sponsors, urging them to pressure the IOC to abandon its plan to allow Russian and Belarusian competitors. "It is not up to governments to decide which athletes can participate in which international competitions," the IOC argued. "This would be the end of world sport as we know it today." (16:13 GMT) Hungary's parliament will postpone a vote on ratifying the NATO accession bids of Sweden and Finland following a proposal from a senior government official. In a letter published Tuesday by the Hungarian news website hvg.hu, Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjen requested that a parliamentary session scheduled to begin on March 20 be postponed to a week later. (16:41 GMT) The Netherlands will give Ukraine two minesweepers, drone radar and an M3 amphibious bridge-building system, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren says in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa. Ollongren spoke at a news conference with her Ukrainian counterpart, Oleksii Reznikov. The two minesweepers are to be delivered to Ukraine in 2025 because the ships are intended to look for mines in the Black Sea after the war. The Netherlands, Belgium and possibly other allies are to train Ukrainian crews on how to use the minesweepers starting in the second half of this year. (17:19 GMT) A Russian Su-27 jet fighter has collided with an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea, the US military's European Command said. <=== "Our MQ-9 aircraft was conducting routine operations in international airspace when it was intercepted and hit by a Russian aircraft, resulting in a crash and complete loss of the MQ-9," said US air force General James Hecker, commander of US Air Forces Europe and Air Forces Africa. The US military said the incident followed a pattern of dangerous behaviour by Russian pilots operating near aircraft flown by the US and its allies, including over the Black Sea. (17:25 GMT) White House National Security spokesman John Kirby has said that an incident over the Black Sea in which a Russian Su-27 fighter jet struck the propeller of a US military "Reaper" surveillance drone was noteworthy. While there have been other such intercepts, this one was "unsafe and unprofessional" and caused the downing of a US aircraft. "So it's unique in that regard," Kirby said. US President Joe Biden was briefed about the incident, the spokesman said, which was condemned as "reckless" by the US military. (17:49 GMT) NATO's top military commander has informed allies about an incident over the Black Sea involving a Russian fighter jet and a US military drone, a NATO official has said. "General [Christopher] Cavoli has briefed NATO allies on the incident today," the official told Reuters. (17:56 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that last year's blasts on the Nord Stream gas pipelines had been carried out on a "state level", dismissing the idea an autonomous pro-Ukraine group was responsible as "complete nonsense". "The terrorist act, quite obviously, was committed at the state level, because no amateurs can commit such an action," Putin said, according to state media. (A New York Times report last week suggested that new US intelligence indicated a pro-Ukraine group was behind the explosions on the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany on September 26.) (18:35 GMT) The United States has summoned Russia's ambassador to protest the crash of an American drone over the Black Sea after a Russian warplane collided with it, the State Department has said. "We are summoning the Russian ambassador to the State Department," spokesman Ned Price told reporters. (18:40 GMT) A Russian fighter jet dumped fuel on an American drone over the Black Sea then collided with it, causing the drone to crash, the US military said. US European Command said two Russian Su-27 fighters intercepted the unmanned MQ-9 Reaper over international waters and one clipped its propeller. "Several times before the collision, the Su-27s dumped fuel on and flew in front of the MQ-9 in a reckless, environmentally unsound and unprofessional manner," it said. (18:54 GMT) Two Russian Su-27 jets carried out what the US military described as a reckless intercept of the American spy drone at 7:03 am [06:03 GMT] on Tuesday. Al Jazeera's Washington correspondent Shihab Rattansi said the international waters above the Black Sea where the US drone was flying was "clearly a sensitive area" for Russia. "The Russians feel this is their sphere of influence and it's actually pretty common to have that kind of shadowing between adversarial fighter jets, aircrafts and drones in this area and in others around the world," Rattansi said. "What is different is this collision. Rattansi said that a US military statement put emphasis on the lack of competence on Moscow's part, implying that the collision might have been accidental. "But then the statement does go on to warn Russia against aggressive action and unintended escalation, which is why we are all concerned about incidents like this," he said. (18:57 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its fighter jets did not come into contact with a US drone that crashed into the Black Sea earlier, claiming instead that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crashed due to "sharp manoeuvring". "The Russian fighters did not use their onboard weapons, did not come into contact with the UAV and returned safely to their home airfield," the defence ministry said. (19:14 GMT) State Department spokesman Ned Price has said the downing of an American drone while in international airspace near Crimea was a "brazen violation of international law." He said the US summoned the Russian ambassador to lodge a protest and the US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, has made similar representations in Moscow. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said the US has been flying over that airspace for a year, and "we're going to continue to do that." "We don't need to have some sort of check-in with the Russians before we fly in international airspace. There's no requirement to do that nor do we do it," Kirby added. (19:31 GMT) The United States military was forced to crash its MQ-9 Reaper surveillance drone because of the damage caused when it was struck by a Russian jet, the Pentagon has said. "Because of the damage, we were in a position to have to essentially crash into the Black Sea," Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters, adding that the drone was unflyable after the damage. Ryder said Russia had not recovered the crashed drone at this point. (19:49 GMT) US Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer calls the incident that led to the crash of a US Reaper surveillance drone "another reckless act" by Putin and his military. "I want to tell Mr. Putin stop this behaviour before you are the reason for an unintended escalation," the leader of the Democratic Party majority in the Senate said in remarks to the chamber. (20:15 GMT) Al Jazeera's Washington correspondent Shihab Rattansi says it is unclear whether the United States predator drone that crashed in the Black Sea was armed or on an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) mission. "There are questions over whether there was sensitive equipment on this drone" and whether the US was able to retrieve it or whether Russia was in possession of it, Rattansi said. The Pentagon is currently going through the process of declassifying the images of the incident, which could potentially be released, the correspondent added. (20:43 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Germany's response to the explosion of the North Sea pipelines showed the country remained "occupied" and unable to act independently, decades after its surrender at the end of World War II. Western countries, including Germany, have reacted cautiously to investigations into the blasts that hit Russia's Nord Stream gas pipelines last year, saying they believed them to be a deliberate act but declining to say who they thought was responsible. "The matter is that European politicians have said themselves publicly that after World War II, Germany was never a fully sovereign state," Russian news agencies quoted Putin as telling the state Rossiya-1 TV channel. "The Soviet Union at one point withdrew its forces and ended what amounted to an occupation of the country. But that, as is well known, was not the case with the Americans. They continue to occupy Germany." 20230315 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/15/russia-ukraine-live-news-us-says-russian-jets-caused-drone-crash (01:36 GMT) Al Jazeera's Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington DC, said that comments by the Russian ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, on the drone crash appeared to be more of a "justification than a denial". The ambassador's comments were also at variance with the Russian foreign ministry, which said that its jets were not the reason for the drone going down. "But there we heard from the Russian ambassador implying that it was justified - the Russian action - because the drone was too close to what he defines as Russian territory, which is the Crimean coast," Hanna said. "However, on the record, the Russian foreign ministry statement still stands. It's rejected by the United States, which has sharply criticised the incident." Given the ongoing tension between Moscow and Washington over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Hanna said the drone incident was "potentially very serious". "Any incident like this with the situation as tenuous as it is, is a problem for both sides. But what we are seeing here is an attempt perhaps by both sides not to allow the situation to escalate further," Hanna said. (02:06 GMT) The MQ-9 Reaper drone is a large, unmanned US Air Force aircraft remotely operated by a two-person team. It includes a ground control station and satellite equipment and has a 20-meter wingspan. Used routinely during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for surveillance and air attacks, the Reaper can be either armed or unarmed. It can carry up to eight laser-guided missiles, including Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated munitions, and can loiter over targets for about 24 hours. Eg: GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. It is about 11 metres, 3.6 metres high and weighs about 12,200 kg. It can fly at an altitude of up to 15 km and has a range of about 2,500 km (1,400 nautical miles). The Reaper's operations team includes a rated pilot responsible for flying the aircraft and an enlisted aircrew member charged with operating the sensors and guiding weapons. The Reaper, which first began operating in 2007, replaced the US Air Force's smaller Predator drones. Each Reaper costs about $32 million. (02:32 GMT) This is not the first time Russian planes have flown so close to US aircraft that the Pentagon has responded with public condemnations. Military intercepts - either in the air or at sea - are routine and have happened a number of times with Russian and US aircraft in the Black Sea and in the Pacific, particularly in the north. In 2020, Russian jets crossed in front of a US B-52 bomber that was flying over the Black Sea, and flew as close as 30 meters in front of the bomber's nose, causing turbulence. In 2021, Russian warplanes buzzed the USS Donald Cook, a Navy destroyer, which had been taking part in a major exercise in the Black Sea. Last month, US fighter jets intercepted two Russian TU-95 bombers in international airspace off Alaska's coast, and "escorted them" for 12 minutes, according to the Pentagon. Unlike an unmanned drone, the deliberate downing of a crewed aircraft - injuring or killing crew members - could be considered an act of war. (03:25 GMT) Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said the downed US drone was flying with its transponders - which allows identification of an aircraft - switched off and was moving "deliberately and provocatively towards" Russian territory. "The unacceptable actions of the United States military in the close proximity to our borders are cause for concern. We are well aware of the missions such reconnaissance and strike drones are used for," the ambassador to the US said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday. US drone flights in the region gather intelligence "which is later used by the Kiev regime to attack our armed forces and territory", he said. (03:39 GMT) The United Kingdom's Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has urged Moscow to respect international airspace after the US military drone crashed into the Black Sea following an intercept by Russian fighter jets. (03:52 GMT) Australia's defence minister Richard Marles has accused Russia of "not playing by the rules" after the US drone crashed into the Black Sea. "Russia has much explaining to do," he said. (04:41 GMT) The US has not yet recovered the crashed Reaper drone and neither had Russia, the US Air Forces in Europe said in a statement. US officials declined to say whether any effort was under way to gather debris or pieces of the MQ-9 Reaper, valued at more than $30m. Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said the Russian Su-27 aircraft involved in the incident appeared to have been damaged, but it did land, although Ryder would not say where. This is not the first US Reapers have been lost in recent years, including to hostile fire. One was shot down in 2019 over Yemen with a surface-to-air missile, the US Central Command said at the time. According to media reports, a US MQ-9 Reaper crashed in Libya in 2022, while another went down during a training exercise in Romania earlier in the same year. (05:44 GMT) Commenting on the incident, Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, said it was a "very sensitive stage in this conflict because it really is the first direct contact that the public knows about between the West and Russia." (07:06 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United States has called on Washington to stop "hostile" flights near his country's border, after an American drone was intercepted by Russian fighters over the Black Sea. "We assume that the United States will refrain from further speculation in the media and stop flights near Russian borders," ambassador Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram. "We consider any action with the use of US weaponry as openly hostile." (08:02 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed the governors of three regions: Luhansk in the east, Odessa on the Black Sea in the south and Khmelnytskyi in the west. No reason was given in the announcement by the government's parliamentary representative. (08:05 GMT) The Danish government and a broad majority of parties in Denmark's parliament have agreed to establish a fund of 7 billion Danish crowns ($1.01 billion) for civil, military and business aid to Ukraine, the finance ministry has said. (09:10 GMT) Russia has proposed suspending its double taxation agreements with what it calls "unfriendly countries", those that have imposed sanctions on Moscow, the Finance Ministry said. "The Russian Finance Ministry and Foreign Ministry proposed that the President of Russia issue a decree suspending double taxation agreements with all countries that introduced unilateral economic restrictive measures against Russia," it said (09:36 GMT) Turkey plans to approve Finland's NATO bid, independently from Sweden's, two Turkish officials told the Reuters news agency. The Turkish parliament is highly likely to ratify Finland's NATO membership before it closes in mid-April for elections, the officials said. (09:49 GMT) Russia's oil export revenue sank by 42 percent in February as Kyiv-allied countries tightened sanctions, the International Energy Agency said. The country earned $11.6 billion from its oil exports last month after the European Union imposed a ban on Russian petroleum products alongside a price cap agreed with the Group of Seven and Australia. (10:13 GMT) Turkey is monitoring closely the developments on US military drone crash in the Black Sea after it was intercepted by Russian jets, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was reported as saying by Demiroren news agency. Akar also said they had made several contacts about the incident without giving details, the Demiroren agency reported. (10:35 GMT) Russia says its forces have shot down three missiles over the southern border region of Belgorod. "Three missiles were shot down by the air defence system over Belgorod and the Belgorodsky district," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram. "Debris hit Belgorod's residential sector. There is damage." Belgorod Mayor Valentin Demidov said nine homes and four apartment buildings had been damaged by debris late on Tuesday but no one had been hurt. (11:20 GMT) Relations with the US are in a "lamentable state" and at their lowest level, the Kremlin says after Washington accused Russia of downing one of its Reaper drones. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters there had been no high-level contacts with Washington over the incident but said Russia would never refuse to engage in constructive dialogue. (11:44 GMT) Ukraine may defend a $3bn eurobond lawsuit brought by Russia on the basis that it was forced to assume the debt in 2013 because of threats of force from Moscow, the UK's top court has ruled. The long-awaited ruling on the lawsuit, which was brought in 2016 and long predates Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, paves the way for a full trial of Ukraine's case. It concerns billions of dollars that pro-Russian former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich borrowed from Moscow months before mass protests forced him out of office in 2014 and before Russia annexed Crimea later that year. Zelenskyy hailed the ruling as a "decisive victory" on Twitter. (12:19 GMT) US officials have told Russia's ambassador to the US that Moscow has to be more careful when flying in international airspace, White House spokesman John Kirby says. The Department of State summoned Ambassador Anatoly Antonov for the first time since the war in Ukraine began to express concerns over the crash of a US drone over the Black Sea. Washington says the crash occurred after Russian fighter jets dumped fuel on the drone and clipped its propeller. "The message that we delivered to the Russian ambassador is that they need to be more careful in flying in international airspace near US assets that are, again, flying in completely legal ways, conducting missions in support of our national security interests," Kirby said in an interview with CNN. "They're the ones that need to be more careful," he said. Kirby added that the MQ-9 surveillance drone had not been recovered and may never be, given the depth of the Black Sea where it went down. (12:49 GMT) Pope Francis calls for respect of religious sites in Ukraine as the Russian-aligned Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) faces eviction. Ukrainian authorities have given the church a March 29 deadline to vacate its headquarters in the historic Kyiv Pechersk Lavra complex in the latest move against a church that the government says is pro-Russian and collaborating with Moscow. Referring specifically to the Lavra monastery, Francis asked "the warring parties to respect religious sites" and praised people who devote their lives to prayer, "be they of whatever denomination". On March 11, Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church and supporter of Russia's invasion, asked Francis and other religious leaders to persuade Ukraine to stop its crackdown against the UOC. (13:13 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 385 aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-385 (13:32 GMT) The Ukraine war has brought the world to a standstill when urgent action is needed to address growing global poverty, India's Group of 20 (G20) summit negotiator Amitabh Kant has said. Kant's comments came after the war overshadowed two G20 ministerial meetings in India in the last three weeks. "Europe cannot bring growth, poverty, global debt, all developmental issues to a standstill across the world," Kant told reporters. "Especially when the south is suffering, especially when 75 countries are suffering from global debt, especially when one-third of the world is in recession, especially when 200 million people have gone below [the] poverty line. Can that one war bring the entire world to a standstill?" "Nutrition has been impacted, health outcomes have been impacted, learning outcomes have been impacted, people have become stunted and wasted, and we are just concerned with one Russia and Ukraine war," Kant said. (14:07 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed his gratitude to Denmark after the Danish government said it would create a fund of 7 billion Danish kroner ($1bn) for military, civilian and business aid to Ukraine. (14:28 GMT) Russia has said it will try to retrieve the remains of a United States military surveillance drone that fell into the Black Sea. Kremlin Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev told the Rossiya 1 TV channel: "I don't know whether we will be able to retrieve it or not, but that it has to be done. And we'll certainly work on it. I hope, of course, successfully." [Used routinely during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars for surveillance and air attacks, the Reaper can be either armed or unarmed. <=== It can carry up to eight laser-guided missiles, including Hellfire missiles and other sophisticated munitions, and can loiter over targets for about 24 hours. For example: GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided munitions and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles. ] "Secondly, regarding the drone - the Americans keep saying they're not taking part in military operations. This is the latest confirmation that they are directly participating in these activities - in the war," he said. <=== (14:47 GMT) The German government has called on Moscow to extend the Black Sea grain deal beyond 60 days. Speaking at a regular news conference, a spokesperson said the deal should continue indefinitely. (15:18 GMT) Syrian President Bashar al-Assad expressed his support for Russia in the war in Ukraine during talks with his Russian counterpart at the Kremlin. In a televised meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Assad said Russia was fighting neo-Nazis and "old Nazis" in Ukraine, according to a Russian translation. The Syrian leader said the West had taken in "old Nazis" and was now supporting them. He added that he envisaged tangible economic results as the pair spoke ahead of formal talks that Syrian officials hope will bring more Russian investments to help support the country. Russia's military support for al-Assad was a crucial turning point in the brutal civil war in 2011, which had begun as a pro-democracy movement. (15:47 GMT) Russia's ambassador to the United States said he had told Washington that Russia would "no longer allow anybody to violate our waters", the TASS news agency reported. (16:15 GMT) Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Russians should be allowed to criticise top military commanders and that only ordinary soldiers were beyond criticism. "I think that the law against discrediting should not apply to the command staff, that is me, the minister of defence, and other leaders who make or can make mistakes during a special military operation," Prigozhin said on Telegram, referring to Moscow's assault on Ukraine. "Society should say what it deems necessary about them," he said. "Only the soldier is sacred. So soldiers should be left alone." Prigozhin has been involved in a power struggle with the defence ministry and accused the military of not sharing ammunition. (16:40 GMT) US State Department spokesperson Ned Price told MSNBC that a US military surveillance drone's crash into the Black Sea was likely an unintentional act from Russia's side. Moscow warned Washington on Wednesday to keep away from its air space after the incident from a day earlier. (17:13 GMT) The International Monetary Fund says its staff held productive talks with Ukrainian officials in Warsaw, and made "very good progress" on a set of policies that could underpin a new IMF lending program for the war-torn country. Vahram Stepanyan, the IMF resident representative to Ukraine, said IMF staff met with Ukrainian officials in Warsaw from March 8-15 on their request for a Fund-supported program, and the discussions should be concluded in the "coming days." (17:41 GMT) The United States is "ignoring" the fact that Russia had established air space restrictions around the Black Sea, Russian top diplomat Sergey Lavrov has said. In an interview on state TV, Lavrov said Russia established limits on flights in the region after the start of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, a fact the US was well aware of. His comment came after Washington accused Moscow of crashing one of its military surveillance drone - a case that US Secretary of State Blinken said was being investigated. (18:06 GMT) Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke over the phone with his US counterpart Lloyd Austin, the Russian Defense Ministry said as reported by Interfax state-run media. The conversation took place "at the initiative of the American side", it added. While no details were provided on what was discussed, the call comes as Washington and Moscow are ramping up their confrontational rhetoric over a US surveillance drone that was downed by Russian warplanes near Crimea. (18:39 GMT) The US will continue to fly wherever international law allows, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin told reporters, after speaking with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. "I just got off the phone with my Russian counterpart, Minister Shoigu," Austin said at a Pentagon press briefing. "As I've said repeatedly, it's important that great powers be models of transparency and communication, and the United States will continue to fly and to operate wherever international law allows." The US has said it was working on declassifying surveillance footage from the drone that would show Tuesday's crash. (19:13 GMT) Russia is making small advances near the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, but this was coming at a great cost, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told reporters. (20:01 GMT) Canada is sending more military assistance to Ukraine, the country's Defence Minister Anita Anand has said during a US-hosted Defense Contact Group in support of Kyiv. Canada will donate about 8,000 rounds of 155mm ammunition, as well as 12 air defence missiles sourced from the Canadian Armed Forces' (CAF) inventory, read a statement from the Canadian Defence Ministry. The shipments of four Leopard 2 battle tanks are under way, added the report. Canada has committed eight Leopard 2 main battle tanks to Ukraine in total, four of which have already been delivered to Poland with a team of CAF personnel training Ukrainian soldiers on their use, the ministry said. All of the tanks - as well as the previously announced armoured recovery vehicle, ancillary equipment, and ammunition donated by Canada - are expected to be in Ukraine in the coming weeks. (20:26 GMT) The US's "increased" intelligence gathering against Russia had led to a drone incident, the Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said after a phone call with his American counterpart. It's Washington's "increased intelligence activities against the interests of the Russian Federation" as well as the "non-compliance with the restricted flight zone" declared by Moscow that have led to an incident with an American drone, the defence ministry said in a statement. The US insists that its MQ-9 "Reaper" drone was flying in international airspace - a claim disputed by Moscow which says that it intruded into an area declared off limits by Russian authorities. (20:31 GMT) Russia says that it would react "proportionately" to any future US "provocations" as tensions raged over the drone incident. "Flights of American strategic unmanned aerial vehicles off the coast of Crimea are provocative in nature, which creates pre-conditions for an escalation of the situation in the Black Sea zone," the Russian defence ministry said. "Russia is not interested in such a development of events, but it will continue to respond proportionately to all provocations." (20:43 GMT) There has been a lot of talking over Tuesday's collision between a Russian Su-27 fighter jet and a US military "Reaper" surveillance drone. So what is a MQ-9 "Reaper" drone? Here's a few basic information from the Air Force and its maker, General Atomics. * The MQ-9 "Reaper" unmanned aerial vehicle can loiter at up to 50,000 feet for more than 27 hours, gathering intelligence with sophisticated cameras, sensors and radars. It has a 66 foot wingspan, a Honeywell engine, can carry 3,900 pounds of fuel and travel at a speed of 240 knots 'true air speed'. * The Reaper, which was delivered to the Air Force 16 years ago, can also be equipped with weapons such as air-to-ground missiles. What are the advantages of drones? * Drones are generally less expensive than manned aircraft with similar capabilities, and are safer for operators since they do not require a pilot. Unlike most other aircraft, drones can loiter for hours gathering intelligence material. * They cost about $3,500 per flight hour, compared to about $8,000 per flight hour to operate, for example, an F-16, according to General Atomics. Can an MQ-9 defend itself? * General Atomics says the MQ-9 has "demonstrated an air-to-air weapons capability" in Air Force tests. * It can also be equipped with a "Self Protect Pod" that can detect threats and deploy countermeasures against surface-to-air weapons. 20230316 (12:04 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says Russia is facing a "sanctions war" in his first primary address to the country's business elite since the war began a year ago. Putin said Russia was swiftly reorienting its economy towards countries that had not hit Russia with sanctions and thanked business leaders for working to help the Russian state. He also urged Russia's billionaires and business elite to invest in new technology, production facilities and enterprises to help Russia overcome what he said were Western attempts to destroy its economy. (12:27 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official says Ukraine's efforts to ensure it receives compensation from Russia are being hampered by concerns about the legal precedents. Kyiv is trying to secure an international agreement for Russian assets frozen by other countries amounting to billions of dollars to be transferred to Ukraine to help rebuild the country. Deputy Justice minister Iryna Mudra said some countries were worried about setting a precedent that would risk their assets by exposing them to compensation demands over past conflicts. "We have no option but to make Russia pay reparations. If it doesn't do it voluntarily, [let's] fill a [compensation] fund with Russian money, foreign exchange reserves, Russian assets," Mudra told Reuters in an interview this week. "They [some countries] are afraid that a precedent could be set ... that their foreign assets could be affected." (13:02 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 386 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-386 (13:26 GMT) Al Jazeera's defence editor, Alex Gatopoulos, says the incident between a US reconnaissance drone and Russian fighter jets is the latest in a long line of confrontations "where militaries take a dim view of their adversaries snooping on them". "Russia has been very clear that it will not allow NATO aircraft to operate so close to its area of military operations," he said. But the incident, Gatopoulos explained, highlighted two things: first that "the dumping of fuel onto the drone would never have been done to a manned aircraft" and, second, that these types of drones, "the US MQ-9 Reaper, Turkey's Bayraktar TB-2 and China's Wing Loong 2, are useful tools for tracking and destroying insurgents with no means to retaliate". "A new generation of armed drones is coming online that will be able to survive operating against a near-peer adversary like Russia in a highly contested airspace like those that border the Ukrainian coast," he said. "The age of the unmanned fighter jet is upon us." (14:53 GMT) Senior Chinese diplomat Qin Gang told Ukraine's foreign minister during a phone call that Beijing is concerned about an escalation of the war and wants Moscow and Kyiv to hold peace talks. "China hopes that all parties will remain calm, rational and restrained and resume peace talks as soon as possible," Qin told Dmytro Kuleba, according to a Chinese foreign ministry statement. China, which has refrained from condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, has urged both sides to agree to a gradual de-escalation in a 12-point paper on the "political resolution of the Ukraine crisis". (15:10 GMT) An agreement guaranteeing the safe export of grain from several of Ukraine's Black Sea ports calls for a 120-day extension, the United Nations says. "For us, the text in the agreement is clear, and it calls for a 120-day rollover," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters when asked about remarks by Turkey. On Wednesday, Turkey said it would continue talks to extend the deal for 120 days rather than 60 days, which Russia had suggested this week. The grain deal, which was brokered with Russia and Ukraine by the UN and Turkey in July, will expire on Saturday Mar18 if it is not renewed. (15:33 GMT) Western nations are debating whether to send fighter jets to Ukraine, Denmark's prime minister tells Danish TV2. "This is something we're discussing in the group of allied countries," Mette Frederiksen said. "It's a big wish from Ukraine." Earlier on Thursday, Poland announced it would send four MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, which would make it the first of Kyiv's allies to do so. (16:04 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, says the US will continue flying drones over the Black Sea despite the concern of escalation with Russia. "The military says that these are surveillance flights that are being conducted legally, lawfully and consistent with international law over international waters in international airspace, but the position of the Russian military is that this is becoming provocative, that this is aggressive, so this is what is causing so much tension between the superpowers," she said. But the incident has exposed "very dangerous high-risk escalations in hostilities", she added, "What we know is that both sides are now accusing the other of provocations, and the big concern in all of this is the threat of retaliation on both sides." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1foGrFMVGrY (16:32 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says he emphasised the importance of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's peace plan during a phone call with his Chinese counterpart. "During my call with China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang today, we discussed the significance of the principle of territorial integrity," Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. "I underscored the importance of Zelenskyy's Peace Formula for ending the aggression and restoring just peace in Ukraine." (17:24 GMT) Russia's Orthodox leader and staunch Kremlin ally Patriarch Kirill has denounced the looming eviction of monks from a monastery in Kyiv over its links to Russia. Ukraine last week announced the termination of the lease that allowed the church to occupy part of the 11th-century Pechersk monastery free of charge, but the monks said they would not move. "The state's ultimatum over the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra represents a monstrous act," Kirill said in a video statement. Ukrainian media has reported that the monks were given an eviction deadline of March 29. (17:35 GMT) The White House says talks between Zelenskyy and Chinese leader Xi Jinping would be a "good thing," but warned Beijing against taking a "one-sided" view of the conflict. "We think it would be a very good thing if the two of them talk," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters when asked about a Wall Street Journal report that the Ukrainian leader is set to talk with Xi for the first time since Chinese-ally Russia invaded. "We support and have supported" contact, Kirby said. But he cautioned against a Chinese push for a ceasefire in Ukraine, saying it would simply help Russian aggression. There has been no confirmation of a call to Zelenskyy by Xi. However, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang and his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba talked by phone Thursday. (17:44 GMT) A ceasefire in Ukraine would only serve to "ratify" Russia's territorial gains against its eastern European neighbour, the White House has said. The comments come after China unveiled a 12-point proposal to end the war, which calls for negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv and a nationwide ceasefire. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that while the "much ballyhooed" proposal from Beijing to halt hostilities "sounds perfectly reasonable," it would ultimately lead to legitimising Russia's territorial gains, and "would constitute another continued violation of the UN Charter." "A ceasefire right now would basically ratify Russia's conquest. It would, in effect, recognise Russia's gains, and all of its attempts to conquer a neighbour's territory by force," he told reporters during a virtual briefing. (17:49 GMT) Switzerland's parliament has approved a bill allowing for the prosecution of the perpetrators of crimes of aggression under the country's own national legislation, a power it had not previously had. The bill's approval comes hours after a United Nations investigative body said it had found "reasonable grounds" to conclude that Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its attacks against the Ukrainian armed forces qualified as acts of aggression. The crime of aggression is broadly defined as the invasion of, or attempt to gain political and military control over, another sovereign state. "Switzerland's adoption of crime of aggression in its legislation would allow it to step up the fight against impunity for the gravest crimes under international law," the parliament said in a statement after the bill was passed with 127 votes in favour and 53 against. The legislation brings Swiss law closer into line with amendments passed to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. (17:55 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says that Moscow requested an explanation from Washington regarding its involvement in the explosions in the Nord Stream gas pipelines. During a news briefing in Moscow, Zakharova told Anadolu Agency that the explanations were demanded publicly and in a statement regarding the incident published on the ministry's website on February 21. "We have repeatedly spoken publicly, including to American representatives about this. And our comment of February 21 contains the following quote: 'It was emphasised from the Russian side that the US should give explanations about the explosions on the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines, and not interfere with an objective investigation to identify the perpetrators.' Therefore, the short answer is yes," she said. (18:32 GMT) A majority in Switzerland now support closer ties with NATO, the government has said, a first in the country known for military neutrality. The Swiss Military Academy and the Centre for Security Studies - both attached to ETH Zurich University - publish an annual survey of public opinion on foreign, security and defence policy issues, to evaluate long-term trends. It showed that in January 2023, 55 percent of the Swiss population favoured closer ties with NATO - up 10 percentage points from the January 2021 survey. "It is the first time that a small majority of the population has been of this opinion," the defence ministry said in a statement. "Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the Swiss have become more pessimistic about the future of our country and the world. They also now take a more critical look at neutrality and declare themselves ready for more cooperation," it concluded. (18:47 GMT) The White House says it believes the United States has sufficient resources to support Ukraine through the end of this fiscal year. (18:50 GMT) Poland's move to become the first country to send MiG-29 warplanes to Ukraine does not alter the US's decision against sending its own fighter aircraft to Kyiv, the White House has said. "It doesn't change our calculus with regards to F-16s," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, referring to the US-built fighter jet. Poland's move "does not affect, does not change" that, he said. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking to reporters on a visit to Niger, alluded to the heavy costs of US fighter jets. "I think it's a mistake to get focused on any particular weapons system at any given time," Blinken said. He said it was important "not only making sure that the Ukrainians have the right weapons system, but that they can use it". (19:01 GMT) Russian attacks against civilians in Ukraine, including systematic torture and killing in occupied regions, amount to war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity, according to a report by a United Nations-backed inquiry. Among potential crimes against humanity, the report cited repeated attacks targeting Ukrainian infrastructure that left hundreds of thousands without heat and electricity during the coldest months, as well as the "systematic and widespread" use of torture across multiple regions under Russian occupation. "There were elements of planning and availability of resources which indicate that the Russian authorities may have committed torture as crimes against humanity," said Erik Møse, a former Norwegian Supreme Court and European Court of Human Rights judge who led the investigation. (19:19 GMT) The United States has indications that Russia is likely trying to recover debris from a downed US drone, the Pentagon has said, even as it played down Moscow's prospects for success. "We do have indications that Russia is likely making an effort to try to recover MQ-9 debris ... however, we assess it's very unlikely that they would be able to recover anything useful," said Brigadier General Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesperson. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Russian ships had been seen near the area where the drone had crashed, though they did not appear to have recovered any parts of the drone yet. It was not clear whether they were still in the area. (19:29 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz does not expect the war in Ukraine to end soon, he has told business daily Handelsblatt, confirming Berlin would support Kyiv as long as it is necessary with money and arms. "We should be prepared for a prolonged war, even if an early end would be desirable," Scholz was quoted as saying, adding that it remained absolutely vital that China not supply Russia with weapons. (20:18 GMT) The United Nations has backed Turkey and Ukraine by calling for a 120-day rollover of an agreement allowing the safe export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports after Russia said it would only extend the pact for 60 days. The pact is due to expire on Saturday. "For us, the text in the agreement is clear and it calls for a 120-day rollover," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told Reuters when asked about remarks by Turkey. Turkey said on Wednesday that it would continue talks to extend the deal for 120 days rather than 60 days. Ukraine has also said the agreement should be renewed for 120 days. "The deal is being extended for 60 days," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters, when asked to comment on Dujarric's remarks. 20230319 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/17/russia-ukraine-live-news-chinas-xi-to-visit-moscow-next-week (10:42 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia next week to hold talks with President Vladimir Putin, the two countries said. The Kremlin said in a statement that Xi and Putin would discuss "topical issues of further development of comprehensive partnership relations and strategic cooperation between Russia and China" next Monday and Tuesday. While the statement made no mention of Ukraine, Xi will hold a telephone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy following his Russia visit, according to some media reports. (10:46 GMT) Finnish President Sauli Niinisto is scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul amid expectations that Turkey will approve Finland's NATO bid. (10:48 GMT) Prime Minister Eduard Heger said that the Slovakian government approved sending MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Slovakia is the second country to send warplanes to Kyiv after Poland, which announced on Thursday it would do so. Despite its fleet of 11 MiG-29 planes being retired last summer, Slovakia will send operational ones, and the rest will go for spare parts. Slovakia will also supply part of its KUB air defence system, Heger said. (11:07 GMT) The Kremlin said that Ukraine was "illegally attacking" the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) - which until recently accepted the authority of the patriarch of Moscow, adding that this confirmed the need for its "special military operation". Ukrainian officials last week ordered the UOC to leave the monastery complex in Kyiv, where it is based, drawing fierce condemnation from Moscow. Pope Francis also called for the "respect" of religious sites. (11:17 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has presented awards to the pilots of two Su-27 fighter planes that intercepted a US drone, the defence ministry said. (11:40 GMT) Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, said Chinese president Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow next week is all about "promoting peace between Ukraine and Russia". Yu explained that the visit serves two "goals" for Beijing, one of which will show public support for Russia and of deepening its economic ties with Russia. "Beijing is [also] going there to promote itself as a global leader and a mediator," Yu said. "Xi Jinping is capitalising on the recent success Wang Yi, Beijing's top diplomat brokering a peace deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran and Xi's very much going to point out to the international community that speaking to both Russia and Ukraine is something that Beijing can do and the US can not." (11:55 GMT) Russia said that all fighter jets supplied to Ukraine would be destroyed after NATO members Poland and Slovakia pledged to send MiG-29 jets to Kyiv. "In the course of the special military operation, all this equipment will be subject to destruction," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It feels like all of these countries are thus engaged in the disposal of old unnecessary equipment," he said. Moscow has previously accused the West of directly participating in the conflict by supplying weapons and has warned that NATO weapons were legitimate targets for its forces. (12:14 GMT) The Kremlin said Russia was extending the Black Sea grain deal for 60 days. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov answered a question about Moscow's position by saying: "Russia is renewing the deal for 60 days." (12:33 GMT) Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said Putin will discuss the Ukraine conflict with his Chinese counterpart during Xi's state visit to Moscow next week, the news agency RIA reported. Ushakov said Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu would take part in talks with Xi, and that "military-technical cooperation" would be discussed during the visit. (12:54 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping should use a trip to Moscow to encourage Putin to withdraw troops from Ukraine, a spokesperson for British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. (13:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 387 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-387 (14:25 GMT) President Maia Sandu says she sees no danger of war in Moldova while Russia is fighting in Ukraine despite what she says are Russian efforts to destabilise her country. "There is no danger of war coming to Moldova while Ukraine is fighting," Sandu told parliament. "I want to reassure our citizens that Moldova is not now in any danger of war," she said. "The Russian army cannot get here while Ukraine holds out and [thus] protects Moldova. We are grateful to Ukrainians for their bravery and love of freedom." (14:43 GMT) The US has deep concerns that China might try to position itself as a peacemaker by promoting a ceasefire in Ukraine, the White House's national security spokesman, John Kirby, says. Kirby said at a briefing that any ceasefire at this time would not lead to a just and lasting peace between Ukraine and Russia. (15:03 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will ratify Finland's application for NATO membership. He announced the decision after meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in Ankara, 10 months after Finland and Sweden applied to join the bloc after Russia invaded Ukraine. Turkey had expressed reservations about Finland and Sweden joining NATO, accusing them of being soft on groups it considers "terrorist" organisations, but it has more reservations about Sweden. Finland is now poised to join NATO ahead of its neighbour. Hungary is expected to vote on the ratification of Finland's and Sweden's NATO memberships on March 31, the ruling Fidesz party's parliamentary group press office told the Reuters news agency. (15:38 GMT) The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Putin, accusing him of being responsible for war crimes committed in Ukraine. The ICC issued the warrant on suspicion of unlawful deportation of children and illegal transfer of people from the territory of Ukraine to the Russian Federation. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/17/icc-issues-arrest-warrant-for-russias-putin-over-ukraine-crimes (16:22 GMT) Senior Ukrainian officials have applauded the ICC for issuing an arrest warrant against Putin.` Andriy Yermak, chief of the presidential staff, said issuing the warrant was "only the beginning". (16:39 GMT) ICC President Piotr Hofmanski says the decision to issue an arrest warrant against the Russian president is "still in the hands of the prosecutor". "So far, there were two requests for arrest warrants, and on the basis of these requests, the response will be issued, but it obviously doesn't mean it is the end of the situation of the cases," he said. (16:55 GMT) The Kremlin said it did not recognise the jurisdiction of the ICC following the arrest warrant. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia found the questions raised by the ICC "outrageous and unacceptable" and that any decisions of the court were "null and void" concerning Russia. Asked if Putin now feared travelling to countries that recognised the ICC, Peskov said: "I have nothing to add on this subject. That's all we want to say (17:10 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has hailed the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin as an "important decision" for international justice and Ukraine's people. (17:22 GMT) The ICC has issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. (17:34 GMT) Parliament speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a close ally of Russia's president, says the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin is evidence of Western "hysteria". "Yankees, hands off Putin!" he wrote on Telegram. "We regard any attacks on the President of the Russian Federation as aggression against our country." (17:39 GMT) Hundreds of Ukrainian children have been taken from orphanages and children's homes to Russia, ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan says. "Many of these children, we allege, have since been given up for adoption in the Russian Federation," he added. (17:47 GMT) UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has welcomed the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin, adding that investigations into alleged atrocities in Ukraine must continue. (17:58 GMT) The arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova theoretically mark the first step towards an eventual trial, but under current conditions, the capture and arraignment of Russia's president is almost inconceivable. Even if that did happen, previous ICC cases have shown it is hard to convict the most senior officials. In more than 20 years, the court has only issued five convictions for core crimes, and none was for a top official. (18:09 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has welcomed the ICC's arrest warrants for Russia's president and commissioner for children's rights. "Wheels of Justice are turning: I applaud the ICC decision to issue arrest warrants for Vladimir Putin and Maria Lvova-Belova over forcible transfer of Ukrainian children. International criminals will be held accountable for stealing children and other international crimes," Kuleba said on Twitter. (18:14 GMT) The US has welcomed Erdogan's announcement that Turkey's parliament will vote on ratifying Finland's bid to join NATO. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan encouraged Turkey to also quickly ratify Sweden's accession to the military alliance. (18:25 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has rejected the ICC decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin as having "no meaning for our country, including from a legal point of view." "Who would have thought 15 years ago that in the West taking care of children, saving them and helping them would become a criminal offence," she said. Zakharova added that Russia is not a party to the Rome Statute of the ICC and "bears no obligations under it". (18:31 GMT) Erdogan and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg have discussed Sweden's and Finland's bids to join the military alliance, according to a statement by Turkey's Directorate of Communications. (18:48 GMT) Putin should be tried as a war criminal along with others responsible for atrocities in Ukraine, Poland's government spokesman says after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for the Russian president. "This is an important decision from the court, which points to war crimes committed by the Russian apparatus of violence," Piotr Muller told the state-run news agency PAP. "Vladimir Putin is at the head of this machine and should be tried as a war criminal along with those who directly and indirectly implement barbaric warfare." (19:05 GMT) Al Jazeera's James Bays, reporting from the United Nations, says the arrest warrant issued by the ICC against Putin means the 123 countries that have ratified the Rome Statute are now under an obligation to arrest the Russian president and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot in their territory. However, Bays said, former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, who also had an arrest warrant issued against him by the ICC, was still able to travel because some countries refused to act on it. He added that the ICC's decision to take action against Putin, "one of the world's most powerful men", took "everyone in the international community by surprise". "There are questions around what this means for diplomacy," Bays said, including for potential peace talks to bring the war in Ukraine to an end. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary general, told Al Jazeera during a news conference that Antonio Guterres would still "speak to whoever he needs to speak" to fulfil his duties. (19:08 GMT) Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine in remarks during a St Patrick's Day celebration at the White House with US President Joe Biden. (19:24 GMT) Zelenskyy hails the "historic" decision of the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Putin. (19:36 GMT) The French government says "no one should escape justice" as it reacts to the ICC arrest warrants. (20:12 GMT) Canada welcomes the ICC's move to issue arrest warrants for Putin and a senior official "for their alleged roles in the egregious scheme" to deport children to Russia. "Canada stands firmly with the people of Ukraine," Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said in a tweet. (20:22 GMT) Russian politicians allied to jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny welcome the ICC's arrest warrant against Putin. "Lock him up!" Vladimir Milov said. (20:33 GMT) Stoltenberg hails Turkey's decision to move ahead with ratifying Finland's bid for NATO membership and says he is confident Sweden would join soon too. 20230318 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/18/russias-putin-visits-crimea-following-war-crimes-warrant Putin visits Crimea after war crimes warrant issued against him. Russian president arrives in Crimea on an unannounced visit to mark the anniversary of the peninsula's 2014 annexation from Ukraine. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-388 International Criminal Court * The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a war crimes arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, alleging that Moscow forcibly deported Ukrainian children to Russia. Russian authorities have presented the deportations as a humanitarian campaign to protect orphans and children abandoned in the conflict zone. * The ICC also issued a warrant for Maria Lvova-Belova, Russia's commissioner for children's rights, for the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine. * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the deportations constituted a policy of "state evil" and the ICC warrant would provide "historic accountability" for crimes committed against Ukraine by Russia. * The ICC arrest warrant obligates the court's 123 member states to arrest Putin and transfer him to The Hague for trial if he sets foot on their territory. Diplomacy * Chinese President Xi Jinping will travel to Russia next week for a state visit after an invitation from Putin. * US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, White House National Security adviser Jake Sullivan and Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley spoke of their "unwavering support" for Ukraine during a call with their Ukrainian counterparts on Friday. * The United Nations said it was "doing everything possible" to make sure a deal with Russia allowing the export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports continues. * The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said its executive board authorised rule changes that would allow the IMF to approve new loan programmes for countries that face "exceptionally high uncertainty", which is expected to pave the way for a new Ukraine loan programme. * Turkey's parliament will start ratifying Finland's accession to NATO, though it has held off on approving Sweden's bid to join the defence bloc. Finland and Sweden's applications for NATO membership were prompted by Russia's invasion of Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg hailed Turkey's decision on Friday and said he was confident Sweden would join soon, too. * Moldova's President Maia Sandu said she sees no danger of war in Moldova while Russia is fighting in Ukraine, despite what she said are Russian efforts to destabilise her country. "The Russian army cannot get here while Ukraine holds out ... We are grateful to Ukrainians for their bravery and love of freedom," she said. Fighting * Ukrainian forces in the east of the country continue to withstand Russian assaults on the now-destroyed city of Bakhmut, which has become Europe's bloodiest infantry battle since World War II. Russian forces have captured the city's eastern part but have so far failed to encircle Bakhmut and cut off Ukrainian troop supply lines. * The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said Russia carried out 19 air attacks and 26 rocket attacks against Bakhmut on Friday. Russian forces also conducted four air strikes on the front-line town of Avdiivka south of Bakhmut, the army said. * The US has resumed surveillance drone flights over the Black Sea region just days after Russian fighter jets intercepted a US Reaper surveillance drone and engaged in actions that Washington said caused the uncrewed aircraft to crash. * Prime Minister Eduard Heger said that Slovakia has approved sending its fleet of 11 retired MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Slovakia is the second country to send warplanes to Kyiv after Poland said it would do so. 20230319 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/19/russia-ukraine-live-putin-makes-surprise-trip-to (06:56 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has met with the top command of his military operation in Ukraine, according to state media, including Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov who is in charge of Moscow's war in Ukraine. The meeting took place at the Rostov-on-Don command post in southern Russia, TASS news agency reported. (07:07 GMT) Ukrainian forces outside the battered eastern city of Bakhmut are managing to keep Russian units at bay so ammunition, food, equipment and medicines can be delivered to defenders, according to the army. In the latest claim to have inflicted heavy casualties, Kyiv said its troops had killed 193 Russians and injured 199 others during the course of fighting on Friday. Russia has made the capture of Bakhmut a priority in its strategy to take control of Ukraine's eastern Donbas industrial region. The city has been largely destroyed in months of fighting, with Russia launching repeated assaults. (07:13 GMT) A deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukrainian grain has been renewed for at least 60 days, after Russia warned any further extension beyond mid-May would depend on the removal of some Western sanctions. The pact was brokered with Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey in July and renewed for a further 120 days in November. The aim was to combat a global food crisis that was fueled by the war in Ukraine. (07:17 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited Mariupol, a Ukrainian city in the Donetsk region occupied by his forces since last May. Putin flew to the city by helicopter and travelled in several of its districts, the TASS agency reported on Sunday, citing the Kremlin. It is the closest to the front lines Putin has been since the beginning of the more than a year-long war. (07:49 GMT) Britain will help Kazakhstan develop export routes bypassing Russia, British Foreign Minister James Cleverly has said on a visit to the Central Asian nation, where he also signed a memorandum on supplies of critical minerals. Cleverly said London valued the position of Astana - which has traditionally been closely allied with Moscow - on the Ukrainian conflict. Kazakhstan has refused to support Russia's invasion or recognise its annexation of Ukrainian territories. (08:48 GMT) List of key events in Russia-Ukraine war, day 389 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-389 (10:14 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it will ship 39.4 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday. (12:03 GMT) US drone flights over the Baltic Sea are a sign of direct US involvement in conflict with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has been quoted as saying. Last week, a US drone crashed into the sea after being intercepted by Russian fighter planes. "It is quite obvious what these drones are doing, and their mission is not at all a peaceful mission to ensure the safety of shipping in international waters," Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying in a TV interview. "And in fact, we are talking about the direct involvement of the operators of these drones in the conflict, and against us." ... https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/3/19/photos-millions-protested-against-invasion-of-iraq good photos :-) 20230320 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/20/russia-ukraine-live-putin-xi-meeting-to-discuss-ukraine-war (09:30 GMT) Chinese leader Xi Jinping is due to meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Moscow in a political boost after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against him. Xi's government gave no details of what the Chinese leader hoped to accomplish in his visit that starts on Monday. Xi and Putin declared they had a "no-limits friendship" before the February 2022 attack on Ukraine, but China has tried to portray itself as neutral in the conflict and as a possible mediator to end the conflict. The Kremlin says Putin would provide the Chinese president with "clarifications" on Russia's point of view on the conflict during Xi's state visit to Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the two leaders would discuss China's peace plan. Xi also said on Monday that Beijing's proposal on how to reach an agreement in Ukraine reflects global views and serves to neutralise the consequences of the crisis, but acknowledged it might not be easy. "Complex problems do not have simple solutions," Xi wrote in an article in the Russian daily newspaper, Rossiiskaya Gazeta. (09:45 GMT) A Russian court has frozen all Volkswagen assets in Russia, court documents seen by the Reuters news agency showed. Volkswagen was one of many foreign carmakers that suspended operations in Russia after the West imposed sanctions on Moscow. Russian auto manufacturer GAZ, which was contracted to produce Volkswagen vehicles at its factory in Nizhny Novgorod, sued the German carmaker for breach of contract after it terminated the agreement in August. (10:00 GMT) The Kremlin says the International Criminal Court's decision to issue an arrest warrant for Putin was a sign of the "clear hostility" that exists against Russia and against Putin. But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia was reacting "calmly" and was continuing its work. "We are witnessing such a number of clearly hostile displays against our country and against our president," Peskov said at a news briefing. "We note them, but if we took everyone to heart, nothing good would come of it. Therefore we look at this calmly, note everything attentively and continue to work." Russia is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, meaning the warrant has no legal force in the country. However, the move could affect Putin's travel to any of the 123 countries that do recognise the ICC's jurisdiction. (10:21 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell is hoping for a deal on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine at a meeting of the bloc's foreign and defence ministers in Brussels. "Together, foreign affairs and defence [ministers] will, I hope, finish the agreement on providing ammunition to Ukraine," he told reporters before the talks. Without a deal, the EU will find itself in difficulties to keep on supplying arms to Kyiv, Borrell warned. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna says Ukraine needs to be helped immediately, as EU foreign ministers gathered to debate arms supplies for Kyiv in its fight against Russia. (10:59 GMT) On his first state visit to Russia since the Ukraine war, Chinese President Xi Jinping says it will give "new momentum" to bilateral ties. "I am confident the visit will be fruitful and give new momentum to the healthy and stable development of Chinese-Russian relations," he told journalists at Moscow airport, describing Russia and China as "good neighbours" and "reliable partners". (11:52 GMT) Al Jazeera's Katrina Yu, reporting from Beijing, says she expects Xi's meeting with Putin to help "protect China's interests". Yu said that during this visit, Xi will try to achieve three goals: to strengthen economic ties and make sure China has a "steady supply" of cheap oil and gas, to shore up support for China as tensions among international powers rise and to promote China as a global leader. "Whether China will be able to be a successful mediator remains to be seen," she said. "Certainly, some analysts say China does not have enough leverage when it comes to Ukraine, that it really has to tread lightly." "Now he's [Xi] just released a message upon his arrival and [said he is] sending warm greetings to the Russian people, saying he's looking forward to deepening trust and cooperation with Russia in the face of what he says is global turmoil and advancing a multipolar world." (11:55 GMT) Russia says work to create a planned "gas hub" in Turkey is a complex project that will require time. Putin proposed the idea of a Turkish natural gas hub last year as European countries moved to sharply cut their imports of Russian gas in response to the invasion of Ukraine. It also followed explosions that damaged the two Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea, which carry natural gas from Russia to Europe. "It is clear that this is quite complicated work," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It is a rather complex project, which, unfortunately, cannot be implemented without timeline shifts, without technical or other problems." "Such situations are inevitable in relation to the Turkish hub," he said. "We will follow it. We will continue to work with our Turkish partners." (12:08 GMT) Russia's Investigative Committee says it has opened a criminal case against the International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor and judges who issued an arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges on Friday. "The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court Karim Ahmad Khan" and several ICC judges, the committee said. (12:25 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 390 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-390 (12:45 GMT) Putin says Russia will provide grain to African countries for free if the Black Sea grain export agreement is not extended in May. Speaking to delegates at a Russia-Africa parliamentary conference, Putin said only a tiny amount of grain exported across the Black Sea since the deal went into effect had reached Africa and that the fulfilment of Russian conditions for the deal's renewal was in Africa's interest. Moscow has said it would not agree to renew the grain deal in May unless sanctions that have blocked Russian banks from using the international Swift financial messaging system are resolved and other restrictions are lifted. On its website, the Russian foreign ministry said Moscow had decided to limit the deal's extension to 60 days, until May 18, over what it called "a lack of progress... on normalisation of domestic agricultural exports". Ukraine and mediators Turkey and the UN have insisted the deal must be extended for 120 days. (13:00 GMT) European Union countries plan to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of artillery ammunition over the next 12 months, officials say as EU defence and foreign ministers meet in Brussels. (13:22 GMT) The United Kingdom says China should back up its support for the respect of territorial integrity and demand that Russia end its war in Ukraine. "We hope President Xi uses this opportunity to press President Putin to cease bombing Ukrainian cities, hospitals, schools, to halt some of these atrocities that we are seeing on a daily basis," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said as Xi and Putin meet in Moscow. (14:03 GMT) Putin tells Xi at the Kremlin that he has looked at China's proposals for a resolution of the Ukraine conflict and he views them with respect. Speaking at informal talks at the start of Xi's state visit to Moscow, Putin also said Russia was "slightly envious" of China's rapid development in recent decades. (14:26 GMT) Xi tells Putin in talks at the Kremlin that he is "convinced" that Putin enjoys the Russian people's support ahead of a presidential election scheduled for next year. "Thanks to your strong leadership, Russia has made significant progress in achieving the prosperity of the country in recent years," Xi told Putin through an interpreter. "I am sure that the Russian people will strongly support you in your good endeavours." Xi also called Putin his "dear friend", and Putin used the same term with his guest. The Chinese president also thanked Putin for what he said was his support for China and said Beijing should have close relations with Moscow. (14:49 GMT) EU member states have reached an agreement on the joint procurement of ammunition for Ukraine, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels. "Today, we will sign the respective documents," he told reporters. He added that Germany would also open its national framework contracts because speed was of the essence. "Our goal has to be to ship a significant amount of munitions to Ukraine before the end of this year," Pistorius said. (15:32 GMT) Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin has told Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu in a letter that the Ukrainian army is planning an offensive to cut off his Wagner Group forces from the main body of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. In the letter published by his press service, Prigozhin said the offensive was planned for late March or early April. He also asked Shoigu to take all measures to prevent a division of Russian forces, which, he said, could lead to "negative consequences" for Russia's military efforts in Ukraine. (15:50 GMT) The US has authorised another round of military aid for Ukraine valued at $350m, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says. "This military assistance package includes more ammunition for US-provided HIMARS [mobile rocket launchers] and howitzers that Ukraine is using to defend itself, as well as ammunition for Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, HARM missiles, anti-tank weapons, riverine boats, and other equipment," Blinken said in a statement. (17:11 GMT) Group of Seven Nations are not likely to revise a price cap on Russian oil this week, two European Union officials have told Reuters. The G7 was due to revise the price cap put in place in December in mid-March, but the officials said EU countries' ambassadors were told by the European Commission over the weekend there is no appetite among the G7 for an imminent review. The cap on Russian seaborne crude exports was set at $60 per barrel, a level designed to sit below the market price and therefore curb the revenue Moscow can receive from selling oil, while keeping it flowing to avoid a global supply shock. Brent crude oil was trading at around $73 per barrel on Monday. (17:26 GMT) Ukraine's 2023 grain harvest is likely to fall to 44.3 million tonnes from 53.1 million in 2022 as less acreage is sown due to the Russian invasion, according to a forecast by the Ukrainian agriculture ministry. In peaceful 2021, Ukraine harvested a record 86 million tonnes of grain. (17:39 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group has said that his forces control more than half of the embattled eastern Ukraine town of Bakhmut, the stage for the longest battle of Russia's offensive. "At the moment, Wagner units control around 70 percent of the city of Bakhmut and are continuing operations to complete the liberation of the city," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an open letter to Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. Russian and Ukrainian forces have invested heavily in the battle for Bakhmut, even though analysts say the city carried little strategic value. Ukraine says the battle for the industrial town is key to holding back Russian forces along the entire eastern front. (17:56 GMT) Norway has announced that it has delivered eight Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine, a contribution that along with those of other countries will be "decisive" for an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive. The Scandinavian country announced in February that it would give eight of its ageing Leopard 2A4s to Ukraine. In addition to the tanks, Norway has pledged to provide Kyiv with up to four support vehicles, ammunition and spare parts. Ukrainian crews are currently being trained to operate the Leopard tanks in Poland under the auspices of the European Union, the Norwegian Armed Forces said. (18:10 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed that Moscow agreed to extend a deal allowing the exports of Ukrainian grain to global markets only for 60 days and could drop it altogether if its conditions aren't met. Speaking at a parliamentary meeting in Moscow Monday attended by lawmakers from African countries, Putin emphasised that Russia will expect the facilitation of exports of its own agricultural products. (18:35 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has told his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that Russia was open to discussing China's proposals to end the fighting in Ukraine at the start of high-stakes talks in the Kremlin. "We are always open to negotiations," Putin told the Chinese leader, who was on his first visit to Moscow since the start of Russia's war in Ukraine last year. (19:01 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and visiting Chinese leader Xi Jinping have concluded several hours of informal talks in Moscow, Russian news agencies said. State news agency RIA Novosti said the talks between the leaders of Russia and China lasted four and a half hours. The two are set to meet again for formal talks on Tuesday. (19:19 GMT) Officials say an international conference in London raised $4.9m to support the International Criminal Court (ICC) in its investigations into alleged war crimes in Ukraine and its work to hold Russia to account. Justice ministers from more than 40 countries met in London for Monday's war crimes conference. It came after the global court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin, accusing him of personal responsibility in the abduction of children from Ukraine. Monday's conference drummed up extra international funding for the ICC, as well as other offers of resources from European countries including investigative support and forensic expertise, the United Kingdom's Justice Secretary Dominic Raab said. (19:34 GMT) United States crude exports to Europe have hit a record 2.1 million barrels per day on average so far this month. Record exports to Europe and China this month reflect the rise of the US in crude oil trade and solidify its role in supplying Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (19:44 GMT) Any future peace plan must ensure that Russia withdraws its forces from all Ukrainian territory, Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, has reiterated. The formula for the successful implementation of China's "peace plan" must include the restoration of Ukraine's "sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity", Danilov said on Twitter. (19:56 GMT) The International Criminal Court (ICC) move against Russian President Vladimir Putin over alleged war crimes is a "sombre" one and not a moment for backslapping, the organisation's Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan has said. "It's a moment ... not for triumphalism, not for any backslapping," Khan told international justice ministers meeting in London to discuss scaling up support for the ICC. "It is really a very sad occasion and a very sombre occasion, that for the first time ever, judges of the International Criminal Court, of any court, have felt it necessary to issue warrants against a leader and senior state officials from a permanent member of the (UN) Security Council." Khan also urged the Kremlin to allow Ukrainian children abducted to Russia to return home. 20230321 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/ukraine-says-russia-kalibr-missile-cargo-hit-in-transit-to-crimea Ukraine has reported the destruction of "multiple" Russian cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail to Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea. Ukraine's military agency said late on Monday that multiple Kalibr cruise missiles were destroyed by an explosion, without explicitly saying Ukraine was responsible for the blast or exactly how the shipment of powerful missiles was destroyed. "An explosion in Dzhankoi city in the north of temporarily occupied Crimea destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail," Ukraine's intelligence agency said in social media posts. The missiles were destined for submarine launch by the Russian Black Sea fleet, the agency said. (or Djankoi) Ihor Ivin, the Russian-installed head of the Dzhankoi administration, was quoted as saying the city had come under attack from drones and a 33-year-old man suffered a shrapnel injury from a downed drone. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/russia-says-warplane-scrambled-a-us-bombers-flew-over-baltic-sea Russia's defence ministry has said a Russian Su-35 combat plane was scrambled over the Baltic Sea after two US B-52H strategic bombers flew in the direction of the Russian border, but that the fighter jet returned to base after the US planes moved away from Russian territory. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/21/russia-ukraine-live-news-putin-xi-to-hold-further-talks 10:15 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping are due to hold further talks on Tuesday amid Western criticism that Xi's visit was giving a boost to Moscow. The two men, who referred to each other as "dear friend", spoke for more than four hours on Monday and enjoyed a state dinner at the Kremlin. China has sought to cast itself as a potential peacemaker in the Ukraine conflict with plans to speak to Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy by phone. "We are waiting for confirmation," Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. "That would be an important move. They have things to say to each other." But the visit has been criticised by Western powers, with Washington saying on Monday that the visit, which underscored the close relationship between Beijing and Moscow, was providing "diplomatic cover" for Putin. (10:15 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin to visit China in 2023, the TASS news agency reported. "I invite you to pay a visit to China as soon as possible to establish close ties with the new premier of the State Council, Li Qiang," he added. (10:18 GMT) On Monday night, Ukraine's defence ministry said that an explosion in Dzhankoi in the north of the Crimean peninsula destroyed Russian cruise missiles, but denied responsibility for the "mysterious" incident. A statement by the intelligence directorate of Ukraine's Defence Ministry said: "An explosion in Dzhankoi city in the north of temporarily occupied Crimea destroyed Russian Kalibr-KN cruise missiles as they were being transported by rail." (10:20 GMT) The leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church said he would work with Lithuania's government to potentially establish a new branch to ensure that followers would no longer be under the sole supervision of Moscow. "Today a new perspective opens before us along with the possibility to work together for the establishment of (a branch) of the Ecumenical Patriarchate (of Constantinople) in Lithuania," Patriarch Bartholomew told reporters in Vilnius. Lithuania's government said some of the country's Orthodox believers, including Ukrainian refugees, object to the current organisation, which is a unit of the Russian Orthodox Church. (10:25 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will visit Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Japan's foreign ministry said. (10:37 GMT) The Kremlin said that Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping had held a "thorough" exchange of views during their first day of talks and had discussed Beijing's peace plan. (10:54 GMT) Russia's Foreign Ministry said it had protested to Canada's top diplomat in Moscow over comments by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly about "regime change" in Russia. On Monday, the ministry summoned the Canadian charge d'affaires Brian Ebel and told him Joly's comments were unacceptable. Canadian media quoted Joly as saying on March 10: "We're able to see how much we're isolating the Russian regime right now - because we need to do so economically, politically and diplomatically - and what are the impacts also on society and how much we're seeing potential regime change in Russia." <=== Russia condemned what they said was a "Russophobic attack" and said it would have severe consequences for relations. The statement added that Moscow reserved the right to take "appropriate countermeasures" depending on Ottawa's further steps. (11:08 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the European Union's approval to speed up ammunition production for Ukraine and set up a two billion euro ($2.15bn) plan to send a million artillery rounds to Kyiv over the next year. (11:23 GMT) Ukrainian forces have repelled Russian attempts to advance into the centre of Bakhmut, a top Ukrainian general said. "Assault groups of the enemy are trying to advance from the outskirts to the centre of the city, but our defence forces are working and destroying them 24/7," Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, wrote on Telegram. (11:49 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence's latest intelligence update, "thousands" of Russian Wagner Group fighters are "likely to be pardoned and released". "Wagner prisoner recruitment peaked in autumn 2022, with inmates being offered commutation of their sentences after six months of service. Although approximately half of the prisoners recruited have likely been killed or wounded, evidence from Russia suggests the group is following through on its promise to free survivors," the ministry said. Those freed will be issued a decree approved by Putin. The update adds that while the Wagner Group still faces a prison recruitment ban, the freed fighters will affect its personnel problems. "In addition, the sudden influx of often violent offenders with recent and often traumatic combat experience will likely present a significant challenge for Russia's war-time society," the ministry added. (12:20 GMT) Italy will continue to support Ukraine regardless of the short-term effect it may have on the Italian government's approval rating, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. "We will continue to do it because it is right to do so in terms of national values and interest," she said in a speech before the Senate ahead of the European Council meeting on March 23-24. (13:06 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 391 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-391 (13:37 GMT) The Pentagon is speeding up its deliveries of Abrams tanks to Ukraine, opting to send a refurbished older model that can be ready faster and can be delivered in eight to 10 months, US officials told The Associated Press. The original plan was to send Ukraine 31 of the newer M1A2 Abrams, which could have taken a year or two to build and ship. But officials speaking on the condition of anonymity told the news agency that the decision was made to send the older M1A1 version, which can be taken from Army stocks and will be easier for Ukrainian forces to learn to use and maintain. (13:58 GMT) Seven out of 30 allies met NATO's military spending target in 2022, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said. One country less than in 2021 before Russia's invasion of Ukraine. (14:16 GMT) NATO's Jens Stoltenberg warned China against supplying weapons to Russia as leaders of both countries continue talks in Moscow. "We haven't seen any proof that China is delivering lethal weapons to Russia, but we have seen some signs that this has been a request from Russia, and that this is an issue that is considered in Beijing by the Chinese authorities," Stoltenberg told reporters in Brussels. "China should not provide lethal aid to Russia that would be to support an illegal war." (14:59 GMT) The Ukrainian parliament voted to amend the 2023 state budget, raising spending as Kyiv seeks additional funds for arms and military salaries amid Russia's invasion. The finance ministry said that lawmakers voted to increase budget spending by 537.2 billion hryvnias ($14.6bn) this year. "In line with the proposed changes, total funds for the security and defence sector will reach 1.67 trillion hryvnias [$45.2bn]. That's 26.6 percent of GDP," Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said. (15:06 GMT) Putin says Russia is ready to help Chinese businesses replace Western firms that have left Russia over the war in Ukraine during formal talks with his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. The Russian president also said he had discussed the proposed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, which would ship Russian gas to China, with the Chinese leader. (15:30 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry condemned a British plan to send ammunition that contains depleted uranium for use in Ukraine. <=== Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram, "Yugoslav scenario. These shells not only kill, but infect the environment and cause oncology in people living on these lands. "By the way, it is naive to believe that only those against whom all this will be used will become victims. In Yugoslavia, NATO soldiers, in particular the Italians, were the first to suffer. Then they tried for a long time to get compensation from NATO for lost health. But their claims were denied," she said. Zakharova added, "When will they wake up in Ukraine? [...] Their benefactors poison them." (15:48 GMT) The Football Association in the United Kingdom invited more than 1,000 Ukrainian refugees and their host families to attend England's Euro 2024 qualifier against Ukraine at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. The invitations have been made to people involved in the British government's Homes for Ukraine Scheme, launched last year. (15:59 GMT) China's state media report that Xi and Putin stress that "responsible dialogue" is the best way to resolve the Ukraine crisis. The Russian side reaffirmed its commitment to resuming peace talks after the conclusion of discussions between Xi and Putin in Moscow. The two sides pointed out that to resolve the Ukraine crisis, all countries' "legitimate security concerns" must be respected and confrontation should be avoided. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that Beijing had an "impartial position" on the conflict in Ukraine and that it supported peace and dialogue, RIA news agency said. Xi, who was speaking through a translator after talks with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, said talks with the Kremlin leader had been "open and friendly". Putin said China's peace proposals could be used as the basis for peace negotiations. (16:57 GMT) Russia has condemned British plans to send ammunition that contains depleted uranium to Ukraine, a move Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says leaves fewer and fewer steps before a potential "nuclear collision" between Russia and the West. "Another step has been taken, and there are fewer and fewer left," Shoigu said in remarks reported by domestic news agencies. On Monday, British Minister of State for Defence Annabel Goldie said some of the ammunition for Challenger 2 battle tanks includes armour-piercing rounds containing depleted uranium. This type of ammunition is a health risk around impact sites, where dust can enter people's lungs and other organs. (17:19 GMT) The US has pushed back on Russian demands that Western sanctions be eased before it allows Ukrainian Black Sea grain exports beyond mid-May, saying there are no restrictions on sales of Russian agricultural products or fertiliser. Moscow's demands include allowing the Russian Agricultural Bank to return to the SWIFT banking system and unblocking the accounts and financial activities of Russian fertiliser companies. The deal allowing the safe wartime export of Ukrainian grain from its Black Sea ports, initially brokered in July by Turkey and the UNations, was renewed on Saturday for at least 60 days, half the intended period. The US strongly supports UN efforts to get Ukrainian and Russian agricultural products to world markets, a Department of State spokesperson said, adding that it has "gone to extraordinary lengths to clarify that we have carved food and fertiliser out from our sanctions imposed on Russia". "The only prohibitions on food and fertiliser exports from Russia are those imposed by the government of the Russian Federation," the spokesperson said. "Russia is the one restricting its exports. It imposed export quotas on certain fertilisers and recently extended them through the spring." (17:34 GMT) Putin and his Chinese counterpart have cautioned against any steps that might push the Ukraine conflict into an "uncontrollable phase", adding that there could be no winners in a nuclear war. In a joint statement issued at the end of Xi's state visit to Moscow, Putin accused Western powers of fighting "to the last Ukrainian", while Xi reiterated China's "neutral position" on Ukraine and called for dialogue. (17:48 GMT) Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has met Zelenskyy in a rare visit to Kyiv by a Japanese leader that underscores Tokyo's support for Ukraine as it fights Russia's offensive. Kishida had been the only leader of a Group of Seven (G7) nation who had not visited Ukraine, which has seen an outpouring of popular support in Japan following the full-scale Russian invasion more than a year ago. Japan is due to host a G7 summit in Kishida's hometown of Hiroshima in May. (18:05 GMT) Russia and China have issued a joint statement after talks between Putin and Xi. Here is the section of the statement that relates to the war in Ukraine as translated by Reuters: "The Russian side positively assesses the objective and unbiased position of the Chinese side on the Ukrainian question. The parties are opposed to any states and their blocs damaging the legitimate security interests of other states in order to obtain military, political and other advantages. The Chinese side positively assesses the willingness of the Russian side to make efforts to restart peace talks as soon as possible. "Russia welcomes China's readiness to play a positive role in a political-diplomatic settlement of the Ukrainian crisis and the constructive ideas set forth in the document drawn up by the Chinese side, 'China's Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukrainian Crisis'. "The parties note that in order to resolve the Ukrainian crisis, it is necessary to respect the legitimate concerns of all countries in the field of security and prevent the formation of bloc confrontation and halt actions that further fuel the conflict. "The parties stress that responsible dialogue is the best way for a sustainable resolution of the Ukrainian crisis, and the international community should support constructive efforts in this regard. "The parties call for an end to all steps that contribute to the escalation of tension and prolongation of hostilities to avoid further degradation of the crisis to the point where it could cross over into an uncontrollable phase. The parties oppose all unilateral sanctions imposed in circumvention of the UN Security Council." (18:16 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg has urged member countries to speed up increases in defence spending as Russia's war in Ukraine continues and as new figures showed fewer than a quarter of them meeting the alliance's target. (18:31 GMT) Kyiv suggested to China that Beijing join a Ukrainian peace formula to end Russia's war, but that it was still waiting for an answer, according to Zelenskyy. The Ukrainian president made the remark during a joint briefing in Kyiv with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Beijing has proposed a 12-point peace proposal, but Kyiv insists on a full Russian troop withdrawal and has been promoting its own plan in recent months. (18:48 GMT) Russian security forces raided the homes of former employees of the Nobel Prize-winning human rights group Memorial and took some of them in for questioning, the group has said. Founded to document political repression in the Soviet Union, Memorial was officially banned in late 2021 after the authorities claimed it supported terrorism and extremism, charges that it called absurd. (19:06 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed he will participate in the upcoming Group of Seven (G7) summit in Japan via video link. Japan is due to host a G7 summit in Kishida's hometown of Hiroshima in May. Tokyo has continually voiced support for Ukraine and joined sanctions against Russia. (19:26 GMT) Russia and China have reached an agreement on the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline, which will connect Siberia to northwest China, President Vladimir Putin has said following talks with China's leader Xi Jinping. "All agreements have been reached," Putin said after talks with Xi, adding that economic cooperation between Moscow-Beijing was a "priority" for Russia. (19:51 GMT) Four Republican members of the United States Congress have urged US President Joe Biden to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, alleging in a letter to the White House that the administration fears doing so would be seen as an escalation by Russia. Ukraine is seeking the MK 20, an air-delivered cluster bomb, to release its individual explosives from drones, and 155mm artillery cluster shells. Kyiv had urged members of Congress to press the White House to approve sending the weapons. The letter criticised Biden for "reluctance to provide Ukraine the right type and amount of long-range fires and maneuver capability to create" a breakthrough against Russian forces. The letter was signed by Jim Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee; Mike McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Mike Rogers, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. (20:03 GMT) The US has inaugurated its first permanent army base in Poland, which the ambassador to Warsaw said was a sign of NATO unity in the face of Russian aggression. More than 10,000 US soldiers are currently stationed in Poland, which has become the main transit country for international aid and equipment to neighbour Ukraine. The US garrison - the eighth in Europe - was established in the western city of Poznan. "This is historic. And it signals that we are here to stay," Mark Brzezinski, the US ambassador, said at the inauguration ceremony. "It signals to the world that the United States is committed to Poland, and to the NATO alliance. That we are united in the face of Russian aggression," he added. (20:16 GMT) The administration of United States President Joe Biden has said in a news conference on Tuesday that China cannot be considered "impartial" in Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Kirby denounced China's unwillingness to condemn the Russian invasion, accusing President Xi of "parroting the Russian propaganda that this is somehow a war of the West on Russia". "That's just a bunch of malarkey," Kirby added. (20:34 GMT) The US will deliver Abrams tanks to Ukraine by autumn - significantly faster than expected - while Patriot air defence missile systems will also arrive on an "expedited timeline", the Pentagon says. In coordination with Kyiv, Washington "made the decision to provide the M1A1 variant of the Abrams tank" already in its arsenals instead of having new tanks built, Brigadier General Pat Ryder told journalists. This "will enable us to significantly expedite delivery timelines and deliver this important capability to Ukraine by the fall of this year". "We're confident that we'll be able to get the Patriots there on an expedited timeline," Ryder said, noting that training for Ukrainians on the system "went faster than expected, just given their propensity and their eagerness to do the training". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/21/irans-khamenei-says-us-wants-to-keep-ukraine-war Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the United States is not interested in putting an end to the war in Ukraine, which he maintains the Western military alliance created. "The US actually started the Ukraine war," he said during a speech on Tuesday in Mashhad. "The US created the grounds for this war to expand NATO in the east." "Now, it is also the US that benefits the most from the Ukraine war," Khamenei said. "The poor people in Ukraine are facing problems, and weapons manufacturing companies in the US are reaping the benefits, so they won't go along with ending the war." 20230322 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/22/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-says-attack-in-crimea-stopped (07:10 GMT) The Russian navy has "repelled" a drone attack on the port of Sevastopol in Moscow-annexed Crimea, the Kremlin-backed governor of the city said. Annexed by Russia from Ukraine in 2014, the peninsula is home to Moscow's Black Sea Fleet and has been hit by a series of drone attacks since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. "In total, three objects have been destroyed," the Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. (07:19 GMT) Three people have been killed and seven injured in overnight Russian drone strikes on the Kyiv region, Ukrainian officials said. The Kyiv Regional Military administration reported on its Telegram channel that a "civilian object" had been damaged and that rescuers were still working at the scene. (07:25 GMT) China's Xi Jinping has left Moscow after a summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin that the two leaders hailed as a "new era" in their relationship, Russian news agencies reported. The Chinese president's plane left Moscow's Vnukovo airport after being seen off by a guard of honour who played the Russian and Chinese national anthems, the RIA Novosti news agency said. Putin and Xi hailed a "new era" in their relationship during the visit and discussed Beijing's proposals to end the Ukraine conflict. (07:30 GMT) British military intelligence has said there is a possibility that the Russian assault on the town of Bakhmut is losing the limited momentum it had obtained. This could be happening because "some Russian MoD units have been reallocated to other sectors", the Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin. (07:48 GMT) Russia will always remain important for Europe, Austria's foreign minister has said, adding that to think otherwise was delusional. Alexander Schallenberg also defended the country's second-biggest bank, Raiffeisen Bank International, saying it was unreasonable to single out the lender for doing business in Russia while so many other Western firms did the same. "To think that there won't be Russia anymore and we can decouple in all areas is delusional," Schallenberg told Reuters news agency, adding that while Austria would loosen ties this "can't happen overnight". "Dostoyevsky and Tchaikovsky remain a part of European culture, whether we like it or not. It will continue to be our biggest neighbour. It will stay the second largest nuclear power in the world." (08:10 GMT) The International Monetary Fund and Kyiv have agreed on a $15.6 billion loan package aimed at shoring up government finances severely strained by Russia's invasion and at leveraging even more support by reassuring allies that Ukraine is pursuing strong economic policies. The Ukrainian finance ministry said the program will "help to mobilise financing from Ukraine's international partners" while also maintain macrofinancial stability and ensure the path to post-war reconstruction". (08:30 GMT) The United States said Tuesday it does not see China as capable of being an impartial mediator between Moscow and Kyiv over the war in Ukraine. It was the most direct US criticism yet of China's aim to be a middleman in efforts to end the war. "I don't think you can reasonably look at China as impartial in any way," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, adding that meetings this week between Russia and China's presidents do not give it hope that the Ukraine war will end "anytime soon". (08:48 GMT) The US has offered to sell Slovakia 12 new Bell AH-1Z Viper helicopters at a two-thirds discount after Bratislava sent its retired MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad has said. Nad said his government still had to approve the deal under which it would pay $340 million over three to four years for a package worth more than $1 billion. The remainder would be covered under the U.S. Foreign Military Financing programme, Nad said in a post on Facebook. (09:26 GMT) Western countries are doing everything to make the ongoing conflict a war for all Europeans, the head of the Russian State Duma said. In a statement on Telegram, Vyacheslav Volodin commented on the UK's decision on Tuesday to provide Ukraine with armour-piercing rounds which contain depleted uranium. "This decision leads to a tragedy on a global scale, which will primarily affect the European states," Volodin said. He added that this decision could later lead to the use of a "dirty bomb" by Ukraine or even the use of tactical nuclear weapons. "If this happens, there will be no going back," Volodin said. (09:58 GMT) Britain's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said there was no nuclear escalation in the Ukraine war after Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned London's plan to supply Ukraine with ammunition containing depleted uranium. "There is no nuclear escalation. The only country in the world that is talking about nuclear issues is Russia. There is no threat to Russia, this is purely about helping Ukraine defend itself," Cleverly said. (10:26 GMT) Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Polish-Japanese friendship is vital to counteract Russia, as he met Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki during a surprise visit. "Yesterday, I visited Kyiv, where I announced that Japan and the G-7 will continue to support Ukraine. Japan, as this year's chairman of the G-7, will continue to cooperate with Poland and use its leadership to support Ukraine," Kishida said in a joint news briefing after the meeting in Warsaw. The Polish president also said, "A new geopolitical order is being born before our eyes. Countries that think alike about peace, stability and unity must cooperate closely, just like Poland and Japan. "It is important that Poland and Japan cooperate closely in overcoming signs of aggressive policy," he said, adding that "the China-Russia axis is dangerous." (10:49 GMT) At least four people have been killed in a Russian drone attack near Kyiv, Ukrainian officials have said. On Telegram, the State Emergency Service said that two dormitories and an educational facility in Rzhyshchiv, 64km south of the capital, had been partially destroyed in the overnight attack early on Wednesday. (11:15 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the modernisation of Moscow's air defence system would be completed this year, Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported. Shoigu added that during Russia's military campaign, "aerospace forces destroyed more than 20,000 enemy objects". (11:34 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 392 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-392 (12:05 GMT) China supports a United Nations-led investigation into the Nord Stream blast, a spokesperson from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. In a tweet, the Foreign Ministry said, "China supports a UN-led investigation into the Nord Stream blast. We hope some Western countries at the UNSC will be mindful of their responsibility for truth, constructively participate in the negotiations of the draft resolution, and work for early consensus on the resolution." (12:20 GMT) Russia announced a division of its Bastion coastal defence missile systems had been deployed to Paramushir, one of the Kuril islands in the north Pacific, some of which Japan claims as its territory. The move is part of a wider strengthening of Russian defences in its vast far eastern regions, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said, partly in response to what he called US efforts to "contain" Russia and China. (12:38 GMT) Russia has warned of a "serious" escalation of the Ukraine crisis if the United Kingdom were to give Kyiv armour-piercing ammunition that contains depleted uranium. "This is a step towards a further escalation, and a serious one at that," Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said. (12:54 GMT) President Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian troops on Wednesday near the front-line city of Bakhmut, and handed out medals to soldiers he said were heroically defending their country's sovereignty. (13:34 GMT) A group of Ukrainian soldiers take a break from the war with the help of hippotherapy - using riding and contact with horses for therapeutic effect. Therapists are using other animals, as well. The soldiers have to deal with the difficulties of war but they appear childlike, roaring with laughter over the therapist's dogs play-fighting or the cat sneakily eating their biscuits. The troops in small groups mount the horses and ride in circles with helpers beside them, trying to relax their legs and gradually raising their arms to waist and shoulder level and then above their head. (14:38 GMT) Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia was a "journey of friendship, cooperation and peace". Wenbin reiterated China's claims that it remains neutral in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and said it had "no selfish motives on the Ukraine issue, has not stood idly by ... or taken the opportunity to profit itself." "What China has done boils down to one word, that is, to promote peace talks," Wang said at a daily briefing on Wednesday. "President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia is a journey of friendship, cooperation and peace, which has aroused positive responses in the international community," Wang said. China would "continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement of the Ukrainian issue", Wang said, an apparent reference to a 12-point peace proposal put forward by Beijing that calls for a ceasefire and negotiations. (15:19 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says that while China's political and material support for Russia goes against US interests, Beijing has not provided substantial "lethal aid" to Moscow. "As we speak today, we have not seen them cross that line," Blinken said in response to a question at a Senate subcommittee hearing. Blinken has publicly warned for weeks that China is considering Russian requests for weapons to use in Ukraine. He spoke after Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Moscow this week to push a ceasefire proposal in the war, which has been met with scepticism by Washington. Blinken said Asia, and China in particular, are looking at the Russian invasion "very carefully. They will draw lessons from how the world comes together or doesn't to stand up to this aggression." (16:15 GMT) China's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin says that during President Xi Jinping's visit to Russia, both countries agreed that the United Nations Charter must be observed and international law be respected. "The two sides pointed out that the solution to the Ukraine crisis must respect the legitimate security concerns of all countries and prevent the formation of bloc confrontation and fanning flames. They stressed that responsible dialogue is the best way to resolve the issue steadily," said Wang in Beijing on Wednesday. "To this end, the international community should support relevant constructive efforts, and the two sides call for the cessation of all actions that could lead to a tense situation and prolonged war, so as to avoid further deterioration or even loss of control of the crisis," he said. (16:56 GMT) The ice hockey teams of Russia and Belarus will be barred from taking part in international competitions in the 2023-2024 season, the sport's governing body has said. Citing safety concerns, the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) council determined that it is not yet safe to reincorporate the Russian and Belarusian teams back into IIHF competitions for the upcoming 2023-2024 IIHF championship season. (17:33 GMT) Canada is extending a support programme meant to help Ukrainians and their immediate families to become temporary residents of the North American country and easily apply for work or study permits, the Canadian immigration ministry has said. The Canada-Ukraine authorisation for emergency travel programme, which was launched shortly after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine last February, was set to expire next week. Ukrainians and their family members of any nationality will now have until July 15 to apply for a visa under the programme, the immigration ministry said in a statement. Anyone holding such a visa will have until March 31, 2024 to travel to Canada and those already in the country will also be able to extend or adjust their temporary status during that time. (17:55 GMT) Ukraine's reconstruction and recovery needs have grown to $411bn, the World Bank has said. The assessment, made jointly by Ukraine's government, the World Bank, the European Commission and the United Nations, is an increase from the $349bn estimated in a report released in September. The latest evaluation expects Kyiv to require $14bn for critical and priority reconstruction and recovery investments in 2023. "Energy infrastructure, housing, critical infrastructure, economy and humanitarian demining are our five priorities for this year," Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a statement on Wednesday. He added that part of the reconstruction work has already been done. But Shmyhal warned that "the amount of damage and recovery needs currently does not include data on the loss of infrastructure, housing and businesses in the occupied territories." When the defence forces release them, authorities will start restoration work in these territories, he said. (19:34 GMT) The president of the Czech Republic expects Western support to Ukraine to decline over time, German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung quoted him as saying. "If support from the USA dwindles, support from a number of European countries will also dwindle. Ukraine must take that into account," Petr Pavel said in one of the first statements from a NATO member signalling support to Kyiv could wane. Pavel, who is a former NATO general, said the result of the presidential election in the United States next year will impact European support for Ukraine, and Kyiv must recognise that this year is decisive. "We have to take war fatigue into account and what it means for support from Western countries. This will decrease over time," he was quoted as saying. 20230323 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/23/russia-ukraine-live-bakhmut-counterattack-very-soon-ukraine (10:17 GMT) Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut will launch a counterassault "very soon", Ukraine's top ground forces commander said. On Telegram, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russia's Wagner mercenaries "are losing considerable strength and are running out of steam". "Very soon, we will take advantage of this opportunity, as we did in the past near Kyiv, Kharkiv, Balakliya and Kupiansk," he said, listing Ukrainian counteroffensives last year that proved turning points in the war. On Monday, the Wagner chief published a letter to Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, saying Ukraine aimed to cut off his forces from Russia's regular troops, demanding Shoigu act to prevent this and warning of "negative consequences" if he failed. (10:17 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has invited Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez to Beijing for a state visit as Xi tries to boost support for China's peace proposal for Ukraine. Spain's Minister for the Presidency Felix Bolanos confirmed late on Wednesday that Sanchez would visit China on March 30-31, citing Xi's "possible mediation in the war in Ukraine" as a critical reason for the visit. Spain takes over the EU's rotating presidency in July, with Sanchez portraying Madrid as a staunch NATO ally of Ukraine. (10:21 GMT) European Union leaders will discuss the war in Ukraine, including food supplies and sanctions, with UN chief Antonio Guterres, diplomats and officials say. Secretary General Guterres will be a guest at an EU summit in Brussels, days after the renewal of a deal brokered by the UN and Turkey on the safe export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to provide leaders with an update on the situation on the ground via video link. "We will, as always, reaffirm our unwavering commitment to assist Ukraine," declared Charles Michel, president of the European Council of EU leaders. The leaders will also announce a plan agreed upon by foreign ministers on Monday to send a million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year. (10:23 GMT) Any attempt to detain President Vladimir Putin after the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest would amount to a "declaration of war", former Russian President and Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says. "Let's imagine - obviously this situation will never be realised, but nevertheless, let's imagine that it was realised - the current head of the nuclear state went to a territory, say Germany, and was arrested," Medvedev said. "What would that be? It would be a declaration of war on the Russian Federation," he said in a video posted on Telegram. (10:42 GMT) According to a daily British Ministry of Defence update, "heavy fighting" has continued on the Luhansk front line since the beginning of March. "Russia has partially regained control over the immediate approaches to Kremina town, which was under immediate Ukrainian threat earlier in the year," the ministry's update said. "In places, Russia has made gains of up to several kilometres. Russian commanders are likely trying to expand a security zone west from the defence lines they have prepared along the higher ground and integrate the natural obstacle of the Oskil River," it added. The ministry also found that in the northeast of Ukraine, Russian forces are keeping a defensive position as commanders "probably fear" that it's a place where Ukraine could launch a counterattack. (11:01 GMT) Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has spoken out against weakening Russian sanctions, which Moscow has demanded in return for extending a deal that allows Ukraine to export grain across the Black Sea. She also called for the Group of Seven to tighten a cap on Russian oil prices to reduce the income the Kremlin uses to fight the war in Ukraine. "We know that Russia is earning less from the oil," she said upon arriving in Brussels for talks with other EU leaders. "... We see the economic sanctions, including the oil price cap, are having an effect on the Russian economy and their ability to fuel the war machine." "We should continue with that," she said, adding, however, that Estonia would agree to raise the cap should oil prices rise. (11:16 GMT) Poland is seeking an additional 240 million euros ($261m) in EU funding to refinance military purchases for Ukraine, the Polish prime minister says. "Poland has already received about 200 million zlotys [$45.5m] to refinance arms purchases for Ukraine," Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters in Brussels ahead of an EU summit. "We want to ... obtain 240 million euros, another billion zlotys, for Poland." (11:30 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Moscow does not expect an investigation into the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosions to be transparent. Moscow has repeatedly complained that it has not been informed about Denmark, Germany and Sweden's investigation into the unsolved explosions, which Moscow has called an act of "international terrorism". The blasts in September shut down the two Baltic Sea pipelines, built to carry Russian natural gas to Europe. (11:50 GMT) Zelenskyy has posted footage of a visit he has made to the Black Sea port of Kherson, where he has promised to "restore everything" in a city that Russia occupied for eight months. The Ukrainian leader said on Telegram that he discussed providing electricity during his visit to Kherson, which fell to the Russians a year ago and was retaken in November. "We considered the restoration of electricity supply in the de-occupied territories and the repair of equipment destroyed due to Russian shelling," he said. (12:12 GMT) Russian political and military leaders should be put on trial for the invasion of Ukraine even if they cannot be arrested and brought to court in person, Kyiv's top prosecutor says. "I believe that it could be [held] in absentia because it's important to deliver a matter of justice for international crimes even if perpetrators are not in the dock," he said. (12:28 GMT) Hungary would not arrest Putin if he enters the country, Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff says. Gergely Gulyas said the Rome Statute, which established the ICC, has not been built into the Hungarian legal system. "We can refer to the Hungarian law, and based on that, we cannot arrest the Russian president ... as the ICC's statute has not been promulgated in Hungary," Gulyas said. He said Hungary's government "had not formed a stance" on the ICC's arrest warrant for Putin on war crimes charges. "These decisions are not the most fortunate as they take things towards further escalation and not towards peace," Gulyas said. "This is my personal subjective opinion." (12:48 GMT) According to the Ukrainian government, forces from Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries are allegedly deporting residents from the Bakhmut suburbs. The Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said, "Militants forcefully take local residents to captured areas of [the] Luhansk region, where they are filtered. After that, they are deported to Perm and other remote regions of the Russian Federation." (13:08 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 393 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-393 (13:33 GMT) Finland's defence minister said he did not want to donate Hornet fighter jets to Ukraine, despite Kyiv's request. "My view as Finland's defence minister is that we need these Hornets to secure our own country," Antti Kaikkonen told a news conference in Helsinki. "I view negatively the idea that they would be donated during the next few years. And if we look even further, my understanding is that they begin to be worn out and will have little use value left," he said. Finland is replacing its old Hornet fleet with F-35 fighters it ordered in 2021, but the delivery is still two to three years away. Finland will, however, send three more Leopard 2 tanks, Kaikkonen told a news conference. (13:45 GMT) Slovakia has delivered the first four MiG-29 jets it pledged to donate to Ukraine, with the remaining planes to be delivered in the coming weeks, the Slovak Defence Ministry said. Slovakia last week joined fellow NATO member Poland in announcing the delivery of jets to Ukraine. In total, Slovakia said it would donate 13 of the Soviet-made planes. (14:32 GMT) Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said Western sanctions against Moscow target ordinary people. "At the very beginning, the West tried to assure us that the sanctions were not directed against our citizens. And then there were no illusions about this, but now even a person far from global politics understands that the main goal was the Russian people," Mishustin said in an address to the State Duma. He said Moscow was hit by sanctions of unprecedented scale that, as a result, provoked mass unemployment. "Russia's opponents were unscrupulous in means. Blasted Nord Stream gas pipelines. Froze our accounts, switched off [the] system of international payments, tried to block all banks and other economic activities," he said. (14:55 GMT) The Turkish parliament's foreign affairs committee has approved a bill ratifying Finland's bid to join NATO, state broadcaster TRT Haber reports. The bill still needs to be approved by the parliament's general assembly. Sweden, which applied to join the bloc simultaneously with Finland, has yet to be approved by Turkey. (15:15 GMT) The international medical aid group Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, or MSF) reveals in a new report the widespread destruction of health facilities in Ukraine due to Russia's invasion. MSF has warned the warring countries to uphold "international humanitarian law and their obligations to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure". "Despite requests to work on both sides of the frontline, MSF is only able to operate in areas under Ukrainian control, and our observations are limited to those areas," MSF said in a statement. "The use of landmines is widespread in frontline areas, but to see them placed in medical facilities is shocking: a remarkable act of inhumanity," said Vincenzo Porpiglia, project coordinator for MSF activities in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. "It sends a clear message to those who come in search of medicines or treatments: Hospitals are not a safe place." (15:36 GMT) Sweden's prime minister says he will seek an explanation from Hungary on why the ratification of his country's NATO membership is being delayed while Finland's is expected to be approved next week. (15:59 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg dismissed Russian complaints about Britain's announcement that it will send Ukraine ammunition containing depleted uranium. On Wednesday, Moscow warned of a "serious" escalation of the Ukraine crisis if London sends Kyiv armour-piercing rounds. "NATO allies are following international rules and international law in everything they do in their support for Ukraine," Stoltenberg told AFP when asked about the British plans and Russian complaints. "The dangerous thing is the war, which is taking thousands of lives," he said at the operational launch of a new fleet of NATO-EU air-refuelling planes at a Dutch airbase. (16:52 GMT) Zelenskyy told EU leaders that "delays" in sending fighter jets and long-range missiles could extend the war, an EU official told AFP. The Ukrainian president addressed a summit of his EU counterparts via video link and welcomed an EU plan to send Kyiv one million artillery shells over the next 12 months. But Zelenskyy insisted that delays in supplying jets and long-range missiles could drag out the conflict, the EU official said. (17:23 GMT) Russian forces have left the town of Nova Kakhovka in southern Kherson region, the Ukrainian military's General Staff has said. "As of 22nd March 2023, all units of the occupying army that had been deployed in the town of Nova Kakhovka in Kherson region, have left the city," the General Staff said in its evening report outlining conditions on the front lines. The Russian-installed official denied the report: "I officially declare that all Russian military personnel in Nova Kakhovka, as well as in other places of deployment on the left bank of the Dnipro (river), remain in their place," Vladimir Saldo said on social media. The town is located on the east bank of the Dnipro River, where Russian forces redeployed last November after abandoning positions on the west bank in the face of a counter-offensive by Ukrainian troops. (18:16 GMT) The Ukrainian army withdraws a previous report saying Russian forces have left the town of Nova Kakhovka in southern Kherson region. Russians are still there, it said. "Information about the alleged withdrawal of the enemy from this settlement was made public as a result of incorrect use of available data," Ukraine's general staff said on the Telegram messenger. (18:49 GMT) European Union leaders have endorsed a plan to supply a million artillery shells to Ukraine over the next year. "We need to support Ukraine to defend itself, we need to continue to show solidarity and avoid any sign of fatigue," European Parliament head Roberta Metsola said during the EU summit to which also UN chief Antonio Guterres participated. Officials say Ukraine is burning through shells at a faster rate than its allies can produce them, prompting a renewed search for ammunition and ways to boost production, which requires more money. The EU earmarked 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) for the swift supply of shells - and possibly missiles - from existing stocks and another 1 billion euros for joint orders by EU countries for more rounds. (19:24 GMT) The International Criminal Court (ICC) has expressed concern over "threats" from Russia following its issuing of a war crimes arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/23/icc-concerned-by-russian-threats-over-putin-arrest-warrant 20230324 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/24/russia-ukraine-live-no-plans-for-conflict-with-nato-moscow (10:17 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow is not planning to enter into a direct conflict with NATO and is interested in resolving the crisis through talks, the Interfax news agency reported. <=== However, he warned any Ukrainian attempt to take the Crimean Peninsula would be grounds for Moscow to use "absolutely any weapon" against Kyiv. (10:19 GMT) The Kremlin says it is essential to identify an object discovered next to one of the Nord Stream pipelines and the ongoing investigation into the blasts must be transparent. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters it was a positive sign that Denmark had invited the Russian-controlled operator of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to help salvage an unidentified object found last week close to the Baltic Sea pipelines. "It's certainly positive news when the owner of the pipeline is invited to take part in very important phases of the investigation," Peskov said. "It is critically important to determine what kind of object it is, whether it is related to this terrorist act - apparently it is - and to continue this investigation. And this investigation must be transparent," he added. (10:41 GMT) According to the Ria Novosti news agency, Estonia's foreign ministry has declared a Russian diplomat working at Moscow's embassy in Tallinn as persona non grata. In a statement, the ministry said, "Today, March 24, the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy and submitted a diplomatic note declaring a diplomatic officer of the Embassy persona non grata." (11:06 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says using depleted uranium shells would harm Ukrainian troops and the population and negatively affect the country's agriculture sector, the Interfax news agency reported. "The West is well aware of the negative consequences of using depleted uranium ammunition," Igor Kirillov, head of the Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Forces of Russia's defence ministry, said in a statement. Ukraine's agricultural industry could suffer "for decades, if not centuries, into the future", he added. Earlier this week, the UK said it would send shells containing depleted uranium to Ukraine to aid its war efforts. (12:01 GMT) A Russian security officer has been sentenced to six-and-a-half years in a high-security prison after fleeing the country because he objected to the invasion of Ukraine, the Taiga.info news website reported. A court in the city of Barnaul found Federal Protective Service Major Mikhail Zhilin, 36, who had worked on communications at a security facility in Siberia, guilty of deserting and illegal border crossing and, in addition to the prison term, stripped him of his officer rank. Zhilin fled to Kazakhstan last year when Russia announced a conscription campaign. (12:31 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 394 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-394 (12:57 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has awarded the female soldiers who repelled a drone attack in Sevastopol, TASS news agency reported. A statement from the defence ministry said, "Today, at the National Defence Control Center of the Russian Federation, Russian Defense Minister General of the Army Sergey Shoigu presented the Order of Courage to servicemen of the Crimean naval base of the Black Sea Fleet, who, being on combat duty, repelled an attack by unmanned vehicles." (13:20 GMT) The United Nations says it is "deeply concerned" by summary executions of prisoners of war by Russian and Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. The head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, said her organisation has documented the killings of "up to 25 Russian prisoners of war" by Ukrainian armed forces as well as "the summary execution of 15 Ukrainian prisoners of war shortly after being captured by Russian armed forces".n combat duty, repelled an attack by unmanned vehicles." (13:42 GMT) Ukraine has renewed the push to keep Russian athletes out of the Olympics before an International Olympic Committee board meeting next week which is expected to set the framework for their return. Ukraine's sports minister was sharply critical of the IOC's push to reintegrate Russia and its ally Belarus into world sports. (14:01 GMT) The European Peace Facility, which is used to fund arms for Ukraine, will amount to at least 3.5 billion euros ($3.76bn) in the coming years, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said on the sidelines of an EU summit in Brussels. "Poland's compensation from the facility for transferring arms to Ukraine will amount to some 300 million euros next month and 500-600 million in the following months," Morawiecki told reporters. (14:18 GMT) The world should listen to China to find a way out of the war in Ukraine, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez says. "China is a global actor, so obviously we must listen to its voice to see if between all of us, we can put an end to this war and Ukraine can recover its territorial integrity," Sanchez told a news conference in Brussels following a meeting of the European Council. (14:40 GMT) Russia wants to create demilitarised buffer zones inside Ukraine around areas it has annexed, former President Dmitry Medvedev said. "We need to achieve all the goals that have been set to protect our territories, that is, the territories of the Russian Federation," Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said in an interview. We need to "throw out all the foreigners who are there in the broad sense of the word, create a buffer zone which would not allow the use of any types of weapons that work at medium and short distances, that is 70-100km, to demilitarise it", Medvedev said. <=== Russia would have to push further into Ukraine if such zones were not established, he added, taking Kyiv or even Lviv. (15:17 GMT) Russia's wartime censorship laws have intensified as the conflict continues. According to the human rights monitor OVD-Info, at least 482 people have been charged under Russia's strict new laws. Among those, some 136 have been sent to prison. (15:47 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official says the security situation around the southern Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv will have to improve before its ports can be included in the grain deal. While the Black Sea grain deal was extended last week, Ukraine wants the agreement to include Mykolaiv's ports and the Odesa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi ports. In comments to reporters, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksander Kubrakov said the government negotiated hard to include new ports in the deal because it was crucial for the economy. "Today the security situation in Mykolaiv is different compared to that in the ports of greater Odesa," Kubrakov told reporters in Chornomorsk port. (16:15 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron says European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen will join him on an upcoming visit to China. Macron is to travel to China early next month for talks with President Xi Jinping as Western leaders urge Beijing to pressure Russia to end the war in Ukraine. (16:41 GMT) Air force commanders from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark say they had signed a letter of intent to create a unified Nordic air defence force to counter Russia. According to statements by the four countries' armed forces, they plan joint operations based on already known ways of working under NATO. The move to integrate the air forces was triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year, the commander of the Danish air force, Major General Jan Dam, told the Reuters news agency. "Our combined fleet can be compared to a large European country," Dam said. Norway has 57 F-16 fighter jets and 37 F-35 fighter jets. Finland has 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets and 64 F-35s on order while Denmark has 58 F-16s and 27 F-35s on order. Sweden has more than 90 Gripens jets. (17:31 GMT) EU plans to seize Russian assets prioritising state assets of around $350bn, are unprecedented and tricky, the EU task force head has told AFP. "Nothing is simple" when it comes to finding the massive sums intended to be diverted to pay for Ukraine's reconstruction, Swedish career diplomat Anders Ahnlid said in an interview in Stockholm. But Europe plans to be "innovative", he said. From oligarchs' yachts to the Russian central bank's foreign reserves, there is a mountain of wealth to be had, but seizing it in a legal manner is easier said than done. "It is a challenge to find legal means that are acceptable," Ahnlid said, a week after the EU working group's first meeting. (19:51 GMT) The Group of Creditors of Ukraine (GCU) body says it has provided financing assurances to support the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) approval for an upper credit tranche programme to help restore Ukraine's economy. The Group of Creditors of Ukraine includes Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the United States. 20230325 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/25/putin-says-will-deploy-tactical-nuclear-weapons-in-belarus Russia has struck a deal with neighbouring Belarus to station tactical nuclear weapons on its territory, President Vladimir Putin says. Putin made the announcement on Saturday as tensions grow with the West over the Ukraine war and as some Russian commentators speculate about possible nuclear strikes. The deal with Belarus would not violate nuclear nonproliferation agreements, Putin said, adding that the United States had stationed nuclear weapons in the territory of its European allies for decades. "We agreed that we will do the same - without violating our obligations, I emphasize, without violating our international obligations on the nonproliferation of nuclear weapons," Putin said. Putin told state television that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had long raised the issue of stationing tactical nuclear weapons in his country, which borders NATO member Poland. Russia will have completed the construction of a storage facility for tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus by July 1, Putin said, adding that Russia would not actually be transferring control of the arms to Minsk. He also said he would deploy depleted uranium ammunition if Kyiv receives such munitions from the West. His comment followed a British announcement that it would supply Ukraine with these anti-tank shells. 20230326 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/26/ukraine-russia-live-russia-took-belarus-as-a-nuclear-hostage (07:07 GMT) Ukraine will no longer resort to "dangerous" monetary financing to fund the war against Russia, its central bank governor, Andriy Pyshnyi, has told the Financial Times in an interview. The head of the National Bank of Ukraine said in the interview published on Sunday that it had "created huge risks for macro-financial stability" when the bank was last year forced to print billions of hryvnia to plug a budget shortfall, adding that an "open conflict" with the government over the issue had been resolved. "It was a quick remedy, but very dangerous," Pyshnyi told the newspaper. (07:11 GMT) The US Department of Defense has said that there are no indications that Russia is preparing to use nuclear weapons after Moscow's announcement to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. "We have seen reports of Russia's announcement and will continue to monitor this situation," the Department of Defense's press office said in a written statement. "We have not seen any reason to adjust our own strategic nuclear posture nor any indications Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon. We remain committed to the collective defense of the NATO alliance." (07:12 GMT) Kyiv has said Russia was holding Minsk as a "nuclear hostage," referring to an announcement by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons to ally Belarus. "The Kremlin took Belarus as a nuclear hostage," the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, Oleksiy Danilov, wrote on Twitter, adding that the move was "a step towards the internal destabilization of the country". (07:57 GMT) Russian natural gas company Gazprom has said that it will ship 37.3 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Sunday. (08:08 GMT) Russia and China are not creating a military alliance, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said in an televised interview broadcast on Sunday, stating that the two countries' military cooperation was transparent, according to news agencies. Putin also said Western powers were building a new "axis", bearing some resemblance to Germany and Japan's World War Two alliance. (08:37 GMT) Analysts at the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has said that the risk of escalation to nuclear war "remains extremely low". "ISW continues to assess that Putin is a risk-averse actor who repeatedly threatens to use nuclear weapons without any intention of following through in order to break Western resolve," it wrote. However, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin's announcement an extremely dangerous escalation. "In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences," it said on Twitter. (09:37 GMT) A new campaign is under way across Russia that seeks volunteers to replenish its troops for the war in Ukraine, according to a report by the Associated Press news agency. Advertisements promise cash bonuses and other benefits as recruiters make cold calls to eligible men, the report said, adding that enlistment offices are working with universities and social service agencies to lure students and the unemployed. (10:27 GMT) The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons called Putin's announcement that he will deploy nuclear weapons to Belarus an extremely dangerous escalation. "In the context of the war in Ukraine, the likelihood of miscalculation or misinterpretation is extremely high. Sharing nuclear weapons makes the situation much worse and risks catastrophic humanitarian consequences," it said on Twitter. President Putin's announcement that Russia will deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus could have "extremely catastrophic consequences", according to Susi Snyder of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. "It increases the risk of the use of nuclear weapons by adding more actors, who might potentially have the ability to drop nuclear bombs, and create potential for chaos and miscommunication," Snyder told Al Jazeera. (12:18 GMT) Bulgaria's Vice President Ilijana Iotova has called for negotiations between Russia and Ukraine after the Kremlin's announcement of plans to transfer Russian nuclear weapons to Belarus. The situation is becoming "increasingly dangerous and frightening", she said, adding that is why she and Bulgarian President Rumen Radev keep calling for negotiations. "These are not empty words," Iotova said. (12:31 GMT) NATO has criticised Russia for its "dangerous and irresponsible" nuclear rhetoric over possible deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus. "NATO is vigilant, and we are closely monitoring the situation. We have not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture that would lead us to adjust our own," a NATO spokesperson said. The official, quoted by the Reuters news agency, added: "Russia's reference to NATO's nuclear sharing is totally misleading. NATO allies act with full respect of their international commitments. (12:51 GMT) Ukraine has called for an emergency meeting of the United Nation Security Council over Russia's announcement that it would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. (14:41 GMT) An explosion in Russia's southern town of Kireyevsk that injured two people on Sunday was caused by a drone, Russian state-owned TASS news agency quoted law enforcement as saying. The explosion created a crater in the centre of the town of Kireyevsk, and damaged three residential buildings, a regional security agency was quoted as saying by TASS. The drone that hit the centre of a Russian town on Sunday, injuring three people, was a Ukrainian Tupolev Tu-141 Strizh and was packed with explosives, the TASS news agency has quoted a law enforcement source as saying. Russia has said in the past that Ukrainian drones have flown into its territory and caused damage to civilian infrastructure, an assertion that Kyiv denies. Russian authorities say a drone caused an explosion in a town far from Ukraine border on Sunday afternoon in the town of Kireyevsk, in the Tula region about 300 kilometres from the border with Ukraine and 175 kilometres south of Moscow. (15:12 GMT) Germany has condemned a decision by Russian President Vladimir Putin to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, bringing the arms closer to the European Union. The announcement was "another attempt at nuclear intimidation by Russia", an official in the foreign office told AFP. Putin justified the move on Saturday, saying: "There is nothing unusual here either. The United States has been doing this for decades. "They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies," Putin said in an interview on Russian television. (15:26 GMT) Tensions are on the rise at a prominent Orthodox monastery complex in Kyiv called the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra where the monks are facing eviction later this month. It's the most revered site in Ukrainian Orthodoxy. The Ukrainian government accuses the monks of links to Moscow, even though they claim to have severed ties with the Russian Orthodox Church following Russia's full-scale of invasion of Ukraine. Church representatives say this is a pretext for a continued government crackdown on the institution, which has historic ties to Moscow. (16:37 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has urged Belarus not to host Russian nuclear weapons, warning of further sanctions for the Russian ally if it did allow Russia to deploy its weapons. "Belarus hosting Russian nuclear weapons would mean an irresponsible escalation and threat to European security. Belarus can still stop it, it is their choice. The EU stands ready to respond with further sanctions," Borrell said in a tweet. (17:07 GMT) Russia beat Iraq 2-0 in an international friendly as it hosted its first football match on home soil since November 2021. The home team's goals came in the second half through Anton Miranchuk and Sergei Pinyaev at the Saint Petersburg Stadium. Russia was banned by FIFA from international competitions because of Moscow's war in Ukraine. (17:49 GMT) Choirs from across the world have joined their voices to sing for peace in Ukraine, with nearly 300 singers gathering in Madrid where the initiative began a year ago. Singers from 46 choirs in and around the Spanish capital gathered outside the Reina Sofia art museum and began singing along with 1,000 singers from Ukraine as well as choirs from 81 locations across Europe and Latin America. "We are here to support Ukraine and say we need peace now, that we have to stop this war," said Elvira Polyenova, a 48-year-old Ukrainian soprano who used to perform at Odessa opera house, and who sang the opening solo in "There is Peace." (18:28 GMT) Ukrainian fans turned a section of Wembley blue and yellow as they watched their team play England in an emotional Euro 2024 qualifier in London. Gareth Southgate's team put on composed display to win the match 2-0, thanks to goals by Bukayo Saka and captain Harry Kane. 20230327 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/27/russia-ukraine-live-avdiivka-turning-post-apocalyptic-kyiv (09:32 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, said that NATO countries are a party to the conflict in Ukraine, according to excerpts from an interview. "In fact, NATO countries are a party to the conflict. They made Ukraine one big military camp. They send weapons and ammunition to the Ukrainian troops, provide them with intelligence," Rossiyskaya Gazeta cited Patrushev as saying. Patrushev, a former chief of the FSB internal security service, is widely seen as one of the most hawkish members of Vladimir Putin's inner circle. (09:32 GMT) Moscow may seek compensation over damage from last year's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, news agency RIA Novosti reported. "We do not rule out the later raising of the issue of compensation for damage as a result of the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines," Dmitry Birichevsky, the head of Russia's Foreign Ministry department for economic cooperation, said in an interview with the news agency. He did not say who Russia would seek damages from and that the future of the pipelines was unclear. "At the moment, it's very difficult to speak about the future of the Nord Stream pipelines system. On the whole, according to experts, the damaged lines could be restored," he said. (09:54 GMT) Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from the 2024 Paris Olympics unless Moscow pulls its forces out of Ukraine, Poland said, after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said it plans to let them compete as neutrals. (10:55 GMT) Prosecutors say Poland has detained a foreign citizen on charges of spying for Russia. Prosecutors in the northern city of Gdansk said in a statement that the suspect had been detained on Tuesday. "The findings made in the case show that the suspect acted for the benefit of Russian intelligence by obtaining and collecting information ... on critical infrastructure in the Pomeranian and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Regions and on the activities of services and bodies responsible for security," the statement said. "The information obtained was passed on to the Russian intelligence service," it added. The arrest was made after Poland reportedly dismantled a Russian spy network that had been preparing acts of sabotage and monitoring rail routes to Ukraine. (11:21 GMT) Western criticism will not change plans announced by Putin to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus, the Kremlin says. "Such a reaction, of course, cannot influence Russian plans," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Putin announced the decision on Saturday, saying it would not violate Russia's agreements on nuclear nonproliferation. He said this was "nothing unusual". "The United States has been doing this for decades. They have long placed their tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of their allies," Putin said. (11:55 GMT) Ukrainian crews that have been training to use Challenger 2 tanks are now ready to be deployed to the front line, the British government says. "Ukrainian tank crews have completed training on Challenger 2 tanks in the UK and have returned home to continue their fight against Russia's illegal and unprovoked invasion," the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement. The crews learned how to command, drive and "effectively identify and engage targets", the ministry said. "It is truly inspiring to witness the determination of Ukrainian soldiers having completed their training on British Challenger 2 tanks on British soil," Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said. (12:14 GMT) The secretary of Russia's Security Council warned that his country has the weapons to destroy any enemy, including the United States, if its own existence is threatened. "American politicians trapped by their own propaganda remain confident that in the event of a direct conflict with Russia, the United States is capable of launching a preventive missile strike, after which Russia will no longer be able to respond," Nikolai Patrushev told the government-published Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. "This is short-sighted stupidity and very dangerous." "Russia is patient and does not intimidate anyone with its military advantage, but it has modern, unique weapons capable of destroying any adversary, including the United States, in the event of a threat to its existence," he said. (12:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 397 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-397 (13:23 GMT) Belarus accuses Poland of causing long delays at its border with the European Union by slowing the movement of trucks. "Since Friday, a queue in front of the only accessible border crossing point on the Belarusian-Polish border, Kukuryki (Kozlowiczy), has doubled in size and now totals 1,000 vehicles," the Belarusian border committee said in a statement. "The main reason is the failure of the Polish side to implement bilateral agreements on the passage of trucks," it said, accusing Poland of only processing 61 percent of the typical number of trucks crossing the border over the weekend. (13:41 GMT) Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have issued a joint statement calling for the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to refrain from allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Games in Paris. (14:03 GMT) Ukraine fears the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant will face a water shortage to cool reactors by late summer because Russian forces have let some water out of a reservoir. (14:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has met with Rafael Grossi, the head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, in Zaporizhzhia, where they discussed the precarious situation at Europe's largest nuclear power station. In the meeting, covered by The Associated Press, Grossi expressed his concern that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant "isn't getting any better." He said the situation remains tense because of the militarisation of the area around it, the recent blackout at the plant and, on multiple occasions, the switch to emergency diesel generators. Grossi, who is director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, plans to visit the plant, which is held by Russian forces, this week. (14:45 GMT) The 18 Leopard 2 battle tanks pledged by Germany to support Ukraine have arrived, a security source told the Reuters news agency, confirming a report by Spiegel news magazine. Besides the 18 main battle tanks, 40 German Marder infantry fighting vehicles and two armoured recovery vehicles have also reached Ukraine, the security source said. The German army trained the Ukrainian tank crews and the soldiers assigned to operate the Marder vehicles for several weeks. Beyond the German vehicles, three Leopard tanks donated by Portugal have also reached Ukraine, according to the security source. (15:16 GMT) A police chief in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol survived an alleged assassination attempt when his car was blown up, Russian state media reported. The TASS news agency reported that police chief Mikhail Moskvin's car was blown up but that he was alive. "In the morning the car of police chief Moskvin was blow up. He is alive, everything is fine," the anonymous source said, adding that he sustained a "light injury". The RIA Novosti agency reported that the explosive device placed underneath Moskvin's car went off as he stood close to it and that he did not need to be hospitalised. (15:40 GMT) Poland and the European Union discussed artillery munitions manufacturing as part of a new 2 billion euro ($2.2 billion) program to supply Ukraine and replenish Europe's stocks. EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton visited DEZAMET S.A. munition plant in Nowa Deba, in southeast Poland, joined by Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki and Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak. Breton said the EU is "determined" to quickly do what is needed in light of a conflict that's expected to drag on. Morawiecki said munitions are what's most urgently needed by Kyiv's forces. (17:41 GMT) The Hungarian parliament, dominated by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's right-wing Fidesz party, ratified Finland's NATO membership after months of diplomatically charged delay. The vote means that 29 out of 30 NATO member state parliaments have ratified Finland's accession, with the last - Turkey's assembly - expected to also give Helsinki the nod next month. (18:13 GMT) Russia has warned Armenia of "serious consequences" if it submits to the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) which has issued an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin, the RIA news agency has reported. Armenia, a traditional Russian ally whose ties with Moscow have frayed badly since Putin gave the order to invade Ukraine in what he called a "special military operation", is moving towards becoming a state party to the Rome Statute, a move that would bring it under the jurisdiction of the ICC. (19:13 GMT) Ukraine has shut the eastern town of Avdiivka to non-military personnel, describing it as a post-apocalyptic wasteland, as Kyiv tried to break the back of Russia's flagging winter offensive before a counterassault of its own. A Ukrainian general said Kyiv was planning its next move after Moscow appeared to shift focus from the small city of Bakhmut, which Russia has failed to capture after several months of the war's bloodiest fighting, to Avdiivka further south. The Ukrainian Armed Forces General Staff said in an evening update that Russian forces were still trying to storm Bakhmut and had shelled the city and surrounding towns. (19:47 GMT) The UN Security Council has rejected a resolution tabled by Russia calling for an independent inquiry into explosions in September on the Nord Stream gas pipelines, connecting Russia and Germany, that spewed gas into the Baltic Sea. Only Russia, China and Brazil voted in favor of the Russian-drafted resolution, while the remaining 12 council members abstained. A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, the United States or Britain to pass. (20:01 GMT) Switzerland has abstained from voting at the UN Security Council for an independent probe into the Nord Stream blasts as it prefers to see first the results of an ongoing investigation led by Denmark, Germany and Sweden. "In principle, UN investigations can add value, for example in the absence of credible national investigations by competent authorities," Swiss authorities said in a statement. "In this specific case, investigations by Denmark, Germany and Sweden are already under way. Switzerland considers it more appropriate to await the results of these investigations, while at the same time calling for a rapid clarification of the acts of sabotage." 20230328 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/28/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-to-exhaust-russian-forces-in-bakhmut (09:30 GMT) Russia's bid to get the UN Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry into explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines was a meaningful option in the search for the truth, said China's foreign minister. On Monday, Russia failed to win over the 15-member council to pass a draft resolution asking UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish an international investigation into the "sabotage" and identify who was to blame. Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council before the vote, "Without an objective and transparent international investigation, the truth will not be uncovered as to what happened." Only Russia, China and Brazil voted in favour of the resolution, while the remaining 12 council members abstained. Those who abstained said they did so because the national investigations should be allowed to conclude before considering any UN action. (09:31 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian troops were holding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant hostage, and its safety could not be guaranteed until they left. (09:32 GMT) Belarus said it had decided to host Russian tactical nuclear weapons after years of pressure from the United States and its allies aimed at changing its political and geopolitical direction. The Belarusian Foreign Ministry said in a statement, "Over the last two and a half years, the Republic of Belarus has been subjected to unprecedented political, economic and information pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom and its NATO allies, as well as the member states of the European Union. "In view of these circumstances, and the legitimate concerns and risks in the sphere of national security arising from them, Belarus is forced to respond by strengthening its own security and defence capabilities." Minsk said the plans would not contravene international non-proliferation agreements as Belarus would not have control over the weapon. (09:33 GMT) Ukraine aims to exhaust and inflict heavy losses on Russian forces trying to capture Bakhmut, the commander of Ukrainian Ground Forces said. General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a video posted to Telegram: "They do not stop trying to surround and capture the city. (09:33 GMT) Russian Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said that possible drone attacks against critical energy infrastructure seriously threaten its energy security. "The key threat now is acts of illegal interference through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," Shulginov said during a round-table discussion addressing the security of Russia's energy facilities. He said he was cooperating with Russia's defence ministry and FSB security service. (09:57 GMT) The United Kingdom and Poland will build two temporary villages in western and central Ukraine to provide housing for those forced from their homes by Russia's invasion, London said. The UK's government, which pledged 10 million pounds ($12.3 million) in funding, said the villages in Lviv in western Ukraine and Poltava in central Ukraine would be able to house more than 700 people, a fraction of the millions either displaced in Ukraine or who have fled the country. (10:17 GMT) The Kremlin said it would keep demanding an international investigation into explosions that damaged the Nord Stream gas pipelines under the Baltic Sea last year after failing to win backing for a resolution at the United Nations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said everyone should be interested in an impartial investigation to find the culprits. On Monday, Russia failed to get the UN Security Council to ask for an independent inquiry into the explosions. Peskov said Russia viewed the outcome at the UN "with regret". (10:31 GMT) A Russian-installed regional leader said that Russian forces are moving forward in Bakhmut despite fierce resistance and have almost taken complete control of a metals plant. Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed leader of the part of the Donetsk region under Moscow's control, said the bulk of Ukrainian forces had been forced to pull back from the AZOM metals factory on the western side of the Bakhmutka River. "The important thing here was to clear out the industrial zone at the plant itself. You can practically say that has now been done, with the guys just finishing off [Ukrainian] fighters there who are only left in solitary groups," said Pushilin. (10:49 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said that as support for Ukraine wanes in certain countries, Ukrainians are also tired of fighting in the war. On Twitter, he wrote: "We hear from certain countries: people are tired, support for Ukraine is decreasing. I get it. Ukrainians are also tired. But we have no choice. We are an outpost of European security & intl law. True leadership is seeing the challenges of times & seeing that Europe also has no choice." (11:07 GMT) International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach defended plans to get Russian and Belarusian athletes back into competitions as neutrals, saying their participation "works" despite the ongoing war. The IOC has set a pathway for athletes to earn Olympic slots through Asian qualifying, but has faced pushback, with Ukraine threatening to boycott the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. (11:27 GMT) Russia's navy fired supersonic anti-ship missiles at a fake target in the Sea of Japan, the Russian defence ministry said. "In the waters of the Sea of Japan, missile ships of the Pacific Fleet fired Moskit cruise missiles at a mock enemy sea target," the ministry said on Telegram. "The target, located at a distance of about 100 kilometres, was successfully hit by a direct hit from two Moskit cruise missiles." (11:42 GMT) Russia has redirected all its crude oil exports affected by Western sanctions to "friendly" countries, Energy Minister Nikolai Shulginov said. The West imposed wide-ranging sanctions, including an embargo on seaborne Russian oil imports, after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022. "I can say today that we have managed to completely redirect the entire volume of exports affected by the embargo. There was no decrease in sales," Shulginov told an energy forum. (11:58 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 398 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-398 (12:14 GMT) Amnesty International's annual report highlighted the West's "double standards" towards human rights abuses in the context of the Ukraine war. "The West's formidable response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine underscored double standards, exposing in comparison how inconsequential their reactions have been to so many other violations of the UN Charter," said Amnesty Secretary-General Agnes Callamard as she presented the group's world report in Paris. The report found that as Western countries quickly bound together to impose sanctions on Moscow, the same approach was missing from previous violations by Russia and others to current "pitiful" responses to conflicts in Ethiopia and Myanmar. Callamard told Al Jazeera from Paris on Monday, "In 2022, we had the fantastic example of how the world came to support and show solidarity with the Ukrainian people. But we did not have a similar kind of support and solidarity for the Palestinian people, the people of Ethiopia, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of Congo." (12:44 GMT) The Polish prime minister said Belarus would face further sanctions due to a Russian plan to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. "This step taken by Russia ... the announcement of the deployment of nuclear weapons in Belarus will certainly lead to the announcement of additional sanctions, the level of sanctions will be much more severe for the Lukashenko regime," PM Mateusz Morawiecki said during a news conference in Bucharest, referring to Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. (13:04 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelesnkyy has visited the Sumy region in northern Ukraine as he continues his tour of front-line areas. (13:25 GMT) Russia says it has shot down a United States-supplied ground-launched small-diameter bomb (GLSDB) fired by Ukrainian forces, the RIA Novosti news agency reported. "Air defense systems intercepted 18 HIMARS multiple rocket launchers and one GLSDB guided missile in a day," a defence ministry summary said. The Russian statement said air defence forces had shot down the GLSDB within the last 24 hours, without saying where this had occurred. The Ground-launched Small Diameter Bomb is fired on a rocket, then it glides to its target, guided by a GPS satellite, at 150km (93km) range, around double that of the US-supplied high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS) that Kyiv deployed last year. (13:56 GMT) After his daughter drew an anti-war picture at school, a Russian man was convicted of discrediting the armed forces and sentenced to two years in a penal colony, the OVD-Info rights group has said. However, a court spokesperson said Alexei Moskalyov had escaped house arrest overnight, and his whereabouts were unknown. "The accused, Mr Moskalyov, was not present for the sentencing because last night he ran away from house arrest," the spokesperson said in a video. (14:15 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, Russian soldiers have continued to prioritise circling the town of Avdiivka, despite losses. "Russian forces have made only marginal progress at the cost of heavy losses in armoured vehicles. Russia's 10th Tank Regiment has likely lost a large proportion of its tanks while attempting to surround Avdiivka from the south," the ministry said. The update added that the "3rd army corps" were dealing with problems of poor morale and ill-discipline, displaying "limited combat effectiveness". (14:36 GMT) Germany is planning to increase its military aid spending for Ukraine, a member of the parliamentary budget committee told AFP. About 12 billion euros ($12.9bn) more in spending is due to be approved by the committee, with the funds to go towards military help for Kyiv and replenishing equipment stocks. If approved, the German army can begin spending the funds this year, with additional money earmarked for the coming years. It was unclear how the sum would be allocated and the timeframe of the fund. But the sum would dwarf Berlin's three billion euros ($3.25bn)in military aid for Kyiv so far. (15:20 GMT) The head of the United Nations nuclear watchdog said his attempt to broker a deal to protect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant was still alive. Rafael Grossi has been pushing for a safety zone to be created at the plant to prevent a possible nuclear disaster, as Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling the site of the power station since Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year. "We are making some adjustments on the proposals that we are putting on the table," Grossi said in an interview with the Reuters news agency. "I am confident that it might be possible to establish some form of protection, perhaps not emphasising so much the idea of a zone, but on the protection itself: what people should do, or shouldn't do to protect [the plant] instead of having a territorial concept." Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is expected to visit the nuclear plant on Wednesday. (15:46 GMT) Olympic chiefs recommend returning Russian and Belarusian athletes to competition as individuals under a neutral flag with no links to the military. International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach said the IOC had recommended to international federations and event organisers that "athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must compete only as Individual Neutral Athletes". The committee added that "teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport cannot be considered". Also missing out will be "athletes who actively support the war" and "athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies". Additionally, "no flag, anthem, colours or any other identifications whatsoever of these countries displayed at any sports event or meeting, including the entire venue", and "no Russian and Belarusian government or state official can be invited to or accredited for any international sports event or meeting". (16:22 GMT) Poland has slammed Olympic chiefs for their "day of shame" after they recommended that Russian and Belarusian athletes return to competition as individuals under a neutral flag with no links to the military. (16:38 GMT) Berlin has criticised a recommendation from Olympic chiefs that Russian and Belarusian athletes return to competition as individuals under a neutral flag with no links to the military. It called the decision a "slap in the face" for Ukrainian athletes. (16:57 GMT) The US is making a push to combat illicit finance, in part, as a response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as the US tries to more easily identify wealthy Russians who are accused of hiding stolen money and assets in the US and around the world. (17:04 GMT) The head of Russia's Olympic Committee has denounced as "unacceptable" criteria announced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) intended to enable Russian and Belarusian athletes to take part in international competitions. Athletes from Russia and Belarus, Moscow's ally, were banned from competition following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine last year, but the rules announced at the IOC's Lausanne, Switzerland headquarters seek to allow a gradual return to world sport. "The parameters as announced are absolutely unacceptable," Stanislav Pozdnyakov told a news conference, according to Russian news agencies. (17:47 GMT) Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky has said Russia had no place in the Olympics. "I am disappointed by the IOC recommendations," Lipavsky wrote on Twitter. "We must not close our eyes to reality. Russian sport is centrally managed by the Kremlin. The Russian regime does not know what fair play is." (18:02 GMT) The United States says it has not seen any indications that Vladimir Putin is getting closer to using tactical nuclear weapons in his war on Ukraine, just days after the Russian leader said he was moving such weapons into Belarus. (18:30 GMT) The United States supports the establishment of a special tribunal on the crime of "aggression" against Ukraine, a top envoy at the State Department and a spokesperson has said, laying out for the first time how Washington would back Ukraine's accountability push over Russian invasion. (18:46 GMT) The US would be willing to share some nuclear force data with Moscow if Russia were to come into compliance with the New START nuclear arms treaty, White House spokesman John Kirby has said. The United States has told Russia it will withhold some data on its nuclear forces, a White House spokesperson said earlier on Tuesday, calling this a response to Moscow's suspending participation in the treaty. (19:09 GMT) European Union countries have agreed to seek a legal option to stop Russian companies sending liquefied natural gas to EU nations, by preventing Russian firms from booking infrastructure capacity. The 27-country EU has pledged to ditch Russian gas in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Europe's pipeline imports of gas from Russia have plunged since the invasion, but LNG imports have increased. (19:30 GMT) More than 300 fencers, including nine medalists from the last Olympics in Tokyo, have signed an open letter urging the sport's governing body and the International Olympic Committee not to allow Russian fencers to compete while the war in Ukraine continues. (19:44 GMT) Kyiv has welcomed the International Olympic Committee not giving a timeline on the potential participation of Russian athletes at next year's Paris Olympics. "The decision on the admission of Russians and Belarusians to the Olympics in 2024 has been postponed," Ukraine's Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit said on Facebook. "We will also make joint efforts so that not a single Z-patriot gets into international sports arenas," he added in a reference to pro-war Russians. 20230329 (09:27 GMT) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev said there is "irrefutable evidence" of US biological activity in Ukraine, TASS reported. During a meeting of the secretaries of the security councils of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states, Patrushev said, "There is irrefutable evidence of large-scale biological activities carried out by Washington on the territory of Ukraine, as well as the involvement of American elites in these processes. "In the regions of Ternopil, Odesa, Kharkov, Nikolaev, infectious outbreaks were noted in the immediate vicinity of institutes where pathogens were studied - haemorrhagic fever, cholera, swine flu, hepatitis A, botulism," he added. The SCO member states include China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Washington has previously rejected similar accusations from Russia. (09:28 GMT) The Russian embassy in Washington has accused the US of trying "to put the brakes on" attempts to hold an international investigation into the Nord Stream pipeline blast. Commenting on a White House statement, the embassy said it is "an obvious attempt by the authorities to hide behind the back of the allies, to do everything possible to undermine efforts to find out the true circumstances behind the act of sabotage". "The administration's assurances of full confidence in the 'thorough' investigations by allied states are not trustworthy. Especially taking into account the refusal to grant our country - the owner of the gas pipelines - access to these proceedings. And, in fact, blocking of the joint appeal by Russia, China and Brazil at the UN Security Council to launch a full-fledged international investigation," the embassy said. (09:30 GMT) Zelenskyy has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Ukraine, the Associated Press reported. "We are ready to see him here," Zelenskyy said in an interview. Last week, the Chinese president visited his Russian counterpart, where the two leaders discussed the conflict and Beijing's 12-point peace plan to end the war. But since the war began, Xi and Zelenskyy have not yet spoken. China's proposal includes a call for de-escalation and an eventual ceasefire in Ukraine. While Ukraine has welcomed China's involvement, Zelenskyy has said he will only consider peace settlements after Russian troops leave Ukrainian territory. (09:31 GMT) Ukrainian forces have reportedly shelled the Russian-controlled city of Melitopol and knocked out the city's electricity supply, Russian media reported. The TASS news agency, citing officials in the area, said Ukrainian shelling had damaged the city's power supply system and cut electricity in nearby villages. Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, also said on Telegram that several explosions had gone off in the city. TASS also reported that a locomotive depot was destroyed without casualties. (09:52 GMT) Sweden's foreign ministry will summon Russia's Stockholm ambassador to complain about an "attempt at interference" with the Swedish NATO application process. The Russian ambassador, in a statement on the embassy's website, said joining NATO made the Nordic countries "a legitimate target for Russian retaliatory measures, including those of a military nature". (10:02 GMT) Russian forces are attempting to capture the eastern Ukrainian towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka but are not making progress, Ukraine's military said. "The enemy continues its assault on the city of Bakhmut. However, our defenders courageously hold the city, repel numerous enemy attacks," the General Staff said. On Tuesday, the United Kingdom's defence ministry said Russian forces had made only "marginal progress" in an attempt to encircle Avdiivka and had lost many armoured vehicles and tanks. However, Denis Pushilin, the leader of the part of Donetsk region under Moscow's control, said most Ukrainian forces had pulled back from the Azom metals factory and Russian troops were making progress. (10:21 GMT) The Kremlin said that Russia's confrontation with hostile states and what it called a "hybrid war" being waged against it by the West would last a long time. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the prediction when asked how long the conflict would last. "If you are referring to a war in a broader context, a confrontation with hostile states, a hybrid war against our country, then it is going to last for a long time," Peskov told reporters. (10:41 GMT) Hungary is withholding support for Sweden's NATO bid due to grievances about criticism of Prime Minister Viktor Orban's policies, the Hungarian government spokesman said. Bridging the gap will require effort on both sides, spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said. "In the case of Sweden, there is an ample amount of grievances that need to be addressed before the country's admission is ratified," Kovacs said on his blog. Swedish representatives "have been repeatedly keen to bash Hungary through diplomatic means, using their political influence to harm Hungarian interests", he said, referring to Swedish criticism of Orban's government. (10:55 GMT) Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), arrived at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as part of efforts to control the situation around the plant. An IAEA spokesperson said Grossi was "at the plant now". This is Grossi's second visit to the nuclear plant since the war began. (11:04 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group said that the battle for Bakhmut had "practically destroyed" the Ukrainian army but also "badly damaged" his forces. "The battle for Bakhmut today has already practically destroyed the Ukrainian army, and unfortunately, it has also badly damaged the Wagner Private Military Company," Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message. (11:18 GMT) The Kremlin said it was not up to Russia to advise Chinese President Xi Jinping on whether he should visit Ukraine. "We know China's balanced position, we value it highly, and we believe the leader of China makes his own decisions on the expediency of certain contacts. We have no right to offer any advice here," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. (11:35 GMT) The Kremlin said that the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) guidelines that allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals contain "elements of discrimination". On Tuesday, the IOC said it would recommend the athletes' return under specific guidelines. However, the guidelines have infuriated Russian authorities, who say any move to deprive athletes of their national symbols is discriminatory. "Such recommendations were characterised as containing elements of discrimination, which is unacceptable," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call. "We will continue to defend the interests of our athletes in every possible way." (11:53 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Moscow has stopped notifying the United States about its nuclear activities, including test launches after it pulled out of the New START arms control treaty last month. "All notifications, all forms of notification, all data exchange, all inspection activities, in general, all kinds of work under the treaty are suspended, they will not be carried out," Ryabkov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency. (11:58 GMT) IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant had not improved and that fighting nearby had intensified, Russian news agencies reported. (12:19 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 399 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-399 (12:41 GMT) The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman says the Pentagon's plan to give playing cards with images of NATO military equipment to Ukrainian troops is an "element of psychological war". "This, unfortunately, is a sad classic of conducting informational psychological wars. They will informatively and psychologically process representatives of the armed forces of Ukraine," Maria Zakharova said in an interview with Sputnik radio. According to The New York Times, the Pentagon plans to release a pack of playing cards with images of 52 different NATO weapons systems to help Ukrainian troops recognise the equipment supplied to them. Previously, the Pentagon has supplied playing cards with images of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and others to train its personnel for military campaigns. (13:01 GMT) Spain will send six German-made 2A4 Leopard tanks to Ukraine after the April 9 Easter holiday, Defence Minister Margarita Robles told lawmakers. Robles said the country had just repaired the tanks that had not been used since the 1990s and was testing their combat readiness before shipping them. The Spanish military has also trained Ukrainian tank crews for several weeks. Robles added that Spain would repair another four tanks, which would be sent "in the near future". (13:23 GMT) Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit China's Xi Jinping in Beijing on Thursday. The two-day visit comes as Spain is gearing up to take over the European Union's rotating presidency in July, and Xi aims to portray China as a mediator in the war in Ukraine. Sanchez said last week that Xi's invitation proves "the international recognition given to Spain during a time of such complex geopolitical difficulties." On Friday, Sanchez said the world should listen to China's "voice" to find a way out of the war in Ukraine. (13:47 GMT) The prime minister said that Poland's government wants to increase ammunition production and allocate two billion zlotys ($463.32m) for such investments. "I encourage private companies, state companies, foreign entities ... to quickly take up the challenge to create new ammunition production plants on Polish territory," Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference. "We want to allocate two billion zlotys ($463.32m) for investments from the budget," he said, adding the government is also spending about 12 billion zlotys ($2,776bn) to order 800,000 rounds of ammunition. Last week, 17 EU member states and Norway agreed to procure ammunition to help Ukraine and replenish their stockpiles jointly. (14:07 GMT) President Vladimir Putin said Western sanctions imposed on Russia for invading Ukraine could bring "negative" consequences for the country. "The sanctions imposed against the Russian economy in the medium term could really have a negative impact," Putin said in a televised meeting with the government. Putin has repeatedly said Russia is dealing with the economic sanctions targeted at its oil and gas exports. He said in his address that unemployment in the country "remains at an all-time low," while inflation is expected to "drop below four percent" by the end of March. However, "the return to a growth trajectory should not make us feel relaxed." "We need to support and strengthen the positive trends in our economy, increase its efficiency, ensure technological, personnel and financial sovereignty," he said. Putin called for the government to "act quickly and without unnecessary bureaucracy and delays". (14:28 GMT) Danish authorities have salvaged an object found close to the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, the Danish Energy Agency said. The object, which appeared to be a maritime smoke buoy, did not represent a safety risk, the agency said. (14:55 GMT) Ukraine's sports ministry condemned the IOC's recommendation to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in international competitions as neutrals. (15:25 GMT) Poland's prime minister asked Brussels to limit the amount of Ukrainian grain entering the EU, saying it destabilised local markets. Ukraine, one of the world's largest grain exporters, has seen its Black Sea ports blocked since Russia invaded and has been forced to find alternative shipping routes through EU states Poland and Romania. However, because of logistical issues, the grain has been piling up and driving down local prices, leading Polish farmers to protest nationwide. "We did not agree - and still don't - for this grain to hit the Polish or Romanian markets... and destabilise local markets," Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told reporters. "We're asking the European Commission to use all (possible) regulations to limit or block the arrival of Ukrainian grain in Poland as the country of final destination," he added. Poland also counts on the EU to help resell the stockpiled grain in other markets. (15:50 GMT) Secretary of Russia's Security Council and Putin-ally, Nikolai Patrushev, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss the two countries' "mutual interests", Russian news agencies reported. Patrushev was in India for a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional group that brings together states across central Asia. (16:14 GMT) US-based global food corporation Cargill has said it will stop handling Russian grain from its export terminal from July, although its shipping unit will continue to carry grain from Russian ports. "As grain export-related challenges continue to mount, Cargill will stop elevating Russian grain for export in July 2023 after the completion of the 2022-2023 season," the company said in a statement o Reuters. In addition, grain trader Vittera, part-owned by Switzerland-based mining and trading giant Glencore, is planning to stop grain trading in Russia, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. (16:29 GMT) Ukraine and seven other central and eastern European nations have called on the world's top tech firms to act to fight disinformation on their social media platforms by hostile powers which they say undermine peace and stability. In an open letter signed by their prime ministers, the countries said tech platforms such as Meta's Facebook should take concrete steps, including rejecting payments from sanctioned individuals and altering algorithms to promote accuracy over user engagement. Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania signed the letter, which was released by Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala's office. (16:46 GMT) Russian authorities have put a member of the Pussy Riot punk group on a wanted list for criminal suspects, as the Kremlin works to stifle political dissent. Russian news outlet Mediazona flagged an entry for Nadezhda Tolokonnikova in the Russian Interior Ministry's database of wanted individuals. Tolokonnikova became widely known after spending nearly two years in prison for taking part in a 2012 Pussy Riot protest inside Moscow's Christ the Savior Cathedral. She left Russia and reportedly lives in the US. (16:57 GMT) Germany has agreed to give billions of euros of new military aid to Ukraine in the coming years to bolster Kyiv's fight back against Russia, in a further shift away from its pacifist stance. Parliament's budget committee gave the green light for about eight billion euros ($8.7 billion) to be spent on directly purchasing weapons and equipment for Ukraine. Around 12 billion euros in total will be released related to the Ukraine conflict over the next decade. (17:18 GMT) The foreign ministers of Russia and Iran have met in Moscow for talks on the latest attempts to revive the Iran nuclear deal, as well as other international issues. In the face of sanctions, Sergei Lavrov and Hossein Amir-Abdollahian discussed expanding their economic and military cooperation. The cooperation in defence "is not directed against any third country," the Iranian foreign minister told the IRNA news agency upon arriving in Moscow. (17:40 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has responded to remarks by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who earlier said a "hybrid war" being waged against Russia by the West would last a long time. "The war can be ended diplomatically," Podolyak said. He said the Kremlin must first withdraw from occupied parts of Ukraine, and a "reboot must happen in Moscow" for that condition to be fulfilled. (18:05 GMT) After visiting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant for the second time since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi says he is "now more convinced than ever that the protection of the plant is absolutely necessary". "I've been able to assess the damage sustained by the facility after the shelling of November 20 and the problems that occurred after the repeated blackouts," Grossi said in a video posted on Twitter. (18:37 GMT) As part of the Russian drills that began Wednesday, Yars mobile missile launchers will manoeuvre across three regions of Siberia, Russia's defence ministry has said. The movements will involve measures to conceal the deployment from foreign satellites and other intelligence assets, the ministry added. It did not specify how long the drills would last or mention plans for any practice launches. The Yars is a nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missile with a range of about 11,000 kilometres and forms the backbone of Russia's strategic missile forces. (18:58 GMT) British military intelligence has said that Ukrainian soldiers successfully pushed Russian forces back from the main supply route to Bakhmut and that Russian assaults in the city were lessening. This past week, Moscow also unleashed a new attack on Avdiivka, a smaller city further south. Britain said that campaign, too, had failed to achieve gains, while leading to huge losses in Russian armour. (19:25 GMT) The United Kingdom and Germany stand united with Ukraine in its battle against Russia's unprovoked invasion, Charles III has said in Berlin on his first foreign visit as king. 20230330 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/30/live-ukraine-acknowledges-russian-advance-in-bakhmut (09:25 GMT) Russian forces have had some success in Bakhmut, Ukrainian military officials have admitted. "Enemy forces had a degree of success in their actions aimed at storming the city of Bakhmut," the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said in a regular report late on Wednesday. "Our defenders are holding the city and are repelling numerous enemy attacks." So far, the average number of daily Russian attacks on the front line reported by Ukraine's general staff has declined for four straight weeks since the beginning of March to 69 in the past seven days from 124 in the week of March 1-7. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov, who has served in the military, said that Russian troops "appear" to have shifted focus to capturing the city itself. (09:26 GMT) Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said Russia's invasion of Ukraine has gravely violated the United Nations charter and international law. Lee said big powers were responsible for maintaining stable and workable relations with one another, and the most worrying is the state of relations between the United States and China at the Boao forum in the southern Chinese island province of Hainan. (09:27 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin might visit Turkey in April to inaugurate the nuclear power reactor built by Russia's state nuclear energy company Rosatom. "Maybe there is a possibility that Mr Putin will come on April 27, or we may connect to the inauguration ceremony online, and we will take the first step in Akkuyu," Erdogan said on Wednesday in televised comments on private broadcaster ATV. Turkey will load the first nuclear fuel into the first power unit of the nuclear power plant and officially grant it nuclear facility status on April 27, Erdogan said in an earlier announcement. However, on Monday the Kremlin denied Turkish reports that Putin was planning to visit Turkey. (09:28 GMT) A Russian man sentenced to two years in a penal colony for discrediting the Russian army has been detained after fleeing house arrest, lawyer Dmitry Zakhvatov told the Reuters news agency. The Russian-language news outlet SOTA reported earlier that Alexei Moskalyov, 54, had been arrested in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, a staunch Russian ally. Moskalyov drew the attention of Russian police last year after his daughter Masha drew an anti-war picture at school. (09:30 GMT) Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter with the Wall Street Journal, has been detained in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage, the Interfax news agency reported. (09:45 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that Moscow was still talking to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the idea of a safety zone around the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Russian news agencies reported. RIA quoted him as saying that the idea was "evolving". Interfax news agency also quoted Ryabkov as saying Moscow was in "constant contact" with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi. (10:01 GMT) Lawmakers from the pro-Russia, far-right Freedom Party (FPO) walked out of the lower house of Austria's parliament during a speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying it violated Austria's neutrality. Zelenskyy addressed the chamber via video link, thanking Austria for its humanitarian aid and help with projects such as clearing land mines. Austria says its neutrality prevents it from military involvement in the conflict, and while it supports Ukraine politically, it cannot send the country weapons in its fight against the Russian invasion. However, lawmakers who protested against the speech walked out of the chamber and left small placards on their desks featuring the party logo and either "space for neutrality" or "space for peace". (10:17 GMT) China must press for a "just peace" in Ukraine, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "Any peace plan which would, in effect, consolidate Russian annexations is simply not a viable plan. We have to be frank on this point," von der Leyen said in a speech in Brussels on the eve of a trip to Beijing. "How China continues to interact with Putin's war will be a determining factor for EU-China relations going forward," she added. (10:34 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram that the activities of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested on suspicion of espionage in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg, were "not related to journalism". The organisation said the journalist "was acting on the US orders to collect information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex that constitutes a state secret". (10:50 GMT) The Kremlin said no decision had been taken on whether President Vladimir Putin will visit Turkey in April to inaugurate a reactor built by Russia's state nuclear energy company. On Wednesday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Putin might visit for the ceremony on April 27. (11:08 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Russia holding the UN Security Council presidency from April 1 is a "bad joke". Each of the Security Council members holds the presidency for one month. (11:37 GMT) The Kremlin warned Washington against retaliatory measures targeting Russian media after Moscow detained a Wall Street Journal reporter under espionage charges. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, "We are hoping that it will not happen and it must not happen." Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that the journalist had been caught "red-handed". "Unfortunately, this is not the first time that foreign correspondent status, a press visa and accreditation, is used by foreigners in our country to cover up activities that are not journalism. This is not the first well-known Westerner to be caught red-handed." (11:58 GMT) Russia will continue to give the US advance notice about its missile tests despite suspending the nuclear arms treaty, a top Russian diplomat said. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov's statement comes after he said on Wednesday that Moscow had halted all information exchanges with Washington, including missile test warnings. But Russia intends to stick by its pledge last month to keep notifying the US about missile tests in line with a 1988 US-Soviet agreement, Ryabkov said. (12:17 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said it was too early to discuss a possible prisoner swap involving detained US reporter Evan Gershkovich. (12:52 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommendation to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals is not binding for the Paris 2024 Olympics, French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera said. IOC recommendations were "a step which does not pre-judge what we will do" for Paris 2024, Oudea-Castera told reporters on a visit near Paris. "If the international federations decide that there will be participation by individual athletes, it will be under a strict neutrality regime, without a Russian flag or the national anthem," she added. On Tuesday, the IOC recommended allowing athletes from both countries to compete as neutrals in upcoming international competitions. However, the organisation has not decided whether the same will go for the Paris Olympics, promising a ruling "at the appropriate time" without setting a date. (13:08 GMT) Evan Gershkovich, the detained The Wall Street Journal reporter, told a Moscow court that he was not guilty of espionage which the FSB security service accused him of, the state TASS news agency reported. The same court ruled that Gershkovich should be held in pre-trial custody for nearly two months until May 29, according to a court document. (14:00 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett, reporting from Washington, DC, says a response from the White House is still being crafted over the arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter. "We should also point out the timing of the arrest of the Wall Street Journal journalist is also of interest to US officials given the fact that it comes just days after the justice department revealed an indictment against a Russian national who attended graduate school here in the United States," she said. "So obviously, there are some very strong tensions between the United States and Russia, and this latest arrest now of a US citizen is only going to exacerbate those tensions." (14:08 GMT) The Russian foreign minister will chair a UN Security Council meeting in April when Moscow holds the rotating presidency of the international body. "Another key event of the Russian presidency (of the Security Council) will be a high-level open debate on the 'effective multilateralism through the defence of the principles of the UN Charter'. This meeting will be chaired by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told a news briefing. (14:41 GMT) The British monarch King Charles highlighted the historic ties between the UK and Germany while praising their unity in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Since I last spoke in this building the scourge of war is back in Europe," he told a packed Bundestag. "The world has watched in horror - but we have not stood by. Even as we abhor the appalling scenes of destruction, we can take heart from our unity - in defence of Ukraine, of peace and freedom." Both the UK and Germany had shown "vital leadership", Charles said, praising Berlin's decision to provide large military support to Ukraine as "remarkably courageous, important and appreciated". (15:04 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 400 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-400 (15:23 GMT) The public will have an opportunity to verify Moscow's claim that the arrested Wall Street Journal reporter had been engaged in activities unrelated to journalism, Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says. "Relevant statements have been made through our security services. ... I think [they] will also provide it publicly, and you will have an opportunity to verify it," Zakharova said at a news briefing. (15:46 GMT) Sweden's foreign minister said he was no longer sure his country would be able to join NATO by July after signs of objections from Hungary. Last week, Foreign Minister Tobias Billström said that "it goes without saying" Sweden would become a member by the time of a NATO summit in Vilnius in July. However, he told TT news agency on Thursday, "I have noted the things that have been said in recent days, especially from Hungary's side, and that means you always have reason to alter your words." (16:18 GMT) The US is "deeply concerned" about Russia's reported detention of a US journalist, saying officials have been in touch with the Wall Street Journal and condemning Moscow's actions towards the media, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. "Last night, White House and State Department Officials spoke with Mr. Gershkovich's employer, the Wall Street Journal. The Administration has also been in contact with his family," Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement. "Furthermore, the State Department has been in direct touch with the Russian government on this matter, including actively working to secure consular access to Mr. Gershkovich. "I want to strongly reiterate that Americans should heed the US government's warning to not travel to Russia. US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should depart immediately, as the State Department continues to advise." 16:53 GMT) Russia says it will grant the US consular access to Gershkovich. "Through diplomatic channels, the US side has requested consular access to US citizen Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Yekaterinburg on espionage charges," foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told Reuters. "Consular access to him will be granted in due course." (16:58 GMT) The White House accuses Russia of continuing to seek arms from North Korea for the Ukraine war after Pyongyang already shipped artillery munitions to the Wagner Group fighting on the front lines. (17:17 GMT) The White House says it has new evidence that Russia is looking again to North Korea for weapons to fuel the war in Ukraine, this time in a deal that would provide Pyongyang with needed food and other commodities in return. (18:53 GMT) Scuffles broke out outside a monastery in Kyiv, after a Ukrainian branch of the Orthodox Church that the government says has ties with Russia defied an eviction order. Tensions over the presence of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) at the 980-year-old Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra monastery have risen since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year. Kyiv accuses the UOC of maintaining ties with the Russian Orthodox Church, which has supported Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. The UOC says it broke all links with the Russian Church in May 2022. Hours after a deadline to leave the monastery passed at midnight on Wednesday, members of the UOC refused entry to representatives of a government commission who wanted to inspect buildings in the gold-domed monastery's sprawling complex. Shortly afterward, scuffles broke out in which a Reuters reporter was hit and shoved by an unidentified man and another reporter was pushed away by a cleric as she tried to approach him. No one was hurt. Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko later condemned the "brutal" treatment of the commission members. He said in a statement that the government had filed a complaint with police and that efforts to inspect the buildings would continue on Friday. (19:33 GMT) The US supports the constitution of a special tribunal to investigate crimes of aggression against Ukraine, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said. (20:08 GMT) Kharkiv's Governor Oleh Sinegubov says at least six Russian missiles have hit the eastern Ukrainian city, and officials are gathering details about damage and casualties. Preliminary information suggested that S-300 anti-aircraft missiles were responsible, he said, adding that the missiles had been launched from the southern Russian region of Belgorod. Belgorod lies just across the border to the north of Kharkiv. 20230331 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/3/31/russia-ukraine-live-news-third-world-war-looms-lukashenko-says (09:44 GMT) Ukraine is marking the first anniversary of the liberation of the town of Bucha from Russian occupation. (09:45 GMT) At least nine Russian missiles were fired over Kharkiv late on Thursday, Governor Oleh Sinegubov says on Telegram. The governor said two men were injured and hospitalised due to an attack on "critical infrastructure facilities in Izyum". (09:49 GMT) Turkey's parliament has approved a bill to allow Finland to join NATO. (09:50 GMT) Ukrainian athletes will not be allowed to participate in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, a government minister says. Oleh Nemchinov, secretary of Ukraine's cabinet ministers, said the government's decision was adopted after a proposal by Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait, who is also president of Ukraine's Olympic committee. (09:50 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Western support for Kyiv is increasing the likelihood of nuclear war. "As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in [Ukraine]. ... A third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon," the president said in a televised address to lawmakers. <=== Lukashenko also said Russia's plans to deploy tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus were a chance to safeguard Minsk from Western threats. (10:16 GMT) The Kremlin said that all accredited foreign journalists could continue to work in Russia, a day after the country's FSB security service arrested a Wall Street Journal reporter on espionage charges. The Kremlin said reporter Evan Gershkovich had been carrying out espionage "under the cover" of journalism. This is the first case against an American reporter since the Cold War. (10:29 GMT) Belarusian strongman and close Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko called for a "truce" and talks "without preconditions" between Moscow and Kyiv. "We must stop now, before an escalation begins. I'll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities ... a declaration of a truce," Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address. <=== "All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions," added Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994. (11:16 GMT) Russia says a ceasefire in Ukraine right now would not help it achieve the goals of its "special military operation". The Kremlin responded to Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who called for a truce "without preconditions" during an address to the nation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters Russia had noted Lukashenko's comments and that President Vladimir Putin would discuss it with him next week. "In terms of Ukraine, nothing is changing, the special military operation is continuing because today that is the only means in front of us to achieve our goals," Peskov said. He said parts of China's peace plan in Ukraine were "unrealisable at the moment, due to the unwillingness - or rather the inability - of the Ukrainian side to disobey their supervisors and commanders". (11:37 GMT) Wimbledon will allow Russian and Belarusian players to compete as "neutrals" this year, having banned players from the two countries last year after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Our current intention is to accept entries from Russian and Belarusian players subject to them competing as 'neutral' athletes and complying with appropriate conditions," the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said. (11:57 GMT) President Zelenskyy marked 400 days of the war in his Thursday night address, praising those who helped strengthen the country's resilience. (12:20 GMT) Slovakia plans to increase the production of critical ammunition and artillery shells for Ukraine, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad told journalists while travelling to Kyiv. The country recently delivered a Kub air defence system, and the first of 13 promised Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. Slovakia will now take on "a key role in the production of ammunition for Ukraine," Nad said. "We are taking concrete steps to increase production of 155mm ammunition at our facilities by up to fivefold." (12:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 401 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/3/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-401 (12:58 GMT) US President Joe Biden calls Russia to free the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested on Thursday on espionage allegations. When asked about Evan Gershkovich's arrest, Biden told reporters, "let him go", adding, "there is a process." The Wall Street Journal has also suggested on Thursday that Russia's ambassador to the United States should be expelled and said, "Expelling Russia's ambassador to the US, as well as all Russian journalists working here, would be the minimum to expect." (13:16 GMT) Moscow's envoy to the United Nations in New York has denied that Russia has deliberately taken children out of Ukraine or allowed them to be adopted in Russia. Two weeks ago, the ICC accused Putin of the unlawful deportation of people, particularly children, and their transfer from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the state-run news agency TASS in an interview, "We are talking about evacuation from a warzone in full compliance with obligations under international humanitarian law, as well as the Convention on the Rights of the Child." "Millions of people have been evacuated in this way, including children who, in the overwhelming majority of cases, arrive in Russian territory with their parents, guardians and trustees." Nebenzia said only a few children had been found in orphanages or without parental care. He added that Western suggestions that such children had been adopted were "deliberately misleading". (13:33 GMT) China cannot be a mediator in the war in Ukraine but could play the role of facilitator to reach a peace deal with Russia, the European Union's top diplomat Josep Borrell said. "China does not distinguish between aggressor and victim of aggression," Borrell added in a panel held at the Spanish capital Madrid. (13:51 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that a new foreign policy strategy adopted by Putin identifies the West as posing an "existential" threat to Moscow. "The existential nature of threats to the security and development of our country, driven by the actions of unfriendly states is recognised" in the policy, Lavrov said during a televised meeting of Russia's security council. "The United States of America is directly named as the main instigator and driver of anti-Russian sentiment," he added. On Friday, Putin signed off on a new Russian foreign policy strategy aimed at curtailing Western "dominance" and identifying China and India as key partners for the future. "The Russian Federation intends to give priority to the elimination of vestiges of the dominance of the United States and other unfriendly countries in world politics," the 42-page strategy document said. (14:19 GMT) A coalition of US newspapers has issued a statement calling for releasing Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter Russia arrested on Thursday for allegedly spying. (14:43 GMT) The head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Ukrainian forces are suffering "serious losses" in Bakhmut, TASS news agency reported. On Telegram, Prigozhin said in response to a question, "No, the Ukrainian army is not running anywhere. The Ukrainian army is fighting bloody battles and defending Artemivsk [Bakhmut] at the cost of very serious losses." "Another important aspect that needs to be noted is the holding of the flanks," Prigozhin said. The Wagner boss added that Russian forces needed to focus on the city, but troops were advancing. "There are about 800 high-rise buildings in Bakhmut. If we talk about each entrance, then you will get tired of listening to us. When we take Bakhmut, then we will talk about it," he said. (15:00 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister said Wimbledon's decision to let Russian and Belarusian players compete as neutrals was "immoral" and urged the UK to deny them visas. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on Twitter, "Wimbledon's decision to permit the participation of Russian and Belarusian players is immoral. Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it's just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime." "I call on the UK government to deny visas to their players." (15:20 GMT) Japan has banned exports to Russia of steel, aluminium and aircraft, including drones, in its latest sanction package against Moscow, the trade ministry says. The measure also prohibits Japanese companies from exporting industrial items such as construction machinery, ship engines, testing equipment and optical devices to Russia. (15:48 GMT) Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the reaction in the United States to the arrest of a Wall Street Journal reporter is "revealing" and, if threats continue, the country would "reap the whirlwind", the RIA news agency reports. "This is ... a self-disclosure of the so-called 'democratic society', which manifests itself simply as a liberal dictatorship," Zakharova said. "They immediately turn to threats, reprisals against Russian journalists. If this logic continues in the public space, they will sow a storm," Zakharova said. RIA also cited the ministry as saying that Gershkovich would be provided with consular support. (16:38 GMT) The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has approved a four-year $15.6bn financing package for Ukraine to help the country meet urgent funding needs as it continues to defend against Russia's invasion, a source briefed on the decision has told Reuters. The loan is Ukraine's biggest since Russia's full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and the first major package approved by the IMF to a country involved in an active conflict. The decision formalises an IMF staff-level agreement reached with Ukraine on March 21 that takes into consideration Ukraine's path to accession to the European Union after the war. (16:59 GMT) Lukashenko has said that Russia, which has already decided to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, could if necessary put intercontinental nuclear missiles there too. In an annual address to lawmakers and government officials, Lukashenko said Moscow's plans to station nuclear arms on the territory of its close ally would help protect Belarus, which he said was under threat from the West. "I am not trying to intimidate or blackmail anyone. I want to safeguard the Belarusian state and ensure peace for the Belarusian people." (17:12 GMT) The leaders of five European Union members helping the transit of Ukrainian farm produce to third countries have called for EU action over a glut that resulted from the goods not leaving for their destinations, bringing down prices in their own markets and angering farmers. Poland, Romania and other countries in the region stepped in to help the transit after Russia blocked traditional routes when it invaded Ukraine 13 months ago. The EU, which borders Ukraine, has waived customs duties and import quotas to facilitate the transport - also through Romania and Bulgaria - to non-EU markets that had counted on the deliveries. But farmers in transit countries say much of the Ukrainian produce - especially the grain - stays, flooding their own markets and bringing prices down while fertilizer and energy costs are sky-rocketing. In a letter Friday to the European Commission and its leader, Ursula von der Leyen, the prime ministers of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria said the channels meant to take Ukrainian produce to the destination points are not working as expected. They appealed to the EU's executive arm to consider the urgent purchase by the 27-member bloc of the surplus produce and to provide funds for the speedy development of transport and storage infrastructure. 20230401 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-402 Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 402 Diplomacy/aid * A new $2.6bn United States military aid package could be announced early next week, US officials said, and is expected to include air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks for the Ukrainian army. * US President Joe Biden called on Russia to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, as the paper's editorial board said Washington should expel Russia's ambassador to the US in retaliation. * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, in an hours-long contradictory address to his nation, called for a truce in Ukraine and also said "a third world war" loomed while defending hosting Russian nuclear weapons in his country. * Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country faced "existential threats" to its security and development from "unfriendly states" in a foreign policy update for President Vladimir Putin. * The executive board of the International Monetary Fund reportedly approved a four-year $15.6bn financing package for Ukraine to help the country meet urgent funding. * Slovakia plans to increase the production of critical ammunition and artillery shells for Ukraine, Defence Minister Jaroslav Nad told journalists while travelling to Kyiv. The country recently delivered a Kub air defence system, and the first of 13 promised Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets. * Wimbledon said it will accept Russian and Belarusian tennis players as "neutral" athletes, having banned players last year after the invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the decision "immoral". "Has Russia ceased its aggression or atrocities? No, it's just that Wimbledon decided to accommodate two accomplices in crime," he added in a post on Twitter. Fighting * The Ukrainian military leadership accused Russian forces of once again focusing on civilian targets because it could make few battlefield gains, attacking the city of Zaporizhzhia and other places with ballistic missiles. At least six Russian missiles hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv late on Thursday night. * The advance of Russian soldiers on the outskirts of the eastern front line town of Bakhmut "has been halted - or nearly halted", the director of the Ukrainian defence publication Defense Express said. * The head of the Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Ukrainian forces were suffering "serious losses" in Bakhmut. On the Telegram messaging app, Prigozhin said: "No, the Ukrainian army is not running anywhere. The Ukrainian army is fighting bloody battles and defending Artemivsk [Bakhmut] at the cost of very serious losses." * Ukrainians gathered with President Volodymr Zelenskyy in Bucha to mark a year since the town was liberated from Russian occupiers who left behind evidence of atrocities. Zelenskyy said fierce Ukrainian resistance to the invasion has prevented Russia from committing even more such atrocities in Ukraine and elsewhere in the world. 20230402 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-403 War, diplomacy * Belarus and Moscow mark a day of unity, remembering a 1996 treaty aimed at forming a Union State of the two Slavic neighbours. Read here how the two countries have developed closer ties during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. * With no suggestion of a negotiated end to the 13 months of fighting between Russia and Ukraine, the Ukrainian defence minister said last week a spring counteroffensive could begin as soon as April. How will this offensive play out? Read here. * Ukraine has branded Russia's presidency of the United Nations Security Council for the month of April "a symbolic blow," joining a chorus of outrage from Western countries. * A court in Ukraine's capital has sentenced a top religious leader to house arrest, according to his church, amid hearings into whether he glorified invading Russian forces and stoked religious divisions. * The Wall Street Journal has demanded the immediate release of Moscow-based correspondent Evan Gershkovich, arrested by Russia's FSB security service on suspicion of spying. The newspaper called the arrest "a vicious affront to a free press". * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has promised to boost munitions supplies to Russian forces in Ukraine during a visit to the headquarters of Moscow's troops fighting in the country, according to footage published by the Defence Ministry. * Proposals to stop Russian companies from sending liquefied natural gas to European Union nations were welcomed by EU Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson. Sport * The International Olympic Committee has criticised Ukraine's decision not to allow Ukrainian athletes to take part in qualifying events for the 2024 Paris Olympics if they have to compete against Russians, saying this will hurt only Ukrainian sport and its athletes. * The war has killed 262 Ukrainian athletes and destroyed 363 sports facilities, Ukraine's Sports Minister Vadym Huttsait said on Saturday. He said no athletes from Russia should be allowed at the Olympics or other sports competitions. * Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina said the grass court Grand Slam was right to reverse its ban on Russian and Belarusian players, allowing them to compete this year as "neutral" athletes. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/2/ukraine-court-puts-metropolitan-pavlo-under-house-arrest A court in Ukraine's capital has sentenced a top religious leader to house arrest, according to his church, amid hearings into whether he glorified invading Russian forces and stoked religious divisions. In a statement on Saturday, the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) said the Kyiv court also ordered Metropolitan Pavel to wear an electronic bracelet. 20230403 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/3/russia-ukraine-live-suspect-detained-after-war-blogger-killed (09:21 GMT) Russia's Investigative Committee says Darya Trepova, a suspect in the killing of war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a St Petersburg bomb blast on Sunday, has been detained. Russian officials said Tatarsky was killed as he led a discussion at a cafe. More than 30 people were wounded by the blast, and 10 of them remain in grave condition, according to Russian authorities. (09:22 GMT) Ukraine says Russian forces are "very far" from capturing Bakhmut and that fighting continues around the administration building where the Wagner mercenary group claimed to have raised the Russian flag. (09:22 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to visit Poland on Wednesday, the Polish president's foreign affairs adviser Marcin Przydacz says. "The visit will take place at the invitation of President (Andrzej) Duda. There will be long, broad talks, not only about the security situation, but also about economic and political support," Przydacz told private radio RMF. "It will be an official visit." He added Zelenskyy would meet Poles and Ukrainians who have taken refuge in Poland. (09:25 GMT) Wagner head Yevgeny Prigozhin says his troops have raised the Russian flag over Bakhmut's administrative building, claiming "legal" control of the city. In a video on Telegram, Prigozhin said, "From a legal point of view, Bakhmut has been taken. The enemy is concentrated in the western parts." Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Kyiv's forces had repelled 25 enemy attacks, but conceded that Russian troops had captured the Azom metal plant. (09:54 GMT) Russia will move its tactical nuclear weapons close to the western borders of Belarus, the Russian envoy to Minsk says. The weapons "will be moved to the western border of our union state and will increase the possibilities to ensure security", Russian ambassador to Belarus Boris Gryzlov told Belarusian state television. "This will be done despite the noise in Europe and the United States." (10:14 GMT) The Kremlin said that the killing of prominent war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St Petersburg was a "terrorist act" and cited Russia's Anti-Terrorism Committee in saying there was evidence linking Ukraine to the bombing. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov referred to a statement by the Committee, adding: "This is a terrorist act." "The active phase of the investigation is now under way," he said. "We see quite vigorous steps to detain suspects. Let's be patient and wait for the next announcements from our special services, which are working on this." On Monday, Russia announced it had detained Darya Trepova, whom it had named a suspect in the attack. (10:48 GMT) Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin says a group of radicals, not the Kyiv government, is behind the assassination of military blogger Tatarsky. "I would not blame the regime in Kyiv for these actions," Prigozhin said of Sunday's bombing in a St Petersburg cafe. "I think that a radical group is acting, that this is unlikely to have any relationship with the [Kyiv] government." Russian authorities have arrested a woman they said they believe is behind the attack. Published videos show her handing Tatarsky a bust in the cafe on Sunday and it exploding a short time later. Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari, reporting from Moscow, says Darya Trepova, who was arrested in connection with the killing of a Russian war blogger, told authorities "she is being framed and that she was just being used". "She is someone that is known to officials," Jabbari said. "She was detained previously for her involvement in various rallies that were opposing the so-called special military operation in Ukraine." "We also understand, according to the anti-terror committee that is part of the FSB security services in Russia, that she is an active supporter of Alexander Navalny's group, which is a banned organisation here in Russia." (11:42 GMT) Poland says it has already transferred some of its promised MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine after fellow NATO member Slovakia announced it had shipped an initial batch of its own. (11:58 GMT) Stoltenberg says NATO had not seen any changes in Russia's nuclear posture since Putin's announcement that he would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. "So far, we haven't seen any changes in their nuclear posture that requires any change, changing our nuclear posture," Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. (12:17 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 404 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-404 (13:06 GMT) Russia will strengthen its military capacity in response to Finland joining NATO, the state-owned news agency RIA reports. Finland has a 1,300km (810-mile) border with Russia, which will roughly double the military alliance's frontier with Moscow. "We will strengthen our military potential in the western and northwestern direction," Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told RIA. "In the event that the forces and resources of other NATO members are deployed in Finland, we will take additional steps to reliably ensure Russia's military security." (13:27 GMT) German arms firm Rheinmetall says it will soon open a maintenance centre in Romania for military equipment used in the Ukraine war. The company said the "service hub" near Satu Mare in northern Romania, close to the border with Ukraine, was expected to be operational before the end of April. The maintenance centre will "play a central role in maintaining the operational readiness of Western combat systems in use in Ukraine and in ensuring their logistical support", Rheinmetall said in a statement. At the same time, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has backed Romania's efforts to join the EU's passport-free Schengen Zone this year, saying Bucharest had fulfilled the criteria. (13:49 GMT) Save the Children says at least 501 Ukrainian children have been killed in the war but the actual number is feared to be much higher. A report by the non-governmental organisation found that since February 2022, at least one child has died daily with "explosive weapons" being the main cause. "In the first year of full-scale war, 404 children were killed by shelling, missiles and drone strikes, and 850 more were injured," the report said. "Most casualties occurred in Kharkiv and Donetsk regions where active combat has been continuous since last February." Sonia Khush, Save the Children's country director in Ukraine, said, "Half a thousand children killed is yet another tragic milestone reached in this war." (14:07 GMT) The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will visit Moscow on Wednesday, Russia's permanent representative to international organisations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, tells state television. Ulyanov said the head of the international nuclear watchdog would meet with a Russian delegation and discuss the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station. (14:43 GMT) A United Nations agency says the Russian invasion of Ukraine has so far caused about $2.6bn in damage to the country's heritage and cultural sites. About 250 monuments have either been damaged or destroyed, mainly in the east of the country, UNESCO said. Ukraine's culture, tourism, sports and entertainment industries have also lost a combined $15.1bn in revenues since the Russian invasion in February 2022, the agency estimated. UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay said on a visit to Ukraine that $6.9bn is needed to repair the damage and get these industries back on their feet. (15:05 GMT) Zelenskyy has paid tribute to nearly 400 residents of a village in northern Ukraine who were held in a school basement under Russian occupation for 27 days before they were set free a year ago. Zelenskyy was joined on the visit to Yahidne, a village in the Chernihiv region, by German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejcinovic Buric. (15:34 GMT) The Belarus Ministry of Defence says it has started combat readiness inspections of the armed forces. (15:55 GMT) The US government is pushing hard to release Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia and tracking his detention closely, the White House said. (16:21 GMT) Ukraine is still fighting hard for Bakhmut and the battle is not over, according to a White House official. Ukrainians have not been repulsed from the city, John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, told reporters, adding that an additional assistance package for Ukraine could be expected this week. (16:31 GMT) Ukraine has received the first $2.7bn tranche under the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Extended Fund Facility programme on Monday, finance minister Sergiy Marchenko has said. (17:43 GMT) Finland has not asked for NATO members to station troops on its territory, a senior alliance commander has said, as Helsinki readies to join. "Whether we will station troops in Finland is a question that starts with Finland," said Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO's military committee. (18:08 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has posthumously bestowed an award to a high-profile military blogger and supporter of Moscow's assault on Ukraine, who was killed in an explosion at a Saint Petersburg cafe a day earlier. Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, had been given the Order of Courage "for courage and bravery shown during professional duty," said a Kremlin decree. (18:38 GMT) The Czech and Slovak prime ministers have urged the EU to exert "targeted pressure" on the Kremlin by sticking to sanctions imposed after Russia had invaded Ukraine last year. "It is important for the EU and its partners to continue targeted pressure on the Russian Federation and thoroughly implement the sanctions," the premiers said in a statement. Allies should also "prevent bypassing the sanctions and create mechanisms to punish those responsible for crimes related to this aggression", they added. The Czech and Slovak governments, led by Petr Fiala and Eduard Heger, respectively, met in the western Slovak city of Trencin. (19:42 GMT) Poland's presidential office has announced that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will pay a visit to Warsaw this week. The visit is scheduled for Wednesday and will begin with talks between Zelenskyy and his host, Polish President Andrzej Duda. 20230404 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/4/russia-ukraine-live-news-ukraine-shoots-down-14-drones-overnight (09:36 GMT) Russia's parliament speaker says Western leaders have blood on their hands for supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Vyacheslav Volodin, an ally of President Vladimir Putin, said the killing of pro-Kremlin war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St Petersburg over the weekend was a "terrorist act" committed by Kyiv. "The support of Washington and Brussels for the Kyiv authorities has led to the creation of a terrorist state in the centre of Europe," Volodin said on the Telegram messaging app. "The blood of the dead and wounded is on the hands of [US President Joe] Biden, [French President Emmanuel] Macron, [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz and other heads of state who support the Zelenskyy regime," Volodin said. One Russian woman was arrested on Monday in connection with Tatarsky's death. (09:37 GMT) United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken says his country and the European Union are exploring ways to further reduce Europe's dependence on Russian energy. "Russia's weaponisation of energy is underscoring the urgency of that task and an opportunity to accelerate our progress" in the global clean energy transition, Blinken told reporters after a meeting with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Brussels. "We will focus on how we can further reduce European dependence on Russian energy and boost the Euro-Atlantic region's clean energy production," he said. (09:38 GMT) Russia's commissioner for children's rights, accused by the International Criminal Court (ICC) alongside President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, says the court's allegations are false and unclear. Maria Lvova-Belova said at a news conference in Moscow that the consent of children's parents was always sought before taking them from Ukraine to Russia and that the commission always acted in the children's best interests. "It is unclear to the presidential commissioner for children's rights what the International Criminal Court's allegations specifically consist of and what they are based on," her commission said in a separate statement about its work. "The use of the formulation 'unlawful deportation of population (children)' in the ICC's official statement causes bewilderment," it said. On March 17, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and Lvova-Belova, for the war crime of unlawfully deporting children from areas of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces. (09:39 GMT) Ukrainian defence forces destroyed 14 out of 17 Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched overnight, Ukraine's military said. "In total, up to 17 launches of UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) attacks were recorded, presumably from the eastern coast area of the Sea of Azov," the command said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine's South military command said 13 drones of the drones were destroyed over the Odesa region, but one drone hit an enterprise, causing a fire, which was extinguished by the morning. "According to preliminary information, there were no human losses," the command said in a statement. (09:53 GMT) China has a moral duty to contribute to the establishment of peace in Ukraine and must not support the aggressor in the war started by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the EU foreign policy chief said. "China has a moral duty to contribute to a fair peace, they cannot be siding with the aggressor," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after a meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Brussels. (10:09 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says Finland's accession to the NATO military alliance and its move to step up its combat readiness have increased the risk of conflict. 10:09 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says Finland's accession to the NATO military alliance and its move to step up its combat readiness have increased the risk of conflict. (11:33 GMT) Zelenskyy has discussed further US assistance to Ukraine with a delegation of Republican members of the US House of Representatives. "Bicameral and bipartisan support from the United States, President [Joe] Biden and the entire American people played a decisive role in our country's ability to resist Russia in the war for our freedom and democratic values," Zelenskyy said, according to a statement from his office. The statement said Zelenskyy thanked the delegation - led by Mike Turner, the head of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence - for Washington's assistance to Ukraine. (11:54 GMT) Russian state news agencies reported that the head of Russia's SVR foreign intelligence service, Sergey Naryshkin, said Poland wanted to seize parts of western Ukraine and that the West was encouraging Georgia to engage in a military conflict with Moscow. "Getting control over the western territories of modern Ukraine, the so-called former eastern 'kreses' [borderlands], Poland is a longed-for dream of Polish nationalists. And this becomes an element of national ideology, so the Polish leadership cannot refuse this idea," Naryskin said. "The Polish leadership believes that a condition for the implementation of this idea is the collapse of Ukrainian statehood as a result of a military defeat." The intelligence chief said Warsaw opposed a peace settlement because the "Polish leadership is literally waiting for the right moment to exercise control over these territories." (12:14 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 405 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-405 (12:31 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, the Russian government is "likely" looking to develop alternative private military groups (PMCs) to replace the Wagner Group. "This takes place in the context of the high-profile feud between the Russian Ministry of Defence and [the] Wagner Group. Russia's military leadership likely wants a replacement PMC that it has more control over," the ministry said in its daily intelligence report. The British MoD said that while the Russian government is seeking to do this, currently no other known Russian group "approaches Wagner's size or combat power". (12:55 GMT) Russian investigators have formally charged Darya Trepova with "terrorism" offences over the killing of military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in a bomb blast in St Petersburg. (12:55 GMT) Finland has formally joined the NATO military alliance after a historic policy shift. Helsinki's accession roughly doubles the length of the border that NATO shares with Russia, bolsters NATO's eastern flank and ends more than 70 years of neutrality for Finland. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto completed the accession process by handing over an official document to Blinken at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Stoltenberg welcomed Finland, noting that Putin had cited his opposition to NATO's expansion as one justification for his invasion of Ukraine. (13:11 GMT) Finland will work "relentlessly" to secure Sweden's membership of NATO, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said shortly after Helsinki formally became the 31st country to join the alliance. "Finland's membership is not complete without Swedish membership. The work for Sweden's early membership continues relentlessly," Niinisto said in a statement. Hungary and Turkey have yet to ratify Sweden's membership application before it can join the military alliance. (13:14 GMT) Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko will travel to Moscow for two days of talks with Putin, the Kremlin said. (13:34 GMT) A Ukrainian soldier pleaded "partly guilty" at Russia's first trial for war crimes connected to its military campaign in Ukraine. Anton Cherednik, a member of Ukraine's naval infantry, faced charges in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don of trying to seize power by force, of using prohibited methods of warfare and of murdering a civilian in Mariupol in March last year. His lawyer Vladimir Bakulov said Cherednik had pleaded "partly guilty" and had requested a meeting with the judge to explain his position. Prosecutors say Cherednik ordered two men to speak Ukrainian and shot one of them who did not use the correct pronunciation, TASS reported. The case will resume next week. (13:54 GMT) The United Nations Human Rights Council overwhelmingly voted in favour of extending an investigative body looking into possible war crimes committed since Russia's invasion. Twenty-eight countries voted in favour, 17 abstained and two voted against the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, which Ukraine says is crucial for holding Russia accountable. (14:48 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said that suspending participation in the New START nuclear arms control treaty with the US had given Moscow new opportunities to guarantee its security, Russian news agencies reported. Putin withdrew Russia from the agreement in February after Russian officials said it was foolish to share information on Moscow's nuclear capabilities when the US could pass that information to Ukraine. "We have gained additional opportunities for ourselves to ensure our security," Ryabkov told the Rossiya 24 news channel. He said the US was using "any channel, any window to see into our military world", so closing off inspections and data-sharing agreements through New START would hinder US intelligence gathering. (15:29 GMT) US officials say the US will send Ukraine about $500m in ammunition and equipment and will spend more than $2bn to buy munitions, radar and other weapons in the future. The officials said the ammunition rounds and grenade launchers, and vehicles will be taken from military stockpiles so they can be used in the warzone. The $2.1bn in longer-term aid, provided under the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, will buy missiles for the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System, or NASAMS, as well as radar and other weapons, according to the officials, who spoke anonymously. The latest package, with its mix of short-term and long-term aid, includes various types of ammunition from Pentagon stocks and funding for more high-tech weapons, including counter-drone rocket systems and air surveillance radar. (16:03 GMT) Gleb Karakulov, an officer in Vladimir Putin's secretive personal security service, who defected in October, said the Russian president has become increasingly paranoid and isolated, even going as far as to not use a phone or the internet. The 35-year-old engineer is one of few Russians to flee and go public who have rank, as well as knowledge of intimate details of Putin's life and potentially classified information. Karakulov, who was responsible for secure communications, said Putin's paranoia appears to have deepened since Russia invaded Ukraine. Putin now prefers to avoid aeroplanes and travel on a special armoured train, he said, and he ordered a bunker at the Russian embassy in Kazakhstan outfitted with a secure communications line in October - the first time Karakulov had ever fielded such a request. (16:23 GMT) The website of Finland's parliament has been hit by a denial-of-service attack just before the country made its historic entry into NATO. The attacks made the parliament's site hard to use, with many pages not loading and some functions not available for a time. (16:32 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron will have to muster all his diplomatic adeptness and political acumen on a three-day state visit to China where the war in Ukraine will be front and centre. (16:38 GMT) A Russian businessman, who made a daring escape from house arrest in Italy - where he was nabbed on a US warrant for breaching Western sanctions, has surfaced in Russia. Artyom Uss, the 40-year-old son of the governor of Russia's Krasnoyarsk region, said he fled because Italian courts would have bowed to US pressure to extradite him. Uss was arrested in Italy in October on a US warrant. Washington has sought Uss's extradition on charges of smuggling Western technologies in violation of Western sanctions and money laundering. Uss fled a compound on the outskirts of Milan where he was staying under house arrest last month after an Italian court ruled to extradite him to the US. (16:51 GMT) Russia has said Finland's accession to the NATO military alliance was a dangerous historic mistake that would weaken security in the wider region, increase the risk of conflict, and force Moscow to take counter-measures. "Helsinki's policy of military non-alignment had long served Finnish national interests and was an important factor of confidence-building in the Baltic Sea region and the European continent as a whole," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. This is now a thing of the past. Finland has become one of the small members of the alliance that doesn't decide anything, losing its special voice in international affairs. We are sure that history will judge this hasty step." (17:01 GMT) A new Lithuanian bid to push the European Union to impose sanctions on Russia's nuclear energy industry includes proposed exemptions for Hungary and a two-year period to phase out existing contracts, Reuters reports. The latest plan from Vilnius includes a nuanced approach, an apparent attempt to win over sceptics in Budapest and elsewhere. (17:24 GMT) Former US President Bill Clinton has said he regrets his role in persuading Ukraine to give up its nuclear weapons in 1994. In an interview with Ireland's public service broadcaster (RTÉ), Clinton suggested that Russia would not have invaded Ukraine if Kyiv still had its nuclear deterrent. "I feel a personal stake because I got them [Ukraine] to agree to give up their nuclear weapons. And none of them believe that Russia would have pulled this stunt if Ukraine still had their weapons," he said in an interview. In 1994, Clinton signed an agreement with the presidents of Russia and Ukraine at the time to eliminate the arsenal of strategic nuclear weapons that remained on Ukrainian soil after the fall of the Soviet Union. The United States was also party to a related agreement later in the same year, which included Russian commitments to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity. (18:05 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said he hoped to see Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a summit of the alliance's leaders this year. "A strong independent Ukraine is vital for the stability of the Euro-Atlantic area, and we look forward to meeting President Zelenskyy at our Vilnius summit in July," Stoltenberg said after a meeting of NATO foreign ministers. (18:09 GMT) The United Nations Human Rights Council has demanded that Russia provide access to and information about Ukrainian children and other civilians forcibly transferred to territory under its control. (18:42 GMT) Amid a long line of resolutions passed on the last day of its main annual session, the UN Human Rights Council has agreed to appoint Bulgarian human rights expert Mariana Katzarova to monitor the situation inside Russia. (19:00 GMT) British boxers will not take part in the men's amateur world championships in Tashkent after the country also boycotted last month's women's event in India - amid mounting concern about the sport's Olympic future. The men's tournament starts on April 30 in the Uzbek capital and runs to May 14. "The decision reflects ongoing concerns about the future of boxing's place on the Olympic programme and the recent decision by IBA to allow teams of boxers from Russia and Belarus to compete under their national flags," GB Boxing said on Tuesday. (19:20 GMT) Ukraine hopes to receive two more tranches worth $1.8bn from the International Monetary Fund this year under its newly approved four-year lending programme, top Ukrainian central bank officials have said. "We hope to receive all planned tranches this year with an overall amount of $4.6bn" said Serhiy Nikolaichuk, one of the central bank's deputy governors. Ukraine faces an unprecedented budget deficit this year and is relying heavily on Western financial support. The finance ministry said it had already received a total of $12.6bn in foreign aid so far this year. (19:40 GMT) Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested and charged with espionage in Russia last week, met his lawyers for the first time on Tuesday, editor-in-chief Emma Tucker has said in a message to staff. (20:05 GMT) The US is trying to wreck Russia's planned summit with African countries as part of efforts to isolate Moscow, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said in an interview. Moscow is preparing for its second summit with African countries, scheduled for the end of July in St Petersburg, including work on infrastructure, technology and energy projects. (20:23 GMT) Moscow has said it had summoned France's charge d'affaires to protest "false publications" by the French embassy about alleged atrocities in Ukraine carried out by the Russian army. According to Moscow, the offending French statements include mention of the massacre attributed to Russian forces in Bucha, a town near Kyiv where the bodies of civilians were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops. 20230405 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/5/russia-ukraine-live-news-zelenskyy-visits-poland-to-deepen-ties (09:19 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron says China could play a significant role in finding a "path to peace" in Ukraine in his first speech since arriving in the capital for a three-day state visit. Speaking to French citizens in Beijing about various issues, including Russia's war in Ukraine, Macron said: "China, with its close relationship with Russia, which has been reaffirmed in recent days, can play a major role." He said France would engage "in this shared responsibility for peace and stability". Macron is in China for a visit hoping to dissuade Beijing from supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine while also forging closer ties with a crucial trade partner. He also said Europe must not "separate" from China economically. (09:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has arrived in neighbouring Poland for an official visit, according to a Polish presidential aide. During the visit, the Ukrainian president will meet his Polish counterpart, Andrzej Duda, and Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki. (09:23 GMT) A Ukrainian drone has crashed near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russia's RIA news agency cited a Russian military officer as saying. According to the officer, the drone was Polish-made and weighed about 2kg (4.4 pounds). The news agency did not say when the crash happened. International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi is due to travel to Russia's Kaliningrad region on Wednesday, a week after visiting the Zaporizhzhia facility in southern Ukraine. (09:24 GMT) Macron has arrived in Beijing, ahead of European Commission head Ursula von der Leyen for a three-day trip as the two European leaders seek to smooth ties with a key economic partner and discuss the war in Ukraine. Macron, on his first visit to China since 2019, said that Beijing could play a role in the war because of its tight relationship with Russia. (09:26 GMT) The US unveiled a new military package worth $2.6bn in military assistance that includes three air surveillance radars, anti-tank rockets and fuel trucks. The Russian embassy in Washington reacted to the announcement by accusing the US of wanting to drag out the conflict as long as possible, Russian news agency TASS said. (09:42 GMT) The head coach of the Ukrainian freestyle skiing team said a failure to ban Russian and Belarusian athletes from the international competition represents a loss for Ukraine. Ukraine's government has said its athletes will not be allowed to take part in Paris 2024 qualifying games if they have to compete against Russians. (10:16 GMT) The Kremlin says any prospects for peace negotiations with Kyiv are not yet visible, the TASS news agency reported. When asked how the Kremlin views the possibility of resuming negotiations with Kyiv or negotiating the future of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, "we do not see any prospects for this yet, so there is nothing to add here". (10:25 GMT) Russia demands that Ukraine frees a top Orthodox cleric placed under house arrest in connection with allegations he had glorified Russia's invasion and stoked religious divisions. Metropolitan Pavlo, the abbot of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra (monastery) in central Kyiv, was ordered by a court to wear an electronic bracelet, banned from attending church services, and ordered to spend the next two months living in a village outside Kyiv according to Russia's TASS news agency. Pavlo has denied the charges and called the case against him political. Russia's foreign ministry called on Ukraine to free him immediately. "We are deeply worried about the fate of Metropolitan Pavlo, who is known to be under house arrest and in electronic shackles. He is taking on the likeness of a martyr for the Orthodox faith," the ministry said in a statement. (10:37 GMT) Poland's agriculture minister says he is stepping down following protests by farmers over Ukrainian grain exports, which they say are driving down market prices. Henryk Kowalczyk said the EU's recent proposal to extend the duty-free import of Ukrainian grains had prompted his decision to resign. "It shows very clearly that this basic demand of the farmers will not be met by the Commission," Kowalczyk told journalists while declining to take any questions. His resignation comes the day Zelenskyy visits Poland, where he will meet Polish officials and speak to crowds. (10:52 GMT) Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has discussed Sweden's NATO bid and developments regarding Ankara's purchase of F-16 fighter jets with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Cavusoglu met Blinken on the sidelines of a NATO meeting in Brussels, during which alliance members welcomed Finland to the bloc. (11:02 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, tweeted Finland's accession into the NATO military alliance proves that Russia is no longer a "global political player". "Fast accession of Finland to NATO ultimately nullifies the role of RF [Russian Federation] as a global political player. Next goes mandatory demilitarisation, denuclearisation, destruction of pro-Russian economic and information lobby, self-isolation and hysterical whining of offended propagandists." <== (the NATO plan...) (11:09 GMT) Belarus says it will hold a military exercise from April 5-7 at the Brestsky training ground near the border with Ukraine and Poland. "A tactical exercise will be held at the Brestsky training ground with one of the units of the anti-aircraft missile regiment of the Air Force and Air Defence Forces," the Belarusian Ministry of Defence said in a statement. It said the unit would have to decide to move and march to a new positional area, deploy the division into battle formations and take up combat duty as part of the exercise. "The tasks will have to be solved in the conditions of constant active radio-electronic interference, the impact of sabotage and reconnaissance groups and the use of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]," the statement said. (11:28 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says he will discuss developments in the Ukraine war with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov during his visit to Turkey this week. Speaking to reporters, Cavusoglu said Ankara is working with the United Nations to solve issues regarding grain and fertiliser exports via the Black Sea. Cavusoglu added he was concerned about the warring parties' preparations for further attacks. (11:44 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron says that anyone helping the "aggressor", Russia, in the Ukraine conflict would become an "accomplice". Speaking to journalists following his first speech in China after arriving for a three-day visit, Macron said, "We have decided since the beginning of the conflict to help the victim, and we have also made it very clear that anyone helping the aggressor would be an accomplice in breach of international law." (12:15 GMT) France's Macron says China has a "major role" to play in finding a path to peace in Ukraine during the first speech of his three-day visit to Beijing. Speaking at a gathering of the French community in Beijing, Macron said France would seek to work with China "in this shared responsibility for peace and stability" in Ukraine. "China, with its close relationship with Russia, which has been reaffirmed in recent days, can play a major role," he said. (12:28 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy says the situation in Bakhmut is really difficult and that the "corresponding decisions" would be taken if Kyiv's troops' risk being encircled by Russian forces. Zelenskyy told a news conference in Poland that protecting soldiers' lives was the most important thing to him. (12:44 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda says Warsaw will seek additional security guarantees for Kyiv at a NATO summit in July as he hosted Zelenskyy. Duda also handed over four MiG-29 fighters to Kyiv and said the transfer of four more fighter jets is in the process. (12:59 GMT) Russia's announcement that it will station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus shows that a Russia-China joint statement amounted to "empty promises", NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says. Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement about Belarus came days after Russia and China jointly declared that countries should not deploy nuclear weapons outside their borders, Stoltenberg told reporters at NATO headquarters in Brussels. He said this showed such statements are "empty promises and what we need to watch closely is what Russia is doing". However, Stoltenberg said NATO had not seen any signs that Russia was following through on Putin's announcement. (13:43 GMT) Putin told the new US ambassador they were responsible for a dramatic deterioration in relations since Russia sent its armed forces into Ukraine last year. The ambassador was among 17 who formally presented their diplomatic credentials to Putin at a televised ceremony in the Kremlin. Putin told new US ambassador Lynne Tracy that US support for a revolution in Ukraine in 2014 had led to the current situation where Russia and Ukraine were in conflict. He said relations were in "a deep crisis" that was "based on fundamentally different approaches to the formation of the modern world order". "Dear Madam Ambassador, I know you may not agree, but I cannot but say that the United States' use ... of such tools as support for the so-called 'colour revolutions', support in this regard for the coup in Kyiv in 2014, ultimately led to today's Ukrainian crisis," Putin said. <=== (13:51 GMT) Putin told the EU's ambassador, Roland Galharague, at a Kremlin ceremony that relations between Russia and the bloc had "seriously degraded" and that the EU had begun a "confrontation" with Russia. "The European Union initiated a geopolitical confrontation with Russia," Putin said. The Russian leader also urged Denmark to support Russia's proposal to establish an independent international commission to investigate the blasts that ruptured the Nord Stream undersea pipelines bringing gas from Russia to Germany last September. In his opening remarks, Putin said Russia was open to constructive partnership with every country and would not isolate itself, despite the complex situation in the world. (14:12 GMT) Einar Tangen, a senior fellow of Taihe Institute, said China wants to start a dialogue between Ukraine and Russia before meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen. "From China's perspective, you have to engage in dialogue, and right now, since there is none, they want to start one. There are real concerns in Beijing that this thing [war] is going out of control; with nuclear weapons being mentioned, [and] being positioned, this is not the way to go," Tangen said. "They're very concerned that if Russia feels completely backed into a corner, it will strike out if it has no other alternatives." From the perspective of China, Tangen explained, the EU is one of the "biggest losers" in the conflict besides the two warring nations but that the bloc is "the most logical partner to begin a process which is about diplomacy, not bombs." (14:42 GMT) Zelenskyy thanked Poland for its "historic" help, saying it should become a key partner in the vast reconstruction effort needed once Russia's invasion ends, during a state visit to Warsaw. Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest allies, leading in persuading sometimes reluctant allies to provide it with heavy weaponry. President Andrzej Duda awarded his Ukrainian counterpart the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest honour. (15:03 GMT) The US is working through the process to determine whether Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich's arrest is "wrongful", US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, adding it would soon be completed. "It's something that we're working through very deliberately, but expeditiously, as well. And I'll let that process play out," Blinken said in a news conference in Brussels. "In my own mind, there's no doubt that he's being wrongfully detained by Russia, which is exactly what I said to Foreign Minister Lavrov when I spoke to him over the weekend and insisted that Evan be released immediately," Blinken said. The "wrongfully detained" designation means the responsibility for the case would be transferred from the Department of State's Bureau of Consular Affairs to the office of the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, raising the issue's political profile and allowing the government to allocate more resources to securing Gershkovich's release. Last week, Russia's FSB security service said it had arrested Gershkovich and accused him of gathering information about a Russian defence company that was a state secret. (15:24 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 406 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-406 (15:47 GMT) Putin says there was reason to believe Western intelligence agencies were involved in what he said were sabotage and "terrorist acts" carried out by Ukraine. In a meeting of the Kremlin's Security Council with the heads of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow said it had annexed last year, Putin accused Ukraine of committing crimes against Russian administrators, security personnel, journalists and teachers with the help of Western intelligence services. "There is every reason to say that the resources of third countries, Western intelligence services, are engaged in the preparation of such sabotage and acts of terrorism," Putin said. Russia frequently accuses Ukraine of killing civilians with shelling in parts of Ukraine that Russia controls and in Russian border regions close to Ukraine. (16:06 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says Moscow will ignore a letter from media groups urging the release of a US reporter accused of spying because they have not shown the same regard for a Russian pro-war blogger killed by a bomb. "Why on earth should we issue a reaction to the letter if we see their absolute hypocrisy?" Zakharova said. (16:22 GMT) Latvia's parliament has passed legislation that will reintroduce mandatory military service in response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Military service is to be gradually reintroduced from the middle of this year onwards, initially on a voluntary basis. It will become compulsory as of next year. Latvia had abolished compulsory military service in 2007, transforming its armed forces into a professional army supported by a volunteer force. The Baltic country shares a border with Russia as well as Belarus, one of the Kremlin's allies. (16:48 GMT) World Aquatics said it has established a task force to explore the return of Russian and Belarusian athletes to international competition as neutrals, adding that it supports the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) stance on the matter. (17:16 GMT) Insurer Allianz says it does not intend to renew a policy for the Nord Stream 1 project when it expires in late 2023. Allianz said it was part of an insurance consortium that provided coverage for the pipeline's four European-based minority shareholders. "The policy will expire in late 2023, is not currently up for renewal, and Allianz does not intend to renew this policy," it said in a statement on its website. (17:43 GMT) Polish President Andrzej Duda says Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine which must be punished. (17:58 GMT) Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar says the situation at the front was "completely under control" despite repeated Russian attempts to take Bakhmut and other cities in eastern Ukraine. Malyar wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian soldiers were repelling dozens of attacks a day around Bakhmut, Lyman, Avdiivka and Marinka. (18:25 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Poland will help form a coalition of Western powers to supply warplanes to Ukraine, as it did with battle tanks. 20230406 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/6/russia-ukraine-live-news-macron-and-xi-discuss-ukraine-war (09:27 GMT) President Emmanuel Macron met his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing as the French leader seeks to dissuade China from supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Macron told Xi he knows he can count on China to reason with Russia and bring everyone back to the negotiating table. "The Russian aggression in Ukraine has dealt a blow to [international] stability," Macron told Xi. "I know I can count on you to bring back Russia to reason and everyone back to the negotiating table." Xi also hailed ties between the two countries with CCTV reporting China's leader said relations were "positive and steady", adding: "The world today is undergoing profound historical changes." (09:30 GMT) Sweden's prosecution authority says it will likely be challenging to determine who blew up the Nord Stream pipelines connecting Russia and Germany in the Baltic Sea last year. "Our hope is to be able to confirm who has committed this crime, but it should be noted that it likely will be difficult given the circumstances," prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said. (09:31 GMT) Prime Minister Viktor Orban's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, says relations between Hungary and Sweden are at a low point, calling on Stockholm to take steps to boost confidence. Finland and its neighbour Sweden applied together last year to join NATO, but Turkey and Hungary have held up Sweden's application. Hungary has previously cited grievances over Swedish criticism of Orban's record on democracy and the rule of law as reasons why Stockholm's approval was not granted. (09:35 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov starts a two-day visit to Turkey. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Lavrov are expected to discuss the war in Ukraine, the Black Sea grain deal, and energy cooperation. Turkey has repeatedly urged Kyiv and Moscow to end the more than a year-old war in Ukraine through negotiations. (09:52 GMT) The Kremlin says while China has mediator potential, the situation in Ukraine is "still complicated", the TASS news agency reported. Dmitry Peskov said, "China has a very effective and impressive capacity to provide mediation services, and China's recent diplomatic success has eloquently demonstrated this." "But the situation with Ukraine is still complicated and does not show any prospects for a peaceful settlement." (10:08 GMT) The Swedish prosecutor investigating the Nord Stream blasts says "the clear main scenario" is that a state-sponsored group was behind the sabotage but that an independent group was still "theoretically possible". Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist also told the Reuters news agency that the type of explosive used in the bombings ruled out "a large portion of actors". (10:29 GMT) The Kremlin has defended its decision to station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, rejecting criticism of the move by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that NATO is expanding towards Russia, not the other way around, and therefore Moscow had to take steps to defend its security. On Wednesday, Stoltenberg said Russia's announcement to deploy weapons in Belarus contradicts a recent joint Russian-Chinese statement that said countries should not deploy nuclear weapons outside their borders. "It is NATO that is expanding towards Russia, not Russia that is taking its military infrastructure towards the borders of NATO," Peskov said when asked to respond to Stoltenberg's remarks. (10:46 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron said that China and France had a "frank and constructive" meeting where the two leaders discussed the war and bilateral relations, an Elysée official said. Macron and Xi also agreed that nuclear weapons should be excluded from the conflict. In a joint media conference in Beijing, Macron said Europe's security architecture was impossible as long as Ukraine is occupied and one United Nations security member has violated the UN charter, which is "unacceptable." China also urged the international community to avoid escalating the Ukraine crisis, adding that Europe is an independent pole in a multi-polar world and Beijing supports its strategic autonomy. (11:00 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner Group said that Ukrainian forces were not leaving the city of Bakhmut, and fighting was continuing in the western part of the city. "It must be said clearly that the enemy is not going anywhere," Yevgeny Prigozhin said on his Telegram channel. On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy raised the prospect of a possible withdrawal from the city, saying Kyiv would take the "corresponding" decisions if its forces in the city risked being encircled by Russian troops. But Pavlo Narozhniy, a Ukrainian military analyst, told NV Radio that Ukrainian forces were exhausting Russian troops to prepare for a counterattack. "Bakhmut is performing the key task of inflicting as many losses on Russia as possible and, most importantly, to prepare for a counterattack to take place in late April-May," Narozhniy said. (11:22 GMT) The governor of the Bryansk region says Russian security forces foiled an attempt by a group of Ukrainian "saboteurs" to enter Russia. "Today, the border department of the FSB (security service) of the Bryansk region thwarted an attempt by a Ukrainian saboteur group of 20 people that tried to cross into the Russian Federation near the village of Sluchovsk," Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, said on Telegram. He said Russian army units and border troops had shot at the group. Earlier on Thursday, Bogomaz said Ukrainians had shot at the nearby village of Zapesochye, but "there were no casualties". (11:38 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 407 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-407 (11:59 GMT) The head of Russia's private Wagner militia says he needs more support from the regular military before advancing further. On Telegram, Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Ukrainian troops were "not going anywhere" and had organised staunch defences inside the city, that, if they fell back, they would take up new positions in the outskirts and in Chasiv Yar to the west. "That's why, in my opinion, there's no talk for now of any offensive." Prigozhin made clear that he was not yet satisfied with the support he received from Russia's mainstream forces, including those attacking adjacent front areas. He raised three complaints - flank protection, command structure, and ammunition supplies. Prigozhin also said it was long since he had seen General Sergey Surovikin, who commanded Russia's Ukraine campaign, before the chief of the general staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, was given the position. "I don't know what he's up to," he said. (12:37 GMT) Ukraine and Poland agree on the joint production of 125mm-calibre tank shells, Ukraine's state arms producer announced, a day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Poland. The agreement provides for establishing new production lines designed to manufacture a "large cache of ammunition" in Poland, Ukroboronprom said in a statement on Telegram. "This is another step toward further strengthening the partnership between Ukraine and Poland in the defense sphere," the statement said. On Wednesday, Zelenskyy visited Poland, where he signed a letter of intent on cooperation in the supply of defence equipment. (12:53 GMT) Lithuania's parliament adopts a resolution underlining the need to invite Ukraine to join NATO. The resolution passed unanimously with the votes of 129 lawmakers present in the chamber, according to a statement by the legislature. It also outlined Lithuania's five objectives in hosting the upcoming NATO summit scheduled for July 11-12 in the capital Vilnius. The resolution called for Lithuania to "fully support Ukraine with practical measures, including NATO's political support, recognising that it is necessary to invite Ukraine to become a NATO member state at the NATO summit to be held in Vilnius". It added the country would also seek to "significantly strengthen the forward defence and deterrence of the Baltic region and the entire eastern part of NATO", in addition to increasing the presence of permanent NATO forces and strengthening integrated air and anti-missile defence in the region. (13:35 GMT) A Moscow court will consider an appeal by lawyers of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich to lift his pre-trial detention on April 18, the Interfax news agency reported. Gershkovich was arrested last week in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges. Shortly after his arrest, a court in Moscow ordered Gershkovich be held in pre-trial detention at the capital's Lefortovo prison until at least May. 29. The hearing on April 18 will also be held behind closed doors since Russia considers information related to the charges as classified, Interfax reported. (13:57 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, have discussed expanding economic cooperation and bolstering defence ties between their nations in a meeting in Moscow. (14:15 GMT) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell plans to visit China next week, continuing a flurry of trips to Beijing by senior European officials. Borrell will visit from April 13 to 15, EU foreign affairs spokesman Peter Stano said. Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are currently in China, urging Beijing to use its influence with Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visited Beijing last week. (14:44 GMT) A Ukrainian air commander says Kyiv is in dire need of F-16 fighter jets, which he described as "four or five times" more effective than the Soviet-era planes the country is currently using. Serhiy Holubtsov, one of the most senior commanders in the air force, said that while donations of Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets by Ukraine's allies were an "important step", the planes did not fully meet Ukraine's battlefield requirements. "The F-16 is a fighter that has become a multirole aircraft, which can fulfil the entire spectrum of airborne tasks," he said on national television. "The MiG-29, unfortunately, is [an aircraft] from the last century." Poland and Slovakia recently began to hand over MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine. Any coalition of F-16 donors would likely rely on backing from the US, which is by far the largest operator and builder of the planes. However, Washington has ruled out sending F-16 jets to Ukraine for now. (15:43 GMT) At least four people were killed in an artillery bombardment on the city of Donetsk, the Russian state-owned news agency RIA reported, citing a reporter on the scene. RIA said a car park in the city's Kalininsky district had been hit. Russian forces have controlled Donetsk city, but it remains close to the front line of Russia's war with Ukraine and regularly comes under fire from Ukrainian forces. (16:07 GMT) A top Ukrainian official has ruled out talks with Moscow about territory until it withdraws all troops, pushing back at a colleague who had touted the idea of negotiations to resolve the Russian occupation of the Crimean Peninsula. Andriy Sybiha, deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office, told the Financial Times that Kyiv would be willing to discuss the future of Crimea with Moscow if Ukraine's counteroffensive were to reach the peninsula. On Thursday, Mykhailo Podolyak, a presidential adviser, appeared to directly contradict Sybiha's remarks on Twitter. "The basis for real negotiations with [Russia] is the complete withdrawal of Russian armed groups beyond the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine in 1991. Including #Crimea," he said. "There is no question of any territorial concessions or bargaining of our sovereign rights." (16:12 GMT) Russian prosecutors have requested a 25-year prison sentence for opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is on trial in a closed court on charges including treason, his lawyer has said. The 41-year-old is one of a small number of prominent opposition figures who stayed in Russia and continued to speak out against Putin. (16:25 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov has discussed the case of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with the US ambassador to Russia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said, according to the state-run news agency TASS. Ryabkov repeated the ministry's position that the question of US consular access to Gershkovich case would be handled according to established procedure. (16:41 GMT) A European Union plan to send one million artillery shells to Ukraine is being held up as member states argue over how far spending for the plan will stay within the EU, diplomats and officials have said. EU foreign ministers approved the groundbreaking package on March 20. The most immediate part of the plan earmarked one billion euros ($1.09bn) to refund EU countries for sending urgently needed artillery shells from stockpiles to Ukraine. The legislation for that element has now been finalised and is expected to take effect in the coming days, diplomats and officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity. But a second element - a landmark EU move into joint munitions procurement, worth another one billion euros - has been held up by disagreements over which countries' companies are eligible for contracts, they said. (16:45 GMT) The US Department of State has said that Biden discussed the French president's visit to China in a phone call with Macron earlier this week, and the two leaders reiterated their "steadfast" support for Ukraine. "The United States and France share concerns regarding the challenge the PRC [People's Republic of China] poses to the rules-based international order, including through Beijing's ongoing support for Russia's war against Ukraine," Department of State spokesperson Vedant Patel said. (16:48 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has said it is "pointless" to try to pressure Moscow about its case against US journalist Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia on suspicion of espionage. "Hype around this case, which is being fanned in the United States, with the aim of pressuring Russian authorities and the court ... is pointless and meaningless," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov told US Ambassador Lynne Tracy, according to a statement. (16:50 GMT) The Wikimedia Foundation, owner of the online encyclopedia Wikipedia, has been fined by a Russian court for failing to delete content considered "extremist" as Moscow pursues a drive to crack down on independent sources of information. Wikipedia, which says it offers "the second draft of history", is one of the few surviving fact-checked sources of information in Russia since the crackdown intensified when Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine in February 2022. The Tagansky district court said it had fined Wikimedia 800,000 roubles ($9,900). Russian news agencies in the courtroom said Wikimedia had been charged with failing to remove materials related to a song by the alternative rock band Psychea, or Psyshit, which has been officially designated "extremist". Russia has now fined Wikimedia approximately nine million roubles ($110,000) in the past year, the agencies said. (17:06 GMT) Turkey's defence minister has told his US counterpart that Finland's new NATO membership showed its support for enlargement and that it hoped Sweden would fulfil commitments under its own bid as soon as possible, Ankara has said. A Turkish defence ministry readout of the call between Hulusi Akar and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the pair also discussed the importance of a rapid conclusion of Turkey's bid to procure and modernise F-16 fighter jets. (17:25 GMT) Authorities in Russian-controlled areas of eastern Ukraine said a total of seven civilians were killed on Thursday in two separate Ukrainian artillery attacks, Russian news agencies report. Four civilians died in Donetsk when shells hit a car park, and another six people were injured, Tass said. RIA later said three people died in blasts at a bus stop in Lysychansk, some 120km to the northeast of Donetsk. (17:50 GMT) Greece has pledged military assistance to Ukraine for "as long as it takes", but officials have also cautioned that the country needs to keep much of its Russian-made weaponry for its own defensive needs. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov visited Athens and was promised more artillery and small arms ammunition shipments, access to Greek hospitals for wounded military personnel and additional Soviet-era BMP infantry fighting vehicles. (18:17 GMT) Kyiv's plans to retake territories occupied by Russia are closely guarded, with few people aware of the location and timing of the coming offensive. "At most three to five people" know of the plans, National Security Council Secretary Olexiy Danilov said in a radio interview. "The information about where, when and how one or another action will begin on the territory of our planet is reserved for a small circle." He said any statements made about the planned offensive might not necessarily be true. (18:32 GMT) Russia has said its security forces had foiled an attempt by a group of Ukrainian "saboteurs" to enter Russia via the southern Bryansk region that borders Ukraine. The announcement came a day after Putin warned saboteurs were acting inside Russia. "Today, the border department of the FSB [security service] of the Bryansk region thwarted an attempt by a Ukrainian saboteur group of 20 people that tried to cross into the Russian Federation near the village of Sluchovsk," regional governor Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. Russia's defence ministry said its forces, together with the FSB, had "prevented an attempt to enter ... the territory of the Russian Federation", by more than 15 people. "The sabotage group was dispersed and, having suffered losses, withdrew to the territory of Ukraine," said the ministry statement. 20230407 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-advances-to-bakhmut-town-centre (08:03 GMT) Russia has taken the west bank of the Bakhmutka River in its months-long battle for Ukraine's eastern city of Bakhmut, the UK defence ministry said. "Russia has made further gains and has now highly likely advanced into the town centre ... Ukraine's key 0506 supply route to the west of the town is likely severely threatened," the ministry said on Twitter in a regular bulletin. (08:05 GMT) Ukraine has claimed that Russia was concentrating all its efforts on capturing the eastern city of Bakhmut where it described the situation as "difficult" - but said it was holding out despite Russia's numerical superiority. Eastern Military Command spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters news agency Ukraine controlled the situation in Bakhmut, understood Russian intentions, and that Moscow had tactical success in some places, but was paying a high price for it. (08:07 GMT) A top Russian official said there was no chance of peace talks this year amid calls by France President Emmanuel Macron to Chinese leader Xi Jinping to push Russia to negotiate an end to the year-long war. Dmitry Suslov, an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said there are no talks going on aimed at ending the war, Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper reported. It quoted Suslov as saying there was "zero" chance of negotiations happening in 2023. (08:09 GMT) German companies active in eastern European have called on the government in Berlin to take on more risk and provide increased security for business in Ukraine, particularly for transport. The situation is especially acute when it comes to transport liability insurance as reinsurers have withdrawn from the market, which poses a problem for logistics companies, said Michael Harms, managing director of the German Eastern Business Association. "The federal government has to take on more risk than usual," Harms said, and it "shouldn't relieve companies of business risk but should help with creative instruments." (08:40 GMT) Cyprus will offer Ukraine technical training on landmine clearing as part of its humanitarian assistance, its defence minister said. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov, who is visiting Cyprus on Friday, is set to tour areas where the training will take place. "We will host personnel which will handle de-mining and detection of mines," Cypriot Defence Minister Michalis Georgallas told Sigma TV. A group of about 18 Ukrainian officers will be in Cyprus for training in the last week of April, according to the Politis newspaper, which first reported the story. (09:00 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks in Turkey on extending the Black Sea Grain deal that allows Ukraine to export grain. The foreign ministry said Lavrov would discuss the grain deal, which Moscow says it extended "as a gesture of goodwill for another 60 days". Turkey is pushing for a 120-day extension in line with the original agreement, which was negotiated by Ankara and the UN last year. (09:31 GMT) Secret documents that provide details of US and NATO plans to help prepare Ukraine for a spring offensive against Russia were leaked on Twitter and Telegram, the New York Times reported. The Pentagon said it is assessing the reported security breach. "We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the department is reviewing the matter," Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said. Documents that were at least five weeks old from March 1 contained charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information. One of the documents described the training schedules of 12 Ukraine combat brigades and said nine of them were being trained by US and NATO forces and needed 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanised vehicles. "To the trained eye of a Russian war planner, field general or intelligence analyst ... the documents no doubt offer many tantalizing clues and insights," the Times said. (09:48 GMT) Turkey's foreign minister has agreed with Russia's request to lift obstacles to Russian fertiliser and grain exports and says this needs to be addressed to extend the overall Black Sea grain deal further. Lavrov said obstacles to Russian agricultural exports were getting more challenging and that they had discussed what he described as a "failure" to implement the terms of the agreement. (10:10 GMT) Russia's refusal to give consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is "inexcusable," the White House said on Thursday. In a meeting with US Ambassador Lynne T Tracy, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov stressed "the serious nature of the charges" against Gershkovich, according to a ministry statement. "It was emphasised that he was caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, using his journalistic status as a cover for illegal actions," the statement said. (10:32 GMT) The Kremlin says it has followed "important talks" between Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and EU Commission chief Ursula Von Der Leyen, but added that China would not change its position on the Ukraine conflict under external influence. While Xi said China's policy on Ukraine could be summed up in one sentence - "promote peace and dialogue", he added that the top priority is to encourage a ceasefire and to end the war (10:57 GMT) Moscow wants any Ukraine peace talks to be centred on creating a "new world order", Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on a visit to Turkey. "Any negotiation needs to be based on taking into account Russian interests ... needs to be about the principles on which the new world order will be based," Lavrov said. He added that Russia rejects a "unipolar world order led by 'one hegemon'". (11:33 GMT) A fencing World Cup event in Poland has been cancelled after the sport's international governing body (FIE) rejected a proposal to make Russian and Belarusian athletes sign a statement opposing the invasion of Ukraine. "We wanted all players and collaborators who were going to come to our World Cup to sign a statement that they oppose the regime of Vladimir Putin," Jacek Slupski, the Polish fencing federation (PZS) general secretary, told the Reuters news agency. Ukraine's fencing federation (NFFU) said it would boycott all events in which Russians and Belarusians were included. (11:57 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential official says a leak of classified documents detailing US and NATO plans to help Kyiv looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about Ukraine's planned counteroffensive. Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency that the leaked data reported by The New York Times on Thursday contained a "very large amount of fictitious information" and that Russia was trying to seize back the initiative in its invasion. "These are just standard elements of operational games by Russian intelligence. And nothing more," he said in a written statement. (12:17 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 408 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-408 (12:45 GMT) Ukraine has rejected a proposition from Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who suggests Kyiv should give up Crimea to end the war with Russia. "There is no legal, political or moral reason that would justify us having to yield even a centimetre of Ukrainian land," Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said on Facebook. "Any mediation efforts to restore peace in Ukraine should be based on respect for the sovereignty and the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity," he added. On Thursday, Lula issued a vague proposal to end the Ukraine conflict, which is expected to be discussed during a trip next week to China. (13:11 GMT) Russia has warned that it would abandon a landmark grain deal with Ukraine unless obstacles to its grain and fertiliser exports are removed. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he and Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed "a failure" to implement the terms of the deal. He said Russia could work outside it if Western countries maintain what he said were obstacles to agricultural exports that were getting tougher. There are no sanctions on Russian exports of food and fertilisers to global markets but the problems are related to the secondary sanctions imposed on shipping and insurance companies and banks. (13:56 GMT) China and France reaffirmed their commitment to promote the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, nuclear disarmament, and the peaceful use of atomic energy in a joint statement reported by the official Xinhua News agency. The two countries support all efforts to restore peace in Ukraine based on international law, and principles of the UN Charter and oppose armed attacks on nuclear power plants, the statement said. (14:50 GMT) French armoured truck maker Arquus has returned to producing more low-tech undercarriages for howitzers as the war in Ukraine boosts demand for artillery. Despite a trend towards more high-tech weaponry like drones and autonomous missiles, traditional battlefield equipment like tanks and howitzers such as France's Caesar cannon and US-made HIMARS have helped bend the trajectory of the war in Ukraine. Chief Executive Emmanuel Levacher told the Reuters news agency that Arquus had stopped producing the undercarriages because, until recently, there was no more demand. But that changed as French army stocks needed to be filled up again. (15:13 GMT) The Russian rouble has suffered its worst week against the dollar this year, tumbling on a lack of foreign currency in Moscow and the sale of Western businesses in Russia. The rouble dipped more than 2 percent against the US dollar to an intraday low of 83.50, its weakest since April last year, and fell more than 2 percent against the euro to an intraday low of 91.32. Overall, the rouble was down more than 5 percent against the dollar on the week. (15:29 GMT) Russian investigators have charged Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, the Interfax news agency reported, citing an unidentified source. "Gershkovich has been charged," Interfax quoted a source as saying. He was charged with espionage. (15:54 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is planning to visit Canada in the coming weeks to seek supplies of ammunition and armoured vehicles, the Globe and Mail reported. Shmyhal said in an interview with the Canadian newspaper that he was not concerned about the lack of new military aid allocated for Ukraine in Canada's federal budget and hoped the country would provide more support, among other forms of assistance. "Now, we need heavy armoured vehicles. And we need more artillery shells: ammunition for howitzers and ammunition for tanks," Shmyhal said. "It's crucially important for the organisation of our counteroffensive," Ukraine is expected to soon launch a counteroffensive to seize back land in the south and east of the country from Russian forces. (16:24 GMT) A senior US Treasury Department official said the coalition of partners that has imposed sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine have found an effective way to communicate with China about not providing material support to Russia. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that the communication has meant that though China and Russia have signaled an open partnership of sorts, the US has not seen Beijing to be willing to provide Russia with the type of material support at a scale that would matter in this regard. (16:54 GMT) The US Department of Commerce is weighing an enforcement action against Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, the Wall Street Journal has reported, citing people familiar with the matter. President Joe Biden's administration is looking at an enforcement action against the company under its online security rules, the report said. The administration ramped up its national security probe into Kaspersky Lab's antivirus software last year as fears grew about Russian cyberattacks after Moscow invaded Ukraine. US regulators have already banned federal government use of Kaspersky software. (18:23 GMT) Russian forces has used ground- and air-fired missiles, rocket launchers and weaponised drones to bombard the provinces of Ukraine it has "illegally annexed: but doesn't fully control, causing casualties, building damage and power outages. The Ukrainian military said Russian forces launched 18 airstrikes, five missile strikes and 53 attacks from multiple rocket launchers between Thursday and Friday mornings. According to the General Staff statement, Russia was concentrating the bulk of its offensive operations in Ukraine's industrial east, focusing on the cities and towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk province. Most of Friday's battlefield reports concerned the four Ukrainian provinces Russia annexed in September: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson. (18:38 GMT) Ukraine says Russia has refused an "all-for-all Muslim prisoner of war (POW) exchange for Ramadan", The Kyiv Independent has reported. (19:04 GMT) Russian legislators have proposed tougher sentences for those convicted of terrorism and sabotage, domestic news agencies have reported, a move officials have been cited as saying was prompted by the war in Ukraine. The maximum sentence for carrying out "a terrorist act" - defined as a deed which endangered lives and was aimed at destabilising Russia - would be raised to 20 years, from 15 years at present. Those found guilty of sabotage could also go to jail for 20 years, up from 15, while people convicted of "international terrorism" could be sentenced to life, up from 12 years. The proposed changes were outlined by Vasily Piskaryov, head of the committee on security and anti-corruption in the State Duma or lower chamber of parliament. (19:25 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary forces, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has slammed the governor of St Petersburg, Alexander Beglov, in a power struggle playing out in Putin's hometown. Prigozhin called Beglov a "scumbag" who was out of place in the city, and again demanded a criminal investigation into the activities of the lawmaker who is a member of the governing United Russia party. Prigozhin accused the governor in his Telegram blog of lying to the public and neglecting the city's security situation. Beglov did not initially respond. Prigozhin, who runs his business out of St Petersburg, as well as Wagner, slammed the governor, accusing him of doing nothing following the assassination of the pro-Kremlin blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin. (19:28 GMT) Kyiv has proposed a way to handle the influx of Ukrainian grain to Polish markets that has caused dismay among farmers as prices fall, a minister in Warsaw has said. "Ukraine has made a proposal to significantly restrict the export of grain to Poland for a certain period of time and even to stop it altogether for the moment," Poland's new Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solskyi in the border town of Dorohusk. Solskyi said Kyiv would stop exporting wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds until the start of the new harvest, Telus tweeted. (19:44 GMT) Zelenskyy has criticised Russia's treatment of the Muslim-minority Tatar community in Kremlin-controlled Crimea and vowed to recapture the peninsula from Russia during a first official state iftar. "Russia's attempt to enslave Ukraine ... began exactly with the occupation of Crimea, exactly with repressions against Crimean, Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar freedom and of Crimean Muslims," he told Ukrainian Muslim leaders and ambassadors from Muslim countries. The Tatar community, which accounted for 12-15 percent of the two million Crimea residents, largely boycotted the 2014 vote. "There is no alternative for Ukraine, or for the world, other than the de-occupation of Crimea. We will return to Crimea," Zelenskyy said, before handing out awards to several Muslim Ukrainian servicemen. Zelenskyy, speaking at a mosque outside the centre of the capital, announced that Ukraine was beginning a new tradition of hosting an official iftar, the meal breaking the daily fast during the holy month of Ramadan. (19:48 GMT) Moscow has formally protested to Canada after the country's UN envoy described a murdered Russian blogger as "a vitriolic propagandist" and a hate-monger, the foreign ministry has said. Bob Rae, Canada's permanent representative to the United Nations, made the remarks after Vladlen Tatarsky - a cheerleader for Russia's military campaign in Ukraine - died in a bomb blast in St Petersburg last Sunday. In a statement, Russia's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior Canadian diplomat to strongly protest about Rae's remarks, which it described as "yet another manifestation of the Russophobia being fomented in Canada". The Liberal government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters. Rae made the comments after Russia's UN mission complained that Western media outlets and international organisations had not reacted to the death of Tatarsky, who it described as a journalist. 20230408 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-409 Fighting * A missile fired from Ukraine was shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosia in Russian-controlled Crimea, the Russian head of Crimea's administration said. * Russia has seized the west bank of the Bakhmutka River, endangering a key Ukrainian supply route, in its push to secure control of the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, the United Kingdom's defence ministry said. * Ukraine described the situation in Bakhmut as "difficult" but said it was holding out despite Russia's numerical superiority. * Russia is focusing its offensive in the eastern cities and towns of Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka, using air-fired missiles, rocket launchers and weaponised drones to launch multiple attacks, according to Ukraine's military. Diplomacy * Secret documents with details of the United States and NATO plans to help prepare Ukraine for a spring offensive against Russia leaked on Twitter and Telegram. * Ukrainian presidential official Mykhailo Podolyak said the leaked documents contained "fictitious information" designed to sow doubts about the planned operation. * In a meeting with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said any negotiations on peace in Ukraine must be centred on a "new world order" and take into account Russia's interests. * Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova will visit India on Monday and seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia's invasion, the Hindu newspaper reported. * Russian investigators have charged Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich with espionage, Russia's Interfax news agency reported, citing an unidentified source. * Ukraine has rejected a suggestion from Brazilian President Lula da Silva, who proposed Kyiv give up Crimea to end the war with Russia. Moscow annexed it in 2014. Economics * Russia threatened to bypass a UN-brokered grain deal unless obstacles to its agricultural exports were removed, while talks in Turkey agreed removing barriers was needed to extend the agreement beyond next month. * Ukraine can resume exporting electricity after a six-month gap, given the success of repairs carried out after repeated Russian attacks, Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko said. * The Russian rouble tumbled to its lowest levels against the dollar and euro in a year amid a foreign currency crunch in Moscow and the sale of Western businesses in Russia. 20230409 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-410 Fighting * A 50-year-old man and his 11-year-old daughter were killed after Russian forces struck a residential building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Sunday, authorities said. * A missile fired from Ukrainian-held territory was allegedly shot down over the Black Sea town of Feodosiya in Russian-controlled Crimea, the Moscow-installed head of Crimea's administration said on Saturday. * British military intelligence said Russian forces were threatening a key supply route to Bakhmut, the focus of their assault for months which Ukraine has said it is defending to wear the invaders down before its counteroffensive. Diplomacy * Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova is due to visit India on Monday and will seek humanitarian aid and equipment to repair energy infrastructure damaged during Russia's invasion, a newspaper reported on Saturday. * The arrest of US journalist Evan Gershkovich by Russia drew a rare joint statement from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who demanded the reporter's immediate release. * More than 30 children were reunited with their families in Ukraine this weekend after a long operation to bring them back home from Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea, where they had been taken from areas occupied by Russian forces during the war. Kyiv estimates nearly 19,500 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied Crimea in what it condemns as illegal deportations. Moscow says they have been transported away for their own safety. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskky said on Saturday that he still sees his country on the road to NATO accession. 20230410 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/10/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-accused-of-scorched-earth-tactics (09:24 GMT) The commander of the Ukrainian ground forces says Russian troops have switched to "scorched earth" tactics in Bakhmut. "The enemy switched to the so-called scorched earth tactics from Syria. It is destroying buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery fire," said Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces. Ukraine's defence of the city of Bakhmut continued, he said, adding, "The situation is difficult but controllable." Syrskyi also said that Moscow was bringing in special forces and airborne assault units to help its attack on the city as members of the Wagner military group had become "exhausted". (09:24 GMT) Russia plans to overhaul and bolster its air defence forces after gaining new experience in the war in Ukraine and to counter Finland's joining NATO, a commander in Russia's aerospace forces said. In an interview published with the Red Star newspaper, Lieutenant General Andrei Demin, deputy commander-in-chief of aerospace forces, said air defence forces had faced a number of challenges in the face of Ukrainian strikes. Reforms "are undoubtedly planned and will be implemented," Demin told the defence ministry's newspaper. "The purpose of the upcoming changes is the development of the armed forces, aimed at improving the air defence system of the Russian Federation." Demin said Russia would also bolster its defences after Finland, which shares a 1,300-km border with Russia, joined NATO. "In these conditions, the air defence forces are working out issues of protecting the state border in the north-west of the country in accordance with the increased threat level," Demin said. (09:24 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned Russian air strikes on Orthodox Palm Sunday, including an attack that killed a father and daughter at home in the city of Zaporizhzhia. (09:40 GMT) A Moscow-backed official says he visited Bakhmut suggesting that Russia's forces have made significant gains there. Denis Pushilin, the Russia-installed head of the Donetsk region, posted a video of himself on Telegram in the heavily destroyed city. "Here is our Artemovsk," Pushilin said, using the Soviet-era name for Bakhmut. "It is being liberated by Wagnerites," he added. Destroyed buildings and ruins could be seen in the background behind Pushilin, who wore a camouflage helmet. The sound of artillery could be heard in the video. In a sign that the Wagner Group had made significant gains, several Russian war correspondents have recently published videos from Bakhmut. (10:01 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu for an unannounced meeting in the Belarusian capital Minsk, Belarusian state-owned news agency BelTA reported. Lukashenko said Belarus needs guarantees that Russia will defend Belarus "like its own territory" in the event of external attack. (10:21 GMT) The US Department of Defense says multiple agencies are assessing the impact that leaked intelligence documents could have on national security and US allies and partners. "The Department of Defense continues to review and assess the validity of the photographed documents that are circulating on social media sites and that appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material," the department said in a statement. The leak of documents containing details ranging from Ukraine's air defences to Israel's Mossad spy agency have officials scrambling to identify tots source. Some experts say it could be an American. "The focus now is on this being a US leak as many of the documents were only in US hands," Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told the Reuters news agency in an interview. (10:40 GMT) The Kremlin says it is hard to imagine France playing a role of mediator in Ukraine because Paris had taken the side of one of the parties in the conflict. French President Emmanuel Macron visited China last week to try to dissuade Beijing from supporting Russia in the war. He also implored China to "bring Russia to its senses". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a call with reporters that China had every right to respond to what it called "provocations" and to carry out military exercises around Taiwan. (11:09 GMT) When asked about a leak of US intelligence documents, the Kremlin's spokesman says there is a general tendency to always blame Russia. Some national security experts and US officials say the leaker could be American but they do not rule out pro-Russian actors. "I cannot comment on this in any way," Peskov told reporters. "You and I know that there is, in fact, a tendency to always blame everything on Russia. It is, in general, a disease." Asked about the idea that Washington had spied on Zelenskyy, Peskov, who called the leaks "quite interesting", said that could not be ruled out. "But the fact that the United States has been spying on various heads of state, especially in European capitals, for a long time now has come up repeatedly, causing various scandalous situations," he said. (11:30 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 411 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-411 (11:53 GMT) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva plans to meet his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, in Beijing this week to discuss trade and the war in Ukraine. Lula hopes to promote his proposal for mediated talks to end the war, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told reporters. The Brazilian leader is looking to position Brazil as a mediator as he did in 2010 during nuclear talks between Iran and the United States. His diplomatic stock went down last year when he came under fire for claiming that Zelenskyy was "as responsible" for the war as Russian President Vladimir Putin. He has also refused to join Western nations in sending weapons to Ukraine to help in its defence. Lula is expected to arrive in China on Tuesday and meet Xi on Friday. (12:25 GMT) The population of Avdiivka has dwindled to 1,800 people from 32,000 before the war as Russian forces target the city to try to capture it, the governor says. "The Russians have turned Avdiivka into a total ruin," said Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Donetsk region's top (Kiev-appointed) government official. (12:51 GMT) There are no initiatives for an Easter truce in Ukraine, a Tass news agency report cites the Kremlin spokesman as saying. "Nobody has put forward [the idea of an Easter truce]; it was not put forward," Peskov said "So far, there have been no initiatives on this score, but we have just started Holy Week," he said. (13:17 GMT) Russia's arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is a "brazen act" and violates the vital freedom of the press, including the safety of journalists, World Bank President David Malpass says. (13:39 GMT) Ukraine's deputy foreign minister says Kyiv is seeking a visit by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other top officials, adding that New Delhi should be more involved in resolving the war in Ukraine. Emine Dzhaparova told broadcaster CNBC TV18 that India was expected to invite Ukrainian officials to participate in G20 events in September in New Delhi while adding that India should intensify political dialogue with Kyiv. Dzhaparova is on a four-day visit to New Delhi. (14:26 GMT) Ukraine had released 106 Russian prisoners of war (POWs) in exchange for 100 Ukrainians, both countries say. In a Telegram post, Ukrainian presidential aide Andriy Yermak said the released Ukrainians included defenders of the southeastern city of Mariupol and its Azovstal steel plant, captured in the war's opening months. The Russian news outlet Tass reported the Ministry of Defence saying in a statement, "On April 10, as a result of the negotiation process, 106 Russian servicemen were returned from the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime, who were in mortal danger in captivity." The POWs will be sent to Moscow, where they will be given medical treatment and rehabilitation, the ministry said. (14:55 GMT) Denis Pushilin,he Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region, said Russian forces controlled more than 75 percent of Bakhmut. (15:19 GMT) According to CNN, Ukraine might amend its military plans ahead of an expected counteroffensive after leaked classified Pentagon papers. Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine's strategic plans remained unchanged but that more specific tactical plans were always subject to change. (15:43 GMT) Russia has increased its diesel exports to Brazil and other parts of Latin America following an embargo on shipments to Europe, traders said, and Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Russia has long been the leading diesel supplier for Europe; however, a European Union embargo on Russian oil products since February 5 has diverted Russian diesel exports to Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Last month, Russia sent more than 580,000 tonnes to Latin and South America, with almost 440,000 tonnes of those volumes heading to Brazil, and another 140,000 tonnes destined for Panama, Uruguay and Cuba, Refinitiv data showed. In total, diesel supplies from Russia-controlled ports to Brazil totalled 663,000 tonnes in January-March. (16:30 GMT) The US government will seek to rally allies this week to ratchet up economic pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, and shore up support for Kyiv, a top US Treasury official is slated to say. Treasury Undersecretary Jay Shambaugh will underscore the United States' unwavering commitment to Ukraine in a speech at the Brookings Institution as global finance officials gather in Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, according to excerpts obtained by the Reuters news agency. Shambaugh, who traveled to Kyiv with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in February, said current inflationary pressures could not be separated from the war and its economic spillovers. (16:59 GMT) A Russian court has sentenced two former officials to 19 years in prison for throwing Molotov cocktails at a town hall in protest against military mobilisation, according to Russian news agencies. The sentence is the heaviest punishment handed out so far for this type of attack, of which there have been dozens since Russia began its military campaign in Ukraine. (18:02 GMT) Facing up to a quarter of a century in jail on treason charges he denies, Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has told a Moscow court his trial recalled one of Josef Stalin's show trials in the 1930s and said he had done nothing wrong. Russian state prosecutors on Thursday requested a 25-year prison sentence for Kara-Murza, who they accuse of treason and of discrediting the Russian military after he criticised what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine. His trial, which will culminate in a verdict on April 17, is being held behind closed doors, but a copy of his final speech to the court on Monday was made available by his wife and lawyer. In it, he struck a defiant tone, declined to ask the court to acquit him, and said he stood by and was proud of everything he had said. The current environment, he said, was not so much like the 1970s - a period when the state faced off against Soviet dissidents - as the 1930s, when Stalin conducted a series of show trials and purges of his opponents. (18:49 GMT) Washington has accused Moscow of violating international law for denying US officials consular access to detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is detained in Russia. (19:36 GMT) Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza said on Monday he stood by all of his political statements, including against the Ukraine offensive, that led him to face 25 years in jail. Kara-Murza, 41, is accused of several charges including treason, spreading false information about the Russian army. (20:21 GMT) United States security agencies are reviewing how they share sensitive secrets inside the government while dealing with the diplomatic fallout from the release of dozens of confidential documents, the Reuters news said quoting three US officials. Investigators are also working to determine what person or group might have had the ability and motivation to release the intelligence reports, said one of the officials. The leaks could be the most damaging release of US government information since the 2013 publication of thousands of documents on WikiLeaks. 20230411 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/11/russia-ukraine-live-russia-targeted-nine-regions-in-a-day-kyiv (09:23 GMT) The United States officially determined that Russia wrongfully arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and has called for his immediate release. Secretary of State Antony Blinken "made a determination that Evan Gershkovich is wrongfully detained by Russia", State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said on Monday. (09:35 GMT) The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces says Russia's military has targeted nine regions in 24 hours, including Luhansk and Donetsk. "The enemy launched 39 air strikes and seven missile strikes, four of which were from the S-300 air defence system against the peaceful city of Kramatorsk," Ukraine said in its daily military update. "They carried out 47 rounds from MLRS [multiple-launch rocket systems] on the positions of our troops and the civilian infrastructure of populated areas," it said. (09:49 GMT) Hungarian foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, has arrived in Moscow for talks on energy supply, the Russian Tass news agency reported. (10:00 GMT) Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki says Japan will chair a Group of Seven (G7) financial leaders' meeting on April 12 in Washington, DC to discuss the underlying global economy, global supply chains, inflation and the Ukraine crisis. Suzuki will travel to the US to hold the G7 financial leaders' meeting on the sidelines of IMF and World Bank annual gatherings. The G7 comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. (10:23 GMT) Russia will consider sending electronic call-up papers in addition to traditional draft letters, according to draft legislation. Currently, conscription papers in Russia have to be delivered in person by the local military enlistment office or via an employer. Once received, citizens who fail to attend the military enlistment office will be automatically banned from travelling abroad. Since the war in Ukraine began, more than 300,000 former soldiers and ex-conscripts are believed to have been called up in an emergency draft drive last year. 10:38 GMT) The Kremlin says there are no plans for a second wave of mobilisation. "There is no second wave [of mobilisation]," Dmitry Peskov told reporters. In response to a question whether there are any changes on this issue, Peskov stressed: "No". (11:11 GMT) The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said it had recorded 8,490 civilians killed and 14,244 injured between the launch of the invasion on February 24, 2022, and April 9, 2023. The body has described its figures as "the tip of the iceberg" due to its limited access to battle zones. (11:32 GMT) The Kremlin says Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter Evan Gershkovich had "violated Russian law" and been caught "red-handed" after the US Department of State officially designated him as having been "wrongfully detained" by Russia. The US determined that the WSJ reporter was "wrongfully detained", which means that it believes he was targeted primarily because he is an American citizen. Asked about the US designation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated Russia's position that Gershkovich broke the law. "I don't understand what kind of innovations this new regime is introducing. As for what it means, I don't know," Peskov said. He added Gershkovich had "been caught red-handed and violated the laws of the Russian Federation". (11:55 GMT) The head of Russia's FSB security service, Alexander Bortnikov, accused Ukraine and the West of recruiting young Russians to stage armed attacks. "In the conditions of Russia conducting the special military operation, Ukrainian special forces and their Western curators have launched an aggressive ideological indoctrination and recruitment of our citizens," Bortnikov told a meeting in Moscow of the National Anti-Terrorism Committee. "Especially the younger generation, to involve them in sabotage, terrorist and extremist activities," he added, according to a statement from the committee. (12:19 GMT) Romania aims to buy the latest generation of US F-35 fighter planes to boost its air defences, the country's supreme Defence Council (CSAT) said. "Having robust, credible, interoperable, flexible and efficient air defence operational capabilities ... as part of our commitments as a NATO and EU state is key to Romania meeting its defence policy objectives," the statement said. "The air force's modernisation process will continue through the acquisition of last generation F-35 jets." The EU and NATO state have raised defence spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product this year from 2 percent. But the council did not elaborate on timing or numbers. Last year, President Klaus Iohannis said Romania was mulling acquiring F-35 planes, which US weapons maker Lockheed Martin Corp makes. (12:45 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 412 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-412 (13:14 GMT) Denmark's defence minister said he expects a decision on whether to donate fighter jets to Ukraine "before the summer", as deliveries of Polish and Slovak MiG-29s have begun. Discussions are taking time because countries have to act together, acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said during a visit to Ukraine. "Denmark will not do it alone," Poulsen said, adding that a decision was still achievable "in the near future". "We need to do this together with several countries. We will also have a dialogue with the Americans about this," the minister said. Slovakia and Poland began deliveries of MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine in late March and early April. Despite requests from Kyiv, no modern fighter jets, such as the US-designed F-16 have been pledged, and Washington has so far said it would not send fighter jets. (13:41 GMT) Russia may experience a wider budget deficit and a smaller current account surplus this year, while global isolation dampens its economic growth prospects, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said. The IMF raised its 2023 Russia GDP forecast to growth of 0.7 percent from 0.3 percent, but lowered its 2024 prediction to 1.3 percent from 2.1 percent, saying it also expected labour shortages to further harm affect the economy. (14:02 GMT) Russia will introduce electronic military draft papers for the first time in its history, making it harder for men to avoid being drafted. The State Duma backed the necessary legislation in two separate votes, but some lawmakers complained the changes were being rushed through without giving them enough time to scrutinise them. The move is part of a push by Moscow to perfect a system it has used to bolster its military forces in Ukraine, though government officials say there are currently no plans to compel more men to fight in Ukraine. "We need to perfect and modernise the military call-up system," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a news briefing. (14:32 GMT) Spanish Economy Minister Nadia Calvino said that Europe could not ignore China's role as a key trading partner and geopolitical player that could help end the war in Ukraine. "I think we cannot just turn our back to China and try to ignore it," Calvino told an Atlantic Council event in Washington, DC. "We have a shared interest, I think, in ensuring that they engage constructively to put an end to the war in Ukraine as soon as possible and to avoid global market fragmentation, which is going to be lose-lose for everyone," he said. (14:57 GMT) The head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said that his forces controlled more than 80 percent of Bakhmut. In a video published by a Russian military blogger on Telegram, Prigozhin is seen showing on a map of the area how his forces are continuing their encirclement of the city. "In Bakhmut, the larger part, more than 80 percent is now under our control, including the whole administrative centre, factories, warehouses, the administration of the city," said Prigozhin. He used a red marker pen to highlight the relatively small, mainly residential area of the city that remained to be captured by Russian forces. (15:20 GMT) The leader of Crimea said the region is on guard for a possible Ukrainian counteroffensive. Sergey Aksyonov told reporters that Russian forces in Crimea had built "modern, in-depth defences" and had "more than enough" troops and equipment to repel a possible assault. We cannot underestimate the enemy, but we can definitely say that we are ready [for an attack] and that there will be no catastrophe," he said. An analysis of satellite images by Al Jazeera also confirmed that Russian forces are fortifying the Crimean Peninsula through an extensive network of trenches that extend across the border villages. (15:45 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured him that Washington still backs Kyiv's effort to win the war. The minister, Dmytro Kuleba, made a comment after a recent Washington Post report detailed a downbeat assessment by US intelligence officials of Kyiv's ability to retake Russian-occupied territory. (16:12 GMT) Hungary signed new agreements Tuesday to ensure its continued access to Russian energy, a sign of the country's continuing diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow that have confounded some European leaders amid the war in Ukraine. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Russian state energy company Gazprom had agreed to allow Hungary, if needed, to import quantities of natural gas beyond the amounts agreed to in a long-term contract that was amended last year. The price of the gas, which would reach Hungary through the Turkstream pipeline, would be capped at 150 euros ($163) per cubic metre, Szijjarto said, part of an agreement that will allow Hungary to pay down gas purchases on a deferred basis if market prices go above that level. Szijjarto's trip to Russia's capital was unusual for an official from a European Union country. (17:04 GMT) An online project is documenting and preserving the experiences of people living with war in Ukraine. The Museum of Civilian Voices is both an historical record and an experiment in collective healing. (17:39 GMT) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada imposed new sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine and pledged new military support for Kyiv. Ottawa will send 21,000 assault rifles, 38 machine guns and 2.4 million rounds of ammunition to Ukraine and impose sanctions on 14 Russian individuals and 34 entities, including security targets linked to Wagner Group, Trudeau said after meeting Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Toronto. "We will continue to support Ukraine with everything needed for as long as necessary," he said. Canada is also imposing sanctions on nine entities tied to the Belarusian financial sector to further pressure Russia's "enablers in Belarus", Trudeau said. (18:10 GMT) Ukraine's youth and sports minister says Kyiv will keep up the pressure on the International Olympic Committee to prevent Russians from taking part in the Paris games next year. "It is necessary to continue to put pressure," Ukraine's Youth and Sports Minister Vadym Gutzeit told AFP news agency. "And maybe the IOC will understand that, while there is a war in Ukraine, it is not the time for Russian and Belarusian athletes to return." (18:37 GMT) The family of American Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, jailed by Russia on espionage charges, say they have spoken to US President Joe Biden on Tuesday. "We appreciate President Biden's call to us today, assuring us that the US government is doing everything in its power to bring him home as quickly as possible," the family said in a statement. (19:13 GMT) UN says no ships were inspected on Tuesday under the Ukraine Black Sea grain deal "as the parties needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities. Routine inspections are due to resume on Wednesday, the UN added. (20:14 GMT) The United States says there is no evidence to suggest that Egypt is supplying Russia with lethal weapons after a leaked American document claimed Cairo secretly planned to supply rockets to Moscow. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi planned to manufacture 40,000 rockets for Russia, according to the Washington Post, which cited a portion of a top-secret document dated February 17. El-Sisi reportedly directed officials to keep the production and delivery covert to prevent issues with Western nations. "We've seen no indication that Egypt is providing lethal weaponry and capabilities to Russia," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/10/we-dont-know-us-says-still-investigating-intel-document-leak https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/11/pentagon-intelligence-leak-heres-what-you-need-to-know Ukraine - If proven authentic, the leaks suggest that the US had been monitoring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's calls with defence and military officials by using signals intelligence. They also reveal apparent weaknesses in the Ukrainian air defence systems and the size of military battalions. Russia - The documents would also reveal that the US had penetrated the Russian military forces and the Wagner Group, a mercenary organisation, much more than previously understood. The documents also reference details about the internal planning of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. Much of that information on Russian troop movements was gathered through human sources who could now be at risk. ... ttps://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/apr/11/up-to-50-uk-special-forces-present-in-ukraine-this-year-us-leak-suggests Leaked US military documents indicate that the UK has deployed as many as 50 special forces to Ukraine. The documents suggest that more than half of the western special forces personnel present in Ukraine between February and March this year may have been British. It is unclear what activities the special forces may have been engaged in or whether the numbers of personnel have been maintained at this level. The UK's elite military forces, whose activities are normally shrouded in secrecy, comprise multiple units including the Special Air Service (SAS). Although some of the files shared online appear to have been doctored, US news outlets including the New York Times have reported that US officials acknowledge many of the documents are genuine and were initially shared online without alterations. The Guardian has reviewed a portion of the leaked documents, which contain photographs of at least two "daily updates" relating to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Markings on the documents suggest they were prepared for senior US defence officials. Labelled "secret", the two daily updates appear to have been created in February and March this year. They contain updates about military operations, logistics, weapons deliveries and training of Ukrainian forces by the US and its Nato allies. In one section, titled "US/NATO SOF in UKR", the documents appear to list the number of western special forces present in Ukraine. The documents appear to be dated February and March 2023. According to the files, US officials assessed at the time that of the 97 special forces from Nato countries active in Ukraine, 50 were British. This is considerably higher than the number from the US and France, which were said to have deployed 14 and 15 special forces respectively. The UK's special forces include the SAS, the Special Boat Service, the Special Reconnaissance Regiment, as well as several other secretive military units such as the 18 (UKSF) Signals Regiment. 20230412 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/12/russia-ukraine-live-kremlin-says-video-needs-to-authenticated (10:12 GMT) Russia says the designation of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by the United States as "wrongfully detained" meant nothing to Russia. (10:15 GMT) A leaked Pentagon document says Serbia, the only European country that has refused to sanction Russia, has agreed to supply arms to Kyiv or has sent them already. The document, entitled Europe|Response to Ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict, lists the "assessed positions" of 38 European governments in response to Ukraine's requests for military assistance. The chart showed that while Serbia declined to provide training to Ukrainian forces, it has committed arms. It also said Serbia has the political will and military ability to provide weapons to Ukraine in the future. (10:17 GMT) India says Ukraine has asked for more medicine and medical equipment and invited Indian companies to help rebuild the country. Ukraine's first deputy foreign affairs minister, Emine Dzhaparova, ended a four-day visit to New Delhi, where the request was made, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement. (10:21 GMT) Britain's Ministry of Defence cast doubt on reports that UK special forces have operated in Ukraine after documents purportedly leaked from the Pentagon said they were on the ground. The Guardian and BBC reported that the leaked files said 50 British commandos at one point were involved in the Ukraine war. (10:24 GMT) Ukraine compared Russia to the armed group ISIL (ISIS) after a video circulating on social media allegedly showed Russian soldiers filming themselves beheading a Ukrainian captive. "There is something that no one in the world can ignore: how easily these beasts kill," Zelenskyy said. (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin said the outlook for the landmark UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal was not great as promises to remove obstacles had not been fulfilled. While the West has not placed sanctions on Russia's food and fertiliser exports, Moscow says obstacles, such as insurance and payment hindrances, compromise them. (10:58 GMT) Serbia's Defence Minister Milos Vucevic dismissed reports that Belgrade agreed to supply arms to Kyiv or has sent them already in leaked Pentagon files. Vucevic said the intel was "untrue" in a statement. "Serbia did not, nor will it be selling weapons to the Ukrainian nor the Russian side, nor to countries surrounding that conflict," Vucevic said. Serbia is the only European country which has not sanctioned Moscow. (11:41 GMT) The Kremlin says that a move to bring in electronic draft papers was needed to sort out what it called "a mess" at military recruitment offices. (11:56 GMT) The United Kingdom sanctioned individuals and companies who it accused of acting as "financial fixers" for Russian oligarchs Roman Abramovich and Alisher Usmanov. The government said sanctions were imposed on Demetris Ioannides and Christodoulos Vassiliades, two Cypriots it described as "professional enablers" who had helped to create offshore structures and trusts. (12:14 GMT) The Interfax news agency reported that Russia's defence ministry had struck a Ukrainian army reserve trying to break through to the city of Bakhmut. Russia also said Wagner mercenary forces had captured three more blocks. (12:32 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov says leaked US intelligence documents might be fake and a deliberate attempt to mislead Moscow. <== Ryabkov told Russian news agencies that, for now, the leak threw up many questions. "It's probably interesting for someone to look at these documents, if they are documents at all, or maybe they are fake, maybe this is a deliberate information dump," Ryabkov was cited as saying. "Since the United States is a party to the [Ukraine] conflict and is in essence waging a hybrid war against us, it's possible such things are being done to mislead the enemy - that is the Russian Federation." (12:54 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence said Russian forces had built extensive defensive lines in the Zaporizhia region. "Russia has now completed three layers of defensive zones across approximately 120km of this sector," the ministry said. In its daily intelligence update, the ministry said Russia has probably put significant effort into these defensive works" because of potential assault towards Melitopol. "The defences have the potential to be formidable obstacles, but their utility almost entirely depends on them being supported by sufficient artillery and personnel." (13:12 GMT) On Tuesday, Russia released a video of what it says is the successful launch of an "advanced" ICBM, the first known successful launch of such a weapon since Moscow left the nuclear New START treaty with the US. (13:30 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister said that the leaked Pentagon documents contained a mixture of true and false information and that the accurate information was no longer relevant. Speaking in Madrid, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the leaks were a psychological information operation that would benefit Russia and its allies. (13:44 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 413 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-413 (14:17 GMT) The EU pledges to hold war criminals to account as it denounced footage spread online allegedly showing the beheading of a Ukrainian prisoner of war. "We don't have more information on the veracity of the video. Having said that, if confirmed, this is yet another brutal reminder about the inhumane nature of the Russian aggression," EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said. (14:41 GMT) Russia imposed sanctions on 333 Canadian officials and public figures, including prominent Olympians, in what it said was a response to Canadian restrictions on Moscow. Published by Russia's foreign ministry, the list includes Canada's Governor General Mary Simon, more than 250 members of regional legislative assemblies, and dozens of Canadian athletes who have publicly supported a ban on Russian athletes competing at the 2024 Olympics. (15:28 GMT) Ukraine's military rejects the claim that Russian troops have captured "more than 80 percent" of the city of Bakhmut and says that Kyiv's forces controlled "considerably" more than 20 percent. (15:55 GMT) The United States is imposing sanctions on dozens of people and entities as it cracks down on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The sanctions, imposed by the US Treasury and State departments, apply to more than 120 entities and individuals across 20-plus countries, including facilitators of sanctions evasion. (16:45 GMT) The United States has imposed sanctions on three top officials of the Russian-controlled International Investment Bank in Budapest after it said Hungary had ignored US concerns raised about the "opaque Kremlin platform". The three names added to the US sanctions list are Russian nationals Nikolay Kosov, the bank's former chairman, and Georgy Potapov, as well as Hungarian national Imre Laszloczki, the latter two high-ranking officials on the IIB's management board. After February 2022, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia ended their participation in the IIB. The Hungarian government took no measures against the bank, which moved operations to Budapest in 2019. (17:00 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister has said he asked his Spanish counterpart to supply air defences, including F-16 jets, and more ammunition to fend off Russia's invasion. (17:11 GMT) Foreign aid rose to a record $204bn last year as governments spent more on support for refugees and Ukraine following Russia's invasion of its neighbour, the OECD has said. It was the fourth year in a row that foreign aid has set a new record high, according to the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The OECD said aid to Ukraine soared from $918m in 2021 to $16.1bn last year. (17:28 GMT) Belarus has extradited a Russian father who was separated from his daughter and sentenced to two years in prison after she drew a Ukraine-themed picture at school, a monitoring group has said. Alexei Moskalyov, a 54-year-old single father from the town of Yefremov, south of Moscow, fled house arrest in late March just before a Russian court handed him a two-year sentence for "discrediting" the Russian army. He was later detained in neighbouring Belarus. (17:51 GMT) As many as 354,000 Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured in the Ukraine war, which is grinding towards a protracted conflict that may last well beyond 2023, according to a trove of purported US intelligence documents posted online. (18:36 GMT) Hungary has signed new agreements to ensure its continued access to Russian energy. The move is a sign of continuing diplomatic and trade ties with Moscow that have confounded some European leaders amid the war in Ukraine. Speaking at a news briefing in Moscow, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Tuesday that Russian state energy company Gazprom had agreed to allow Hungary to import quantities of natural gas beyond amounts agreed to in its long-term contract. Another agreement caps the price of Russian gas at $163 per megawatt hour for Hungary. (19:23 GMT) A United States envoy on countering global disinformation says countries in the western Balkan region have been "pretty seriously poisoned" by Russia's influence campaigns. James P Rubin made the comments after travelling to North Macedonia as part of a tour that also includes stops in Montenegro and Albania. Rubin heads the Department of State's Global Engagement Center. (19:44 GMT) Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is heading to China to strengthen ties with his nation's biggest trade partner and win support for his long-shot push for peace in Ukraine. Lula wants Brazil, China and other nations to help mediate the war as part of his nation's return to the world stage. But his proposal on the conflict has irked Ukraine and some in the West, most recently by suggesting during a meeting with journalists in Brasilia last week that Ukraine cede Crimea as a means to forge peace. (20:01 GMT) Imprisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is reportedly in failing health because of a new suspected poisoning. Anna Veduta, a Washington, DC-based vice president of Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation says the 46-year-old Navalny fell ill last Friday when he was let out of the punishment cell and put in a conventional cell. He had lost about eight kilogrammes in 15 days. On Monday, Navalny wrote on Twitter, he was put back in a punishment cell for another 15-day term. An ambulance reportedly was called early Saturday because of acute stomach pains but Navalny received no diagnosis. (20:17 GMT) The Kremlin has warned that the outlook for extending a deal beyond May 18 that allows the safe wartime export of grain and fertiliser from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports was not great. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this export deal deal "has not worked and is not working so far". (20:33 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has called for continued significant aid to Ukraine as it battles against Russia's invasion, and lauded Ukrainian authorities for their focus on good governance and anti-corruption. Yellen spoke at the start of a meeting on Ukraine during the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal also spoke. 20230413 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/13/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-investigates-alleged-beheading-video (09:19 GMT) Poland doubts French attempts to organise talks between Ukraine and Russia, the Polish foreign minister said "We are sceptical about French initiatives to lead to some form of talks between Russia and Ukraine," Zbigniew Rau said in a speech to parliament. (09:20 GMT) Ukraine launched an investigation into a video that allegedly shows the beheading of a Ukrainian soldier. The video, which spread quickly online, drew outrage from officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and international organisations. The Kremlin has called the footage "horrible" but said it needed to be verified. In the video, a man wearing a yellow armband, typically worn by Ukrainian fighters, is apparently decapitated by another person. (09:20 GMT) All Ukrainian cities and Crimea must and will be part of Ukraine again, and absolute peace will come by restoring the country's borders, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. (09:48 GMT) Ukraine's state-owned gas company Naftogaz says Russia has been ordered by an arbitration court in The Hague to pay $5bn in compensation for expropriating its assets in Crimea. (10:05 GMT) A Moscow court fined the Wikimedia Foundation, owner of Wikipedia, 2 million roubles ($24,525) for failing to remove what the court described as "fake information" about Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, Interfax reported. The Foundation has previously said information Russian authorities complained about was well-sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards. (10:21 GMT) NATO should play a more significant role in security in the Black Sea, and integrate Ukrainian air and missile defences, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba said. "The Black Sea is instrumental for making the whole of Europe peaceful and future-oriented," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba, speaking via video link, told a Black Sea security conference in the Romanian capital Bucharest. "Sadly, it is also a showcase of how rapidly things can deteriorate if one neglects threats. It's time to turn Black Sea into what the Baltic Sea has become, a sea of NATO." "We need to address the common Russia problem together. For instance, I support the expert idea to integrate the air and missile defence systems of Ukraine with the ones of the Black and Baltic Sea NATO allies." Moscow and Kyiv rely on the sea for exports, including supplying international grain markets. (10:36 GMT) A Russian mine has exploded near the generator room of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, Ukraine's state nuclear plant operator Energoatom says. "According to sources, an explosion happened near the engine room of the fourth [reactor] power unit," Energoatom said in a statement. The statement added that Russian soldiers, who last year seized control of the plant, told workers that it was "their own mine that detonated". (10:51 GMT) The Kremlin denies a report that President Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been detained in Russia on espionage charges. "No, it is not the president's prerogative," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It is the special services who are doing their job. Once again, I would like to remind you that this journalist was caught red-handed." (11:19 GMT) Norway's foreign ministry is expelling 15 Russian embassy officials, saying they were intelligence officers operating under cover of diplomatic positions. The Russian foreign ministry said it would respond to Norway's expulsion of 15 Russian diplomats, TASS reported. (11:45 GMT) Russia's General Prosecutor's Office says it has opened an investigation into a gruesome video showing the alleged beheading of a Ukrainian soldier. "In order to assess the credibility of these materials and make an appropriate decision, they have been forwarded to the investigative authorities for verification," it said. On Wednesday, the Kremlin said the video, which has circulated on social media, was "awful" and that its authenticity needed to be checked. (12:10 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 414 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-414 (12:25 GMT) Poland has asked the German government to approve exporting old MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine, a spokesperson for the defence ministry said. Germany will decide as soon as Thursday, the DPA news agency quoted Defence Minister Boris Pistorius as saying. Germany inherited 24 MiG-29 jets from the East German GDR during reunification in 1990. At the time, the aircraft was seen as among the most advanced fighter jets in the world. In 2004, Berlin passed on 22 of the aircraft to Poland. Of the remaining two jets, one was destroyed in a crash, and one is on show at a museum. (12:46 GMT) Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) spoke to Russian diplomats in Geneva last month about providing aid to areas of Ukraine under Russian military control but has yet to be granted access, the medical charity said. "Our discussion ... concerned the areas of Ukraine under Russian military occupation, where we are aware of substantial medical humanitarian needs, including the lack of doctors, nurses and essential medicines," MSF said in a statement. "However, our teams have not yet been granted access to these areas. We continue to discuss this, and other points related to impartial medical humanitarian care in Ukraine." The Russian diplomatic outpost confirmed that talks had taken place but did not say what issues were raised. (13:32 GMT) Moscow says its forces were "blocking" Ukrainian forces from getting in or out of Bakhmut. "Airborne troops are providing support to advancing assault troops, blocking the transfer of Ukrainian army reserves to the city and the possibility of retreat for enemy units," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement. "Wagner assault units were continuing high-intensity combat operations to oust the enemy from the central quarters" of Bakhmut. In a statement, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said, however, it was "too early" to say Russia has Bakhmut surrounded. "The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to pull up reserves and transfer them to the city limits. There are severe bloody battles, so it's too early to talk about the complete encirclement of Bakhmut," he said. (13:55 GMT) The Polish prime minister says if Ukraine is defeated in its war with Russia, China may decide to invade Taiwan shortly afterwards. "God forbid, if Ukraine falls, if Ukraine gets conquered, the next day China may attack Taiwan," Mateusz Morawiecki said in a speech at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, DC. "I see lots of connectivity, lots of interdependency between the situation in Ukraine and the situation in Taiwan." (14:31 GMT) Russia said there would be no extension of the Black Sea grain deal beyond May 18 unless obstacles to exporting Russian grain and fertiliser were removed. (14:51 GMT) Ukraine's membership in the NATO military alliance is the only option for the country's future security, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said "We need a system of guarantees that would make aggression from Russia impossible," he told a Black Sea security conference in Bucharest. "There is no alternative to Ukraine's accession to NATO." (15:12 GMT) Chinese and Russian foreign ministers discussed the conflict in Ukraine during a meeting in Uzbekistan's Samarkand, the Chinese foreign ministry said. There is no "panacea" for resolving the crisis, China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang told his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, adding that China will continue to play a constructive role in promoting a political settlement and restarting peace talks, the ministry said. Representatives from Iran and Pakistan also attended the meeting in Samarkand. (15:38 GMT) Poland's previously close relationship with Hungary has "changed a lot" over Budapest's position on Ukraine, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said. "Our relationship with Hungary changed a lot because of the position of Hungary towards Ukraine and Russia, that's a fact. We had once very strong cooperation on the level of the Visegrad group, now it's much less so," Morawiecki said at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington. The Visegrad group comprises the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. "Instead of Hungary, we cooperate very very closely with Romania and the Baltics, this is why I said that Eastern European countries, minus Hungary, have the same opinion on what's going on in Ukraine," he added. The Polish prime minister did not say the consequences of weakened relations, but the two EU members used to be strong allies in their rows with Brussels over the rule of law, immigration and LGBT rights. (16:27 GMT) Neighbours Romania, Ukraine, and Moldova signed cooperation agreements in Romania's capital after a trilateral meeting on ways to strengthen security in their Black Sea region to counter threats posed by Russian aggression. The Black Sea Security Conference in Bucharest brought together the three countries' foreign and defence ministers, government officials and international partners. The aim was to address the wide-ranging impact that Moscow's war in Ukraine is having on the region. NATO member Romania's Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu called Russia "the most direct and serious threat" to the Black Sea region and the Western alliance, and said war-torn Ukraine and embattled Moldova are "essential to our future European security." "Instead of peace and stability, the Black Sea region has become the primary target of the Russian aggression," he said, adding that a strong NATO presence there "is a must." (16:59 GMT) Russia says it sent a MiG-31 fighter jet to escort a Norwegian patrol aircraft over the Barents Sea after it approached the Russian border, the RIA news agency reported. This latest development comes hours after Norway expelled 15 Russian embassy officials. (17:27 GMT) President Aleksandar Vucic says Serbia never sold weapons or ammunition to Ukraine or Russia, although Serbian arms might have reached the battlefield via third countries. He spoke a day after the Reuters news agency reported that, according to a supposed classified Pentagon document, Belgrade had agreed to supply arms to Kyiv, which is fighting a Russian invasion, or sent them already. "Serbia has not and will not export weapons to Ukraine," Vucic told reporters, adding that it equally "has not and will not" export arms or ammunition to Russia, its traditional ally. (18:10 GMT) Hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled their homeland since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. Afraid they could be sent to fight, some left by car, bicycle, even by foot, crossing into neighbouring Kazakhstan just hours after President Vladimir Putin ordered a military mobilisation. Others decided to flee due to fear they could be punished for speaking out against the war. Kazakhstan has largely welcomed the sudden influx, but for many new arrivals, the future is uncertain. (20:02 GMT) United Nations nuclear chief Rafael Grossi says "we are living on borrowed time" following two recent landmine explosions near Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia plant. "We are living on borrowed time when it comes to nuclear safety and security at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," IAEA Director-General Grossi said in a statement. "Unless we take action to protect the plant, our luck will sooner or later run out, with potentially severe consequences for human health and the environment." (20:19 GMT) Cyprus' government is looking into how a number of Cypriot nationals were included in a new round of US and UK sanctions targeting the financial networks of Russian oligarchs Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich. In a statement, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said a number of decisions were taken "for the exclusive purpose of protecting Cyprus' name as a reliable, financial and business center". "The president of the republic considers the entire matter as particularly serious and has issued instructions to thoroughly investigate it," the statement said. Cyprus has in recent years been at pains to shake off a reputation of being in the pockets of Russian oligarchs who have concealed their assets through a maze of Cyprus-registered trusts and brass-plate companies. 20230414 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/4/14/russia-ukraine-live-kyivs-troops-leave-parts-of-bakhmut-uk (09:19 GMT) Russia pressed on with attacks on Bakhmut and shelled the southern city of Kherson on Thursday, officials in Kyiv say. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said on the Telegram app that heavy fighting gripped all parts of the eastern front. "Most of the enemy's offensive efforts are occurring in the Bakhmut sector," she wrote, adding that Russian commanders had redirected troops there from other areas. (09:26 GMT) European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell says it would be difficult, if not impossible, for Europe to trust China if it did not try to find a political solution to the war. The comments, published on the EU's website, were due to be delivered at a think tank in Beijing on Friday, but Borrell had to cancel his trip to China because he tested positive for COVID-19. (09:29 GMT) Russia places its Pacific naval fleet on high alert as part of an inspection to build its defensive capabilities, state media reported, citing Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu. "The main objective of this inspection is to increase the ability of the Armed Forces to repel the aggression of a probable enemy from the direction of ocean and sea," Shoigu said, according to the RIA news agency. (09:30 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged Beijing to ask "the Russian aggressor to stop the war" in Ukraine, adding, "no other country has more influence on Russia than China". Baerbock spoke after a meeting with her Chinese counterpart Qin Gang in Beijing. (09:48 GMT) According to the British Ministry of Defence, Russia has "re-energised" its efforts in Bakhmut due to better relations between the Wagner Group and the Russian army. "The Ukrainian defence still holds the western districts of the town but has been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire over the previous 48 hours," the intelligence update said. The update added that Wagner troops continued to advance through the centre of Bakhmut while Russia's airborne forces "relieved some Wagner units securing the northern and southern flanks of the operation". "Ukrainian forces face significant resupply issues but have made orderly withdrawals from the positions they have been forced to concede", the report found. (10:19 GMT) On Thursday, the Finnish embassy in Moscow received three letters, one of which contained an unknown powder, the RIA news agency reported. "In line with the security rules of the Finnish foreign ministry, the letters in question were handed to official representative organs of Russia which will study the matter," RIA quoted the embassy as saying. The embassy said it had also informed Russia's foreign ministry of the incident. Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "The embassy of Finland will be informed of the results of the inquiry." (10:30 GMT) Ukraine has retrieved the bodies of 82 of its soldiers from Russian-controlled territory, a government minister said. The Ministry of Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories gave no details about how it retrieved the bodies but said it was carried out "in accordance with the norms of the Geneva Convention". (10:44 GMT) Ukraine will "test and use" any non-banned weapons to liberate its territory, including Russian-occupied Crimea, the head of its National Security and Defense Council said. Oleksiy Danilov tweeted, "Crimea is the territory of Ukraine, and we will test and use there any weapons not prohibited by international laws, that will help liberate our territories." (11:13 GMT) Its Sports Ministry has said that Ukraine has banned its national sports teams from competing in Olympic, non-Olympic and Paralympic events that include athletes from Russia and Belarus. Criticised by some Ukrainian athletes, the decision comes after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals. Deputy Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi signed the decree published on the Sports Ministry's website overnight. Some Ukrainian athletes, including Olympic skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych, criticised the ban, saying it would destroy Ukrainian sports. (11:33 GMT) US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will meet with his Swedish and German counterparts next week, including hosting a Ukraine-related defence meeting with nearly 50 countries, the Pentagon said in a statement. On April 19, in Sweden, the Pentagon chief "will discuss security-related topics of mutual interest between our two nations and speak with senior Swedish defense and government officials," the statement said. In Germany, Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley will host the Ukraine Defense Contact Group on April 21 to "discuss the ongoing crisis in Ukraine and continue our close coordination on providing the Ukrainian people (12:22 GMT) The 15 Russian diplomats Norway expelled on Thursday had sought to recruit sources, conduct signal intelligence and buy advanced technology, the Norwegian PST security police said. The diplomats' real employers were the Russian GRU, FSB, and SVR intelligence services, PST counterintelligence chief Inger Haugland told a news conference. "This lowers the threat from Russian intelligence in Norway by permanently reducing the number of intelligence officers operating under diplomatic cover," Haugland said of the expulsions. Norway's decision was the largest-ever expulsion of Russian diplomats and the latest instance of a Western country expelling Russian diplomats since Moscow launched its full-scale war against Ukraine last year. So far this year, Estonia, the Netherlands and Austria have also expelled Russian diplomats. Russia said it would respond to the expulsions. (12:43 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 415 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-415 (13:09 GMT) Leaders of China and Brazil discuss the war in Ukraine during a state visit to Beijing, Chinese media CCTV reported. In a meeting with visiting Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Beijing, Xi said China had made relations with Brazil a diplomatic priority, state broadcaster CCTV reported. The two leaders agreed that dialogue and negotiations are the only viable way out of the Ukraine crisis, CCTV said. "We have an extraordinary relationship with China, a relationship that every day gets more acute and stronger," the Brazilian president said before his meeting with Xi. Brazil and China need to work together so that the relationship is not merely of commercial interest, he added. (13:52 GMT) Ukrainian forces say they are finding China-made components in Russian weapons used in the battleground, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office told the Reuters news agency. In "the weapons recovered from the battlefield we continue to find different electronics," said Vladyslav Vlasiuk, who advises the president's chief of staff on sanctions policy. "The trend is now that there is less Western-made components but more - not hard (to) guess which country - made components. Of course, China," he said via a video call. Intelligence gathered by Ukrainian experts and shared with Reuters found that Chinese-made components were seen in a navigation system in Orlan aerial drones that had previously used a Swiss design. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia. (14:18 GMT) Kyiv's state atomic agency says Russian forces have brought large amounts of provisions and water supplies to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Energoatom said the move might indicate Russia is preparing to barricade employees inside because of a shortage of qualified staff at the nuclear plant and Ukraine's expected counteroffensive. "Given the intense shortage of nuclear specialists needed to operate the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP, and fearing a Ukrainian offensive, the [Russians] are preparing for the long-term holding of ZNPP employees as hostages," Energoatom said. (14:37 GMT) The West still has time to remove "obstacles" affecting the Black Sea grain deal before a deadline on May 18, senior Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov said "[The deal] needs to be implemented in full, as agreed in Istanbul in July 2022. There is still some time for the West to remove obstacles to the full implementation of the arrangements," Ulyanov said on Telegram. The Black Sea grain deal was renewed for 60 days last month, but Russia has signalled it may not agree to extend it again unless the West removes obstacles to exporting Russian grain and fertiliser. (15:02 GMT) The Danish defence ministry said that Ukraine would receive 19 French-made Caesar howitzer artillery systems within the coming weeks. In January, Denmark announced it would donate the artillery weapons after Kyiv had asked Copenhagen to supply the weapons systems (15:26 GMT) A court in Albania will not extradite a self-proclaimed Russian blogger arrested last August on spying charges, who faces similar charges in Moscow. Svetlana Timofeeva, 34, was arrested with another Russian and a Ukrainian in August 2022 on charges of entering a former military factory. "The court has decided not to accept the request form Russian authorities for extradition from the Republic of Albania to Russia Federation of the Russian citizen Svetlana Timofeeva," Judge Elis Dine said in announcing the ruling. Timofeeva has denied charges of espionage by Albanian prosecutors, saying she only wanted to film abandoned buildings from the Cold War era. She faces similar charges in Moscow. (15:47 GMT) Russia's economy ministry revised its 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to a growth of 1.2 percent from a contraction of 0.8 percent, news agencies reported. The International Monetary Fund this week also raised its forecast for Moscow's 2023 economic growth, but said the country might see a sharply wider budget deficit and a smaller current account surplus this year. The IMF added that Russia's global isolation and lower energy revenues due to its invasion of Ukraine, could dampen its economic growth potential for years to come. (16:10 GMT) At least five people have been killed and 15 wounded by a Russian missile attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk, the regional governor has said. Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote on Telegram that seven more people remained under the rubble after S-300 missiles damaged five apartment buildings and five private buildings, among other objects. (16:15 GMT) Finland's border guard has unveiled the first section of a 200km border fence with Russia being built. Finland joined NATO just a week ago and its 1,300km border has also doubled the frontier between the US-led military alliance and Russia. Three metres tall and topped with barbed wire, it will cost around 380 million euros ($417m) and is due to be completed by 2026. Officials showed the construction site of the first three-kilometre section near the Imatra border crossing point in southeastern Finland. (16:19 GMT) Eight Leopard 2 tanks that Canada promised to Ukraine have arrived in neighbouring Poland, Defense Minister Anita Anand has said. Ottawa had announced in February it would double the number of tanks pledged to Kyiv the month before. The German-made 55,000kg beasts are the backbone of and among the most advanced in the Canadian military's arsenal. "All eight Leopard 2 battle tanks promised by Canada for Ukraine have now arrived in Poland," Anand said in a Twitter message. (16:30 GMT) China has hit back at comments by the Polish prime minister that linked the war in Ukraine to a possible Chinese attack on Taiwan, accusing him of interfering in its internal affairs. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said during a speech on Thursday at the Atlantic Council think tank in Washington, DC, that if Ukraine is defeated in its war with Russia, China may decide to invade Taiwan shortly after. "On April 13, a Polish government official ... openly compared the issues of Taiwan and Ukraine, and made the unsubstantiated claim that if Ukraine loses the war, mainland China will attack Taiwan the next day," the spokesperson of the Chinese embassy in Warsaw said in a statement. "Any attempt to use the Ukraine issue as a pretext to insinuate a relationship with the Taiwan issue is political manipulation with ulterior motives, mindless trampling on the principle of respect for national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and flagrant interference in China's internal affairs," the statement said. (16:39 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to raise concerns about the implementation of a deal that allows the safe wartime export of grain from several Ukrainian Black Sea ports, a UN spokesman has said. The move comes after the United Nations said no ships were inspected on Tuesday under the deal "as the parties needed more time to reach an agreement on operational priorities". Inspections resumed on Wednesday. "The secretary-general has written letters to the parties and we are diligently working in close collaboration with Turkey to maintain the continuation of the vital agreement," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters. (17:43 GMT) A Russian missile attack in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk has wounded at least 17 people, officials say. Ukraine's National Police, in a post on Telegram, put the death toll at five after S-300 missiles damaged 10 apartment buildings and other sites. (17:47 GMT) China will not sell weapons to either side in the war in Ukraine, the country's foreign minister has said, responding to Western concerns that Beijing could provide military assistance to Russia. China has maintained that it is neutral in the conflict, while backing Russia politically, rhetorically and economically at a time when Western nations have imposed punishing sanctions and sought to isolate Moscow for its invasion of its neighbour. Qin Gang is the highest-level Chinese official to make such an explicit statement about arms sales to Russia. He added that China would also regulate the export of items with dual civilian and military use. "Regarding the export of military items, China adopts a prudent and responsible attitude," Qin said at a news conference alongside visiting German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. "China will not provide weapons to relevant parties of the conflict, and manage and control the exports of dual-use items in accordance with laws and regulations." The minister also reiterated China's willingness to help find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. (19:25 GMT) Putin has signed into law a bill on setting up electronic draft call-up procedures aimed at making military mobilisation more efficient and closing loopholes. A website outlining legislative procedures said Putin signed the law, endorsed this week by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament. (19:29 GMT) The death toll in a Russian shelling of an apartment block in the east Ukrainian city Sloviansk has risen to eight including a toddler, the governor of the Donetsk region has said. "Twenty-one people were wounded and eight people died," the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television. (20:23 GMT) Ukraine has secured promises of $5bn in additional funding to support its continuing fight against Russia amid "fruitful meetings" in Washington this week, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has told reporters. Shmyhal met with representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank as well as top US officials, on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank. He said Ukraine received new pledges of additional support from Switzerland, Denmark and a number of other countries during the meetings, as well as an agreement from US aircraft maker Boeing Co to relieve Ukrainian companies of $200m in previous commitments. Kyiv expected to receive more support during an upcoming conference in London, he added. "The international partners have reassured us of their long-term support," Shmyhal said, describing his meetings in Washington, and referring to total financing of $115bn over the next four years that was leveraged by the IMF's approval of a $15.6bn loan. 20230415 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/15/poland-suspends-food-imports-from-ukraine-to-assist-its-farmers "Today, the government has decided on a regulation that prohibits the importation of grain, but also dozens of other types of food, to Poland," Kaczyński told a party convention in eastern Poland on Saturday. The government announced that the ban on imports would last until June 30. The regulation also includes a prohibition on imports of sugar, eggs, meat, milk and other dairy products and fruits and vegetables. Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said that it "regrets the decision of its Polish counterparts". ... aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-416 Fighting * Eight people, including a toddler, were killed after Russian shells hit an apartment block in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk. More than a dozen residents were hurt. * The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said Russia had "re-energised" its efforts in Bakhmut thanks to better relations between the army and the mercenary Wagner Group. Ukraine was still holding western districts of the town but had been subjected to particularly intense Russian artillery fire, it added. * Russia's special forces have suffered "significant losses" in the war in Ukraine, leaked US military documents show. Ukraine will "test and use" any non-banned weapons to liberate its territory, including Russian-occupied Crimea, the head of its National * Security and Defense Council said. Ukraine retrieved the bodies of 82 of its soldiers from Russian-controlled territory, a government minister said. Diplomacy * In talks in Beijing, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Chinese President Xi Jinping agreed on the need for a negotiated settlement to end the war in Ukraine. * Also in Beijing, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock urged China to pressure Moscow to end its invasion of Ukraine It was no more a "civil war" after 1955 or 1960 than it had been > during the U.S.-supported French attempt at colonial reconquest. A war > in which one side was entirely equipped and paid by a foreign power <== > which dictated the nature of the local regime in its own interest - was > not a civil war. To say that we had "interfered" in what is "really a > civil war," as most American academic writers and even liberal critics > of the war do to this day, simply screened a more painful reality and > was as much a myth as the earlier official one of "aggression from > the North." In terms of the UN Charter and of our own avowed ideals, > it was a war of foreign aggression, American aggression. 20230623 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/23/russia-ukraine-war-live-kyiv-deflects-missile-attack-on-airfield (06:03 GMT) Ukrainian air defences have downed 13 Russian cruise missiles that were headed towards a military airfield in the western Khmelnytskyi region, Ukraine's air force said in a statement. It added that the missiles had been launched by Russian strategic bombers from the Caspian Sea area. Air raid alerts sounded throughout Ukraine early on Friday, with warnings of Russian missile and drone attacks issued over wide areas. Telegram channels reported explosions in several regions, from Lviv in the west, far from the front lines, to Kherson in the south. (06:28 GMT) Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz has taken legal action in the United States against Russia to recover $5bn awarded in The Hague as compensation for damages and lost property in Crimea. It said it had filed a motion in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, and that it had the right to do so as the US is among countries hosting Russian assets. (08:00 GMT) Ukraine's armed forces say they have halted a Russian offensive towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in the east of the country, and are advancing in the south, a senior Ukrainian defence official has said. "We had very fierce battles in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, but our soldiers stopped the enemy there," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television. Ukraine is in the early stages of its most ambitious counterattack since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022 and says it has retaken eight villages, its first substantial gains on the battlefield for seven months. (08:31 GMT) A drone was downed over the southern Russian city of Kursk, near the Ukrainian border, the regional governor said. On Telegram, Roman Starovoit said: "Unmanned aerial vehicles were shot down in the sky over Kursk by our air defence forces. As a result of the fall of debris on the site of one of the gardening associations of the regional centre, the fence was destroyed." (08:55 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) says Russia appears to be training combat dolphins in the Crimean peninsula. In its daily intelligence update, since last summer, the Russian Navy has invested heavily in security at the Black Sea Fleet's main base at Sevastopol. "In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals. Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins," the report said. "In Arctic waters, the navy also uses Beluga whales and seals. Russia has trained animals for a range of missions, but the ones housed in Sevastopol harbour are highly likely intended to counter enemy divers." (09:15 GMT) The Ukrainian governor of the Kherson region says two people have died, and several more are injured following an attack on a transport company. On Telegram, Oleksandr Proudkin said, "In Kherson, occupying forces hit a communal transport company with targeted fire. Civilian workers who provide the city's vital activities were beaten." (09:47 GMT) Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the site of a proposed Russian embassy is secure after reports that a Russian diplomat was squatting. Earlier this month, Australia passed a law to prevent Russia from moving its embassy from a Canberra suburb closer to the parliament and the Chinese embassy, citing national security concerns. "Australia will stand up for our values, and we will stand up for our national security, and a bloke (man) standing in the cold on a bit of grass in Canberra is not a threat to our national security," Albanese told a press conference. "The site is secure and we are comfortable with our position." On Wednesday, Moscow banned 48 Australians from entering the country in retaliation for Australia's long-running sanctions regime. (10:26 GMT) The Russian governor of the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine, says the Ukrainian military has fired multiple shells over the past 24 hours. On Telegram, Vyacheslav Gladko said: "Nine artillery shells were fired at the village of Shchetinovka and four at the village of Zhuravlevka. As a result of the shelling, no one was injured, there was no damage." Gladko added that attacks were reported in the village of Tsapovka, in the Volokonovsky district, and the villages of Tishanka, Konovalovo, Krasny Pakhar, Spodaryushino, Dronovka, Sereda, Belyanka and Novaya Tavolzhanka. (10:48 GMT) A senior Ukrainian presidential official says offensive operations against Russian forces are not "a new season of a Netflix show". On Twitter, Mykhailo Podolyak said: "There is no need to expect action and buy popcorn. Offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue in a number of areas. Formation operations are underway to set up the battlefield." "Time is always important, ... especially in war. The time lost in convincing our partners to provide the necessary weapons is reflected in the specific Russian fortifications built during this period, the deeply dug defence line, and the system of minefields. "Breaking the Russian front today requires a reasonable and balanced approach. The life of a soldier is the most important value for Ukraine today. The military command focuses on military science and intelligence, not on fans in the stands," he added. (11:18 GMT) The Kremlin says Russia will look into all possible ways to protect its rights in a case initiated by the Ukrainian state energy company Naftogaz in the United States. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing, "All the legal details of this move will be worked on, and ways will be considered to defend our legal rights." Naftogaz said it had taken legal action against Russia to try to recover $5bn awarded to it by an arbitration court in The Hague in April as compensation for assets expropriated by Russia in Crimea. In 2014, Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in a move not recognised internationally. (11:35 GMT) Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov says Russia will not disclose any details about the weapons it is deploying in Belarus, Russia's Interfax news agency reports. TASS also reported that Russia had no plans to inform the US about tests of its nuclear underwater drone because it does not fall under existing verification agreements. (11:56 GMT) Russia accuses the West of trying to drive a wedge between Russia and Kazakhstan, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported. The report comes as Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev visited Kazakhstan to meet counterparts from across the former Soviet Central Asian region. "The United States and their allies are trying to support nationalist sentiment, spreading lies, manipulating public opinion, including through the internet and social networks," TASS quoted Patrushev's deputy, Alexander Shevtsov, saying in Almaty. Kazakhstan is a close Russian-ally and economic partner. (12:25 GMT) Danish brewer Carlsberg says it has signed an agreement to sell its Russian business but has not named the buyer or the agreed price. (12:46 GMT) In response to the 11th package of European Union sanctions, Russia's foreign ministry says it is expanding the list of people banned from visiting in response and would respond "appropriately" in due course. The ministry said in a statement that the list included security officials, civil servants, business people and members of the European Parliament. (13:15 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 485 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-485 (13:41 GMT) Moscow has urged the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to ensure Ukraine does not shell the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine. "We expect concrete steps from the IAEA aimed at preventing strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, both on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and on adjacent territory and critical infrastructure facilities," Alexey Likhachev, chief executive of the Russian state nuclear energy firm Rosatom, said in a statement. Likhachev made the comments at a meeting with IAEA chief Rafael Grossi in the Russian city of Kaliningrad. This week, the international nuclear watchdog said the nuclear plant was "grappling with ... water-related challenges" after the destruction of the nearby Nova Kakhovka dam. It added that the military situation in the area had become increasingly tense as Kyiv began its counteroffensive. (14:06 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the country's top security body decided to bring officials to justice over the deaths of three people who were locked out of a bomb shelter on June 1. "A quarter of bomb shelters in Ukraine and a third in Kyiv are unfit for use," Zelenskyy said on Telegram, citing an audit of air raid shelters. "The decision of the National Security Council is to bring the guilty to justice, and to get all protective structures in the proper condition." (14:32 GMT) Zelenskyy says there will be personnel changes following an inquest into the state of Ukraine's bomb shelters. "There will be personnel decisions," Zelenskyy said in a statement, without saying who the changes would affect. Following the deaths of three people after a bomb shelter refused to open, Zelenskyy opened an investigation. (14:50 GMT) The US sanctions two Russian intelligence officers who attempted to interfere in a local election, the Department of Treasury said. Yegor Sergeyevich Popov and Aleksei Borisovich Sukhodolov, both members of Russia's Federal Security Service, have worked to undermine democratic processes through a network of co-conspirators, the department said in a statement. "The United States will not tolerate threats to our democracy, and today's action builds on the whole of government approach to protect our system of representative government," Treasury official Brian Nelson said. The department added that both men worked with Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a Russian the US Department of Justice charged last year for conducting a multiyear effort to use political groups in Florida, Georgia and California to interfere in elections. The department did not say what election the two men were accused of interfering in. (15:15 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says he expects Kyiv to receive a clear signal and "formula" to become a NATO member when the alliance meets next month. "I expect them to give us a clear, understandable signal and formula for us, obviously, to become a NATO member," Reznikov was quoted as saying by Ukraine's military press centre. The NATO summit is set to take place on July 11-12 in Lithuania. (15:44 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner mercenary group, says the official Kremlin version of why Russia invaded Ukraine was based on lies concocted by the army's top generals. For months, Prigozhin has been accusing Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and Russia's top general, Valery Gerasimov, of incompetence, but this was the first time he rejected Russia's core justifications for invading Ukraine. "The Defence Ministry is trying to deceive society and the president and tell us a story about how there was crazy aggression from Ukraine and that they were planning to attack us with the whole of NATO," Prigozhin said in a video clip released on Telegram by his press service. "The special operation was started for different reasons," he said. "The war was needed, ... so that Shoigu could become a marshal, ... so that he could get a second 'Hero' [of Russia] medal. The war wasn't needed to demilitarise or denazify Ukraine." (16:22 GMT) Zelenskyy has ordered the creation of a commission to carry out an audit of heads of military draft offices in regions across Ukraine. After meeting his top military commanders, Zelenskyy said the commission would be headed by General Oleksandr Pavliuk, who is first deputy defence minister. The decision follows Ukrainian media reports of corruption allegations against the head of a draft office. Zelenskyy said he had ordered the urgent dismissal of the head of a draft office whose family was reported by the Ukrainska Pravda media outlet to own property and cars in Spain worth millions of dollars. (17:00 GMT) European Union foreign ministers will approve a boost of 3.5 billion euros ($3.81bn) to a military aid fund used to bankroll weapons and ammunition for Ukraine, officials have said. The ministers are expected to raise the financial ceiling on the European Peace Facility (EPF) - a fund that has already allocated some 5.6bn euros in military aid for Ukraine - at a meeting in Luxembourg on Monday. However, Hungary continues to block the allocation of another 500-million-euro tranche of the fund for Ukraine, according to officials. Budapest has said it will not lift its block until Kyiv removes Hungarian bank OTP from a list of companies it deems "international sponsors" of Russia's war in Ukraine. Hungary has branded the bank's inclusion "scandalous". "On Monday, a decision will be taken to top up the European Peace Facility by 3.5 billion euros," said a senior EU official, speaking on condition of anonymity. "But there will be no decision on a new tranche of the European Peace Facility for Ukraine because there is not yet agreement among member states on that." (17:37 GMT) Kyiv has urged Ukrainians not to panic or stockpile iodine tablets after Zelenskyy alleged that Russia planned to organise a radiation leak at an occupied nuclear plant. Zelenskyy said this week that Russian forces controlling Zaporizhzhia - Europe's biggest nuclear plant - were planning a "terror attack" by orchestrating a radiation leak. The Kremlin said it was a "lie" but the president's warning put many Ukrainians on alert and sent demand for iodine at many pharmacies skyrocketing. "Read and share but don't panic! Don't play the enemy's game. President Zelenskyy said nothing new," the Ukrainian health ministry said late on Thursday. (18:20 GMT) The White House has that it has not detected elevated levels of radioactivity at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, but that it is monitoring the situation closely. (19:06 GMT) The chief of Russian mercenary group Wagner has accused Moscow's military leadership of ordering attacks on their camps and killing a "huge" number of forces. "We were ready to make concessions to the defence ministry, surrender our weapons," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a furious audio message released by his spokespeople. "Today, seeing that we have not been broken, they conducted missile strikes at our rear camps." The defence ministry quickly issued a statement saying Prigozhin's accusations "do not correspond to reality and are an informational provocation". (19:14 GMT) The chief of mercenary group Wagner has pledged to "stop" Moscow's top military leadership and called on Russians not to resist his forces. "The council of commanders of PMC Wagner has made a decision - the evil that the military leadership of the country brings must be stopped," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message released by his spokespeople, urging Russians to remain calm. (20:16 GMT) The chief of mercenary group Wagner said he had 25,000 troops under his command and urged others to join to resist Moscow's military brass. "There are 25,000 of us and we are going to look into why there's total lawlessness in the country," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message, urging Russians to join his forces. <=== (20:19 GMT) The founder of Russia's Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said that his call to action against the Russian military was not a military coup but rather a "march for justice". "This is not a military coup," Prigozhin said in a series of audio recordings posted on Telegram. "It is a march for justice. Our actions do not in any way interfere with troops." <=== Prigozhin also accused Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu of ordering 2,000 bodies of Wagner fighters be hidden in a morgue in southern Russia. (20:22 GMT) Russia's FSB security service has opened a criminal case against mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin for calling for armed mutiny, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency has said, citing the National Antiterrorism Committee. President Vladimir Putin has been briefed on the developments and "necessary measures are being taken", Interfax news agency said, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. 20230624 (01:32 GMT) Wagner boss Prigozhin has promised to take all necessary steps to topple Russia's military leadership, saying his forces would "destroy everything" in their way. "We are going onwards, and we will go to the end," Prigozhin said in an audio message, adding that his forces had entered the southern Russian region of Rostov. (01:33 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin is being given regular updates on the unfolding tensions between the mercenary group Wagner and the defence ministry, the Kremlin said. "Security services, law enforcement agencies, namely the defence ministry, the FSB, the interior ministry, the national guard are reporting to the president constantly, around the clock," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by Russian news agencies. (01:49 GMT) The governor of Russia's southern Rostov region adjoining Ukraine has told residents to remain calm and stay indoors, as the leader of the Wagner mercenary force launched what Russian officials called a mutiny. "Law enforcement agencies are doing everything necessary to ensure the safety of residents of the area. I ask everyone to stay calm and not to leave home unless necessary," Governor Vasily Golubev said in a message on his Telegram channel just before 4am (01:00 GMT). Wagner chief Prigozhin claimed his forces had crossed from Ukraine into the Rostov region. There has been no independent confirmation of those claims and Golubev's message did not say whether Wagner forces had entered Rostov. (02:04 GMT) US President Joe Biden has been briefed and the White House is monitoring the situation in Russia after the head of the Wagner mercenary force called for an "armed mutiny" against Moscow's military leadership, a spokesman said Friday. (02:19 GMT) Authorities in Russia's southern Lipetsk region said they have tightened security measures following claims that Wagner mercenaries had crossed the border from Ukraine. "A decision has been taken to reinforce security measures in the region," the region's governor Igor Artamonov said, according to the French news agency AFP. "I ask everyone to remain calm," he said. (02:56 GMT) The government of the southern Russian Voronezh region has urged residents to avoid the M-4 north-south motorway that connects Moscow to southern regions because a military convoy was on the move. The government said on its Telegram channel that the situation was under control and that measures were being taken to ensure public safety, the Reuters news agency reported. (03:14 GMT) Russia launched a wave of missile attacks on Ukraine early on Saturday, causing damage and casualties, according to Ukrainian authorities. In the central city of Dnipro, "several houses were completely destroyed", mayor Borys Filatov said on Telegram. Air defences also "detected and destroyed more than 20 missiles in the airspace around Kyiv", said Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv military administration. Falling debris caused a fire in a 24-storey building, and seven people were injured and about 40 cars were damaged, Popko said. In Kharkiv city, a gas pipeline was destroyed, causing a fire but no casualties, regional governor Oleh Sinegubov said. (03:24 GMT) Moscow's mayor Sergey Sobyanin said that anti-terrorist measures were being taken in the Russian capital, including additional checks on roads to reinforce security, Reuters has reported. (03:42 GMT) Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said that Russian armoured personnel carriers could be seen on the streets of Moscow and that security had been stepped up though the situation remained calm in the city. "Generally people report that the capital looks pretty calm right now," Shapovalova said earlier on Saturday. "That's probably because security measures have been stepped up here in Moscow and all the most important facilities - state authorities and transport facilities - have been taken under protection," she said. (04:03 GMT) The governor of the Lipetsk region in central Russia said that the M-4 motorway connecting Moscow with southern regions was closed to traffic at the border with the Voronezh region, some 400km south of Moscow, Reuters reports. (04:37 GMT) The Ukrainian military said it is following the infighting in Moscow after the head of the Wagner mercenary force accused Russia's armed forces of attacking one of his bases inside Ukraine. (05:13 GMT) Wagner chief Prigozhin has claimed to be inside the Russian army headquarters in Russia's southern Rostov-on-Don city and that his fighters were in control of the city's military sites. "We are inside the (army) headquarters, it is 7:30 am (04:30 GMT)," Prigozhin said in a video on Telegram, according to the AFP news agency. "Military sites in Rostov, including an aerodrome, are under control," (05:43 GMT) Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has demanded Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's top general Valery Gerasimov come to meet him in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. In a video posted on social media, Prigozhin said he was now at the headquarters of the Southern Military District, which is in Rostov-on-Don. "We have arrived here, we want to receive the chief of the general staff and Shoigu," Prigozhin said on the video. "Unless they come, we'll be here, we'll blockade the city of Rostov and head for Moscow." (06:03 GMT) Denmark is hosting a meeting organised by Ukraine, bringing together several nations, including those who have remained neutral on the Russian invasion, to discuss a path towards peace. Few details have leaked about the meeting, which is taking place on Saturday. However, a Western official speaking to AFP news agency on condition of anonymity said that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan will attend. The meeting in Copenhagen aims to discuss ways of achieving a "just and lasting peace" in Ukraine, the source said. The invitees include top security officials from the United States, the European Union and other countries that have backed Ukraine since Russia invaded last year, as well as those that have not condemned the invasion, the source added. They did not specify which countries. (06:14 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin will give a televised address soon, the TASS news agency cited the Kremlin as saying. Earlier, the Kremlin said Putin was being updated regularly on the unfolding tensions between the Wagner mercenary group and the defence ministry. (06:33 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry says Wagner Group mercenary fighters have been "deceived and dragged into a criminal adventure" by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. In a statement posted on Telegram, the ministry urged Wagner fighters to contact its representatives and those of law enforcement services, and promised to guarantee their security. (06:44 GMT) A senior aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says "everything is just beginning in Russia", describing the actions of Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin as a "counter-terrorist operation". "The split between the elites is too obvious. Agreeing and pretending that everything is settled won't work," Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted. "Someone must definitely lose: either Prigozhin ... or the collective 'anti-Prygozhin'," he added. "Everything is just beginning in Russia." (06:58 GMT) The authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area say they have declared a counterterrorism state of emergency against the background of the armed uprising by Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. "In order to prevent possible terrorist attacks in the city and Moscow region, a regime of counterterrorism operations has been established," Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee said. Security has been tightened in Moscow. The Voronezh region in southwestern Russia, which borders Ukraine, also declared this type of state of emergency. (07:21 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin says an "armed mutiny" by the Wagner Group mercenary force was treason, and that anyone who had taken up arms against the Russian military would be punished. Speaking during an emergency televised addressed, Putin said he would do everything to protect Russia, and that "decisive action" would be taken to stabilise the situation in Rostov-on-Don, a southern city where Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said his forces had taken control of all military installations. (07:36 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem, speaking from the Russian-controlled Ukrainian city of Donetsk, says it is clear from what President Putin was saying that Prigozhin will be seen as an "enemy of the state" from now on. "By taking Rostov military headquarters, this is the command centre that is in charge of what Russia calls the special operation in Ukraine, the Wagner chief is currently in charge of the war in Ukraine. This is very big," Hashem said. "How this new situation will be dealt with is what everyone is waiting for. Here in Donetsk we are yet to see anything different," he added. (07:56 GMT) Britain's defence ministry says the Russian state was facing its greatest security challenge of recent times, following what it said appeared to be a move by Wagner Group forces towards Moscow. "Over the coming hours, the loyalty of Russia's security forces, and especially the Russian National Guard, will be key to how this crisis plays out. This represents the most significant challenge to the Russian state in recent times," Britain's defence ministry said in a regular intelligence update. (08:09 GMT) Poland's president says he has held consultations with the prime minister and defence ministry about the situation in Russia, adding that Warsaw was monitoring the situation. "In connection with the situation in Russia, this morning we held consultations with the prime minister and the ministry of defence, as well as with allies," Andrzej Duda wrote on Twitter. "The course of events beyond our eastern border is monitored on an ongoing basis," he added. (08:21 GMT) Al Jazeer'a Yulia Shapovalova reporting from the Russian capital, Moscow says President Putin has called for unity, adding that the Russian leader referred to the actions of Wagner chief as a "betrayal". "[Putin] says Russia is fighting for its future and all we need is unity now. He called what is going on a betrayal," Shapovalova said. "The Ministry of Defence addressed the Wagner group fighters saying that they got involved in Prigozhin's criminal adventure and participated in an armed rebellion," she said. "The ministry guaranteed everyone's safety if the fighters surrendered. And now we see reports by state media outlets, saying that some fighters returned to their initial positions as they had been asked by the army." (08:28 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron is following the situation in Russia closely, the presidential palace says. "We stay focused on the support to Ukraine," the Elysee said. (08:37 GMT) Belarus says Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on the situation in Moscow. Putin has vowed to crush what he calls an armed mutiny after rebellious mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said he had taken control of a southern city as part of an attempt to oust the military leadership. The Russian leader called the actions of the mercenary group "treason" and promised "decisive action". (08:46 GMT) Speaking to Al Jazeera from Moscow, Pavel Felgen-hauer, an independent military and defence analyst, says this is the toughest challenge that President Putin has faced since he took power. "This is a very, very serious challenge to the Russian leadership and personally to President Putin," Felgen-hauer said. "I would say this is the worst crisis of his 22-and-a-half-year term of ruling Russia. There is nothing worse than this. He has been challenged and challenged militarily and very effectively. So right now I believe he's going to be fighting for his life. It's very serious." (09:02 GMT) Britain's foreign ministry has warned of a risk of unrest across Russia, in an update of advice to travellers following movements by Russia's Wagner Group of mercenary forces. "There are reports of military tensions in the Rostov region and a risk of further unrest across the country," the ministry said. "Additionally, there is a lack of available flight options to return to the UK," the ministry added. Britain's government continued to advise against all travel to Russia. (09:13 GMT) Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov says his forces are ready to help put down a mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and to use harsh methods if necessary. Kadyrov in a statement called Prigozhin's behaviour "a knife in the back" and called on Russian soldiers not to give in to any "provocations." (09:34 GMT) Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas says Estonia has strengthened its border security and urges people not to travel to any part of neighbouring Russia "I can assure that there is no direct threat to our country," Kallas tweeted. (09:44 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull reporting from the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv says Ukraine is closely following events in Russia. "[The Wagner development] is being watched very, very closely indeed from the presidential administration to the military leadership. "The only comment thus far comes from Mykhailo Podolyak. He is a senior adviser to Vladimir Zelenskyy. He points to obvious splits in the elites in Russia and says everything is just beginning to happen now in Russia," Hull said. "They will be watching very closely, they'll be looking to try and decipher whether this creates any opportunities in the ongoing counteroffensive. The first question that they'll be asking and we don't know the answer...is just how many of Wagner's forces have been redeployed from places on the battlefield," he added. (10:01) Rajan Menon, director at Defence Priorities, a think tank based in Washington, says Russian leaders will be worried by the latest development. "This is an unfolding crisis and I don't think we have seen the end of it," Menon told Al Jazeera. "The interesting question is whether Prigozhin is acting as a lone wolf, which will be suicidal and irrational - he hasn't shown any signs of that yet - or whether he is backed by other forces. <== US? We don't know. But it is something to watch for," he said. "He has been upping the ante and now he has decided to take on the Russian state and Putin personally," he added. (10:19 GMT) Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova reporting from the Russian capital, Moscow security in the city has been beefed up. "Some armoured personnel carriers and other armoured vehicles can be seen on the streets of Moscow," Shapovalova said. "But generally, people here say the capital looks pretty calm at the moment. Security measures have been tightened in Moscow. Not just in Moscow but in other regions of Russia, too," she said. "Here, all the important facilities have been taken under security protection. There are also reports that all public activities have been cancelled," she added. (10:24 GMT) The governor of Russia's Voronezh region says the army was taking "necessary military measures" in the region as part of a "counterterrorist operation" declared after an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. Earlier on Saturday, a Russian security source told Reuters news agency that Wagner fighters had taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, about 500km south of Moscow. <=== (10:29 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group, has risen to prominence after taking an increasingly visible role in the war in Ukraine. His mercenaries are fighting on behalf of Moscow after regular troops suffered heavy attrition and lost territory in humiliating setbacks. Prigozhin, 62, was convicted of robbery and assault in 1981 and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Following his release, he opened a restaurant business in Saint Petersburg in the 1990s. It was in this capacity that he got to know Putin, then the city's deputy mayor. (10:37 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says "Russia's weakness is obvious" and that the longer Moscow keeps its troops and mercenaries in Ukraine, the more chaos it would invite back home. (10:42 GMT) European Council President Charles Michel says the bloc is "closely monitoring" the situation in Russia and was in touch with fellow European Union leaders and G7 partners. "This is clearly an internal Russian issue," Michel, the president of the body that brings together the leaders of the EU's 27 member countries, said on Twitter. He also said the EU's support for Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, was "unwavering". (10:48 GMT) The head of the Wagner paramilitary group says he rejects Russian President Vladimir Putin's accusation of "treason." "Regarding the betrayal of the motherland, the president (Putin) was deeply mistaken. We are patriots of our Motherland. We fought and are fighting, all the fighters of PMC Wagner, and no one is going to turn themselves in at the request of the president, the FSB or anyone else," Yevgeny Prigozhin said in an audio message on Telegram. "When we fought in Africa, we were told that we need Africa ... When we were told that we were at war with Ukraine, we went and fought. But it turned out that ammunition, weapons, all the money that was put on them are also stolen, and officials are saving them for themselves, just for the case that came today when someone goes to Moscow," he said. He later accused the Russian military of targeting concentrated areas with civilians, because "they can't hit (the target) and they hit anywhere." "Therefore, we are patriots, and those who oppose us today are those who have gathered around the scum," he added. (10:53 GMT) Speaking during an emergency televised address in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin has promised that he would not allow Russia to slip into civil war, after Yevgeny Prighozin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary force, seized a key military headquarters overseeing the offensive in Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/internal-betrayal-transcript-of-vladimir-putins-address (10:56 GMT) Navigation on the Moskva River, which runs through Moscow, has been temporarily suspended, TASS reported, citing the authorities. Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said in a separate statement that no restrictions had been put in place for cars and lorries coming in and out of the city, but said security checks had been stepped up. (11:01 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister says the international community should "abandon false neutrality" on Russia and provide Kyiv with all the weapons it needs to push Moscow's forces out of Ukrainian territory. Dmytro Kuleba made the remarks amid an apparent mutiny by Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin against the Russian military. "Those who said Russia was too strong to lose: look now," Kuleba tweeted. "Time to abandon false neutrality and fear of escalation; give Ukraine all the needed weapons; forget about friendship or business with Russia." "Time to put an end to the evil everyone despised but was too afraid to tear down." (11:05 GMT) A Wagner mercenary military column of vehicles drove past the Russian city of Voronezh, a witness told Reuters news agency. One of the vehicles was a flatbed truck carrying a tank. (11:10 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to Uzbekistan's President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Russian state news agency TASS reports, citing Putin's spokesman. The Kremlin has said that Putin had also spoken to the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan, amid an unfolding mutiny by the Wagner Group mercenary force. (11:15 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem reporting from Russian-occupied Donetsk says the situation in the city is fluid. "The Wagner Group marched into the city and took control of the central command centre and now we are hearing that they are besieging most of the government buildings there," Hashem said. "All roads to and from Donetsk are blocked and fighters from Wagner are on the streets of the city," he said. "There were some attempts by a few people to kind of protest but there was a crackdown on them." (11:20 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has called on all parties in Russia to protect civilians. "The most important thing I'd say is for all parties to be responsible and to protect civilians," he told the BBC. (11:27 GMT) The governor of Russia's Voronezh region says emergency services are trying to put out a burning fuel tank at an oil depot. More than 100 firefighters and 30 units of equipment were working at the site, Alexander Gusev, the governor, said on Telegram. Earlier, a Russian security source told Reuters news agency that Wagner fighters had taken control of military facilities in the city of Voronezh, about 500km south of Moscow. (11:34 GMT) The head of Russia's powerful Orthodox Church has called for unity in the face of an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. "Any attempt to sow discord within the country is the greatest crime, which has no excuse whatsoever," Patriarch Kirill of Moscow said in a statement. "I offer my prayers for the peaceful resolution of the current situation and call on those who have picked up weapons and are ready to use them against their brethren to come to their senses." (11:36 GMT) Authorities in Russia's Lipetsk region asked people to stay inside their homes for security reasons. They issued the warning amid reports that mutinous Wagner mercenaries were transiting the region en route to Moscow. (11:50 GMT) Russian military helicopters have opened fire on a convoy of Wagner mercenaries already more than halfway towards Moscow, Reuters reported, in a lightning advance after seizing the southern city of Rostov-on-Don overnight. A Reuters journalist saw army helicopters open fire at an armed Wagner column that was advancing past the city of Voronezh with troop carriers and at least one tank on a flatbed truck. The city is more than halfway along the 1,100km highway from Rostov to Moscow. (12:07 GMT) Putin is working as usual in the Kremlin, his spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency, after Wagner units claimed to have captured military installations in southern Russia. (12:25 GMT) 'Spitting on soldiers' graves': Russians react to Wagner mutiny The Russian-Ukrainian war took an unexpected turn on Saturday after the head of the Wagner Group, which has played a prominent role in the Kremlin's war in Ukraine, called for a rebellion against Russia's top military brass. Supporters of the Russian government decried the mutiny and urged for unity. "It's a tough time, I didn't think I'd live to see this," said pro-Kremlin pundit and talk show host Vladimir Solovyov in a video address to his million-plus Telegram followers. "[Wagner's] 25,000 men would be very useful at the front for the march on Lviv, Kyiv and if necessary, even further. But when you look at what's going on, you ask yourself, how did this happen?" "The enemy is there, in Ukraine. We need to be fighting with Ukro-fascism. Stop, before it's too late. There's nothing scarier than civil war." (12:29 GMT) Pro-war Russian nationalists led by a former FSB security service officer say they will soon publish a plan of action to respond to an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. The Russian nationalist group, known as the "Club of Angry Patriots", said in a statement that a civil war could lead to a humiliating military defeat for the Russian army in Ukraine and warned that Russia was on the brink of catastrophe. (12:42 GMT) Speaking to Al Jazeera, Samuel Ramani, an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK-based think tank, says Yevgeny Prigozhin may be using the takeover of military facilities as a bargaining chip. "He is using the takeover of Rostov facility as form of a bargaining chip. He is threatening to make a large advance on Moscow. He is using the threat of further military incursions and possible defections from the Russian National Guard as a bargaining chip," Ramani said. "I'm really sceptical he will get the level of leverage necessary to overturn power in Moscow because so many of his recruitment routes have been cut off," he added. (12:46 GMT) Mutinous Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin says his troops did not need to fire a single shot when they took control of the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District in Rostov. However, he said his men had been fired on by artillery and helicopters en route to Rostov. (12:50 GMT) Russian soldiers have set up a machine gun position on the southwest edge of Moscow, according to photographs published by the Vedomosti newspaper. Photographs also showed armed police gathering at the point where the M4 highway - which mutinous Wagner mercenaries are moving along - reaches the Russian capital. (13:00 GMT) Speaking to Al Jazeera from London, Jamie Shea, an associate fellow at Chatham House, a UK-based think tank, says whether Ukraine will be able to take military advantage of the situation in Russia depends on how Moscow handles the situation. "A lot depends on what plays out in Russia over the next few hours and days. And the extent to which Prigozhin having sort of started this mutiny as Putin calls it, is really able to sort of turn it into an effective result, maybe persuading more of the Russian army to desert to his calls. There's no sign of that happening at the moment" he said. "Let's keep our feet on the ground. Russia still has 390,000 troops in Ukraine, which is enormous," he added. (13:29 GMT) Iran supports the rule of law in the Russian Federation and considers the latest developments there an internal Russian matter, Iranian state media quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani as saying on Saturday. (13:39 GMT) Washington will stay "in close coordination" with its Group of Seven allies amid the unfolding crisis in Russia, where Wagner mercenaries launched a mutiny, officials have said. Department of State Spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement that support for Ukraine "will not change". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also said he spoke with G7 foreign ministers and the EU high representative for foreign affairs. (13:56 GMT) Russia's close ally Belarus has said that the armed insurrection under way by the Wagner mercenary group was a "gift" to Western countries, warning the uprising could spell "disaster". "Any provocation, any internal conflict in military or political circles, in the information field or in civil society is a gift to the collective West," the Belarusian foreign ministry said, citing a statement by Minsk's Security Council. The council reiterated that Minsk remained an ally of Russia. (14:04 GMT) Governments around the world are closely watching the events rapidly unfolding in Russia, where a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group has posed the most serious challenge to President Vladimir Putin's long rule. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/world-closely-following-wagner-mutiny-in-russia (14:16 GMT) Russian mutineering Wagner mercenaries were "moving across" the Lipetsk region some 400 kilometres south of Moscow, the governor has said, en route to Moscow after pledging to overthrow Russia's military leadership. "Hardware of the Wagner mercenary group is moving across the territory of the Lipetsk region," Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram. "I remind you that residents are strongly recommended not to leave their houses or to make trips on any mode of transport." (14:24 GMT) Latvia's president-elect has said the Baltic state had tightened its border security in response to the mutiny under way in Russia and would not be admitting Russians. "Latvia is closely following the developing situation in Russia ... Border security has been strengthened, visa or border entry from Russians leaving Russia due to current events won't be considered," Edgars Rinkevics said on Twitter. "Latvia will not issue humanitarian or other types of visas," added the president-elect, who is also still the foreign minister. Latvia had already last year stopped issuing new visas to Russian citizens, but it had until now made an exception for humanitarian visas. (14:39 GMT) Russian authorities in the Kaluga region south of Moscow have introduced travel restrictions as Wagner mercenary units marched on the capital to remove the country's military leadership. "Please refrain from travelling by private vehicle on these roads unless absolutely necessary," Governor Vladislav Shapsha said in a statement on social media on Saturday, referring to transport arteries between his region and several others, including those bordering Ukraine. (14:54 GMT) President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Turkey was ready to help seek a "peaceful resolution" to an armed rebellion in Russia, in a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, his office said. (15:05 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry has warned Western countries against using the Wagner mercenary group's mutiny "to achieve their Russophobic goals". (15:22 GMT) Wagner mercenaries have been promised an amnesty if they lay down their weapons but they need to act fast, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency has cited a lawmaker as saying. "Wagner fighters can still lay down their arms and avoid punishment given their achievements during the special military operation [in Ukraine], but they should do it fast," TASS quoted the lawmaker, Pavel Krasheninnikov, as saying on Saturday. (15:40 GMT) The British government's emergency committee, known as COBR, has met to discuss the latest developments in Russia and the risks to British citizens there, a government spokesperson said. "The foreign secretary has chaired a meeting of COBR to update on the latest situation, particularly with respect to British nationals in Russia," a government spokesperson said. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also took part in a meeting with counterparts from the Group of Seven major advanced economies. The United Kingdom also repeated its advice that its citizens should not travel to any part of Russia and that those already there should leave. (16:03 GMT) France advised against all travel to Russia given the "high volatility" of the military and security situation in the country, its foreign ministry has said on its website. (16:17 GMT) Kyiv's military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny has told the US chairman of the joint chiefs General Mark Milley that Ukraine's counteroffensive against invading Russian troops "was going according to plan". "We discussed in detail the situation along the entire frontline," Zaluzhny posted on official social media on Saturday. "I told him about the offensive and offensive actions of our units. I informed him that the operation is going in accordance with the plan. "I also told him about the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in certain types of weapons and demining assets." (16:34 GMT) Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has warned the situation in the capital was "difficult," as forces of the Wagner mercenary group moved towards the city to oust Russia's military leadership. "The situation is difficult. I ask you to refrain from travelling around the city as much as possible," Sobyanin said in a statement, warning of possible road closures and announcing Monday was a "non-working" day. (16:49 GMT) Ukraine's top military expert has said that Kyiv has to make a "strategic, principal decision" on how to benefit from the unfolding turmoil in Russia. One such move could be an order to invade western Russia to bypass massive defence installations on the 1,000-kilometre-long front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, according to Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/ukraine-responds-to-wagner-riot-with-caution-schadenfreude (17:11 GMT) President Biden spoke today with President Emmanuel Macron of France, Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany, and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak of the United Kingdom about the situation in Russia, a readout from the White House said. (17:27 GMT) The office of Belarusian President Lukashenko has said he had brokered a deal with Wagner's Prigozhin, who had agreed to de-escalate the situation. The announcement, carried on the official Telegram channel of the Belarusian presidency, said Prigozhin had agreed to halt the further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia. (17:39 GMT) Wagner boss Prigozhin says he has ordered his fighters, who had been advancing on Moscow, to turn around and return to their bases in order to avoid bloodshed. Prigozhin said his fighters had advanced 200km towards Moscow in the last 24 hours. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/24/wagner-boss-says-march-on-moscow-halted-to-avoid-bloodshed In an audio message released by his press service, Prigozhin said, "They wanted to disband the Wagner military company. We embarked on a march of justice on June 23. In 24 hours we got to within 200 km of Moscow. In this time, we did not spill a single drop of our fighters' blood." "Now, the moment has come when blood could be spilled. Understanding responsibility [for the chance] that Russian blood will be spilled on one side, we are turning our columns around and going back to field camps as planned." (18:11 GMT) Israel has urged its citizens to reconsider their stay in Russia or their travel plans there. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was scheduled to convene security chiefs later in the day, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. There are an estimated 60 or 70,000 Israelis presently in Russia and around 500,000 Jews who are eligible for immigration to Israel. (18:39 GMT) Ukraine's military has said that its forces had made advances near Bakhkmut, one of the focal points of fighting on the eastern front, and in an area further south. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar, writing on Telegram on Saturday, said an offensive was launched near a of group of villages ringing Bakhmut - the town taken by Russia's Wagner mercenary forces last month after months of fighting. "In all these areas, we have made advances," Maliar wrote. Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, commander of the Tavria, or southern, front, said Ukrainian forces had liberated an area near Krasnohorivka, west of the Russian-held regional centre of Donetsk. He said the area had been under Russian control since separatist forces backed by Moscow took control of it in 2014. (18:50 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has said that his forces could protect Europe from Russian forces, but added, "Now, is the time to provide all the weapons necessary for defence." Kyiv needed F-16 fighter jets and Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), he said. "The security of Europe's eastern flank depends only on our defence." (19:05 GMT) The news that Wagner forces will be turning back to base after they had been advancing towards Moscow shows that some very serious negotiations would have had to go on behind closed doors between Lukashenko and Prigozhin, said journalist Daniel Hawkins, speaking to Al Jazeera from the Russian capital. This deal "puts Prigozhin in a position of risk and weakness. He had the tactical advantage and the element of surprise in his movement from Rostov to Moscow. So it's evident that for him to agree to these terms some serious negotiations would have had to go on behind closed doors," Hawkins said. This deal would have required an element of trust that Prigozhin does not have with the Russian top brass and with Russian generals, he added. "It is worth noting that Lukashenko and Prigozhin are both close Putin allies. Lukashenko has been the president of Belarus since the republic's independence. Likewise, Prigozhin has been a close associate of Putin since the 1990s, where he got the nickname 'Putin's chef' or 'caterer'." (19:18 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko had a second telephone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin to inform him of the results of his talks with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, Belarusian state news agency Belta reports. Earlier, Lukashenko's office said he had spoken to Prigozhin with Putin's approval, and that the mutinous head of the Wagner militia had agreed to stop the movements of his fighters, some of whom were advancing on Moscow in a convoy, and de-escalate (19:34 GMT) Authorities in the southern Russian region of Lipetsk began lifting restrictions after the mercenary group Wagner, which had entered the province earlier, announced it would fall back. "We are beginning to lift restrictions introduced today," Governor Igor Artamonov said on Telegram on Saturday. (19:44 GMT) Rebel mercenary Wagner group have started pulling back fighters and equipment from the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin halted the fighters' march on Moscow. Reporters from AFP and Reuters at the scene saw a tank, several cargo trucks and several minivans carrying fighters leave the military headquarters the group had occupied earlier. (20:03 GMT) Wagner mercenary force chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia's military leadership, the Kremlin has said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday that Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin's agreement, because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years. (20:24 GMT) A criminal case against Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin will be dropped, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Members of Wagner paramilitary force who had joined what Moscow called an "armed rebellion" would not be prosecuted, Peskov added. "We have always respected their heroic deeds at the front." (20:31 GMT) Current events in Russia are an internal matter which do not pose any threat to Poland, leaders in Warsaw have said on, although Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said increased tension on the border with Belarus was a possibility. (20:42 GMT) Wagner group mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and all of his fighters vacated Russia's military headquarters in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, the RIA news agency reports. (20:50 GMT) The Kremlin has said that a mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group would not affect Russia's military offensive in Ukraine, a top official said. Government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "out of the question" that Wagner's aborted rebellion would affect Russia's military campaign against Kyiv. (21:33 GMT) The rebellious Russian mercenary commander who ordered his troops to march on Moscow before abruptly reversing course will move to neighbouring Belarus and not face prosecution. The charges against Yevgeny Prigozhin for mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped and the troops who joined him also will not be prosecuted, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced, and fighters from his Wagner group who did not take part in the uprising will be offered contracts by the defence ministry. President Putin called the rebellion a "betrayal" and "treason". In allowing Prigozhin and his forces to go free, Peskov said Putin's "highest goal" was "to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results". (21:58 GMT) The Kremlin says it is not aware of any change in President Vladimir Putin's attitude towards Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu after the rebellion by Wagner Group's chief demanding his ouster. Yevgeny Prigozhin, an oligarch-turned-warlord who leads the private Wagner army, has for weeks publicly denounced Shoigu and Russia's top general Valery Gerasimov. In fierce social media tirades, he accused them of incompetence and blamed them for the multitude of battlefield failures Russian forces have suffered in Ukraine. (22:42 GMT) Russian media report several helicopters and a military communications plane were downed by Wagner troops during the short-lived uprising. Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin previously said his forces had taken control of the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, as well as other military facilities in the city without any deaths or even "a single gunshot". The Kremlin referred the question about the losses to the defence ministry, which has kept mum. 20230625 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-487 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/25/russia-ukraine-live-news-prigozhin-wagner-troops-leave-rostov (01:45 GMT) Regional governor Vasily Golubev has confirmed Wagner fighters have left Rostov. "A Wagner column left Rostov and [is] headed to their field camps," Golubev said on Telegram early Sunday morning. (01:44 GMT) Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has led his mercenary fighters out of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, after reaching a deal to end Saturday's short-lived armed rebellion. Photos showed Prigozhin smiling and reaching out to grab supporters' hands as he was driven out of the city, while his soldiers got into trucks to move back to their bases. Under a deal brokered by Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko, Prigozhin agreed to pull off the rebellion and go into exile. The Kremlin said that criminal charges against the Wagner chief would be dropped and his troops would not be prosecuted either. Prigozhin said he made the decision when his troops were within 200km of Moscow to avoid bloodshed. (01:45 GMT) Regional governor Vasily Golubev has confirmed Wagner fighters have left Rostov. (02:31 GMT) Colin Clarke, an expert on Russia and security with the US-based consultancy firm The Soufan Group, says Saturday's "whirlwind" of events has undermined Putin. "He has never appeared weaker," Clarke told Al Jazeera in an interview. "He's searching around for success [and] probably getting ever more paranoid about people within his inner circle." Clarke says Moscow also faces major questions over the Wagner group. "At the end of the day, it's not possible for Russia to marginalise Wagner. Russia and Vladimir Putin depend on, and in fact, need the Wagner group to carry out Russian foreign policy, not just in Ukraine but around the world - in Syria, Mali and elsewhere." "It is a key component of how Russia operates in the world and this rift has exposed some real divisions in Russia's command and control." (02:33 GMT) Pictures coming out of Rostov-on-Don suggest the mood on the city's streets was festive as people gathered to watch the Wagner troops leave for their field camps. Some residents cheered, while others tried to grab the hands of the departing mercenaries. (02:54 GMT) Speaking is in his latest nightly address, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy switched to Russian as he said "the man from the Kremlin" was "obviously very afraid" and probably in hiding following the short-lived Wagner rebellion. 03:05 GMT) Intelligence agencies in the United States picked up signs days ago that Prigozhin was preparing his troops to mutiny, according to reports in US media. The Washington Post and New York Times say officials held briefings at the White House, the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill about the potential for unrest a full day before Prigozhin made his move against the Russian military leadership. The agencies had been monitoring the situation since mid-June, the Post said. The Times said the information was both solid and alarming by midweek, leading to the flurry of briefings. Officials were particularly concerned about the potential for chaos given Russia's huge nuclear arsenal, the Times reported. US spy agencies believe Putin himself was informed that Prigozhin, once a close ally, was plotting his rebellion at least a day before it occurred, the Post said. (03:47 GMT) GZERO Media, which is part of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group, says that Putin's supporters and critics will find plenty to ponder in the short-lived Wagner rebellion and the Kremlin's response. "No matter how you slice it, the Tsar has taken a hit here," wrote Russia specialist Alex Kliment. "One of his own men, and a reasonably well-known figure in Russia, led an 'armed rebellion' that practically cakewalked to the capital. Putin was clearly reluctant to use force to quash the threat on the spot - perhaps he was wary of turning a populist ultranationalist like Prigozhin into a martyr - and he had to call in Alexander Lukashenko to sort it out. It's hard to see how any of that leaves Putin looking stronger, more competent, or more secure than he did on Thursday evening." Kliment also includes a reminder that Wagner has as many as 50,000 men, while Prigozhin was also behind the troll farms that tried to meddle in the US elections in 2016. (05:06 GMT) Leif-Eric Easley, an associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, says Wagner's rebellion is likely to have implications even in the Asia Pacific. Putin has moved closer to China since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and agreed a "new era" of cooperation after President Xi Jinping visited Moscow in March. "Although not capable of regime change, the Wagner rebellion is a dramatic indicator that Putin's policies are unsustainable," Easley said in emailed comments. "There will be implications for the Russia-China-North Korea bloc, and officials in Beijing and Pyongyang are no doubt taking notes to avoid repeating Moscow's mistakes." (05:41 GMT) Traffic restrictions has remained on the M-4 "Don" major expressway in the Moscow and Tula regions early on Sunday, according to the Federal Road Agency's statement on the Telegram messaging app. "According to earlier decisions made in the regions, the restriction of traffic along the M-4 'Don' (highway) in the Tula and Moscow regions remains in place," the agency said. Heavily armed Russian mercenaries who had advanced most of the way to Moscow on Saturday then halted their approach, de-escalating a major challenge to President Vladimir Putin's grip on power, in a move their leader said would avoid bloodshed. (05:45 GMT) Russia's Federal Road Agency says traffic restrictions continue on the main M-4 highway in the Moscow and Tula regions. "According to earlier decisions, the restriction of traffic along the M-4 in the Tula and Moscow regions remains in place," it said. (06:21 GMT) The situation around the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District in was calm and street traffic resumed, according to RIA state news agency, after Yevgeny Prigozhin and his mercenaries left the city. (06:53 GMT) All restrictions previously imposed on highways in Russia have been lifted, the TASS news agency has said, citing the Federal Road Agency. (07:44 GMT) Chaos in Russia works to Kyiv's advantage, Ukraine's foreign minister says, after Yevgeny Prigozhin, a founder of the Wagner army, said he was halting his "march for justice" on Moscow after a deal with Kremlin. "Any chaos behind the enemy lines works in our interests," the state-run Ukrinform news agency quoted Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba as saying. Kuleba held a call with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the events and Kyiv's counteroffensive efforts on Saturday. (08:30 GMT) Wagner fighters are leaving Russia's southern Voronezh region, according to the local governor, after the group halted a dramatic rebellion against Kremlin. "The movement of Wagner units through the Voronezh region is ending," Voronezh governor Alexander Gusev said. "It is running normally and without incidents," Gusev added, saying travel restrictions imposed during Saturday's operation against the mutiny will be lifted once "the situation is finally resolved". (09:17 GMT) Chechen special forces deployed to Russia's Rostov region to resist an advance by the Wagner mercenary group are withdrawing, the TASS news agency has reported, citing a commander. The "Akhmat" special forces are returning to where they were fighting previously, commander Apty Alaudinov was quoted as saying by the news agency. (10:02 GMT) Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko has flown to Beijing for talks with China on "international" issues. (10:20 GMT) North Korea backs Russia in dealing with mutiny: State media North Korea says it fully supports Russia in dealing with the recent mutiny, state media reported. It is the latest message of support from Pyongyang to Moscow since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which North Korea has described as a US "proxy war" to destroy Russia. (11:46 GMT) Putin has told state television he was in constant contact with the defence ministry and that Russia remained confident in realising its plans related to the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The comments in an interview with Kremlin correspondent Pavel Zarubin were broadcast by Rossiya state television. The full interview is due to be broadcast later on Sunday. (12:55 GMT) Russia has said it repelled new offensives by Ukrainian forces in four areas on the front line, a day after Ukraine claimed "progress" in the east of the country. "Over the past 24 hours, Ukraine's armed forces have continued to attempt offensive action," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement, adding that 10 attacks had been countered near Bakhmut alone. (13:14 GMT) The death toll from the latest Russian missile attack on Ukraine's capital Kyiv has risen to five after two more bodies were found in a badly-damaged high-rise building, Mayor Vitali Klitschko has said. The search continued after the bodies of the first three victims were recovered following the attack on Friday night. (13:17 GMT) The crisis in Russia exposed "real cracks" in Putin's authority after he was forced into an amnesty deal, Blinken has said. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said the turmoil caused by Wagner's unprecedented challenge to Putin's authority may not be over yet and could take weeks or months to play out. "I don't think we've seen the final act," Blinken said on ABC News in one of a series of interviews. (14:14 GMT) Franak Viacorka, the chief political adviser to Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, has told Al Jazeera that Prigozhin is unlikely to stay in Belarus for long. "I think this was the solution which pleased both Putin and Prigozhin. On one hand, Putin did not want to kill Prigozhin because he's important, he's needed for the fight in Ukraine and on the other hand, Putin also didn't want to let him go and stay and do what he does," Viacorka said. "The problem is Prigozhin won't stay in Belarus for a long time. This is not his dream destination where he wants to build his retirement and business, so I think it's only a temporary solution and the saga with history will continue." (14:16 GMT) China says it supports Russia in "protecting national stability" in Beijing's first official remarks on the short-lived armed uprising. "As a friendly neighbour and a new era comprehensive strategic cooperative partner, China supports Russia in protecting national stability and achieving development and prosperity," the foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that the issue was Russia's "internal affair". (15:07 GMT) Al Jazeera's Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, says while Russians continue supporting Putin as "he controlled the situation... many admit the mutiny has dealt a blow to President Putin's reputation. "Others say that Prigozhin is obviously a player in Vladimir Putin's political system and all he has - the funds, human resources, all the weapons - all that comes from the state and he totally depends on Vladimir Putin, despite his rivalry with the ministry of defence." (15:35 GMT) Sweden must stop protests by supporters of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Stockholm to get a green light on its NATO membership bid, Erdogan told NATO's secretary general in a phone call. Erdogan told Stoltenberg that Turkey had a constructive attitude but Sweden's change of terrorism laws to meet demands from Ankara was "meaningless" while PKK supporters hold protests in the country, the Turkish presidency said in a statement. (15:41 GMT) Lithuania's president has warned that if Belarus is to host Prigozhin, then NATO will need to strengthen its eastern flank. Gitanas Nauseda, whose Baltic country neighbours both Belarus and Russia and will host next month's NATO summit, spoke after a state security council meeting to discuss Wagner's aborted revolt. (16:21 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg have discussed the latest developments in Russia in a phone call, according to a statement by Turkey's Communications Directorate. During the call, it was pointed out that the end of tensions in Russia "prevented the occurrence of irrevocable humanitarian tragedies in the Ukrainian field", the statement said. Erdogan conveyed to Stoltenberg that Turkey hopes recent developments in Russia will be "a new milestone in the path to a just peace in Ukraine", it added. (17:02 GMT) Republican Representative Don Bacon, a former US Air Force general who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, told NBC News that the weekend turmoil could leave Russia weaker for years, calling it a benefit to neighbouring countries including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. (17:13 GMT) Following Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's short-lived mutiny, Putin and his government find themselves in unchartered territory. The crisis appears to have been averted, for now, but what happens next for Russia and the Wagner Group remains uncertain. "All bets are off," Keir Giles, a senior consulting fellow of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House, told Al Jazeera on Sunday. (17:42 GMT) The Wagner mercenary group's revolt against Putin has revealed "divisions" within the Russian leadership, French President Emmanuel Macron has said. (18:20 GMT) Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says he has discussed the turmoil in Russia in a phone call with his US counterpart, describing the Russian authorities as "weak" and saying things were "moving in the right direction". In a brief readout of the call with US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Reznikov said they also discussed Ukraine's counteroffensive and steps to strengthen Ukraine's armed forces. (19:32 GMT) Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he has discussed the security situation in Russia with Zelenskyy. (19:36 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has discussed the recent events in Russia and long-range weapons with US President Joe Biden. "I spoke with US President Joseph Biden. A positive and inspiring conversation," Zelenskyy tweeted. "We discussed the course of hostilities and the processes taking place in Russia." 20230626 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/26/russia-ukraine-live-news-shoigu-meets-troops-after-wagner-mutiny (06:13 GMT) Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu visited Russian troops involved in the military operation in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti news agency has reported, his first public appearance since the weekend mutiny by the Wagner paramilitary group. (06:14 GMT) Ukraine has reclaimed some 130 square kilometres from Russian forces along the southern front line since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said. "The situation in the south has not undergone significant changes over the past week," Maliar told the national broadcaster. She added that along the eastern part of the front line, which includes the Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Maryinka directions, about 250 combat clashes have taken place over the past week. (06:16 GMT) US President Joe Biden and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discussed "recent events in Russia", the White House said, in the wake of a short-lived mutiny by Wagner Group fighters. (06:18 GMT) The leader of the Wagner mercenary group is leaving Russia for Belarus, after striking a deal with President Vladimir Putin to end the mutiny. Yevgeny Prigozhin was cheered on by supporters as he left the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. Under the agreement, both Prigozhin and his fighters will be spared prosecution and the troops have been instructed to return to their bases. (06:20 GMT) Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said he was cancelling a counterterrorism regime imposed in the Russian capital during what the authorities called an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. Separately, Russia's National Antiterrorism Committee said the situation in the country was "stable". (07:00 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said that it had detained a Russian citizen on charges of sending money to Ukraine to buy drones and military equipment, state news agency RIA reported. (07:02 GMT) Wagner's aborted mutiny shows that Moscow's war in Ukraine is splintering Russian power, and instability in the nuclear-armed power is "not a good thing", the EU's top diplomat has said. "What has happened during this weekend shows that the war against Ukraine is cracking Russian power and affecting its political system," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers. (07:58 GMT) Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin remains under investigation by the Federal Security Service (FSB) on suspicion of organising an armed mutiny, Russian newspaper Kommersant has reported, quoting an unidentified source. The criminal case against Prigozhin was initiated after he announced a "march for justice" by his fighters against Russia's military leadership. As part of a deal, criminal charges against the mutineers were to be dropped in exchange for their return to camps and Prigozhin was to move to Belarus. On its website, Kommersant quoted its source as saying there had not yet been time to change the status of the case. (08:05 GMT) The aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia demonstrates that Moscow committed a strategic mistake by waging war on Ukraine, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said. "The events over the weekend are an internal Russian matter, and yet another demonstration of the big strategic mistake that President [Vladimir] Putin made with his illegal annexation of Crimea and the war against Ukraine," he told reporters on a visit to Lithuania's capital Vilnius. "As Russia continues its assault, it is even more important to continue our support to Ukraine." (08:56 GMT) Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged the European Union to "accelerate Russia's defeat" by stepping up support for Ukraine. On Twitter, Kuleba wrote: "Two events proved Ukraine will win. In Berdyansk, Ukrainian teenagers Tigran and Mykyta sacrificed their lives to resist occupation. In Russia, tanks rolled on Moscow with little resistance. At #FAC [Foreign Affairs Council], I urged the EU to accelerate Russia's defeat by stepping up support for Ukraine." (09:13 GMT) European Union foreign ministers said the aborted Wagner mutiny over the weekend was causing domestic instability and undermining its military power. "The political system is showing fragilities, and the military power is cracking," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters in Luxembourg as he arrived for a meeting with ministers from across the 27-member bloc. "It's not a good thing to see that a nuclear power like Russia can go into a phase of political instability," Borrell said, adding this was the moment for the EU to continue supporting Ukraine more than ever. "The monster that [Russian President Vladimir Putin] created with Wagner, the monster is biting him now, the monster is acting against his creator." (09:36 GMT) China's foreign ministry says it has nothing to add about a possible phone call between Putin and Xi Jinping on the Wagner rebellion, Tass news agency cited Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning as saying. "The Wagner Incident is Russia's internal affair. As a friendly neighbour and comprehensive strategic partnership partner in the new era, China believes and supports Russia in maintaining national stability as well as achieving development and prosperity," Mao said. In response to a question about a call between the two leaders, Ning added, "I have no information to disseminate." (10:10 GMT) Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, said an investigation into Prigozhin remains open following a mutiny over the weekend. "At the moment, Prizgozhin's whereabouts are unknown. But we have to wait and see what happens. It is interesting and could probably be called an active disobedience from the side of the Russian investigative committee and the FSB," she said. Shapovalova added that the video of Russian defence minister Sergey Shoigu visiting troops at the Luhansk front line "is ruling out theories of his possible resignation". (10:28 GMT) The head of Ukraine's presidential staff reiterated that Kyiv expects an invitation for a simplified accession to NATO when the alliance meets next month. Andriy Yermak told a briefing for German media, "Ukraine's position: the expected result is to receive an invitation for simplified accession at the summit in July. But, importantly, we would like to receive an absolutely clear signal that would establish Ukraine's path to NATO membership." (10:44 GMT) Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin says the country faced "a challenge to its stability" and must remain united behind President Vladimir Putin following the Wagner mutiny. In what appears to be the first public comments by a senior Russian official, Mishustin appealed at a televised government meeting for national unity. "The main thing in these conditions is to ensure the sovereignty and independence of our country, the security and well-being of citizens," said Mishustin. "For this, the consolidation of the whole of society is especially important; we need to act together, as one team, and maintain the unity of all forces, rallying around the president," he said. Mishustin added that "virtually the entire military, economic, information machine of the West is directed against us." <=== (10:56 GMT) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Wagner's rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger NATO presence along the alliance's eastern flank. "This is the front line of NATO where there is no place for even the slightest security gap," Nauseda said in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius following a meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. "Last weekend's events in Russia have demonstrated the instability of the Kremlin regime." "This undoubtedly has implications for the security both in Lithuania and the region," he added. Lithuania borders the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad as well as Russian ally Belarus. (11:13 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says the United Kingdom is prepared for a range of scenarios in Russia following the potentially destabilising impact of the tensions between the Wagner Group and President Vladimir Putin. "It's too early to predict with certainty what the consequences of this might be, but of course we are prepared as we always would be for a range of scenarios," Sunak told reporters. (11:33 GMT) Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar says forces have liberated the southeastern village of Rivnopil from Russian control. Earlier on Monday, Maliar said Ukrainian forces had liberated about 130 square km in the south of Ukraine since the counteroffensive began. Rivnopil is west of a cluster of settlements that Ukraine says it recaptured this month after launching a counteroffensive. (11:52 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a phone call with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, who expressed support for the Kremlin in relation to the Wagner mutiny on Saturday, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency reported. Russian news agency Interfax also reported that Putin spoke with Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi, who expressed his full support for the Russian leadership. (12:15 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has thanked Australia for a military and humanitarian package worth $74 million. (12:41 GMT) Polish arms producer Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa (PGZ) plans to open a service centre for US-made Abrams tanks. An agreement for the creation of the centre was signed on Monday by PGZ and US tank producer General Dynamics Land Systems, PGZ said. "As a trustworthy partner for the army, we are responsible for supporting units in maintaining the efficiency of each type of equipment that is used by the Polish Army or is starting to be used," PGZ Chief Executive Sebastian Chwalek said in a statement. Warsaw has promised to double the size of its army and spend 4 percent of Poland's GDP on defence in 2023. It has ordered 250 Abrams tanks in addition to 116 modernised ones. (12:52 GMT) Speaking for the first time since the Wagner Group's aborted mutiny, Putin has appeared in a Kremlin video address. At a youth forum on Engineers of the Future, Putin praised companies for ensuring "the stable operation" of Russia's industry "in the face of severe external challenges". (13:09 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the US ambassador to Moscow "gave signals" that the United States was not involved in the Wagner mutiny and hoped for the safety of Russia's nuclear arsenal, state news agency TASS reports. Lavrov also quoted Lynne Tracy as saying Saturday's mutiny was Russia's internal affair. (13:59 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 488 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-488 (14:36 GMT) British defence minister Ben Wallace says the Storm Shadow long-range missiles supplied by London have had a significant impact on the battlefield in the Russia-Ukraine war. "The Storm Shadow missile has had a significant impact on the battlefield", Wallace told lawmakers. "It has had an effect on the Russian army." (14:53 GMT) EU countries agreed to increase the maximum size of a Ukraine military aid fund by 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 bn), boosting the amount to 12 billion euros ($13,089 bn). The European Peace Facility (EPF), which EU countries contribute to according to the size of their economies, has already allocated about 4.6 billion euros for Ukraine. "Today's decision will again ensure that we have the funding to continue delivering concrete military support to our partners' armed forces," EU foreign minister Josep Borrell, who had requested the increase, said in a statement. "The facility has proven its worth. It has completely changed the way we support our partners on defence. It makes the EU and its partners stronger," he said. (15:17 GMT) In his first public comments since withdrawing his troops, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said the weekend's events had been intended to protest against Russian military commanders, not to overthrow the government. Prigozhin spoke in an 11-minute audio message released on Telegram, where he added that his troops had not signed contracts with the defence ministry. On Sunday, the Kremlin said Wagner troops could sign contracts with the ministry after returning to camps. (15:38 GMT) British foreign minister James Cleverly says the aborted mutiny by Russia's Wagner mercenary group, led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, represented an unprecedented challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Prigozhin's rebellion is an unprecedented challenge to President Putin's authority and it is clear cracks are emerging in Russian support for the war," he told the British parliament. His comments came as the Wagner chief announced that "Wagner was bound to cease existence on July 1." (15:51 GMT) In his first comments after Saturday's rebellion, the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that "if Russia's actions in Ukraine last February were carried out by forces trained as Wagner, the special operation could have ended in one day." He also said that the Wagner "march" over the weekend, exposed serious security concerns across Russia. (16:24 GMT) US President Joe Biden said the brief revolt by Russian mercenaries against the Kremlin is part of a struggle within the Russian system and the United States and its allies were not involved in it. "We made clear we were not involved, we had nothing to do with this," Biden said in his first comments. "This was part of a struggle within the Russian system." "We're going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend's events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine. But it's still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going." Ambassador Lynne Tracy in Moscow, along with US officials who contacted the Russian embassy in Washington, relayed Saturday that "the United States is not involved and will not be involved," State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. "Number one, we expect Russia to uphold its obligations, I should say, to protect our embassy and protect diplomatic personnel who are in Moscow and to reiterate what we said publicly that this is an internal Russian affair, in which the United States is not involved in," Miller said. Biden also said he "talked at length with President Zelenskyy" and told him that "we would continue to continue to support Ukraine's defence and its sovereignty and its territorial integrity". (17:26 GMT) Two Russian Su-27 fighter jets intercepted three British military aircraft heading over the Black Sea towards the Russian border, the Russian defence ministry said. According to the ministry, the intercepted planes were an RC-135 reconnaissance and electronic warfare plane and two Typhoon fighter jets. "When approached by Russian fighters, the foreign military aircraft turned back from the state border of the Russian Federation," the ministry said. (19:32 GMT) More than 17,000 Ukrainian recruits have been trained by the UK and other allies over the last year as part of a special training program, a statement issued by the British Defence Ministry said. The UK Armed Forces and its allies have trained more than 17,000 Ukrainian recruits, with a pledge to train 30,000 by 2024, the statement said. Basic Ukrainian recruits participating in the five-week training program receive comprehensive instruction in the skills required to defend their country upon their return. The intensive training includes developing critical skills in weapon handling, battlefield first aid, fieldcraft, and patrol tactics. The British Army also provides combat medical training to Ukrainian armed forces. (19:56 GMT) Russian President Putin said he gave an order to avoid bloodshed during an armed rebellion over the weekend that rattled his rule, saying the West and Kyiv wanted Russians to "kill each other" and thanking citizens for their "patriotism." "From the start of the events, on my orders steps were taken to avoid large-scale bloodshed," Putin said in a televised address, thanking Russians for their "endurance and unity, and patriotism". "It was precisely this fratricide that Russia's enemies wanted: both the neo-Nazis in Kyiv and their Western patrons, and all sorts of national traitors. They wanted Russian soldiers to kill each other," he said. Putin said he would honour his promise to allow Wagner fighters to relocate to Belarus if they wanted, or to sign a contract with the defence ministry or simply return to their families. Putin expressed his gratitude to the Russian security forces and population for opposing the weekend mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group, in an address broadcast on state television. "I thank all the soldiers and intelligence service staff who stood in the way of the mutineers," Putin said. He added that everything possible had been done on his orders to avoid bloodshed. "That needed time," he said. "The armed mutiny would also have been put down in this way." He also thanked his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko for mediating with Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, who is now thought to be in Belarus after calling off the group's advance on Moscow. (20:09 GMT) President Putin was meeting security officials after a televised address to Russians about the attempted Wagner group mutiny, the Kremlin said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian news agencies that Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, as well as FSB security service head Alexander Bortnikov and National Guard head Viktor Zolotov were present in the meeting. According to Interfax, other officials include Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, head of the Kremlin administration Anton Vaino, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, head of the Federal Protection Service Dmitry Kochnev, and the head of the federal Investigative Committee, Alexander Bastrykin. (20:16 GMT) According to the Kremlin, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and President of the UAE Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed and President Putin had a phone call where the former was interested in hearing an assessment of the situation in Russia in connection with the Wagner group mutiny on June 24. "Having received comprehensive information, the Emirati leader declared full support for the actions of the Russian leadership," the Kremlin said in a statement. (20:40 GMT) Moscow-based journalist Daniel Hawkins has told Al Jazeera that President Putin in his speech "reiterated his promise that Wagner fighters would not face repercussions; they could join the Russian armed forces, go home or crucially go to Belarus". "That is perhaps something new we've heard because before the offer was for Prigozhin to make his way to Belarus, not for his fighters," Hawkins said. "He said the Wagner group members were ultimately patriots and proved their loyalty to Russia in the fighting in the Donbas region." Putin said that he will keep his promise of offering these fighters contracts with the Russian defence ministry, exile in Belarus, or going back home. "He summarised by saying that whatever choice they will make, these Wagner fighters will make the choice of warriors because they realised their tragic mistake," Hawkins said. 20230627 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/27/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-drops-criminal-case-against-wagner (09:02 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service says it is dropping a criminal case against the Wagner Group related to the mercenary's attempted rebellion in the country over the weekend, according to local media reports. Russian state news agency RIA Novosti says the case was dropped because "the participants had ceased actions directly aimed at committing the crime". (09:04 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says the Wagner Group is preparing to hand over all its equipment after attempting to launch a revolt in the country over the weekend. "Preparations are underway for the transfer of PMC 'Wagner' heavy military equipment to the active units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation," the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging application. (09:11 GMT) President Putin says Russian soldiers were killed while trying to defend the country during the Wagner Group's short-lived uprising over the weekend. "The courage and self-sacrifice of the fallen heroes-pilots saved Russia from tragic devastating consequences," Putin said in a speech on Monday night, which was also his first public appearance after the aborted Wagner rebellion. There has been no official information about how many pilots died or how many aircraft were shot down. (09:22 GMT) UK's defence ministry says Ukrainian airborne forces have made small advances in the east from the village of Krasnohorivka, near Donetsk city, which sits on the old line of control. (09:31 GMT) A jet linked to the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has arrived in Belarus, believed to be carrying him to exile. According to a report by the Reuters news agency, flight tracking website Flightradar24 showed an Embraer Legacy 600, bearing identification codes that match a plane linked to Prigozhin in US sanctions documents, descending to landing altitude near the Belarus capital, Minsk. It first appeared on the tracking site above Rostov, the southern Russian city Prigozhin's fighters captured on Saturday. 09:41 GMT) Lukashenko says it was "painful" for him to watch the armed uprising instigated by the Wagner mercenary in Russia over the weekend, according to a report by Russia's state news agency TASS. In a speech during a ceremony in Minsk, the Belarusian president said: "I won't hide it, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia. Not only for me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the Fatherland is one." He added that all the armed forces in Belarus including the police and special forces were put on "full combat readiness" after what happened in Russia. (09:48 GMT) During a speech in the Belarusian capital Minsk, the country's President Alexander Lukashenko said that the "collapse of Russia as a state would lead to catastrophe", according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS. Referring to the Wagner Group's short-lived rebellion in Russia over the weekend, he added that Russia collapsing would mean that "everyone will remain under the rubble". He added that "the West would instantly take advantage of the turmoil if it started in Belarus and Russia". "The worst thing is that if there were turmoil, the West would instantly take advantage of it," Lukashenko said at the ceremony of presenting generals' epaulettes to employees of law enforcement agencies. (10:00 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov tells reporters that Russian President Vladimir Putin is to address members of the Russian military, national guard, security forces and others who helped to uphold order during Saturday's mutiny by mercenary fighters. Peskov added that Putin would also speak to heads of Russian media outlets. (10:13 GMT) The Kremlin says it still sees no grounds for peace talks with Ukraine. Asked about a German media report that talks could begin in July, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that at the moment there are no signs of any of the prerequisites needed for such talks to take place. Kyiv has said it will not negotiate with Moscow until the last Russian soldier has left Ukraine. (10:19 GMT) Pope Francis's peace envoy for Ukraine, Matteo Zuppi, will visit Moscow on June 28-29, the Vatican says in a statement. (10:24 GMT) Putin has had a phone call with Saudi Arabia's crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, according to a report from Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti, which cited the Kremlin. The prince expressed support for measures taken by Putin to end a mutiny by mercenary fighters over the weekend. (10:34 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin hails the country's military and law enforcements for "stopping a civil war", referring to the Wagner group's mutiny over the weekend. "The army and people were not on the side of the mutineers," Putin said. Addressing military officers assembled in a square inside the Kremlin complex in the presence of defence minister Sergei Shoigu, Putin also held a minute's silence to honour the Russian soldiers who had died in an effort to defend the country during the uprising. The Russian President added that Moscow was also not forced to withdraw its troops from "the special military operation in Ukraine", to help in de-escalating the mutiny in Russi (10:53 GMT) What is Lukashenko gaining from helping quell the Wagner Group? https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/27/what-is-belarus-gaining-from-helping-quell-wagner (11:21 GMT) The head of Russia's national guard, Viktor Zolotov, says he believes the West played on Prighozin's ambitions and incited the Wagner Group's weekend rebellion, according to a report by state news agency RIA Novosti. "The rebellion was inspired by the West and superimposed on Prigozhin's ambitions," he said. He added that the national guard had information about preparations for the Wagner revolt from "Prigozhin's circle". Earlier, US President Joe Biden and other European leaders ruled out being involved in the Wagner uprising and said it was Russia's "internal affair". (11:50 GMT) Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, in Moscow, told Al Jazeera that Russian President Vladimir Putin would leave "all those reliable and loyal to him" in their posts, after military bloggers anticipated that the Wagner rebellion over the weekend could lead to Putin changing the Russian military's leadership. But after seeing Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russia's Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Military Valery Gerasimov present while Putin addressed the military in the Kremlin complex earlier today, Shapobalova said "there was disappointment among military bloggers". (12:11 GMT) Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem, reporting from the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, says the war continues to rage on the front lines in Ukraine despite the Wagner mutiny and the uncertainty over the future role of the mercenaries in the conflict. "There is no time for feelings here," Hashem said, adding that attacks on several fronts are continuing between Ukrainian and Russian forces. "It seems the situation is escalating day after day since the mutiny in Rostov on the front line. We are also hearing that the Russians have already launched several attacks on the Marinka region, but they were repelled," Hashem said. (12:27 GMT) Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says the kingdom is satisfied with the success of the de-escalation in Russia, referring to the Wagner Group's attempted rebellion over the weekend, according to the Saudi state news agency. Earlier, the prince spoke with Putin over the phone and expressed his support for the efforts the Kremlin undertook to end Wagner's revolt. (12:38 GMT) Putin says the Wagner mercenary group was entirely financed by the Russian state, which spent 86 billion roubles ($1bn) on it from May 2022 to May this year. In a meeting with his security forces, Putin added that Prigozhin, who led the group's short-lived mutiny over the weekend, also made almost as much during the same period from his food and catering business. (13:04 GMT) China's envoy to the European Union has suggested that Beijing could back Ukraine's aims of reclaiming its 1991 territorial integrity, which includes Crimea - the peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014. In a recent interview with Al Jazeera and two other media outlets, when Fu Cong was asked about supporting Kyiv's goals, which includes reclaiming other Ukrainian regions now occupied by Russia, the senior Chinese diplomat said: "I don't see why not." Since Ukraine gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and backed separatist uprisings in parts of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine. Although Russia has claimed the peninsula and has extended its occupation in the Donbas, Western powers do not recognise Moscow's moves. (13:54 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko confirms that the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is in the country, according to Belarus's' local media outlet Belta. Under a deal mediated by Lukashenko on Saturday that ended a mutiny in Russia by the Wagner fighters, Prigozhin was meant to move to Belarus, while his men were given the choice of joining him or being integrated into Russia's regular armed forces. Lukashenko also said his defence minister, Viktor Khrennikov, had told him he would not mind having a unit like Wagner in the Belarusian army. The Belarusian leader instructed Khrennikov to negotiate with Prigozhin on the matter. (14:04 GMT) Poland's President Andrej Duda says that the Wagner Group's relocation to Belarus, sends a negative signal to Poland. "We see what is happening, the relocation of Russian forces in the form of the Wagner Group to Belarus, and the head of the Wagner Group going there, those are all very negative signals for us which we want to raise strongly with our allies," he told reporters prior to a meeting of NATO leaders in the Netherlands. (14:10 GMT) A United Nations mission in Ukraine has expressed grave concern about the summary execution of more than 70 Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces while also documenting other breaches of international law by both warring sides. "OHCHR is gravely concerned by the summary execution of 77 civilians - 72 men and 5 women - while they were arbitrarily detained by the Russian Federation, and the further death of one detainee [a man] as a result of torture, inhumane detention conditions and/or denial of necessary medical care," read the report, referring to the UN's Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The UN agency also documented 864 cases of arbitrary detention by Russian troops, many of which also amounted to enforced disappearances. (14:28 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says the country is ready to accomodate Wagner troops on an abondoned base, according to a report by the country's state news agency Belta. "We offered them one of the abandoned military bases. Please - we have a fence, we have everything - put up your tents," Lukashenko said. Under a deal brokered by Lukashenko late on Saturday that ended a mutiny by the Wagner fighters, they were allowed either to join Russia's regular armed forces, move with their leader Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile in Belarus, or simply return to their families Lukashenko also added that there were no plans to open any Wagner recruitment centres in Belarus. (14:58 GMT) The Ukrainian government has reprimanded Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko after an audit of bomb shelters was carried out following the deaths of three people locked out on the street during a Russian air raid. The government said it had dismissed the heads of two districts under the Kyiv military administration, and two acting heads of districts. President Zelenskyy ordered an audit of bomb shelters earlier this month, after three people died on being unable to enter a bomb shelter during Russia's missile attack on Kyiv. (15:19 GMT) The UK's foreign minister, James Cleverly, says that the UK will continue to push for Sweden's speedy accession to NATO. His comments came at a news conference in the presence of Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billström. Billström told reporters that Stockholm is delivering the last part of the Madrid agreement - entered into between Turkey, Finland and Sweden at the NATO Madrid Summit last year - to Ankara. (15:41 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says it has summoned Israel's charge d'affaires over comments made by Michael Brodsk, Israel's ambassador to Kyiv. Earlier, according to a report by the Times of Israel, Brodsk said that Ukrainians see Roman Shukhevych and Stepan Bandera, two Ukrainian militia leaders who sided with Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union during the war, as "heroes." (15:53 GMT) Russia has started tactical fighter jet exercises over the Baltic Sea with the goal of testing readiness to perform combat and other special operations, the country's defence ministry has said, a day after Moscow said its jets had scrambled to intercept United Kingdom military planes over the Black Sea. "The main goal of the exercise is to test the readiness of the flight crew to perform combat and special tasks as intended," Russia's defence ministry said. (16:43 GMT) The Belarusian military can benefit from the combat experience of the Wagner Group fighters, President Lukashenko has said. "They were at the very front of the attacking troops. They will tell us what's important now," Lukashenko said, according to Belarusian news agency Belta. The fighters could report on which weapons worked well and how attack and defence could be conducted successfully, he said. "This is very valuable. We have to get this from the Wagner fighters," Lukashenko said. Belarus has offered Wagner fighters sanctuary should they decline to serve in the Russian military, as offered by Putin. (17:04 GMT) There has been no significant victories on the frontlines of the war with Russia despite claims by President Zelenskyy of sweeping advances around cities such as Bakhmut and Zaporizhzhia, Al Jazeera's Assed Baig has reported from Kyiv. "We will hear the Ukrainians have taken a village. But the question is, how significant is that village? How much of it is left? Who still lives there? How many people are still there?" Baig added. (17:28 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has said it was in South Africa's best interest to help end the war in Ukraine which had led to several crisis around the world including Africa. "Russia's war of aggression has not only brought terrible suffering to the people of Ukraine, it has also slashed a wound that reaches far beyond Europe, worsening the food and energy crises in many parts of the world and many parts of Africa. For this suffering to end, the war must end," she said during her meeting South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor in Pretoria. Meanwhile, Pandor said her country's relationship with Germany was a "very important strategic partnership". Pandor addressed, among other things, cooperation at the economic level, in tourism and in the fight against climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. (17:58 GMT) Two Russian missiles struck a crowded area of restaurants in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, the governor of Donetsk region has said, while emergency services were at the scene helping the injured. "Just half an hour ago, two missiles struck the city of Kramatorsk," Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukrainian television. "We are now working in the city to establish the number of wounded and possibly dead. This is the city centre. These were public eating places crowded with civilians." https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/27/russia-bombs-busy-ukraine-restaurant-as-wagner-moves-to-belarus A Russian rocket attack on a bustling restaurant inflicted dozens of casualties in eastern Ukraine, as Russia's now-exiled Wagner Group raised red flags among Baltic states after apparently rebasing in Belarus. At least four people were killed and more than 40 wounded in the strike that hit the restaurant in Kramatorsk city, Ukraine officials said on Tuesday. (17:45 GMT) Jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny has said there was "no greater threat" to Russia than President Putin's government. "It wasn't the West or the opposition that shot down Russian helicopters over Russia," he posted on Twitter. "Putin's regime is so dangerous to the country that even its inevitable collapse would create the threat of a civil war. Now we understand for sure - the pack of Putin's supporters is ready to start a war of all against all at any moment. That is why it is crucial for all of us to remember that any post-Putin transit of power must be tied to free elections." (18:20 GMT) As Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin arrives in Belarus under an exile deal struck between Minsk and Moscow, journalist Daniel Hawkins says it remains unclear what the mercenary leader's role will be in the country. "It has been confirmed two charges have been dropped against Prigozhin, which would have landed him potentially with a jail sentence of 20 years in prison at best. It's not confirmed whose protection [in Belarus] he is going to be under," Hawkins reported from Moscow. "The only guarantee of his safety according to the Belarusian authorities and the Kremlin is the Russian president's word. Is this going to be a case of forgive and forget by Vladimir Putin? It's hard to say." (18:35 GMT) The administration of US President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that it is sending up to $500m in military aid to Ukraine, including more than 50 heavily armoured vehicles and an infusion of missiles for air defence systems, as Ukrainian and Western leaders try to sort out the impact of the brief weekend insurrection in Russia. The aid is aimed at bolstering Ukraine's counteroffensive, which has been moving slowly in its early stages. This is the 41st time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine that the United States has provided military weapons and equipment through presidential drawdown authority. The program allows the Pentagon to quickly take items from its own stocks and deliver them to Ukraine. (19:01 GMT) Pope Francis' peace envoy to Ukraine has arrived in Russia for a visit, just weeks after visiting Kyiv, according to the Vatican and media reports. "On June 28 and 29, 2023, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi... accompanied by an official of the (Vatican) Secretary of State, will pay a visit to Moscow as envoy of Pope Francis," the Vatican has said. (19:06 GMT) The Biden administration has imposed new sanctions on the Wagner Group, targeting companies based in the Central African Republic, United Arab Emirates and Russia that it accused of being "engaged in illicit gold dealings to fund" the mercenary organisation. "The Wagner Group funds its brutal operations in part by exploiting natural resources in countries like the Central African Republic and Mali. The United States will continue to target the Wagner Group's revenue streams to degrade its expansion and violence in Africa, Ukraine, and anywhere else," US Department of the Treasury official Brian Nelson said in a statement. (19:30 GMT) The United States has condemned Russia for its "brutal strikes" against the people of Ukraine after the missile strikes in Kramatorsk. "We condemn Russia's brutal strikes against the people of Ukraine, which have caused widespread death and destruction and taken the lives of so many Ukrainian civilians," a spokesperson for the White House National Security Council said. (19:47 GMT) The US Department of State has said it let Moscow send a plane to Washington to pick up diplomats despite a ban on commercial flights and called for reciprocal treatment. "The US government allowed the Russian government to send a charter flight to the United States to transport to Russia those Russian diplomats whose assignments have ended," spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters. Miller said he had no details on the number of diplomats involved and said that the US wanted "strict reciprocity" from Russia. (20:09 GMT) The NATO alliance must give a very strong answer to the deployment of Wagner troops to Belarus, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said. "This is really serious and very concerning, and we have to make very strong decisions. It requires a very, very tough answer of NATO," Duda said after a meeting with other NATO leaders in The Hague. (20:25 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has while its too early to determine the effects of Wagner troops moving to Belarus, the alliance was ready to defend itself against any threat. "It's too early to make any final judgment about the consequences of the fact that Prigozhin has moved to Belarus, and that most likely some of his forces will also be located in Belarus," Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting with government leaders of seven NATO countries in The Hague. "But we have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally, every inch of NATO territory." (20:40 GMT) Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda has warned that Wagner's Russian mercenary troops moving to Belarus would create greater regional instability. "If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even bigger danger of instability," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said after a meeting in The Hague with NATO chief Stoltenberg and government leaders from six other NATO allies. 20230628 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/28/russia-ukraine-live-russian-attack-on-kramatorsk-kills-eight (05:46 GMT) Eight people killed in Russia's attack on the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, Ukraine's emergency services has said, adding that 56 people were injured. (05:48 GMT) The liberation of a group of villages under Russian occupation in recent weeks were "not the main event" in Kyiv's planned attack, Oleksiy Reznikov, Ukraine defence minister, told the Financial Times. "When it happens, you will all see it... Everyone will see everything," he said, brushing aside media coverage of slow progress against well-fortified Russian positions. Ukraine's main troop reserves, including most brigades recently trained in the West and equipped with modern NATO tanks and armoured vehicles, have yet to be used in the operation, Reznikov said. (05:49 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said the Western military alliance is ready to defend itself against any threat posed by the move of Russia's Wagner mercenary force to Belarus amid fears the relocation of the private army could create instability for NATO's Eastern European members. (06:38 GMT) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to discuss NATO as Ukraine seeks to enter the alliance. Zelenskyy stepped up calls for Ukraine to receive a "political invitation" to join NATO at a July 11-12 summit of alliance members in Lithuania. NATO members are close to agreeing incremental steps to strengthen ties with Ukraine by the Vilnius summit but have yet to resolve differences over how to address Ukraine's desire for membership. Lithuania has been one of the staunchest supporters of Ukraine in NATO and the EU, and has been calling for accepting it into both. (07:27 GMT) The probability of Moscow's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal in July remains high, although talks continue, Russia's RIA news agency has reported, citing an anonymous source. (07:31 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has confirmed that the head of the Wagner paramilitary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has arrived in the country. He said he offered the mercenary group an abandoned military site where they could "put their tents while thinking what to do next". (07:41 GMT) Lithuania has bought two NASAMS launchers that will be supplied to Ukraine, the country's President Gitanas Nauseda has said. The Lithuanian defence ministry added that it paid 9.8 million euros ($10.7m) for the defence launcher systems and that they will be delivered within three months. (08:25 GMT) Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis's peace envoy, is set to start a two-day visit to Moscow "to find ways to reach a just peace." (08:35 GMT) The body of a boy was pulled out of the rubble of a building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk, taking the death toll from a Russian missile strike to nine, the city mayor has said. (08:53 GMT) The Ukrainian government has appointed a new head of state-owned weapons producer Ukroboronprom as Kyiv seeks to boost domestic weapons production and increase transparency. The appointment of Herman Smetanin, who has been serving as head of the Kharkiv Malyshev Plant in northeast Ukraine, as the new general director of Ukroboronprom is part of a broader transformation of the key industry, officials said. "The newly appointed general director faces three main tasks: to increase the production of ammunition and military equipment, build an effective anti-corruption infrastructure in the company, and transform Ukroboronprom," said Oleksander Kamyshyn, Minister for Ukraine's Strategic Industries. (09:08 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin held a phone call with the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Kremlin has said in a statement. The king expressed support for measures taken by Putin to end an armed mutiny by mercenary fighters on Saturday, it said. (09:15 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks the Croatian parliament for recognising the Holodomor as a genocide. The 1932-33 "Holodomor" - the Ukrainian word for "death by starvation" - is regarded by Kyiv as a deliberate act of genocide by Stalin's regime with the intention of wiping out the peasantry. Stalin's campaign of forced "collectivisation" seized grain and other foodstuffs and left millions to starve. Earlier in March, the French parliament also recognised the Soviet-era famine as a genocide. (09:55 GMT) A United Nations mission in Ukraine has expressed grave concern over the summary execution of more than 70 Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces while also documenting other breaches of international law by both warring sides. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) released its findings gathered between the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbouring country in February last year to May of this year. (10:17 GMT) Most Americans support providing weaponry to Ukraine to defend itself against Russia and believe that such aid demonstrates to China and other US rivals a will to protect US interests and allies, according to a Reuters/Ipsos survey. The two-day poll charted a sharp rise in backing for arming Ukraine, with 65 percent of the respondents approving of the shipments compared with 46 percent in a May poll. Eighty-one percent of Democrats, 56 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of independents favour supplying US weapons to Ukraine, according to the latest poll. The findings appeared to provide firmer backing for President Joe Biden's policy of doing "whatever it takes" to assist Ukraine in recapturing territory that Russia seized in an initial assault in 2014 and its full-scale invasion 16 months ago. (10:30 GMT) The death toll from the Kramatorsk attack has risen to 10, with two more bodies including a fourth child pulled out of the wreckage. (10:57 GMT) The Kremlin has said that it only hits targets in Ukraine that are somehow "linked" to the military, after the attack on a restaurant in Kramatorsk. "Strikes are only carried out on objects that are in one way or another linked to military infrastructure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. (11:20 GMT) The Swiss Federal Council has said that it had rejected a request by Swiss defence firm Ruag for the trade of 96 Leopard 1A5 main battle tanks for use in Ukraine. Such a sale would be contrary to the war material act and would entail an adjustment of Switzerland's neutrality policy, the cabinet said. (11:35 GMT) Switzerland has imposed more sanctions against Russian entities and individuals, in line with the most recent economic restrictions imposed by the European Union on Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine. Among those targeted are people, companies and organisations that support the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia, a statement said. They also include members of the Russian Armed Forces, leading representatives of state-controlled Russian media and members of the Wagner mercenary group that staged an aborted mutiny last weekend. The sanctions include asset freezes and a ban on travel to and transit through Switzerland. (11:42 GMT) The Lithuanian and Polish presidents are visiting Kyiv to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and show support for Ukraine's bids to join NATO and the EU before the summits of both bodies. (12:29 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said Ukraine would not accept any peace "variant" that allows Russia's war on his country to become a frozen conflict. He made his remarks in a speech to parliament. (13:28 GMT) Poland and Lithuania will do everything they can to ensure that Ukraine becomes a member of NATO as soon as possible, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said during a visit to Kyiv. "We will do everything to make this happen as soon as possible," Duda told a news conference. "We are trying to ensure that the decisions made at the [NATO] summit clearly indicate the perspective of membership, we are conducting talks on this issue with our allies." (12:45 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed allegations by the UN that Russia had violated children's rights in Ukraine and said that, on the contrary, its armed forces were rescuing children from conflict zones. One report accused Russia of detaining more than 800 civilians, some of them children, and of executing 77 civilians since the conflict began in February of last year. In another report, commissioned by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Russia stands accused of having killed 136 children in 2022. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a regular briefing that Moscow "firmly rejects" such accusations. "Our military, repeatedly risking their own lives, took measures to save children, to take them out from under shelling, which, by the way, was carried out by the armed forces of Ukraine against civilian infrastructure," he said. (13:33 GMT) Zelenskyy says some members of Russia's Wagner Group of mercenaries remain in Ukraine, but the Ukrainian army believes the situation in the north of the country is under control. (14:05 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine understood it could not join NATO while war was raging on its soil, but that Kyiv wanted to receive a signal that it can join the military alliance after the war ends. Reiterating Kyiv's stance before a NATO summit next month, he said Ukraine also wanted security guarantees for the period until it can join the alliance. (14:06 GMT) US President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has become "a pariah" around the world but it is hard to say if he has been weakened by recent events involving the head of the mercenary Wagner Group. (14:15 GMT) African countries' leaders should decide for themselves whether they want to continue working with the Russian mercenary force the Wagner Group, Russia's foreign ministry has said, after the paramilitary group's brief mutiny. (15:02 GMT) The Kremlin has said that Russia attacks only military targets, not civilian ones, when asked about a missile attack on a crowded restaurant in Ukraine's eastern city of Kramatorsk the previous evening. "The Russian Federation does not strike at civilian infrastructure," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "Strikes are carried out on objects that are connected with military infrastructure in one way or another." Later, the defence ministry reported that the target hit in Kramatorsk was a "temporary command post" of the Ukrainian army, but provided no details of the attack. (15:41 GMT) The presence of Wagner troops in Belarus could pose a potential "threat" to the countries of the region, Polish President Andrzej Duda has said during a visit to Ukraine. "It is difficult for us to exclude today that the presence of the Wagner Group in Belarus could pose a potential threat to Poland, which shares a border with Belarus, a threat to Lithuania ... as well as potentially to Latvia," Duda told reporters in Kyiv. "The question arises: What is the purpose of this relocation? What are the real intentions of the Wagner Group forces, in other words, the Russian army, precisely in Belarus? "Is it a form of potential threat precisely towards our countries, towards NATO countries, towards Poland?" Duda said. (16:30 GMT) Observers say Yevgeny Prigozhin is "doomed" after turning on Putin, known for vindictiveness towards turncoat allies. ( PJB: unless the whole mutiny was just show-biz to justify a relocation into Belarus ? but why ? To open up a new northern front ? ) (17:16 GMT) Influential Russian military bloggers have questioned Moscow's response to the Wagner mutiny, with some praising Putin's sangfroid and others saying they expected a tougher response. War correspondent Alexander Sladkov, who has over a million followers on Telegram, said he had expected a furious response from Putin. "Everyone thought the world will spin five times faster," he wrote. "Nuclear weapons? General mobilisation? Declaration of war with NATO?" Sladkov said it took him a day to look back and conclude: "Thankfully, he is cool-headed. Hugely provoked, but in control." But some saw the extraordinary march and the Kremlin's promise not to punish the rebels as a sign of a weakness. "Where is the leadership of the defense ministry when an armed unit is approaching Moscow?" wrote military correspondent Yuri Kotenok. He however did not attack Putin personally. (18:07 GMT) In a new verbal slip-up, Biden said that Putin was "losing the war in Iraq" when he meant to say "Ukraine". Speaking to reporters briefly before departing the White House on a trip to Chicago, Biden was asked if Putin had been weakened by the brief uprising of the Wagner Group whose forces have been fighting against Ukraine. "It's hard to tell really. But he's clearly losing the war in Iraq. He's losing the war at home and he has become a bit of a pariah around the world. And it's not just NATO, it's not just the European Union. It's Japan, it's 40 nations," he said. (19:10 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Putin was "weakened" by the Wagner mercenary group's mutiny but that the ultimate consequences of the rebellion remained unclear. The weekend uprising - which ended when Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin called off his troops' advance on Moscow - has prompted questions about Putin's grip on power as Moscow's war in Ukraine grinds on. In his first extensive comments about the aborted rebellion, Scholz said it would "surely have long-term consequences in Russia". "I do believe that he [Putin] is weakened," Scholz told public broadcaster ARD. "It shows that the autocratic structures, the power structures, have cracks and he in no way sits as firmly in the saddle as he always claims," the German leader said. (19:31 GMT) The Kremlin has said Pope Francis's envoy would hold talks with President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov in Moscow. 20230629 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/29/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-says-forces-advancing-in-bakhmut (06:37 GMT) Ukrainian forces are advancing "slowly but surely" on the front lines in the east and southeast of the country as well as around the longstanding flashpoint of Bakhmut, senior military officials have said. Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valery Zaluzhniy told Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley that the that his forces had "succeeded in seizing the strategic initiative." "Ukraine's defence forces are proceeding with their offensive action and we have made advances. The enemy is offering strong resistance, while sustaining considerable losses," Zaluzhniy wrote on Telegram. Since launching an anticipated counter-offensive this month, nearly 16 months into the war, Ukraine says it has reasserted control over clusters of villages in the southeast and along the flanks of Bakhmut. (06:45 GMT) Death toll rises to 12 in Ukraine's Kramatorsk after Russian attack Ukrainian security officials said a suspect accused of intentionally directing the Russian missiles at the popular Ria Pizza restaurant in the city centre had been arrested. (06:51 GMT) European Union leaders are expected to debate the repercussions of the aborted mutiny in Russia as they pledge further support for Ukraine at a summit in Brussels. The leaders will also talk with NATO boss Jens Stoltenberg and discuss what role the EU could play in Western commitments to bolster Ukraine's security. (06:55 GMT) Denmark's Finance Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen says his government supports European Union membership for Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and the western Balkans, but "geopolitical circumstances" do not justify skating over governance reforms. The EU risks "importing instability" if it relaxes its standards on democracy and corruption to hasten the accession of Ukraine and other candidate countries, Rasmussen said in an interview with the Financial Times. (07:05 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser and a papal envoy on the Ukraine conflict have discussed humanitarian issues, including refugees, Russia's senior Catholic prelate was quoted as saying. The main element was humanitarian issues linked to refugees, including minors," he said without elaborating. (07:10 GMT) The Czech government says it has banned all athletes representing Russia from taking part in local competitions, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine continues. The government said it banned "the participation of individual athletes and sports teams representing the Russian Federation in sports competitions and games organised on Czech soil". At the same time, athletes and teams representing the Czech Republic must not take part in competitions held in Russia, it added in a statement. (07:23 GMT) Wagner mercenary troops have shot down a Russian special mission aircraft during an aborted march on Moscow, inflicting damage that is likely to lower the morale of Russian troops, the British intelligence has said. In its latest update, the British ministry of defence said the loss of the aircraft - part of a small fleet of up to 12 military vehicles - could curtail Russian activities in a bid to manage the remaining fleet. (08:20 GMT) After Warsaw announced it is tightening security following the presence of Wagner Group fighters in Belarus, an official said it expects the European Union to help fund these measures. On Wednesday, the leader of Poland's ruling nationalists Law and Justice (PiS), Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, said temporary and permanent steps to strengthen the border, including boosting the presence of security forces and increasing fortifications, would be taken. Wagner's presence in Belarus could mean "a new phase of hybrid warfare, a phase much more difficult than the one we have dealt with so far," Kaczynski added. (08:44 GMT) Ukraine has arrested a man suspected of committing treason by helping Russia carry out a missile strike on a busy restaurant that killed 12 people in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. The prosecutor general's office said an employee at a local gas transportation company helped Moscow target the restaurant by filming cars with military licence plates in its parking lot and sending the footage to Russian special services. (09:10 GMT) Russia has opened a criminal case against 160 foreign mercenaries fighting in Ukraine, the Russian Tass news agency reported, citing the investigative committee. A report by the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said, "As a result of interaction with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and other operational services, evidence of the participation of mercenaries from Georgia, the United States, Latvia, Sweden and other states has been collected. Currently, 160 foreigners from 33 countries are being prosecuted." The committee added that investigations of those involved in recruitment and the participation of mercenaries on the side of the Ukrainian forces are continuing. (09:40 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the path to victory is "difficult" and there is no timeframe on when Ukraine will reach its goal. (10:05 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) says Wagner Group fighters shot down Russian military helicopters and an Ilyushin Il-22M airborne command post aircraft during their rebellion. In its daily briefing, the MoD said, "These special mission aircraft have played a key role in orchestrating Russian forces in their war against Ukraine. "The loss of this aircraft is likely to have a negative impact on Russian air and land operations. In the short term the psychological shock of losing a large number of aircrew in this manner will almost certainly damage morale within the Russian Aerospace Force." (10:21 GMT) The Kremlin says its data suggests there is continued strong support among Russians for the "special military operation" in Ukraine and President Vladimir Putin. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was responding to a question about a survey suggesting an equal number of people supported negotiations to end the conflict to those who favoured continuing it. "The data we have show something quite different - dominant support for the special military operation and for the president," said Peskov. "The main thing for Russians is achieving the goals before us which were formulated by the president," Peskov said. (10:38 GMT) The Kremlin says there was a constant threat of "provocations" from the Ukrainian side regarding the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said inspectors had recently been at the site to check on the safety of the plant. (10:43 GMT) Hungary's parliament has rejected a proposal to schedule a vote on the certification of Sweden's NATO membership for next week, a politician from the opposition Democratic Coalition (DK) party said. Agnes Vadai told the Reuters news agency that lawmakers of the ruling Fidesz and Christian Democrat parties did not support putting the vote on the agenda for next week's plenary session. "As it stands today, there won't be a ratification before the NATO summit." (11:04 GMT) The Kremlin declined to answer questions about Russian General Sergey Surovikin, whose status and location are unknown since the Wagner Group's aborted rebellion. Asked by reporters if the Kremlin could clarify the situation with Surovikin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "No, unfortunately not. "So I recommend that you contact the defence ministry; this is its prerogative." (11:29 GMT) Ukraine has begun nuclear disaster response drills near the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, regional officials say. Similar exercises started in the neighbouring Kherson region, its governor, Oleksander Prokudin, said. "The purpose of the event is to coordinate the actions of all services in case of a real threat of an emergency situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he said on Telegram, urging residents to remain calm. Prokudin said officials and civil defence forces were working jointly on scenarios that might follow a nuclear disaster, including how to inform and evacuate people. On Thursday, the Kremlin said there was a constant threat of "provocations" from the Ukrainian side at the plant. (11:48 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says two Ukrainian generals and up to 50 Ukrainian military officers were killed in a missile strike in Kramatorsk on Tuesday, the Russian RIA news agency reports. (12:10 GMT) Sweden's prime minister aims to talk to his Hungarian counterpart on Thursday after reports that Budapest would delay the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership. "I have earlier been informed that they don't plan to delay anything about the Swedish NATO membership and I will surely get the chance to exchange a few words with Viktor Orban here today," Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. "I just want to discuss with him and ask him if earlier messages are still valid," he told reporters in Brussels. (12:36 GMT) Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been told that his mercenary forces would no longer fight in Ukraine after he refused to sign contracts to bring them under the Russian defence ministry, a senior lawmaker said. Colonel-General Andrei Kartapolov, who chairs the lower house of parliament's defence committee, said the trigger for Saturday's mutiny was Prigozhin's disagreement with a demand by the defence ministry that his group sign contracts. "As you know, a few days before the attempted mutiny, the defence ministry said that all formations performing combat tasks must sign contracts with the defence ministry," said Kartapolov. "Everyone started to implement this decision ... everyone except Mr Prigozhin." Kartapolov added that after Prigozhin's refusal to sign the contracts, he had been told that his mercenaries would no longer fight in Ukraine and therefore would not receive state money. (12:54 GMT) European Union leaders gathered to discuss the aborted Wagner mutiny and debate their long-term role in bolstering Ukraine's security. "We have to prepare ourselves that this can last for a long time," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told reporters at a summit in Brussels. Several European leaders said they would be keeping a close eye on Belarus, where Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been exiled. (13:10 GMT) The Kremlin says it hoped that US President Joe Biden had meant to say Ukraine rather than Iraq when he made a verbal slip-up on Wednesday. Speaking to reporters in Washington, Biden was asked if a Wagner rebellion had weakened Putin. "It's hard to tell, really. But he's clearly losing the war in Iraq. He's losing the war at home and he has become a bit of a pariah around the world," Biden had said. 14:11 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 491 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-491 (14:35 GMT) Russia's ambassador to Switzerland said Moscow could not accept any Swiss-hosted peace summit on Ukraine after it enforced sanctions. In an interview with Le Temps newspaper published on Thursday, Sergey Garmonin said Russia would not accept that Switzerland, which traditionally has served as a location for high-level talks between feuding powers, host a peace summit. "Swiss representation and mediation are out of the question," Garmonin said. "Switzerland has unfortunately lost its status as a neutral state and can no longer act as a mediator or as a representative of interests." On June 15, Zelenskyy invited Switzerland to host a global peace summit on the conflict and suggested that Bern could act as a mediator. (15:03 GMT) Former US Vice President Mike Pence made a surprise visit to Ukraine to meet Zelenskyy, NBC News reported. Running to be the Republican Party's electoral nomination in the 2024 presidential election, Pence told NBC News, visiting Ukraine "just steels my resolve to do my part, to continue to call for strong American support for our Ukrainian friends and allies". Pence, a vocal Putin critic, is the first Republican presidential candidate to meet Zelenskyy during the campaign. (15:50 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has slammed Sweden over the burning of a Quran as Stockholm awaits Ankara's approval to join NATO. "We will teach the arrogant Western people that it is not freedom of expression to insult the sacred values of Muslims," he told members of his ruling AK Party on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. Erdogan promised a strong reaction to what he called a "vile" protest. A series of protests in Sweden against Islam and for Kurdish rights have heightened tensions with Turkey, whose backing Sweden needs to join NATO. (16:08 GMT) NATO is nearing consensus on how to address Ukraine's membership push at its upcoming summit, and aims to show it is moving "above and beyond" an earlier promise to Kyiv, the US NATO envoy has said. US ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith said the final version of the summit communique could begin to answer how Ukraine will eventually become an alliance member. "I think most of us feel confident that we are going to be able to come to an agreement that will reflect where we are and that the Ukrainians will believe and feel is something above and beyond restating Bucharest," she said. (16:22 GMT) People living in the northeast region of Sumy should evacuate due to constant Russian shelling, the Ukrainian army has written on Telegram. "I call on everyone, please flee to save your own lives!" Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev wrote. He said local authorities were helping with the evacuation. Russia was using rocket launchers, artillery and glide bombs in the area on a daily basis, he said. "The Sumy section remains the most dangerous in the northern area of operations," Nayev underlined. (16:39 GMT) The head of Russia's Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, has told an envoy of Pope Francis that their churches should work together to avert "negative political developments and serve the cause of peace and justice". Kirill, a strong supporter of Putin's decision to send troops into Ukraine, was speaking to the papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi during talks in Moscow. (17:08 GMT) Ukraine wants to receive an invitation to begin the process of joining NATO at the military alliance's summit next month, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will not attend if leaders do not show "courage", a presidential aide has said. Chief diplomatic adviser Ihor Zhovkva told Reuters that Kyiv wanted the July 11-12 NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania to deliver a response to the application for NATO membership that Ukraine filed on September 30, 2022. In an interview in the heavily guarded president's office in Kyiv, the Zelenskyy aide said "What we are asking for is to start the procedure," and banged on the table at one point to drive his point home. (17:22 GMT) Germany is not seeking a change of government in Russia, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said, stressing his support for Baltic countries and Poland. Scholz spoke after arriving at a two-day European Union summit in Brussels. "Our goal here is not a change of government, a regime change in Russia," Scholz said, adding that Germany is not party to what is happening in Russia. "Every attack on NATO territory is a matter to which we have to respond collectively," Scholz said, stressing his support for the countries concerned. (17:56 GMT) Spain will take on the EU's rotating presidency this weekend with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez visiting Kyiv to show steadfast European support for Ukraine, officials have said. Sanchez "will kick off the EU presidency on Saturday, July 1, in Ukraine ... to demonstrate with his presence the unfaltering European Union support" to the country, said a statement from his office. The announcement was made as Sanchez attended an EU summit in Brussels, during which Zelenskyy, participating via videolink, confirmed the visit. (18:02 GMT) Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has visited Kyiv to draw attention to environmental damage caused by war in Ukraine and criticised the world's response to the June 6 collapse of the vast hydroelectric Kakhovka dam. "I do not think that the world reaction to this ecocide was enough," said Thunberg, who was in Kyiv for the inaugural meeting of a new environmental group that also includes senior European political figures. "We have to talk louder about it, we have to raise awareness about what is going on," she said, according to a Ukrainian translation of her comments. (18:17 GMT) In Kyiv, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures who are forming a working group to address ecological damage from the 16-month-old Russian invasion. The working group on the environment includes Thunberg, former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallström, European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala, and former Irish President Mary Robinson. Zelenskyy said forming the group is "a very important signal of supporting Ukraine. It's really important, we need your professional help". Thunberg said Russian forces "are deliberately targeting the environment and people's livelihoods and homes. And therefore also destroying lives. Because this is after all a matter of people." (18:47 GMT) Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, and its land is changing hands. Ukraine might not look like a good financial investment after more than a year at war with no end in sight, but Harvard, Saudi Arabia, a handful of oligarchs, and the United States investment manager The Vanguard Group see it differently. They are just a few of the investors who have been buying up Ukrainian land - and its rich, fertile soil - en masse, while many Ukrainian farmers argue it should stay in Ukrainian hands. (19:09 GMT) The Pentagon says it is not aware of any imminent decision about the provision of ATACM long-range missiles to Ukraine, following a news report from the Wall Street Journal suggesting Washington was close to providing them to Kyiv. Kyiv has long sought the US Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, arguing the missiles would help them hit Russian forces far behind the front lines. "I don't have anything to announce regarding ATACMs and certainly I'm not aware of any imminent decisions as it relates to ATACMs," Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing. (19:32 GMT) The International Monetary Fund's executive board has completed its first review of Ukraine's $15.6bn loan programme, allowing Kyiv to immediately withdraw $890m for budget support. The board's approval brings Ukraine's withdrawals under the programme launched on March 31 to about $3.6bn so far. (19:52 GMT) Taipei, Taiwan - Ties between China and Russia will remain strong even after the failed mutiny by the Wagner Group last weekend, but analysts say Beijing is likely to become increasingly cautious about Putin and the future stability of his government. 20230630 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/6/30/russia-ukraine-live-hrw-says-kyiv-used-banned-landmines (06:55 GMT) European Union leaders have declared they will make long-term commitments to bolster Ukraine's security. At a summit in Brussels, the leaders restated their condemnation of Russia's war against Ukraine and said the EU and its member countries "stand ready" to contribute to commitments that would help Ukraine defend itself in the long term. In a text summarising the conclusions of the summit, the leaders said they would swiftly consider the form these commitments would take. (06:59 GMT) Hungary rejects the European Commission's plans to grant more money to Ukraine and is not willing to contribute additional money to finance the EU's increased debt service costs, according to Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Orban, speaking on the sidelines of the EU summit in Brussels, said it was a "ridiculous" request from the Commission that Hungary should contribute more money when Budapest - along with Poland - has not received funds from the EU recovery fund amid a rule of law dispute. The European Union plans to provide Ukraine with 50 billion euros ($54.30bn) in aid for 2024-27 after a review of the EU's budget for the period. (07:02 GMT) Former US President Donald Trump, a longtime admirer of Russian President Vladimir Putin, says Putin has been "somewhat weakened" by an aborted mutiny and that now is the time for Washington to try to broker a negotiated peace settlement between Russia and Ukraine. "I want people to stop dying over this ridiculous war," Trump told the Reuters news agency in a telephone interview. Trump did not rule out that the Kyiv government might have to concede some territory to Russia in order to stop the war, which began with Russian forces invading Ukraine 16 months ago. He said everything would be "subject to negotiation" if he were president, but that Ukrainians who have waged a vigorous fight to defend their land have "earned a lot of credit". (07:03 GMT) Human Rights Watch has said it uncovered new evidence of indiscriminate use of banned antipersonnel landmines by Ukrainian forces against Russian troops who invaded Ukraine in 2022. <=== The group called on Ukraine's government to follow through with a commitment made earlier this month not to employ such weapons, investigate their suspected use and hold accountable those responsible. "The Ukrainian government's pledge to investigate its military's apparent use of banned [antipersonnel] mines is an important recognition of its duty to protect civilians," Steve Goose, Human Rights Watch's arms director, said in a statement. HRW said it shared its findings with the Ukrainian government in a May letter, to which it received no response. (07:36 GMT) Ukraine will receive $1.5bn from the World Bank to support reconstruction and recovery, according to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. The funds will be provided with guarantees from the Japanese government and channeled to support social security and economic development. (08:12 GMT) Ukraine's military intelligence agency says Russia is reducing the number of personnel at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. The Main Directorate of Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence (GUR) said on Telegram that the first to leave the power plant were three employees of Russian state nuclear firm Rosatom, who had been "in charge of the Russians' activities". It added that Ukrainian employees who have signed a contract with Rosatom had also been advised to depart by July 5 and preferably go to the Crimean Peninsula. GUR said the number of military patrols was also gradually decreasing around the plant and in the nearby city of Enerhodar, and the remaining staff had been told to blame Ukraine "in case of any emergency situations". (08:36 GMT) Sweden's prime minister says his Hungarian counterpart has assured him that Budapest will not delay Stockholm's NATO accession. "I spoke to [Prime Minister] Viktor Orban yesterday, and he confirmed very clearly that what he said to me last time still applies," Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said. "Hungary will not delay Sweden's ratification process in any way," he told reporters. Kristersson did not specify whether Orban's comments implied a vote could take place before the NATO summit in Vilnius. Sweden hopes to become a member by the NATO summit in July, but the Hungarian parliament will not vote on its membership next week. (08:49 GMT) Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov described the West's attitude to the Black Sea grain deal as "outrageous" and denounced that grain was not being exported to poorer countries. Moscow has threatened to end the deal on July 18 unless a series of demands are met, including removing obstacles to Russian grain and fertiliser exports. (09:09 GMT) In response to a question about the Wagner Group's aborted mutiny last weekend, Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said his country has always emerged stronger and more resilient from any difficulties. "We do not have to explain anything or give assurances to anyone. We are acting transparently, the president and all the political forces in our country have spoken on the subject. If there are doubts in the West, that's your problem," said Lavrov. "Russia has always emerged more resilient and stronger after any difficulties," he added. Lavrov also said the reaction of many Western officials, who had said that the facade of Russian power had cracked, showed that the same officials were at war with Moscow. 09:48 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he believed the West somehow wanted to freeze the conflict in Ukraine to buy time to pump more weapons into that country. Speaking at a news conference, Lavrov accused Western countries of taking a "schizophrenic" approach to the conflict. At first, he said, the West wanted to see Russia lose on the battlefield and for its leaders to go on trial and only then to press for peace in Ukraine. (09:28 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister says forces are advancing in all directions in their counteroffensive against Russian troops. "If we talk about the entire frontline, both east and south, we have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions," Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian television. Maliar added that troops were moving "confidently" around Bakhmut. "In the south, we are moving with varying success, sometimes there are days when it is more than a kilometre, sometimes less than a kilometre, sometimes up to 2 kilometres," she said. (09:48 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said he believed the West somehow wanted to freeze the conflict in Ukraine to buy time to pump more weapons into that country. Speaking at a news conference, Lavrov accused Western countries of taking a "schizophrenic" approach to the conflict. At first, he said, the West wanted to see Russia lose on the battlefield and for its leaders to go on trial and only then to press for peace in Ukraine. (10:08 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov denies that Russia intentionally attacked civilian targets in Ukraine, saying they only targeted military infrastructure or other military targets. Speaking at a news conference, Lavrov instead accused Ukraine of deploying troops and heavy weapons at places such as schools and apartment buildings. He said such tactics were war crimes. Ukraine and its Western allies have repeatedly accused Moscow of targeting civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, power stations and residential buildings. (10:32 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has met with the Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg and prominent European figures forming a working group to address ecological damage from the war. The working group includes former Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallström, European Parliament Vice President Heidi Hautala and former Irish President Mary Robinson. (10:55 GMT) Ukrainian prosecutors have charged a Russian politician and two suspected Ukrainian collaborators with war crimes over the alleged deportation of dozens of orphans from Kherson. The charges brought by Ukraine's prosecutors follow a wider investigation carried out in cooperation with the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), which also issued an arrest warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin for his alleged involvement in the deportations of children. (11:12 GMT) Russia has demanded an explanation from Poland over its arrest of Russian citizens, state news agency RIA reported, citing foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Poland said it arrested a Russian ice hockey player on suspicion of having spied for Moscow while playing for a Polish club. "The detained man is a professional athlete from a first division hockey club," said a Polish government statement, adding that the Russian national, living in Poland since 2021, was charged with espionage and remanded into custody for three months. "On the territory of Poland, he carried out tasks for foreign intelligence, including identification of critical infrastructure in several regions," the statement added. On Wednesday, the Kremlin also accused Poland of having a "frenzied Russophobic position". (12:03 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, says Ukraine is preparing to commit a "terrorist" attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). On Telegram, Zakharova wrote: "Additional devices have been installed in Kyiv to measure radiation, city officials said. Recently, in a number of regions of Ukraine, exercises began in case of an accident at the ZNPP." "Kyiv authorities are preparing to commit another terrorist attack!" (12:33 GMT) Pope Francis says there is no apparent end in sight to the war in Ukraine as his peace envoy completes three days of talks in Moscow. (12:55 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has ordered his top military commanders to boost defences in the northern military sector as the Wagner Group leader arrives in Belarus. "The decision ... is for Commander-in-Chief [Valeriy] Zaluzhnyi and North commander [Serhiy] Naev to implement a set of measures to strengthen this direction," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. During the meeting, government and military leaders also heard a report from the country's intelligence and security forces about the situation in Belarus, Ukraine's northern neighbour. (13:17 GMT) Putin discussed the conflict in Ukraine and the Wagner mutiny in a telephone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Kremlin said. The statement from the Kremlin added that Modi had expressed support for the Russian leadership's decisive actions in handling the rebellion last Saturday. "While discussing the situation in Ukraine, PM [Modi] reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy," the Indian government said in a statement on Friday. (13:45 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 492 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/6/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-492 (14:08 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says the future of Wagner forces in various African countries is a matter for those governments that write up the contracts. Lavrov said Wagner had worked in Central African Republic and other countries on the basis of contracts drawn up directly with the governments concerned. He added that Russia's defence ministry has "several hundred" military advisers working there. (14:32 GMT) Belgium's prime minister says Russia's frozen assets could provide 3 billion euros ($3.27bn) a year to rebuild Ukraine. "We're working on a method based on windfall profits. ... If we find a stable legal platform, we could use it for Ukraine," Prime Minister Alexander de Croo told journalists at the European Council summit. "A windfall profit system will be developed, and the current estimation is that the total returns could be 3 billion euros a year." The EU said it has frozen more than 200 billion euros ($218bn) of Russian central bank assets in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine with another 30 billion euros ($33bn) of Russian oligarchs' private assets also blocked. While most European leaders agree on using the frozen assets to pay for the reconstruction, the legality of how to extract this money is complex and still needs to be researched. (14:55 GMT) Commander-in-chief of Ukraine's military says its counteroffensive plans are hindered by the lack of adequate firepower, from modern fighter jets to artillery ammunition, in an interview with the Washington Post. Valery Zaluzhny said it "pisses me off" that some in the West complain about the slow progress of the counteroffensive and that Ukraine is still awaiting F-16 fighters promised by its allies. "I do not need 120 planes. I'm not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough," he told the newspaper. "But they are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation." (15:15 GMT) Russian communications watchdog Roskomnadzor has blocked media outlets linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, chief of the Wagner mercenary group, Russian newspaper Kommersant reports. While authorities have not outlawed the Wagner Group, its fighters have been given the option of being integrated into Russia's regular armed forces, joining their leader in exile in Belarus or returning home. (15:41 GMT) Central bank data show that Ukraine had a current account deficit of $1.43bn in the first five months of the year. In the same period last year, Ukraine recorded a current account surplus of $3.07bn. Ukraine's export-driven economy has been hit hard by Russia's invasion. (16:09 GMT) A Belarusian journalist has been sentenced to four years in prison after being convicted of "aiding extremist activities" as the country continues a crackdown on the opposition and independent journalists, which it has stepped up since the start of the Russian war on Ukraine. The trial of Pavel Padabed was held behind closed doors. His conviction and sentencing on Friday were reported by the Belarusian Association of Journalists. Padabed worked with Belsat, a Polish-funded satellite channel that broadcasts into Belarus and is considered by the Belarusian government to be "extremist media". President Alexander Lukashenko has taken an increasingly repressive line towards the opposition and independent journalists since mass protests engulfed the country in 2020 after he was re-elected in an election that was widely regarded as fraudulent. (16:47 GMT) After pushing Russian forces out of northern regions last year, Ukraine has taken steps to tighten the defence of its border with Belarus, a close ally of Russia. "Right now, there is no direct threat of offensive actions from Belarus and Russia in the zone that is the responsibility of the Northern Group of Forces," 'North' Commander General Serhiy Naev said. But he said moves to strengthen Ukraine's defence capabilities were needed in the event of a growing threat, and added: "Our intelligence does not stop work[ing] to obtain information." (17:04 GMT) The Russian government will increase salaries for military servicemen by 10.5 percent from October 1, a decree published on the official web portal has shown. The move comes days after an abortive armed mutiny by the mercenary Wagner Group, which briefly took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and marched towards Moscow. The surprise move was made by the group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who said it was a protest against incompetence and corruption in Russia's top brass. (17:22 GMT) Ukraine hopes to use Spain's rotating EU presidency to try to "gain influence" in Latin America, where several countries have opposed Kyiv's efforts to retake territory occupied by Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Spanish media. Speaking on Friday on the eve of a visit by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Zelenskyy said several unspecified countries had blocked an invitation extended to him by Sanchez to take part in an EU-Latin American summit in Brussels on July 17-18. "We have a peace formula, and Pedro has supported us a lot. He has a constant dialogue with Latin America and they listen to him, it's a fact. But I'll say frankly that some Latin American countries are blocking the decision and this invitation," he said in remarks from Kyiv aired by state broadcaster TVE. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva irritated Western countries earlier this year when he suggested the West had been "encouraging" war by arming Ukraine. (17:49 GMT) The United Nations has said it is concerned that no new ships have been registered since June 26 under a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of grain from Ukraine. (18:09 GMT) The Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces is "going slower than people had predicted," but is making steady progress, US Army General Mark Milley has said. "It's going slower than people had predicted. Doesn't surprise me," Miley told an audience at the National Press Club on Friday. "It is advancing steadily, deliberately, working its way through very difficult minefields, et cetera." (18:28 GMT) Russia has said it saw no reason to extend the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine beyond July 17, but assured poor countries that grain exports would continue. "If the Black Sea Initiative ceases to operate, we will provide grain deliveries of a comparable or larger size to the poorest countries at our own expense, free of charge," Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday. Between 2018-2020, Africa imported $3.7bn in wheat (32 percent of total African wheat imports) from Russia and $1.4bn from Ukraine (12 percent of total African wheat imports), according to the United Nations. (19:03 GMT) A ban on Russian flights over Norway, introduced in reaction to the war in Ukraine, also applies to drones, the Norwegian Supreme Court has said. The decision handed down on Friday could lead to a retrial of Andrei Yakunin, son of a former close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who was acquitted last year of flying drones over Svalbard during a boat trip in the Arctic archipelago. Norway is not a member of the EU but aligns itself with many of its decisions. Europe's biggest gas supplier following the war in Ukraine, Norway has tightened security around sensitive sites, including energy installations, following the sabotage of the Nord Stream pipeline in the Baltic Sea. (19:28 GMT) The top American military officer says the US is considering providing cluster munitions to Ukraine. Those are weapons that open in the air, releasing submunitions, or "bomblets," that are dispersed over a large area and are intended to wreak destruction on multiple targets at once. Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said on Friday the US has been thinking about providing the munitions "for a long time". Any decision to provide such arms would raise opposition from other allies and from humanitarian groups. (19:51 GMT) The Russian government has introduced a ban on Polish trucks transporting cargo on its territory, with some exceptions, Russia's TASS state news agency has quoted the transport ministry as saying. The agency cited the ministry on Friday as saying its decree excluded critical goods like medicine and medical devices, and added that transport to the Baltic Kaliningrad enclave was unaffected. (20:12 GMT) A Russian court has extended the pretrial detention of a theatre director and a playwright on charges of justifying "terrorism" - the latest move in a crackdown on dissent in Russia that spiked after the start of the war in Ukraine. The court on Friday ordered Zhenya Berkovich, a prominent independent theatre director, and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk held until September 10; they have been behind bars since early May. (20:33 GMT) The Wagner group, which has relocated to Belarus, could use people from Africa and other places where the paramilitary group operates to destabilise Central and Eastern Europe, the Financial Times reports, citing Jacek Siewiera, head of Poland's national bureau of security. 20230701 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/1/russia-ukraine-live-zelenskyy-warns-of-nuclear-threat-at-plant (14:09 GMT) President Zelenskyy warned a "serious threat" remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, accusing Moscow of being "technically ready" to detonate a blast at the massive facility. Zelenskyy cited Ukrainian intelligence as the source of his information. He called for greater international attention to the situation at the nuclear plant in southeastern Ukraine, which is Europe's largest. "There is a serious threat because Russia is technically ready to provoke a local explosion at the station, which could lead to a [radiation] release," Zelenskyy told a news conference in Kyiv. He did not elaborate. 14:11 GMT) Ukraine's leader accused "some" Western allies of slow-walking plans to train his pilots to fly sophisticated fighter jets. "Do they have an understanding of when Ukraine can get the F-16?" Zelenskyy asked reporters alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, referring to the West. "There is no schedule of training missions. I believe that some partners are dragging their feet. Why are they doing it? I don't know." (14:13 GMT) Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said his visit to Kyiv on the first day of Spain's EU presidency showed the bloc's "unequivocal" commitment to Ukraine's bid to join the 27-nation bloc. The European Union will help Ukraine "as long as necessary" and "regardless of the price to be paid", he said, pledging 55 million euros ($60m) in new aid. (14:17 GMT) US President Joe Biden will host Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson next week to talk about transatlantic security cooperation and the war in Ukraine. The two leaders "will review our growing security cooperation and reaffirm their view that Sweden should join NATO as soon as possible", the White House said in a statement about the July 5 meeting. Kristersson said in a statement, "I am delighted that President Biden is inviting us to a meeting next week before the NATO summit in Vilnius [Lithuania] the following week. The focus of the visit will be on Sweden's NATO accession." (14:18 GMT) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed full support for the Russian leadership after last weekend's abortive Wagner Group mutiny, the Kremlin said in a statement. Abbas's comments came in a phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin last week said his 25,000 armed men would "march for justice" on Moscow to "stop the evil brought by the Russian military leadership". He later backed down and has apparently fled the country. (15:08 GMT) For decades, Bali has been known as a tourist's paradise. But in the last two years, it has attracted a new group of travellers. Thousands of Ukrainians and Russians have fled to the island to escape the war in Ukraine. (15:29 GMT) Forty diplomats and Russian embassy staff in Bucharest are set to leave Romania following a request from the government, with ties worsening between the two countries since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Eleven diplomats and 29 technical and administrative staff, accompanied by their families, "will leave Romania on board a civilian aircraft belonging to a Russian airline", the Romanian foreign ministry said. Romanian broadcasters showed an Ilyushin Il-96 aircraft landing at Bucharest airport. It was due to take off later on Saturday, according to airport sources quoted in the local press. (15:46 GMT) US Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns has said that the armed mutiny by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin had shown the corrosive effect on Putin's war in Ukraine. "It is striking that Prigozhin preceded his actions with a scathing indictment of the Kremlin's mendacious rationale for the invasion of Ukraine and of the Russian military leadership's conduct of the war," Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, said in a lecture to UK's Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, England. "The impact of those words and those actions will play out for some time - a vivid reminder of the corrosive effect of Putin's war on his own society and his own regime." Burns cast the mutiny as an "armed challenge to the Russian state" but said it was an "internal Russian affair in which the United States has had and will have no part". US CIA Director William Burns has said that disaffection in Russia with the war in Ukraine was a once-in-a-generation opportunity to recruit spies - and that his agency was not letting it go to waste. "Disaffection with the war will continue to gnaw away at the Russian leadership beneath the steady diet of state propaganda and practiced repression," Burns, a former US ambassador to Moscow, said in a lecture to UK's Ditchley Foundation in Oxfordshire, England. "That disaffection creates a once-in-a-generation opportunity for us at CIA - at our core a human intelligence service. We're not letting it go to waste." (15:57 GMT) Regional officials have reported that at least three civilians were killed and 17 wounded by Russian shelling on Friday and overnight in the front line eastern Donetsk region, where fierce battles are raging, Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kyrylenko has said. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that fierce clashes continued in three areas in Donetsk where it said Russia has massed troops and attempted to advance. It named the outskirts of three cities - Bakhmut, Lyman and Marinka - as front-line hot spots. (16:04 GMT) Zelenskyy has said he wanted his country to receive an "invitation" to join NATO after the war during a key summit this month. "We need a very clear and understandable signal at the Vilnius summit that Ukraine can become an equal member of NATO after the war," he told reporters in Kyiv alongside Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. "This invitation to the alliance is the first, very practical step, it would be very important for us." (17:13 GMT) Only Ukraine can set peace-talks terms with Russia: Spain's PM It is up to Ukraine to dictate any moves towards peace negotiations with Russia, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said. "Only Ukraine can set the terms and times for peace negotiations. Other countries and regions are proposing peace plans. Their involvement is much appreciated but, at the same time, we can't accept them entirely," Sanchez said. (18:03 GMT) Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced in Kyiv that the four remaining Leopard main battle tanks, out of a total of ten promised, would be handed over to Ukraine "shortly". "We will send new heavy military equipment very soon, four more Leopard tanks and armoured transport vehicles," Sanchez said at a press conference with Zelenskyy. He also announced the dispatch of a mobile field hospital to Ukraine. (18:32 GMT) Austria, a neutral country, has announced its intention to join the European Sky Shield initiative, launched in 2022 by Germany against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine. "We must and will take precautions to protect our country against the risk of drone or missile attacks," Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer said in a news release, citing "a threat that has considerably worsened". He stressed that the decision did not call into question the neutrality of Austria, which has been a member of the European Union since 1995. "No European state can effectively defend its airspace against new dangers on its own," Nehammer insisted. Defence Minister Klaudia Tanner hailed "an important step in the history" of the country. 19:54 GMT) The Ukrainian military has secured a bridgehead on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, according to British intelligence. In military strategy, a bridgehead refers to, among other things, an area on the ground on the enemy-controlled side of a river that, if successfully taken over, can secure a stronghold for further advances. For about a week, the Ukrainians have been moving troops to the river's eastern bank near the destroyed Antonivka Bridge near the city of Kherson, the British Ministry of Defence said in its daily update on the war. (20:12 GMT) Satellite images analysed by The Associated Press show what appear to be a newly built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian armed group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group. The images provided by Planet Labs PLC suggest that dozens of tents were erected within the past two weeks at a former military base outside Osipovichi, a town 230km north of the Ukrainian border. A satellite photo taken on June 15 shows no sign of the rows of white and green structures that are clearly visible in a later image, dated June 30. Aliaksandr Azarau, leader of the anti-Lukashenko BYPOL armed group of former military members, told The Associated Press by phone on Thursday that construction of a site for Wagner mercenaries was under way near Osipovichi. Up to 8,000 fighters from Wagner's private military force may be deployed in Belarus, a spokesperson for Ukraine's border force told Ukrainian media Saturday. Speaking to the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper, Andriy Demchenko said Ukraine would strengthen its 1,084km (674 mile) border with Belarus in response. 20230702 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/2/russia-attacks-ukraines-kyiv-asfierce-battles-rage-in-donetsk Russia launches first overnight drone attack on Kyiv in 12 days as Ukrainian officials report more civilian casualties in the front-line Donetsk region. ... (13:45 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 494 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-494 Fighting * Russia launched an overnight drone attack on Kyiv after a 12-day break, according to a Ukrainian military official. There was no immediate information about the scale of the attack. * The Ukrainian military reported fierce clashes in the front-line Donetsk region where it said Russia had amassed troops and attempted to advance. It named the outskirts of three cities - Bakhmut, Lyman and Marina - as front-line hot spots. * Officials in Donetsk, meanwhile, reported that at least three civilians were killed and 17 wounded by Russian shelling on Friday and overnight on Saturday. * The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said the Ukrainian military has secured a bridgehead on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a "serious threat" remained at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine and that Moscow was "theoretically ready" to provoke a localised explosion at the facility. * Zelenskyy also held a meeting of Ukraine's top military command and atomic energy officials at another of the country's top nuclear plants in northwestern Rivne to discuss the "security of our northern regions". * Satellite images analysed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a newly-built military-style camp in Belarus, with statements from a Belarusian armed group and officials suggesting it may be used to house fighters from the Wagner mercenary group. Diplomacy * Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez paid a visit to Kyiv as a show of continuing support from Madrid and the European Union for Ukraine's fight against invading Russian forces. * Speaking alongside Sanchez, Zelenskyy said he wanted NATO leaders, who will be holding a key summit in Vilnius, to extend an invitation to Ukraine after the war. * Some 40 Russian diplomats and embassy staff in the Romanian capital Bucharest have left the country as ties between Russia and Romania worsen following Moscow's decision to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * The director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), William Burns, said the armed mutiny by Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was a challenge to the Russian state that showed the corrosive effect of President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine. * He added that disaffection in Russia with the war in Ukraine was creating a rare opportunity to recruit spies - and that the CIA was not letting it pass. <=== Weapons * Sanchez, the Spanish prime minister, announced Madrid would deliver more heavy weaponry to Ukraine including four Leopard tanks and armoured personnel carriers, as well as a portable field hospital. * He also said Spain will provide an additional 55 million euros ($60m) to help with reconstruction needs. * Zelenskyy, meanwhile, expressed frustration about the lack of clarity over Western training for Ukrainian fighter pilots. He said Western allies had not yet set a timetable to train pilots on US-made F-16s despite their expressions of readiness. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/2/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-launches-drone-attacks-on-kyiv Ukraine's air force says it shot down three cruise missiles and eight attack drones deployed by Moscow's forces overnight, in Russia's first attack on Kyiv in 12 days. The air force said it destroyed "all air targets" - eight Iranian drones and three Kalibr cruise missiles. Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv regional military administration, said three private houses were damaged by falling debris in the region. (09:35 GMT) Poland says it will send 500 police officers to its border with Belarus. The Polish Border Guard on Sunday said 187 people tried to cross into Poland from Belarus illegally on Saturday 20230701. <=== "Due to the tense situation on the border with Belarus I have decided to bolster our forces with 500 Polish police officers from preventive and counterterrorism units," Minister of Interior Mariusz Kaminski wrote on Twitter. "They will join 5,000 border guards and 2,000 soldiers guarding the security of this border." (09:40 GMT) The United Kingdom says the war in Ukraine has been "exceptionally challenging for Russia's aerospace community". "The sector is struggling under international sanctions; highly trained specialists are being encouraged to serve as infantry in the Roscosmos space agency's own militia," the British Ministry of Defence said on Twitter referring to Russia's aerospace body. It noted that the head of the Russian aerospace forces, General Sergei Surovikin, had not been seen since the abortive mutiny by the Wagner Group of mercenaries, for which he had served as a "point of contact with the Russian Ministry of Defence". (10:13 GMT) Yevgeny Prigozhin's media holding group is to shut down, the director of one of its outlets says, highlighting the mercenary chief's worsening fortunes a week after the collapse of a brief mutiny staged by his Wagner Group fighters. Patriot Media, whose most prominent outlet was the RIA FAN news site, had taken a strongly nationalist, pro-Kremlin editorial line, while also providing positive coverage of Prigozhin and his Wagner Group. "I am announcing our decision to close down and to leave the country's information space," RIA FAN director Yevgeny Zubarev said. He gave no reason for the decision. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported on Friday that the country's communications watchdog Roskomnadzor had blocked media outlets linked to Prigozhin, without elaborating. (10:33 GMT) The ultra-nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) says it is working on a bill that will temporarily ban the travel of close relatives of high-ranking officials to "unfriendly countries," the RIA state news agency reports. Russia considers all countries that have hit it with sanctions over its military campaign in Ukraine to be "unfriendly." Citing a member of the Russian Duma, Sergei Karginov, RIA reported that restrictions may also affect, among others, law enforcement officers, judges, top managers of state corporations, and the board of directors of the Central Bank. "Now, when Russia is forced to confront a group of Western countries led by the United States that provoked a conflict in Ukraine, such journeys ... are not only inadmissible, but also dangerous," RIA cited Karginov as saying. (13:25 GMT) The European Union's ambassador to China has expressed regret over the lack of "substantial progress" in trade talks with Beijing, as EU countries seek to reduce their economic dependence on the Asian giant. The European Commission has suspended its efforts to get member states and parliament to ratify an investment agreement reached with China at the end of 2020, after seven years of talks, following differences over human rights issues in the Muslim-majority region of Xinjiang. With relations cooling, the EU also decided in May to "readjust" its position towards China to reduce its economic dependence at a time when Beijing is suspected of giving Moscow tacit support for its war in Ukraine. (13:37 GMT) Russia's Gazprom has said it will send 41.2 million cubic metres of gas to Europe via Ukraine. Exports made by Gazprom, one of the country's largest taxpayers, shrank after President Vladimir Putin's "special military operation" in Ukraine triggered Western sanctions and as some supplies of gas to Europe from Russia declined. According to calculations by the Reuters news agency, based on export duties and volumes, Gazprom's revenues from overseas sales may have declined in January to $3.4bn from $6.3bn in the year-earlier period following a fall in gas supplies to Europe. (14:12 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has held a meeting of the country's top military command and atomic energy officials at the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant to discuss "the security of our northern regions and our measures to strengthen them". Zelenkyy's trip to Rivne in Ukraine's northwest was a rare journey for the Ukrainian leader to an area relatively far from the fighting. Rivne is near the border with Belarus, where Russia's Wagner mercenaries have a deal to go after last week's aborted uprising. Their leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was offered the option of resettling in Belarus, on Ukraine's northern border. (14:31 GMT) A Russian arms dealer freed last December in a prisoner swap for US basketball star Brittney Griner has been chosen as the candidate of a far-right party for a seat in a Russian regional legislature, state news agency RIA Novosti reported on Sunday. Viktor Bout, once dubbed "the merchant of death" by the United States, served 10 years of a 25-year sentence in US prisons on arms dealing charges until his release in the prisoner exchange with Griner, an Olympic gold medallist. RIA quoted an official in Russia's ultranationalist Liberal Democratic Party (LDPR) as saying that Bout had been nominated as a candidate for the legislative assembly of the Ulyanovsk region in central Russia. Bout publicly joined the LDPR following his return to Russia. Despite its name, the LDPR holds far-right, ultranationalist views and strongly supports President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine. (14:55 GMT) US President Joe Biden will head to Europe at week's end for a three-country trip intended to bolster the international coalition against Russian aggression as the war in Ukraine extends well into its second year. The main focus of Biden's five-day visit will be the annual NATO summit, held this year in Vilnius, Lithuania. Also planned are stops in Helsinki, Finland, to commemorate the Nordic country's entrance into the 31-nation military alliance in April, and in Britain, the White House has announced. The NATO meeting comes at the latest critical point in the war. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says counter-offensive and defensive actions against Russian forces are under way as Ukrainian troops start to recapture territory in the southeastern part of the country, according to its military leaders. Jens Stoltenberg, NATO's secretary-general, visited the White House on June 13, where he and Biden made clear that the Western alliance was united in defending Ukraine. (15:12 GMT) Many observers in Western and Central Africa watched with piqued attention as the Wagner Group mutiny unfolded in Russia, curious about its significance on the mercenary force's vast operations on the continent. Since 2018, when Wagner arrived in the Central African Republic (CAR) to fight off a rebel uprising, the armed group has expanded its footprint, later launching operations in Mali, Sudan and Libya. For African governments struggling to deal with escalating domestic insecurity, Wagner became a lifeline. After the mercenaries helped CAR's President Faustin-Archange Touadéra in 2018 against rebel forces, Russian became an official language taught in the country's schools, and Wagner leaders became dignitaries in the capital Bangui. (15:31 GMT) Papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi has said his mission to Moscow regarding the Ukraine war is focused on humanitarian issues and has not involved any discussions of a peace plan. All the meetings "were important, especially in humanitarian aspects, which are what we have focused on. There is not a peace plan, not a mediation", Zuppi told state broadcaster RAI. "There is a big aspiration that the violence will end and that human life can be preserved, starting with the protection of the little ones." (16:07 GMT) Energy giants TotalEnergies and Shell have defended activities linked to Russia after a critical report into their trading in natural gas despite the war in Ukraine. The campaign group Global Witness said TotalEnergies was the third-biggest player in Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) last year and Shell the fourth, behind two Russian companies. The report focussed on the United Kingdom's Shell, after Global Witness said it had looked previously at TotalEnergies of France. "Russia's LNG exports are helping to finance the country's war in Ukraine and in 2022 were worth an estimated $21 billion," it said. "Few companies have helped this trade more than Shell, and Global Witness estimates that Shell has made hundreds of millions trading Russian LNG last year. Yet despite the war crimes this trade helps finance, it is legal. Shell, the UK, and the EU [European Union] should immediately halt it." Both companies said they were tied to ongoing contracts despite pulling out of Russian partnerships after Ukraine was invaded last year. (16:40 GMT) A spokeswoman for Poland's Border Guard says its patrols have faced more aggressive behaviour in the past two months as Poland bolsters security at the Belarusian border amid a rise in the number of migrants. Meanwhile, Poland's deputy minister coordinator of special services Stanislaw Zaryn told Reuters that the transfer of Wagner Group mercenaries to Belarus is also a source of fear. "It is still a matter of analysis and hypotheses whether the Wagner Group will engage in destabilising Poland and will also be active in coordinating the migration route," Zaryn told Reuters by phone. "We assume the Wagners aren't going to Belarus to recuperate, but to carry out a mission. This mission could be aimed at Poland, but also against Lithuania or Ukraine," he said. (17:05 GMT) Russian troops are advancing in four areas of the front line in eastern Ukraine amid "fierce fighting", Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar has said. "Fierce fighting is going on everywhere," Maliar wrote on social media, adding: "The situation is quite complicated". "The enemy is advancing in Avdiivka, Mariinka, Lyman sectors. The enemy is also moving forward in the Svatove sector," she said. Maliar said Ukrainian troops were advancing with "partial success" on the southern flank of Bakhmut, as well as near Berdyansk and Melitopol in southern Ukraine. (18:21 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy vowed to intensify efforts to retake land occupied by Russia in the south of the country. On a visit to the port city of Odesa, he said in a video message: "Together we will win. The Ukrainian coasts will never tolerate these occupiers." "The enemy will definitely not dictate conditions in the Black Sea. The occupiers will be worried about approaching our Ukrainian Crimea and our coast on the Sea of Azov." (18:28 GMT) A leading Russian television personality accused the Wagner boss of "going off the rails" after receiving billions in public funds, as Moscow's narrative takes shape after the mercenary company's brief mutiny. Last weekend the head of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, led his forces in a short-lived rebellion against Russia's top military brass. "Prigozhin has gone off the rails because of big money," Dmitry Kiselev said on his weekly television show. "He thought that he can challenge the defence ministry, the state itself and the president personally." Kisilev said Wagner's operations in Syria and Africa gave Prigozhin a feeling of impunity that was later reinforced by his military force's battlefield successes in eastern Ukraine. Without providing any evidence, Kisilev said Wagner received more than $9.7bn in state funds. (19:25 GMT) Ukraine has become increasingly adept at taking down Russian cruise missiles and drones, as Ukrainian officials said they had successfully neutralised a new drone attack on Kyiv. "All enemy targets in the airspace around Kyiv were detected and destroyed," said Sergiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration. In a separate statement, Ukraine's air force said that it had shot down three cruise missiles and eight Iranian-made attack drones deployed by Moscow's forces overnight. "Eight Shaheds were launched from the southeast, and three Kalibr missiles were launched from the Black Sea," the air force said. (20:06 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says Ukrainian troops are advancing with "partial success" on the southern flank of Bakhmut in the east and near Berdyansk and Melitopol in the south. In the south, she said Ukrainian forces faced "intense enemy resistance, remote mining, deploying of reserves" and were only advancing "gradually". 20230703 ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/3/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-says-gaining-ground-from-russian-forces (07:00) The European Union is considering a proposal to allow a Russian bank under sanctions to carve out a subsidiary that would reconnect to the global financial network, as a sop to Moscow, the Financial Times reports. This will be aimed at safeguarding the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets, the FT said. The plan, proposed by Moscow through negotiations brokered by the United Nations, would allow the bank to create a subsidiary to handle payments related to grain exports, the FT said, quoting people with knowledge of the matter. (07:03 GMT) China says its defence minister Li Shangfu met with the head of the Russian navy, admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, in Beijing. Li told Yevmenov that he hopes the two countries' navies will strengthen communication at all levels, and organise joint exercises and patrols on a regular basis, China's defence ministry said. (07:07 GMT) Ukraine says its forces have gained some ground along eastern and southern fronts in the past week in heavy fighting with Russian troops, reclaiming 37.4 square kilometres of territory. Ukrainian forces were advancing in Bakhmut's direction, deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said, adding that Russian forces were attacking in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions in the Donetsk region. "Heavy fighting is going on there now," Maliar said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine had reclaimed nine square kilometres over the past week along the eastern front "as a result of improving the operational (tactical) position and aligning the front line", Maliar said. In the south, Ukraine has regained 28.4km of territory, bringing the total area of recaptured territory along that front to 158.4km, Maliar added. (07:17 GMT) The Wagner Group's departure from Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine will not affect Russia's combat potential, TASS quoted Colonel General Andrei Kartapolov, who chairs Russia's lower house of parliament's defence committee, as saying. The influential lawmaker told the state-owned news agency that the Russian army has been able to repulse Ukraine's new offensive without Wagner fighters. "No new wave of mobilisation will be required," Kartapolov said. (07:34 GMT) Russia's FSB security service says it has thwarted an assassination attempt on Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea, the Interfax news agency reports. The FSB said it had detained a Russian man who had been hired and trained by Ukraine's security services to kill Aksyonov by blowing up his car. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine. (07:40 GMT) Russia's envoy to the United Nations in Geneva says there are no grounds to maintain the "status quo" of the Black Sea grain deal that is set to expire on July 18, the Russian news outlet Izvestia reports. In a wide-ranging interview, Gennady Gatilov told Izvestia that the implementation of Russia's conditions for the extension of the agreement was "stalling". Those conditions included the reconnection of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the SWIFT banking payment system. "Russia has repeatedly extended the deal in the hope of positive changes," Gatilov told Izvestia. "However, what we are seeing now does not give us grounds to agree to maintaining the status quo." (07:54 GMT) Russia's ambassador to Cuba says President Vladimir Putin has an invitation to visit the island country but that it is too early to talk about preparations for such a trip, the state RIA news agency reports. "Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] has an invitation, but I don't know how his plans will be lined up," Ambassador Viktor Koronelli told RIA. "The president of Cuba was in Moscow not long ago, in November of last year, so no real time has passed." Longtime political allies Cuba and Russia - both subject to US sanctions - have increased economic ties by facilitating trade and investment to circumvent those restrictions. (08:11 GMT) UK's defence ministry says Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to a broader "crisis of displacement". "With a pre-war population of 44 million, a quarter of Ukrainians remain forced from their homes as a result of Russia's invasion," the ministry said in a tweet. (08:21 GMT) Grigory Karasin, head of the international committee in the Federation Council, Russia's upper house of parliament, says Moscow has brought 700,000 children from conflict zones in Ukraine into Russian territory. "In recent years, 700,000 children have found refuge with us, fleeing the bombing and shelling from the conflict areas in Ukraine," Karasin wrote on the Telegram messaging app, late on Sunday night. (08:51 GMT) Ukraine's air force says 13 out of 17 Iranian-made kamikaze drones launched by Russia in overnight attacks have been downed. "Air defences worked in the southern, eastern and central regions," air force authorities said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. "As a result of anti-aircraft combat, 13 'Shahed-136/131' attack UAVs were destroyed by the forces and means of the air force in cooperation with the air defence of other components of the Defence Forces of Ukraine," the air force added. (09:10 GMT) Russia's interior ministry has put the former head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) Vasily Gritsak, on its wanted list, according to a report from Russia's state news agency TASS. Gritsak has been accused of shelling Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Luhansk and Donetsk, which are in the Donbas region, are under Russia's control. (09:27 GMT) An international office to investigate Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, featuring prosecutors from Kyiv, the EU, US and the International Criminal Court, opens in The Hague. "The ICPA will support the preparation of crime of aggression cases, by securing crucial evidence and facilitating the process of case building at an early stage," the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation (Eurojust) said in a statement. "Out of the true darkness and suffering that we have seen across Ukraine, we have also seen light emerge in the building of new partnerships towards accountability," Karim A.A. Khan, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said. (09:47 GMT) A Ukrainian war crimes researcher and novelist has died from injuries sustained in last Tuesday's missile attack in the city of Kramatorsk, located in the Donetsk region of Ukraine. Victoria Amelina, 37, had been dining at the popular Ria Pizza restaurant with a delegation of Colombian writers and journalists when it was struck by a Russian missile that killed 12 people, including four children, and wounding dozens. (10:00 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says the Wagner Group's mutiny last month had no affect on Moscow's war in Ukraine, according to local media reports. In his first comments since Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's June 24 uprising, Shoigu called the operation an attempt to destabilise the country and said: "These plans failed primarily because the personnel of the armed forces showed loyalty to their oath and military duty." "The provocation did not affect the actions of the groupings of troops. The servicemen courageously and selflessly continued to solve the tasks assigned to them," he added. (10:10 GMT) The Kremlin says all government agencies and ministries, including the intelligence services, are working as they should after an aborted armed mutiny by mercenary fighters on June 24. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked why the FSB security service had not headed the mutiny off before it began, but said society and the armed forces had rallied behind President Putin at the time. He again declined to comment when asked why state funds had been used to finance the Wagner Group that mutinied. (10:17 GMT) The Kremlin says Moscow is pessimistic about the prospects of renewing the Black Sea grain deal because no progress has been made in implementing accompanying agreements that pertain to Russian exports. (10:55 GMT) Poland would like German Patriot systems to remain in Poland at least until the end of 2023, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak has said. Germany dispatched three Patriot air defence units in Poland close to the Ukrainian border in January to prevent stray missile strikes. (11:14 GMT) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has pushed for negotiations on the establishment of a maintenance hub in Poland to repair Leopard tanks damaged in Ukraine to be completed in the next 10 days. In a public statement after talks with his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, in Zamosc, Pistorius did not respond to a Polish request to extend the deployment of three German Patriot missile defence units that had been sent to the southeastern Polish city in January, initially for six months. (11:50 GMT) Reporting from Moscow, journalist Yulia Shapovalova tells Al Jazeera that the future of the Wagner Group's assets is still uncertain. She said that according to the group, the recruitment of mercenaries would be suspended for a month, due to its "temporary non-participation in the special military operation in Ukraine and its current transfer to the Republic of Belarus." "Of course, we will have to wait and see how it is going to play out," Shapovalova said, adding that posters in some Russian cities calling on people to join the Wagner Group, had been replaced with other posters which were an invitation to sign a contract and serve in the regular Russian army. Shapovalova also highlighted that the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin's other massive asset, his media empire, was also coming to an end too. "Prigozhin was building it for at least ten years. But now its websites are being blocked and its offices are being searched. There are many reports that employees of its media forces are also being fired now," she said. "Journalists used to call Prigozhin's media resources his troll factory. Its employees used to write comments in support of the authorities, criticise the opposition and promote the so-called patriotic views," she added. (12:24 GMT) The head of Russia's navy, Nikolai Yevmenov, has met Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu in Beijing, according to a report from state news agency TASS. The two men discussed strengthening cooperation in the Pacific, TASS reported. (12:58 GMT) Objects appearing to be mines have been found at a customs office dealing with post in Moscow, Russia's TASS news agency reports. The suspected mines were found in a mailed parcel, it said. There are no confirmations on whether the objects have links to the war in Ukraine. (13:28 GMT) Hungary will ask the European Union for a one-year extension of an exemption from Russian sanctions that allows refiner Slovnaft, part of the Hungarian energy group MOL, to export products refined from Russian oil to the Czech Republic. After a meeting with Slovakia's foreign minister, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said MOL needs one more year to complete investment at its Slovak refinery Slovnaft that would allow a further shift to non-Russian crude. (13:48 GMT) Russia's top election official, Ella Panfilova, says that if the situation in Kremlin-controlled areas of Ukraine worsens due to the war, then local elections scheduled on September 6 could be cancelled. "If unforeseen circumstances arise - in some areas the situation may deteriorate dramatically - and we see that there is a serious danger to the life and health of residents, then we have the right to postpone these elections," Panfilova told Putin at a meeting in the Kremlin. "We will certainly use this right if there are serious reasons for it," she said. Putin replied: "Understood." (14:43 GMT) Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Russia, has been granted access to meet jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich after repeated requests to the Kremlin from Washington, the newspaper reports. The visit is the second time the journalist has been given consular access since he was detained in Russia in March and charged with espionage. (15:30 GMT) The family of jailed Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny has filed a class-action lawsuit against the penal colony where he is being held over its refusal to let them visit him. Navalny has filed numerous complaints against the penal colony since his imprisonment, all of which have been rejected so far. (15:57 GMT) In an interview with CNN taped over the weekend, Zelenskyy says Ukraine's ultimate goal is to liberate Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. "We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea. And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing: The war is not over yet," he said. Zelenskyy also said Putin's reaction to the Wagner rebellion "was weak" and added that "all that vertical power he [Putin] used to have is just crumbling down." (16:16 GMT) The EU's top official has vowed to leave "no stone unturned" when it comes to making Russian President Vladimir Putin accountable for the war against Ukraine. "We will leave no stone unturned to hold Putin and his henchmen accountable," said EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement marking the opening of a centre for the prosecution of Russian aggression in Ukraine. "The new international prosecution centre will play a key role in making sure that the perpetrators are brought to justice," she said. The centre is located at the EU justice agency Eurojust in The Hague. (16:33 GMT) Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant has been reconnected to its only available back-up power line four months after it was lost, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has said. "While the reconnection of the back-up power line is positive, the plant's external power situation remains highly vulnerable, underlining the precarious nuclear safety and security situation at the site," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said. Europe's largest nuclear facility had been relying on a single main 750 kV line for the external electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions. It had four 750 kV lines before the conflict began in February 2022. The plant's back-up connection was cut on 1 March due to damage sustained on the other side of the Dnipro River and restored in the evening of 1 July. Work to reconnect the power line had been hampered by the difficult security situation in the southern region. (17:00 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz have called for the extension of a deal allowing the safe export of grain and fertilisers from three Ukrainian Black Sea ports, an official said. The two made the call during a phone conversation, Scholz's spokesperson said. (17:32 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on the Georgian government to transfer ex-President of Georgia Mikheil Saakashvili, imprisoned for over a year, to a clinic outside of the country. Saakashvili is a Ukrainian citizen who served as the head of Zelenskyy's Executive Committee for Reform. He was arrested in 2021 after returning to Georgia and jailed on what he said were trumped-up charges of abuse of office and embezzlement. His health deteriorated severely following two hunger strikes. Zelenskyy said his prolonged detention amounted to a death sentence. "No government in Europe has the right to execute people, life is a basic European value," he said, adding that he had summoned the Georgian ambassador to Ukraine to express "our strong protest." (18:17 GMT) The European Union is considering a proposal for the Russian Agricultural Bank to set up a subsidiary to reconnect to the global financial network, the Financial Times has reported. With the bank under sanctions, the move aims to safeguard the Black Sea grain deal that allows Ukraine to export food to global markets, the newspaper said. The UN declined to comment on the FT report. UN spokesperson Farhan Haq told reporters that UN officials had been in touch with "a number of nations, including European nations, to find creative ways in which exports of food and fertiliser from the Russian Federation could be could be expedited." (19:09 GMT) Turkey will not lift its opposition to Sweden joining NATO unless it stops harbouring groups Ankara considers to be terrorists, President Tayyip Erdogan has said. "Everyone should acknowledge that they cannot form a friendship with Turkey by allowing terrorists to demonstrate in the most central squares of their cities," he said. In recent months, demonstrators in Stockholm waved flags showing support for the PKK, which is also deemed a terrorist group by Turkey's Western allies, including Sweden. "Our position, expectations and promises that were made have been all clear. At the moment, we defend the same principles that we defended last year," Erdogan also said. (19:20 GMT) A Russian drone attack killed at least two people and injured 19 in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, prompting President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to call for a major upgrade of anti-aircraft defences. The Sumy regional administration said on the messaging app Telegram that an official building and two residential buildings were also damaged in the attack, carried out with four drones. "Unfortunately, our country does not yet have a sufficient number of high-quality air defence systems to protect our entire territory and shoot down all enemy targets," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. (19:51 GMT) The Ukraine Solidarity Project (USP) has added British consumer goods giant Unilever to its list of sponsors of war, after the company failed to act on its announced decision to quit the Russian market over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Unilever, which owns hundreds of internationally-known brands, including Dove, Rexona, Lipton, and Domestos, remained in Russia and increased its profits in the country by 24.9 percent last year, according to Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NAZK). Protesters held a billboard with a spoof Dove advertisement outside the Unilever HQ in London. Unilever said it would continue to supply everyday food and hygiene products made in Russia to people in the country. (20:18 GMT) The US ambassador to Russia, Lynne Tracy, has met jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich at Lefortovo Prison in Moscow, in the second such visit since his pre-trial detention in March on espionage charges. "Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances," a State Department spokesperson said. "We expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access." 20230704 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/4/russia-ukraine-updates-drone-attack-on-moscow-repelled-mayor (06:43 GMT) Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had attacked Moscow with at least five drones. The Russian defence ministry said that Moscow air defences shot down four Ukrainian drones while a fifth was jammed and crashed into the Odintsovo district of the Moscow region. No one was injured. Russian news agencies reported that two drones were intercepted near a village 30km southwest of the Kremlin. One drone was detected in the neighbouring Kaluga region. "At this moment, the attacks have been repelled by air defence forces," Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on his Telegram messaging channel. "All detected drones have been eliminated." (06:44 GMT) "The Kyiv regime's attempt to attack an area where civilian infrastructure is located, including the airport, which incidentally also receives foreign flights, is yet another act of terrorism," said Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. "The international community should realise that the United States, Britain, France - permanent members of the UN Security Council - are financing a terrorist regime," she said. There was no immediate comment from Kyiv. Ukraine almost never publicly claims responsibility for attacks inside Russia or on Russian-controlled territory in Ukraine. (06:44 GMT) Landings and takeoffs at Moscow's Vnukovo airport were restricted for several hours early on Tuesday before normal operations resumed after 05:00 GMT. Vnukovo airport is one of four main airports that serve the Russian capital. Russia's Federal Air Transport Agency, or Rosaviatsiya, said on the Telegram messaging app that landings and takeoffs were restricted "for technical reasons beyond the control of the airport". A number of flights from Russia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt were diverted. (07:04 GMT) On Tuesday, a senior Ukrainian security official said Kyiv's troops have had a "particularly fruitful" few days. "At this stage of active hostilities, Ukraine's Defense Forces are fulfilling the number one task - the maximum destruction of manpower, equipment, fuel depots, military vehicles, command posts, artillery and air defence forces of the Russian army," Oleksiy Danilov, the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, wrote on Twitter. Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar also reported gains around the ruined eastern city of Bakhmut amid fierce Russian resistance. (07:25 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War said Ukraine made "marginal advances" on Monday, June 3, as it conducted its counteroffensive in at least four sectors. (08:07 GMT) Ukraine's security service (SBU) wrote in a Tweet that a 'traitor' allegedly preparing a missile attack on buildings belonging to the SBU and Ukrainian defence forces in Mykolaiv - a city near the Black Sea in southern Ukraine - had been detained. Last week Ukraine arrested a man accused of directing the Russian missiles that hit a restaurant in the city of Kramatorsk, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 60. (08:37 GMT) In Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's nightly Telegram address, he praised anti-aircraft troops and said there would only be peace in Europe once it had guaranteed its security. On Twitter, Zelenksyy posted his video address and wrote, "It is obvious that Europe can be protected from any aggression only together with Ukraine and only together with Ukraine in NATO. "That is why we must achieve security certainty about our future in the Alliance. Then Russia will have to refocus on its own statehood - to finally take care of itself, not some expansions." (08:56 GMT) The president of Lithuania has urged NATO leaders to address Ukraine's push to join the NATO military alliance at a summit in the capital next week. "We should not hesitate to take bolder decisions because otherwise, the Putin regime will decide that the Western allies are too weak (that they should be) pushed to the corner and they will surrender", President Gitanas Nauseda said in an interview with Reuters news agency on Monday. "Our stronger wording on Ukraine's (membership) perspective would for sure increase the fighting spirit of Ukrainian soldiers on the battlefield. And this is very important", he added. Ukraine has been pressing NATO to declare at the July 11-12 summit that Kyiv will join the bloc soon after the war ends and to set out a roadmap to membership. (09:06 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin told a virtual meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation that Moscow would stand up against Western sanctions and "provocations". Putin said Moscow planned to boost ties with the group, which includes China and India, and supported the transition to settlements in local currencies in foreign trade. He warned that the potential for conflicts and the risk of a global economic crisis were rising. (09:34 GMT) Putin has told Asian leaders at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that Russians were more united than ever in his first appearance at an international forum since the Wagner Group mutiny two weeks ago. "The Russian people are consolidated as never before," Putin told a virtual meeting. "Russian political circles and the whole of society clearly demonstrated their unity and elevated sense of responsibility for the fate of the Fatherland when they responded as a united front against an attempted armed mutiny." Putin emphasised Russia's unity at a meeting with key allies to show how dedicated he is to removing doubts about his authority following claims that the Wagner mutiny had shown his weakness. (09:53 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg's contract will be extended by a year as the military alliance grapples with helping Ukraine without triggering a larger war with Russia. Stoltenberg, a former prime minister of Norway, has been the alliance's leader since 2014 and has had his tenure extended two previous times, including last year after Russia invaded Ukraine. Stoltenberg said on Twitter that he was honoured by the decision to extend his term to October 1, 2024. (10:21 GMT) Zelenskyy spoke to Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, and thanked him for two sanction packages against Russia during its six-month Presidency of the Council of the European Union. On Twitter, Zelenskyy wrote, "We discussed the situation on the battlefield and the latest developments in Russia. This is evidence of a split in Russian society and the weakness of the power vertical. "In such circumstances, further political pressure on Russia and military support for Ukraine will be most effective. We agreed to coordinate efforts to bring NATO membership closer for Ukraine and Sweden. (10:43 GMT) Unidentified men have beaten up a journalist for Russia's Novaya Gazeta newspaper and her lawyer in the Russian region of Chechnya, the news outlet says in a statement. The attackers destroyed equipment and documents belonging to reporter Yelena Milashina and lawyer Alexander Nemov after intercepting them on their way from the airport to the Chechen capital, Grozny, to attend the trial of Zarema Musayeva, the mother of two local activists who have challenged Chechen authorities. Novaya Gazeta said Milashina sustained a brain injury and had several fingers broken, and Nemov had a deep cut on his leg. (11:06 GMT) The Kremlin says there were "certain contacts" with the United States over the case of jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich but that it did not want to make them public. (11:34 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says troops repelled 10 attacks in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours, Russian state news agency TASS reported. "In the Donetsk direction, 10 enemy attacks were successfully repelled by competent and courageous actions of the defending units of the Southern Group of Forces," ministry spokesperson Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said. According to Konashenkov, Ukraine's losses amounted to "up to 290 servicemen killed and wounded, two infantry fighting vehicles, nine vehicles, two pick-up trucks, an Akatsiya self-propelled artillery mount, Msta-B and D-30 howitzers". He added that air defence systems shot down two Ukrainian Su-25 aircraft and intercepted two HIMARS MLRS shells and 14 drones. (12:01 GMT) Ukraine's governor of the Kharkiv region says Russian shelling wounded 12 people, including five children, in Pervomaisk. On Telegram, Oleh Synehubov said, "According to preliminary information, the shelling was carried out with a high-explosive projectile. As a result, several cars caught fire in the parking lot. (12:24 GMT) Italy's central bank has frozen assets belonging to Russian oligarchs valued at about 2 billion euros ($2.2bn) since last year's invasion of Ukraine. As part of EU sanctions against the Kremlin and its backers, Italy seized assets that included bank accounts, luxury villas, yachts and cars. The director of Italy's anti-money laundering unit, Enzo Serata, said financial holdings worth about 330 million euros ($360m) linked to 80 individuals had been frozen. Before the war, Italy's beaches and ports were popular with wealthy Russians who bought properties in prime locations, such as Lake Como, Sardinia, Tuscany and the Ligurian coast. (12:38 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 496 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-496 (13:23 GMT) The Russian foreign ministry says, less than two weeks before the expiry date, that Moscow sees no basis for renewing the Black Sea grain deal. In a statement, the ministry said Russia was doing everything so that all ships covered by the deal could leave the Black Sea before it expires on July 17. (13:48 GMT) A spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry says proposals to set up a subsidiary of the Russian state agricultural bank for the purpose of the Black Sea grain export deal are "unworkable". Maria Zakharova was commenting on a Financial Times report that the EU had proposed a special subsidiary that could be connected to the SWIFT international payment system, which the bank has been cut off from. (14:18 GMT) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development says it is lending 25 million euros ($27.24m) to the city of Dnipro to help it cope with an influx of people fleeing the front line. In December, the EBRD also provided Lviv a 25-million-euro ($27.25m) loan. (14:44 GMT) Dozens of Ukrainians filled Kyiv's Saint Michael's Cathedral to bid farewell to a prominent writer and war crimes researcher killed in a Russian missile attack on a café in eastern Ukraine. (15:11 GMT) Russian jeweller Sokolov has opened its first store in China, pivoting to Asia as access to Western markets dwindles. Sokolov had been planning to launch a retail network in Germany last year but changed plans after Western markets shunned Russian businesses. Sokolov said in a statement that the shop in a Shanghai mall is the first part of a three-store pilot project in China, making Sokolov the first Russian jeweller to enter China's offline retail market. Should the pilot be successful, the company plans to open another 30 to 50 stores in China within the next two to three years, Sokolov said. (15:38 GMT) Turkey expects Sweden to fulfil its commitments to address Ankara's security concerns as Stockholm seeks to join NATO, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said. (16:19 GMT) Putin says the Russian people are "united as never before" after a short-lived revolt by the Wagner mercenary force. He thanked member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation during a meeting for supporting Russian authorities during the brief mutiny mounted by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. Putin also accused the West of turning Ukraine into "a virtually hostile state - anti-Russia". (16:55 GMT) Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory would "not be possible" without American and NATO help, Moscow said. Russia's foreign ministry issued the statement after reporting its military downed five unmanned aerial vehicles near the capital. "These attacks would not be possible without the help provided to the Kyiv regime by the US and its NATO allies," the ministry said. The West is "training drone operators and providing the necessary intelligence to commit such crimes", it added. (17:06 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said 185,000 new recruits joined the Russian army as professional contract soldiers since the start of the year. Posters urging people to join up as contract soldiers are plastered throughout Russian cities, and TV adverts frequently pump out the same message. (17:34 GMT) Pope Francis's peace envoy for Ukraine, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, said he is working on a "mechanism" that could ensure the return of children who according to Kyiv have been abducted to Russia. (17:49 GMT) President Zelenskyy congratulated NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg on having his mandate extended, praising him for his "personal efforts" in supporting the war-torn country. "I thanked Jens Stoltenberg for his personal efforts to support Ukraine's Euro-Atlantic aspirations," Zelensky said after a phone call with the NATO chief. "I am hopeful that our cooperation will remain fruitful in the future." (PJB: "Euro-Atlantic aspirations" a quote from the 2008 NATO summit) (18:49 GMT) The Ukraine government accused Russia of planning a "provocation" at the Moscow-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, while Russia claimed that Kyiv was planning to "attack" the facility. Kyiv's military warned of the "possible preparation of a provocation on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia power plant in the near future", while a Russian official said Ukraine is planning on attacking the plant on July 5 with "high-precision, long-range weapons" and drones. Fears over the safety risks for the nuclear plant, Europe's largest, have been constant throughout Russia's invasion, but increased in early June after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, the source of cooling water for its reactors. (20:15 GMT) Zelenskyy told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron that Russia was planning "dangerous provocations" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. "I warned Emmanuel Macron that the occupation troops are preparing dangerous provocations at the Zaporizhzhia plant," Zelenskyy said in a statement. 20230705 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/5/russia-ukraine-live-news-kyiv-attacks-russian-forces-in-donestsk (05:51 GMT) Ukraine's military said it had destroyed a Russian "formation" in Russian-controlled Makiivka in the front-line Donetsk region, where Moscow-installed officials and media said one civilian was killed and dozens wounded in attacks by Kyiv. (05:58 GMT) Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions came under fire from Ukrainian forces across the border in the early hours of Wednesday, the regions' governors said, adding that no casualties were reported. "The town of Valuyki is under fire from Ukraine's armed forces," Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on the Telegram messaging app at 07:36am local time (04:36 GMT). Gladkov did not specify whether it was rocket fire, artillery shelling or some other form of attack. (06:38 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said the Russian economy was performing better than expected after Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin reported to him that gross domestic product growth and inflation have been surprisingly positive. GDP growth may exceed 2 percent this year and consumer price inflation may not rise above 5 percent in annual terms, Mishustin told Putin at a meeting at the Kremlin. The International Monetary Fund expects the Russian economy to grow 0.7 percent this year. "Our results, at least for the time being, let's say, cautiously, are better than previously expected, better than predicted," Putin said, according to a transcript on the Kremlin's website. Russia's economy contracted 2.1 percent in 2022 and was under particular pressure in spring of last year when Kyiv's allies imposed sweeping sanctions against Moscow. (07:17 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 497 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-497 (07:57 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, about Russian "dangerous provocations" at the plant in southeastern Ukraine. Zelenskyy in a tweet said he and Macron had "agreed keep the situation under maximum control together with the IAEA", the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency. Meanwhile an adviser to the head of Rosenergoatom, which operates Russia's nuclear network, said Ukraine planned to drop ammunition laced with nuclear waste transported from another of the country's five nuclear stations on the plant. "Under cover of darkness overnight on 5th July, the Ukrainian military will try to attack the Zaporizhzhia station using long-range precision equipment and kamikaze attack drones," Russian news agencies quoted Renat Karchaa as telling Russian television. He offered no evidence in support of his allegation. (08:10 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's chief of staff Andriy Yermak, has said that China's position in the face of a potential nuclear threat from Russia was "important". Yermak posted a screenshot of an article from the Financial Times about Chinese leader Xi Jinping's reported warning to Russian President Vladimir Putin against a nuclear attack in Ukraine. (08:24 GMT) UK's defence ministry has said that senior Russian security officers like General Sergei Surovikin, commander-in-chief of Russian Aerospace Forces and deputy commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, have not been seen in public since the Wagner Group mutiny, highlighting "faultlines" in the country's security community. "The suspicion that has potentially fallen on senior serving officers highlights how Prigozhin's abortive insurrection has worsened existing fault lines within Russia's national security community," the ministry said in a tweet. (08:39 GMT) Russia is planning to send more Chechen fighters and convicts to fight in Ukraine and fill the gap left by Wagner mercenaries who have been pulled out from the frontline, according to a Bloomberg report, citing European intelligence officials. With the Kremlin trying to avoid full military mobilisation post Wagner's exit, the European officials said that Russia is likely to send more Chechens and convicts to the front line in the coming weeks. It is unclear how many Chechen fighters will be sent but in May, the group's regional leader Ramzan Kadyrov, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app that 7,000 troops were already in Ukraine and another 2,400 were being trained for two new defence ministry regiments. (09:25 GMT) The general staff of Ukraine's military has noted an increase in infectious diseases in the Russian occupied region of Kherson since the dam breach in the region last month. "In the temporarily occupied Skadovsk and Genichesk regions of Kherson, an increase in the number of infectious diseases with acute intestinal infections has been noted. The outbreak could potentially be cholera," the general staff said in a report. (09:51 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov has said that the situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is tense and highlighted that there is "great threat of sabotage from Kyiv." "The consequences of possible Ukrainian sabotage could be catastrophic," Peskov told reporters. (10:04 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov has told reporters that Russia will announce its decision on extending the Black Sea grain deal with Ukraine, in a "timely manner." But he told reporters that parts of the deal which concern Russia "are still not fulfilled" and said that "there is still time for the West to fullfill those parts." (10:10 GMT) The Kremlin has said it could not confirm a Financial Times report that Chinese President Xi Jinping had personally warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against using nuclear weapons in Ukraine. The FT said Xi delivered the message when he visited Moscow in March. "No, I can't confirm it," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters when asked about the report. He said the two countries had issued statements at the time on the content of their talks, and "everything else is fiction". (10:22 GMT) Italy's Prime minister Georgia Meloni has said that next week's NATO Summit should offer "real security guarantees to Ukraine." Speaking at a press conference alongside her Polish counterpart in Warsaw, Meloni also told reporters that Poland and Italy are "in perfect agreement on this issue." NATO leaders will meet at a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania next week. (11:08 GMT) Rebeca Grynspan, secretary general of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, has said that she may visit Russia before the Black Sea grain deal expires. "We will consider going to Moscow in the days that are left, but that has not been confirmed yet," she told reporters in Geneva. (11:38 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova says the European Union considering the possibility of allowing Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank) to create a subsidiary to service agricultural exports with access to SWIFT, the international financial transaction communications network, is a "deliberate infeasible arrangement". The Financial Times and other media outlets reported that the EU is considering a proposal to allow a sanctioned Russian bank to create a subsidiary that could reconnect to the global financial network. "This story follows a high-profile media campaign launched by the Westerners, Ukrainians and the UN amid the upcoming expiry of the Black Sea Initiative for the export of Ukrainian food on July 17," Zakharova told reporters in Russia. "It is their way of creating a semblance of some breakthrough results in the normalisation of Russian agricultural exports as stipulated in the Russia-UN memorandum," she said, adding: "There has been no progress on the implementation of this agreement." (12:05 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its forces struck three Ukrainian army groups near Bakhmut as fighting in the region intensifies. Earlier, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar also reported gains around the ruined eastern city amid fierce Russian resistance. Russian forces captured Bakhmut in May after 10 months of fighting. (12:18 GMT) Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera's Rob McBride says while fears about the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant are not new, recent warnings are very detailed. Zelenskyy has accused Russia of "trying to create dangerous provocations" at the Zaporizhzhia plant. "The Ukrainian media here are saying that this is based on satellite photographs that the Ukrainians have access to," McBride said. "The issue here, as always, is that one side would never want to give an insight into its intelligence gathering to the other side. But what is interesting is the specifics of this allegation - and also a very similar allegation that was made less about two weeks ago, when the Ukrainians claimed the Russians were planting mines around some of the cooling ponds at the Zaporizhzhia plant," he added. (12:47 GMT) Journalist Yulia Shapovalova, reporting from Moscow, tells Al Jazeera that the head of Russia's Rosenergoatom, a nuclear power station operator, says tensions will remain high around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant until the NATO summit in Vilnius next week. "He also said Ukraine intended to attack the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant last night with kamikaze drones and missiles with a radioactive warhead," Shapovalova said. Kyiv has denied these claims. (13:13 GMT) Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and discussed the Black Sea grain deal, a Turkish foreign ministry source told Reuters. Fidan also discussed NATO enlargement with Blinken, the source said. (13:55 GMT) Ukraine's General Staff Deputy Chief Oleksii Hromov has said that the presence of Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus is "currently unlikely", according to a report by Ukraine's national news agency Ukrinform. "It is necessary to create special conditions for the storage of nuclear munitions, to deploy a base for their maintenance. This is a very complex technological process," Hromov told Ukrinform. Last month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said Russian nuclear weapons will be deployed in Belarus in "several days". "Today, the presence of nuclear charges on the territory of Belarus is unlikely," Ukraine's Hromov said. (14:26 GMT) Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda says Ukraine will not be left disappointed at the upcoming NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, according to a report by Lithuanian National Radio and Television. "I have a feeling that we will find wording that will not disappoint Ukrainians and will state more than we are used to saying," Nauseda said. But he did not confirm whether Ukraine, which applied for NATO membership in September, will get an invitation to attend the defence alliance's summit. (14:51 GMT) The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says in a statement that it has inspected parts of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southeastern Ukraine in recent days and weeks and has so far not observed any indications of mines or explosives. But IAEA experts "have requested additional access that is necessary to confirm the absence of mines or explosives", the international nuclear watchdog said. "In particular, access to the rooftops of reactor units 3 and 4 is essential, as well as access to parts of the turbine halls and some parts of the cooling system at the plant," IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said. (15:21 GMT) Ukraine's internal ministry has said that an explosion has occurred in a court in Kyiv. "The explosion took place in the courthouse in the Shevchenkiv district. An investigative and operative group, special forces, explosives technicians and dog experts are working on the spot," the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. According to police authorities in Kyiv, a device had been detonated by a man who had been taken to a court hearing. There are no confirmations about whether this explosion was linked to the war. (15:48 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence has called the assessment of British Admiral Tony Radakin about Moscow's combat "losses" as a "discouraging lie", according to a report by Russian state media RIA Novosti. Earlier, Admiral Radakin had said that Russia had lost half its combat capability in Ukraine. "The purpose of the admiral's statements is to knock out money for the purchase of new weapons for the army instead of the rubbish sent to Ukraine," the Russian defence ministry said and added that "the over-hyped Storm Shadow missiles are increasingly falling flat without bursting, and all the British scrap metal delivered to Kyiv, after being melted down, will serve as raw materials for new regions for restoration work." 16:54 GMT) Russia accused a small US-based "charity" of "sabotaging" the construction of a huge gas pipeline to China and banned it as an "undesirable organisation". The Russian prosecutor general's office said while claiming to advocate nature conservation, the Altai Project was meddling in Russia's internal affairs and could damage its economic security. "The key direction of the organisation's work is sabotaging the construction of the Power of Siberia-2 gas pipeline," it said. Jennifer Castner, director of the Altai Project, described the accusation as absurd but said it had been only a matter of time. (17:22 GMT) Ukraine's health ministry released guidelines in the event of an emergency at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and urged residents to pack emergency bags containing supplies such as face masks and food wrapped in plastic. "If authorities have officially announced a radiation emergency, stay indoors or get out as soon as possible," it said in a statement. "Stay tuned for further announcements and follow the instructions." Dr Olena Havrylenko, 55, based in Zaporizhzhia, said listening to trusted experts and following reliable news sources was critical. "I think those who have prepared themselves shouldn't be afraid," she said. (18:16 GMT) Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov raised the specter of a potentially "catastrophic" provocation by the Ukrainian army at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power, which is Europe's largest. "The situation is quite tense. There is a great threat of sabotage by the Kyiv regime, which can be catastrophic in its consequences," Peskov said. in response to a reporter's question about the plant. He also claimed the Kremlin was pursuing "all measures" to counter the alleged Ukrainian threat. Renat Karchaa, an adviser to Russian state nuclear company Rosenergoatom that controls the plant, said there was "no basis" for Ukraine''s claims of a Russian plot to simulate an explosion. "Why would we need explosives there? This is nonsense" aimed at "maintaining tension", Karchaa said. (18:31 GMT) A man who detonated explosives in a court in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv has died, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Klymenko, in a statement at the site of the explosion at the Shevchenkivskyi court said the man may have stepped inadvertently on explosives. (19:14 GMT) Zelenskyy has signed a bill that adopts sanctions against 18 entities which he claimed are linked to Russia. The statement, which was shared by the Ukrainian presidency, noted 18 legal entities registered in Russia, Luxembourg and Southern Cyprus. (19:26 GMT) Russia has opened a criminal case after a prominent female journalist and a lawyer were brutally attacked in Russian republic of Chechnya, Russian Investigative Committee reported on Wednesday. "Currently, the investigation team is conducting a set of investigative actions and search measures aimed at establishing individuals involved in this crime and all the circumstances of the incident," the statement said. Yelena Milashina, a well-known journalist for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper, was travelling to the Chechen capital Grozny from the local airport with Alexander Nemov, a lawyer, when they were attacked a day earlier. The two were beaten, and threatened with guns. Now both are in a Moscow hospital. (20:05 GMT) The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has requested "additional access" to parts of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) in southern Ukraine after reports of possible military action around the site intensified. The IAEA has experts on the ground in Zaporizhzhia who have been monitoring and inspecting the site in recent days and weeks, said a press release on Wednesday. So far, they have not found "any visible indications of mines or explosives", said the statement, citing IAEA Director-General General Rafael Grossi. Grossi stressed the importance of the additional access in view of the situation at the site in recent days. Moscow and Kyiv have both been warning of an imminent attack on the plant by the other side. "With military tension and activities increasing in the region where this major nuclear power plant is located, our experts must be able to verify the facts on the ground," said Grossi. "Their independent and objective reporting would help clarify the current situation at the site, which is crucial at a time like this with unconfirmed allegations and counter allegations," he continued. 20230706 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/6/russia-ukraine-live-lviv-bombed-death-toll-climbs-to-four (05:34 GMT) Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko says the death toll from a Russian missile attack in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv climbed to four and that nine others were injured. Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said around 60 apartments and 50 cars in the area of the strike were damaged. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians from other areas to the east have sought refuge in Lviv. (05:41 GMT) Human Rights Watch says both Russian and Ukrainian forces have used cluster munitions that have killed Ukrainian civilians. The international advocacy group called on both Russia and Ukraine to stop using the weapons. More than 120 countries have signed on to an international treaty banning the weapons, which typically scatter a large number of smaller so-called bomblets over a large area that can kill or maim unwary civilians months or years later. Moscow and Kyiv have declined to sign the treaty. (05:48 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says slow weapons deliveries to Ukraine delayed Kyiv's planned counteroffensive, allowing Russia to bolster its defences in occupied areas, including with mines. Speaking to CNN's Erin Burnett in the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, Zelenskyy revealed that he had sought to begin the counteroffensive against Russia "much earlier" than its actual start in early June. "Our slowed-down counteroffensive is happening due to certain difficulties in the battlefield. Everything is heavily mined there," Zelenskyy said via a translator in the pre-taped interview. "I wanted our counteroffensive happening much earlier, because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive will be unfolding later, then much bigger part of our territory will be mined." (06:33 GMT) Russian state TV has launched a fierce attack on Yevgeny Prigozhin, the exiled boss of the Wagner mercenary force, saying that an investigation into the private army's short-lived mutiny against the Moscow military leadership was still under way. In a programme called 60 Minutes broadcast on Russia's state Russia-1 TV channel, the Wagner boss was branded a "traitor" and viewers were told that the criminal case against Prigozhin was in full swing. (07:57 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who last month brokered a deal to end an armed mutiny in Russia, says Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus. Lukashenko said on June 27 that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus as part of the deal. "As for Prigozhin, he's in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus," Lukashenko told reporters. (08:22 GMT) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko says Ukraine will try to demonstrate its power against Russia before the NATO summit in Lithuania next week, the Russian news agency TASS reported. Lukashenko also warned that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would insist on NATO entering into direct conflict with Russia following its acceptance into the alliance. (08:49 GMT) Tass reported that Belarus's Lukashenko has suggested that Russia and Ukraine come to the negotiating table with no preconditions. During a meeting with foreign and Belarusian media representatives, Lukashenko said, "We have to stop now. We have already done a lot of bad things. But it could be worse. Therefore, we need to stop now, sit down at the negotiating table without preconditions. We must decide everything at the negotiating table." According to Lukashenko, a conversation with Ukraine about peace is only possible now because it will not happen after its counter-offensive. He added that a peace settlement in Ukraine should not depend on Washington, "this is the business of Russia and Belarus." (09:12 GMT) Belarus's Lukashenko says the issue of relocating forces from Russia's Wagner mercenary group has not yet been resolved, the TASS news agency reported. Lukashenko said his offer to accommodate some of Wagner's fighters in Belarus still stood. The fighters, Russia said, can go to Belarus and sign up with its regular armed forces or demobilise. (09:30 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Bulgaria to begin talks with the country's president and prime minister to discuss issues including security and next week's NATO summit. On Telegram, Zelenskyy wrote, "Sofia. Bulgaria. I will hold thorough negotiations with Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov, meet with President Rumen Radev, government officials, parliamentarians, politicians, and journalists. "[Discuss] defence support, Euro-Atlantic integration of Ukraine, NATO summit, security guarantees and implementation of the Peace Formula," he added. (09:41 GMT) Russia's security service (FSB) shot dead a 38-year-old Russian man as he made preparations to blow up an energy facility in the Tyumen region, Russian investigators said. The FSB said an unspecified number of Russian citizens had been preparing to commit an act "at the request of representatives of Ukrainian paramilitary groups". The Investigative Committee, which handles major crimes, published footage of officers using metal detectors in a field and said a man had shot at and tried to kill FSB officers. "He did not respond to warnings. The attacker was killed by return fire," the Committee said. Blasts have occurred at several Russian energy, railway and military facilities since Moscow invaded Ukraine. (10:08 GMT) The Kremlin says it is not tracking Wagner Group's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's movements after Belarus's Lukashenko said Prigozhin was no longer in Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that no date had been set for a meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Lukashenko and said he could not yet confirm discussion details. Lukashenko had earlier said that Prigozhin would be discussed. (10:52 GMT) The Kremlin says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Bulgaria shows that Kyiv is doing all it can to drag as many countries as possible into the conflict. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said discussions, like those Zelenskyy was having in Bulgaria, would not affect the outcome of its "special military operation" in a big way and pointed to the situation on the front line as evidence. (11:21 GMT) Pavel Felgenhauer, a defence and military analyst based in Moscow, says the Wagner leader made a brief visit to Belarus and then returned to Russia. "There is, I would say, a ceasefire between Yevgeny Prigozhin and the Kremlin, a freeze of the situation that was agreed together with President Lukashenko of Belarus, and this is an uneasy ceasefire, but both sides are more or less holding it," he said. Felgenhauer explained that while it's a ceasefire, the Wagner Group is still a credible fighting force that the Kremlin is not ready to take on. "Especially as Ukrainians are counter-attacking ... They're keeping the ceasefire negotiated by Lukashenko. Lukashenko maybe would want these men to move to his country and have his own mercenaries ... but it's a frozen situation. The mutiny was not crushed. It ended in a ceasefire," Felgenhauer added. (11:40 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the United States ambassador will be allowed to visit detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich "on a reciprocal basis". Ambassador Lynne Tracy visited Gershkovich this week for the second time since he was detained in March on espionage charges, which he, his employer and Washington all deny. Russian embassy staff were given access on the same day to Vladimir Dunaev, a Russian national in pre-trial detention in Ohio on cybercrime charges. (11:56 GMT) Russia says it is expelling nine diplomats from Finland in a tit-for-tat measure after Finland expelled nine Russian diplomats whom it accused of working on intelligence missions. The Russian foreign ministry said the Finnish consulate in St Petersburg would also be closed in response to Finland's "confrontational" policy towards Moscow. "It was noted that the currently discussed parameters of Finland's entry into NATO pose a threat to the security of the Russian Federation, and encouraging the Kyiv regime to go to war and pumping it with Western weapons amount to clearly hostile actions against our country," a statement from the ministry said. (12:18 GMT) The New York Times reports that the US is expected to announce it will give cluster munitions to Ukraine to fight back against Russian forces, according to an unnamed senior Biden administration official. Last month, a senior Pentagon official said the US military believes cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine but they had not been approved for delivery due to congressional restrictions and concerns among allies. More than 120 countries have banned cluster munitions, which release large numbers of bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area and pose a threat to civilians. Earlier in the day, Human Rights Watch said both Russian and Ukrainian forces had used cluster munitions. (12:38 GMT) Ukraine targeted Crimea with more than 70 drone attacks this year and also attacked southern Russia's Krasnodar and Rostov regions, the Russian RIA Novosti news agency quoted the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, as saying. "The targets, as a rule, are energy and industrial infrastructure facilities, the destruction or damage of which threatens peaceful life and human health," Patrushev was quoted as saying during a security meeting in Krasnodar. (12:58 GMT) During the Wagner Group's mutiny last month, its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, repeatedly said that the rebellion was not targeted at the Kremlin but towards Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu and commander of the armed forces, Valery Gerasimov. Shoigu, who was once seen as Putin's successor, has been criticised by Prigozhin numerous times for his failings on the battlefield. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/6/shoigu-who-is-the-russian-defence-chief-detested-by-wagner joke: 2021 - the second most powerful army in the world 2022 - the second most powerful army in Ukraine 2023 - the second most powerful army in Russia (13:19 GMT) Governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukrainian shelling killed one man in the village of Novopetrovka. Attacks on Russian border regions ramped up in recent months, with Russian officials blaming either Ukrainian forces or pro-Ukrainian saboteurs. Ukraine does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks inside Russia. (13:42 GMT) Zelenskyy will visit Turkey on Friday for talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Black Sea grain deal and to discuss the war in Ukraine, the state-run Anadolu Agency said. The two leaders will hold face-to-face talks and also attend inter-delegation meetings, Anadolu added. Turkey and the United Nations brokered the grain deal last year to aid a growing food crisis that was being worsened by the continuing war. (14:04 GMT) Zelenskyy said Ukraine and Bulgaria have agreed on more active cooperation in the defence sector and that he had invited Sofia to take part in Ukraine's reconstruction. During a joint news conference with Bulgarian Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov in Sofia, Zelenskyy said, "We discussed the military aid which Bulgaria gives to our country. We count on the continuation of the cooperation, which has already saved many lives." Bulgaria is a NATO member and part of the European Union, two Western groupings that Ukraine hopes to join. (14:27 GMT) At least five people have been killed after a Russian missile hit a residential building in Lviv. Regional authorities put the death toll at five, including a 32-year-old woman and her 60-year-old mother. Emergency services said at least 36 others were wounded, and seven were pulled out from the rubble. The roof and top floor of the building were destroyed in what Lviv's mayor called the biggest attack on civilian infrastructure in Lviv. (14:48 GMT) Russia and Ukraine have swapped 45 prisoners of war in the latest exchange between the warring countries. The head of Ukraine's presidential staff, Andriy Yermak, said 45 service personnel and two civilians had been returned to Ukraine. In a post on Telegram, Yermak said some of those freed had fought in Mariupol and the southern city's Azovstal steel plant, and others had fought on the front line elsewhere. Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, added that most of those freed were "seriously injured" and all would undergo rehabilitation. (15:14 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says Sweden's NATO membership is within reach after a meeting in Brussels to overcome Turkish objections. Stoltenberg said leaders of Sweden and Turkey will meet in Vilnius on Monday on the eve of a NATO summit in the city later in the week. "My main ambition is now to get this agreed by the summit," Stoltenberg said after meeting with Swedish, Turkish and Finnish officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels. Countries that want to join the military alliance must be approved by all NATO members. So far, Turkey and Hungary have yet to clear Sweden's bid. (15:49 GMT) Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says Ukraine plans to abandon conscription and move to a professional army after the war to bring Kyiv closer to NATO standards. After a meeting with top officials where reforms known as "the Ukrainian shield" were discussed, Shmyhal said the government would continue to focus on increasing its domestic weapons production. "The primary task is to complete the transition of the Security and Defence Forces of Ukraine to NATO standards. In all aspects: from equipment and weapons to planning and analysis," he said on Telegram. (16:02 GMT) The US is expected to announce a new Ukraine weapons package including the provision of cluster munitions, two US officials have told Reuters. A weapons aid package that includes cluster munitions fired by a 155 millimetre Howitzer cannon was expected to be announced Friday, the two US officials said speaking on condition of anonymity. (16:30 GMT) Melinda Simmons is leaving her post as the United Kingdom's ambassador to Ukraine, the UK Foreign Office has said. The ambassador, who has helped maintain the UK's close relationship with the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, will transfer to another diplomatic post. She will be replaced in September by Martin Harris, who has previously served as deputy head of mission in both Kyiv and Moscow during his diplomatic career. (16:53 GMT) Ukraine's military spy chief says the threat of a Russian attack on the vast Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is receding, but that it could easily return as long as the facility remained under occupation by Moscow's forces. The intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, made the comment in an interview with Reuters after days of warnings by Ukrainian and Russian officials accusing each other of plotting an attack at Europe's largest nuclear plant. "The threat is decreasing", said Budanov, who is the head of Ukraine's Main Directorate of Intelligence at the Ministry of Defence, declining to say how he was able to say. "Sorry, I can't tell you what happened recently but the fact is that the threat is decreasing", he said. "This means that at least we have all together with joint efforts somehow postponed a technogenic catastrophe". (17:01 GMT) The Bulgarian parliament has approved a declaration in support of Ukraine's NATO membership after the end of the war by a majority of 157 votes. A total of 57 representatives of the pro-Russian Socialists and the nationalist and pro-Russian party Vasrashdane (Rebirth) voted against the measure. Zelenskyy is in Sofia for talks with the Bulgarian government, a NATO member. (17:13 GMT) Zelenskyy is visiting Prague on Thursday, the Czech president's office has said, and is due to meet President Petr Pavel in a show of thanks for continued support in Kyiv's battle against Russia's invasion. (17:14 GMT) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has condemned the bombing of a historic building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv and expressed "its sincere condolences" to the families of five victims. (18:31 GMT) Zelenskyy has landed in the Czech capital Prague as part of a tour to drum up support for a fast track to NATO membership for Kyiv ahead of a summit next week. Ukraine is seeking a clear signal from NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius that it can join the military alliance when the war ends. (18:34 GMT) Romania has said it would launch a regional hub to train pilots including Ukrainians to fly American-made F-16 fighter jets, which Kyiv has said the country needs to fight off Russia's invasion. "Together with other allies and the company designing this fighter jet, a regional hub will be created in Romania for training pilots who will fly these planes", read a press release issued after a meeting of Romania's Supreme Council of National Defense. "Romanian pilots operating F-16 aircraft will be trained here, and the facility will later be opened to pilots from NATO allies and partners, including Ukraine," it said. (20:11 GMT) Ukraine can count on the Czech Republic's further support as it defends itself against Russia's aggression, Czech President Petr Pavel has said after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Pavel also expressed support for Ukraine's bid to join NATO and the European Union. 20230707 (06:01 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on NATO leaders to take concrete steps towards Ukrainian membership at a summit next week. He said his country, engaged in the 17th month of a war against Russian invaders, needed much more than the general statement of more than 10 years' standing that the door to NATO was merely "open". Ukraine is seeking a clear indication from NATO at a July 11-12 summit in Vilnius that it can join the military alliance when the war ends as quickly as possible. But NATO members have been divided over how fast that step should be taken. Some member countries are wary of moves they fear could take the alliance closer to an active war with Russia. (06:17 GMT) Ukraine has submitted its request to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to the trade pact's depositary country New Zealand, according to Japan's economy minister Shigeyuki Goto. The CPTPP includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, with the United Kingdom becoming the 12th member state. Japan, as a CPTPP member, "must carefully assess whether Ukraine fully meets the high level of the agreement" in terms of market access and rules, Goto told a regular press conference. (06:27 GMT) Zelenskyy will visit Turkey on Friday for talks with President Tayyip Erdogan on the Black Sea grain deal and developments in the war in Ukraine, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. (06:58 GMT) The EU will devote 500 million euros to boosting the production of ammunition for Ukraine and to replenish the stocks of EU member countries, it says. The European Council and European Parliament representatives struck a provisional agreement overnight and it is expected to enter into force before the end of this month. Under the deal, subsidies will be given to European arms firms to increase their production capacities and tackle identified bottlenecks. The scheme is the third part of a broader EU effort to get more ammunition and arms to Ukraine, particularly 155-millimetre artillery shells, which Kyiv is pleading for as the fight against Russia's invasion has become a war of attrition. (07:30 GMT) Ukraine has halted rescue operations in the western city of Lviv and said the death toll had risen to 10 from the Russian missile strike. The city is only 70km from the border with Poland, a NATO and EU member. (07:57 GMT) Ukraine's future is in the European Union and the NATO military alliance, according to Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. He made the remarks after meeting with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Prague. The Czech Republic has been a strong backer of Kyiv since Russia's invasion, and Fiala said on Friday more support would come, including the donation of more military helicopters. (08:24 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during his visit to the Czech Republic that Kyiv needs long-range weapons to fight Russian forces. "Without long-range weapons it is difficult not only to carry out an offensive mission but also to conduct a defensive operation," he told a joint press conference with Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala. "First of all, we are talking about long-range systems with the United States and it depends only on them today." (08:40 GMT) The European Union is discussing ways to use frozen Russian assets to help with Ukraine's reconstruction, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said. "This is not a simple topic, either from a legal or other points of view." (08:57 GMT) A Ukrainian military spokesperson says troops have advanced by more than a kilometre in the past 24 hours near Bakhmut. (09:15 GMT) The presidents of Ukraine and Turkey will discuss the Black Sea grain deal and a possible prisoner exchange between Moscow and Kyiv, a senior Turkish official said ahead of Friday's talks. (09:35 GMT) Germany says it opposes sending cluster munitions to Ukraine a day after US officials said Washington was planning to provide Kyiv with the weapons. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Germany, as one of 111 states party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), did as well. Asked for a comment on what US officials had said, Baerbock told reporters at a climate conference in Vienna: "I have followed the media reports. For us, as a state party, the Oslo agreement applies." In 2008, 111 states signed an agreement at the Convention of Cluster Munitions in Oslo banning the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of cluster munitions. Human Rights Watch also called on Russia and Ukraine to stop using cluster munitions and urged the US not to supply them. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/7/what-are-cluster-munitions (10:16 GMT) A Belarusian official tells reporters that no one from the Russian Wagner Group has visited the camp President Alexander Lukashenko offered them since the mutiny ended. Asked if Wagner had come to look at the site, adviser to the Belarus defence minister, Leonid Kasinsky, said: "They have not come, they have not looked." Under the terms of an agreement brokered by Lukashenko to the rebellion last month, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was supposed to move to Belarus along with his fighters who did not sign with the Russian Defence Ministry. Kasinsky also said that the 300 tents put up at the disused cap were for an exercise, not for the Wagner Group. On Thursday, Lukashenko told reporters that the Wagner founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, had visited Belarus briefly but was now back in Russia. 10:39 GMT) Russia's budget deficit for the first half of the year is 2.6 trillion roubles ($28.26 bn), narrowing in June as spending fell and revenues increased. During the same time last year, Russia posted a surplus of 1.48 trillion roubles ($16,183 bn). However, supporting its military campaign in Ukraine and dealing with Western sanctions on its oil and gas exports have hit the government since then. Defence spending has kept Russia's industrial sector ticking along, spawning forecasts for economic growth this year and helping Moscow to continue its conflict with Kyiv. (11:11 GMT) At least six people were killed and two injured during a blast at an explosives factory in the city of Chapayevsk in central Russia, state news agency TASS reported. TASS said the explosion happened as pipework was being dismantled and that there had not been a fire. Alexander Khinstein, a member of parliament for the Samara region, said the blast appeared to have been caused by welding and might have been the result of explosive remains being left in the pipes. Since Russia invaded Ukraine last year, there have been numerous blasts or fires at fuel depots, factories, railway lines and other infrastructure inside Russia. (11:30 GMT) The Kremlin says it will "closely follow" upcoming talks between Zelenskyy and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, describing their meeting in Istanbul as "important". "We will very closely follow the results of these talks," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "It will be interesting for us to find out what was discussed. It's important," he added. (11:42 GMT) NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says NATO leaders will reaffirm that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance and also discuss how to bring Kyiv closer to this goal when they meet in Vilnius next week. (12:04 GMT) A senior Ukrainian official said Ukraine would welcome the delivery of cluster munitions from the United States because they would have an "extraordinary psycho-emotional impact" on Russian forces. "Undoubtedly, the transfer of additional volumes of shells to Ukraine is a very significant contribution to the acceleration of de-occupation procedures," presidential political adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency. "Especially if we are talking about cluster ammunition, which is undoubtedly capable of having an extraordinary psycho-emotional impact on already demoralised Russian occupation groups." (12:21 GMT) Zelenskyy has arrived in Slovakia and met with President Zuzana Caputova as he continues a tour of several NATO states to raise support behind Kyiv's bid to join the alliance. The Ukrainian president arrived in Slovakia after talks in the Czech Republic and Bulgaria over the past two days, and he is expected to travel to Turkey later in the day. He is expected to discuss the situation on the front lines and at the NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lithuania. Slovakia has been one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters and is one of the few allies to provide fighter jets to Kyiv, handing over 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 planes this year. (12:40 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 499 aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-499 (13:13 GMT) NATO is preparing an additional 500-million-euro ($545m) aid package for Ukraine, its secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, says. "NATO countries are preparing a new emergency package of assistance to Ukraine, including fuel, spare parts, medical supplies, demining equipment and pontoon bridges, for 500 million euros," Stoltenberg said at a news conference in Brussels. Stoltenberg added that the alliance has also provided Ukraine with "assistance in the construction of military hospitals". (13:40 GMT) Zelenskyy says he expects unity among NATO member states at next week's summit in Vilnius. He added that he wanted concrete steps in Ukraine's path to joining the alliance. Speaking at a joint news conference with the Slovak president, the Ukrainian leader said he also expects the NATO summit to discuss more defence packages for Kyiv and security guarantees. NATO's summit next week should give Ukraine a clear view of future membership in the alliance, Slovak President Zuzana Caputova said after hosting Zelenskyy in Bratislava. Caputova told a news conference alongside Zelenskyy that Ukraine's membership was a question of "when", not "if". (14:12 GMT) Stoltenberg says there are still "gaps" to bridge for Turkey to approve Sweden's NATO membership bid. During a press conference ahead of next week's NATO summit in Vilnius, the alliance's secretary general said he would meet Swedish and Turkish leaders on Monday, the day before the meeting. (14:33 GMT) The head of the UN nuclear agency says he is pushing for access to the roof of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine following accusations that Russia had planted explosives there. Finishing a four-day visit to Japan, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Mariano Grossi said his agency was making progress on access to the plant, but there had been "some limitations." "It's like a conversation and I'm pushing to get as much access as possible," Grossi said, in an interview with The Associated Press in Tokyo, adding that there was "marginal improvement." Grossi also told the AP that experts had gained access to the cooling pond and fuel storage areas, where they confirmed that there were no mines, which Ukraine had previously claimed otherwise. (14:58 GMT) British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said Russia must not further endanger the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. "The IAEA must have full access to inspect the plant and ensure nuclear safety and security," he said on Twitter. (15:27 GMT) Russia is banning the Human Rights House Foundation (HRHF), an Oslo-based non-profit group, accusing it of creating social discord. HRHF is a coalition of 80 independent human rights organisations advocating for freedom of assembly and expression in the western Balkans, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe, including Ukraine. The Russian prosecutor general's office said it was declaring HRHF's activity "undesirable", amounting to a ban, because the group aimed to "destabilise" the domestic political situation in Russia, discredit its foreign policy, and "shape public opinion about the need to change power in an unconstitutional way." It also accused the organisation of "discrediting" the Russian armed forces. (16:15 GMT) The Kakhovka Dam breach in Ukraine caused economic, agricultural and ecological devastation that will last for years, experts say. While the long-term effects of the dam break are difficult to calculate, two experts - Susanne Wengle of the University of Notre Dame and Vitalii Dankevych of Polissia National University - believe that it will have a lasting effect on the climate of southern Ukraine. On June 6, 2023, an explosion breached the Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine, causing flooding of the city of Kherson and threatening the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. But the two experts believe that the dam explosion has all the hallmarks of a scorched-earth strategy, "intended to destroy anything that might be useful to the enemy". Farmland that is no longer irrigated and cultivated because canals are destroyed and the reservoir drained will dry up, becoming more vulnerable to soil erosion and dust storms. Agricultural production could be reduced for years to come. (16:34 GMT) With the war in Ukraine still casting a shadow over Europe, the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital on Tuesday and Wednesday will be guarded by Patriot missile batteries from Germany and fighter jets and forces from 17 nations. US President Joe Biden, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will be among the 31 NATO leaders attending the summit in the Baltic state. (16:52 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has described the deals allowing the safe Black Sea export of food and fertiliser from Ukrainian ports and facilitating Russia's own such exports as playing an "indispensable role" in global food security. "The secretary-general and his team remain fully committed to building on the progress already made and are in constant contact with a wide range of stakeholders in this regard," UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Friday. "The secretary-general calls on all concerned to prioritise global food security," Haq said. The Black Sea grain deal is due to expire on July 17. (17:09 GMT) The UN secretary general wants countries to stop using cluster munitions, UN spokesman Farhan Haq says. Antonio Guterres "supports the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which, as you know, was adopted 15 years ago. And he wants countries to abide by the terms of that convention. And so as a result, of course, he does not want there to be continued use of cluster munitions on the battlefield," Haq said. (17:28 GMT) The United States is expected to announce on Friday that it will send Ukraine widely banned cluster munitions as part of an $800m security package, a move Ukraine said would have an "extraordinary psycho-emotional impact" on occupying Russian forces. Cluster munitions are prohibited by more than 100 countries. They typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area and those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades after a conflict ends. (17:52 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has told Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan he hoped NATO could proceed with ratifying Sweden's accession to the alliance as soon as possible, pointing out the "significant benefits" of the country's membership. (18:36 GMT) The White House has said that Russia has been using cluster munitions against Ukraine since the beginning of the conflict and Ukraine's use of artillery rounds is so frequent it is hard to keep up production. "The White House is saying that there is a shortage of conventional weapons, and in absence of the ability to ramp up production here in the US in a timeline the US would like, they have to turn to an alternative, and that is these cluster munitions. It's the best of the bad options," said Kimberly Halkett, Al Jazeera's White House correspondent. "And in lieu of that, the US has worked with Ukraine getting the assurances it needs that these concerns civilians will be adversely affected can be mitigated," she said. (18:52 GMT) Ukraine's pathway to NATO will be discussed at the summit, but Kyiv "still has further steps that it needs to take before membership" and "will not be joining" at the current time, said White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. (18:59 GMT) US President Joe Biden's national security adviser has said there was no clear answer on how to return Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained by Russia, to the United States. "I do not want to give false hope," said the Biden aide, Jake Sullivan, in a briefing with reporters on Friday. 19:07 GMT) Humanitarian organisations has condemned plans by the United States to supply controversial cluster munitions to Ukraine, citing the long-lasting danger posed by the weapons which leave behind unexploded bomblets. "This is a death sentence to civilians over the long term. There are people who have not yet been born who will fall victim" to cluster bombs, Baptiste Chapuis of Handicap International - Humanity and Inclusion (HI) said on Friday. When they detonate, cluster bombs spread dozens of tiny bomblets over an area the size of several football pitches, with a large number burying themselves in the ground rather than exploding. The weapons therefore effectively leave a large field of antipersonnel mines in their wake - prompting a wave of condemnations even before the American delivery was confirmed. (19:20 GMT) Human Rights Watch has slammed the US decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions, saying they pose immense danger to civilians. "They are absolutely awful for civilians. When legislators and policymakers here in the US see the photos coming back of children with missing limbs, parents injured [and] killed, by our own American cluster munitions, there is going to be a real awakening to the humanitarian disaster that this is," Sarah Yager, Washington director of Human Rights Watch, told Al Jazeera. hese bombs make no distinction between civilians and military personnel with experts suggesting 5 to 40 percent of bomblets do not explode on impact and can then remain present on battlefields for decades. (19:36 GMT) Zelenskyy has met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul as part of a tour of some NATO members as he lobbies the military alliance to take concrete steps at it summit next week towards granting Kyiv membership. (19:50 GMT) Brigadier General Pat Ryder says the US Department of Defense has "multiple variants" of the cluster munitions and "the ones that we are considering providing [to Ukraine] would not include older variants with [dud] rates that are higher than 2.35 percent." At a Pentagon briefing, he said the US "would be carefully selecting rounds with lower dud rates, for which we have recent testing data". (20:18 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy has thanked US President Joe Biden for a "much-needed" defence package after Washington said it would provide cluster munitions to Kyiv. "A timely, broad and much-needed defense aid package from the United States," Zelenskyy posted on Twitter, thanking the US people and Biden for their "decisive steps". (20:30 GMT) Biden says sending cluster munitions to Ukraine was a "difficult decision" but Ukraine needed them because it was running out of ammunition in its war against Russia. "It was a very difficult decision on my part. And by the way, I discussed this with our allies," Biden told US media outlet CNN. "The Ukrainians are running out of ammunition." (20:41 GMT) If Russia does not agree to extend a deal allowing the safe export of grain and fertiliser from Ukrainian ports, it is unlikely Western states would continue cooperating with UN officials helping Moscow with its exports, the UN aid chief says. "The world has seen the value of the Black Sea Initiative. ... This isn't something you chuck away," Martin Griffiths told reporters. Russia has threatened to quit the deal, which expires on July 17, because several demands to dispatch its own grain and fertiliser have not been met. The last three ships travelling under the deal are loading cargo at the Ukrainian port of Odesa and are likely to depart on Monday. (20:48 GMT) Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces is going more slowly than some expected, but it remains too early to draw conclusions about Kyiv's prospects for battlefield gains, a senior Pentagon official says. Colin Kahl, the Pentagon's top policy adviser, told reporters that Russia was more successful digging into defensive positions "than perhaps was fully appreciated". He expressed confidence that Kyiv was doing its best in a difficult fight. 20230708 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/8/russia-ukraine-live-un-slams-civilian-toll-as-war-hits-500-days (06:13 GMT) The United Nations says more than 9,000 civilians, including 500 children, have been killed since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, as the war reached the 500-day mark. (06:19 GMT) Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan says he is pressing Russia to extend a Black Sea grain deal by at least three months. Erdogan said work was underway on extending the deal beyond its expiration date of July 17, and for longer periods beyond that. (06:25 GMT) US President Joe Biden says he does not think there is a unanimous view in NATO to bring Ukraine into the military alliance at the moment. "I don't think there is unanimity in NATO about whether or not to bring Ukraine into the NATO family now, at this moment, in the middle of a war," Biden said in an excerpt of an interview with CNN. (06:55 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Ankara supports Ukraine's bid to join NATO. Erdongan also urged for a "return to peace efforts" to end the conflict that has now raged for 500 days since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. "There is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO," Erdogan told a joint press conference with the Ukrainian president in Istanbul, adding that the two sides should go back to peace talks. (07:14 GMT) Five-hundred days ago, in the early hours of a cold February morning, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its western neighbour, Ukraine. The Kremlin had hoped for a quick "special military operation" but 16-and-a-half months later, fighting is still raging with no immediate end in sight. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/longform/2023/7/8/500-days-of-war-in-ukraine-at-what-cost (07:46 GMT) Britain says it will provide 15 Rapid Intervention Vehicles and two Major Foam Vehicles to Ukraine. "The UK will provide 17 specialist firefighting vehicles to Ukraine's fire and rescue services, primarily sourced from the Royal Air Force (RAF) and Defence Fire and Rescue, with one provided by the Welsh Government," said a statement from the defence ministry. (08:27 GMT) Ukraine counteroffensive 'advances': 80th Airborne Brigade return to Bakhmut (08:50 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has inspected troops and overseen training of newly formed units made up of contracted servicemen, his ministry says. The ministry released footage on its Telegram channel showing Shoigu in khaki military fatigues inspecting soldiers at a shooting range, in what seems to be a rare public appearance with troops since last month's aborted mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group. The ministry did not say when the video was filmed or when the inspection took place. (09:34 GMT) Ukrainian Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko says six people were killed in Lyman in eastern Ukraine after the town came under fire from Russian rockets. (09:59 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited a Black Sea island whose defenders famously defied a Russian warship at the beginning of the invasion. "Today we are on Snake Island, which will never be conquered by the occupiers, like the whole of Ukraine, because we are the country of the brave," he said in a video clip released on social media on Saturday. (10:50 GMT) A senior Russian diplomat at the United Nations says Moscow has requested a new meeting of the UN Security Council for July 11 to discuss last September's explosions on the Nord Stream gas pipelines. Moscow has unsuccessfully demanded access to investigations by Sweden and other countries into the blasts, which severely damaged the pipelines connecting Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea. Dmitry Polyansky, Russia's deputy UN ambassador, also said Russia would invite "a couple of interesting impartial speakers" to the meeting. (11:28 GMT) UK's defence ministry say Russia's army in Ukraine hardly has any reserves to reinforce the sector around the town of Bakhmut, despite intensified fighting. Last week's fighting around the now destroyed city has been among the fiercest on the entire front, after subsiding in June, the ministry said in its daily intelligence report on Twitter. "Russian defenders are highly likely struggling with poor morale, a mix of disparate units and a limited ability to find and strike Ukrainian artillery," the statement said. (12:01 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen says the bloc will stand with Ukraine "for as long it takes". "500 days of brave Ukrainian resistance. 500 days of steadfast European support for Ukraine. We will stand by Ukraine as long as it takes," she said. (12:10 GMT) Spain's Defence Minister says cluster bombs should not be sent to help Ukraine, a day after the United States announced the weapons would be sent to Kyiv to help with its counteroffensive against Russian forces. (13:31 GMT) Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said the United Kingdom is part of a convention that prohibits the production or use of cluster munitions and "discourages" their use, after Washington announced plans to send the controversial weapons to Ukraine. In total, 123 countries have signed the 2008 Oslo Convention banning the production, storage, sale and use of cluster munitions, due to the danger unexploded bomblets pose even after a conflict has ended. (13:41 GMT) Washington's decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions is an "act of desperation" that will have no effect on Moscow's campaign in Ukraine, Russia's foreign ministry has said. "It is an act of desperation and shows weakness against the backdrop of the failure of the much-touted Ukrainian counteroffensive," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement. (14:02 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has welcomed the US decision to send cluster bombs to Kyiv, saying it would help to liberate the Ukrainian territory but promised that the munitions would be not used in Russia. "Our position is simple - we need to liberate our temporarily occupied territories and save the lives of our people," Reznikov wrote on Twitter. "Ukraine will use these munitions only for the de-occupation of our internationally recognized territories. These munitions will not be used on the officially recognized territory of Russia." He added that Ukraine would keep a strict record of their use and exchange information with its partners. Russia foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Ukraine's promises to use the controversial ammunition responsibly "are not worth anything". (14:14 GMT) Eight people have been killed and 13 injured in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, after the town came under Russian rocket fire, Ukraine's interior ministry has said. (14:38 GMT) Mercenary fighters of Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner group are preparing to move to Belarus under the terms of a deal that defused their mutiny against Russia's military leadership, a senior commander of the group has said. Anton Yelizarov, whose nom de guerre is "Lotus", was quoted by a channel on the Telegram messaging app as saying the fighters were now taking vacation until early August, on Prigozhin's orders, before moving to Belarus. "We have to prepare bases, training grounds, coordinate with local governments and administrations, organise interaction with the law enforcement agencies of Belarus and establish logistics," he was quoted by the "Yevgeny Prigozhin on Telegram" channel as saying. (15:23 GMT) Canada has joined a chorus of US allies opposing Washington's decision to provide Ukraine with cluster munitions for its counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces, reiterating a commitment to the Oslo agreement that bans the controversial weapon.` (16:03 GMT) Five commanders of Ukraine's former garrison in Mariupol, forced to live in Turkey under the terms of a prisoner exchange last year, have returned to Ukraine with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was on a visit to Istanbul. He gave no explanation for why the commanders were being allowed to return home now. There was no immediate comment from Russia and Turkey. (16:30 GMT) Latvia's long-serving foreign minister, known for his tough line on neighbouring Russia and strong support for Ukraine, has been sworn in as the Baltic nation's president for a four-year term. Edgars Rinkevics, who had served as Latvia's top diplomat since 2011, took the oath of office in ceremonies at an extraordinary session of the Parliament, or Saeima, in the capital, Riga. He succeeds Egils Levits, who didn't seek reelection. Latvia's presidency is largely a ceremonial post and the head of state acts mainly as an opinion leader and uniting figure in the country, where almost one-third of residents speak Russian. The president represents the country abroad, acts as the supreme commander of the armed forces, signs bills into law, nominates the prime minister and has the right to dissolve Parliament, among other things. (17:05 GMT) Turkey has violated agreements by releasing detained commanders of a unit that for weeks defended a steel works in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said. Peskov, quoted by RIA news agency, said under the terms of a prisoner exchange the Azovstal fighters were to remain in Turkey until the end of the war. Russia had not been informed of their release, he said. (17:19 GMT) Poland has begun moving over 1,000 troops to the east of the country, the defence minister said, amid rising concern in the NATO-member that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border. (19:35 GMT) The general staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has said in its evening report that Russian forces made unsuccessful attempts to advance in the Lyman sector, as artillery shelling killed at least eight civilians and wounded 13 in the eastern town. 20230709 (06:40 GMT) President Zelenskyy has brought home from Turkey five former commanders of Ukraine's garrison in Mariupol, a highly symbolic achievement that Russia said violated a prisoner exchange deal engineered last year. (07:22 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said leaders of NATO should discuss Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant at their summit this week. Accusing Ukraine of causing "systematic infliction of damage" to the plant, Zakharova said "the NATO summit's key attention should be devoted to it". "After all, the vast majority of the alliance members will be in the direct impact zone," Zakharova said on the Telegram messaging app. (08:18 GMT) Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has slammed the US decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. Zakharova said in a statement on the ministry's website that cluster bombs are another step aimed at protracting the war without taking into account the cost of civilian lives. "We are talking about a cynical attempt to prolong the agony of the current Ukrainian authorities, regardless of civilian casualties. Washington is well aware that the 'promises' of the Ukronazis to use these weapons of indiscriminate actions 'carefully and responsibly' are worthless. Civilians will be under attack," she warned. (09:30 GMT) The Ukrainian and Polish presidents marked the anniversary of massacres of Poles by Ukrainian nationalists during World War Two, killings that have been a source of tension between the allies. While Warsaw has positioned itself as one of Kyiv's staunchest supporters since Russia invaded the country in 2022, the Volhynia massacre, in which historians say tens of thousands of Poles perished, has continued to hang over ties between the two nations It become more prominent ahead of the July 11 anniversary of one of the bloodiest days of a series of killings that took place from 1943 to 1945. Polish historians say that up to 12,000 Ukrainians were also killed in Polish retaliatory operations. (09:43 GMT) Russian air defence systems shot down a cruise missile near the city of Kerch, Russia-installed Crimea Governor Sergei Aksyonov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. The incident inflicted no damage or casualties, he added, without specifying where the missile had been launched from. (10:01 GMT) While the release of the Ukrainian Azov commanders by Turkey will be seen as "a slap in the face" by Russia, it is unlikely to severely impact relations between Moscow and Ankara, military analyst Pavel Felgenhauer has said. "The relationship between Moscow and Ankara between is too important for Russia to really risk a major, serious confrontation ... Turkey is very strategically important in terms of trade, and in terms of control of the Bosphorus straits." (10:21 GMT) Adviser to President Zelenskky Mykhailo Podolyak says cluster munitions are "extremely important" for Ukraine its war against Russia. "They somewhat compensate for our shell deficit and partially restore parity on the battlefield. Given the fact that Russia has been using this type of ammunition in Ukraine for over a year, this is at least fair," he posted on Twitter. (11:10 GMT) Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen has urged Ukraine not to use cluster bombs, after Washington announced plans to send the weapons to Kyiv to fight Russian troops. "It would be the greatest danger for Ukrainians for many years or up to a hundred years if cluster bombs are used in Russian-occupied areas in the territory of Ukraine," Hun Sen tweeted. He cited Cambodia's "painful experience" of US cluster munitions dropped in the early 1970s, a foreign legacy that has left tens of thousands maimed or killed. "It has been more than half a century. There have been no means to destroy them all yet," Hun Sen added. (11:28 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he had a "brief but very substantive" discussion at an event with Polish President Andrzej Duda about the upcoming NATO summit in Vilnius. (11:56 GMT) Russian air defence shot down a Ukrainian missile in the country's Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram. "There were no casualties. The debris partially damaged the roofs of several buildings," Golubev wrote. Al Jazeera could not independently verify the governor's claims. (12:32 GMT) 500 days of war in Ukraine: At what cost? * 6.3 million Ukrainians have become refugees, according to the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) * 9,083 civilians have been killed in Ukraine, according to the latest figures from the UN's rights office (OHCHR); the real toll, however, is feared to be much higher * 15,779 civilians have been wounded in Ukraine, according to the OHCHR (12:48 GMT) Ukrainian football club Dynamo Kyiv said Fenerbahce were a club "without honour and conscience" in a strongly-worded statement after the Turkish side travelled to Russia to play in a pre-season tournament. Fenerbahce are playing Zenit St Petersburg, Red Star Belgrade and Azerbaijan side Neftci in the Pari Premier Cup from Sunday, with matches being held at the Gazprom Arena in St Petersburg. "The bloody money of [Russian energy giant] Gazprom has eclipsed everything for you, left you without honour and conscience," Dynamo said in a statement. Russian teams were suspended from participation in FIFA and UEFA competitions. (13:34 GMT) Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, and its land is changing hands. Ukraine might not look like a good financial investment after more than a year at war with no end in sight, but Harvard, Saudi Arabia, a handful of oligarchs, and the US investment manager The Vanguard Group see it differently. They are just a few of the investors who have been buying up Ukrainian land - and its rich, fertile soil - en masse, while many Ukrainian farmers argue it should stay in Ukrainian hands. (13:40 GMT) Russian air defence systems have shot down four missiles, Russian officials say, one over the annexed Crimean Peninsula and three over Russia's Rostov and Bryansk regions on the border with Ukraine. Rostov Governor Vasily Golubev said on the messaging app Telegram: "There were no casualties. The debris partially damaged the roofs of several buildings." Alexander Bogomaz, governor of Bryansk, wrote on Telegram that the Russian military had shot down two Ukrainian missiles. A sawmill was totally destroyed as a result of one of the missiles falling, Bogomaz said. (14:11 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has discussed the Black Sea grain deal and Ukraine with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov during a phone call, state broadcaster TRT Haber has reported. (14:13 GMT) South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed that next month's BRICS summit, to which Putin has been invited, will be "physical" despite an arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court against the Russian president. (14:24 GMT) US President Joe Biden is heading to the United Kingdom for talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been critical of Biden's decision to provide cluster bombs to Ukraine. After Biden's UK visit, both leaders are set to attend a NATO Summit in Lithuania on Monday. (15:38 GMT) Germany's president says the country should not "block" the United States from sending cluster bombs to Ukraine, while defending its opposition to the use of the controversial weapon. "Germany's position against the use of cluster munitions is as justified as ever. But we cannot, in the current situation, block the United States," said President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in an interview with German broadcaster ZDF. If Ukraine no longer has the means to defend itself or if those supporting the war-stricken country back down, "it would be the end of Ukraine", said the president, whose powers are largely ceremonial. (16:30 GMT) Democratic US Senator Tim Kaine and Representative Barbara Lee have raised concerns over the decision by President Joe Biden's administration to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. Kaine said he had "some real qualms" about the decision because it could inspire other countries to sidestep an international convention barring the munitions. "It could give a green light to other nations to do something different as well," Kaine told Fox News. However, he added he "appreciates the Biden administration has grappled with the risks". "They're not gonna use these munitions against Russian civilians," Kaine, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said of Ukraine's potential use of those bombs, adding Kyiv had given assurances that were outlined by the White House on Friday. (17:17 GMT) Biden says while Ukraine is waiting to join the NATO defence alliance, the United States is prepared to offer it protections similar to what it provides Israel. Biden threw a cold towel on Ukraine's hopes of rapid NATO succession, saying "that's gonna take a while" but while it waits, Washington could still help. "The United States would be ready to provide...security a la the security we provide for Israel." He said this involves "providing the weaponry they need, the capacity to defend themselves". But this could only happen if there were a ceasefire and a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. (18:06 GMT) With just one week to go before a key grain agreement allowing Ukraine to export the commodity across the Black Sea expires, Russia's foreign minister told his Turkish counterpart that the West has not met Russia's demands for an extension. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov complained to his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in a phone call that conditions have not been met. These include dismantling sanctions that prevent Russia's exports of grain and fertilizers, Lavrov's ministry said. (18:10 GMT) Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan held a phone call with Biden in which they discussed Sweden's NATO bid, the Turkish presidency's communications directorate has said. Erdogan told Biden that Stockholm has taken steps in the right direction for Ankara to ratify its bid, referring to an anti-terrorism law, but that these steps were not useful as Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) supporters continued to hold demonstrations in Sweden. (18:14 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Biden on the sidelines of the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania, the Turkish presidency has said. The talks will focus on "Ukraine's position in NATO, Sweden's NATO membership, and the delivery of F-16" fighter jets, which Turkey hopes to secure from the United States, Erdogan's office said. Biden conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible in a call with Turkey's president, Tayyip Erdogan, the White House has said in a statement. (19:24 GMT) US President Joe Biden conveyed his desire to welcome Sweden into NATO as soon as possible in a call with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the White House has said in a statement. ... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change According to one study, the U.S. performed at least 81 overt and covert known interventions in foreign elections during the period 1946-2000.[7] According to another study, the U.S. engaged in 64 covert and six overt attempts at regime change during the Cold War.[1] 20230710 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/10/russia-ukraine-live-moscow-says-rostov-attack-foiled (06:43 GMT) Moscow says its air defence systems shot down four missiles, one over the annexed Crimean Peninsula and three over Russia's Rostov and Bryansk regions. A cruise missile was shot down near the city of Kerch in Crimea without inflicting any damage or casualties, Russia-installed Governor Sergey Aksyonov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. He did not specify where the missile had been launched from. In another incident, air defences shot down a Ukrainian missile over Russia's Rostov region, Governor Vasily Golubev said on Telegram. "There were no casualties. The debris partially damaged the roofs of several buildings," he wrote. (06:47 GMT) Poland says it has detained another member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people rounded up in an investigation to 15, Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said on Monday. A hub for Western military supplies to Ukraine, Poland says it has become a major target of Russian spies and it accuses Moscow of trying to destabilise it. "The Internal Security Agency has detained another member of the spy network working for Russian intelligence," Kaminski said in a post on Twitter. "The suspect kept surveillance of military facilities and seaports. He was systematically paid by the Russians." In June, Poland detained a Russian professional ice-hockey player on spying charges. (06:54 GMT) Moscow says the White House has in effect confessed to committing war crimes by agreeing to send cluster munitions to Ukraine. "We paid attention to (White House national security spokesperson John) Kirby's statements about the supply of cluster munitions to Ukraine. The official admitted de facto to committing war crimes by the United States in the Ukrainian conflict," the Russian embassy in Washington said on the Telegram messaging app. Both Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of already using cluster munitions in the 500-day war that Moscow has been waging against Kyiv. Ukraine promised last week that the munitions that the US decided to ship to Kyiv will not be used in Russia. (07:07 GMT) Talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan remain the only hope to extend the Black Sea grain deal that is set to expire next week, Russia's state news agency RIA reports. Citing an unnamed source familiar with negotiations, RIA reported "there is no optimism" for the extension of the deal - a position that Moscow has reiterated frequently in recent weeks. "Our practice shows that it is the negotiations between the two leaders that are able to change the situation, the current difficult period is no exception," RIA cited the source as saying. (07:19 GMT) A regional governor in southern Ukraine says Russian shelling at an aid hub in the town Orikhiv has killed at least four people. Yuriy Malashko, governor of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, called the shelling a "war crime". (08:05 GMT) The German government is expected to make an announcement on the delivery of military hardware to Ukraine over the course of the week's NATO summit, according to a senior government official in Berlin. Germany is also working on bilateral security guarantees for Ukraine, the official said, adding that it was not the right time to invite Kyiv to join the defence alliance. NATO leaders are set to convene in Vilnius, Lithuania for the military alliance's annual summit. Emboldening Ukraine militarily is a key part of the agenda at this year's summit. (08:13 GMT) The United Kingdom's defence ministry says: "Russia is almost certainly struggling with a crisis of combat medical provision, after suffering an average of around 400 casualties a day for 17 months." "The influx of military casualties has likely undermined the normal provision of some Russian civilian medical services, especially in border regions near Ukraine. It is likely that many dedicated military hospitals are being reserved for officer casualties," the ministry said in a tweet. (08:21 GMT) Konstantin Gavrilov, the head of Russia's delegation on arms control in Vienna, has said that negotiations to resolve the situation in Ukraine are impossible, according to a report by Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti. "Neither Washington nor Kyiv has any desire," said Gavrilov, at talks in the Austrian capital on military security issues. (08:59 GMT) Russia's Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has been in Moscow since July 1, French media outlet Liberation reported citing Western intelligence. According to the report, since Prigozhin aborted his rebellion in June, he has spent time negotiating Wagner's future with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (09:17 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken have discussed the expansion of NATO, according to Turkey's foreign ministry. Talks between Ankara and Washington come a day before the onset of the NATO Summit in Lithuania, where Turkey and Hungary's position on Sweden's NATO membership will be a key topic of discussion. (09:30 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar has said in a statement on Telegram that the country's troops have made a "definitive advance" on the southern flank of Bakhmut in the east of Ukraine. "On the northern flank of the battle there are no changes of positions," she said. (09:52 GMT) Ukraine's foreign minister Dymytro Kuleba says that NATO members have reached consensus on removing the requirement for Kyiv to follow a Membership Action Plan (MAP), ahead of the alliance's summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. "I welcome this long-awaited decision that shortens our path to NATO. It is also the best moment to offer clarity on the invitation to Ukraine to become member," Kuleba said in a tweet. (10:14 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that the European Union should open the way for Ankara's accession to the bloc before Turkey's parliament approves Sweden's bid to join the NATO military alliance. Speaking ahead of his departure for the NATO summit in Vilnius, Erdogan said Sweden had to fulfill the requirements of a deal reached between Ankara, Helsinki and Stockholm last year in Madrid, before becoming a member of the military alliance. (10:36 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that he will discuss the extension of the Black Sea grain deal which is due to expire on July 17, with Russian President Vladimir Putin. (10:58 GMT) The Kremlin says that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 29, five days after the group marched towards Moscow in a short-lived rebellion. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin invited 35 people to the meeting, including unit commanders, and that it lasted three hours. The Wagner commanders told Putin they were his soldiers and would continue to fight for him, Peskov said. Prigozhin who was meant to leave for Belarus post his mutiny, has said the mutiny was not aimed at overthrowing the government but at "bringing to justice" the army and defence chiefs for what he called their blunders and unprofessional actions in Ukraine. (11:01 GMT) Ahead of his departure to the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that Ankara's ratification of Sweden's NATO membership bid and United States' sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey are not to be linked to each other. But Erdogan added that he will hold further talks with U.S. President Joe Biden on Turkey's purchase of F-16 jets. (11:06 GMT) The Kremlin says that there was nothing new to say about the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire next week. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that there were currently no plans for President Vladimir Putin to meet Turkish counterpart Tayyip Erdogan to discuss renewing the deal, and that it was not known when Putin might visit Turkey. Earlier, Erdogan told reporter that he expects Putin to visit Turkey in August. (11:20 GMT) Chinese President Xi Jinping has pledged to continue working with Russia to develop a comprehensive strategic partnership, according to Chinese state media reports. In his meeting in Beijing with the speaker of the upper house of Russia's Federal Assembly, Valentina Matviyenko, Xi stressed that legislative cooperation is an important part of China-Russia relations, state radio reported. (11:53 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says it is still possible to get approval at this week's summit for Sweden's membership in the military alliance despite differences with Turkey. Ankara is yet to ratify Stockholm's membership, and prior to his departure to Vilnius, Erdogan linked Sweden joining NATO with Turkey's EU membership. Stoltenberg said that while he backs Ankara's membership in the EU, as far as he is concerned, Sweden had already met the conditions required to join the 31-member alliance. (12:38 GMT) Prior to the NATO summit in Vilnius, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says discussions on "Israel style security guarantees" for Ukraine are among the key topics that the military alliance's members will discuss. Earlier, in an interview with CNN, Biden said Washington would continue supporting Ukraine militarily, just like it does with Israel. (12:43 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says it is a positive development that Turkey can imagine Sweden joining the NATO defence alliance. His comments come after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made Ankara's blessing for the move contingent on the European Union reviving long-stalled talks on Turkish accession. (12:53 GMT) Here is a timeline of the use of the weapons throughout history. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/timeline-use-of-controversial-cluster-bombs-in-past-conflicts eg: the US dropped 413,130 tonnes of cluster munitions over Vietnam between 1965 and 1973. (13:19 GMT) Andriy Yermak, the head of Kyiv's presidential office, has said that Italy has frozen the assets of Russian oligarchs worth about 2 billion euros ($2.2 billion). "This is the total amount of assets subject to sanctions, starting with the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and ending in June 2023," he said in a statement on Telegram and highlighted that "bank accounts, real estate and luxury items, such as yachts and cars, have been sanctioned". "Among other things, the financial assets of 80 Russians worth 330 million euros [$362m] were also frozen," he added. (13:40 GMT) The United States has always supported Turkey's European Union membership aspirations and continues to do so, the White House has said, adding that those discussions are a matter between Turkey and the bloc's 27 members. "Our focus is on Sweden, which is ready to join the NATO alliance," a White House National Security Council spokesperson told reporters. (13:48 GMT) Nearly 50,000 Russian men have died in the war in Ukraine, according to the first independent statistical analysis of Russia's war dead. Two independent Russian media outlets, Mediazona and Meduza, working with a data scientist from Germany's University of Tübingen University, used Russian government data to shed light on one of Moscow's closest-held secrets - the true human cost of its invasion of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/new-data-uncovers-50000-russian-deaths-during-the-ukraine-war Neither Moscow nor Kyiv gives timely data on military losses, and each is at pains to amplify the other side's casualties. (14:18 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said that efforts by the United Nations to ensure the implementation of the "Russian part" of the Black Sea grain export deal have not yet yielded results. "These incredible efforts have not produced any result at all," Lavrov told a press conference after meeting foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). (14:45 GMT) NATO leaders will meet in Lithuania this week to discuss Russia's aggression, as well as overcome differences over the perspective membership of Ukraine and Sweden. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will also attend the summit to inaugurate the opening of a NATO-Ukraine Council. (15:17 GMT) An investigation by European media outlets finds that more than a year into Russia's full-scale war in Ukraine, the EU and Ukraine have yet to implement an increase in their ammunition production. Ukraine's Kyiv Independent, Dutch-based Lighthouse Reports and Follow the Money, Spain's El Diario, Estonia's Delfi and France's Libération conducted the investigation. It found that EU governments have signed hardly any long-term contracts with producers while Ukraine's arms makers have also complained about a lack of state support to scale up production. https://kyivindependent.com/investigation-eu-inability-to-ramp-up-production-behind-acute-ammunition-shortages-in-ukraine/ (16:14 GMT) Russia's central bank says Russians had bought 7.1 billion roubles ($78.4m) of foreign currency due to the uncertainty caused by a brief mutiny on June 24 but the spike was short-lived. The bank said exporters decreased sales of foreign currency in June. It said foreign exchange purchases for the month as a whole totalled 300 million roubles ($3.3m). (16:52 GMT) NATO allies have reached agreement on regional plans detailing how the alliance would respond to a Russian attack, overcoming a Turkish blockage one day before leaders meet for a summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, three diplomats told Reuters news agency. NATO had for decades seen no need for large-scale defence plans, as it fought smaller wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and felt certain post-Soviet Russia no longer posed an existential threat. By outlining its regional plans, NATO will also give nations guidance on how to upgrade their forces and logistics. NATO officials estimate it will take a few years for the plans to be fully implemented, though they stress that the alliance can head into battle immediately if required. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/10/nato-membership-of-ukraine-sweden-in-focus-at-vilnius-summit (17:04 GMT) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has said his country will "more than double" its military presence in Latvia, a Baltic state neighbouring Russia, by expanding to brigade level there. "We are going to more than double our presence, deploying up to an additional 1,200 members of the Canadian Armed Forces to serve and defend democracy and the rule of law," Trudeau told reporters in the Adazi military base in Latvia. Trudeau said the additional troops "will reinforce and enhance our land, maritime and air capabilities and support special operations in Central and Eastern Europe". He added the reinforcement will be a part of a "$2.6 billion [$2bn US] investment ... which also includes the purchase of critical weapon systems and support for intelligence and cyber activities." The prime minister also noted that Canada is opposed to using cluster munitions that the United States has pledged to send to Ukraine. "Canada was one of the countries that led on the banning of cluster munitions and we continue to be very firm that they should never be used," he said. (18:01 GMT) The US State Department has said that Washington backs Turkey's bid to join the EU, but it added that the issue should not be linked to Sweden's NATO application, which is being blocked by Ankara. "The United States has - for a number of years - supported Turkey's EU aspirations, and we continue to do so. That said... ultimately, that's a matter between the European Union and Turkey," spokesperson Matthew Miller told reporters. "However, we do not believe that it should be an impediment to Sweden's accession to NATO." (18:01 GMT) A deputy chief of a city department in charge of military mobilisation in the Russian southern city of Krasnodar has been killed, TASS news agency reported, citing law enforcement bodies. It said Stanislav Rzhitsky was killed by a gunman. A criminal case into the killing has been opened, the news agency added. (18:32 GMT) Top diplomats from Russia and the Gulf states agreed to work on development of energy resources' supply chains, TASS news agency said, citing their joint statement. "Today's meeting confirmed that we always lay bare our positions honestly and no one of us is seeking to cooperate against anyone else," Lavrov said after the meeting. He added that neither Russia nor the Gulf countries had ever tried to interfere with each other's relations with third countries. (19:23 GMT) The Biden administration has defended supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions, saying that the "difficult decision" will not compromise international support to Kyiv despite concerns from allies who oppose the use of such weapons. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said cluster munitions would serve as a "bridge" to sustain Ukrainian firepower while the US ramps up production of conventional artillery for Kyiv. "We were faced with the decision of either allowing Ukraine to run low or potentially run out of ammunition," he said. <=== Cluster munitions can leave unexploded bombs, which remain embedded in the ground for years, posing a serious danger to civilians. Miller said the US received "very serious assurances" from Ukraine to use cluster munitions against military targets only and later clean up the areas where they are deployed. (19:45 GMT) Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has said the majority of NATO members stood together with his country and the Vilnius summit must confirm that Ukraine is a de facto member of the military alliance. "The majority of the Alliance stands firmly with us," Zelenskiy said in his nightly video message. "When we applied for membership of NATO, we spoke frankly: de facto, Ukraine is already in the Alliance. Our weapons are the weapons of the alliance. Our values are what the alliance believes in. ... Vilnius must confirm all this." (20:26 GMT) Kyiv says Russian missiles struck an aid distribution centre at a school in Yampil in the Zaporizhia region. Authorities say four people were killed and 13 injured in the attack on Monday morning. 20230711 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/russian-submarine-commander-killed-by-gunman-on-morning-run A Russian submarine commander and deputy chief in charge of military mobilisation in Russia's southern city of Krasnodar has been shot dead, Russia's state TASS news agency reported, citing law enforcement bodies. According to TASS, the official, Stanislav Rzhitsky, was killed by a gunman on Monday morning and a criminal case into the killing has been opened. The slain official was also the commander of a Russian Black Sea Fleet submarine that local online news outlets in Ukraine claimed was responsible for launching Kalibr cruise missiles at Ukrainian targets. Rzhitsky had commanded the Krasnodar submarine, named after the city, in the Russian Navy, TASS reported. It was unclear whether he was the captain of the submarine at the time of his killing. According to the Russian defence ministry, the Krasnodar is a diesel-electric submarine built for the Black Sea fleet and designed "to fight surface ships and submarines, lay mines, and conduct reconnaissance". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/australia-to-deploy-surveillance-aircraft-to-assist-ukraine Australia will send a Royal Australian Air Force surveillance aircraft to Germany to help support Ukraine by protecting vital humanitarian and military supply lines. The E-7A Wedgetail, one of Australia's most sophisticated early warning and airborne control platforms, will be based in Germany for six months along with as many as 100 crew and support personnel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told a press conference in Berlin on Monday. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/11/ukraine-russia-live-moscow-attacks-kyiv-before-nato-summit (06:20 GMT) NATO leaders are gathering for a summit in Vilnius, seeking to overcome divisions on Ukraine's membership bid after a deal to lift Turkey's block on Sweden joining the military alliance. The summit in the Lithuanian capital will be dominated by the repercussions of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with leaders set to approve NATO's first comprehensive plans since the end of the Cold War to defend against any attack from Moscow. While NATO members agree Kyiv cannot join during the war, they have disagreed over how quickly it could happen afterwards and under what conditions. (06:28 GMT) Zelenskyy has said Ukraine will be part of NATO, expecting from a summit of the bloc in Lithuania an "algorithm" for Kyiv to officially join it. (06:30 GMT) Russia has conducted overnight air raids on Kyiv, according to Ukraine's military, just hours before the start of the NATO summit in Lithuania to tackle security threats from Moscow. "The enemy attacked Kyiv from the air for the second time this month," Serhiy Popko, a military general, said in a post on the Telegram channel. According to preliminary information, Ukraine's air defence systems shot down all the Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia launched before they could reach their targets, Popko said. There was no immediate information about damage or casualties. (07:23 GMT) Hungary's ratification of Sweden's NATO bid is now "only a technical question," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced today after Turkey agreed to allow the Nordic country to join the alliance. "The completion of the ratification process is now only a technical question," Szijjarto said in a statement on Facebook. Hungary's parliament ended its extraordinary summer session on Friday, but it could convene a new meeting in the coming days to proceed to the vote. (07:34 GMT) NATO allies should agree to remove the requirement of a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for Ukraine to become a member of the alliance in the future, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said before the NATO summit. "Ukraine has come a long way since we made the decision in 2008 that the next step would be a Membership Action Plan. Ukraine is much closer to NATO, so I think the time has come to reflect that in NATO decisions", Stoltenberg said. "All put together, including that we'll make clear that Ukraine will become a member, we'll remove the Membership Action Plan, (....) will send a very strong and positive message from NATO to Ukraine." (07:48 GMT) US President Joe Biden will meet Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for a one-on-one meeting on Wednesday in Lithuania. Al Jazeera's James Bay reporting from Vilnius said there had been "rumblings" that the Zelenskyy wouldn't show "because he wanted a very clear commitment from the NATO leaders". On Monday, Zelenskyy said he expects the NATO summit to confirm that Ukraine is already a "de facto" member of the military alliance. (08:19 GMT) Marwan Kabalan, the Director of Policy Analysis at the Arab Centre for Research and Policy Studies in Doha, told Al Jazeera that Turkey's agreement to back Sweden's NATO bid is an attempt to "strike a balance" between the government's relationship with Russia and the Western nations. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been "successful" in playing both camps, Marwan said, citing a recent decision to allow five commanders of Ukraine's former garrison in Mariupol to return to Ukraine from Turkey. Erdogan also told Zelenskyy that "there is no doubt that Ukraine deserves membership of NATO" in a meeting in Istanbul on Saturday. Meanwhile, Erdogan has maintained friendly relations with Russian Vladimir Putin, which he is expected to meet in Istanbul next month. Turkey has also substantially boosted wartime trade with Russia. (08:42 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rob McBride, reporting from Kyiv, said the events at the NATO summit in Lithuania are being closely followed in Ukraine. "Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian government know there are differences about them becoming members and how fast that should take place. Zelenskyy, of course, wants to see it take place as soon as possible, as soon as the fighting finishes. He wants to see the whole process being fast-tracked," McBride said. "But there is some pushback among some NATO members who believe if they declare that membership is an automatically forgone conclusion, that will somehow provoke Russians into prolonging this war." McBride explained that what Ukraine expects from the summit is to become an almost "member in waiting", which would give them a security guarantee. (08:43 GMT) By announcing plans to increase arms supplies to Ukraine, the United States makes clear that it is not interested in a diplomatic solution, the RIA news agency cited senior Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov as saying on Tuesday. Gavrilov also said in comments published on the day of a NATO summit in Lithuania that Europe would be the first to face "catastrophic consequences" if the war escalates. (09:07 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has not seen any movement of Wagner group fighters to Belarus. "We are monitoring the situation very closely," Stoltenberg told journalists ahead of NATO's two-day summit in Vilnius. Poland began moving over 1,000 troops to the east of the country, over the weekend, amid rising concern that the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus could lead to increased tension on its border. (09:45 GMT) The foreign minister of Estonia, Margus Tsahkna, told Al Jazeera that he hopes Sweden will become a full NATO member following Turkey's comments last night. "I do believe that President Erodgan is keeping the word, of course, we're now waiting for a rapid ratification process from Turkey. It is very crucial for Estonia as well as our region that Sweden will become a full member of NATO because the baltic sea will now be the internal sea of NATO," Tshkna said. He added that while he is happy that Turkey wants to resume the negotiations to join the European Union, the EU and NATO are different organisations. (10:00 GMT) Russia warns of "catastrophic consequences" for Europe if the war escalates, as NATO leaders prepare to deliver a "positive message" to Kyiv on its future in the alliance. In an interview with Russia's RIA state news agency, Vienna-based senior Russian security negotiator Konstantin Gavrilov said Europe would be the first to face "catastrophic consequences" if the war escalated. "Let's look at the facts - the fate of Europe is of little interest to the United States," he said, accusing Washington of seeking to weaken and undermine Russia. Russia's ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, also said, "Everything is being done to prepare local public opinion for the approval of any anti-Russian decisions that will be made in Vilnius in the coming days". On Monday, the Kremlin said that if Ukraine joined the alliance, it would directly threaten Russia's security, to which it would react clearly and firmly. (10:20 GMT) Germany has finalised a 700-million-euro ($770m) military aid package for Ukraine, the defence ministry said on the first day of a NATO summit. The package will include two Patriot launchers from Bundeswehr stock, 40 additional Marder infantry fighting vehicles, 25 additional 1 A5 main battle tanks, as well as five Bergepanzer 2 tanks, the ministry said. The package also includes an additional 20,000 rounds of artillery ammunition and 5,000 rounds of 155mm smoke ammunition. (10:29 GMT) The Kremlin says Sweden's accession to NATO will have clear negative implications for Russia's security, and Moscow would respond with similar measures to those it took after Finland joined the alliance. Peskov added Russia and Turkey had their differences but also shared some common interests, which Moscow intended to develop further. (10:42 GMT) France will supply Ukraine with long-range weapons following Britain's move to send the weapons in May. In May, Britain announced it was supplying the Storm Shadow, a Franco-British surface-to-air missile produced by MBDA. Its French version, SCALP, has a range of about 250km. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/what-are-frances-scalp-missiles-and-how-can-they-help-ukraine Macron did not say how many of the missiles would be sent, but a French diplomatic source told the Reuters news agency they were talking about 50 SCALP missiles. France is understood to have an arsenal of fewer than 400, according to the defence magazine Defense et Securite Internationale. Separately, a French military source told Reuters the missiles were being integrated into Ukraine's Russian-made fighter jets. (11:16 GMT) North Korea has slammed US President Joe Biden's decision to send cluster munitions to Ukraine, referring to it as a "criminal act" and demanding an immediate withdrawal of the plan. North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said in a statement cited by the official KCNA news agency that the fact that Biden had admitted it was a difficult decision was a sign that he was aware of the consequences of the bombs. "I strongly condemn the US decision to provide weapons of mass destruction to Ukraine as a dangerous criminal act as it tries to push the world into new calamity, and strongly demand that it be withdrawn immediately," she said. Last week, the US announced it would send Ukraine the controversial weapons as part of an $800m security package. (11:32 GMT) The Kremlin has accused NATO of treating Russia like an "enemy", saying it will closely follow any decisions taken at the two-day summit in Vilnius. "We are monitoring this very carefully because much of what has been said will be subject to in-depth analysis in order to take measures to ensure our own security," he said. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/russia-slams-nato-leaders-summit-in-vilnius (11:55 GMT) Matthew Bryza, former US State Department official on US-Turkey relations, has told Al Jazeera that he always knew Turkey would agree to Sweden's NATO accession. "Turkey has been one of the strongest proponents of NATO enlargement of any member state, including Ukraine and Georgia, but also Finland and Sweden. [President] Erdogan knew he had his moment in the sun, he has maximum leverage now, and after this moment passes accession, he's going to have zero over Sweden to take the steps he's been demanding, which are steps against terrorist operatives against the PKK," Bryza said. He added that Russia and Turkey's relations will stay the same as Moscow understands that Turkey is a NATO member. (12:51 GMT) The Kremlin says Turkey should be under no illusion that it might one day be allowed to join the EU. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to a question about NATO member Turkey's decision to lift its opposition to Sweden joining the alliance. "Turkey can orient itself to the West. We know that in the history of the Republic of Turkey there were periods of intensive orientation to the West. There were periods of less intensive ones," he said. "But we also know that ... no one wants to see Turkey in Europe. I mean the Europeans. And here, our Turkish partners should not wear rose-tinted spectacles either," he said. (13:19 GMT) A spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, Maria Zakharova, tells Al Jazeera that NATO members are only united about Ukraine not joining the alliance. "You can see here that NATO decided not to include Ukraine. What support are we talking about? This means that NATO members have been pulling Ukraine into the Western world at a time where Ukraine calls for help. They abandoned Ukraine, let it down." "They invite Finland and Sweden, but not Ukraine. Why? This is a question that should be posed on all TV channels: why not?" She claimed that NATO has not invited Kyiv to join the bloc because Poland is interested in the western part of Ukraine. (13:38 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 503 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-503 (13:55 GMT) A former German ambassador to the United Nations, Christoph Heusgen, says of ongoing negotiations over the NATO membership of Sweden and Ukraine that it is typical that drafting occurs until the "last minute". "With regards to Sweden, I am very positive that this is done now," he said. On Ukraine's chances, he said that it is "too early to say right now" as Zelenskyy arrived at the summit earlier than expected to try to move the process along. (14:08 GMT) Erdogan and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak have agreed on the importance of extending the Black Sea grain export deal, Sunak's office says. (14:48 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says at the NATO summit that the necessary arrangements would be made to ensure Ukraine receives security assurances after the war. (15:11 GMT) A coalition of 11 nations will begin training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in August in Denmark, while a training centre will also be set up in Romania, officials said. "Hopefully we will be able to see results in the beginning of next year," Denmark's acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen told reporters on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania. NATO members Denmark and the Netherlands have been leading efforts to train pilots and support staff, maintain aircraft and ultimately supply F-16s to Ukraine. (15:36 GMT) NATO leaders say Ukraine's future lies within the alliance, but they have shied away from announcing a formal invitation or timetable for its membership. (15:54 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says Moscow would be forced to use "similar" means of attack if the US supplies cluster bombs to Ukraine, Russian news agencies report. Shoigu was quoted as saying that Russia had cluster munitions but had so far refrained from using them during the conflict. (17:02 GMT) NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg defended a declaration adopted by the military alliance's leaders which offered Ukraine hope for membership but no formal invitation. (17:17 GMT) Russian forces have advanced 1.5km near the town of Lyman in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said. Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian offensive in the area and "having defeated it, Russian units launched a counterattack, advancing 1.5km along two kilometres of the front," Shoigu said in images shown on Russian state television. (17:39 GMT) The United States sanctioned Aleksandar Vulin, a pro-Russian head of the Serbian Security and Information Agency (BIA), accusing him of using his position to help Moscow with "malign" activities, and with having links to an arms dealer and a drug trafficking ring. As a result, the US Treasury Department said all Vulin's property and interests in property in the United States or in the possession or control of US people must be blocked and reported to Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). In a statement, OFAC said Vulin, a close ally of President Aleksandar Vucic, has also been implicated in "illegal narcotics operations, and misuse of public office" and of promoting "malign influence of Russia." "He has used his public positions to support Russia, facilitating Russia's malign activities that degrade the security and stability of the Western Balkans and providing Russia a platform to further its influence in the region," it said. (18:05 GMT) Al Jazeera's Jonah Hull said that NATO's declaration that just stopped short of extending an invitation to Ukraine to join the alliance is based on reaching unanimity from member states as well as Ukraine meeting a set of conditions, which remain vague. "NATO feels like that is a significant move beyond the 2008 declaration that Ukraine would eventually join," Hull said, speaking from Vilnius. "Will it be enough for Ukraine? Probably not." The wording has been "hard fought over" by NATO leaders, Hull said. "It is an attempt to diplomatically bridge a divide that has formed between members on the eastern flank - who largely agree with Ukraine - and those that include Germany and importantly, the US who feel that now is simply not the right time during a war and ahead of any peace agreement that nobody could possibly foresee the parameters of," he explained. (18:31 GMT) NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine will receive a membership invitation when allies agree and conditions are met, and that the allies removed the requirement of a membership action plan for Kyiv. (20:16 GMT) United States President Joe Biden and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed defence and economic priorities during a meeting, the US White House said, a day after Ankara backed Sweden joining the NATO military alliance. The Biden administration will move ahead with the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in consultation with the US Congress, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said earlier. 20230712 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/12/russia-ukraine-war-live-moscow-launches-drone-attacks-on-kyiv (05:51 GMT) Russia has launched a wave of drone attacks on Kyiv and its region for a second night in a row, with air defence systems engaged in repelling the strike, a Ukraine military official said, as NATO leaders meet in Vilnius. The Kyiv military administration urged on its Telegram channel that people stay in shelters until the raids are over. (05:53 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, in an interview with Indonesian media, has said the war in Ukraine will not end until the West stops trying to defeat Moscow. "It will continue until the West abandons its plans to maintain dominance and its obsession with inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia through the hands of its puppet, Kyiv," he said of the Ukraine conflict. (05:57 GMT) The British government has said it will provide Ukraine with more than 70 combat and logistical vehicles, thousands of rounds of ammunition for Challenger 2 tanks, and a 50 million pound ($64.8m) support package for equipment repair. (05:59 GMT) Western powers are set to propose long-term security commitments for Ukraine on Wednesday after NATO dashed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hopes of a clear timeline for joining the alliance. The Ukraine president will hold symbolic talks with NATO's 31 leaders at their summit in the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, a day after blasting them for not moving faster to bring Ukraine into the fold. In a bid to reassure the Ukrainian leader, the G7 group of nations is expected to issue a declaration on how they will help Kyiv defeat Russia and deter any new aggression in the coming years. (06:30 GMT) The training of Ukrainian pilots on US-made F-16 fighter jets is to begin in Romania in August, officials have said on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Lithuania. Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced the Romania training programme on Tuesday alongside Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren and Denmark's acting Defence Minister Troels Lund Poulsen. "Hopefully, we will be able to see results in the beginning of next year," Poulsen told reporters. (06:45 GMT) Ukraine has said it shot down 11 Russian attack drones overnight over the capital, Kyiv. "A total of 15 kamikaze drones were involved in the strike. 11 of them were destroyed in the areas of responsibility of the Centre and East air commands," the Ukrainian Air Force said on social media. (07:12 GMT) A plan to secure long-term military aid for Ukraine from the G7 countries will signal to Russia that "time is not on its side," a top US official has said. "It signals a joint long-term commitment to building a powerful defensive insurance force for Ukraine," lead White House advisor for European affairs Amanda Sloat told reporters. "This multilateral declaration will send a significant signal to Russia that time is not on its side." (07:43 GMT) Ukraine's frustration over the lack of a timeline for the war-torn country to join NATO was understandable, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said on arriving at the 2nd day of the NATO summit in Vilnius. "Ukraine wants to have the peace that NATO's umbrella is bringing for our country. (08:22 GMT) The United States will soon begin negotiations with Ukraine on providing long-term security assistance after Western countries announce a broader international framework to support Ukraine. "G7 leaders agree to enter bilateral negotiations with Ukraine to provide long-term security assistance and ensure they have a capable fighting force to deter Russian aggression in the future and provide support for Ukraine's good governance reforms and strengthen Ukraine's economy," a White House official told reporters. "The US will begin its negotiations with Ukraine soon." (08:41 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Germany will supply additional Patriot launchers and missiles. (09:12 GMT) The UK's defence ministry has said that Russian Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov has made his first TV appearance since the aborted Wagner mutiny. "Gerasimov was seen being briefed by video link by Russian Aerospace Forces Chief of Staff Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov. Afzalov has been in post for at least four years, but this is probably his first public appearance with Gerasimov," the ministry said in a tweet. (09:24 GMT) President Zelenskyy says Australia will give Ukraine 30 bushmaster armoured vehicles as part of a new defence package. (09:41 GMT) The Kremlin says it was misguided and "potentially very dangerous" for the West to give Ukraine security guarantees, adding they would infringe on Russia's own security. (09:50 GMT) The Kremlin says a visit by President Vladimir Putin to China is on the agenda, adding the date of the trip would be announced when it is finalised. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow that now was a good time to maintain the good relations that exist between Moscow and Beijing. China has not condemned Russia's actions in Ukraine and also downplayed the recent short-lived Wagner rebellion. (09:58 GMT) The Kremlin has dismissed an assertion by Ukrainian military intelligence that members of Russia's Wagner mercenary group had intended to acquire nuclear devices during a failed mutiny in June. Earlier, Reuters reported that Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, had said Wagner fighters reached a nuclear base - known as Voronezh-45 - in an attempt to obtain small Soviet-era nuclear devices. (10:00 GMT) Russian foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin has said that he held a phone call with his CIA counterpart William Burns in late June to discuss "what to do with Ukraine", according to a report by Russia's state news agency TASS. TASS reported that according to Naryshkin, there was still a possibility the two could meet in person. 10:49 GMT) The UK and Ukraine have agreed that new security arrangements due to be announced by global allies would not be a substitute for Ukraine's membership of NATO, according to British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's office. (10:54 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tells reporters in Lithuania that Kyiv needs long-range missiles and added that he would raise the matter during his meeting with US President Joe Biden. He also thanked Washington's for sending cluster munitions to Ukraine, a decision which Zelenskyy acknowledged would have been difficult. (11:19 GMT) Reporting from the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Al Jazeea's James Bays, says that Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy "is still not happy with everything he received at this summit." "Yesterday he said that the time frame on membership, the fact that there wasn't one, was absurd. Well, he's not using such strong language today, but he's still making it clear he didn't get everything he wants, he said the results of this summit are good, but they would have been optimal if we had membership," Bays said and highlighted that Zelenskyy was mainly happy about the defence packages. Bays added that President Zelenskyy also defined what he thought NATO's communique on Ukraine's membership meant and compared Kyiv's NATO membership pathway to its EU membership. "He said being made a candidate of the EU doesn't mean 'I'm an EU member, but it shows a message to Russia and my people'. He said the same would apply if an invasion was issued to Ukraine to be a NATO member," Bays added. (11:35 GMT) General Sergei Surovikin, a deputy commander of Russia's military operations in Ukraine, is "currently resting", a lawmaker from the ruling party said on Wednesday. Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, is heard saying in a video posted on social media: "Surovikin is currently resting. [He is] not available for now." Surovikin has not been since in public since a June 23-24 armed Wagner mutiny, and there have been unconfirmed reports that he was detained for questioning. (13:12 GMT) Ukraine's defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, says in a tweet that on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Vilnius Sweden and Ukraine signed an agreement to cooperate on defence procurement and also exchange information on classified information. (13:37 GMT) Germany's chancellor says: "The security pledges to Ukraine issued by several countries within the G7 framework are meant to be part of a long-term strategy to support Kyiv." (13:42 GMT) Zelenskyy says the NATO-Ukraine Council can give his country "institutional clarity" as part of Kyiv's path towards NATO membership. "It is important for us that the NATO-Ukraine Council will be an instrument of integration, not just partnership," he said in a tweet. (13:57 GMT) Biden says the G7 has made a clear statement that its support to Ukraine would last long into the future after a declaration outlined a multilateral framework to support Ukraine. Speaking alongside Biden, Zelenskyy said the multilateral accord is a "significant security victory" for Ukraine. (14:40 GMT) The G7's declaration on a security framework for Ukraine shows its long-term support for Ukraine, said French President Emmanuel Macron at the NATO summit in Vilnius. Macron added that he hoped Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan would quickly ratify Sweden's entry to NATO. (14:22 GMT) Increased assistance for Ukraine from NATO members brings the threat of a third world war closer, Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of Russia's powerful Security Council, has warned. Medvedev said pledges of military aid from the military alliance to Kyiv would not deter Russia from achieving its goals in Ukraine. Russia's foreign minister issued warnings that Moscow has no intention of ending its war. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/12/russias-medvedev-says-natos-ukraine-aid-brings-world-war-closer (14:56 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry has said that the Wagner mercenary group that staged a brief armed mutiny last month, was completing the handover of its weapons. (15:05 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that he expects Sweden to take concrete steps against terrorism as per agreement between the two countries in return for Ankara ratifying Stockholm's NATO accession. Speaking after the NATO summit in Vilnius, Erdogan said Sweden will support updating Turkey's customs agreement with the European Union as well as visa-free travel. He added that he will forward a bill to ratify Sweden's NATO accession to parliament when it re-opens in autumn. 15:23 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov has said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to talk to Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan yet, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS. Speaking at a press conference after the NATO Summit in Vilnius, Erdogan told reporters that Russia had initially reacted negatively to the release of Azov soldiers to Ukraine, but later changed their attitude. Erdogan also added that Turkey is willing to be a mediator between Russia and Ukraine if both parties propose the idea. (15:39 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that he is "more hopeful than ever" for the sale of F-16 fighter jets from the United States after he held talks with President Joe Biden a day earlier. Erdogan was speaking at a news conference after a NATO summit in Vilnius. (15:58 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Lithuania and said he had "a very good, powerful meeting" with Biden. "The meeting was at least twice as long as planned, and it was as meaningful as it needed to be," he said in a tweet and added that they discussed all topics ranging from long range support, to weapons. (16:32 GMT) UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said Britain is not an Amazon delivery service for weapons to Ukraine, suggesting Kyiv could express more "gratitude" to its allies in the face of Russia's invasion. "There is a slight word of caution which is, whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude," Wallace told British media on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Lithuania's capital Vilnius. "Sometimes you're persuading countries to give up their own stocks. And yes, the war is a noble war and yes, we see it as you doing a war not just for yourselves but also our freedoms. "But sometimes you've got to persuade lawmakers on the Hill in America," Wallace said referring to the US Congress. Wallace also recalled after receiving a list of weapons requests from Ukraine last year, he told officials in Kyiv "I am not Amazon". <=== (17:17 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Kyiv is aware that future Western military aid depends on the situation at the front. (17:51 GMT) Ukraine would benefit from the US provision of ATACM long-range missiles, President Joe Biden's nominee to become the Army's chief of staff, General Randy George, has told a Senate committee. "The ATACMS obviously are great. That missile is a great system, adds range. So that's basically what it would be providing is the ability to attack deeper targets," George, currently the Army's vice chief of staff, said at his confirmation hearing. Asked if they would be helpful to Ukraine, George responded: "Yes." He stopped short of saying whether he would recommend sending them if confirmed for the job. Kyiv has long sought the US Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, arguing the missiles would help it strike Russian invasion forces far behind the front lines. But ATACMs are limited in supply and have not been among the weapons systems that the Pentagon has suggested are nearing approval for delivery - even as it approves other weapons, like cluster bombs and Abrams tanks, for Ukraine. (18:04 GMT) President Joe Biden has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of having a "craven lust for land and power" and pledged that the US-led NATO alliance would not falter in supporting Ukraine against Russian aggression. (18:24 GMT) US President Joe Biden has expressed confidence that the United States will be able to sell F-16 aircraft to Turkey. Biden made the comment to reporters as he left the NATO summit in Lithuania. Turkey, which had been the main stumbling block to Sweden's path into NATO, has been seeking to buy the F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits for its existing warplanes 20230713 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/13/russia-ukraine-updates-drone-attacks-strike-kyiv-one-dead (06:05 GMT) The head of Kyiv's military administration, Serhiy Popko, has described the assault as a "mass attack" using Iranian-made Shahed drones that had approached from different directions. Officials said Ukrainian anti-aircraft units engaged the swarms of drones, which triggered fires and falling debris in several districts that killed at least one person. At least four people were injured. Explosions resounded in other regions, including Khmelnitskyi in the west, Mykolaiv in the south and Zaporizhia in the southeast. (06:11 GMT) Ukraine says it downed 20 attack drones and two cruise missiles overnight in a third night of strikes on Kyiv and elsewhere in the country. "We have a successful air defence operation," air force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat said. "Twenty Shaheds were destroyed - all those flying were downed. Two Kalibr cruise missiles were also destroyed." (06:53 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on the messaging app Telegram: "In the Bakhmut sector, we attacked today on the southern flank around Bakhmut. There is an advance. Our defenders are digging in at their established positions." Maliar said Ukrainian forces had contained attempted Russian advances on towns along the front line. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had repelled 30 Ukrainian attacks in 24 hours in areas spanning the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. It listed one of the sites of its successful operations as Klishchiivka, a village occupying heights outside Bakhmut. (06:57 GMT) Russia's foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin has said that he and CIA counterpart William Burns discussed "what to do with Ukraine" in a phone call late last month, according to a report by the state-run news agency TASS. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal reported on June 30 that Burns had called Naryshkin to assure the Kremlin that the United States had no role in the brief mutiny a week earlier by Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner group of fighters. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/13/russian-spy-chief-says-he-spoke-to-cia-boss-on-ukraine (07:24 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has detained an individual they refer to as an "LGBT activist" involved in treason, the TASS news agency said on Thursday. TASS said the individual had volunteered for the OVD-Info rights group and donated money to the Ukrainian army, quoting the FSB. (07:32 GMT) Russia will regard Western F-16 fighter jets sent to Ukraine as a "nuclear" threat because of their capacity to carry atomic weapons, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. "Russia cannot ignore the ability of these aircraft to carry nuclear weapons. No amount of assurances will help here," the Russian foreign ministry said quoting Lavrov. "In the course of combat operations, our servicemen are not going to sort out whether each particular aircraft of this type is equipped to deliver nuclear weapons or not." "We will regard the very fact that the Ukrainian armed forces have such systems as a threat from the West in the nuclear sphere." (07:54 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that he had not heard any new proposals regarding the Black Sea grain export deal, which is set to expire on Monday. (08:32 GMT) The British Ministry of Defence said Russian forces use old armoured cars as explosives. "In June 2023, there have been several reports of Russian forces using antiquated armoured vehicles packed with several tonnes of explosives as vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices (VBIEDs). The crew likely bail out of the vehicle after setting it on its course," an intelligence update said. The ministry said Chechen units likely pioneered the tactic. While the vehicles have "almost certainly" detonated before reaching their target, the large explosion is still "likely to have a psychological effect on defending forces", the ministry added. (09:21 GMT) A Russian general says he was dismissed as a commander after telling the military leadership about failings on the frontline. "The Ukrainian army could not break through our ranks at the front but our senior chief hit us from the rear, viciously beheading the army at the most difficult and intense moment," Major General Ivan Popov, who commanded the 58th Combined Arms Army, said in a voice message published by Russian lawmaker Andrey Gurulyov. Popov raised the deaths of Russian soldiers and said the army lacked proper counter-artillery systems and reconnaissance of enemy artillery. There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry It is also unclear when the message was recorded, and Popov's current whereabouts are unknown. (09:43 GMT) Serbian police ban Petr Nikitin, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, from entering the country, a Belgrade-based lawyer said. Nikitin, a founder of the Russian Democratic Society, was denied entry to Serbia, where he has lived since 2016. (10:12 GMT) Governor of the Russian Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, says shelling attacks were reported in several regional villages. "Seven artillery shells were fired at the Varishkin farm and 3 at the village of Zhuravlevka. In the village of Naumovka, the enemy dropped two explosive devices from a UAV. There were no casualties or damage in any of the settlements of the region," Gladkov said. The villages of Novopetrovka, Kozinka, Spodaryushino and Rozhdestvenka, Mokraya Orlovka, Grafovka, Repyahovka, the outskirts of Staroselye, and the farms of Maryino and Pankov were all attacked. One man was injured in Grafovka due to a shrapnel forearm, arm and chest wound and was taken to the hospital. (10:38 GMT) Russia's leadership has been suffering from "friction and confusion" since the Wagner Group's mutiny last month, the top US general says. "At the strategic level, it is pretty clear that you have a significant amount of friction and confusion," General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a small group of reporters travelling with him in Asia. "There's a lot of drama going on at the very senior levels. How that's all going to play out at the end of the day? I'm not so sure yet," Milley said. (11:02 GMT) In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the NATO summit had provided Ukraine with a security foundation it had never achieved before. "This is very important. For the first time since our independence, we have established a foundation of security for Ukraine on its path to NATO," Zelenskyy said in a video posted on Twitter. "These are concrete security guarantees confirmed by the world's top seven democracies. Never before have we had such a security base and it is at the level of the G7." (11:33 GMT) The German government said in the China strategy it released on Thursday that China is not credible in its defence of Ukraine's territorial integrity due to its support of Russian narratives. "Chinese propaganda is amplifying Russia's narratives regarding its illegal war of aggression against Ukraine," the strategy document reads. "This requires systematic, evidence-based monitoring and countermeasures on all levels, including at [the] European level." (12:20 GMT) US President Joe Biden held talks with Nordic leaders at Finland's presidential palace, visiting NATO's newest member a day after a summit in Lithuania. Biden travelled to Finland to participate in a US-Nordic summit with the leaders of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Norway. Finland's decision to join NATO broke with seven decades of military non-alignment after Russia invaded Ukraine last year. Ahead of a bilateral meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto, Biden hailed Finland as an "incredible asset". "I don't think NATO has ever been stronger," he told reporters at the palace. "Together we're standing for shared democratic values." Niinisto said Finland's NATO membership heralded "a new era in our security", and applauded Biden for "creating unity" at the Vilnius summit. (12:47 GMT) Russia's nuclear chief pushed back against Ukrainian claims that Moscow had plotted to blow up the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) and said only "a complete idiot" would exhibit such recklessness. "Those who wanted to arrange some sort of provocation there have been exposed," Alexey Likhachev, the general director of Russia's state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, told state television, citing observations by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Kyiv has repeatedly said that Russian forces planned to blow up southern Ukraine's ZNPP. Likhachev said the claims were part of an information war against Moscow. "You would have to be a complete idiot to blow up a nuclear power station where three and a half thousand people work, including a very significant number of people from all over Russia," Likhachev said. (13:23 GMT) Ukrainian state-owned energy company Naftogaz said the company is doing better this year after reporting a loss of 79.1 billion hryvnias ($2.14bn) in 2022, CEO Oleksiy Chernyshov said. He said the company had prepared a $1.6bn capital expenditure plan to increase production from existing wells. On Thursday, the energy company launched consent solicitation to restructure its Eurobonds due in 2022 and 2026 to end a months-long default. (14:09 GMT) Kyiv has received cluster munitions less than a week after the US announced it would send the weapons, a Ukrainian military spokesperson says. Cluster munitions are "in the hands of our defence forces", Valeryi Shershen, a spokesman for the Tavria military command in southern Ukraine, told Ukrainian television. (14:30 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 505 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-505 (14:46 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) says it is confronted with the "irreconcilable positions" of Russia and Ukraine on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes at next year's Olympics. In March, the IOC published a set of recommendations for international sports federations to allow the athletes to return since being banned for Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. In an updated version of these recommendations, the IOC said: "We are still confronted with two irreconcilable positions. The Russian side wants the IOC to ignore the war. The Ukrainian side wants the IOC to totally isolate anyone with a Russian and Belarusian passport." The IOC will take this decision at the appropriate time, at its full discretion, and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualification competitions," it said. (15:06 GMT) The European Commission is helping the United Nations and Turkey try to extend the Black Sea grain export deal, which could expire on Monday unless an agreement is negotiated. Anonymous sources familiar with the discussions told the Reuters news agency that the EU is considering connecting a subsidiary of the Russian Agricultural Bank (Rosselkhozbank) to the international payment network SWIFT to allow for grain and fertilizer transactions. "We are, of course, open to explore all solutions that contribute to our objective whilst continuing to ensure that Russia's ability to wage war in Ukraine is hampered as much as possible," the EU spokesperson said. (15:15 GMT) US President Joe Biden predicts Ukraine will join NATO and Putin will eventually decide it is not in the interests of Russia to continue the war. Ukraine's NATO membership, though, must be timed right, he said. "No one can join NATO while a war is going on" because it would guarantee a third world war, Biden said. (15:34 GMT) Ukraine's allies have pledged more than 1.5 billion euros ($1.68bn) in military aid for Kyiv during a two-day NATO summit this week, Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says. "Meetings in Vilnius were very productive," Reznikov wrote on Twitter. "Ukraine will receive over euro 1.5 billion in military aid from its international partners," he said. Among those that pledged aid was Germany, which plans to send a 700-million-euro ($785m) aid package, which he said included 25 Leopard 1A5 tanks. (15:54 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says he discussed Ukraine with China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, on the sidelines of an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia. "An exchange of views took place on the current situation around the Ukrainian crisis. Attention was paid to assessing the efforts of the international community to launch a peaceful negotiation process on Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement. (16:29 GMT) Sweden's top court has blocked the extradition of two Turks who Ankara says are part of a "terrorist" group, potentially complicating Stockholm's bid to join NATO just days after Turkey dropped objections to Sweden's membership. "If the Supreme Court said that extradition cannot happen because there are legal challenges that contradict it, the government is not allowed to extradite the person," Justice of the Supreme Court Cecilia Renfors told Reuters on Thursday. The court said in a statement that in Turkey's view, the two committed a criminal act by joining the Gulen movement via a mobile application used by its members. These actions alone did not equate to participation in a "terrorist" organisation under Swedish law, the court said, adding that extradition must be based on actions that constitute a crime in both Sweden and Turkey. (16:46 GMT) Russia's Putin has said tanks provided by Western powers to Ukraine would be a "priority target" for Russian forces fighting there. Putin, speaking on state television on Thursday, also said that supplies of new weapons to Ukraine would change nothing on the battlefield, but would only further escalate the conflict. He reiterated his opposition to Ukraine joining NATO, saying this would threaten Russia's own security. (17:02 GMT) President Vladimir Putin has said that Russia could withdraw from the Black Sea grain deal until other sides fulfil their promises. Putin, speaking on state television, said Russia was in contact with the UN on the matter, but he had not seen a message addressed to him from the UN secretary-general suggesting a compromise to salvage the deal. "We can suspend our participation in the deal, and if everyone once again says that all the promises made to us will be fulfilled, then let them fulfil this promise. We will immediately rejoin this deal," Putin said. Putin has said nothing was done to meet his country's demands around the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), which expires on July 18 and which Moscow is still hesitating to extend. "I want to emphasise that nothing was done, nothing at all. It's all one-sided," Putin said in a televised interview on Thursday, adding that "We will think about what to do, we have a few more days." (17:18 GMT) United States President Joe Biden has said there is overwhelming support for NATO from the American people, Congress and both Democrats and Republicans, "notwithstanding the fact there's some extreme elements of one party", referring to Republicans. "I'm saying as sure as anything could possibly be said about American foreign policy, we will stay connected to NATO," Biden affirmed. Two and a half years after the norm-busting US presidency of Donald Trump, who clashed with NATO leaders over funding the alliance and threatened to reduce the number of US troops in Germany, concern still lingers in Europe about the reliability of United States pledges and global alliances. (17:51 GMT) The European Union's lending arm has unveiled a new fund worth 400 million euros ($447m) to spend on rebuilding Ukraine before the bloc's longer-term reconstruction plan kicks in. (18:10 GMT) Hungary has signalled it could ratify Sweden's bid to join NATO in a few months as a ruling party lawmaker says Turkey's decision to back Sweden's application opened the door to strengthening the alliance at a time of need. Hungarian lawmaker Zsolt Nemeth said there was no need to convene an extraordinary session of parliament to approve the decision sooner. "We will take up work in mid-September," Nemeth, the head of the Hungarian parliament's Foreign Affairs Committee, told private broadcaster InfoRadio. There is no need to move more quickly because Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not forward the ratification of Sweden's NATO membership to the Turkish parliament until it reopens in the autumn, he said. Ankara held out on the ratification for months, accusing Sweden of doing too little against people Turkey sees as "terrorists". They are mainly Kurdish members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK. (18:42 GMT) President Joe Biden says he's serious about pursuing a prisoner exchange for a Wall Street Journal reporter who has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days. The Kremlin earlier this month suggested that it was open to a possible prisoner exchange that could involve Evan Gershkovich, but it underscored that such talks must be held out of the public eye. (20:01 GMT) Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin discussed the Black Sea grain deal with his Turkish counterpart Burak Akcapar in a phone call on Wednesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry has reported. The ministry said on Thursday that the conversation was initiated by Turkey and "special attention was paid to the implementation of the 'Black Sea initiative' on the export of Ukrainian food". Also on Wednesday, Vershinin held a phone call with top UN trade official Rebeca Grynspan. (20:23 GMT) The Wagner mercenary group is not participating in military operations in Ukraine in any significant way, the Pentagon has said, more than two weeks after the group staged a brief armed mutiny in Russia. "At this stage, we do not see Wagner forces participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine," Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said on Thursday. 20230714 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/14/russia-ukraine-live-kyiv-pledges-limited-use-of-us-cluster-bombs (06:15 GMT) Ukraine has received cluster bombs from the United States, munitions banned in more than 100 countries, but has pledged to only use them to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. Ukrainian officials say their deployment is justified in view of Russia's mining of vast tracts of land it has seized. "This will further demotivate Russian occupying forces and fundamentally change things in favour of the Ukrainian armed forces," Valeryi Shershen, a spokesman for the Tavria, or southern, military district told US-funded Radio Liberty. The munitions, he said, would be used strictly within the legal framework: "They will not be used on Russian territory...They will be used only in areas where Russian military forces are concentrated in order to break through enemy defences." Moscow has denounced their shipment, warning that it could resort to deploying similar weaponry if faced with their use. (06:19 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he offered Wagner mercenaries the opportunity to continue serving together in Russia after their mutiny last month against Moscow's military leadership. Interviewed by the Russian daily Kommersant on Thursday, Putin said his offer was one of several he made at a meeting with approximately three dozen Wagner fighters and their founder Yevgeny Prigozhin, five days after Wagner forces staged a short-lived revolt last month. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/wagner-mercenaries-offered-chance-to-serve-in-russia-putin-says (06:53 GMT) Foreign-made tanks are a "priority target" for Russian forces in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said, and the supply of Western weaponry to Kyiv will not change the course of the war. Putin, in comments to state television on Thursday, also reaffirmed his stance that Ukraine's membership in NATO would threaten Russia's security while the provision of Western arms had only escalated global tensions further and prolonged the conflict. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/putin-says-western-tanks-priority-target-for-russia-in-ukraine (07:09 GMT) Russia has closed Poland's consulate in the city of Smolensk, the Russian government has said. According to the Interfax news agency, Russia took the decision due to what it called Poland's "anti-Russian actions". (07:40 GMT) When great powers feel insecure and vulnerable, they lash out in unpredictable ways. This is what happened after the United States was attacked on 9/11, and it's happening now as Russia feels besieged and encircled by NATO. According to American political scientist John Mearsheimer, the Ukraine war could have been avoided if the West had abandoned the idea of Ukraine joining NATO from the start. He tells The Bottom Line host Steve Clemons that the West is happy to support a frozen conflict that weakens Russia, but not NATO membership for Ukraine and direct involvement in the war. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpSO2cPI-ws (07:45 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has no plans for contacts with US officials during his current visit to Indonesia, his spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said. Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken are both in Jakarta for the ASEAN Regional Forum, a security gathering. (08:20 GMT) Russia closed Poland's embassy in the city of Smolensk, Russian news agency Interfax reported. The government decided due to Poland's "anti-Russian actions". In response to the move, Poland said it would close its Russian diplomatic missions. "We regularly receive information about aggressive diplomatic actions from Russia", Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki told a news conference. "If in the end it comes to it that Russia starts to liquidate our offices we will respond in kind." (08:48 GMT) While Eurozone countries need to reduce their spending after responding to the pandemic and the energy crisis, an exception needs to be made to support Ukraine, German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said. "Ukraine can count on us in terms of financing," Lindner said in Brussels before the meeting of finance ministers. Ministers are also expected to focus on reform of EU fiscal rules at the meeting. (09:13 GMT) The Governor of the Russian Belgorod region says a car explosion injured three people in a residential area. Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram, "There is no threat to residents of neighbouring houses and apartments. Emergency services are on site. The investigating authorities are taking all measures in order to understand the causes of the incident." "Unfortunately, there are three victims: a man who was in the car at the time of the explosion and two bystanders - a mother with a child. All the victims were taken to the city hospitals with shrapnel wounds to the lower extremities. Doctors assess their condition as moderate." (09:31 GMT) Russia's lower house of parliament approved a draft law to ban legally or medically changing gender as part of a crackdown against LGBT rights. The bill would stop Russians from changing their gender on official identity documents, which had been legal since 1997. Health professionals would be banned from "performing medical interventions designed to change the sex of a person", including surgery and prescribing hormone therapy. The green light from the Duma all but guarantees the bill's ultimate passage into law. (09:51 GMT) The Wagner Group "simply doesn't exist," said Putin in another twist to the story following the group's mutiny last month. On Thursday night, Putin told Kommersant newspaper, "There is no law on private military organisations. It [Wagner Group] simply doesn't exist." The Russian leader recounted the Kremlin event attended by 35 Wagner commanders, including the group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, on June 29. "All of them could have gathered in one place and continued to serve [in Ukraine]," Putin told the newspaper, "And nothing would have changed for them. They would have been led by the same person who had been their real commander all along." But although "many nodded" when he made his proposal, Prigozhin rejected the idea, responding that "the boys won't agree with such a decision." This, Putin said, was one of "several employment options" put forward at the meeting. (10:28 GMT) The Kremlin says the status of the Wagner group needed to be "considered", a day after Putin said the group had no legal basis. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the status of companies such as Wagner was "rather complicated" and needed to be studied. When asked if new legislation was likely on the status of private military companies, he said: "This question will at least be under consideration." Earlier this week, the defence ministry said that the mercenary group was completing the transfer of its weapons to the regular army under the accord with the Kremlin that brought the mutiny to an end. (10:49 GMT) An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's strategy to win the war was clear and called out allies who have other plans. On Twitter, Mykhailo Podolyak wrote, "Maximum and full military support for Ukraine enables the army to break through the Russian defence, which contributes to the collapse of the Russian front, leads to internal destabilisation in Russia and the transfer of power within the elite. "Together with Putin's collapse goes the return of territories, NATO membership, punishment of criminals, and multi-year compensations. If our partners have other plans, what are they? Have the courage to name them publicly." (11:09 GMT) Russia accuses the West of sponsoring "nuclear terrorism" after a Ukrainian drone hit the town of Kurchatov, where a nuclear power station - similar to the Chernobyl plant - is located. <=== Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia's Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, said the drone had struck an apartment building in Kurchatov, built on the banks of a cooling pond for the Kursk nuclear power station, which is still in service. In response to the drone's proximity to the nuclear plant, foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said: "Are the countries that supply them [the drones] to the Kyiv regime planning to retire to Mars if there is a nuclear disaster? They won't have time." "People in NATO countries should realise that their governments are sponsoring nuclear terrorism by the Kyiv regime." (11:33 GMT) Former Russian president and Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev will present Putin with a report on the preparation of future soldiers in the special military operation, Russian news agency TASS reported. "The final result will be my report addressed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on how combat and political training is going on for everyone who will participate in the special military operation," Medvedev said during a visit to the Totsky training ground in the Orenburg region. Medvedev added that "coordination has just begun" at the Totsky training ground. (12:01 GMT) A Ukrainian court moves to jail a man for 10 years after finding him guilty of conspiring with Russia to target critical infrastructure and military units, Ukraine's domestic security agency said. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not identify the man but said he had fought alongside Russia-backed militant groups in eastern Ukraine before and since Moscow's full-scale invasion. In a statement, the SBU said it had detained the man in February this year before he could carry out his mission. (12:25 GMT) The Belarusian defence ministry said that fighters from Russia's Wagner Group are training soldiers in Belarus. The ministry said the training was taking place near Osipovichi, about 90km south of Minsk. "(Wagner) fighters acted as instructors in a number of military disciplines," the ministry said. (12:54 GMT) The European Union's foreign policy chief says Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov had responded aggressively to a request to withdraw troops from Ukraine during an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia, according to the Reuters news agency. Speaking to reporters, Josep Borrell said Lavrov called the request a Western conspiracy. (13:15 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 506 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-506 (13:34 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Black Sea grain deal will hopefully be extended from its current July 17 deadline due to the result of the efforts by the United Nations and Turkey. On Thursday, a European Union spokesperson said the European Commission is also helping to try to extend the deal and is open to "explore all solutions". Putin also said the UN had so far failed to come up with a satisfactory solution. (14:10 GMT) Ukraine's trade deficit has grown to $8.97bn in the first five months of the year compared with a deficit of about $1bn in the same period a year ago, the statistics service says. It said in a statement that exports of goods were $16.45bn from January to May while imports reached $25.42bn in the first five months of 2023. While analysts said the continued growth in imports was a sign of economic resilience during the war, exports continued to shrink, falling by 15.6 percent from January to May compared with the same period a year ago. The largest fall of 60.6 percent was in exports of metals and steel products as Ukrainian Black Sea ports remain blocked. (14:40 GMT) The Kremlin has not made any statements on the extension of the Black Sea grain export deal, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying. The spokesman's comment came after reports that Erdogan said he was in agreement with Putin that the deal would be extended. According to the French news agency AFP, the Turkish president told reporters, "We are preparing to welcome Putin in August, and we agree on the extension of the Black Sea grain corridor." (15:30 GMT) US federal prosecutors said an alleged Russian intelligence operative accused of smuggling US-made electronics and ammunition to Russia to help its war against Ukraine was extradited from Estonia. The defendant Vadim Konoschenok is expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn later on Friday. (15:56 GMT) European Union finance ministers unanimously backed extra funds for Ukraine, although differences remained that threatened to delay or block proposed aid to Kyiv. "The Spanish presidency is committed to proceed swiftly to have a stable framework in place by January 2024," Spanish Finance Minister Nadia Calvino told a news conference that the EU finance ministers said. Calvino added that more technical work would be needed to support Ukraine. The European Commission proposed increasing the bloc's budget until 2027 by 66 billion euros ($74.11 bn), 17 billion euros of which would be reserved for Ukraine, with a further 33 billion euros of loans. (16:38 GMT) The US House of Representatives has passed the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, which sets policy for the Pentagon and authorises $886bn in spending. The measure includes an additional $300m to support Ukraine as it responds to the Russian invasion. The Senate is expected to pass its version of the NDAA later this month, after which the two chambers will negotiate a compromise that would come up for a vote later this year. The NDAA, one of the only major pieces of legislation Congress passes annually, determines everything from purchases of ships and aircraft to pay increases for soldiers and how to address geopolitical threats. (16:53 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has expressed satisfaction with the results of the recent NATO summit in Vilnius, despite Kyiv's failure to secure a hoped-for invitation to formally join the alliance. "We have overcome the psychological barrier and I see that Ukraine is considered a member of NATO in real terms," Kuleba said in an interview on Ukrainian television. According to the diplomat, discussions were ongoing on the wording of the "security pact" proclaimed by Western states until NATO membership can be achieved. "We interpret it as security guarantees, they interpret it as political commitments in the field of security," he said. (17:07 GMT) Ukraine has acknowledged its troops are not making speedy headway in their offensive to recapture territory in the east and south of the country from Russian forces. "Today it's advancing not so quickly," the head of the presidency, Andriy Yermak, told reporters, conceding that battles were difficult. "If we are going to see that something is going wrong, we'll say so. No one is going to embellish," he said. Zelenskyy says Ukrainians must understand that Russia is deploying all possible resources to stop Kyiv's forces from advancing in the east and south. (18:02 GMT) Ukraine's parliament has voted in favour of changing the date of the Orthodox Christmas holiday from January 7 to December 25. The aim of the bill submitted by Zelenskyy was the "dissociation from the Russian heritage." Two of the three large churches with Orthodox status had already decided to change to the Gregorian calendar. Ukraine's largest Ukrainian Orthodox Church with long-time ties to Moscow has yet to comment on the change. Since 2014, Ukraine has been trying to cut ties to its Soviet and Russian past. The all-out invasion of Ukraine 16 months ago intensified those efforts. (18:56 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is still waiting for a response from Russian President Vladimir Putin on a proposal to extend a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain beyond Monday, a UN spokesperson has said. (19:29 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has defended the US decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine while at the same time stressing the importance of banning this type of weapon. The US government has "made a decision that is not ours but which it made sovereignly", Scholz said at his traditional summer press conference in Berlin. The chancellor pointed out that the US may otherwise not be able to provide sufficient ammunition to Ukraine. <== But he added that the international Convention on Cluster Munitions, which Germany signed, is "of great importance" and expressed concern for the potential impact of unexploded cluster bombs on civilians long after the war is over. (20:22 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pushing for Russia to extend and expand the Black Sea deal, accusing Russia of using the grain agreement "as a weapon" by threatening to end it. (20:37 GMT) An alleged Russian intelligence officer has pleaded not guilty to US charges of smuggling US-origin electronics and ammunition to Russia to help its war against Ukraine. Vadim Konoschenok, who was extradited on Thursday from Estonia, entered the plea at a hearing in a federal court in Brooklyn. US Magistrate Judge Ramon Reyes ordered Konoschenok detained pending trial, after prosecutors called him a flight risk. "No matter where you are in the world, if you violate US export controls or evade US sanctions, we will not rest until you face justice," Breon Peace, the US attorney in Brooklyn, said in a statement. 20230715 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-507 Fighting * Ukrainian officials said air defences shot down 20 Iranian-made Russian drones. The debris fell on four districts of Kyiv, injuring two people and destroying several homes. Two Russian cruise missiles were also intercepted. * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainians must understand that Russia is deploying all possible resources to stop Kyiv's forces from advancing on the front lines in the east and south of the country. "And every thousand metres we advance, every success of every combat brigade, deserves our gratitude," he said in his nightly video address. * Andriy Yermak, the head of the Ukrainian president's office, said Ukraine's forces are not making speedy headway in their offensive to recapture territory from Russian forces. "Today it's advancing not so quickly," he said, conceding that the fighting was difficult. * A Ukrainian court jailed a man for 10 years after finding him guilty of conspiring with Russia to target critical infrastructure and military units. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) did not identify the man but said he had fought alongside Russia-backed armed groups in eastern Ukraine before and since Moscow's full-scale invasion. * Russia accused the West of sponsoring "nuclear terrorism" after a Ukrainian drone hit the Russian town of Kurchatov, where a nuclear power station - similar to the Chornobyl plant - is located. The drone hit an apartment building built on the banks of a cooling pond for the Kursk nuclear power station, which is still in service. * Ukraine presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said the strategy to win the war was clear: "Maximum and full military support for Ukraine enables the army to break through the Russian defence, which contributes to the collapse of the Russian front, leads to internal destabilisation in Russia and the transfer of power within the elite." * The governor of the Russian Belgorod region said a car explosion injured three people in a residential area. Military * Ukraine said it had received cluster bombs from the United States, munitions banned in more than 100 countries, but has pledged to only use them to dislodge concentrations of Russian soldiers. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz defended the US decision to supply cluster munitions to Ukraine while at the same time stressing the importance of banning this type of weapon. The US "made a decision that is not ours but which it made sovereignly", Scholz said. The US may otherwise not be able to provide sufficient ammunition to Ukraine, he said. * The Belarusian defence ministry said that fighters from Russia's Wagner mercenary force are training soldiers in Belarus. The ministry said the training was taking place near Asipovichy, about 90km south of Minsk. * The Kremlin said the status of the Wagner Group needs to be "considered", a day after Putin said the group had no legal basis in Russia. * Foreign-made tanks are a "priority target" for Russian forces in Ukraine, Putin said, and the supply of Western weaponry to Kyiv will not change the course of the war. Putin also said he offered Wagner mercenaries the opportunity to continue serving together in Russia after their aborted mutiny last month. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba expressed satisfaction with the results of last week's NATO summit in Vilnius despite Kyiv's failure to secure a hoped-for invitation to formally join the alliance. "We have overcome the psychological barrier, and I see that Ukraine is considered a member of NATO in real terms," he said. * The US House of Representatives passed legislation that sets policy for the Pentagon, authorises $886bn in spending for it in the financial year that begins on October 1 and provides an additional $300m to support Ukraine as it responds to the Russian invasion. * Former Russian president and deputy chairman of the Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, will present Putin with a report on the preparation of future soldiers to fight in Ukraine, Russian news agency TASS reported. Politics * An alleged Russian intelligence officer pleaded not guilty to US charges of smuggling US-origin electronics and ammunition into Russia to help its war against Ukraine. Vadim Konoshchenok, who was extradited on Thursday from Estonia to the US, entered the plea at a hearing in a federal court in Brooklyn on Friday. * Ukraine's parliament voted in favour of changing the date of the Orthodox Christmas holiday from January 7 to December 25. The aim of the bill submitted by Zelenskyy was the "dissociation from the Russian heritage". * Russia's lower house of parliament approved a draft law to ban legally or medically changing one's gender as part of a wider crackdown against LGBTQ rights. The bill would stop Russians from changing their gender on official identity documents, which had been legal since 1997. * Russia closed Poland's embassy in the city of Smolensk, Russian news agency Interfax reported. The decision to close was due to Poland's "anti-Russian actions", the agency reported. * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's interventions at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting in Indonesia were "not constructive or productive on any issue". Blinken, who did not meet Lavrov, told reporters that Lavrov was "totally negative" and focused on blaming the US. * European Union foreign policy chief said Lavrov had responded aggressively to a request to withdraw troops from Ukraine during the ASEAN meeting in Indonesia. Speaking to reporters, Josep Borrell said Lavrov called the request a Western conspiracy. * Ukraine's trade deficit has grown to $8.97bn in the first five months of the year compared with a deficit of about $1bn in the same period last year, the country's statistics service said. * EU finance ministers unanimously backed extra funds for Ukraine, although differences remain that threaten to delay or block proposed aid to Kyiv. The European Commission proposed increasing the bloc's budget until 2027 by 66 billion euros ($74bn), 17 billion euros ($19bn) of which would be reserved for Ukraine with a further 33 billion euros ($37bn) of loans. * Secretary Blinken pressed for Russia to extend and expand the Black Sea grain export deal from Ukrainian ports, accusing Russia of using the grain agreement "as a weapon" by threatening to end it. * United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres was still waiting for a response from President Putin on a proposal to extend the deal that allows the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, a UN spokesperson has said. * The Kremlin has not made any statements on the extension of the Black Sea grain export deal, Russia's Interfax news agency quoted Moscow's spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the Black Sea grain deal will hopefully be extended from its current July 17 deadline due to the result of the efforts by the UN and Turkey. 20230716 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/16/russia-ukraine-moscow-claims-drone-attack-on-crimea-thwarted (07:24 GMT) Three civilians were wounded in Russian shelling of a village in Zaporizhia - located in the southeast of Ukraine - the head of Ukraine's presidential administration has said, while Moscow-backed officials said Kyiv's forces shelled a school there. Fighting has been taking place in Zaporizhia for months, a front-line region that Moscow moved to annex last year but does not occupy in its entirety. (07:25 GMT) Fighters from the Wagner mercenary group have arrived in Belarus from Russia, Ukrainian and Polish officials said on Saturday, a day after Minsk said the mercenaries were training the country's soldiers southeast of the capital. "Wagner is in Belarus," Andriy Demchenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian border agency, said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. He said the movement of "separate groups" from Russia had been observed in Belarus. Poland's deputy minister coordinator of special services, Stanislaw Zaryn, said Warsaw also has confirmation of Wagner fighters' presence in Belarus. (07:30 GMT) Defence Secretary Ben Wallace says his comment that Kyiv should be more "grateful" for the United Kingdom and other allies' military support was "misrepresented". He had made the remark after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy branded it "absurd" for NATO to insist there were still conditions for his nation to meet before it can gain membership once the war with Russia is over. (07:31 GMT) Russia's air defence forces and fleet in the Black Sea have shot down nine Ukrainian drones over the Crimean port of Sevastopol, according to a Moscow-installed official. Russia's defence ministry also said its forces had destroyed seven aerial and two underwater drones. "This morning, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by seven unmanned aerial vehicles and two unmanned underwater vehicles on objects on the territory of the Crimean Peninsula near the city of Sevastopol was thwarted," the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app. It said that two aerial drones were shot down over the Black Sea at a great distance from the coastline, while five were intercepted by Russia's electronic warfare forces. There were no casualties or damage, the ministry added. (07:56 GMT) Ukrainian officials say a civilian was killed and another wounded in Russian shelling in Ukraine's Kharkiv region overnight. The region in the northeast of Ukraine is home to the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv. Ukraine recaptured much of the eastern Kharkiv region in September, with Russian forces now occupying only a small strip of land there. (08:17 GMT) President Vladimir Putin says Russia has a "sufficient stockpile" of cluster bombs and that it reserves the right to use them if such munitions are used against Russian forces in Ukraine. Ukraine has received cluster bombs from the United States, munitions banned in more than 100 countries. Kyiv has pledged to use them only to dislodge concentrations of enemy soldiers. "Of course, if they are used against us, we reserve the right to take reciprocal action," Putin said in a state TV interview, excerpts of which were published on Sunday. (08:36 GMT) The last ship to travel under the Turkey and UN-brokered deal that allows the safe export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea has left the port of Odesa ahead of a deadline to extend the agreement. Russia has not agreed to register any new ships since June 27, and the initiative will expire on Monday unless Moscow agrees to extend it. (08:58 GMT) South Korea will provide more de-mining equipment to Ukraine, a South Korean official said on Sunday, following President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to Kyiv on the weekend, where he pledged more military and humanitarian aid. "We are thinking to expand support on mine detectors and de-mining equipment as Ukraine's demand for them was assessed to be desperately huge," Yoon's deputy national security adviser, Kim Tae-hyo, said in a briefing. Yoon pledged on Saturday to "expand the scale" of his country's non-lethal military assistance to Ukraine, adding that humanitarian aid would be increased to $150m in 2023 from $100m last year. (09:33 GMT) US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told reporters at the G20 finance ministers summit in India on Sunday that ending the war in Ukraine "is first and foremost a moral imperative. But it's also the single best thing we can do for the global economy." The war in Ukraine triggered shockwaves in economies worldwide by sending prices for food and fuel shooting up. Combined, Russia and Ukraine export a quarter of the world's wheat supply. Ukraine is also the world's leading exporter of sunflower oil, and Russia is second. Soaring food prices and disruption to supplies resulted in food shortages in countries in the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia where many people already were not getting enough to eat. (10:03 GMT) A Chinese naval flotilla set off on Sunday to join Russian naval and air forces in the Sea of Japan in an exercise aimed at "safeguarding the security of strategic waterways", according to China's defence ministry. The Chinese flotilla comprised of five warships and four shipborne helicopters, left the eastern port of Qingdao and will rendezvous with Russian forces in a "predetermined area", the ministry said on its official WeChat account on Sunday. (10:18 GMT) The number of drones Russia claims to have downed over Crimea on Sunday has risen to 10 as the Russian governor of Sevastopol, Mikhail Razvozhayev, announced on Telegram that another drone had been electronically deactivated. The Russian defence ministry earlier on Sunday said their air defence shot down two unmanned aerial vehicles and electronically disabled five others. The ministry also said its forces destroyed two naval drones, and the thwarted attack resulted in "no casualties or destruction". (10:33 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the Ukrainian counteroffensive aimed at recapturing territory is "not succeeding" and that attempts to break through Russian defences have failed. Putin made the remarks in an interview with state television, excerpts of which were released on Sunday. "All attempts by the enemy to break through our defence ... have not been successful throughout the entire offensive," Putin said. (11:56 GMT) Russian state media report that no nuclear-powered submarines from Russia's Northern Fleet will be taking part in its Navy Day parade in Saint Petersburg. Russia traditionally celebrates Navy Day on the last Sunday of July. Rehearsals for this year's parade are currently under way. This is the first time since the parade was established in 2017 the submarines are not participating. (12:23 GMT) A Moscow court has issued criminal charges against seven people "motivated by national hatred" to kill two prominent Russian journalists in a Ukrainian-backed plot, Russia's state-owned TASS news agency said. The court approved the detention until September 14, under criminal charges of "hooliganism", of five minors born in 2005 and 2006 and two men it said were part of an organised group, TASS said. TASS said Russia's FSB security service detained an unspecified number of people on Friday who conducted reconnaissance near the homes and workplaces of journalists Margarita Simonyan, head of state media outlet RT, and Ksenia Sobchak, who ran against President Vladimir Putin in 2018. (12:30 GMT) Kyiv said Sunday it was advancing near the eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russia seized in May in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. "We are gradually moving forward in the Bakhmut area. There is a daily advance on the southern flank around Bakhmut. On the northern flank, we are trying to hold our positions, the enemy is attacking," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said on Telegram. Malyar also said that Ukraine's forces were on the defensive against Russian forces near the eastern city of Kupiansk. (13:22 GMT) Ukraine's main strategy in its counteroffensive is to starve Russian troops of ammunition and other supplies before striking, analysts say. It's also trying to stretch Moscow's forces thin by hitting a number of spots at the same time. The first phase of Ukraine's counteroffensive - to recapture Russian-occupied territory after more than 16 months of war - began weeks ago. Kyiv has claimed that its troops are edging forward. But otherwise, it has not offered much detail on how the counteroffensive is going. Western analysts say the counteroffensive, even if it prospers, won't end the war. But it could prove to be a decisive episode and strengthen Kyiv's hand in any negotiations. Ukraine is also keen to show the West that sending aid was worthwhile. (14:47 GMT) A spokesperson for the military's southern command has said that Ukrainian forces advanced more than a kilometre in one part of the southern front. In a statement on Sunday, the military said Kyiv made incremental gains in parts of the east and south since launching its long-awaited counteroffensive. (15:50 GMT) A top Ukrainian military official has said that Russians were advancing in some areas - like Bakhmut on the southern flank - in the country. "We have heard from deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar. What she said is that the Russians are actively advancing in the Kupiansk direction for the last two days just north of here, and she says that the Ukrainians are on the defensive there," Al Jazeera's Assed Baig said, reporting from Kostyantynivka, about 20km from Bakhmut. "She says that the battles are fierce and positions change several times daily. That's quite sobering. That's quite honest from the Ukrainian deputy defence minister. Because what we normally hear is about the Ukrainian advances but what we are hearing from the Ukrainians is that the Russians are pushing back," Baig said. (16:50 GMT) The Russian state has taken control of French yoghurt maker Danone's Russian subsidiary along with beer company Carlsberg's stake in a local brewer, a decree signed by President Vladimir Putin has shown. The decree issued on Sunday said that foreign-owned stakes in Danone Russia and Baltika Breweries were being put under the "temporary management" of government property agency Rosimushchestvo. The Kremlin previously warned it could seize Western assets on what it said was a temporary basis in retaliation for foreign moves against Russian companies abroad. (17:59 GMT) Several hundred "experienced" Wagner fighters arrived in the Central African Republic to secure a referendum on July 30, a Russian private security company has said. "Another plane has arrived in Bangui with instructors to work in the Central African Republic," said the Officers' Union for International Security (OUIS) on Telegram on Sunday. According to the United States, OUIS is a front company for the Wagner group in CAR. It is run by Russian Alexandre Ivanov, who was placed under American sanctions in January. The future of the private paramilitary group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin is uncertain after it launched a short-lived mutiny against Vladimir Putin's government on June 23 and 24. (18:51 GMT) Russia's security apparatus entered a period of confusion and negotiations after the Wagner Group mutiny and an interim arrangement for the future of the group had started to form in recent days, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence has said. In its latest intelligence update on Sunday, the ministry said: "On 12 July 2023, the Russian MoD announced that Wagner had handed over 2000 pieces of military equipment, including tanks. As of 15 July 2023, at least a small contingent of Wagner fighters have arrived at a camp in Belarus. "Concurrently, some Wagner-associated social media groups have resumed activity, with a focus on highlighting the group's activities in Africa. Based on recent announcements by Russian officials, the state is likely prepared to accept Wagner's aspirations to maintain its extensive presence on the continent." (19:15 GMT) Putin has not yet said if Russia will renew the deal under which Moscow allowed Ukraine to ship its grain across the Black Sea. 20230717 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/17/russia-ukraine-updates-two-dead-in-crimean-bridge-emergency (05:57 GMT) Moscow-installed officials reported that traffic along the bridge that connects Russia to the Crimean peninsula had been halted due to the ongoing 'emergency'. The Russian TASS news agency said train traffic on the bridge might be changed because of the "emergency situation" there, while the RIA state news agency said that police officers were warning drivers that the ferry service in the area was not working either. (06:07 GMT) Two dead, one child injured in bridge 'emergency': Russian official A man and woman were killed, and their daughter injured in a passenger car on the Crimea Bridge (Kerch bridge) early on Monday, Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region in southern Russia, said. "The girl was injured," Gladkov said in a message on Telegram. "The hardest thing is that her parents died, Dad and Mum." (06:12 GMT) The incident on the Crimea Bridge could be an act of provocation on Moscow's side, Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, said on Monday. (06:15 GMT) In the past week, Ukrainian forces have liberated 7 square km in the direction of the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russian forces in May, a senior military official said. (06:24 GMT) The Russian-installed head of Crimea's parliament said on Monday that Ukraine was behind an incident on the Kerch bridge, which killed two people earlier, the state RIA news agency reported. He was quoted as saying that the bridge had been attacked by what he called Ukraine's "terrorist regime" and that the railway part of the bridge was not damaged. (06:43 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported that Ukraine has conducted several counteroffensive operations across the frontline. The ISW assessed there were limited gains in the western Donetsk area but reported successful advances around Bakhmut in the Luhansk region. There were no significant advances further north around the Kupyansk-Svatove line the ISW's reports stated. Tactical advances were made by Russian forces around Kreminna in the Luhansk region. The ISW also reported that Russian forces launched limited ground attacks on the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line with no advances noted. (07:03 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram that Ukrainian forces are trying to advance towards the cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol in the country's south. She said Ukrainian forces had recaptured nearly 11 sq km in the past week as they pushed towards the cities, bringing the total territory recaptured there to nearly 180 sq km. The total territory recaptured so far during the counteroffensive is now more than 210 sq km, according to Mailar. (07:27 GMT) Ukraine attacked the Crimean bridge overnight using unmanned drones on the water's surface, Russia's Anti-Terrorist Committee said on Monday, according to state media. Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that Ukrainian "special services" were responsible for the attack and that it had opened a criminal investigation. (07:34 GMT) Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of carrying out the attack on the bridge with the involvement of the UK and the US. "Today's attack on the Crimean bridge was carried out by the Kyiv regime. This regime is terrorist and has all the hallmarks of an international organized crime group," she said. "Decisions are made by Ukrainian officials and the military with the direct participation of American and British intelligence agencies and politicians. The US and Britain are in charge of a terrorist state structure." (07:48 GMT) The Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne has reported that the incident on the Crimean bridge involved the Ukrainian Navy and SBU security service citing sources within law enforcement. "Today's attack on the Crimean bridge is a special operation of the SBU and the navy," the source was quoted as saying. The source also said Ukraine carried out the operation using waterborne drones. (08:00 GMT) A United Nations and Turkey-brokered pact allowing Ukrainian grain export via the Black Sea is set to expire today if Russia does not agree to extend it. Russia has agreed three times in the past year to extend the deal, but also briefly suspended its participation at the end of October in response to a drone attack on its fleet in Crimea. Sergei Mironov, leader of the A Just Russia party, said on Telegram that he does think there should be an extension of the deal after the bridge incident. He said Russia should respond by targeting Ukrainian infrastructure and "not discuss a grain deal that helps Kyiv's rulers and their Western masters line their pockets. There can be no grain deal after another terrorist attack". (08:11 GMT) UK's defence ministry has said that Russia is suffering from a worsening shortage of counter-battery radars, especially its modern ZOOPARK-1M. "Only a handful of the originally deployed ZOOPARK fleet are likely to remain operational in Ukraine," the ministry said in a tweet. "Open-source footage showed another ZOOPARK being destroyed near the 58 CAA's area in early July 2023," the ministry added. (09:03 GMT) Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has said that Russia must destroy what he called the top leadership of "terrorist formations" after an attack on the Crimean bridge. Russia has blamed the attack on Ukrainian special services. While Ukraine's military suggested Russia was behind the Crimean bridge attack, Ukrainian media said Ukrainian security services had attacked the bridge with underwater drones. (09:19 GMT) Russia has halted its participation in the Black sea grain deal. The United Nations and Turkey-brokered pact that allowed the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea was set to expire today and the Kremlin said that Russia's position on the grain deal, was not linked to the incident on the Crimean bridge. According to Russian state news agency RIA Novosti, foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters that Moscow has already notified Ukraine, Turkey and the UN that it is against the extension of the grain deal. (09:34 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov tells reporters in Moscow that there was no link between an overnight attack on the Crimean Bridge and Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, which intended to allow Ukraine to export grain safely from its Black Sea ports. Peskov highlighted that Russian President Vladimir Putin's position on the deal had been known before the attack. (09:53 GMT) Russia's decision to suspend its participation in the Black Sea grain deal will have a "positive effect" on the country's domestic grain market, according to Russian state news agency TASS. The report said that according to the Russian Grain Union, the deal had brought "only harm". (10:09 GMT) Germany continues to appeal to Russia to extend the Black Sea grain deal, according to the country's government spokesperson. (10:23 GMT) Russia has formally notified Ukraine, via the Russian embassy in Minsk, that it was suspending its participation in the Black Sea grain deal, according to Moscow's ambassador to Belarus, Boris Gryzlov. He said that a note had been sent from the embassy to Ukraine via diplomatic channels, and that the deal would be terminated from July 18. (10:30 GMT) The Investigative Committee of Russia has opened a criminal case to probe into the Crimean bridge attack, on the grounds of terrorism. According to the Russian foreign ministry, a crime under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code - the country's terrorist act - has been opened. The investigators are also identifying persons from among the Ukrainian special services and armed formations who could have been involved in the "execution of this crime", according to the foreign ministry. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/crimea-bridge-attack-what-happened-why-is-the-bridge-important (10:47 GMT) Russian grain exporting union Rusgrain has said that its members planned to continue supplying customers with Russian grain at competitive prices, despite Moscow pulling out of the Black Sea grain export deal. "Russia is the largest supplier of wheat to the world market ... All contractual obligations of Russian grain exporters will be fulfilled," it said. (10:50 GMT) Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has said that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin wants the continuation of the Black sea grain deal, after Moscow said it will suspend its participation. Speaking to reporters, Erdogan said he would discuss the deal, including the export of Russian fertilizer, with Putin when they meet in person during an expected meeting in August. (11:10 GMT) European Union Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has called Russia's decision to suspend a Black Sea grain export deal a "cynical move", adding that the EU would continue to work towards ensuring food security for poor countries. (11:29 GMT) The Turkish and Russian foreign ministers will discuss the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, according to Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (11:46 GMT) The UK has imposed a new round of sanctions against Russia due to its actions in Ukraine. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the sanctions target individuals who have propped up Putin's government, including through a programme of forced child deportations in Ukraine. Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova and Education Minister Sergey Kravtsova are on the UK's latest sanctions list. (12:17 GMT) Russia says it would consider rejoining the Black Sea grain export deal if it sees "concrete results" but so far its demands have not been met. The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement that despite United Nations efforts to prolong the deal, obstacles to Russian food and fertiliser exports remained. "Only upon receipt of concrete results and not promises and assurances will Russia be ready to consider restoring the deal," it said (12:51 GMT) Oleh Sentsov - a Ukrainian filmmaker, writer and activist who joined the army last year after Russia invaded Ukraine - says he has been injured on the battlefield. (13:05 GMT) Belarus says its border guards have shot down a Ukrainian reconnaissance drone that had crossed into its territory near the Dnipro River. (13:37 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says everything must be done so the Black Sea grain export corridor continues to be used, according to his spokesperson. "Even without the Russian Federation, everything must be done so that we can use this Black Sea corridor. We are not afraid," Serhiy Nykyforov quoted Zelenskyy as saying after Russia halted its participation in the grain export deal. "We were approached by companies, shipowners. They said that they are ready, if Ukraine lets them go, and Turkey continues to let them through, then everyone is ready to continue supplying grain," he added. (13:58 GMT) The White House says Russia's suspension of the Black Sea grain deal, which has allowed the export of grain from Ukraine, "will worsen food security and harm millions." (14:16 GMT) A senior Russian official at the UN has said his country's decision not to extend the Black Sea grain export deal is final and no more talks are planned, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS. (14:36 GMT) The United Nations' secretary general Antonio Guterres says he "deeply regrets" Russia's decision to end the Black Sea grain deal, including the withdrawal of Russian security guarantees of navigation in in the north-west part of the Black Sea. He added that he was disappointed that the Russian President Vladimir Putin ignored his proposal to extend the Black Sea grain deal and highlighted that the UN would still try to facilitate "unimpeded access to global markets of food and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine." Earlier, China's envoy to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, also expressed hope that all parties involved could find a way forward, specifically mentioning that Russia had concerns. (14:46 GMT) German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Russia's refusal to extend the agreement that has enabled Ukraine to export grain from its Black Sea ports for the past year "sends a bad message" to the rest of the world. "The fact that Russia does not want to extend the grain agreement sends a bad message ... to the rest of the world," Scholz said at a two-day EU- Latin America summit in Brussels. "But everyone will understand what is behind it, namely an action that has a lot to do with the fact that Russia does not feel responsible for good coexistence in the world," he added. (15:15 GMT) France has called on Russia to stop its blackmail over the grain deal suspension. "France condemns Russia's suspension of its participation in the Black Sea grain initiative," the French foreign ministry said in a statement. "Russia is solely responsible for blocking navigation in this maritime space and imposes an illegal blockade on Ukrainian ports. It must stop its blackmail on world food security and reconsider its decision," the ministry added. (15:23 GMT) The Black Sea Grain Initiative - a deal brokered between Russia and Ukraine by the United Nations and Turkey - has allowed 32.9 million metric tonnes of food to be exported from war-torn Ukraine since August. More than half of that grain went to developing countries, including those getting relief from the World Food Programme (WFP), according to the Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/russia-ukraine-black-sea-grain-deal-all-you-need-to-know Since the deal was signed, more than 32.9 million tonnes have been shipped from ports Odessa, Yuzhny and Chornomorsk Corn 16,899,349 tonnes Wheat 8,911,630 Sunflower meal 1,857,917 Sunflower oil 1,650,092 Barley 1,268,298 Rapeseed 1,268,298 Soya beans 802,151 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/as-russia-exits-grain-deal-which-countries-will-be-affected The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia would "return" to the deal "immediately" if its demands to improve its own grain and fertiliser exports are met. (15:41 GMT) A Russian Su-25 fighter-bomber crashed into the Sea of Azov near the town of Yeysk but the pilot ejected successfully, local officials said in a statement on social media. Unverified videos shared on social media appeared to show a parachute descending over the sea near a beach, and a large splash in the water. Yeysk lies across the Sea of Azov from the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region. The officials from Russia's Krasnodar region said the pilot had been rescued from the water. (16:18 GMT) US aid chief Samantha Power has announced more than $500m in humanitarian assistance during a visit to Ukraine. Power also said she handed over an additional $2.3m worth of equipment to help the agency repair the damage inflicted by Russia's forces on Ukraine's critical infrastructure. "We see what is happening in Ukraine. Russia continues to burn and Ukraine continues to build. It is our privilege ... to support our Ukrainian partners as they do that building," Power said. (16:36 GMT) Yulia Shapovalova, Al Jazeera's reporter in Moscow, said that while the Kremlin was open to consider extending the grain deal once its demands were met, Ukraine's attack on the Kerch Bridge cemented its decision to not negotiate further. "Despite the words from the Kremlin, the attack has affected Russia's swift decision regarding the deal," she said. "According to the Russian mission to the UN, the decision to withdraw from the grain deal is final and there will be no more negotiations." Russia condemned the attack as a "terrorist" one on a "purely civilian facility", Shapovalova added. "Ukraine considers the bridge a legitimate military target but as we see that didn't stop Russian holidaymakers heading to Crimea and from going on vacation there." (16:56 GMT) The head of the World Trade Organization (WTO) said she was "deeply disappointed" by the end of the Black Sea grain deal, which she described as essential to ensuring the stability of global food prices. (17:11 GMT) President Putin denounced a "terror attack" and called for tougher security measures after Kyiv targeted a bridge linking Moscow-annexed Crimea to Russia. "Another terrorist attack was committed on the bridge last night," Putin said in televised remarks. "I am waiting for specific proposals to improve the security of this strategic, important transport facility." (17:32 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin said that the road bridge linking southern Russia to Crimea would be completely repaired by November 1, after an overnight attack that caused severe damage. Speaking in a televised meeting with Russia's President Vladimir Putin, Khusnullin said there was no damage to pylons but that one section of road had been completely destroyed and would have to be rebuilt. He said road traffic would resume in one direction by September 15, with road traffic in both directions restored by November 1. The parallel railway bridge was not damaged in the attack. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/crimea-bridge-attack-what-happened-why-is-the-bridge-important (17:49 GMT) Pope Francis has sent a high-level emissary to speak with US President Joe Biden about Moscow's deportation of Ukrainian children, according to a report by Politico, which cited a person familiar with the meeting. Cardinal Matteo Zuppi is expected to meet Biden at the White House on Tuesday, Politico said. (18:24 GMT) Al Jazeera's Rob McBride said that while there are bound to be consequences for global food supplies given the end of the Black Sea Grain Initiative (BSGI), it remains unclear just how serious the fallout will be. "Many farmers and food exporters from Ukraine have found other ways of getting their crops out, using train links and land borders and ports on the Danube River," McBride said, speaking from Kyiv. Ukraine wasn't so reliant on Black Sea ships exporting its grain anymore because as a result of the war, there was less food to export - about a third less than what Ukraine was exporting before Russia invaded the country last year. (18:39 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Russia's decision to halt participation in the year-old deal that lets Ukraine export grain through the Black Sea was "unconscionable" and called for the pact to be restored as quickly as possible. "The result of Russia's action today weaponising food ... will be to make food harder to come by in places that desperately need it, and have prices rise," he said. "The bottom line is, it's unconscionable," he added. (19:17 GMT) The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief has decried Russia's decision to pull out from the Black Sea grain deal despite Turkey's effort to mediate. "I condemn Russia's unilateral decision to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, despite the efforts by our ally Turkey and the UN," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Twitter. Stoltenberg underscored that Russia's "illegal war" against Ukraine continues to "harm millions of vulnerable people around the world". (19:38 GMT) Large contingents of Russian forces are on the offensive in northeastern Ukraine's Kupiansk sector and engaged in heavy fighting, Ukrainian officials said. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar, writing on Telegram, said: "For two days running, the enemy has been actively on the offensive in the Kupiansk sector in Kharkiv region. We are defending. Heavy fighting is going on and the positions of both sides change dynamically several times a day." Serhiy Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the eastern grouping of troops, told national television the Russian military had amassed more than 100,000 troops and more than 900 tanks in the area. (20:17 GMT) The United States will continue to work with other countries to ensure movement of grain out of Ukraine, said the White House National Security Council spokesman. John Kirby said Washington is not considering using US military assets to help protect grain shipments. (20:27 GMT) The Ukrainian foreign minister accused Russia of "putting the global food security at risk" after Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal. "It is an irresponsible move," Dmytro Kuleba told reporters at United Nations headquarters ahead of a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. "Russia is also doing it while increasing its own exports to global markets," Kuleba said. 20230718 (06:01 GMT) Russia launched overnight air attacks on Ukraine's south and east using drones and possibly ballistic missiles, Ukrainian officials say. The southern port of Odesa and the Mykolaiv, Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions were under threat of Russian drone attacks, officials said. They added that Russia may be using ballistic weaponry to attack the regions of Poltava, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv and Kirovohrad. Air raid alerts blared in many Ukrainian regions for hours, before being called off at about 4:30am (01:30 GMT). (06:28 GMT) Russian air defences and electronic countermeasure systems downed 28 Ukrainian drones over Crimea in the early hours of Tuesday, the RIA Novosti news agency reported, citing the Russian defence ministry. The drone attacks caused no casualties or damages, the ministry said. (06:31 GMT) Russia blackmailing world with food access, says Zelenskky https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/18/ukraines-zelenskky-says-russia-blackmails-world-with-food-access (07:16 GMT) Here are a few key takeaways from the British Ministry of Defense's latest update on the situation in Ukraine: * Both warring sides have achieved "marginal advances in different areas". * Russian forces are still holding around Bakhmut. * In the south, although Ukrainian forces keep attacking they have failed so far in breaking Russia's primary defensive lines. (07:42 GMT) Russia's Defence Ministry says its forces had repelled another major drone attack near the annexed Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula, a day after Moscow said a waterborne attack damaged a key bridge and killed two people. A total of 28 unmanned Ukrainian missiles were shot down or diverted from their planned flight path overnight, the ministry said. (08:02 GMT) The German military has ordered several hundred thousand artillery shells in a deal with defence company Rheinmetall as it works to replenish stocks dented by the war in Ukraine. Rheinmetall said it had been awarded a new framework contract for the supply of 155mm artillery ammunition, representing a potential order volume of about 1.2 billion euros ($1.35bn). Germany's armed forces also expanded an existing framework agreement for DM121 ammunition, more than doubling the contract from 109 million euros ($122m) to 246 million euros ($276m), the company said. (08:16 GMT) Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin says road traffic has partially resumed on the Crimean Bridge, which came under attack on Monday. "Motor transport on the Crimean Bridge has been restored in reverse mode on the most outer right lane," Khusnullin said on his Telegram channel. However, ferry operations were suspended early on Tuesday, due to bad weather, Russian agencies reported, citing the Moscow-backed emergency situations ministry of Crimea. (08:35 GMT) Zelenskyy says he spoke to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres about restoring food supply via the Black Sea routes a day after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal. (08:57 GMT) Ukraine's airforce has said they downed 31 out of 36 Shahed kamikaze drones, all six caliber cruise missiles, and one reconnaissance drone launched by Russia overnight. "Six Calibers, 31 Shahed-136/131 attack drone and one reconnaissance BPLA were destroyed," the airforce said in a statement. "Caliber winged missiles and the vast majority of kamikaze drones were destroyed in the south - in Odessa and Mykolaiv regions. The rest of the impact BPLA was affected in Donetsk, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions," they added. (09:34 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said it had carried out overnight strikes on two Ukrainian port cities in what it called "a mass revenge strike" a day after an attack on the Crimean bridge which it blamed on Kyiv. The ministry said in a statement it had struck Odesa and Mykolayiv and hit all targets. (09:49 GMT) Poland's agriculture minister Robert Telus told Reuters that Russia is using grain as ammunition. His comments came a day after Russia withdrew from the Turkey and UN brokered Black Sea grain deal that allowed Ukrainian ships to export grain via Black Sea ports, to the rest of the world. Telus also urged the EU to help improve grain logistics as more Ukraine grain will start flowing through borders after the harvest. (10:06 GMT) Following suggestions that Turkey could protect Ukrainian grain ships, the Kremlin said shipping grain without security guarantees from Russia would be risky as Ukraine uses the water for military activities. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told a briefing that Moscow rejected US criticism of its withdrawal from the deal and that Russia would continue supplying grain to needy countries. (10:23 GMT) The commander of Ukrainian ground forces says the situation in the east is "difficult but under control". "The enemy is transferring reserves to the Bakhmut direction, trying to stop our advance," General Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Telegram. "At the same time, the enemy concentrated its main forces in the Kupyansk direction, where Ukrainian soldiers are holding the defence," he added. (10:44 GMT) The governor of the Belgorod region says five people were injured in Ukrainian shelling on the outskirts of the village of Shamino. "According to preliminary data, five people were injured - civilians. The ambulance crews delivered all the victims to the city hospital No. 2," Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram. (11:03 GMT) About 50 leaders from the European Union and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) struggled to agree on a joint statement on the war in Ukraine during a summit aimed at revitalising relations in Brussels. According to officials familiar with the negotiations, countries with close political and economic ties to Russia, such as Cuba and Nicaragua, resisted attempts to include language condemning Russia. In a draft text seen by Reuters, a paragraph that condemned "the ongoing war against Ukraine" and referred to UN resolutions that "deplore in the strongest terms the aggression by the Russian Federation" had been marked through. The document instead referred to the "specific national positions" of the countries represented at the summit. (11:27 GMT) Every missile fired by Russia at the port of Odesa is equivalent to firing a missile at starving people, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says. She made the remark as Moscow faces a backlash for attacking Ukrainian ports a day after pulling out of an agreement that had allowed Ukraine to export farm products across the Black Sea. Earlier, Russia described its wave of missile and drone attacks on Odesa as revenge for Monday's attack on the Kerch Bridge (Crimean Bridge). 11:45 GMT) Russia's decision to quit the Black Sea grain export deal must not be allowed to destabilise the Polish grain market, Poland's prime minister says. "As far as transit is concerned, we will assist the EU in defusing this worldwide problem caused by Russia," Mateusz Morawiecki said at a news conference in Brussels. "We are of the opinion that this cannot lead to the destabilisation of Polish agricultural markets." (12:08 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke to his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, about ways of exporting Russian grain via routes "that would not be susceptible to Kyiv and the West's sabotage". Lavrov added that Moscow was disbanding a grain coordination centre in Istanbul after its exit from the Black Sea grain deal. Russia refused to extend the agreement because it said the West had failed to meet its obligations under a parallel agreement to facilitate exports of Russian grain and fertiliser. (12:30 GMT) An increase in Russia's debt burden has become inevitable as Moscow spends on the military and economy, a deputy finance minister said. Deputy Finance Minister Irina Okladnikova said Russia's current level of debt is 22.8 trillion roubles or 14.9 % of gross domestic product (GDP). "We understand that in the current situation, we will increase debt, it is a hopeless situation," said Okladnikova at a meeting in Russia's upper house of parliament. "We will have to do this because the expenditure part is growing - we need to support the economy, we have to support the military bloc, and our four new regions (Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia) need significant support." (13:16 GMT) US aid chief Samantha Power pledged $250m in funding to help Ukrainian farmers deal with blocked Black Sea grain shipments. Power said the investment focused on Ukraine's agriculture sector would aim to boost agricultural infrastructure and expand other export routes. She also called on other governments and the private sector to match Washington's investment with another $250m to help farmers "under attack" from Russia's policies. "We have a collective interest in ensuring that Ukrainian farmers stay in business," Power said during a briefing with Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov during a visit to Odesa. (13:40 GMT) Several Group of 20 (G20) members condemned Russia for quitting the Black Sea grain deal during a two-day summit in Gandhinagar, India's finance minister said. "Several members condemned it, saying that shouldn't have happened ... passing through the Black Sea shouldn't have been stopped or suspended," Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters. But finance ministers from the G20 nations have not reached a common language on the war in Ukraine, Sitharaman said. (13:59 GMT) Russia's parliament extends the maximum age at which men can be mobilised to serve in the army by at least five years, up to 70. The law allows men who have completed their compulsory service without any further commitment to be mobilised up to the age of 40, 50 or 55, depending on their category, the State Duma or lower house of parliament said on its website. Russia also maintains a "mobilised reserve" of men signed up for periodic military training and a stipend after their compulsory or professional service ends. The new law means that those from this reserve with the highest ranks can now be called back into service up to the age of 70 rather than 65, other senior positions up to 65, junior officers up to 60 - and all others up to the age of 55 rather than 45. Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu has previously said he plans to increase combat personnel to 1.5 million from 1.15 million. (14:17 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 510 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-510 (14:39 GMT) The US will announce a new pledge to buy $1.3bn worth of military aid for Kyiv in the coming days, two anonymous US officials told the Reuters news agency. One official said that the weapons package is expected to include air defences, counter-drone systems, exploding drones, and ammunition. Additionally, Ukraine will get many counter-drone systems made by Australia's DroneShield Ltd alongside radars, sensors and analysis systems. Washington uses funds in its Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) programme, allowing President Joe Biden's administration to buy weapons from industry rather than pull from stocks. (14:59 GMT) A cargo insurance facility providing cover for Ukraine grain shipments has been suspended after Russia quit the Black Sea grain export agreement. The marine cargo and war facility provided insurance of up to $50m per cargo from underwriters led by the Lloyd's of London insurer Ascot. "It is currently on pause. It is suspended effectively due to the agreement not being extended," said David Roe, head of UK cargo at Marsh, which acted as the facility's broker. (15:28 GMT) The head of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said athletes from Russia and Belarus should not be punished for the actions of their governments. Asked about the participation of Russians and Belarusians at next year's Paris Games, IOC President Thomas Bach said, "We have a mission to unite all the athletes of the world in a peaceful competition. We have the responsibility not to punish athletes for the acts of their governments." (15:49 GMT) Russia's decision to pull out from the grain deal is an "escalation of the weaponisation of hunger", Canada said. (16:14 GMT) Private Russian lender Sovcombank says it will spin off a portion of its business to hold assets blocked as a result of Western sanctions after the plan won unanimous shareholder approval. Sovcombank, one of Russia's 13 official "systemically important" credit institutions, has been starved of access to some markets by restrictions imposed on Russia and its financial sector over the invasion of Ukraine. The bank said it was taking advantage of a new Russian law that allows sanctioned banks to transfer blocked assets, or liabilities towards so-called unfriendly investors - those from countries that imposed sanctions - to a separate entity. "This will allow the bank to simplify its work with blocked assets and debts to unfriendly creditors, as well as lowering the effect from creating reserves with regard to blocked assets, and will have an insignificant impact on capital, liquidity and ratios," First Deputy Chairman Sergei Khotimsky said in a statement. (16:45 GMT) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked permission from the International Criminal Court (ICC) not to arrest Russia's Vladimir Putin, because to do so would amount to a declaration of war. Ramaphosa made the remarks in a legal response to a court case brought by the opposition Democratic Alliance to compel the government to arrest Putin should he set foot on South African soil. Ramaphosa's response, which was filed on June 27th, was made public on Tuesday. "South Africa has obvious problems with executing a request to arrest and surrender President Putin," his affadavit stated. "Russia has made it clear that arresting its sitting President would be a declaration of war." South Africa is due to host a summit of the BRICS club of nations - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - next month, which all of the heads of states of those countries are scheduled to attend. (17:18 GMT) The African Union has expressed "regret" over Russia's decision to suspend a deal allowing safe passage for grain cargo ships from Ukrainian Black Sea ports. (17:44 GMT) Ukraine's counteroffensive is far from a failure, but the fight ahead will be long and bloody, the top United States general has said. "It is far from a failure ... I think that it's way too early to make that kind of call," General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters. "I think there's a lot of fighting left to go and I'll stay with what we said before: This is going to be long. It's going to be hard. It's going to be bloody." Ukraine says its forces recaptured 100sq km of territory, but Russian President Vladimir Putin claims Kyiv's counteroffensive has largely failed. (18:17 GMT) Residents and relatives gathered at a Bucha cemetery to give Ukrainian soldiers killed during Russia's brutal occupation a proper burial, after their remains were retrieved from different mass graves and identified. (18:33 GMT) European, Latin American and Caribbean leaders have failed to agree on a statement holding Russia to account for the war in Ukraine, highlighting their differences over the crisis. The joint communique issued after the EU and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) summit expressed "deep concern" about the conflict but contained no mention of Russia. Even this position - adopted after the first such summit in eight years - was rejected by one of the approximately 60 countries represented, understood to be Nicaragua. Diplomats said Nicaragua, Cuba and Venezuela had opposed language criticising Russia, and other countries - while agreeing to support Ukraine's sovereignty - had stressed that different crises and conflicts were also worthy of the world's attention. (18:58 GMT) There are a "number of ideas being floated" to help get Ukrainian and Russian grain and fertiliser to global markets after Moscow quit a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, the United Nations has said. (19:35 GMT) US weapons maker Lockheed Martin has raised its annual profit and sales outlook as conflicts such as the war in Ukraine stoked demand for military equipment. But shares of the company were down around 2.5 percent over continued supply chain concerns and F-35 deliveries. Lockheed's weapons, such the guided multiple launch rocket system and Javelin anti-tank missiles, made in conjunction with aerospace and defence firm RTX, have been used by Ukraine in its fight against Russia's full-scale invasion. However, because of software upgrade issues, the Pentagon is delaying final delivery acceptance for F-35 jets, management said, adding that the impact was about a $7 million per jet payment delay, which could be rectified by year-end or early 2024. (20:27 GMT) A meeting of finance chiefs and central bank governors of the Group of 20 leading economies has ended in India's western state of Gujarat without a consensus because of differences between countries over the war in Ukraine. Following two days of talks in Gandhinagar, there was no final communique. Instead, India, as the host nation, was forced to issue the G20 Chair's Summary and Outcome Document. India's finance minister said the reason for the chair's statement was "because we still don't have a common language on the Russia-Ukraine war". 20230719 (05:50 GMT) A fire that broke out at military training grounds in the Kirovske district on the Crimean peninsula has forced the evacuation of more than 2,000 people and the closure of a nearby highway, the Moscow-backed governor of Crimea has said. "It is planned to temporarily evacuate residents of four settlements - this is more than 2,000 people," Russian-installed Governor Sergei Aksyonov of Crimea said on the Telegram messaging app. (05:57 GMT) Russia has launched a massive air attack on the Ukrainian port of Odesa for a second night in a row, which one Ukrainian official described as "hellish", but authorities said they would not be intimidated and would continue work to export grains. The attack was "very powerful, truly massive," Serhiy Bratchuk, spokesperson for the Odesa military administration, said in a voice message on his Telegram channel. "It was a hellish night," he said, adding that details on damage and casualties will come later. (06:42 GMT) Air defence systems were engaged in repelling an overnight Russian attack on Kyiv, the capital's military administration said on the Telegram channel. Reuters news agency's witness reported hearing blasts and smoke rising near Kyiv. (06:59 GMT) Ukraine's air force has said it successfully downed 37 out of 63 targets in a vast Russian overnight missile and drone attack, including 23 suicide drones and 14 cruise missiles. The air force said military facilities and critical infrastructure had been attacked in the nighttime raids, and that the main target was the southern Odesa region. (07:16 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 511 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-511 (08:09 GMT) UK's defence ministry has said that since the beginning of July this year, "there has highly likely been an increase in fighting around the lower reaches of the Dnipro [Dnieper] River". "Both sides are using small, fast motorboats, and Ukraine has successfully used tactical one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles to destroy some Russian boats," the ministry said in a tweet. "Russia faces a dilemma in deciding whether to respond to these threats by strengthening its Dnipro Group of Forces at the expense of the stretched units facing the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Zaporizhzhia Oblast," the ministry added. (09:06 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, political adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has said that Russia intentionally struck grain terminals and port infrastructure in Odesa in its latest air strikes. (09:42 GMT) Five Central European EU members will jointly ask the European Union to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports beyond a deadline that expires on September 15, to avoid major market disruption, Hungary's farm minister Istvan Nagy told Reuters. Heading for the meeting in Warsaw, Nagy said at the airport that Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Slovakia will ask for the import ban to remain on Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds for now. However, he said they would also discuss an option where countries could individually ask the EU to add products to the ban list. (10:00 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said its forces have destroyed a stray Ukrainian mine drifting in the south-western part of the Black Sea. It said the mine was detected by Russia's Black Sea fleet, floating about 180 km northeast of the Bosporus Strait. "On the decision of the ship's commander, a Ka-27 helicopter was taken into the air, whose crew eliminated the mine with machine-gun fire," the ministry said. (10:41 GMT) The Kremlin has accused the West for turning a blind eye to what it said were "terrorist attacks" committed by Ukraine inside Russia. Two people were killed on Monday after Moscow said Ukraine used naval drones to attack the bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Kyiv says Crimea is Ukrainian and that it intends to take it back by force (11:07 GMT) South Africa, the host of this year's BRICS summit, has said Russian President Vladimir Putin will not be attending this year's meeting. The South African Presidency highlighted that the decision was a "mutual agreement" between the two countries. (11:32 GMT) Ukraine's air force says it shot down 13 Kalibr cruise missiles, one guided Kh-59 cruise missile, and 23 Shahed kamikaze drones launched by Russia overnight. The air force said Russia used 16 Kalibr cruise missiles launched from the Black Sea Fleet vessels, eight Kh-22 cruise missiles, six Oniks cruise missiles, and one guided aerial Kh-59 missile, as well as 32 Shahed kamikaze drones. The missiles were mainly targeted at the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, according to reports. (11:43 GMT) The Russian Ministry of Defence says its forces have captured Movchanove railway station in northeastern Ukraine's Kharkiv region, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS. Ukraine, which recaptured much of the region in September, said this week that Russia was again on the offensive there and "heavy fighting" was taking place. (11:56 GMT) Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky says a "considerable" amount of grain export infrastructure at a port in Chornomorsk in the Odesa region has been damaged in a Russian attack. He said the attack also destroyed 60,000 tonnes of grain that should have been loaded and shipped via the Black Sea grain export agreement 60 days ago. (12:22 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says the country achieved its goal of striking Ukraine's Odesa overnight and all targets were hit, according to a report by Russia's TASS news agency. "Overnight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation launched a group strike with high-precision sea and air-based weapons on military industry facilities, fuel infrastructure and ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the city of Odessa, as well as on the Kanatovo air base of the Ukrainian Air Force in the Kirovograd region," TASS quoted Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov as saying. "The goal of the strike has been achieved," he said. (13:17 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to attend the BRICS Summit virtually, through video conferencing, according to a report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. "Putin decided to participate in the BRICS summit via videoconferencing, it will be a full-fledged participation," Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov told RIA Novosti. He added that Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the summit. (13:32 GMT) A video of the Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin welcoming his Wagner fighters to Belarus has been posted by his press service on the Telegram messaging app. Prigozhin is heard welcoming his men, telling them to behave and saying their training will make the Belarusian army the second best in the world. He is also heard saying that his men will stay in Belarus for some time and calling what is happening on the front lines in Ukraine a "disgrace" that the Wagner Group should not take part in, and asks them to prepare for a "new journey to Africa". to show. (13:55 GMT) Five Central European countries want a ban on Ukrainian grain to be extended at least until the end of the year, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus says. In May, the European Union allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds while allowing transit of such cargoes for export elsewhere. That ban is set to end on September 15. (14:13 GMT) The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said that Russia's exit from a deal allowing Ukrainian exports via the Black Sea worsens the global food security outlook and risks adding to food inflation, especially for low-income countries. (14:38 GMT) The head of the United Kingdom's MI6 intelligence service has asked Russians angry with the invasion of Ukraine to "join hands" with the UK to help end the bloodshed, an invitation that is sure to stir fury at the Kremlin. "I invite them to do what others have done this past 18 months and join hands with us. Our door is always open ... Their secrets will be safe with us and together we will work to bring the bloodshed to an end," Richard Moore told Politico on Wednesday, at the British embassy in Prague. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/19/spies-using-ai-kyivs-counteroffensive-hard-uk-spy-chief (14:57 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that the military had been instructed to strengthen the security of ports after the Russian strikes against Odesa and elsewhere. (15:20 GMT) Ireland's Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says that "national borders cannot be changed through violence" while in Ukraine for a state visit. "This is the 21st century, national borders cannot be changed through violence, and democratically elected governments like Ukraine, should not be overthrown by foreign invasion," the taoiseach or prime minister said in a tweet, adding that the Republic of Ireland would stand by Ukraine for "as long as it takes". (15:44 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that from midnight on July 20 (21:00 GMT on July 19), all ships sailing in the Black Sea to Ukrainian ports, will be considered as potential carriers of military cargo. "Accordingly, the flag countries of such ships will be considered involved in the Ukrainian conflict on the side of the Kyiv regime," the ministry said in a statement. (16:33 GMT) Talks being mediated by Saudi Arabia and Turkey on the repatriation of Ukrainian thousands of children taken to Russia since Moscow's invasion have been under way since at least April, a source with knowledge of the discussions has said. The source confirmed a Financial Times report that Riyadh and Istanbul were trying to broker a deal to bring home children who have been have been taken to Russia and placed in children's homes or adopted by Russian families. (17:00 GMT) The United States on Wednesday announced additional security assistance for Ukraine, totalling about $1.3bn, with the package including air defence capabilities and munitions. "This announcement represents the beginning of a contracting process to provide additional priority capabilities to Ukraine," the Pentagon has said in a statement. (17:33 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has blamed Western countries he said "completely distorted" the expired Black Sea grain deal, but said Russia would "immediately" return to the deal if all its conditions for doing so were met. Earlier on Wednesday, Russia's defence ministry said Moscow would consider all vessels heading to Ukrainian ports as potential carriers of military cargoes, days after the collapse of the grain deal, which Russia had repeatedly criticised in recent weeks. (17:45 GMT) US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power has pledged $230m in new funding to help Ukraine's small and medium-sized businesses and boost the economy, hit by the war. Speaking at Mykhailivska Square at the heart of the capital Kyiv, she said that the aid package would include both technical assistance and also support to businesses that seek to grow and expand their operations. "USAID is going to work with the US Congress to invest $230m in new resources for Ukrainian businesses," she told the media at the end of her three-day visit to Ukraine. (17:55 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of turning the now-expired deal protecting Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, which alleviated fears of food crisis, into political leverage. "Instead of helping countries in real need, the West used the grain deal for political blackmail and... turned it into a tool to enrich transnational corporations and speculators in the global grain market," Putin said at a government meeting. (17:53 GMT) The Belarus Red Cross has sparked international outrage after its chief told Belarusian state television that the organization is actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied areas to Belarus. Both Ukraine and the Belarusian opposition have decried the transfer as unlawful deportations, and there have been calls for international war crimes charges for the authoritarian Belarus leader, similar to the charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. The actions of the Belarus Red Cross drew stern criticism from the International Federation of Red and Red Crescent Societies. A report aired by the state Belarus 1 TV channel showed Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, visiting the Russian-held Ukrainian city of Lysychansk in the Luhansk region. In the footage, he says the organization was actively involved in bringing Ukrainian children to Belarus for "health improvement" purposes. "The Belarus Red Cross has taken - and is taking, and will be taking - an active part in it," Shautsou said. (17:55 GMT) Vladimir Putin has accused Western countries of turning the now-expired deal protecting Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea, which alleviated fears of food crisis, into political leverage. "Instead of helping countries in real need, the West used the grain deal for political blackmail and ... turned it into a tool to enrich transnational corporations and speculators in the global grain market," Putin said at a government meeting. (19:41 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has hailed the United States' "unwavering" support after Washington announced a new $1.3bn military aid package. The aid "will help save Ukrainian lives and move closer to our common victory", Zelenskyy wrote on Twitter. "We appreciate the unwavering support of the friendly American people." 20230720 (06:04 GMT) Russia launched attacks on the Ukrainian port cities of Odesa and Mykolaiv, injuring at least 20, local governors said early on Thursday. (06:25 GMT) Five cruise missiles and 13 attack drones launched by Russian forces overnight at the southern Mykolaiv and Odesa regions were destroyed, Ukraine's air force has said. It said Russia fired 19 cruise missiles and 19 drones in total, but did not specify exactly where the others struck. (06:26 GMT) Chicago wheat futures rose 1.6 percent to hit a three-week high, amid Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea export deal earlier this week which analysts say will increase global wheat prices. Corn gained more than 1 percent, while soybeans were little changed on forecasts of hot and dry weather in the US Midwest. (06:52 GMT) Russia is responsible for a major global food supply crisis, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. "What we already know is that this is going to create a big and huge food crisis in the world," Borrell told journalists before heading into an EU foreign ministers' meeting. He accused Russia of deliberately attacking grain storage facilities in the southern port city of Odesa, which he said would further deepen the food crisis. (07:11 GMT) Belarus' Defence Ministry has said in a statement the country's military were continuing exercises with fighters from Russia's Wagner Group mercenary force at a military base near the city of Brest, on the border with Poland. (07:29 GMT) Economist Simon Baptiste says while "everybody" around the world will be impacted negatively by Russia pulling out from the grain deal, the price of wheat is unlikely to spike by much. "The price and supplies of wheat are driven by the global harvest, and the accessibility of that to market," Baptiste, chief global economist at Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), told Al Jazeera. "With Ukrainian supplies now going down we can expect some small increase in the wheat price. But wheat price hit a high of about $500 per tonne just after the invasion, and is now down to about $350 where at the EIU were expecting that to soften a bit further to $340. So it'll probably now stay at about $350 or maybe go to $360." However, the Singapore-based analyst said there was "plentiful supply" around the world, with Australia and Canada reporting big harvests. "And actually Russia's harvest is also at a record high," he said (07:52 GMT) Head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office has described the latest strikes as "Russian terror" and asserted they were meant to disrupt food supplies in the global south. In a separate but related tweet minutes later, he said Russia's economy should suffer a "devastating sanctions blow" and that Ukraine should "receive more weapons for defense of the sky and offensive actions". (08:17 GMT) The head of the Ukrainian president's office, Andriy Yermak, calls for stronger Russian sanctions to drastically affect its economy. (08:43 GMT) Germany is working with allies to ensure that Ukrainian grain is not left to rot in silos after Russia pulled out of the grain deal, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said. (09:00 GMT) China is willing to increase imports from Ukraine, the Chinese commerce ministry says. China is willing to "establish cooperative relations between the investment promotion agencies of the two countries, and continuously expand the space for trade and investment cooperation," Ling Ji, vice commerce minister, said in a meeting co-chaired with Ukraine's deputy economy minister, Taras Kachka, in Beijing. Kachka said Ukraine hopes to expand the export of agricultural products to China. "We are willing to work together with China to promote the healthy and sustainable development of economic and trade relations between the two countries," Kachka said. (09:35 GMT) At least one person has been killed and 27 injured in Russia's latest attack on Odesa and Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said. Regional authorities said that one person was also killed in Russian shelling in Kharkiv. Ukraine's military added that Russian forces launched 19 cruise missiles and 19 drones overnight and 5 missiles and 13 drones had been shot down. (09:56 GMT) On the 73rd week of the war, Ukraine made small counteroffensive gains and attacked the Crimean Bridge. In retaliation, Russia announced it was withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/20/ukrainian-push-stalls-russias-command-baulks-food-crisis-looms (10:18 GMT) European Union foreign ministers met to discuss support for Ukraine, including a plan to spend up to 20 billion euros ($22.4 bn) on weapons, ammunition and other military aid over four years. "We'll discuss how to continue supporting Ukraine in the long run," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on arrival at the meeting in Brussels. "I presented a plan in order to ensure financial support for Ukraine in the next years, which will amount to quite an important amount of money. I hope the ministers will support it," he told reporters. The move would be part of an international drive to give Ukraine long-term security assurances, as announced by members of the Group of Seven (G7) on the sidelines of last week's NATO summit. (10:41 GMT) A building at the Chinese consulate in Odesa was damaged during Russia's latest attack on the Ukrainian port city, regional governor Oleh Kiper said Kiper posted a photograph online showing minor damage to the building. "The aggressor is deliberately hitting the port infrastructure - administrative and residential buildings nearby were damaged, also the consulate of the People's Republic of China. It shows the enemy does not pay attention to anything," Kiper said on Telegram. Zelenskyy said in his nightly video that 60,000 tons of agricultural products destroyed in a Russian air strike on the Odesa port were intended Putin has accused Poland of having territorial ambitions in the former Soviet Union and said any aggression against close ally Belarus would be considered a threat against Russia. In a televised meeting of his Security Council, Putin said Moscow would react to any aggression against Belarus "with all means at our disposal". for China. (11:03 GMT) The Kremlin says Poland's decision to increase its forces along its border with Belarus as Russian Wagner fighters arrive is "a cause for concern". Poland, a member of the Western NATO military alliance, began moving over 1,000 troops, along with military hardware, to the east this month. Asked about Poland's move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: "Of course, it is a cause for concern. The aggressiveness of Poland is a reality. Such a hostile attitude towards Belarus and the Russian Federation requires heightened attention (from our side)." (11:22 GMT) Chicago wheat futures hit a three-week high as Russia pulled out of the Black Sea grain deal on Monday. In the three days since, Moscow has ramped up attacks on Ukrainian port cities and warned that any incoming ships could be considered military targets. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/20/wheat-at-3-week-high-as-ukraine-port-attacks-cause-supply-fear (12:17 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says it continued "retaliatory strikes" on Ukraine days after Moscow quit the Black Sea grain deal. Moscow had promised payback for an attack on the Kerch Bridge in Crimea on Monday. The defence ministry said it had "continued to deliver retaliatory strikes with high-precision sea and air-based weapons at workshops and storage sites for unmanned boats in the regions of Odesa and Chornomorsk". "In the area of the city of Mykolaiv, fuel infrastructure facilities and ammunition depots of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed," it added. (12:44 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says Poland's move to extend a ban on grain exports was an "unfriendly and populist move". On Twitter, Shmyhal said, "During this critical time, Poland intends to continue blocking the export of UA (Ukrainian) grain to the EU. This is an unfriendly and populist move that will severely impact global food security and Ukraine's economy. "We urge our partners and the EU Commission to ensure unimpeded export of all Ukrainian agriculture products to the EU. This is an act of solidarity not only with Ukraine but with the world, which relies on our grain," he said. An EU ban on Ukrainian grain imports is set to expire on September 15. On Wednesday, Poland said it would not lift the ban even if the EU does not agree on its extension. (13:19 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says it would consider all ships travelling to Russian and Ukrainian Black Sea ports as potential carriers of military cargo, a day after Russia said the same. "Ukraine's Ministry of Defence warns that from 00:00 on July 21, 2023 (21:00 GMT on Thursday), all vessels heading in Black Sea waters in the direction of the Russian Federation's seaports and Ukrainian seaports on Ukrainian territory temporarily occupied by Russia may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks," the ministry said. On Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry said all ships travelling through the Black Sea towards Ukraine would be considered to be potentially carrying military cargo on behalf of Kyiv and said, "The flag countries of such ships will be considered parties to the Ukrainian conflict." (13:43 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 512 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-512 (14:09 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the World Bank and International Financial Cooperation (IFC) plan to mobilise more than $8bn for new Ukraine programmes. (14:28 GMT) Ukraine will receive a $1.5bn loan from the World Bank guaranteed by the government of Japan, Prime Minister Shmyhal said. On Telegram, Shmyhal said the funds would strengthen social protection, assist people affected by the war and rebuild the economy. He added that the World Bank and its partners have already mobilised $34bn to help Ukraine, of which more than $22bn has already been received. (14:49 GMT) The United States is imposing new Russia sanctions targeting 18 individuals and dozens of organisations aimed at blocking Moscow's access to products that support its war, the US Department of the Treasury said. According to a statement, the sanctions are designed to "reduce Russia's revenue from the metals and mining sector, undermine its future energy capabilities and degrade Russia's access to the international financial system". "Today's actions represent another step in our efforts to constrain Russia's military capabilities, its access to battlefield supplies, and its economic bottom line," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in the statement. (15:10 GMT) Russia imposes restrictions on British diplomats, requiring them to now give at least five fay notice of any plans to travel beyond a 120km (75-mile) radius due to London's "hostile actions". The UK's chargé d'affaires in Russia were summoned to the foreign ministry in Moscow for supporting the "terrorist actions" of Ukraine and for blocking Russian diplomacy in the UK. "The British side was also informed of the decision to introduce a notification procedure for the movement of employees of British diplomatic missions on the territory of our country as a response to London's hostile actions," the ministry said. The restrictions will put British diplomats under the most challenging constraints since Soviet times when foreign travel was limited and closely controlled by the KGB security service. (15:26 GMT) A European Commission proposal to use frozen public Russian assets to help Ukraine will not be published until September, a spokesman said. The EU is focused on finding a legal way to use the tax on the interest made by these assets for Ukraine, but the bloc is being careful to make sure the method holds up in court in the event of any lawsuits. The spokesman added that the EU was working on an agreement with the Group of Seven (G7) countries on how to move forward, and a statement was expected this month. G7 countries and the EU have frozen more than 300 billion euros ($335.55bn) combined. "Discussions between member states have been going well. The last meeting of the council working party on this matter was on July 12, and the next one will take place in September," the spokesman told reporters. (15:46 GMT) Ukraine's Kherson region will have little or no harvest due to a water shortage in the North Crimean and Kakhovka canals, Russian-installed governor Vladimir Saldo said. The Kakhovka dam, a dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, was breached in June and led to widespread flooding and mass displacement. (16:40 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has slammed Russian attacks on military infrastructure in southern Ukraine. "These attacks are ... having an impact well beyond Ukraine. We are already seeing the negative effect on global wheat and corn prices which hurts everyone, but especially vulnerable people in the global south," Guterres said in a statement from his spokesman, Stephane Dujarric. (16:55 GMT) Ukraine's central bank has said it will nationalise Russian-owned Sense Bank, one of the country's top commercial banks, and put it under temporary administration. The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) said in a statement it decided to "withdraw from the market the systemically important" bank and submitted a proposal to the government on the state's participation in the process. The "safe" transfer will not be noticeable to clients, NBU Governor Andriy Pyshnyi said. Sense Bank, with three million depositors, posted losses of seven billion hryvnias ($189.75m) in 2022, the central bank said. (17:10 GMT) The European Union will provide up to five billion euros ($5.57bn) a year for the next four years for Ukraine's defence needs via the means of a "dedicated section" under the European Peace facility, the EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has said. "It's still the same tool, the European Peace facility, which has been working very well and we will continue using it but with a dedicated chapter inside it, with a specific funding which can be estimated on the figures I mentioned," Borrell told reporters during a news conference after convening with EU member states' foreign ministers. (17:24 GMT) Russia is not preparing to attack civilian ships in the Black Sea despite assertions by the United States, Russia's ambassador to Washington, Anatoly Antonov, has said in comments posted by his embassy. (18:18 GMT) 'Irreparable loss': tributes for Russians killed in Crimea attack Relatives and friends of two Russians killed in an attack on the Kerch bridge linking annexed Crimea to the Russian mainland gathered to pay tribute to the couple. Dozens of people brought wreaths to a church at Novy Oskol in the Belgorod region, before attending an orthodox liturgy. Natalya and Alexei Kulyk were killed after the Kerch bridge was struck overnight into Monday in a drone attack, which has been attributed to Ukraine. Their daughter survived the incident and was hospitalised. (19:12 GMT) The United States has imposed sanctions on Russian major copper producer Ural Mining And Metallurgical Company (UMMC) as a measure to "reduce Russia's revenue from the metals and mining sector," the Departments of Treasury and State have said. The deadline for ceasing transactions with UMMC is set by the United States for October 18. UMMC has not disclosed its copper output in recent years. As of 2020, it was producing around 40 percent of Russian copper, broadly in line with its peer Nornickel, which has not been targeted by the Western sanctions so far. (19:30 GMT) US-supplied cluster munitions are in Ukrainian hands and being deployed in the field as part of Kyiv's battle against Russia, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has said. "We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they're using them quite effectively," Kirby said at a news briefing. Kirby said the cluster munitions are having an impact on Russian defensive formations and manoeuvring. Ukraine has pledged to use the cluster bombs only to dislodge concentrations of Russian enemy soldiers. Cluster munitions, which are banned in more than 100 countries, typically release large numbers of smaller bomblets that can kill indiscriminately over a wide area. Those that fail to explode pose a danger for decades. (20:21 GMT) Russia-Ukraine Black Sea grain deal: All you need to know https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/17/russia-ukraine-black-sea-grain-deal-all-you-need-to-know 20230721 (06:10 GMT) Ukraine's use of cluster bombs 'effective' Controversial cluster munitions supplied by the US are being used "effectively" by Ukrainian forces in their counteroffensive against Russia's invasion, a senior US defence official said. "We have gotten some initial feedback from the Ukrainians, and they're using them quite effectively," White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters. Kirby also said the US-provided cluster bombs - which are banned by more than 120 countries - were having an impact on Russian defensive formations and the manoeuvring of Russia's forces. (06:15 GMT) The European Union is drawing up plans for a 20 billion euro ($22bn) fund to provide Ukraine with weapons, ammunition and military aid as it fights Russia's invasion, officials have said. Josep Borrell, the bloc's foreign policy chief, outlined the four-year proposal to EU foreign ministers meeting in Brussels. (06:19 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry said it will consider all ships travelling to Russian and Russian-occupied Ukrainian Black Sea ports as potential carriers of military cargo, a day after Russia issued the same warning to ships travelling to Ukraine's ports. In response to threats from Moscow, Kyiv has warned that all ships calling at Russian-controlled ports in the Black Sea "may be considered by Ukraine as carrying military cargo with all the relevant risks". (06:47 GMT) Russia's navy has carried out a live-fire "exercise" in the Black Sea, days after the Kremlin declared it would consider ships travelling to Ukraine through the waterway potential military targets. A missile boat from Moscow's Black Sea Fleet "carried out live firing of anti-ship cruise missiles at the target ship" in the northwestern part of the Black Sea, Russia's defence ministry said. Ships and fleet aviation had also "worked out actions to isolate the area temporarily closed to navigation, and also carried out a set of measures to detain the offending ship", it added (07:16 GMT) Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal is expected to drive food prices higher in Asia but the impact will be muted for now, analysts say, due to reduced imports from Ukraine and increased supply from other countries. Under the Black Sea deal, Asia received 46 percent of shipments of grains and other foodstuffs, while Western Europe and Africa took 40 percent and 12 percent, respectively. China has been the largest single recipient of exports, according to UN figures, taking 7.7 million tonnes or nearly one-quarter of the total. https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2023/7/21/russias-exit-from-grain-deal-puts-focus-on-asias-food-prices (07:26 GMT) Russian missiles hit grain terminals at an agricultural enterprise in the Odesa region in a fourth successive night of air strikes on southern Ukraine, the regional governor has said. "Unfortunately, the grain terminals of an agricultural enterprise in Odesa region were hit. The enemy destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley," Odesa's regional governor Oleh Kiper said, adding that two people had been hurt in the attack. Kiper said Russia had attacked with Kalibr cruise missiles that were fired from the Black Sea at low altitude to bypass air defence systems. Photographs from the scene showed a fire burning among crumpled metal buildings that appeared to be storehouses, and a badly damaged fire-fighting vehicle. (08:16 GMT) Zelenskyy dismissed Vadym Prystaiko as Ukraine's ambassador to Britain. The presidential order gave no reason for the dismissal but said the ambassador had also been removed as Ukraine's representative to the International Maritime Organisation. (08:41 GMT) The Ukrainian governor of the Odesa region said Russia used Kalibr cruise missiles in its latest attack on Friday morning that injured two people. On Telegram, Oleh Kiper wrote: "After three consecutive nights of powerful missile and drone terror of the port infrastructure, [Russia] switched to agricultural enterprises in the region. Two rockets hit the granaries of one of the agricultural enterprises." "The enemy destroyed 100 tons of peas and 20 tons of barley. Two employees of the enterprise were injured." (09:08 GMT) The British ambassador to Ukraine commented on the psychological effects of air raid alerts several times a day as a result of the war. On Twitter, Dame Melinda Simmons, wrote, "Air raid alerts several times a day that last for only around 15 minutes a time are as unnerving as those further apart but lasting longer, it turns out. They keep your stress levels at a permanent high #russianinvasion." (09:36 GMT) China says its position on the war in Ukraine remains "unchanging" and "clear", the Russian news agency TASS reported. "We will make efforts and continue to play a constructive role in order to advance the political process to resolve the crisis," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a press briefing. Ning added that China will closely monitor the situation in Ukraine. On Thursday, explosions hit near the building of the Chinese Consulate General in Odesa. None of the employees of the diplomatic mission were injured but minor damage to the building was reported. (09:59 GMT) The Kremlin says Ukraine's "unpredictable" actions posed a danger to civilian shipping in the Black Sea and accused Kyiv of carrying out "terrorist attacks" in the area. (10:13 GMT) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his planned talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin could lead to restoring the Black Sea grain deal, as he called on Western countries to consider Russia's demands, Turkish broadcaster Haberturk reported. "The termination of the Black Sea grain deal will have a series of consequences, ranging from the increase in global food prices to scarcity in certain regions and, potentially, leading to new waves of migration," Erdogan told reporters on a flight returning from a trip to Gulf countries and Northern Cyprus. "I believe that by thoroughly discussing the matter with President Putin, we can ensure the continuation of this humanitarian effort," Erdogan added. (11:30 GMT) Russian investigators have detained prominent Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, suggesting that authorities may have tired of his criticism of the "special military operation" in Ukraine. The former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, who is also known as Igor Strelkov, helped Russia annex Crimea in 2014 and organise pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine. Earlier this year, he said he was entering politics and has been increasingly critical of Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu over incompetence in the war. In a message posted on Girkin's official Telegram account, his wife, Miroslava Reginskaya, said: "Today, at about 11.30, representatives of the Investigative Committee came to our house. I was not at home. Soon, according to the concierge, they took my husband out by his arms and in an unknown direction." She added that friends had told her that Girkin had been charged with extremism. (11:48 GMT) Turkey will ratify Sweden's NATO membership bid with cooperation from Stockholm in the fight against "terrorism", President Erdogan said. Erdogan unexpectedly agreed to ratify Sweden's bid during the alliance's summit in Lithuania this month and said he would forward it to Turkey's parliament when it reconvenes in October. "Turkish parliament's working schedule will determine the process of Sweden's NATO membership (ratification)," Erdogan told reporters, according to a readout from his office. "It would be in Sweden's favour if they take concrete steps on the fight against terrorist organisations and on the extradition of terrorists." (12:02 GMT) Russia's defence ministry says forces used high-precision weapons on Ukrainian facilities in the fourth successive day of attacks on port cities, Russia's TASS news agency reported. Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, said, "Tonight, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation delivered another strike with sea-based long-range precision weapons at facilities where terrorist acts against the Russian Federation were being prepared using attack unmanned aerial vehicles. "All designated targets have been hit," Konashenkov added. (12:28 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 513 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-513 (12:50 GMT) Germany and NATO members are prepared to support Poland in defending its eastern flank, German defence minister Boris Pistorius said in Prague. "Where the Polish partners need support, they will receive it," Pistorius said at a press conference with his Czech counterpart in Prague. "They are NATO partners and reliable NATO allies, so we can confidently say that we are prepared." (13:12 GMT) Putin says Kyiv's counteroffensive was failing despite military and financial support from Western countries. During a televised meeting of the Kremlin's Security Council, Putin said, "Neither the colossal resources that have been pumped into the Kyiv regime nor the supplies of Western weapons, tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and missiles are helping." According to the Russian state-owned TASS news agency, Putin said Ukrainian forces were also suffering from colossal losses. (13:33 GMT) Iran "reserves the right for reciprocal and proportional action" after the European Union imposed new sanctions over Tehran's support for Russia's war on Ukraine, its foreign ministry said. "Linking the Ukraine war with Iran-Russia bilateral cooperation is politically motivated," Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said. "We stress ending the conflict diplomatically... Iran reserves the right for reciprocal and proportional actions against the EU sanctions & its members." On Thursday, the EU said it would ban the export of components used in the construction and production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Six Iranian nationals were also sanctioned for Iran's "military support of Russia's war against Ukraine [drones] and to the Syrian regime [air defence systems]". (14:00 GMT) Moscow will do "all it can" to protect Africa from the consequences of withdrawing from the Black Sea grain export deal, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Vershinin said. Vershinin added that Russia is working on new grain export routes following its exit from the deal when it expired on Monday. (14:21 GMT) Vershinin accuses Ukraine of using a grain export corridor to launch "terrorist attacks" against Russian interests, including on the Kerch Bridge. Addressing Russia's decision to pull out of the grain deal, Vershinin said, "It was used - as we know, and we have also talked about it - to organise terrorist attacks." "It was the Crimean Bridge, twice already. It was Sevastopol. Remember last October." (14:46 GMT) French President Emmanuel Macron's top diplomatic adviser says China is delivering items to Russia that could be used as military equipment. Asked at the Aspen Security Forum if the West had seen any evidence that China had armed Russia in any way, Emmanuel Bonne said: "Yes, there are indications that they are doing things we would prefer them not to do." "As far as we know, they are not delivering massive military capacities to Russia, but [we need that to be] no delivery." French officials told the US broadcaster CNN that Bonne was referring to both dual-use technologies and non-lethal assistance, such as helmets and body armour. China has repeatedly denied sending military equipment to Russia. (15:12 GMT) The UN political affairs chief has told the Security Council that Russia's attacks on Black Sea ports risk "having far-reaching impacts on global food security, in particular, in developing countries". Rosemary DiCarlo added that threats by Russia and Ukraine to potentially target civilian vessels were unacceptable. (15:33 GMT) Prosecutors from Russia's FSB security service asked a Moscow court to keep Kremlin critic Igor Girkin in detention on a charge of inciting extremist activity, Russian state news agencies reported. If convicted, Girkin faces up to five years in prison, the TASS and RIA news agencies said (16:19 GMT) The spike in grain prices in the days since Russia quit a deal allowing the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain "potentially threatens hunger and worse for millions of people," the United Nations aid chief Martin Griffiths has told the Security Council. Russia quit the Black Sea grain deal on Monday, saying that demands to improve its own food and fertiliser exports had not been met and complaining that not enough Ukrainian grain had reached poor countries. (16:22 GMT) European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has praised Ukraine's "amazing" progress in implementing reforms to fight corruption, preserve minority rights and ensure an independent judiciary. Ukraine is working on a package of reforms "ranging from the independence of the judiciary to anti-corruption, from minority rights to media freedom", von der Leyen said during an awards ceremony in New York. "I must say it is amazing to see how fast and determined Ukraine is implementing these reforms despite the war. They are defending their country and reforming," she said but did not specifically address Ukraine's bid to join the EU or specify any particular reform measures she was referring to. (16:29 GMT) Bulgaria has decided to send about 100 armoured personnel carriers to Ukraine in the Balkan country's first shipment of heavy equipment to Kyiv. Parliament approved - with 148 votes in favour and 52 against - a proposal of the new pro-European government to send the vehicles along with armaments and spare parts. The government bought various models of Soviet-made BTR carriers in the 1980s but they were never used. (17:23 GMT) Putin has some chilling words for Poland. He says Moscow will treat any aggression against Belarus with all means at its disposal. This comes after reports that Poland had deployed troops to its border with Belarus. (18:51 GMT) The Wagner mercenary group is not fighting in Ukraine at present, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has told the Aspen Security Forum. The group's chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was shown in a video on Wednesday saying his fighters would take no further part in the Ukraine war for now but ordering them to gather their strength for Africa. (19:39 GMT) The US plans to announce as soon as Tuesday a new military aid package for Ukraine worth up to $400m, primarily comprised of artillery, air defence missiles and ground vehicles as Ukraine's counteroffensive grinds on, three US officials say. The US is not including cluster munitions in this aid package, two of the officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity said. The US first sent those Howitzer-fired munitions to Ukraine earlier in July. Included in the package are several Stryker armored personnel carriers, mine-clearing equipment, surface-to-air missiles, HIMARS rockets, anti-tank weapons, and missiles for Patriot and Stinger anti-aircraft systems, according to the officials. The package was still being finalised and could change. 20230722_weapons_the_us_has_provided_to_ukraine.png (20:09 GMT) The Russian parliament wants to increase the maximum age for military recruits by three years, to the age of 30, the head of the Russian State Duma Defence Committee has said. The minimum recruitment age, however, is to stay at 18, the Interfax news agency reported, citing senior lawmaker Andrei Kartapolov. For a time, an increase to the age of 21 was floated. The parliament still has to approve the regulation for it to apply from early next year. 20230722 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-514 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/22/russian-journalist-killed-three-wounded-near-ukraine-frontline A Russian journalist has been killed near the front line in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhia region, Russia's defence ministry said, as Moscow accused Kyiv of using cluster munitions supplied by the United States this month in the attack. Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent for Russia's RIA news agency, was killed and three other Russian journalists were wounded in a Ukrainian artillery attack on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, adding they were evacuated from the battlefield but Zhuravlev died during the journey. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/7/21/lithuanian-border-towns-grapple-with-threat-of-russia-ukraine-war Like residents of dozens of eastern Lithuanian towns along the border with Russia's closest wartime ally Belarus, residents in Barvoniskes trickled out of their hometown over recent months. They fear an imminent Russian invasion of their country as the war on Ukraine rages on. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/22/ukraine-hit-russian-village-with-cluster-munitions-governor The governor of Russia's Belgorod region has said that Ukraine fired cluster munitions at a village near the Ukrainian border on Friday, but that there were no casualties or damage. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-515 Fighting * Russia launched another wave of attacks on the Black Sea port of Odesa early on Sunday, killing one person and wounding 18, including four children, according to Ukrainian officials. * A Ukrainian drone attack on the annexed Crimean Peninsula on Saturday blew up an ammunition depot and prompted evacuations along a 5km radius, according to Moscow-installed officials. It also halted road traffic along a bridge connecting Crimea to Russia. Footage shared by state media showed a thick cloud of grey smoke at the site. * Russian news agencies quoted the Health Ministry as saying 12 people required medical assistance and four were taken to hospital. * Ukraine said its army destroyed an oil depot and Russian army warehouses in the "temporarily occupied" district of Oktiabrske in central Crimea. * Russia accused Kyiv of using cluster munitions on the Russian border village of Zhuravlevka and said that the controversial weapon had killed one of its journalists in a Ukrainian village on the front line. * The Kremlin identified the journalist as Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent working for the state RIA Novosti news agency and said he died from his wounds after coming under fire in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhia region. It pledged to respond to the "heinous, premeditated crime". * In a separate incident, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle said one of its journalists, Yevgeny Shilko, had been wounded elsewhere in Ukraine in a Russian cluster munition attack that killed a Ukrainian soldier. It said his life was not in danger. * The Ukrainian air force said it brought down 14 Russian drones, including five Iranian-made ones, over the country's southeast overnight on Saturday. * Authorities in Ukraine reported eight civilian deaths overnight on Saturday, including six people in the eastern Donetsk region and two in the northern city of Chernihiv. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko will meet on Sunday, the Kremlin said, two days after Moscow warned that any aggression against Belarus, its neighbour and staunchest ally, would be considered an attack on Russia. * NATO and Ukraine are to discuss security in the Black Sea next week, particularly the operation of a corridor for grain exports, the alliance said. The meeting was called at the request of President Zelenskyy. Military aid * Following the latest attack on Odesa, the head of Ukraine's presidential office repeated Kyiv's call for more missiles and defence systems. "The enemy must be deprived of the ability to hit civilians and infrastructure. More missile defence systems, as well as ATACMS - this will help Ukraine," Andriy Yermak said on Telegram, referring to the long-range tactical missiles that Kyiv wants Washington to supply. * Bulgaria agreed to provide the Ukrainian army with some 100 armoured personnel carriers, marking a turnaround in its policy on sending military equipment to Kyiv. The move follows the appointment of a new pro-Western government. * Poland said that a maintenance hub for tanks damaged in Ukraine during the war has begun operating in its southern city of Gliwice. "The first two Leopards have already arrived from Ukraine to the Bumar plant," Polish Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak wrote on Twitter. 20230723 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/23/russian-missile-attack-on-odesa-kills-one-damages-cathedral Russia has been pounding Odesa and other Ukrainian food export facilities nearly daily over the past week after it withdrew from a United Nations-brokered sea corridor agreement that allowed for the safe shipment of Ukrainian grain. The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) was severely damaged. The Spaso-Preobrazhenskyi Cathedral, or the Transfiguration Cathedral, is Odesa's largest Orthodox church building. It was consecrated in 1809. ... (08:14 GMT) A Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Odesa city early on Sunday killed one, injured nearly 20 and badly damaged a Russian-linked Orthodox cathedral, with officials saying they retrieved the icon of the patroness of the port city from under the rubble. Oleh Kiper, governor of southern Ukraine's Odesa region, said on the Telegram messaging app that four children were injured in the attacks that also destroyed six houses and apartment buildings. Fourteen people were hospitalised, he said. (08:19 GMT) Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Lukashenko will meet on Sunday, the Kremlin said, two days after Moscow warned that any aggression against its neighbour and staunchest ally would be considered an attack on Russia. After Poland decided earlier this week to move military units closer to its border with Belarus in response to the arrival in Belarus of forces from Russia's Wagner Group, Putin said Moscow would use all means it has to react to any hostility towards Minsk. The Kremlin said Lukashenko is paying a working visit to Russia and will talk to Putin about further development of the countries' "strategic partnership." (08:23 GMT) The Kremlin labelled the death of Rostislav Zhuravlev, a Russian journalist killed near the front line in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhia region, "a heinous, premeditated crime" committed by Western powers and Kyiv. Russia's defence ministry accused Kyiv of using cluster munitions supplied by the United States this month in the attack. Rostislav Zhuravlev, a war correspondent for Russia's RIA news agency, was killed and three other Russian journalists were wounded in a Ukrainian artillery attack on Saturday, the Russian defence ministry said, adding they were evacuated from the battlefield, but Zhuravlev died during the journey. (09:16 GMT) Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that the strikes on Odesa targeted sites "where terrorist acts against the Russian Federation were being prepared." The ministry said in a statement that the attacks were carried out with sea- and air-based long-range high-precision weapons and that "foreign mercenaries" were at the targeted sites. (09:29 GMT) Vladimir Putin told his Belarus counterpart Alexander Lukashenko that an ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive to push back Russian forces from Ukraine has "failed", according to Russian news agencies. "There is no counteroffensive," Lukashenko said, according to the TASS news agency, before being interrupted by Putin: "There is one, but it has failed." Lukashenko is currently on a working visit to Russia. (09:39 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a Tweet that would be "a retaliation to Russian terrorists" following the overnight missile strikes on Odesa. (09:48) The death toll from overnight strikes on the port of Odesa rose has risen to two, with 22 people wounded, including four children. (10:10 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War has stated that the Wagner Group's footprint in Belarus is likely expanding. Ukraine's National Resistance Center reported on July 22 that approximately 50 Wagner personnel are in Sosnovy, Belarus. The centre also reported that a field camp for approximately 300 Wagner personnel appeared at the Domanovo Training Ground in Ivatsevitsky Raion, Brest Oblast and that up to 30 Wagner instructors are training Belarusian forces across Belarus. (10:15 GMT) Lukashenko says he is "keeping" Russian Wagner mercenaries in central Belarus and that Minsk is "controlling" the situation with the group's fighters on its territory. "They are asking to go West, ask me for permission ... to go on a trip to Warsaw, to Rzeszow," Lukashenko told Putin, who smiled. "But of course, I am keeping them in central Belarus, like we agreed." "We are controlling what is happening [with Wagner]," he said, adding: "They are in a bad mood." (10:56 GMT) Russia has denied it attacked the Transfiguration Cathedral in Odesa, blaming Ukraine for the damage. The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine's statement that a high-precision weapon damaged the cathedral "does not correspond to reality". Russia said it targeted facilities "at a safe distance from the Transfiguration Cathedral". Another statement said Russian strikes are planned to exclude "civilian facilities, as well as cultural and historical heritage sites". The ministry blamed the damage on "incompetent actions of the operators of air defence systems, which the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] deliberately places in residential areas, including Odesa". (11:17 GMT) Putin and Lukashenko greeted a crowd of people in Russia's port town of Kronstadt on Kotlin Island located just west of St Petersburg. The walkabout comes just one month after the Wagner group mutiny, which ended in a deal brokered by Lukashenko. Russia's Kommersant newspaper posted a video of Putin and Lukashenko posing for photographs with people as bodyguards stood nearby. Asked about the COVID-19 quarantine rules which the Russian leader has been keeping up with since the pandemic, Putin replied: "People are more important than quarantine." (11:37 GMT) The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) tweeted that Russia attacked the Odesa region with 19 missiles of various types overnight. They claim Ukrainian air defence forces shot down four Kalibr and five Iskander-K missiles. (12:25 GMT) On Sunday morning, the Russian army shelled Chasiv Yar, a city just west of the battle-ridden Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, with cluster munitions, according to Suspline, the national public broadcaster in Ukraine. Due to the shelling, a fire destroyed the Palace of Culture, which was used as the city's humanitarian headquarters and a place for providing medical aid, Suspline quoted Pavlo Kyrylenko, the Ukrainian governor of the Donetsk region, as saying. There were no injuries or deaths reported. (12:58 GMT) The Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted that the destruction of Odesa's Transfiguration Cathedral was just the latest move by Russia to "systematically" destroy the Orthodox Church in Ukraine. (14:02 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Ukraine has taken back about 50 percent of the territory that Russia seized, although Kyiv's counteroffensive will extend several months. "It's already taken back about 50 percent of what was initially seized," Blinken said in an interview with CNN. "These are still relatively early days of the counteroffensive. It is tough," he said, adding: "It will not play out over the next week or two. We're still looking I think at several months." (15:35 GMT) According to president Zelensky's office, a Russian missile attack has damaged 25 historical buildings in Odesa, The Kyiv Independent reports. (16:36 GMT) Ukraine might not look like a good financial investment after more than a year at war with no end in sight, but Harvard, Saudi Arabia, a handful of oligarchs, and the United States investment manager The Vanguard Group see it differently. They are just a few of the investors who have been buying up Ukrainian land - and its rich, fertile soil - en masse, while many Ukrainian farmers argue it should stay in Ukrainian hands. (17:19 GMT) When asked if Ukraine will get US-made F-16 fighter jets, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said he believed it would. "And the important focus is on making sure that when they do, they're properly trained, they're able to maintain the planes, and use them in a smart way," Blinken said. A coalition of 11 nations will start training Ukrainian pilots to fly the F-16 fighter jets in August in Denmark, and a training center will be set up in Romania. Ukraine has long appealed for the Lockheed Martin-made F-16s, but US National Security adviser Jake Sullivan, said last month there was no final decision on Washington sending the aircraft. US officials have estimated it would take at least 18 months for training and delivery of the planes. (17:36 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said that Kyiv and Warsaw would "always stand united" after Putin and Lukashenko accused Poland of having territorial ambitions. "The attempts by Putin to create a gap between Kyiv and Warsaw are as futile as his failed invasion of Ukraine," said Kuleba, after Putin and Lukashenko suggested Poland had ambitions to capture parts of western Ukraine for itself. (17:58 GMT) Some 33,700 more Ukrainians have crossed into Poland in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of people fleeing war in their country to over 13 million, Polish authorities have said. More than 13.8 million people have crossed into Poland from Ukraine since February 24, 2022, when Russia launched its war against Ukraine, according to Polish Border Guard figures. Approximately 4 million non-EU Ukrainians currently have temporary protection status in the bloc countries, according to data. 20230724 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/24/russia-says-it-foiled-a-ukrainian-drone-attack-on-moscow Russia's air defence forces have "suppressed" a Ukrainian drone attack on Moscow, the Russian defence ministry has announced. The Russian TASS news agency said that one of the drones fell on Komsomolsky Prospekt, which is close to Russia's defence ministry, while another hit a business centre on Likhacheva Street near one of Moscow's main ring roads. Reuters reported two loud explosions before the reported attacks. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/24/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-ammunition-depot-hit-in-crimea (06:15 GMT) An ammunition depot was hit during a Ukrainian drone attack on Dzhankoi in Crimea, with Russian air defence forces shooting down or electronically jamming 11 drones over the area, a Moscow-installed official said. (06:25 GMT) A Russian overnight drone strike on port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region destroyed a grain hangar, Kyiv's military has said. "Tonight an almost four-hour attack by 'Shahed-136' drones was directed at the port infrastructure of the Danube," Ukraine's southern military command said on Telegram. "As a result of the strikes, a grain hangar was destroyed, tanks for storing other types of cargo were damaged." (06:30 GMT) Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal that ensured the safe export of Ukrainian grains because the agreement lost its meaning, President Vladimir Putin has said. "The continuation of the 'grain deal' - which did not justify its humanitarian purpose - has lost its meaning," Putin said, according to the article on the Kremlin's website. Saying that Russia's conditions for the extension had been ignored, Moscow last week quit the deal which had allowed Ukraine a year ago to export grain from its Black Sea ports (06:40 GMT) Ukrainian drones hit central Moscow in 'terrorist' attack: Ministry Two buildings in Moscow were hit by Ukrainian drones Russian officials have claimed, both which were downed with no casualties reported. One of the drones crashed close to the defence ministry in the centre of the Russian capital, while the other hit an office building in southern Moscow. (06:48 GMT) The Russian Defence Ministry says Ukraine tried to attack Crimea overnight using 17 drones. It said eleven of the drones crashed into the Black Sea after being repressed by anti-drone equipment, three fell on Crimean territory and three were destroyed by air-defences. (07:04 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has said it has found traces of explosives on a ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain. The FSB said the ship had been docked in the Ukrainian port of Kiliia in May, and that it may have been used to deliver explosives to Ukraine. It said the ship had changed its name while in the Turkish port of Tuzla earlier this month and replaced its crew, which had consisted of 12 Ukrainian nationals. (07:26 GMT) Ukraine has claimed its forces over the past week had recaptured more than 16 square kilometres from Russian forces in the south and east of the country. "During the week... the liberated area (in the south) increased by 12.6 square km," Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar said in televised remarks, adding that Kyiv's forces had wrested another four square km in the east. (07:51 GMT) Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 516 Fighting * A Russian air attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa killed two people and severely damaged a historic Orthodox cathedral, with UNESCO condemning the "brazen" attack as an "escalation of violence against the cultural heritage of Ukraine". * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told CNN that Ukraine has recaptured half the territory Russia seized in its invasion but said Kyiv faced a very hard fight to win back more. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin met his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, for talks in Saint Petersburg and claimed Ukraine's counteroffensive had "failed". * Lukashenko said Wagner troops, who relocated to Belarus after their short-lived rebellion against Moscow, wanted to go west "on an excursion to Warsaw, to Rzeszow" in Poland, but that Minsk would not allow the mercenary force to relocate. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minsk (08:09 GMT) UK's defence ministry says that "Russia's renewed emphasis on military induction for children is largely an effort to cultivate a culture of militarised patriotism rather than develop genuine capability". "However, the addition of UAV skills does highlight how Russia has identified the use of tactical UAVs in Ukraine as an enduring component of contemporary war," the ministry added in a tweet. (08:42 GMT) Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba calls on nations to address "food terrorism" amid Russia's repeated strikes on Ukrainian grain storage. "Russia hit another Ukrainian grain storage overnight. It tries to extract concessions by holding 400 million people hostage," he said in a tweet. "I urge all nations, particularly those in Africa and Asia who are most affected by rising food prices, to mount a united global response to food terrorism," he added. (09:03 GMT) Yevgeny Balitsky, the Russian-appointed governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, told Moscow's state television that the lives of three Russian journalists who were wounded in the region during shelling by "the Armed Forces of Ukraine" are not in danger. But earlier, in a statement on the Telegram messaging app, he claimed that Ukraine is not actively attacking across the front line in the region. "They bring more and more soldiers, who will continue to be sent to the slaughter," he added. (09:26 GMT) Andriy Yermak, advisor to Ukraine's president, has shared an image of the empty Kakhovka reservoir on twitter, following the destruction of the dam last month. Ukraine accused Russia for destroying the dam and described Moscow's actions as "ecocide." (09:33 GMT) Russia's former President Dimitry Medvedev has said that Moscow needed to broaden the range of targets it strikes in Ukraine. "We need to choose unconventional targets for our strikes. Not just storage facilities, energy hubs and oil bases," Medvedev, who is deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said on Telegram. (09:41 GMT) The Kremlin has accused Ukraine of carrying out a "deliberate attack on journalists" in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, in which Rostislav Zhuravlev, a reporter for the Russian state news agency RIA was killed. Russia has launched a criminal probe into Zhuravlev's death. (09:47 GMT) Klaus Iohannis, the President of Romania, has condemned Russia's attacks against the Ukrainian civilian infrastructure on Danube, which is near Romania. "This recent escalation pose serious risks to the security in the BlackSea. It also affects further UA grain transit & thus the global food security," he said in a tweet. (09:51 GMT) The Kremlin has said that "increased vigilance" was needed after the Federal Security Service (FSB) alleged it had found traces of explosives on a ship travelling to Russia to pick up grain. Earlier, the FSB said the ship had been docked in the Ukrainian port of Kiliia in May, and that it may have been used to deliver explosives to Ukraine. (10:09 GMT) The Kremlin denied that Russian forces had struck a cathedral in the Ukrainian city of Odesa and accused, Ukraine of hitting it. (10:44 GMT) The Kremlin has said it would press on with what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine and achieve all of its aims despite Ukrainian drone attacks on Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov made the comment when asked how Russia would respond to a drone attack on the Russian capital in the early hours of Monday morning which it blamed on Ukraine. (10:50 GMT) The governor of Ukraine's Odesa region has said that Russia was trying to completely block exports of Ukrainian grain to global markets after the latest in a series of Russian air attacks struck grain infrastructure on the Danube River. "Russia is trying to fully block the export of our grain and make the world starve," governor Oleh Kiper told Ukrainian television. (11:30 GMT) Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has told CNN that Kyiv will share a report with the Pentagon on the country's use of cluster munitions, in the coming days. He said he expects the ammunition will be effective against Russian infantry in particular. "I hope that they will be more efficient than normal ammunition," he said in an interview on Sunday. Last week, White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the US-provided cluster bombs - which are banned by more than 120 countries - were having an effect on Russian defensive formations and the manoeuvring of Russia's forces. (11:53 GMT) The Russian ministry of defence has said in a statement that the country "reserves the right to take tough retaliatory measures", after drone attacks on Moscow. Russia claims that Ukraine launched drones which hit Moscow and Crimea. "We regard what happened as another use of terrorist methods by the military-political leadership of Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app and highlighted that "these attacks had no military meaning". "We strongly condemn this yet another crime of the Kyiv regime. We call on international organisations to give it a proper assessment," ministry added. The ministry also said that Ukraine's actions were a result of "the West's focus on further aggravating the situation" and added that the Investigative Committee of Russia has opened criminal cases on the drone attacks. (12:39 GMT) Russian Industry Minister Denis Manturov says the defence industry is now producing more ammunition per month than it did during all of last year, according to a report by Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti. (13:19 GMT) A Ukrainian defence intelligence official has told CNN that Kyiv was behind the Moscow drone attack. According to CNN, the official was speaking on the condition of anonymity because the person was not yet allowed to talk publicly about the incident. (13:41 GMT) An investigation by Politico has revealed that China has been sending military gear to equip Russia's army. Chinese companies like Shanghai H Win have been supplying hundreds of thousands of bulletproof vests and helmets. Leaders in the West have repeatedly warned China not to send military aid for Russia's war in Ukraine. Beijing has not condemned Moscow's actions in Ukraine so far but has proposed a 12-point peace plan to end the war. (13:52 GMT) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev has accused the United States of planning cyberattacks against Russia's "critical information infrastructure", according to Russian state media reports. Patrushev said the US Cyber Command, National Security Agency and NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence, based in Estonia, were planning and directing the attacks "under the Ukrainian flag". (14:18 GMT) Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabriel Landsbergis says that after the Vilnius NATO summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin "feels emboldened to escalate". "We must make sure our determination to help Ukraine to victory, and NATO membership, is better understood. Time to double-down on our efforts," he said in a tweet. (14:39 GMT) Nearly 30 ships have anchored around Ukraine's Izmail port after Russia struck ports on the Danube River, according to marine traffic data. Three more vessels also dropped anchor along the waterway leading to Reni-Odesa. The reason behind their anchoring is unclear, but comes after Moscow's attacks on Ukrainian grain storage units. (15:09 GMT) Ukraine's state-owned energy company has said that the water level at the Dnipro hydroelectric plant has dropped to a critical level, following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam last month. "The average level of the lower bit near the Dnirpo hydroelectric plant is 12.05 metres above sea level. For the full operation of the Dnipro hydroelectric station, the water level must be at least 12-12.5 metres]," the company said in a statement on Telegram. The company is now looking "for appropriate project solutions" so that the station can operate at full capacity. (15:25 GMT) President Zelenskyy has held a meeting regarding the future of the export of Ukrainian agricultural products to Europe and the rest of the world. In May, the European Union allowed Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds, while permitting transit of such cargo for export elsewhere. The ban is set to end on September 15. "Our position is clear: blocking exports by land after September 15, when the relevant restrictions expire, is unacceptable in any form," Zelenskyy said in a tweet. (15:37 GMT) Dylan Collins, a video journalist at Agence France-Presse (AFP), has been wounded while on assignment in Ukraine. According to his colleague Stephanie Youssef, Collins sustained multiple shrapnel injuries in the attack in a forested area near Bakhmut. (16:24 GMT) Thousands of Russia-linked Wagner Group mercenaries have arrived in Belarus since the force's short-lived rebellion, a military monitoring group said. Between 3,450 and 3,650 soldiers have travelled to a camp close to Asipovichy, a town 230km north of the Ukrainian border, according to Belaruski Hajun, an activist group that tracks troop movements within Belarus. Satellite images show that about 700 vehicles and construction equipment have also arrived in Wagner convoys to Belarus, Belaruski Hajun said. (16:44 GMT) A senior Ukrainian former military official has been detained for suspected corruption following reports his family bought real estate worth millions of dollars in Spain after the Russian invasion. Yevgen Borisov was in charge of mobilisation and conscription in the southern Odesa region until his dismissal in late June. Investigators in May accused Borisov of accepting bribes in return for exempting some people from being mobilised in the army. "The former official attempted to flee," investigators said, adding that he tried to do so by changing his phone numbers, car number plates and by changing his location. (17:04 GMT) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Russia to return to the Black Sea grain deal. "For my part, I remain committed to facilitating the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilisers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation, and to deliver the food security that every person deserves," Guterres said at the opening session of the three-day UN Food Systems Summit +2 in Rome. (17:24 GMT) The Ukrainian grain traders union UGA says it has urged the European Union to increase the capacity of so-called solidarity lanes to help it export grain following the collapse of the Black Sea grain deal. The EU established the solidarity lanes last year after Russia's invasion to try to help Ukraine export grain and other agricultural products by providing alternative transit routes via rail, road and inland waterways. Outlining its proposals on its website, the UGA said it wanted exports via the solidarity lanes to grow by 1 million to 1.5 million tonnes a month and suggested European carriers and ports involved in the transit of Ukrainian grain should receive partial compensation from the European Commission in the form of subsidies. (18:54 GMT) Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has branded as "unacceptable" any move by the European Union to extend curbs on Ukrainian grain to protect local farmers who fear being undercut. "Any extension of restrictions is absolutely unacceptable and frankly anti-European. Europe has the institutional capacity to react more rationally than to close its borders to a particular good," he said on social media. Zelenskyy said he hoped Europe "will fulfil its obligations" after the current restrictions on Ukrainian grain lapse on September 15. 19:18 GMT) Road traffic on the Kerch bridge linking Russia to the Crimean Peninsula has been temporarily blocked, an official Telegram channel of Russian authorities said. No reason for the halting of traffic was stated. (19:47 GMT) Lithuania has urged the European Union to use Baltic ports to export Ukrainian grain. A letter by three Lithuanian ministers to EU commissioners said Baltic ports could "serve as a reliable alternative for transiting Ukrainian products, including cereals". The letter, seen by the Agence France-Presse news agency, said Baltic ports could help transport 25 million tonnes of grain annually. The letter also asked the EU to cut red tape on Ukraine's border with Poland, a member of the bloc. (20:26 GMT) White House says it does not support attacks inside Russia The White House said it did not support attacks inside Russia after being asked about two drones from Ukraine that damaged buildings in Moscow. "As a general matter we do not support attacks inside of Russia," White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters in a press briefing. 20230725 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-517 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/25/russia-ukraine-war-live-russian-drones-on-kyiv-shot-down (05:47 GMT) Russia has launched its sixth air attack on Ukraine's capital this month, but all incoming drones were shot down and early reports indicated no damage or casualties, according to officials. "The air alert lasted for 3 hours ... All air targets were detected and destroyed on the approach to Kyiv," Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, wrote on Telegram. (05:50 GMT) The fourth and fifth blocks of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant have been put in shutdown mode, the Moscow-installed administration of the plant says. "In order to conduct a scheduled technical inspection of the equipment of power unit No. 5, the management of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant decided to transfer it to the 'cold shutdown' state," the administration said on its Telegram channel. "And in order to provide steam for the station's own needs, the reactor plant of power unit No. 4 was transferred to the 'hot shutdown' state." (06:36 GMT) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin has said that no talks on resuming the Black Sea grain export deal were currently under way, the RIA news agency reported. (07:10 GMT) The UK defence ministry gives its latest update on the situation: * Russia has conducted greater numbers of long-range strikes against Odesa and other areas of southern Ukraine * Damage has included several grain silos at Chornomorsk Port, south of Odesa, as well as the historic city centre * Since abandoning the Black Sea grain deal, the Kremlin likely feels less politically constrained, and is trying to strike targets in Odesa because it believes Ukraine is storing military assets in these areas. (07:43 GMT) The Ukrainian military has reported making small advances against Russian forces in parts of southern Ukraine and south of Bakhmut in the east. Progress has been slower than widely expected, but Ukraine has said it is trying to minimise casualties as its forces face fortified Russian defensive lines strewn with landmines. (09:26 GMT) A Russian delegation led by Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu will visit North Korea this week, joining a Chinese group as the first public visitors since the pandemic. On Thursday, the delegations will be part of the 70th-anniversary celebrations of "Victory Day" in Pyongyang, state news agency KCNA reported. Chinese Communist Party politburo member Li Hongzhong will lead the group from his country. In early 2020, North Korea closed its border to all trade and diplomatic exchanges, including with its main economic and political partners China and Russia. State media reports did not say whether the visits would mark any change in policy. But the United States has previously accused North Korea of providing military aid to Russia for the war in Ukraine, a claim that both Pyongyang and Moscow deny. (09:47 GMT) British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Zelenskyy have agreed during a phone call on the importance of ensuring Ukraine can export grain, Sunak's office says. "The prime minister said the UK was working closely with Turkey on restoring the grain deal, and we would continue to use our role as chair of the UN Security Council to further condemn Russia's behaviour," a spokesperson for Sunak said in a statement, referring to an agreement that allowed Ukraine to export farm goods from its Black Sea ports. Sunak also told the Ukrainian leader that he was appalled by the devastation caused by recent attacks on Odesa, the statement said. (10:02 GMT) The private Swiss bank, Julus Baer, will cease business with clients based in Russia, in a letter seen by the Reuters news agency. As wealth managers navigate sanctions and restrictions related to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Julius Baer will end all business with clients living in the Russian Federation by no later than December 31. Wealth management activities, such as mandates managing clients' investments, credit agreements, and credit card contracts, would be terminated by the end-September. (10:22 GMT) The Russian head of the Donetsk region says Ukrainian forces have lost about 30 percent of Western-supplied equipment on the frontline, Russian Tass news reported. On Rossiya-24 tv channel, Denis Pushilin said, "We saw how much ammunition, how much equipment Western countries sent on the eve of the counter-offensive against Ukraine. What can now be said in approximate numbers: about 30 percent [of equipment] were destroyed [by the forces of the Russian Armed Forces]." He explained that while the supply of Western weapons continues, it is less frequent than before the counteroffensive began. Ukraine is also experiencing difficulties with its army, adding, "The enemy still has reserves, despite the fact that they are demotivated, unprepared, thrown to the front line. But still, for now, they have the opportunity to at least carry out attacks." (10:42 GMT) The Kremlin says, for now, it is impossible for Russia to return to the Black Sea grain deal, as Russian interests were "not being implemented". However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that President Vladimir Putin had explained that the deal could be revived if the Russia-focused part of the agreement was honoured. Peskov added it would be important for Russia to discuss grain supplies at a Russia-Africa summit later this week. (11:11 GMT) Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko have discussed the Wagner mercenary group, economic cooperation and external threats during two days of talks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Russia and Belarus are linked in a partnership called the "Union State". (11:33 GMT) The price of Russia's flagship Urals oil blend averaged $56 per barrel in the second quarter of the year and traded almost 30 percent below the benchmark Brent blend, the Russian central bank said. The oil blend was also about 29 percent below the average price in April-June 2022. (11:55 GMT) The prime minister of Ukraine says Kyiv has received another 1.5 billion euros ($1.6bn) in macro-financial assistance from the EU. (12:18 GMT) Russian ex-defence workers were sentenced to 17 and 13 years in prison for treason after being found guilty of passing military intelligence to Ukraine and planning to blow up railway lines, the Kursk Regional Court said in a statement. In a statement announcing their arrests, the FSB said the pair, identified as R A Sidorkin and T A Sidorkina, had been involved in plans to blow up supply railway lines in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. The FSB seized more than 4kg (9 pounds) of plastic explosives, four detonators, military design documentation and $150,000 in cash. Sidorkin was also charged with illegally possessing firearms and ammunition, and sentenced to 17 years while Sidorkina was sentenced to 13 years. (12:48 GMT) The Kremlin accused the West, specifically the United States, of trying to sabotage the Russia-Africa summit later this week by pressuring African countries not to take part. On Thursday and Friday, Putin is expected to hold intensive one-on-one talks with individual African leaders on trade, security, arms deals, and grain supplies. The event follows Moscow's first Russia-Africa summit in 2019. (13:17 GMT) Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev says sanctions against Moscow threatened "catastrophic consequences" for the global food market. Adding that issues related to food security could not be resolved unless the West's "illegitimate obstacles" to Russian businesses were removed. The government's Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper published Patrushev's comments as he spoke to other security officials from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries in South Africa. (13:43 GMT) Moldova's foreign ministry will summon Russian Ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov after media reports that spying equipment has been installed on the Russian embassy's rooftop. The Insider media outlet and television channel Jurnal TV said 28 satellite dishes, masts, and transmitting and receiving devices had been installed in the embassy, and people associated with Russian intelligence had been seen in the buildings. (14:00 GMT) Russia's lower house of parliament voted to raise the maximum conscription age to 30 years from 27. The new legislation, which comes into effect on January 1, means men will be required to carry out a year of military service, or equivalent training during higher education, between the ages of 18 and 30 rather than 18 and 27 as is the case now. The law also bans men from leaving Russia from the day they are summoned to a conscription office. Last year, Russia announced a plan to boost its professional and conscripted combat personnel by more than 30 percent to 1.5 million, a task made harder by its undisclosed casualties in Ukraine. (14:24 GMT) Britain has information indicating "the Russian military may expand their targeting of Ukrainian grain facilities further to include attacks against civilian shipping in the Black Sea", its UN ambassador, Barbara Woodward, says. Sunak shared the information with Zelenskyy during a phone call, Woodward said. "Our information also indicates that Russia has laid additional sea mines in the approaches to Ukrainian ports. We agree with the US assessment that this is a coordinated effort to justify and lay blame on Ukraine for any attacks against civilian ships in the Black Sea," Woodward told reporters. (15:24 GMT) The EU is ready to export almost all of Ukraine's agriculture goods via "solidarity lanes", the EU's Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski said. Solidarity lanes are rail and road transport connections through EU member states that border Ukraine. But expanding grain transit through the EU is sensitive for Poland and some other eastern European countries, where local farmers have come under pressure from increased Ukrainian imports. (16:49 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin intends to visit China in October, planning his visit to coincide with a "Belt and Road" forum, Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov told reporters, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. 16:55 GMT) Senior Kremlin foreign policy adviser Yury Ushakov said that a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to Turkey is in both countries' plans, but no firm date has yet been agreed, the Russian state news agency TASS reported. (17:36 GMT) The US Department of State is aware that Trevor Reed, a former US marine who was detained in Russia and then freed in a prisoner swap in April 2022, was injured while fighting in Ukraine, Department of State deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel has said. "Mr Reed was not engaged in any activities on behalf of the US government," Patel told reporters, adding that he was transported with the help of an NGO to Germany for medical care. The United States has repeatedly warned Americans not to travel to Ukraine or participate in the fighting. 20230726 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-518 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/26/russia-ukraine-war-live-us-to-send-hornet-nano-drones-to-ukraine (05:48 GMT) Zelenskyy made anti-corruption appeals in his nightly video address as two landmark cases came to light - the arrests of a military recruitment official accused of mass embezzlement and of a parliamentarian accused of collaborating with Russia. In the speech, he said he would not tolerate corruption or treachery in affairs of state while his country is struggling to find the means to defend itself against Russia. The president last month announced plans to audit military draft offices to try to eliminate corruption. That measure was part of the longstanding policy to clean up the military and government departments to show Ukraine's Western supporters he was serious about tackling deep-rooted corruption, measures that are a main element in the long process of securing European Union membership.` (05:56 GMT) Britain should toughen its approach to the Russian mercenary force Wagner Group while it is vulnerable after an abortive mutiny last month, MPs said in a report that criticised Britain for lack of coherence in its approach to the group. Politicians on the Foreign Affairs Committee urged more targeted sanctions on what it said was a "web of entities" beneath the Wagner Group and added the group should be labelled as a terrorist organisation by Britain. (06:09 GMT) The US Department of Defense announced $400m in additional security assistance for Ukraine on Tuesday, including air defence missiles, armoured vehicles and small drones, as Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russia grinds on. The new aid package will include, for the first time US-furnished Black Hornet surveillance drones made by Teledyne FLIR Defense, part of Teledyne Technologies. The Hornets are tiny nano-drones that are used largely for intelligence gathering. The Norwegian-built drone is being used in Ukraine through donations by the British and Norwegian governments, the company said. In addition, the weapons aid package includes munitions for Patriot air defence systems and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), Stinger anti-aircraft systems, more ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), Stryker armoured personnel carriers and a variety of other missiles and rockets. This is the 43rd security assistance package approved by the US for Ukraine. More than $43bn in US military aid has been provided since Russia's invasion in 2022. (06:20 GMT) The Russian defence ministry says one of its Black Sea Fleet ships destroyed two unmanned Ukrainian naval drones that attempted to attack it overnight. In a statement, the ministry said: "In the course of repulsing the attack, both enemy remote-controlled boats were destroyed by fire from the standard weapons of the Russian ship at a distance of 1,000m and 800m. There were no casualties. The Sergey Kotov continues to fulfil its tasks." (07:14 GMT) The Ukrainian military has reported making small advances against Russian forces. Andriy Kovaliov, the spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said Ukrainian troops had moved forward in the direction of the southeastern village of Staromayorske and had driven Russian units from positions near the village of Andriivka, near the city of Sloviansk in the Donetsk region. (07:22 GMT) The UK intelligence has suggested that Russia may be forming a task group in the Black Sea that will intercept commercial vessels heading to Ukraine. (07:48 GMT) The southern regions of Ukraine experienced a "pause" in regular night attacks, with the amount of artillery fire significantly decreased on Tuesday compared with the previous week, Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster, reported on Wednesday. The broadcaster quoting Nataliya Humenyuk, chief of the Joint Coordination Press Office of the Security and Defense Forces in the South of Ukraine, said the lull was because the Russian army is preparing for future attacks. Humenyuk said the following days will likely be "more tense". And Ukrainian forces are monitoring the situation, in particular, the movement of sea-based missile carriers. 08:15 GMT) Russia's ministry of foreign affairs has said that Kyiv and the West are "trying to draw a wedge" between Russian and Ukrainian people. "The Kiev [Kyiv] regime's efforts include drafting discriminatory laws, forceful seizures of churches and monasteries, illegal re-registration of communities, encouragement of hate speech, unmotivated aggression and violence against the UOC (Ukrainian Orthodox Church or Moscow Patriarchate) clergy and believers," the ministry added. (08:38 GMT) Moldova's Foreign minister Nicu Popescu has said the country is cutting the number of staff Russia can have at its embassy, according to Russia's state news agency TASS. (09:02 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has said that Moscow intends to work with the leaders of Africa to weaken the US dollar, according to a report by Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. (09:25 GMT) Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has announced plans to strengthen cooperation between Russia and North Korea, according to a statement by the defence ministry. In a meeting with the Minister of Defence of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, General of the Army, Kang Sun Nam, Shoigu emphasised that the DPRK is an important partner of Russia. Shoigu is in North Korea to mark the 70th anniversary of DPRK's victory day. (09:49 GMT) Ukraine's security service (SBU) has detained a Russian informant who was aiding Moscow in preparing Russian airstrikes on rail bridges in Ukraine's Mykolaiv. "In order to obtain intelligence, the informant went to the area and secretly recorded the movement routes of military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," SBU said in a statement. (10:15 GMT) Zelenskyy has said that Kyiv's air defence is being strengthened. "There are reinforcements for our air defense system. It will be directed to where it is most needed now," he said in a statement on Telegram. He added that the the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Foreign Intelligence Service also reported the activity of "the enemy" to him. (10:48 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Internal Affairs has put Ukrainian activist Gennadiy Druzenko and Ukrainian presenter from the 1+ 1 TV channel, Natalia Moseychuk, on its wanted list, according to a report by Russian state news agency TASS. Last year, Russia's Investigative Committee had opened a case against Moseychuk for inciting violence against Russian pilots and their loved ones, according to a report by Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency. (11:27 GMT) Russia's state-owned Bolshoi Theatre's ballet company has begun performances in China in its first international tour since the COVID-19 pandemic, and its artistic director says he has "no doubt" his troupe will eventually return to touring in the West, where it is sanctioned. On the eve of Tuesday's performance at Beijing's National Centre for the Performing Arts, Artistic Director Makhar Vaziev insisted the troupe was "not suffering" from being unable to perform in the West due to a cultural boycott on Moscow for its war in Ukraine. (11:44 GMT) Ukraine's security service has opened an investigation against Yury Aristov, a member of parliament from Zelenskyy's Servant of the People party. Aristov had travelled to the Maldives in mid-July despite a ban on officials travelling abroad for leisure during the war, according to an investigation by the Slidstvo.info journalism project. (11:53 GMT) The EU has agreed to adopt "restrictive measures" against Belarus over its involvement in Russia's conflict with Ukraine, the Spanish presidency of the bloc says. (12:38 GMT) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and his newly appointed Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, discussed the latest situation in Ukraine among other issues in talks in Ankara on Wednesday, the Reuters news agency said, citing a Turkish foreign ministry source. China appointed veteran diplomat Wang as its new foreign minister on Tuesday, removing former rising star Qin Gang after a one-month absence from duties barely half a year into the job. (13:02 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says that Kyiv's troops have continued to deter the advance of Russian troops in the Kupyan and Lyman areas of eastern Ukraine. "The enemy is trying to regain lost positions, in particular, the north-eastern Robotina of the Zaporizhzhia region. But have been unsuccessful," she added. (13:43 GMT) Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal says the government has invested 40 billion hryvnia ($1.08bn) for drone production. (14:34 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence has said that its troops are making advances in Serhiivka in the Luhansk region, according to a report by TASS. "The advance amounted to 3km along the front and 2.7km in the depth of the enemy's defence," said Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, who is the head of communication for the Ministry of Defence. (14:54 GMT) Bridget A Brink, the US ambassador to Ukraine, has met Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko. "We look forward to exploring all options for building a more resilient energy grid, including by taking steps to enable private investment and through U.S. support," she said in a tweet. (15:12 GMT) Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has said Russian and Belarusian athletes should be banned from all international sporting events while Russia's aggression in Ukraine continues. 15:39 GMT) The NATO-Ukraine Council, which was set up at the military alliance's annual summit in Vilnius this month, has met to discuss the situation in the Black Sea after Russia terminated the UN- and Turkey-brokered grain shipments deal. It also condemned Russia's recent missile attacks and noted that the navigation warnings the Kremlin issued for the Black Sea in an area that is within Bulgaria's exclusive economic zone has created new risks for miscalculation and escalation as well as serious impediments to freedom of navigation. (16:31 GMT) The Russian army has said it had repelled a Ukrainian attack involving several hundred soldiers near the town of Orikhiv in the south, one of the areas where Kyiv has been carrying out its counteroffensive. (16:33 GMT) Ukraine's domestic intelligence agency has claimed responsibility for a sabotage operation that badly damaged the Russian-made bridge linking occupied Crimea with Russia on October 8 last year. Vasyl Malyuk, head of the Security Service of Ukraine, said his agency was behind the attack in comments shown on television as he presented a commemorative postage stamp marking wartime special forces operations. (17:18 GMT) Russia has attacked the Ukrainian regions of Kyiv, Khmelnytskyi and Kirovohrad with missiles, Ukraine's air force spokesman said in televised comments after air raid sirens were sounded across the country. (18:23 GMT) International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has formally invited 203 countries, but not Russia and Belarus, to participate in the Paris Olympics which begin in a year's time. The IOC has however left the door open for Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals in the 2024 Summer Games without their teams competing. (18:40 GMT) NATO has said it was stepping up surveillance of the Black Sea region as it condemned Russia's exit from a deal assuring the safe passage of ships carrying Ukrainian grain. The announcement came after a meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council, a body established earlier this month to coordinate cooperation between the Western military alliance and Kyiv. "NATO and Allies are stepping up surveillance and reconnaissance in the Black Sea region, including with maritime patrol aircraft and drones," the statement said. (19:11 GMT) Ukraine's counteroffensive is "not a stalemate" even if it is not progressing fast enough, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has told reporters. 20230727 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-519 ... (06:01 GMT) Russia hit port infrastructure in Ukraine's Odesa region in an overnight missile attack, killing a security guard and damaging a cargo terminal, the region's governor has said. Odesa's ports have been regular targets for Russian attacks since Moscow's withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative last week. (06:32 GMT) The US will support the International Criminal Court's (ICC) investigation into alleged abuses by Russian forces in Ukraine, two senior US senators have confirmed, marking a major about-face in Washington's stance towards the international tribunal. "After pressing the administration for months, we are pleased that they are finally supporting the ICC's investigation," Dick Durbin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Lindsey Graham, the Republican ranking member of the panel, said in a statement. (07:06 GMT) The British defence ministry gives its latest update on the military situation in Ukraine. Here are a few takeaways: * As Ukrainian forces continue major offensive operations in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, one of the single most influential Russian weapon systems in the sector is the Ka-52 HOKUM attack helicopter. * Russia has highly likely lost around forty Ka-52s since the invasion, but the type has also imposed a heavy cost on Ukraine. * In recent months, Russia has highly likely augmented the force in the south with at least a small number of brand new, Ka-52M variants: a heavily modified aircraft, informed by lessons from Russia's experience in Syria. (07:17 GMT) Vladimir Putin in on a charm offensive. On Thursday, the Russian president rolled out the red carpet for African leaders as he seeks to shore up Moscow's position in a continent that's becoming increasingly important to his country's geopolitical ambitions. Yet, only 17 African heads of state or government have confirmed their presence, compared to 43 who attended the first Africa-Russia summit in 2019 - a move that Moscow blamed on "brazen interference" from the US. (07:31 GMT) Russian news agency TASS reports that the country's Federal Security Service (FSB) found traces of explosives onboard a foreign vessel en route from Turkey to Russia for grain which had previously entered a Ukrainian port. It was the second such announcement this week. Earlier this week, the Russian security agency said it had found traces of explosives on another ship travelling from Turkey to the port of Rostov-on-Don in Russia to pick up grain. (07:53 GMT) President Zelenskyy visited the city of Dnipro in southeastern Ukraine and discussed supplies to the war front and air defences. Top military commanders, senior government officials and himself had discussed the situation on the battlefield, supplies of munitions to troops and how to strengthen air defences, Zelenskyy added. (08:06 GMT) In June, the presidents of South Africa, Senegal, Comoros and Zambia visited St Petersburg to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin with a 10-point peace plan aimed at convincing Ukraine and Russia to start negotiations. Meanwhile, about 6,000km southeast of St Petersburg, in Beijing, China too has talked up a 12-point peace plan that it says could help end the war. (09:07 GMT) A Russian court has sentenced two Ukrainian intelligence agents to 15 years in prison on espionage charges, the state news agency TASS reported. "The court sentenced two Ukrainian intelligence agents to imprisonment for 15 years each with a sentence in a strict regime correctional colony," the Center for Public Relations (CSP) of the FSB of Russia. The pair were detained by the FSB in 2022 on suspicion of spying, including the involvement in the death of Russian servicemen and the destruction of military equipment during the war with Ukraine. The FSB did not specify the names of the two that were sentenced and did not mention which court passed the verdict. (09:45 GMT) Putin told a summit with African leaders in St Petersburg that Russia is able to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa, and Moscow will be ready to start supplying grain for free to six African countries within three to four months. He named the six African countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea. Putin said they would get 25,000-50,000 tonnes each. (09:26 GMT) The head of Ukraine's presidential office has thanked medical workers in Ukraine on their professional holiday. On Twitter, Andriy Yermak wrote, "You save people at the front and in our peaceful cities. Thanks to each of you for your work. Thank you for every life. Happy Medical Workers' Day!" (09:45 GMT) Putin told a summit with African leaders in St Petersburg that Russia is able to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa, and Moscow will be ready to start supplying grain for free to six African countries within three to four months. He named the six African countries as Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Central African Republic and Eritrea. Putin said they would get 25,000-50,000 tonnes each. Responding to Western criticism of Russia's decision to quit the Black Sea grain deal last week, Putin reiterated that Moscow left because none of the promises had been met. During the Russia-Africa summit, Putin said over 70 percent of Ukrainian grain exported during the Black Sea grain deal had gone to high-income or above-average income countries, including in the European Union, and poor countries like Sudan had been "screwed over" receiving less than 3 percent of the shipments. He added that Western sanctions had prevented Russia from supplying free fertilisers to poor nations. (10:08 GMT) According to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts, Ukraine has launched a significant push to remove Russian forces from the southeast in its counteroffensive. The Associated Press quoted an unnamed Western official who said the surge in troops and firepower was centred on the region of Zaporizhzhia. Though that movement could be a tactical feint, and both governments have used disinformation to gain battlefield advantages, such a manoeuvre would align with what some analysts had predicted. Though that movement could be a tactical feint, and both governments have used disinformation to gain battlefield advantages, such a manoeuvre would align with what some analysts had predicted. The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Ukrainian forces launched "a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region" on Wednesday, adding that they "appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions". (10:32 GMT) Russia says it will organise a competition next year for members of the BRICS alliance - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Speaking at the Russia-Africa Summit in St Petersburg, Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin said athletes from the countries would be invited to participate in the event in the Russian city of Kazan in June. (11:21 GMT) Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it thwarted a planned "terrorist attack" against one of the country's Black Sea Fleet warships and arrested a Russian sailor, the Russian RIA news agency reported. Ria quoted the FSB as saying the sailor had been detained in possession of two homemade bombs, and he was also suspected of passing state secrets to Ukraine. (12:05 GMT) A week after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy asked for his dismissal, Ukraine's parliament voted to accept the resignation of Culture Minister Oleksandr Tkachenko. Yaroslav Zheleznyak, a member of parliament, said on Telegram that the chamber had voted overwhelmingly to accept Tkachenko's resignation. Tkachenko quit last week after Zelenskyy called for his government cut back on spending during the war and asked his prime minister to consider replacing the culture minister. Tkachenko had been a proponent of several high-profile and costly projects. (12:32 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced significant losses of Ukrainian forces during its latest attack in the Zaporizhia region, the Tass news agency reported. Putin told reporters, "Very large losses of personnel - over 200 people." "Unfortunately, we did not do without losses either, but the difference is colossal - at times, more than 10 times, our [losses] are less than those of the enemy." (12:51 GMT) The French news agency AFP reported that Ukraine's Olha Kharlan was disqualified for not shaking the hand of her beaten Russian opponent Anna Smirnova at the Fencing World Championships. Smirnova was competing as a neutral. Kharlan has become the first athlete officially representing Ukraine to face a Russian or Belarusian opponent since Russia invaded Ukraine. (13:35 GMT) Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa says that while his country has secure food supplies, it is grateful for an offer of free grain from Putin at the Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg. "We are grateful," Mnangagwa told reporters at the summit. "We are not in any grain deficit at all. We are food secure. He is just adding to what we already have." Earlier, Putin told the summit that in the next three to four months, it would supply up to 50,000 tonnes of free grain each to Zimbabwe, Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia, the Central African Republic and Eritrea. Sawadogo Mahamadi, head of Burkina Faso's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called the Russian offer "a very good thing". "Africa needs these vital products today," he said, "especially the Sahel countries like Burkina Faso that are facing security and humanitarian threats." (13:54 GMT) Putin says Ukraine has intensified its front-line attacks over the last few days. Earlier, multiple news outlets cited unnamed US officials as saying Kyiv had launched a new phase of its counteroffensive. Yuriy Sak, an adviser to Ukraine's defence minister, told the Reuters news agency that "there is nothing new" happening at the front lines. "In the south, we are moving forward, slowly but surely," he said. (14:22 GMT) The Wagner Group mercenary chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been pictured at the Russia-Africa Summit a month after the group's failed mutiny. The unconfirmed picture, which has been spread on social media, was first posted by Dimitri Sytyi - the head of the "Russian House" cultural centre in the Central African Republic (CAR), who the West has described as being close to the Wagner Group's activities on the continent. In the photo posted on Facebook, Prigozhin is seen shaking hands with Freddy Mapouka, the chief of protocol for CAR's President Faustin-Archange Touadera, with the caption, "Mister Ambassador shared with me the first photos of the Russia-Africa Summit. We see some familiar faces." (14:41 GMT) Ukraine's central bank expects the Black Sea grain corridor to remain closed until the end of the war. (15:16 GMT) United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warns that a "handful of donations" will not correct the dramatic impact of Russia quitting the grain deal. "It is clear that when taking out of the market millions and millions of tonnes of grains it is clear that ... will lead to higher prices," Guterres told reporters. (15:41 GMT) Russia has placed a third official from the International Criminal Court (ICC) on its wanted list after the body accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS reported. Judge Tomoko Akane was listed as "wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" in the online database of Russia's interior ministry. The database did not mention what crime she was allegedly guilty of. ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan and Judge Rosario Salvatore Aitala were also placed on its wanted list after the ICC issued arrest warrants for Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, for illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine. While Russia acknowledges having transferred thousands of children out of Ukraine, it says it was done to protect orphans and children abandoned in the war zone. (16:15 GMT) Poland's governing party leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski says that the security of the European Union's border with Russia's ally Belarus is the Polish government's top priority. Kaczynski, who is also a deputy prime minister, paid a visit on Thursday to the village of Koden, on Poland's border with Belarus. Thousands of Russia's Wagner mercenaries have deployed to Belarus over the past month, and the Kremlin says it has moved some of its short-range nuclear weapons into Belarus. Kaczynski said the Polish government is doing "everything that is needed" to repel any provocation or aggression. (16:36 GMT) Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are considering joining the US National Guard's security partnership program, in a further expansion of US military ties across Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The chief of the National Guard, General Dan Hokanson, announced the discussions in a speech Thursday at the National Press Club in Washington. The National Guard's State Partnership Program is a lesser-known but key military instrument for US troops to build relationships with foreign militaries by conducting regular training and education exchanges with young officers. The National Guard programme began 30 years ago after the collapse of the Soviet Union as former Soviet states looked for ways to move away from their communist-styled military organisation. (16:58 GMT) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has met with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu to discuss military issues and the regional security environment, state media say. (17:22 GMT) Ukraine has signaled it will no longer bar its athletes from competing against Russians who are taking part in sporting events as "neutral athletes". That would be a significant easing of its boycott a year before the Paris Olympics. A decree said Ukrainian athletes and teams will only be required to boycott if competitors from Russia or Belarus are competing under their national flags or other symbols or have signaled allegiance to either of those countries in another way. The change in policy could smooth the way for Ukrainians to compete at the Summer Olympics next year. (17:46 GMT) Russia has refused to speak at a UN Security Council meeting called to discuss Moscow's recent attacks on the key port of Odesa, immediately following its refusal to extend the Black Sea grain deal. In a show of Moscow's anger at Ukraine and its Western backers, a junior Russian diplomat sat silently throughout the Odesa meeting. The confrontation began at the start of a council meeting called by Russia on the divided Orthodox Church in Ukraine. Deputy Russian Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky protested that the UK, which holds the council presidency, was allowing only two briefers and Moscow wanted a third. He said that in protest Russia wouldn't participate in the following council session on Odesa. (18:11 GMT) China's economic ties with Russia have helped limit the effect of punishing Western sanctions imposed over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, a United States intelligence report says. The report says Beijing has probably supplied Moscow with dual-use civilian-military equipment employed in Ukraine but notes that it is "difficult to ascertain the extent to which [China] has helped Russia evade and circumvent sanctions and export controls". (18:30 GMT) The decision to disqualify Ukraine's Olha Kharlan from the Fencing World Championships for refusing to shake hands with her beaten Russian opponent has been slammed by Kyiv as "absolutely shameful". Kharlan, the first athlete officially representing Ukraine to face a Russian or Belarusian opponent since in February 2022, opted against shaking the hand of Anna Smirnova on Thursday. (18:46 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has urged sports federations to show sensitivity when handling contests between Ukrainian athletes and Russians competing as neutrals, following Thursday's disqualification of Ukraine's Olha Kharlan at the Fencing World Championships. (19:10 GMT) Zelenskky has posted a video believed to be of Ukrainian soldiers saying they freed the southern village of Staromaiorske from Russian occupation. (19:22 GMT) The Ukrainian army has recaptured the village of Staromaiorske from Russian forces on the southern front as it ramps up its counteroffensive, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar has said. "Staromaiorske in the Donetsk region has been liberated. Our defenders are currently carrying out clearing operations" of Russian troops, she said on Telegram. (19:39 GMT) Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan, who was disqualified from the Fencing World Championships for not shaking hands with a Russian opponent, has said: "We will never shake hands with them." "My message today is that we Ukrainian athletes are ready to face Russians on the sports field, but we will never shake hands with them," the four-time world champion said. (19:52 GMT) Zelenskyy "inspected the destruction in the Transfiguration Cathedral caused by the recent massive bombardments of civilian infrastructure and the Odesa historical city centre", it said in a statement on Thursday. Russia has been pounding Odesa, a centuries-old city on the shores of the Black Sea and one of Ukraine's main ports, ever since Moscow withdrew from a grain deal that allowed Kyiv to export its grain despite the war. (20:24 GMT) Russia's withdrawal from a deal that had allowed Ukraine to export its badly needed grain has sparked volatility in grain prices, the White House says. 20230728 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-520 ... (06:10 GMT) Japan dialed up sanctions against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, announcing an expanded list on Friday that included an export ban on electric vehicles. Russia was hit with a wave of sanctions after it sent forces into Ukraine in February last year, but calls have grown from Kyiv and its allies for tougher action against Moscow. Tokyo has already frozen assets of Russian individuals and groups, and banned the export of goods to Russia's military-related organisations, as well as the export of construction and engineering services. (06:12 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has it had thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack in the Moscow region overnight. "The UAV was destroyed by means of air defence," the ministry said on Telegram, adding that there were no casualties or damage. (06:30 GMT) North Korea's state media outlet Korean Central News Agency has published a letter by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who thanked Kim Jong Un for North Korea's "firm support" of his war efforts in Ukraine. Putin said that interests between Moscow and Pyongyang were aligning as they counter the "policy of the Western group which hinders the establishment of the truly multi-polarised and just world order." (06:40 GMT) President Zelenskyy has posted a video in which a group of Ukrainian soldiers said they had taken control of the village of Staromaiorske in the Donetsk region next to the Zaporizhia province. (06:59 GMT) Ukraine is economically competitive and a good prospect for becoming a member of the European Union, the president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Werner Hoyer has said. "It is a country that can easily keep up with us," Hoyer told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper. "In the area of digitalization, the Ukrainians are light years ahead of most Central European countries, including Germany," he said. "And they have an industry that was already the spearhead of development in the Soviet Union - for example in military technology." (08:18 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin told African leaders that Moscow respects their peace proposal on Ukraine and was carefully studying it. (8:52 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy visited the Orthodox cathedral in Odesa that was damaged after a Russian missile hit the altar last week. (09:24 GMT) Central African Republic (CAR) President Faustin-Archange Touadera says his country's relations with Russia helped save its democracy and avoid a civil war. Wagner mercenaries first arrived in the country in 2018, on the side of the government, to quash a civil war that had been raging since 2012. In February, the Russian ambassador to CAR said 1,890 "Russian instructors" were present in the country. Earlier this month, Wagner fighters arrived in CAR to help secure a constitutional referendum on July 30. (09:54 GMT) Putin rejects suggestions that Russia's "special military operation" in Ukraine was responsible for high global food prices, saying Western "mistakes" were responsible. During the two-day Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg, Putin said the United States and the European Union had printed money to buy food due to the COVID-19 pandemic and "prices skyrocketed". The Russian leader appeared to be referring to the policy of "quantitative easing" to help major Western economies function under the disruption of the pandemic. He added the West neglected investment in hydrocarbons and said, "One mistake led to another, it upended markets." (10:18 GMT) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi urged Russia to restart the Black Sea grain deal, which collapsed last week following Moscow's exit. During a Russia-Africa summit, Sisi said it was "essential to reach agreement" on reviving the deal. (10:44 GMT) African leaders pressed Putin to move ahead with their peace plan to end the Ukraine war and renew the grain deal. While the leaders were not directly critical of Russia, their statements on the second day of the summit were pointed reminders of the consequences of the conflict, especially on food prices. "The African (peace) initiative deserves the closest attention, it mustn't be underestimated," Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso told Putin and fellow African leaders in St Petersburg. (11:04 GMT) Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who also serves as foreign minister, is on a visit to Ukraine, where he will meet Zelenskyy, the ministry said. According to the Russian Tass news agency, in a statement, the ministry wrote, "Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani arrived today on a visit to Ukraine, during which he will convey the greetings of the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and will also discuss a number of important issues with him." The Qatari prime minister also plans to meet with his Ukrainian counterpart, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. (11:27 GMT) Putin repeated that Russia is ready for negotiations with Ukraine, but Kyiv is refusing to join them. Kyiv has repeatedly said it will not enter into negotiations with Russia while Moscow holds a fifth of its territories. But Russia has repeatedly said any talks must take account of these "new realities". A Kremlin spokesperson said Kyiv's position to resolve the Ukraine conflict is "irreconcilable". Speaking at a press briefing in St Petersburg, Dmitry Peskov said Russia remains open to finding a peaceful solution. (12:35 GMT) Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has announced that Qatar would provide Ukraine with $100m in humanitarian aid to support health, education and demining after talks with the Gulf state's prime minister. (12:54 GMT) Czech police stopped a Russian tennis player from entering the country ahead of the WTA Prague Open tournament, organisers said. At the end of June, the government approved a resolution banning athletes from Russia and Belarus from competing in events on Czech territory. (13:47 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says its forces have captured several Ukrainian strongholds in the Luhansk region, the state news agency Tass reports. "In the area of the village of Sergeevka in the Luhansk People's Republic, assault detachments of the 15th Motorised Rifle Brigade of the 2nd Army continued to develop success in the Svatov direction and captured a number of strongholds of the armed forces of Ukraine," ministry spokesperson Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov was quoted as saying, using the name pro-Russian separatists have given to the eastern Ukrainian province. "The advance into the depth of the enemy's defence was 1.5km." He said that near Krasnolimansky, troops repelled four attacks. (14:11 GMT) At least six people were injured after an explosion in the central square of the city of Taganrog in southwest Russia, close to the border with Ukraine, the Russian RIA news agency reported. According to state-owned TASS news, the explosion damaged a residential building. Videos from the scene circulated online showed a low-rise building partly reduced to rubble. The Russian military says it shot down a Ukrainian missile over the southern Russian city of Taganrog and that fragments of the rocket injured at least nine civilians and damaged buildings. Vasily Golubev, governor of Russia's Rostov region, close to Ukraine, said a cafe was hit along with a museum and that the windows of a residential building were blown out. He added that nine people were taken to hospital with injuries, but nobody had been killed. (14:39 GMT) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said federations should handle situations involving Ukrainian and neutral athletes with sensitivity after a Ukrainian fencer was disqualified for refusing to shake hands with a Russian opponent. On Thursday, Ukraine's Olga Kharlan won the individual sabre bout and refused to shake hands with Russian Anna Smirnova at the World Championships in Milan. This week Ukraine's sports ministry relaxed its rules over sports teams competing in events with competitors from Russia and Belarus. (15:00 GMT) The European Union Council says it will sanction seven Russian individuals and five entities over a "digital information manipulation" campaign called 'RRN' (Recent Reliable News). (15:56 GMT) Ukraine is moving its Christmas holiday to December 25 in a break with the Russian Orthodox Church, which celebrates it on January 7. According to the parliament's website, the purpose of the law was to "abandon the Russian heritage of imposing Christmas celebrations on January 7". Ukraine has been under Moscow's spiritual leadership since the 17th century. (16:38 GMT) Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar reports advances near the southern occupied cities of Melitopol and Berdiansk and says Kyiv's troops have been successful in attacking in the east outside the city of Bakhmut. Maliar said Ukrainian forces continued to repel Russian advances in the east near Kupiansk and Lyman, which Ukraine liberated last year. Fierce fighting raged near the villages of Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka and Andriivka on the southern flank of Bakhmut, she said. (16:52 GMT) Russia and African countries have agreed to cooperate to seek compensation for the damage caused by colonialism and to pursue the return of cultural artefacts, according to the final declaration of a Russia-Africa summit, published on the Kremlin's website. Both sides also agreed to oppose any discrimination and intolerance, including "aggressive nationalism, neo-Nazism and neo-fascism, afrophobia, russophobia". (17:07 GMT) Ukrainian troops are about to receive a consignment of 1,700 attack and reconnaissance drones to help with the counteroffensive. Mykhailo Fedorov, a deputy prime minister, said 1,700 drones were on their way to the front lines to help the offensive. Ukrainian producers have sharply increased domestic drone production and more than 10,000 drone operators have been already trained with another 10,000 currently receiving training, Fedorov said. (17:14 GMT) The chair of the African Union, Azali Assoumani, has said in a closing address to a Russia-Africa summit in St Petersburg that proposals by Russian President Vladimir Putin to provide grain to Africa are not sufficient and that a ceasefire in Ukraine is needed. "The president of Russia demonstrated that he is ready to help us in the field of grain supply," Assoumani said. "Yes, this is important, but it may not be quite enough. We need to achieve a ceasefire." (17:29 GMT) Azali Assoumani, the chair of the African Union, said Putin had shown readiness to negotiate with Ukraine, and that "the other side" now needed to be persuaded. "President Putin has shown us that he is ready to engage in dialogue and find a solution," he added. "Now we need to convince the other side." Putin had told the African leaders that it was Kyiv that was refusing to negotiate with him under a decree it passed shortly after he claimed last September to have annexed four Ukrainian regions that Russia partly controls. Russia has long said it is open to talks but that they must take account of these "new realities" on the ground. (17:49 GMT) Russia has not offered the UN World Food Programme (WFP) any free grain, WFP deputy chief Carl Skau says, nearly two weeks after Moscow quit a deal that allowed the safe export of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. "We have not been in talks about any free grain so far," Skau told reporters. "We have not been approached for any such discussion." Putin told African leaders at a summit in St Petersburg that Moscow was able to replace Ukrainian grain exports to Africa and that he would give tens of thousands of tonnes of grain to six countries within months. (17:53 GMT) Putin has said that Russia and the African leaders attending a summit in Saint Petersburg had agreed to promote a multipolar world order. Participants signed a joint declaration calling for "the establishment of a more just, balanced and stable multipolar world order, firmly opposing all types of international confrontation in the African continent." The Russian president also said the leaders had agreed to improve cooperation on aid, energy and trade, including by "consistently switching to national currencies for commercial transactions." (18:22 GMT) On the second day of the Russia-Africa summit, African leaders have been concerted and forceful concern in expressing their concerns at the consequences of the war, especially rising food prices. "This war must end. And it can only end on the basis of justice and reason," African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat told Putin and African leaders in St Petersburg. "The disruptions of energy and grain supplies must end immediately. The grain deal must be extended for the benefit of all the peoples of the world, Africans in particular." African nations proposed a peace plan floating a series of steps to defuse the conflict, including a Russian troop pull-back, removal of Russian tactical nuclear weapons from Belarus, suspension of an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Putin and sanctions relief. (18:37 GMT) Ukrainian fencer Olha Kharlan has been awarded a place in the 2024 Paris Olympics by the IOC, after being disqualified at the world championships for refusing to shake the hand of her Russian opponent. (18:51 GMT) Visibly satisfied, Putin has stood shoulder to shoulder with a score of African heads of state at a Russia-Africa summit in Saint Petersburg. "Russia's attention to Africa is steadily growing," Putin said. He added the relations with each country on the African continent, where the Soviet Union had already forged strong ties, "have a bright future in the emerging multipolar world". (19:02 GMT) Russia said it intercepted two Ukrainian missiles over its southern Rostov region bordering Ukraine, with at least a dozen people wounded by debris falling on the city of Taganrog. "Russian air defence equipment detected the Ukrainian missile and intercepted it in the air. The debris of the downed Ukrainian missile fell on the territory of Taganrog," Russia's defence ministry stated. The ministry said the first S-200 missile was aimed at "residential infrastructure" of Taganrog, a city of around 250,000 people. Shortly after, it said it downed a second S-200 missile near the city of Azov, with debris falling in an unpopulated area. Rostov region governor Vasily Golubev said 15 people suffered "light injuries" from shards in an explosion near the "Chekhov Garden" cafe in central Taganrog. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/28/moscow-accuses-ukraine-of-firing-missiles-at-southern-russia (20:14 GMT) Poland and Lithuania are considering closing their respective borders with Belarus amid concerns about the presence there of the Wagner mercenary group, a Lithuanian deputy interior minister has said. 20230729 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-521 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/29/poland-raises-alarm-as-wagner-forces-move-closer-to-border Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki has expressed concern about the movement of Russian Wagner forces in Belarus towards the Polish border. "We have information that more than 100 Wagner mercenaries have advanced towards the Suwalki Gap, not far from Grodno in Belarus," Morawiecki told a news conference on Saturday. Grodno is located in the west of Belarus, about 15km from its border with NATO members Poland and Lithuania. The Suwalki Gap is a narrow strategic land corridor on their territory between Belarus and Russia's Baltic exclave of Kaliningrad. The Poland-Belarus border has already been a tense place for a couple of years, ever since large numbers of refugees and migrants from the Middle East and Africa began arriving, seeking to enter the EU by crossing into Poland, as well as Lithuania. Poland's government accuses Russia and Belarus of using the migrants to destabilise Poland and other EU countries. It calls the migration a form of hybrid warfare, and has responded by building a high wall along part of its border with Belarus. 20230730 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-522 ... (08:11 GMT) Russian forces have intercepted three Ukrainian drones over the city of Moscow, the country's defence ministry said. The drone assault on the Russian capital early on Sunday is reported to have injured a security guard, damaged two office blocks and briefly forced the closure of an airport in the city. "The Kyiv regime's attempted terrorist attack with unmanned aerial vehicles on objects in the city of Moscow was thwarted," the Russian defence ministry said on Telegram. It said one of the drones was shot down, while two, "suppressed by electronic warfare", crashed into a building complex in Moscow's business district. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/30/russia-thwarts-ukrainian-drone-attack-on-moscow (08:12 GMT) Saudi Arabia will host a Ukrainian-organized peace summit in early August seeking to find a way to start negotiations over Russia's war on the country, an official said Saturday night. Both Riyadh and Kyiv did not immediately acknowledge the planned talks. The summit will be held in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah, said the official, who spoke anonymously as no authorization had been given to discuss the summit publicly. Those taking part in the summit will include Ukraine, as well as Brazil, India, South Africa and several other countries, the official said. A high-level official from U.S. President Joe Biden's administration also is expected to attend, the official said. Planning for the event is being overseen by Kyiv, and Russia is not invited, the official said. (08:13 GMT) Vladimir Putin has said that an initiative presented by African leaders could be a basis for peace in Moscow's war on Ukraine but claimed that attacks from Kyiv made a cessation of hostilities "virtually impossible". The Russian leader made the comments in Moscow on Saturday after meeting leaders from Africa in Saint Petersburg and hearing their calls for Russia to move ahead with their plan. "There are things that are virtually impossible to implement, like a ceasefire - but Ukraine is advancing, they're on a strategic offensive, how do we hold our fire when they're advancing on us?" Putin told reporters. "This can only be a bilateral initiative. But the [African] initiative in my opinion can become the foundation of certain processes towards a peaceful resolution, just like China's initiative, there's no competition or contradiction here," he said. Putin said, "We did not reject them", but that "in order for this process to begin, there needs to be agreement on both sides". (08:13 GMT) On Saturday, Ukraine's energy minister, reflecting on what he has portrayed as the largest repairs campaign to a power system in modern history, expressed confidence that the country could meet its generation needs during the cold months. Between October 2022 and February 2023, Ukraine's energy infrastructure was targeted by Russian missiles and drones, resulting in rolling blackouts across the country and water outages for millions of Ukrainians during the winter. Asked in a televised interview whether the country could meet its goal of providing 1.7 gigawatts of generation capacity by this year's heating season, German Galushchenko said, "We will manage to do it." He said he could not give details now but that the country was adding power in ways it had never done before. "I am very confident that the symbiosis of all actions will lead to the fact that we will be able to reliably ensure supplies during the heating season." (08:23 GMT) Moscow claims to have thwarted a Ukrainian attempt to attack Russia-annexed Crimea with 25 drones overnight. "Sixteen Ukrainian UAVs were destroyed by air defence fire," the Russian defence ministry said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles. "Another nine Ukrainian drones were suppressed by means of electronic warfare and, without reaching the target, crashed into the Black Sea," the ministry said, adding that there were no victims. Kyiv has repeatedly stated that it plans to take Crimea back. (08:49 GMT) Vladimir Putin spoke at a ceremony in St Petersburg to mark Russia's annual Navy Day. After reviewing a parade of warships on the River Neva, he announced that the Russian Navy would receive 30 new ships this year. (09:09 GMT) According to its latest update, the UK Ministry of Defence estimates that thousands of Wagner troops are now stationed in central Belarus. The ministry also stated that most vehicles accompanying the troops are not armoured combat vehicles but minibuses and trucks. (09:48 GMT) Four African heads of state have attended Russia's annual Navy Day event in St Petersburg while five other African countries sent representatives, according to the Kremlin. Forty-five ships, submarines and other vessels took part in the event, a traditional show of military might which takes place in the Gulf of Finland and on the River Neva in St Petersburg. About 3,000 navy personnel also participated in a parade on land, the Kremlin said. (10:05 GMT) Suspline, the national public broadcaster in Ukraine, reports that two people were killed and 20 injured in the northeastern city of Sumy after a Russian rocket hit a vocational school on Saturday night. In addition to the school's main structure, dormitories and high-rise buildings were damaged by the explosion. A temporary residence was provided to 13 people. (11:36 GMT) The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says segments of the "Russian pro-war ultranationalist information space" appear to be increasingly unified in towing the Kremlin's line that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is "a failure". The ISW believes that these segments increasingly "overstate Ukrainian losses" and write less about Russia's losses and challenges than they had been. Certain military bloggers "may be shaping their depiction of the wider Ukrainian counteroffensive for fear of Kremlin punishment following the arrest of prominent pro-war critic Igor Girkin", the ISW wrote in a tweet. (12:12 GMT) Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow would have to use a nuclear weapon if Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive succeeds. The deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, a body chaired by President Vladimir Putin, said in a message on his official social media accounts that Russia would be forced to fall back on its own nuclear doctrine in such a scenario. "Imagine if the ... offensive, which is backed by NATO, was a success and they tore off a part of our land then we would be forced to use a nuclear weapon according to the rules of a decree from the president of Russia. "There would simply be no other option. So our enemies should pray for our warriors' [success]. They are making sure that a global nuclear fire is not ignited," he said. Medvedev appeared to be referring to part of Russia's nuclear doctrine, which sets out that nuclear weapons can be used in response to aggression against Russia carried out using conventional weapons, which threatens the existence of the Russian state. (12:34 GMT) Steeplejacks have begun to dismantle the Soviet coat of arms on the iconic metal Motherland Monument in Kyiv and are set to replace it with the Ukrainian trident. Work on the monument is due to be completed by August 24, Ukraine's Independence Day. (12:54 GMT) Volodymyr Zelenskyy attended a meeting of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities in Ivano-Frankivsk as Ukraine prepares for the potential of Russian attacks on the energy infrastructure during wintertime. Zelenskyy said he expects Russia to resume its attacks on Ukraine's energy system once cold weather returns later this year. (14:29 GMT) Al Jazeera's Daniel Hawkins said at least two of the three drones that had targeted Moscow were shot down by electronic means. "That implies that these drones didn't reach their targets," Hawkins said, speaking from Moscow. The third drone was shot down just outside of Moscow in the region of Odintsova, about a 40-minute drive to the west of the city's outskirts, he continued, indicating that the attack came somewhere from that region of Russia, if not beyond. "We don't know what exactly these drones were targeting," Hawkins said, pointing out that there are many high-profile government and commercial buildings in the city. Had this attack taken place on a weekday, the casualty numbers would have been much higher, he added, due to Moscow's vibrancy that has led the city's residents to describe it as a "human anthill". (14:52 GMT) Ukraine's President Zelenskyy has warned that "war" is coming to Russia after three Ukrainian drones were downed over Moscow. <=== "Gradually, the war is returning to the territory of Russia - to its symbolic centres and military bases, and this is an inevitable, natural and absolutely fair process," Zelenskyy said on a visit to the western city of Ivano-Frankivsk. 20230731 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/7/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-523 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/7/31/russia-ukraine-war-live-moscow-says-ukrainian-drone-hit-police-station (06:55 GMT) The governor of Russia's Briansk region says a Ukrainian drone hit a police station overnight but there were no casualties. "Ukrainian forces attacked the district of Trubchevsky at night," Alexander Bogomaz said on Telegram. "A drone hit the police station in this district. No victims" but the windows and roof were damaged, he added. (07:00 GMT) The Russian Foreign Ministry says Moscow will continue dialogue on prospects for a peaceful resolution of the Ukraine crisis with China, Brazil and African partners, state-owned news agency RIA Novosti reported. (07:13 GMT) Ukraine's interior ministry says a Russian missile strike hit the southern Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. An unconfirmed video from the city that was circulated on social networks showed a gaping hole in the side of a nine-storey building and a fire inside. (07:28 GMT) Ukraine says it carried out "successful" offensives against Russia in the southern Zaporizhia region over the past week. "In the south, the Defence Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdiansk directions. In the direction of Mala Tokmachka-Robotyne of the Zaporizhzhia region, they were successful," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Telegram. Maliar claimed that the Ukrainian forces have retaken control of a total of 204.7sq km of land in the south, including 12.6sq km over the last week. On the eastern front, she said Russian forces continued to focus their main efforts in the directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Marinka, adding that more than 170 battles took place in these directions during the past week. According to Maliar, Russian forces tried to advance in the directions of Kupiansk, Lyman, Avddivka and Marinka, but they were "unsuccessful". (07:56 GMT) Explainer | Wagner Group: A rising mercenary force in Africa https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KE7pGIH_Uoc (08:23 GMT) Following Russia's attack on Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted footage of the aftermath to the X messaging platform. Zelenskyy wrote: "Regions of Ukraine are being shelled by the occupiers, who continue to terrorize peaceful cities and people. Kryvyi Rih, Kherson. (08:40 GMT) At least two people have been killed due to Ukrainian shelling of the city of Donetsk, the Russian-installed head of the region said. In a statement posted on Telegram, Denis Pushilin said, "This morning, the AFU [Armed Forces of Ukraine] shelled the centre of Donetsk. Hits were recorded in the Voroshilovsky and Kuibyshev regions. "As a result of the shelling, a passenger bus was destroyed. According to preliminary data, two people were killed and six injured. The injured are receiving medical assistance. "In addition, VFU attacked a water utility in Yasinovataya with the help of a drone. The infrastructure of the enterprise is damaged." Since 2014, the city of Donetsk has been under Russian control, but Ukrainian troops continue to hold positions on its outskirts, and the city regularly comes under fire. (09:41 GMT) The governor of Russia's Belgorod region said over the past 24 hours, Ukraine has fired at settlements multiple times. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote on Telegram that in the Belgorod region, 12 artillery shells were fired at the village of Shchetinovka. "In the village of Zhuravlevka, nine grenades were dropped from the UAV...in the Borisovsky district, the outskirts of the villages of Bogun-Gorodok and Lozovaya Rudka came under mortar fire - nine and seven arrivals were recorded, respectively. There were no consequences." Attacks were also recorded in the village of Novopetrovka, the Stary farm in the Volokonovsky district, the outskirts of the village of Dronovka, the Krasnoyaruzhsky district, the outskirts of the village of Vyazovoe, the village of Staroselye, the village of Terebreno, and between the village of Kolotilovka and the village of Prilesye. The governor added that "18 mortar shells" were fired in the village of Novaya Tavolzhanka, and the village of Krasnoe and the village of Leninsky were also hit. (10:01 GMT) The Kremlin says it needs to find out the purpose of upcoming talks and what would be discussed in Saudi Arabia about the war in Ukraine. On Saturday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Saudi Arabia would invite Western states, Ukraine and major developing countries to the planned talks. The report said Kyiv and Western countries hope the talks, which exclude Russia, could lead to international backing for peace terms favouring Ukraine. (10:21 GMT) Ukraine's deputy defence minister says Ukrainian forces have steadily recaptured land from Russian troops in the east and the south over the past week. On Telegram, Hanna Maliar said, "In the direction of Bakhmut, the enemy tried with all their might to stop our advance during the week, but our defenders gradually advanced. "The vacated area in the Bakhmut direction is 37 square kilometres in total, two sq. km were released in a week. "The vacated area is 204.7 square kilometres. Increased in a week by 12.6 square kilometres." (10:42 GMT) Deputy head of the president's office, Oleksiy Kuleba, says 43 people are injured, including a 10-year-old child, and at least five people have been killed after an attack on Kryvyi Rih. On Telegram, Kuleba wrote, "All necessary services, local and regional authorities work on the spot. The aid operational headquarters has been deployed. (11:05 GMT) Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu says Western weapons are only prolonging the conflict, not leading to success on the battlefield, Russian Tass news agency reports. In a conference call with leaders of the Russian army, Shoigu said, "Obviously, the supplied Western weapons do not lead to success on the battlefield, but only prolong the military conflict". Shoigu added that over the past month, Ukraine has lost more than 20 thousand forces and more than two thousand weapons units, including 10 Leopard tanks. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, also said Ukraine's efforts were not going as planned and said, "The multi-billion-dollar resources that were transferred by NATO countries to the Kyiv regime are actually being spent inefficiently and aimlessly". He added that this was why Kyiv was resorting to "acts of desperation", such as a drone attack against Moscow's business district on Sunday. (12:11 GMT) Analysts say export prices for Russian wheat maintained levels last week after spiking a week earlier due to Russia's withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal. According to the IKAR agriculture consultancy, the price of 12.5 percent protein Russian wheat scheduled for free-on-board (FOB) delivery in the second half of August was $241 per tonne last week, down from $242 per tonne a week earlier. Russian wheat exports have been at record highs in recent months due to a bumper 2022 crop and large stocks. Russia-focused agricultural consultancy Sovecon estimates Russian wheat exports in July at 4.4 million tonnes, compared to 2.5 million tonnes in July 2022. (12:38 GMT) The Kremlin warns of a deteriorating security situation in Europe as negotiations continue on possible future Western security guarantees for Ukraine. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said security guarantees for Ukraine would upset the principles of international relations. "In our opinion, this will only lead to a further deterioration of the security situation on the European continent," Peskov said. Kyiv hopes to start security talks this week with the United States and join NATO at a later date. Russia has repeatedly claimed that its security is threatened by Ukraine's aspirations to join the European Union and NATO. (14:39 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry says Russian air strikes destroyed an estimated 180,000 metric tonnes of grain crops in the space of nine days this month. (15:08 GMT) The Russian RIA state news agency has reported that Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza lost an appeal against his 25-year jail sentence. Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship, was jailed for 25 years in April for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine. He was arrested two months after the war began after a CNN interview with him in which he said Russia was run by "a regime of murderers". He was later charged with treason over speeches about the war, including one to the Arizona House of Representatives in the United States, where he said Russian President Vladimir Putin was bombing Ukrainian homes, hospitals and schools. (15:33 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says Moscow has intensified strikes on Ukrainian military infrastructure in retaliation for attacks on Russian-controlled territory. "Against the background of the failure of the so-called 'counteroffensive', Kyiv ... has focused on carrying out terrorist attacks on civilian infrastructure," Shoigu said. "The intensity of our strikes against Ukrainian military facilities ... has been considerably increased," he added. On Sunday, Russia said it shot down Ukrainian drones targeting Moscow and Crimea. 15:56 GMT) Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador calls for an end to the "irrational" war in Ukraine and urges upcoming peace talks to include Russia. Lopez Obrador said Mexico would only take part in the talks in Saudi Arabia if both sides were present. "If there's acceptance from both Ukraine and Russia to look for solutions to achieve peace, we'll participate," the president told reporters. "We don't want the Russia-Ukraine war to continue. It's very irrational," Lopez Obrador said, adding that the conflict has caused massive human suffering. "The only thing that benefits from it is the war industry." The Wall Street Journal has reported that senior officials from up to 30 countries are expected to travel to Jeddah this coming weekend to participate in peace talks, but Russia has not been invited. (16:40 GMT) Ukraine and Croatia have agreed on the possibility of using Croatian ports on the Danube and the Adriatic Sea for the export of Ukrainian grain, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says after talks with his Croatian counterpart. (17:13 GMT) Britain has sanctioned Russian judges and officials involved in the trial of opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, calling a decision to reject his appeal against a jail sentence "unjustifiable". Kara-Murza, who holds Russian and British citizenship, lost an appeal against his 25-year jail sentence. Kara-Murza was jailed in April for treason and other offences. Moscow City Court Judges Vitaly Belitsky, Ekaterina Mikhailovna Dorokhina and Natalia Nikolaevna Dudar were among those added to the British sanctions list. Britain has previously sanctioned other people connected to the case. (17:21 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry has signed an agreement with the Turkish company Baykar Makina to build a service centre for the repair and maintenance of drones. "The creation of a service centre will be a significant contribution to strengthening Ukraine's defence capabilities and will help bring our victory closer," the ministry's state secretary, Kostiantyn Vashchenko, was quoted by the ministry website as telling Turkish partners. Ukraine is seeking to boost domestic production of drones for reconnaissance and assault purposes. (18:35 GMT) Six people have been killed and 75 wounded in Kryvyi Rih following a Russian attack on the southern Ukrainian city, officials say. (18:59 GMT) US government officials will attend a Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller has told a press briefing, adding he could not give more details. (20:04 GMT) Following attacks on Kryvyi Rih and Kherson, Zelenskyy has said "sanctions and pressure against Russia deserves to be significantly increased." "We must act together. Significantly strengthen sanctions for terror," Zelensky said on X. "And we must respond with determination - determination to supply Ukraine with the necessary modern weapons." 20230801 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-524 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/1/russian-forces-down-new-wave-drones-over-moscow-office-tower-hit Russian forces have again downed several drones over the city of Moscow, according to officials, with one of the intercepted aircraft damaging the same office tower that was hit in an attack over the weekend. ... (07:33 GMT) The Russian military said its anti-aircraft units had thwarted a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" early on Tuesday and downed drones targeting Moscow, but one drone, sent out of control by its units, struck the same high-rise tower hit earlier in the week. "On the night of August 1st, an attempted terrorist attack by the Kyiv regime with lethal drones on targets in Moscow and Moscow region was thwarted," the defence ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. Two drones, the ministry said, had been downed in suburbs west of the city centre. "Yet another (drone) was hit by radio-electronic equipment and, having run out of control, crashed on the territory of the complex of non-residential buildings at Moskva Citi," the ministry said, referring to a business centre in the capital. Vnukovo airport, one of three major airports serving the capital, briefly shut down but later resumed full operations. (07:35 GMT) Russia said on Tuesday that it had repelled an overnight Ukrainian drone attack targeting its patrol boats in the Black Sea. "During the night, Ukrainian armed forces tried without success to attack with three drones, the 'Sergei Kotov' and 'Vasily Bykov,' patrol boats of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea," the defence ministry said in a statement. "The three naval enemy drones were destroyed", it said, adding that the boats were attacked 340 kilometres southwest of Sevastopol, the base of Russia's Black Sea Fleet on the annexed Crimea peninsula. Last week, Russia said it had repelled another drone attack on the Sergei Kotov patrol boat. (07:36 GMT) Valery Gerasimov, chief of the general staff of Russia's armed forces, visited Russian troops in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, the Russian defence ministry says. It said Gerasimov inspected a command centre and underscored the importance of preemptive strikes against Ukrainian forces. An accompanying video showed him poring over a map, receiving briefings and climbing into a helicopter. Gerasimov was for many months the target of savage criticism from Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some Russian military bloggers over Russia's failings in the war. After Wagner staged a brief mutiny against the defence establishment on June 24, there were questions as to whether Gerasimov would keep his job. More than two weeks elapsed before he was first seen again in public on July 10. Tuesday's statement and video seemed designed to show that he not only remains in his post but is actively engaged with troops on the front line. (07:36 GMT) Drones have struck populated areas in the city of Kharkiv overnight, destroying two floors of a college dormitory, according to local officials. Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov claimed there were three attacks in Ukraine's second largest city. "One of the drones destroyed two floors of a dormitory," Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "A fire broke out, and emergency services are attending." Ukraine's public broadcaster Suspilne reported that half the college building was destroyed. (07:37 GMT) Ukraine has thwarted an overnight attempt by a Russian saboteur group to cross its northern border, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on the Telegram messaging app. "Last night, in the Chernihiv region, border guards stopped an attempt by an enemy saboteur-reconnaissance group to cross the state border of Ukraine within the Semenivka community," he said. Serhiy Naev, commander of the joint forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said that four armed people attempted to cross the border but were repelled by Ukrainian fire. Klymenko said the four people were detected moving from Russian territory. (08:16 GMT) UK's defence ministry says that as fighting between Ukraine and Russia intensifies in southern Ukraine, Moscow's 58th Combined Arms Army (58 CAA), is "highly likely struggling with battle fatigue." "Across the south, common problems for Russian commanders are highly likely to include shortage of artillery ammunition, a lack of reserves and problems securing the flanks of units in the defence," the ministry added in a tweet. (08:28 GMT) An adviser to Russia's economy minister has said that the ministry's employees were continuing to work remotely after drone strikes at the heart of Moscow's financial district, with experts assessing the damage to infrastructure there. The Russian military said its anti-aircraft units had thwarted a Ukrainian "terrorist attack" and downed drones targeting Moscow, but one drone, sent out of control by its units, struck the same high-rise tower hit earlier in the week. (08:55 GMT) Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska met Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Qatar, for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine last year. At a meeting in Ukraine, the first lady invited Qatar to participate in the projects of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, which was established in September 2022 to attract foreign donors to humanitarian aid, support for education and healthcare in Ukraine. (09:23 GMT) The Kremlin has said it was clear that a threat existed after the latest drone attack on Moscow, in which a high-rise building in Moscow's business district was struck for the second time in three days. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined further comment. (9:57 GMT) Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine has said that Russia is barraging Kherson by targeting residential areas and medical centres. (10:16 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said it had thwarted an attack from Ukrainian drones overnight on civilian transport vessels in the Black Sea, according to a report by the Interfax news agency. The ministry earlier said three Ukrainian sea drones had attacked two Russian Black Sea navy ships 340 km SW of Sevastopol and were destroyed. (11:13 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, told Reuters that Kyiv did not attack and will not attack civilian vessels or any other civilian objects in the Black Sea, calling Russian statements 'fictitious'. Russia's defence ministry said it had thwarted an attack from Ukrainian drones overnight on civilian transport vessels in the Black Sea, acorrding to the Interfax news agency. "Undoubtedly, such statements by Russian officials are fictitious and do not contain even a shred of truth. Ukraine has not attacked, is not attacking and will not attack civilian vessels, nor any other civilian objects," Podolyak said. (10:51 GMT) Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has said that Russia is behind the military coup in Niger. "It is a standard Russian tactic: to divert attention, seize the moment and expand the conflict," he said in a tweet. (11:13 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, told Reuters that Kyiv did not attack and would not attack civilian vessels or any other civilian objects in the Black Sea, calling Russian statements "fictitious". Russia's defence ministry said it had thwarted an attack from Ukrainian drones overnight on civilian transport vessels in the Black Sea, according to the Interfax news agency. (11:23 GMT) Reporting from Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, Al Jazeera's Ali Hashem says the situation in the region is tense. "The shelling is continuous. You can hear explosions every now and then. This comes as a pattern over the past few days. Several attacks hit the city. Yesterday, an attack left four people dead," he said. "So the situation is tense and more tense around the front line between Ukraine and Russia," he added. (12:10 GMT) Ukraine's foreign ministry has called in Poland's ambassador to Kyiv, saying the comments made by Polish presidential foreign policy adviser Marcin Przydacz were "unacceptable". "During the meeting, it was emphasised that statements about the alleged ungratefulness of Ukrainians for Poland's help are untrue and unacceptable," foreign ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said in a statement on the ministry's website. In an interview with Polish media, Przydacz had said that Ukraine has received remarkable support from Poland and that it "should start appreciating the role that Poland has played for Ukraine in recent months and years". (12:49 GMT) Andriy Yermak, head of the office of the President of Ukraine has said that Kyiv is intensifying work on the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula and preparing for this year's Global Peace Summit. "We are actively working to attract the widest possible circle of leaders of the leading countries of the Global South," he said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. "It was agreed with the adviser to the Prime Minister of India to continue the dialogue, in particular in the context of this year's presidency of India in the 'Group of Twenty' (G20)," he added. (13:07 GMT) Russian mercenary group Wagner has been using old military storage facilities near Paplavy village, not far from Asipovichy in Belarus since mid-July, according to the media group Belarusian Hajun. "The storages started to be used approximately on July 18, which is confirmed by satellite images," the group said in a tweet. (13:38 GMT) Saudi Arabia is preparing to host a summit to discuss Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plan for peace in his country amid the ongoing Russian invasion, according to a senior official in Kyiv. The Wall Street Journal - which first reported on the summit, citing "diplomats involved in the discussion" - said the talks would take place on August 5 and 6, in the city of Jeddah, with some 30 countries attending. (13:59 GMT) The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has said that as of July 26, at least 274 cultural sites have been damaged during Russian's war in Ukraine. "This includes 117 religious sites, 27 museums, 98 buildings of historical and/or artistic interest, 19 monuments, 12 libraries, and one archive," the Organization said in a statement. (14:16 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu says that Moscow is ready to help improve Algeria's combat readiness, at a meeting in Russia with the chief of staff of Algeria's armed forces. Moscow is interested in broadening military cooperation with non-Western countries (14:49 GMT) Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar says Russia is "quite persistently" trying to stop Kyiv's advance in the direction of Bakhmut, but has been unsuccessful. "In the Bakhmut direction, our troops are dealing with dense artillery fire, mining and strong enemy resistance," she said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. "In the Kupyansk, Lymansk, Swativsk directions, the enemy has concentrated people and equipment and is storming in order to pull our forces away from the eastern direction of the offensive. Our defenders repel all enemy assaults in grueling battles," she added. (15:40 GMT) Mikhail Razvozhayev, the Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol in Crimea, has said that Russia downed drones in the region. "An explosion occurred on the ground [after it was downed], and grass and bushes caught fire," Razvozhayev said on the Telegram messaging app. (15:17 GMT) Pro-Ukrainian residents in Russian-annexed Crimea have been "systematically" trying to attack Russian military bases with Molotov cocktails, according to a Ukrainian intelligence report. In a statement on Telegram, the intelligence said these attacks are becoming frequent and Russia is trying to suppress the dissent. (15:57 GMT) The United States is not aware of any specific threat posed to Poland or other NATO allies by the presence of Wagner Group forces in Belarus, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. Kirby told a briefing that the United States was watching the situation closely. An unspecified number of Wagner fighters have begun training the Belarus national army, prompting Poland to start moving more than 1,000 troops closer to the border. (16:23 GMT) Russia has downed a drone over a district of Sevastopol, the city on the Crimean peninsula that is home to the country's Black Sea naval fleet. "An explosion occurred on the ground (after it was downed), and grass and bushes caught fire," said governor Mikhail Razvozhaev on Telegram. Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said three Ukrainian sea drones had attacked two Russian Black Sea navy ships 340km southwest of Sevastopol and were destroyed. (17:38 GMT) Ukraine expects its economy to grow by about 5 percent next year, driven by investment in reconstruction and stronger consumer demand, a senior Economy Ministry official has said. The ministry expects gross domestic product to grow by around 2.8 percent this year, said Natalia Horshkova, head of the ministry's department for strategic planning and macroeconomic forecasting. "We expect 5% growth in 2024. The driver will be investment dynamics," she told a roundtable on the economy. Ukraine's economy shrank by about a third last year after Russia's invasion. The annual fall was the largest since independence more than 30 years ago. (18:47 GMT) Poland will increase the number of troops at its border with Belarus after two helicopters from Belarus violated Poland's airspace, the Ministry of Defence says in a statement. According to the statement, NATO has been informed of the incident and Belarus' charge d'affairs was called in to explain the situation. (19:19 GMT) Belarusian military helicopters have not violated the border with Poland, according to the Belarusian Defence Ministry. "Accusations of a violation of the Polish border by Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters of the Belarusian Air Force and air defence forces are farfetched and made by the Polish military and political leadership to justify the build-up of forces and means at the Belarusian border," the ministry said. (20:12 GMT) The United States has been told that Russia is prepared to return to talks on a deal that had allowed the safe Black Sea export of Ukraine grain, but "we haven't seen any evidence of that yet," the US envoy to the United Nations says. Russia quit the deal on July 17. US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that if Russia wants to get its fertiliser to global markets and facilitate agricultural transactions, "they're going to have to return to this deal." 20230802 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-525 ... (06:29 GMT) More than 10 Russian drones have been downed during an attack on Kyiv at about 3am (00:00 GMT), Ukrainian officials have said. "Groups of drones entered Kyiv simultaneously from several directions. However, all air targets - more than 10 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - were detected and destroyed in time by the forces and means of air defence," Serhiy Popko, head of the Kyiv city military administration, said. He said Russia had used a barrage of Iranian-made Shahed drones, with debris hitting several areas, including the busy Solomianskyi district, which hosts an international airport. (06:32 GMT) Russian drones have hit port and grain storage facilities in the south of Ukraine's coastal Odesa region in the early morning hours, setting some of them on fire, regional governor Oleh Kiper has said on the Telegram messaging app. "As a result of the attack, fires broke out at the facilities of the port and industrial infrastructure of the region, and an elevator was damaged," Kiper wrote, adding that emergency services were on site and there were no reports of casualties. "Unfortunately, there are damages," Zelenskyy said on Telegram. "The most significant ones are in the south of the country. Russian terrorists have once again attacked ports, grain, global food security." (06:37 GMT) Ukraine and Poland have called in their respective ambassadors as tensions escalated after a foreign policy adviser to Poland's president said Kyiv should show more appreciation for Warsaw's support in its war with Russia. Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said the Polish ambassador was told in the meeting that statements about Ukraine's alleged ungratefulness for Poland's help were "untrue and unacceptable". (06:40 GMT) A large number of prisoners held in makeshift detention centres in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine were tortured and sexually violated, a team of international experts has said in a summary of their latest findings. The Mobile Justice Team's latest report, funded by Britain, the European Union and the United States, analysed 320 cases and witness accounts at 35 locations in the Kherson region. (06:43 GMT) A Russian court will deliver its verdict on Friday in the trial of jailed opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who is facing extremism charges that could keep him behind bars for decades. Prosecutors have requested a jail term of 20 years on charges that include the financing of extremist activity, publicly inciting extremist activities and "rehabilitating Nazi ideology". Navalny is serving a nine-year prison sentence on embezzlement charges that his supporters see as punishment for his political work. (07:16 GMT) The UK's Ministry of Defence says Russia is looking to strengthen its forces but is "unlikely to find enough new troops to resource even one new army". (07:47 GMT) Ukraine's defence ministry says a grain silo was damaged in the latest Russian attack on the Ukrainian port of Izmail, on the Danube river. "Another elevator in the port of Izmail, Odesa region, was damaged by Russians. Ukrainian grain has the potential to feed millions of people worldwide," the ministry wrote on messaging platform X, formerly known as Twitter. (08:25 GMT) Turkmenistan's main airline has suspended flights to Moscow, citing safety concerns after Ukrainian drone attacks on the Russian capital. "Due to the situation in the Moscow air zone, and based on a risk assessment in order to ensure flight safety, all Turkmenistan Airlines flights on the Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat route will be suspended," the airline said in a statement. Turkmenistan Airlines said it would fly to Kazan, more than 700km east of Moscow. (08:57 GMT) The head of Ukraine's president's office praises air defences for protecting civilians from Russian air attacks but stresses the need for tougher sanctions. On Telegram, Andriy Yermak said, "Heroic work by the air defence tonight. The Russians again tried to attack civilians, our ports, elevators. They do everything to circumvent sanctions and obtain components for the production of weapons. (09:18 GMT) Romania's President Klaus Iohannis calls Russia's repeated attacks on Ukraine's Danube infrastructure near Romania "unacceptable" after Moscow hit Odesa, including vital ports used to export grain. 09:41 GMT) Former Russian defence reporter Ivan Safronov lost his final appeal against a 22-year jail sentence on treason charges, a Reuters reporter at the Supreme Court in Moscow said. The former reporter for the Russian Kommersant and Vedomosti newspapers, who later worked as an adviser to the head of the space agency, was arrested in 2020 after being accused of disclosing classified information. While Safronov was accused of handing military secrets to the Czech Republic, his defence team said the case was revenge for his reporting on Russian plans to sell fighter jets to Egypt. (09:57 GMT) The Kremlin reiterated its position on the Black Sea grain deal, saying Moscow would return once the part that concerns Russia was implemented. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that President Putin was holding a call with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday morning. Moscow quit the grain deal two weeks ago after complaining that obstacles remained to its exports of grain and fertiliser. On Tuesday, the US envoy to the United Nations said there were "indications" that Russia might be interested in returning to discussions about the grain deal. (10:52 GMT) Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to his Russian counterpart on the phone and said he will continue in efforts to reinstate the Black Sea grain deal and urged Russia from escaltating the war, Erdogan's office said. The statement from the presidents office added, "President Erdogan expressed the importance of refraining from steps that could escalate tensions during the Russia-Ukraine war, emphasising the significance of the Black Sea initiative, which he described as a bridge of peace". Erdogan and Putin also agreed on the Russian president visiting Turkey. A senior Turkish official added that discussions between Ankara and Moscow are ongoing for a visit in late August. Putin has told Turkey's Erdogan that Moscow is ready to return to the Black Sea grain deal as soon as the West meets its obligations to Russia's grain exports, the Kremlin said. (11:48 GMT) Russia has begun naval exercises in the Baltic Sea amid rising tensions with its European neighbours due to the war in Ukraine. In a statement, the defence ministry said, "The Ocean Shield-2023 naval exercises have begun in the Baltic Sea". "In total, it is planned to perform more than 200 combat exercises, including with the use of weapons," it said. It added that 30 warships, boats and 20 support vessels would participate alongside about 6,000 military personnel. During the drills, the navy will practise protecting sea lanes, transporting troops and military cargo, and defending the coastline. (13:17 GMT) Ukrainian deputy prime minister said Russia's attacks damaged about 40,000 tonnes of grains which were expected by countries in Africa. On X, formally known as Twitter, Oleksandr Kubrakov said, "The Russians attacked warehouses and grain elevators - almost 40 thousand tons of grain were damaged, which was expected by the countries of Africa, China, and Israel. (13:39 GMT) After fleeing Ukraine once the conflict broke out and moving to the UK, nine-year-old Maksym Kryshtafor's quest to become the world's youngest chess grandmaster is all to play for. Ukraine's refugee chess prodigy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DjlDfYwW_LU (14:27 GMT) Overnight Russian strikes on the Ukrainian port of Izmail hit port and grain infrastructure housing foreign mercenaries and military hardware, the Russian RIA news agency reported. RIA cited Sergey Lebedev, a man it described as a coordinator of an underground group in Mykolaiv with sources in Izmail. Lebedev said there had been eight separate Russian strikes and that among the structures hit were an oil terminal, a repair yard for Ukrainian naval cutters, a port building thought to house foreign forces, and a grain storage unit and elevator where it said foreign military hardware was stored. (14:51 GMT) Putin says the policy of the West and Ukraine is to destroy everything Russian, the state news agency TASS reports. During a meeting with members of his government, Putin spoke about the four annexed regions of Ukraine (Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson) and integrating them into the Russian cultural space. "Strictly speaking, the inhabitants of these regions have never left this space; they carefully preserve both their native language and a keen interest in great Russian literature. I know they love the works of our outstanding compatriots," Putin said. "And this is despite all the attempts of the current Ukrainian authorities to ban the books of Russian classics, contemporaries, to withdraw them even from sale, from libraries, or even more so, to destroy them, as they and their Western masters dream of doing with everything or everyone who thinks, talks, reads in Russian." Putin added that the four regions have "returned home to their native bosom". (15:14 GMT) Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said while his country is working for peace in Ukraine, neither its leader nor Putin is ready to talk. "Neither Putin nor Zelenskyy are ready for peace," Lula told reporters in a news conference. Lula added that the peace proposals he is seeking with other neutral countries will be ready for when Russia and Ukraine are ready to negotiate. (15:44 GMT) The British foreign office announced the appointment of Nigel Casey as the new ambassador to Russia amid rising tensions between Moscow and London. Casey succeeds Deborah Bronnert, who held the post since 2020 and will take up the role in November. Last month, Moscow announced travel restrictions for British diplomats working in Russia. Now, officials, with few exceptions, will need to notify authorities in advance about their movements around the country, outlining their planned itinerary in detail. Moscow said the measures were in response to the "hostile actions" of London, such as "hindering the normal operation of Russian foreign missions in the UK". (16:22 GMT) Local militia groups in two Russian regions bordering Ukraine were provided with weapons to ward off Ukrainian attacks, local officials have said. The militias were originally created in the Kursk and Belgorod regions last December to assist the armed forces, National Guard and police. The governor of Russia's western Kursk region said his territorial militia had received their first batch of weapons, while state media reported that units in Belgorod region had received weapons. Both regions have reported repeated drone strikes and shelling from Ukraine's armed forces. (16:44 GMT) Paris has accused Moscow of deliberately putting global food security at risk after Russian drone attacks damaged infrastructure at a Ukrainian port on the Danube vital for grain exports. (17:05 GMT) President Vladimir Putin asked his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help Russia export its grain to African countries vulnerable to food shortages, the Kremlin has said. (17:25 GMT) The United Nations has said it is working with various sides to get Ukrainian and Russian food to global markets after warning of a potential crisis in the world's poorest countries due to Russia's decision to abandon the deal, brokered by the UN and Turkey. Deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq told reporters on Wednesday: "We continue to reach out, at various levels, to make sure that we can continue to do as much as possible to get Ukrainian and Russian food and fertiliser out to markets, but it is difficult." (17:47 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he hoped a Ukraine "peace summit" could be held this autumn, and that this week's talks in Saudi Arabia were a stepping stone towards that goal. Zelenskyy told Ukrainian diplomats on Wednesday that almost 40 countries would be represented at the meeting in Jeddah on Aug 5 and 6. Zelenskyy's vision for peace calls for the full restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity and a full withdrawal of Russian troops, the protection of food and energy security, nuclear safety, the release of all prisoners, and other points. Ukrainian and Western officials have said the summit would not involve Russia. (18:08 GMT) Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has lashed out at the Western powers backing Ukraine and the permanent United Nations Security Council members for not stopping war. "The UN Security Council has not worked. [The] United States invaded Iraq, France and England invaded Libya, now Russia. And everyone has veto power," he stated. Lula had said that neither Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy nor Russian President Vladimir Putin are ready to talk peace. "Brazil's role is to try to arrive at a peace proposal together with others for when both countries want it," he said. (18:29 GMT) The Russian rouble has tumbled over 2 percent to a more than 16-month low past 94 against the dollar, pressured by political risk, falling oil prices and concerns the finance ministry may switch to foreign currency purchases this month. On Wednesday, the rouble was 2 percent weaker against the dollar at 94.16, earlier hitting 94.32, its weakest point since March 28, 2022. (18:45 GMT) Russia's defence ministry said it imposed restrictions on movement of ships and aircraft in the Kerch Strait, the TASS news agency reports. The report on Wednesday did not immediately identify a reason for the move. The Kerch Strait connects the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, to the east of the Crimean peninsula. (19:12 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said that Russia's attacks on port infrastructure showed Moscow was intent on creating a "global catastrophe," with a crisis in food markets, prices and supplies. 20230803 aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-526 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/8/3/russia-ukraine-war-live-kyivs-forces-attacked-in-zaporizhzhia-russia (09:21 GMT) News agencies reported that Russia has added Norway to its list of "unfriendly" foreign states. "Today's situation is the result of Russia's war on Ukraine. Russia can itself choose to end the war," Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement to the Reuters news agency. "As neighbouring countries we both have an interest in functioning diplomatic relations and channels of contact, not least in difficult times," Huitfeldt said. The Russian RIA Novosti news agency said countries on the list are limited in the number of local staff they can hire in Russia, with Norway restricted to 27. In April, Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats for alleged spying, and Russia responded by evicting 10 Norwegian diplomats. (09:39 GMT) Russian forces have not advanced on the front lines but are heavily entrenched in mined areas they control, making it difficult for troops to move east and south, Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday evening. Ukrainian forces launched their anticipated counteroffensive in early June to retake occupied areas and have been pressing southward towards the Sea of Azov to sever a land bridge between occupied eastern Ukraine and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. (09:40 GMT) Russian shelling damaged a landmark church in the city of Kherson, injuring four of its workers in the second round of shelling, Ukraine's emergency services have said. (09:46 GMT) Russia said it had downed six drones in the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometres from Moscow, in a string of attacks on the city in recent days. (10:05 GMT) Wagner mercenary fighters are moving closer to NATO's eastern flank to destabilise the military alliance, Poland's prime minister said, as troops begin training Belarusian soldiers. "We need to be aware that the number of provocations will rise," Mateusz Morawiecki said after meeting Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda in eastern Poland. "The Wagner group is extremely dangerous, and they are being moved to the eastern flank to destabilise it." The Lithuanian leader said the number of Wagner fighters in Belarus could be higher than 4,000. (10:27 GMT) TASS reported that a Moscow court fined Apple 400,000 roubles ($4,274) for not deleting "inaccurate" content about the situation in Ukraine. TASS said it was the first time Apple had been fined for that offence. 10:43 GMT) Internet ads have popped up in Kazakhstan offering an immediate payment of over $5,000 to join the Russian army, the Reuters news agency reports. The former Soviet republic has traditionally been one of Russia's closest allies; however, the Astana government has not supported Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and has called for peace. The ads seen by Reuters feature Russian and Kazakh flags and the slogan "shoulder to shoulder". (11:31 GMT) The United States remains confident that the price cap on Russian oil is working despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior US Treasury official said. This week, Russia's finance ministry said Urals crude oil blend traded at $64.37 per barrel on average in July, up from $55.28 per barrel in June. The G7, the European Union and Australia imposed the $60 per barrel cap last December on seaborne exports of Russian crude in retaliation for the war. (11:52 GMT) The Russian TASS news agency reported that India's foreign ministry spokesperson says there are no plans to hold any sideline meetings about Ukraine at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September. "We definitely don't have any plans to prepare any meeting on Ukraine on the sidelines of the G20," Arindam Bagchi said. The Politico newspaper, citing a source, said a meeting on Ukraine at the level of heads of state could be held in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly or the G20 summit in India. (12:26 GMT) India will participate in Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5 and 6, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. Saudi Arabia has invited Western nations, Ukraine and some major developing countries to discuss Zelenskyy's peace plan, which calls for withdrawing Russian troops and restoring Ukraine's post-Soviet borders. (13:00 GMT) Romania says it will clear customs for up to 30 ships that are trying to enter Romania from the Ukrainian ports on the Danube River over the next two days. Since quitting the grain deal two weeks ago, Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukrainian grain and port infrastructure. (13:27 GMT) The sportswear company Adidas says it is still in the process of pulling its stores from Russia, CEO Bjorn Gulden said. Gulden told reporters, "We have about 100 stores that are not operational, and of course, they have been offered on the market." "They can be sold to individuals or they can be sub-leased," Gulden said. "There is no timeline for that but right now, we are paying the lease, so the earlier it happens the better." (14:22 GMT) The leaders of three Baltic countries have agreed to speed up their disconnection from Russia's power grid by nearly one year and connect with the European energy network by February 2025. In a joint statement by the prime ministers of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the countries pledged to complete the decoupling as soon as the technical capacity was in place. While the three countries, who were once part of the Soviet Union, do not currently buy electricity from Russia they remain physically connected to its power grid. (15:05 GMT) German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius has ruled out supplying Ukraine with long-range Taurus missiles, saying it is "not a top priority". In May, Ukraine asked Germany to provide it with air-to-surface cruise missiles, but the government has previously ruled out the request. "We continue to believe that this is not our top priority right now," Pistorius said during a visit to a mountain infantry brigade in Bavaria. Pistorius said the concerns about sending "special range" missiles to Ukraine "are obvious". "Our American allies are not delivering these cruise missiles, either." Despite initial hesitation, Germany has drastically ramped up its support for Ukraine and is now the second-biggest supplier of military assistance to Kyiv after the United States. (15:26 GMT) Ukraine is investigating Russian attacks on agricultural infrastructure as possible war crimes, the prosecutor general's office told Reuters. Ukrainian authorities are already reviewing more than 97,000 reports of suspected war crimes and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts. (15:50 GMT) Since the start of the year, Russia has enlisted more than 230,000 additional personnel into the army, Moscow's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. (16:11 GMT) The EU has banned drone sales to Belarus while adding several prominent state TV presenters to its sanctions list over Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Minsk's crackdown on the opposition. The latest measures target a further 38 regime figures and three state-owned entities, including leading "propagandists" on state television, prosecutors and prison officials. To try to reduce the flow of goods to Russia that could be used on the battlefield in Ukraine, the EU banned the export of aircraft engines and drones to Belarus. The 27-nation bloc also tightened restrictions on the sale of semiconductors, camera equipment and other technology that could help Moscow's war effort. (17:14 GMT) Russia's deputy UN ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy has said western sanctions were impacting Russian food and fertiliser exports. "Until the illegitimate obstacles artificially created by the West affecting Russian economic operators' ability to supply agricultural products are eliminated, it will hardly be possible to restore the normal functioning of supply chains and address other global food security issues," he told the UN Security Council. 20230804 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-527 Fighting * Russian shelling injured eight people and damaged the landmark St Catherine's Cathedral in the city of Kherson, Ukraine's emergency services said. * Russia said it downed six drones in the Kaluga region, less than 200 kilometres from Moscow, in a string of attacks on the city in recent days. No casualties were reported. * Russian forces have not advanced on the front lines but are heavily entrenched in mined areas they control, making it difficult for Ukrainian troops to move east and south, Ukrainian officials said. * Since the start of the year, Russia has enlisted more than 230,000 additional personnel into the army, Moscow's Deputy Security Council Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said. This year, Moscow has ramped up military recruitment to beat back a continuing Ukrainian counteroffensive and hold previously captured territories. * Wagner mercenary fighters are moving closer to NATO's eastern flank to destabilise the military alliance, Poland's prime minister said, as troops began training Belarusian soldiers. * Ukraine is investigating Russian attacks on agricultural infrastructure as possible war crimes, the prosecutor general's office told the Reuters news agency. Diplomacy * India's foreign ministry spokesperson said there are no plans to hold any sideline meetings about Ukraine at the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, TASS reported. * India will participate in Ukraine peace talks to be hosted by Saudi Arabia on August 5 and 6, a foreign ministry spokesperson said. * Saudi Arabia invited Western nations, Ukraine and some major developing countries to discuss Zelenskyy's peace plan, which calls for withdrawing Russian troops and restoring Ukraine's post-Soviet borders. * Russia added Norway to its list of "unfriendly" foreign states, local news agencies reported. In April, Norway expelled 15 Russian diplomats for alleged spying, and Russia responded by evicting 10 Norwegian diplomats. Economy * Russia's deputy UN Ambassador Dmitry Polyanskiy said "illegitimate" Western sanctions were affecting Russian food and fertiliser exports. * Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania indicated they plan to disconnect from the Russian-controlled power grid and link to the Western European system instead. The prime ministers of the three European Union and NATO member nations signed a joint declaration pledging to complete the switch by February 2025. * More than 75 countries committed to take action to "end the use of food as a weapon of war and the starvation of civilians as a tactic of warfare". US Secretary of State Antony Blinken released the communique at a UN Security Council meeting on famine and food insecurity. * The United States remains confident that the price cap on Russian oil is working despite a recent upturn in prices, a senior US Treasury official said. * A Moscow court fined Apple 400,000 roubles ($4,274) for not deleting "inaccurate" content about the situation in Ukraine, the Russian TASS news agency reported. TASS said it was the first time Apple had been fined for that offence. * Romania said it allow 30 ships that are trying to enter Romania from the Ukrainian ports on the Danube River over the next two days. Since quitting the grain deal two weeks ago, Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukrainian grain and port infrastructure. * The sportswear company Adidas is still in the process of pulling its stores from Russia, CEO Bjorn Gulden said. Gulden told reporters: "We have about 100 stores that are not operational, and of course, they have been offered on the market." ... (05:54 GMT) Ukrainian sea drones attacked a Russian navy base near the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk, a major hub for Russian exports, and were destroyed by Russian warships, Russia's defence ministry said. "Tonight, the armed forces of Ukraine, with the use of two unmanned sea boats, attempted an attack on the Novorossiysk naval base of the Russian armed forces," it said, adding that Russian ships had destroyed the naval drones. The attack prompted the Novorossiysk port to temporarily halt all ship movement, according to the Caspian Pipeline Consortium which operates an oil terminal there. It said its facilities had not been damaged and oil loadings continued onto tankers which were already moored. (05:58 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu has visited a combat zone Lyman in Ukraine to inspect a command post and meet senior military officers, the army said. (06:00 GMT) Russian air defences downed 10 Ukrainian drones over the Crimean Peninsula and suppressed three more with electronic countermeasures, the TASS news agency quoted the Russian defence ministry as saying. (06:16 GMT) Russia does not believe a United States promise that Washington would help ensure Moscow can freely export food if it returns to the Black Sea grain deal, RIA Novosti quoted the Kremlin as saying. (06:46 GMT) Russia has doubled its 2023 defence spending target to more than $100bn - a third of all public expenditure - a government document reviewed by the Reuters news agency showed, as the costs of the war in Ukraine spiral and place growing strain on Moscow's finances. (07:32 GMT) Ukraine damaged a Russian naval vessel during a sea drone attack at the Russian port of Novorossiysk that was conducted by the security service of Ukraine and the Ukrainian navy, a Ukrainian intelligence source said. "As a result of the attack, the Olenegorsky Gornyak received a serious breach and currently cannot conduct its combat missions." (08:25 GMT) Ships have begun moving in the Russian port of Novorossiysk on the Black Sea after being suspended earlier due to a Ukrainian drone attack, the Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) said. The CPC, the leading shipper of Kazakh oil exports, said it was already preparing to load a new tanker at one of its mooring points. (08:49 GMT) A German government official says there have been positive signals about Chinese participation during this weekend's Ukraine peace summit in Saudi Arabia. (09:14 GMT) Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski has announced that Warsaw detained a suspected member of a Russian spy network, bringing the total number of people arrested as part of an investigation to 16. (09:42 GMT) The British defence ministry said Russia's attacks on Ukrainian grain ports in the past few weeks are likely an attempt to stop international trading via the ports. In the ministry's daily intelligence update, it found that "OWA UAVs have struck targets as close as 200 metres from the Romanian border, suggesting that Russia has evolved its risk appetite for conducting strikes near NATO territory". "There is a realistic possibility that Russia is using OWA UAVs to strike this area in the belief they are less likely to risk escalation than cruise missiles: Russia likely considers them as acceptably accurate, and they have much smaller warheads than cruise missiles." (10:10 GMT) The Kremlin has published a joint statement with the Russian President Vladimir Putin and the leaders of several African countries participating in a peace mission to end the war, the Tass news agency reported. In the statement, the leaders pointed out the progress made on proposals in their first meeting on June 17 on humanitarian issues, including children in war zones and prisoner exchanges. The statement added that: "The leaders called for concrete steps to remove barriers to Russian grain and fertiliser exports, allowing full implementation" of the grain deal to resume. They also called on the UN "to take the necessary measures to release 200 thousand tons of Russian fertilisers blocked in the seaports of the European Union for immediate and free delivery to African countries". (10:42 GMT) Ukraine has accused Russia of preparing to stage a "false flag" attack at the Mozyr oil refinery in Belarus to blame Ukrainian saboteurs in an effort to draw Belarus into the war. In a statement, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said its allegations were based on information from several sources, including a captured Russian serviceman. (11:12 GMT) Russia says it needs actions, not promises, from the United States to meet the conditions it has set to return to the Black Sea grain deal. Moscow quit the deal on July 17 after saying not enough had been done to remove obstacles to its exports of food and fertiliser. "If they want to contribute to fulfilling the part of the grain deal that is due to Russia, the Americans must fulfil it, not promise that they will think about it," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "As soon as this is done, this deal will immediately be renewed." (11:29) The Kremlin has said Poland's statement on Wagner forces in Belarus is "odd", as Warsaw warns that the mercenary group is seeking to unsettle NATO's eastern flank. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: "There are a lot of oddities, in general, the Poles are prone to provoking the situation, escalating tension. This line is not new and has only been progressing in recent years." "Indeed, the fighters of this group are on the territory of Belarus within the framework of existing agreements. Near the border - not near [their] border, this is the territory of Belarus, Belarus is a sovereign state." Since the Wagner Group arrived in Belarus, Polish leaders have taken significant security steps after calling the move "extremely dangerous". But Poles remain divided on the issue and whether the proximity of the Russian fighters poses a threat. (12:50 GMT) Lithuania declares more than 1,000 citizens of Russia and Belarus living in the country to be threats to national security. The move comes after the government asked the Russians and Belarusians to answer a questionnaire with questions about their views on Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the status of Crimea. The migration department said that it had established that 1,164 people posed a threat to national security; 910 of those were Belarusian citizens while 254 were Russian. How people answered the questionnaire was taken into consideration in deciding whether to grant or deny residence, according to the department. More than 58,000 Belarusians and 16,000 Russians currently reside in Lithuania. (13:20 GMT) Chinese Special Envoy for Eurasian Affairs Li Hui will visit Jeddah for talks on a Ukraine peace settlement, the foreign ministry said (13:44 GMT) The UN nuclear watchdog found no explosives at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after being granted access after months of requests. Last month, Russia and Ukraine traded accusations of planning to stage an attack on Europe's biggest nuclear power plant. (15:01 GMT) US Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie has visited Ukraine, met with Zelenskyy and emphasised Washington's support for Kyiv. His message during the visit was clear: The US supports and should continue to support Ukraine. (15:33 GMT) Jailed Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was sentenced to an additional 19 years in a case that he and his supporters said had been increased to keep him behind bars and out of politics for even longer. (17:30 GMT) Media organisations in Ukraine are urging the government to give them more freedom to report on the war. Since the invasion, the government has taken control of most media channels and now broadcast only the official version of the war 24 hours a day, in what is known as the United News Marathon. Sevgil Musaieva, editor-in-chief of Ukrainska Pravda, says the marathon should end and journalists should be free to hold their government accountable, particularly during wartime. 20230805 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-528 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/5/russian-tanker-damaged-in-ukrainian-drone-attack-state-media-says Russia's Tass says the chemical tanker SIG received a hole in the engine room near the waterline in the attack. 20230806 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-529 Fighting * A blood transfusion centre, a university and an aeronautics facility in Ukraine were damaged in deadly air raids as Russian and Ukrainian forces escalated their attacks late on Saturday. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy blamed Russia for the attack on the blood bank in the eastern town of Kupiansk and described it as a "war crime". * He said the "guided aerial bomb" attack caused deaths and injuries but did not say how many people were killed and wounded. * Zelenskyy also reported a Russian attack on an aeronautics facility belonging to Motor Sich, a maker of plane and helicopter engines as well as other components. The site is located near the city of Khmelnytskyi in western Ukraine, about 300km southwest of Kyiv. * In the Russian-controlled Donetsk region, the Moscow-installed governor accused Ukrainian forces of attacking a university with cluster munitions. The attack set the building on fire, he said. * Earlier on Saturday, Russian officials pledged retaliation for a Ukrainian naval attack on what they said was a civilian tanker in the Black Sea. * A Telegram post by Deputy Chair of Russia's Security Council Dmitry Medvedev implied that Russia would increase its attacks against Ukrainian ports in response to Kyiv's attacks on Russian ships in the Black Sea. "Apparently, the strikes on Odesa, Izmail, and other places were not enough for them," he wrote. * On the front line, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had captured the settlement of Novoselivske in northeastern Ukraine, where Kyiv said it was confronted with a growing number of attacks. Footage from the Russian army showed Novoselivske completely destroyed, with white smoke billowing over crumbling buildings. Diplomacy * Saudi Arabia kicked off a Ukraine-organised peace summit that included delegates from 40 countries, including China, India and the United States, but not Russia. * A European Union official told the Reuters news agency there would be no joint statement after the meeting but that the Saudis would present a plan for further talks, with working groups to discuss issues such as global food security, nuclear safety and prisoner releases. The official described the talks as positive and said there was "agreement that respect of territorial integrity and [the] sovereignty of Ukraine needs to be at the heart of any peace settlement". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/6/russia-unleashes-strikes-against-ukraine-kyiv-targets-crimea-bridge Russia says it shot down a drone heading for Moscow in the third such attack in a week, while officials in both Russia and Ukraine have confirmed Ukraine targeted two bridges linking Crimea to the mainland. The Chonhar bridge to the peninsula had been damaged by a missile strike. Another of the three road links between Crimea and Russian-occupied parts of mainland Ukraine, near the town of Henichesk, was shelled and a civilian driver wounded. Traffic was halted on a third bridge linking Russia to Crimea after both sides said a Ukrainian naval drone full of explosives struck a Russian fuel tanker overnight Friday, the second such attack in 24 hours. In Russia, Moscow's Vnukovo airport suspended flights on Sunday, citing unspecified "reasons outside its control". Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said a drone had been shot down south of the capital. At least 10 Russian missiles appear to have gotten through Ukraine's air defences in an overnight attack, which Ukraine's air force said involved 70 air assault weapons, including cruise and hypersonic missiles as well as Iranian-made drones. 20230807 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-530 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/8/7/russia-ukraine-live-news-three-killed-in-kherson-kharkiv-says-officials (09:12 GMT) Russia's air defence system shot down a drone over the Ferzikovskyi district in the Kaluga region, close to Moscow, Governor Vladislav Shapsha said. "There has been no impact on people or infrastructure," Shapsha said. (09:12 GMT) President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the US and German air defence systems are producing "significant results". In his nightly video address on Sunday, Zelenskyy said the systems, including the US-built Patriot and Germany's IRIS-T, were proving "highly effective" and had "already yielded significant results". He added that Kyiv had shot down a significant part of Russia's attacks over the past week, which included 65 missiles and 178 assault drones, including 87 Shaheds. (09:33 GMT) China's foreign ministry says the Ukraine peace talks in Saudi Arabia over the weekend helped "consolidate international consensus". China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs, Li Hui, "had extensive contact and communication with all parties on the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis ... listened to all sides' opinions and proposals, and further consolidated international consensus", the foreign ministry said in a written statement to the Reuters news agency. "All parties positively commented on Li Hui's attendance, and fully backed China's positive role in facilitating peace talks," the statement added. More than 40 countries, including China, India, the United States, and European countries, took part in the Jeddah talks that ended on Sunday. Russia was not invited to join the discussion. (10:03 GMT) Russia has released twenty-two Ukrainian soldiers in the latest prisoner exchange between the two countries, a senior Ukrainian official said. (10:55 GMT) Russia says a peace deal with Kyiv based on Zelenskyy's 10-point peace plan is "impossible". Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement published by the ministry: "None of its 10 points is aimed at finding a negotiated and diplomatic solution to the crisis, and their totality is a senseless ultimatum to Russia, which is aimed at protracting hostilities. On such a basis, a peaceful settlement is impossible." She claimed Ukraine and the West are trying to "downplay" peace proposals by other countries. "In essence, as we said, there is a fight against dissent at the international level, attempts to push through unviable settlement ideas through unscrupulous manipulations," Zakharova said. (11:47 GMT) In the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have lost up to 135 soldiers in the direction of the Donetsk region, the Russian Tass news agency reported. Russian defence ministry spokesperson Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov said, "In the Donetsk direction, units of the Southern Group of Forces, in close cooperation with aviation and artillery, successfully repelled the attack of the assault groups of the 81st Airmobile Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of the settlement of Belogorovka of the Donetsk People's Republic. "In addition, accumulations of enemy manpower and equipment in areas of settlements were defeated Bogdanovka, Vesele, Klescheevka, Marinka and Krasnogorovka of the Donetsk People's Republic." "The losses of the enemy amounted to 135 Ukrainian servicemen, two tanks, six infantry fighting vehicles, three vehicles, the US-made M777 artillery system, as well as Msta-B and D-30 howitzers," he added. (12:20 GMT) Ukraine's security service has detained a woman accused of helping Russia plot an attack on Zelenskyy when he visited a flood-hit region. Zelensky visited the region in June after it was hit by flooding caused by the Kakhovka dam breach and in July after shelling. The SBU security service said that the government was aware of the plot ahead of time and put in additional security measures during Zelenskyy's visit. The suspect was also helping Russia prepare a "massive air strike on the Mykolaiv region" and allegedly seeking data on the location of electronic warfare systems and warehouses with ammunition. (12:47 GMT) Poland's Border Guard has asked the defence ministry to send a further 1,000 troops to the border with Belarus amid increased attempts to cross the frontier illegally. With Russian Wagner Group fighters arriving in Belarus, Poland has ramped up security along its border and warned of a high risk to NATO's eastern flank. The head of the Border Guard, Tomasz Praga, said this year 19,000 people had tried to cross the Polish-Belarusian border illegally, up from 16,000 last year. (13:11 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has a telephone conversation with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, congratulating him on his new position, Russia's Tass news agency reports. "On August 7, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Lavrov had a telephone conversation with a member of the Politburo of the CPC [Communist Party of China] Central Committee, Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Wang Yi," the defence ministry said. "Lavrov congratulated his Chinese colleague on his recent appointment as head of the Chinese Foreign Ministry and wished him new success in his responsible work," Russia's foreign ministry said. During the conversation, the two officials rejected the aggressive policy of the West towards Russia and China as well as the sanctions placed on them. (13:37 GMT) A senior Ukrainian lawmaker says parliamentary factions in Germany have "reached a consensus" to supply Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles but an official decision is yet to come. Last week, Germany's defence minister said Berlin does not plan to supply the missiles and the weapons are not the most urgent priority. On Monday, a ministry spokesperson told the Reuters news agency that Berlin's position remains unchanged. However, Ukraine's Yehor Chernev said: "My friends in the Bundestag just told me that key parliamentary factions have reached consensus regarding the transfer to Ukraine of long-range Taurus missiles." "We've worked for a long time with German parliamentarians to form a support group and now finally the ice has broken. We await an official decision," he wrote on Facebook. (14:32 GMT) A well-known Russian sociologist and activist has been labelled a "terrorist" as Russia cracks down on dissidents. Boris Kagarlitsky has repeatedly spoken out against the war in Ukraine in a magazine he edited and on YouTube. Kagarlitsky, who teaches at the private Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences, had already been designated a "foreign agent" in 2018, and he has now appeared on a list of registered "terrorists" on the website of Russia's Federal Financial Monitoring Service. (15:19 GMT) Russia says its troops have advanced 3km along the Kupiansk front in northeastern Ukraine over the past three days as it tries to regain lost territory. The city of Kupiansk and surrounding areas of the Kharkiv region were retaken by Ukrainian forces in September. "Over the past three days, the advance of Russian troops ... amounted to 11km along the front and more than 3km deep into the enemy's defence," Moscow's defence ministry said. (15:45 GMT) A Russian author has been sentenced to eight years after being found guilty in absentia of spreading fake news about the Russian army, the state news agency Tass reports. "[Dmitry] Glukhovsky was sentenced and sentenced to eight years imprisonment with deprivation of the right to engage in activities related to the administration of the site of electronic or information and communication networks, including the internet, for four years," Tass reported. According to the prosecution, from March 10 to May 10, 2022, Glukhovsky posted videos and text from outside Russia of what it called artificially created evidence of Russian forces allegedly committing crimes in Ukraine. (17:01 GMT) Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says he has spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken by phone and requested ATACMS long-range missiles. (19:53 GMT) Since June's aborted mutiny in Russia, as many as 7,000 mercenaries from the private military company the Wagner Group have been stationed in Belarus, the founder of the group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said. He told Grey Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner, that 1,500 of his fighters are in Africa while 12,000 are "on leave". (20:23 GMT) Moscow unveiled new history textbooks Monday ahead of children returning to the classroom for a second school year with troops fighting in Ukraine and ties ruptured with the West. The Kremlin has tightened its control over the historical narrative in schools under President Vladimir Putin. Presenting the new book aimed for the 11th grade - 17-year-olds - at a press conference in Moscow, Education Minister Sergey Kravtsov said the material was written in just a few months and aimed at "conveying the aims [of the Ukraine offensive] to schoolchildren". Kravtsov said the textbooks outlined "the tasks of demilitarisation and de-Nazification, so that schoolchildren are convinced that this is really the case", repeating Putin's stated aims when he sent troops to Ukraine last February. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-531 20230808 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/8/8/russia-ukraine-live-news-at-least-seven-killed-in-pokrovsk-ukraine (08:49 GMT) At least seven people were killed, and multiple others were wounded after a Russian missile attack hit a popular hotel and apartments in the city of Pokrovsk (ru: Krasnoarmeysk), in the Donetsk region, officials said. According to witnesses, two missiles hit the centre of Pokrovsk within 40 minutes of each other. Locals said the Druzhba (Friendship) Hotel was popular with journalists, aid workers and the military as one of the few still operating in the Donetsk region, near the front line. (08:57 GMT) US President Joe Biden's administration is expected to announce $200m of new weapons aid for Ukraine on Tuesday, officials told the Reuters news agency. The additional aid comes as Washington distributes $6.2bn of funds discovered after a Pentagon accounting error over-valued billions of Ukraine aid. The discovered funds represent the last of the previously congressionally authorised $25.5bn in Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) the administration can utilise to ship weapons from US stocks in an emergency, officials said. (09:08 GMT) Poland's defence ministry has agreed to send additional troops to the Belarus border following a request from the border guard service, state-run news agency PAP reported. Warsaw has been on high alert recently as Russian Wagner mercenary troops arrived in Belarus for training. On Monday, the border guard service asked the defence ministry to send an additional 1,000 troops to the border amid increased attempts to cross the frontier illegally. (09:43 GMT) The Russian defence ministry says Ukrainian troops are trying to regain positions in the Kupiansk direction, but forces repelled five attacks, the state news agency Tass reported. Sergey Zybinsky, the head of the 'West' group's press centre, said, "In the Kupiansk direction, the enemy is putting up stubborn resistance, striving to regain lost positions. (12:00 GMT) Ukraine's 2023 milling wheat harvest could fall to 40 percent from 70 percent in previous years due to poor weather, the Ukrainian Agrarian Council (UAC) has said. While Ukraine is a traditional wheat grower, the volume of wheat with sufficient protein content for milling depends largely on weather conditions. "The key problem with the new harvest was its poor quality: due to weather conditions, the grain has a low protein content," the UAC said in a statement. It added that other European states also had large volumes of feed wheat, and the current 2023/24 season "will be problematic with the supply of food grains worldwide". (12:25 GMT) Vladimir Putin has signed a decree suspending double taxation agreements with "unfriendly countries", the state news agency RIA reported. The measure was first proposed by the finance and foreign ministries in March. (12:58 GMT) The mayor of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) said three people have been injured after coming under fire from Ukrainian forces, the Russian state-owned TASS news agency reported. On Telegram, Alexei Kulemzin wrote, "On the border of the Kyiv and Kuibyshevsky districts of the city, the car of the Ecological Company Gromada LLC came under fire. According to preliminary data, the driver was wounded". He added a Ukrainian shell directly hit the company's car, which left three people injured. (13:52 GMT) Finnish and Norwegian regulators ban Russian tech group Yandex and its Netherlands-based partner Ridetech International from transferring personal data to Russia. "The Finnish DPA has become aware of a legislative reform that will enter into force in Russia at the beginning of September, under which the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation will have the right to receive data processed in taxi operations," the regulator said in a statement. In a separate statement from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority said, "There is an acute risk to privacy as Russian authorities could potentially monitor the movements of Norwegian citizens via Yango". (14:13 GMT) Russia's budget deficit for January-July widened to 2.82 trillion roubles ($29.3bn), or 1.8 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), the finance ministry said. Despite posting a surplus of 557 billion roubles ($5.7bn) in the first seven months of last year, significant outlays to support its war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on its oil and gas exports have affected state finances. Russia has doubled its 2023 defence spending target to more than $100bn, a third of all public expenditure, a government document reviewed by the Reuters news agency showed. (14:35 GMT) Ukrainian special services say they have foiled an attempt by Russian hackers to penetrate the Armed Forces of Ukraine's combat information system. "As a result of complex measures, SBU exposed and blocked the illegal actions of Russian hackers who tried to penetrate Ukrainian military networks and organise intelligence gathering," the SBU security service said on Telegram. The service said hackers tried to gain access to "sensitive information on the actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the location and movement of the Defence Forces, their technical support". SBU said a sophisticated Russian hacking team, known as Sandworm, was responsible for the attack. Cyber-specialists also found that hackers planned to use military tablets to spread viruses in the battle system. (15:01 GMT) In a video, Zelenskyy said Ukraine would fight back against Russia in the Black Sea to ensure its waters were not blockaded and it could import and export grain and other goods. The comments come days after Ukraine targeted a Russian warship near a major Russian port and struck a tanker. "If Russia continues to dominate the Black Sea, outside its territory, blockading or firing at us again, launching missiles at our ports, Ukraine will do the same. This is a just defence of our opportunities, of any corridor," Zelenskyy said. "We don't have that many ships. But they should clearly understand that by the end of the war, they will have zero ships, zero." (15:37 GMT) Shipping data shows dozens of ships backed up around critical Danube arteries close to Ukraine's river gateways days after Russian drone attacks on the country's ports. The river and its mouth are Ukraine's last remaining waterborne grain export route. At least 30 ships had dropped anchor around Musura Bay in the Black Sea, which leads into a channel that links up with Izmail further along the waterway, tracking data from analytics company MarineTraffic showed. "It is impossible to transport the entire volume by river or rail," Ukraine's First Deputy Agriculture Minister Taras Vysotskiy told national television. (16:55 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has held a phone call with his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, the Kremlin said. The two leaders discussed preparations for the upcoming BRICS summit, as well as bilateral cooperation. (18:23 GMT) US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has crticised Moscow for its offer to supply six African nations with free grain, saying the proposal is "laughable". "What Russia was proposing was to get grain to a half dozen countries, about 50,000 tonnes," Blinken said in an interview with British broadcaster BBC. (19:54 GMT) Russian-installed Donetsk Mayor Alexei Kulemzin accused Ukraine in a social media post of shelling the city of Donetsk, killing three people. Ten people were wounded, including a boy born in 2012, Kulemzin said in his Telegram channel. Kulemzin also said that a number of buildings were damaged in several city districts, including a bus stop, a hospital, a store and some residential buildings. 20230809 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-532 ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/deal-struck-to-send-second-hand-leopard-1-tanks-from-belgium-to-ukraine Dozens of second-hand Leopard 1 tanks that once belonged to Belgium have been bought by another European country for Ukrainian forces fighting Russia's invasion, according to the arms trader who conducted the deal. The German-made Leopards were at the centre of a public spat earlier this year after Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder said the government had explored buying back obsolete tanks to send to Ukraine but had been quoted unreasonable prices. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/8/9/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-moscow-downs-two-drones-near-capital (08:47 GMT) Russian officials said air defences shot down two drones aimed at Moscow overnight, in what they claim is Ukraine's latest attempt to attack the capital in an effort to bring the war to Russia. Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said one was shot down near Domodedovo, where one of Russia's biggest international airports is located, and another near the Minsk motorway. It was unclear where the drones were launched from. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/9/russia-shoots-down-two-armed-drones-headed-for-moscow (08:53 GMT) Ukrainian officials have accused the Kremlin of targeting rescue workers in Tuesday's attack on Pokrovsk by hitting an apartment and hotel with two consecutive missiles. The tactic is called a "double tap" in military jargon, which Russia also used during the Syrian war. The attack has killed nine people and wounded more than 80 others, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. (09:00 GMT) Several second-hand Leopard 1 tanks have been bought by another European country for Ukraine, the arms trader who did the deal told the Reuters news agency on Tuesday night. The German-made tanks were at the centre of a public dispute earlier this year after Belgian Defence Minister Ludivine Dedonder said the government had explored buying back tanks to send to Ukraine but had been quoted unreasonable prices. CEO of defence company OIP Land Systems, Freddy Versluys, bought the tanks from the Belgian government more than five years ago. He told Reuters he had sold all 50 tanks to an unnamed European government. But Germany's Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday evening that arms maker Rheinmetall had acquired the tanks and would prepare most of them to send to Ukraine. (09:37 GMT) Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar called the situation in the east of the country "complex" as Russia is trying to break through Kupiansk direction. (10:04 GMT) According to an investigation by Al Jazeera, the pro-Kremlin Chechen fighters have been deployed to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. (10:26 GMT) Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu told the Collegium of the Defence Ministry that Moscow will build up forces at its western borders. Shoigu said NATO-member Poland had already announced plans to strengthen its military, and he expected significant NATO forces and weaponry to be deployed in Finland, which has just joined the alliance. (10:50 GMT) Poland will send 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus, twice the number requested by the Border Guard, to curb illegal crossings and maintain stability, the state-run news agency PAP news agency reported. Since the Wagner Group arrived in Belarus to train soldiers, Poland has been on high alert and warned of a threat to the eastern NATO flank. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said several times that he is restraining Wagner fighters who want to attack Warsaw. Poland has also experienced an increase in the number of Middle Eastern and African migrants trying to cross the border and has accused Belarus of recruiting migrants and sending them across the border illegally to foment instability. (11:17 GMT) An explosion at an optics and optical electronics factory in Russia has injured at least 45 people, local authorities say. Emergency services said the blast appeared to have occurred in a warehouse containing pyrotechnic equipment in Sergiev Posad, a city 75km northeast of Moscow, the state news agency TASS reported. Twenty-three people were admitted to hospital, including six in intensive care, the mayor's office said, and one has died. update: (18:43 GMT) Russian authorities update toll in factory blast: 1 killed, 8 missing, 60 injured While emergency services said the explosion is not believed to be due to a Ukrainian drone attack, Ukrainian officials have questioned what caused it. Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the interior minister, said on X, the app formally known as Twitter: "Russian media rushed to say that it was pyrotechnics that exploded. But if we look at videos of pyrotechnics exploding, we'll see that the explosion on the plant doesn't look like pyrotechnics." (11:43 GMT) Germany's defence giant Rheinmetall will deliver about 30 more tanks to Ukraine. German public broadcaster ARD reported that Rheinmetall acquired dozens of decommissioned Leopard-1 tanks from Belgium and will modernise them for the Ukrainian military. According to the report, the defence company will be able to ship some of the repaired tanks to Ukraine within the next six months. Germany has significantly increased its military support to Ukraine following pressure from the US and other allies, and has become the second largest supplier of weapons to the country. (12:04 GMT) Kyiv has reopened a border crossing with Russia so Ukrainian refugees can return home, the German news agency, dpa, reported. Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said, "It is possible and necessary to leave via the Kolotilovka-Pokrovka humanitarian corridor!" The humanitarian corridor is the crossing point between the Ukrainian Sumy region and the Russian Belgorod region. To return to Ukrainian-controlled regions from Russia Ukrainian refugees have to take detours via European Union states or Georgia. Kyiv has repeatedly called on Ukrainians living in Russian-occupied areas of the country to flee into Ukrainian territory. (13:49 GMT) Belarusian soldiers are being trained with Russian tactics from its offensive in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS reported. "During the course, the guards paratroopers study minefields, tactical medicine, first aid and self-help for various gunshot wounds," the Russian defence ministry's press channel said on Telegram. The Ministry of Defence informed that "in the course of training, the fighters are actively using the experience of the NMD [National Missile Defence]." (14:16 GMT) Russian security forces say Ukraine attempted to attack a spent nuclear fuel storage facility at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with a drone, the state news agency RIA reported. Without citing a named source or official, Russian security forces reached their conclusion by analysing the flight path of the drone, which they downed, RIA said. (14:39 GMT) China will continue in talks promoting a political settlement in Ukraine, the Russian state-owned TASS news agency reported. (15:05 GMT) A senior adviser to Zelenskyy denied a Russian allegation that Kyiv tried to attack the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) with a drone. (15:37 GMT) The US Department of the Treasury has issued new sanctions against Belarus, designating eight individuals and five entities to a list for allegedly funding the Belarusian government. "This action targets several entities involved in the Belarusian regime's continued civil society repression, complicity in the Russian Federation's unjustified war in Ukraine, and enrichment of repressive Belarusian regime leader", Alexander Lukashenko, the Treasury said in a statement. Lukashenko has repeatedly accused the West of trying to topple him after mass protests in 2020 after a presidential election the opposition said he had fraudulently won. (16:08 GMT) German federal prosecutors have said that a German national working for the military had been arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia, amid warnings of increased espionage activity by Moscow. he capture on Wednesday marks the latest in a rash of cases of alleged spying for Russia in recent months. (16:50 GMT) Belarus has rejected "hackneyed false accusations" against its government on the third anniversary of mass protests in Minsk, after the European Union slammed President Alexander Lukashenko's "extreme brutality". On August 9, 2020, Belarus held an election the outcome of which was widely believed to have been falsified by Lukashenko, in power since 1994. The fallout over the vote led to the biggest protests in recent Belarusian history and were put down with force by the regime. (17:14 GMT) Ukrainian shelling has killed one and injured four people in Russia's border region of Belgorod, the governor has said, targeting a region that has been hit by repeated Ukrainian strikes. "The village of Gorkovsky in the Graivoron district came under fire from the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Wednesday on social media. (17:34 GMT) Russia's central bank has said it would stop carrying out the finance ministry's foreign currency purchases on the domestic market from August 10 in an effort to reduce volatility in financial markets. The rouble hit its lowest level for more than 16 months on Wednesday, past 98 to the United States dollar, hampered by strong foreign currency demand and a lack of supply, with Russia's shrinking trade surplus and widening budget deficit also hurting sentiment. (17:53 GMT) Russia attacked a residential area in the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, a local official has said. "Unfortunately, according to preliminary information, two people were killed and some were injured," Anatoliy Kurtev, Zaporizhzhia city council's secretary in Ukraine, said in his Telegram channel on Wednesday. (18:09 GMT) The Canadian government has said it imposed additional sanctions on Belarus in response to alleged human rights abuses in the country and its support for Russia amid the invasion of Ukraine. On Wednesday, Canada imposed sanctions against nine individuals and seven entities, with the list including government officials, judges, the head of Belarusian state television, the country's defence ministry, and military manufacturing and technology firms. (19:23 GMT) The United States, which already has sweeping sanctions on Belarus, has said it was taking further action including against state carrier Belavia, making business dealings with the airline a crime, and blacklisting a tobacco mogul close to Lukashenko. The Department of State said on Wednesday it was also banning visas to 101 Belarusian officials, judges and others accused of subverting democracy. 20230810 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-533 Fighting * Two people were killed and seven wounded in an apparent Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia, according to Ukrainian officials. A video posted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy showed smoke billowing from burning and badly damaged buildings next to a church. * In Russian-controlled Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, a child was killed and two people wounded when a Ukrainian artillery shell hit a two-storey building, according to a Moscow-installed official. * The Russian defence ministry said its forces shot down two Ukrainian drones near the capital, Moscow. One was brought down near the southern Domodedovo district, where one of Russia's biggest international airports is located, and another near the Minsk motorway, the city's mayor said. * Officials reported an explosion on the grounds of a factory that makes optical equipment for Russia's security forces north of Moscow. They did not provide a suspected cause of the blast, which killed one person, wounded 60 others and left at least eight people unaccounted for. * In the Russian border region of Belgorod, Ukrainian shelling killed one person and wounded four others, the region's governor said. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow will build up forces at its western borders following Finland's accession to NATO. He told the governing board of the defence ministry that the entry of Finland into NATO and the future entry of Sweden was "a serious destabilising factor". * Poland announced it will send 2,000 troops to its border with Belarus to stem illegal crossings and maintain stability. Warsaw has become increasingly worried about the border area since hundreds of battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus last month. * Germany announced the arrest of a German national working for the military on suspicion of spying for Russia. Military aid * The US plans to provide Ukraine with $200m in weapons and ammunition to help sustain Kyiv's counteroffensive, the Associated Press news agency reported, citing two officials. This latest package will include missiles for the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and the Patriot air defence system, munitions for howitzers and tanks, Javelin rockets, mine-clearing equipment, 12 million rounds of small arms ammunition and demolition munitions, the agency reported. * A European country has bought dozens of second-hand Leopard 1 tanks that once belonged to Belgium and is preparing to hand them over to Ukraine, according to the arms trader who did the deal. Freddy Versluys, CEO of defence company OIP Land Systems, who bought the 50 tanks from the Belgian government five years ago, told the Reuters news agency he could not name the buyer due to a confidentiality clause. Sanctions * The United States and Canada issued new sanctions against Belarus, designating several entities and individuals over alleged human rights abuses and support for Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Economy * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the revival of a deal with Russia to allow Ukrainian grain exports from Black Sea ports "depends on Western countries, which must keep their promises". * The Russian central bank said it will begin piloting its digital rouble with consumers on August 15 after a lengthy testing phase with banks. The move comes as Moscow looks to widen the scope of its cross-border payments. * Finnish utility company Fortum said it still hopes to sell its Russian assets and get compensation for their seizure by the Kremlin via arbitration. The firm is one of a handful of companies with assets placed under "temporary control" by Moscow in response to the European Union's sanctions over Russia's war in Ukraine, which prompted over a thousand Western firms to exit Russia. 20230811 (06:33 GMT) A group of hackers spied for years on embassy officials of four countries in Belarus, including during the Ukraine war, by hijacking local internet networks, security researchers at Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET said in a Thursday report. About 15 devices belonging to diplomats from two countries in Europe, one from South Asia, and one from Africa who worked at the embassies were targeted, ESET researcher Matthieu Faou, who authored the report, said in a statement. The digital espionage campaign began around 2021 and is still active, the report said. (06:34 GMT) Russian forces have almost reached the outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, Russian state news agency TASS reported on Thursday. TASS said Ukrainian troops are abandoning their positions, and just "a number of kilometres are left to pass". Ukraine denied the report, saying all Russian attacks were repelled and attempts to take the initiative were unsuccessful. (06:34 GMT) Bacardi, the world's largest privately owned spirits company, whose US headquarters are in Coral Gables, has been sanctioned by Ukraine for expanding its operations in Russia. (06:35 GMT) Two Ukrainian drones were destroyed by air defences on approach to the Russian city of Kursk late on Thursday, the TASS news agency said on Friday, citing regional Governor Roman Starovoit. The city, which has a population of almost half a million, is located in the southwest of the country, just over 100km from the Ukrainian border. (07:12 GMT) The German government is in talks with arms maker MBDA about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, a security source told Reuters on Friday, confirming a report by Der Spiegel magazine. Kyiv has been pushing Berlin to supply it with the Taurus, a missile with a range of more than 500 kilometres that is fired from fighter jets such as the Tornado, the F-15 or the F-18. (07:22 GMT) Several explosions were heard in the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on Friday after authorities declared a nationwide air-raid alert. (08:00 GMT) The nationwide air-raid alert has now ended, and authorities have issued an all-clear. The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, also issued an update on the missile attack on the capital. Writing on Telegram, he said that in addition to a children's hospital being hit by debris, two more crash sites were found in an urban district of the capital. He said a private house was damaged, but there have been no casualties reported so far. (08:40 GMT) Moscow's mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on the Telegram messaging app that a hostile drone was shot down over Moscow on Friday. Drone debris fell northwest of the city centre, causing no serious damage and no casualties, he said. "This afternoon, an attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack using an unmanned aerial vehicle on a facility in Moscow was thwarted," the defence ministry said. Unverified footage has emerged on social media showing a small explosion near the Karamyshevskaya embankment. 09:09 GMT) Igor Strelkov, a former Russian intelligence officer wanted for war crimes and sentenced by the Netherlands to life in jail in 2002 for his alleged role in the downing of the Malaysian MH17 plane that killed 298 people, is now behind bars in Russia. Strelkov, also known as Igor Girkin, could now face years in jail for "extremism". Why? Because the pro-war Strelkov raged against Russia's President Vladimir Putin in the wake of the Wagner mutiny in an angry Telegram post in which he regretted that Putin was a man. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/11/igor-strelkov-moscow-targets-a-pro-war-russian-who-criticised-putin (09:47 GMT) Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian Marines have spent more than six months training "in the art of commando raiding and complex amphibious operations," according to the British Royal Navy. (10:17) The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has confirmed that Russian forces have continued offensive operations northeast of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine and reportedly advanced on August 10. (10:27 GMT) Russia's defence ministry claims its forces hit the Reikartz Hotel where "foreign mercenaries" were quartered in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, after Kyiv said a Russian missile struck a hotel on Thursday evening, leaving one dead and 16 injured. (11:31 GMT) The Ukrainian air force shot down one out of four hypersonic missiles fired by Russia on Friday at a military airfield in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk, the military said. "One X-47 [hypersonic] missile was destroyed within the Kyiv region. The rest hit near the airfield. Civilian infrastructure was damaged, and one of the missiles hit a residential area," it said on the Telegram messaging app. 11:35 GMT) Russia has stated that its military forces have "improved" their offensive positions around two settlements near the town of Kupiansk in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. The Russian defence ministry said its forces had "improved the tactical situation" on the front line near Vilshana and Pershotravneve. (11:45 GMT) Zelenskyy has announced that the heads of all of Ukraine's regional military recruitment centres are to be dismissed from their jobs amid concerns about corruption. "This system should be run by people who know exactly what war is and why cynicism and bribery during war is treason," he said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. (12:19 GMT) Ukraine is considering cancelling its visa-free programme with Israel and will request the country be excluded from the so-called Ramstein meetings due to its "unfriendly actions towards Ukraine and pro-Russian position on the international arena", Kyiv Post has reported, citing sources in Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council (RNBO). (13:26 GMT) At least 385 Ukrainian children deported to Russia have been returned home, an Austria-based international charity has confirmed. (13:49 GMT) Bucharest, Romania - Last Wednesday, a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's grain port infrastructure shook Romania, a NATO member. The force of the attack on the Izmail port, across the Danube River from the Eastern European nation, was so intense that the windows of some village homes in southeastern Romania shattered. (14:15 GMT) Amid the presence of mercenary fighters from Russia's mercenary group Wagner in Belarus, Lithuania increased its forces and protective measures on its 680-kilometre border. (15:21 GMT) The US Department of the Treasury has imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association. The Treasury said in a statement that it was targeting four men who have served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group - Petr Olegivich Aven, Mikhail Maratovich Fridman, German Borisovich Khan and Alexey Viktorovich Kuzmichev - one of Russia's largest financial and investment conglomerates under sanctions against the country's financial services sector. It also imposed sanctions on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, it said. (15:57 GMT) Russia has sentenced activist Alexander Bakhtin to six years in penal colony for criticism of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine, a rights group and his allies say. Bakhtin, a 51-year-old environmental activist and musician, was accused of spreading false information about the conflict in Ukraine. (16:26 GMT) Russia's economy grew year-on-year by 4.9 percent in the second quarter, clocking its first expansion in a year, the country's statistics agency, Rosstat, reports. (17:46 GMT) The EU has delivered Ukraine 223,800 shells under the first part of a plan to provide a million artillery rounds to aid Kyiv's fight against Russia, a spokesman said. "Member states have delivered around 223,800 artillery ammunition - long-range self-propelled, precision-guided ammunitions as well as mortar ammunitions - and 2,300 missiles of all types," EU spokesman Peter Stano said. Overall, the total value of the ordnance provided was 1.1 billion euros ($1.2bn), the EU said. EU funds reimbursed only part of that, suggesting the measure fell short of the target. Earlier this year, the 27-nation European Union pledged to step up supplies of much-needed artillery shells to Ukraine as Kyiv's forces faced shortfalls. (18:45 GMT) Ukraine does not want to use the requested cruise missiles from Germany and the United States on Russian territory, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in a post on the social network X. He called the long-range missiles "crucial" and said Ukraine asked the two countries to send the missiles "as soon as possible". Kuleba assured Berlin and Washington that the missiles "will be used solely inside [Ukraine's] borders". 19:11 GMT) The White House on Friday says it was open to training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in the US if capacity for such training is reached in Europe. Speaking to reporters in Washington ,White House spokesperson John Kirby said the US was eager to move forward with the training. 20230812 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-535 Fighting * The Ukrainian air force shot down one out of four hypersonic missiles fired by Russia at a military airfield in the western region of Ivano-Frankivsk. One missile was destroyed within the Kyiv region and three others hit near the airfield, the military said. * An eight-year-old boy was killed when a Russian missile crashed into the grounds of a house in Ivano-Frankivsk, local officials said. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces hit a location where "foreign mercenaries" were quartered in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region. Kyiv said a Russian missile struck a hotel in Zaporizhzhia city, leaving one dead and 16 injured. Local media said the Reikartz Hotel was hit in the city centre on the bank of the Dnipro. * The mayor of Kyiv said that a children's hospital was hit by Russian rocket fragments during an attack on the capital on Friday morning. There were no reports of injuries. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the dismissal of the heads of all of Ukraine's regional military recruitment centres amid concerns about corruption. Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny would be responsible for implementing the decision, he said. * Russia said it destroyed a Ukrainian drone on the western outskirts of Moscow. Drone debris fell northwest of the city centre, causing no serious damage and no casualties, officials said. * Two Ukrainian drones were destroyed by Russian air defences on approach to Russia's Kursk city late on Thursday, the TASS news agency reported. The city, which has a population of almost half a million, is located in the southwest of the country, just over 100km from the Ukrainian border. * The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) confirmed that Russian forces have continued offensive operations northeast of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine and reportedly made advances. Ukrainian authorities on Thursday ordered a mandatory evacuation of nearly 12,000 civilians from 37 towns and villages near the northeastern front line amid a Russian advance. * Nearly 1,000 Ukrainian marines have completed more than six months of training "in the art of commando raiding and complex amphibious operations", the British Royal Navy said. Training also included instruction in the use of mortars, Next Generation Light Anti-Tank Weapons and Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, drones for reconnaissance, and explosive demolition of obstacles such as Dragon's Teeth anti-vehicle fortifications. Regional security * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has ordered his government to "contact" neighbouring Poland amid border tensions between the NATO member and Minsk. "We need to talk to the Poles. I ordered the prime minister to contact them," Lukashenko said, according to state news agency BelTA. "We are neighbours, and you don't choose your neighbours," * Lithuania has increased security forces and protective measures on its 680km border with Belarus amid the presence of mercenary fighters from Russia's mercenary group Wagner in the neighbouring country. * A German military officer arrested for allegedly spying for Russia had access to highly sensitive information in his work at the military's procurement unit, including the procuring of highly modern systems for electronic warfare, local media reported. * Hackers spied for years on embassy officials of four countries with missions in Belarus, including during the Ukraine war, security researchers at Slovakian cybersecurity firm ESET said. About 15 devices belonging to diplomats from two countries in Europe, one from South Asia, and one from Africa who worked at the embassies were targeted, ESET said in a report. The digital espionage campaign began in 2021 and is still active, the report said. Humanitarian intervention * Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine would send humanitarian aid to Slovenia after the small Alpine nation suffered its worst-ever floods a week ago. * At least 385 Ukrainian children deported to Russia have been returned home, an Austria-based international charity has confirmed. According to Kyiv, more than 19,000 Ukrainian children have been deported to Russia since the February 2022 invasion, with many allegedly placed in institutions and foster homes. Black Sea blockade * Ukraine is working to develop alternative export routes for grain, according to Zelenskyy. The president said that he had discussed the issue with the heads of the army, intelligence service and navy, as well as government officials. Military aid * The White House said it was open to training Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets in the US if capacity for such training is reached in Europe. White House spokesperson John Kirby said the US was eager to move forward with the training. * Ukraine does not intend to use cruise missiles requested from Germany and US against targets inside Russian territory, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. The long-range missiles were "crucial" for Ukraine, he said, and Kyiv had asked the two countries to send the missiles "as soon as possible". * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said there is no news to report after media said the German government is in talks with arms maker MBDA about the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine. "Our focus remains on sending weapons for air defence, heavy artillery and also tanks," Scholz said. "That is the course we will continue on, in close consultation with our international partners." * The EU has delivered 223,800 artillery shells and 2,300 missiles to Ukraine under the first part of a plan to provide a million artillery rounds to aid Kyiv's fight against Russia, a spokesman said. Overall, the total value of the ordnance provided to Ukraine was 1.1 billion euros ($1.2bn), the EU said. * Ukraine has begun holding consultations with the UK to obtain security guarantees. Kyiv is pushing for security guarantees from countries that include the US ahead of what it hopes will be its eventual membership in the NATO military alliance. Politics * Russia sentenced activist Alexander Bakhtin to six years in jail for criticism of Moscow's military intervention in Ukraine. Bakhtin, a 51-year-old environmental activist and musician, was accused of spreading false information about the conflict in Ukraine. * Ukraine is considering cancelling its visa-free programme with Israel and will request the country be excluded from the so-called Ramstein meetings due to its "unfriendly actions towards Ukraine and pro-Russian position on the international arena", the Kyiv Post reported, citing sources in Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council (RNBO). Sanctions * The US Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions on four Russians linked to financial and investment conglomerate Alfa Group and a Russian business association. The four people sanctioned served on the supervisory board of the Alfa Group, which is one of Russia's largest financial and investment conglomerates. Sanctions were also imposed on the Russian Association of Employers the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs. * Bacardi, the world's largest privately owned spirits company, has been sanctioned by Ukraine for expanding its operations in Russia. Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention included Bacardi Limited, based in Hamilton, Bermuda, on its list of "international war sponsors", accusing the company of supporting the Russian economy and sponsoring the "aggression against Ukraine". 20230813 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-536 Fighting * Russia's defence ministry said Ukrainian forces hit the Crimea bridge and several other unspecified targets in the annexed Crimean peninsula in a flurry of rocket and drone attacks. There were no casualties or damage, the ministry said. * Russia's foreign ministry pledged retaliation for what it called a "terrorist attack" on the Crimean Bridge. * In Ukraine, officials said an elderly woman and a police officer were killed in Russian shelling in eastern Kharkiv and the southern Zaporizhia region. * Ukrainian officials also reported Russian attacks in the southern Kherson region and the central city of Kryvyi Rih. Two elderly people were reported wounded in Kherson and there were no known casualties in Kryvyi Rih. * In the Russian-controlled eastern region of Donetsk, a Moscow-installed official said Ukrainian shelling killed one person and wounded six others. Denis Pushilin said Ukrainian forces had fired 127 rounds of ammunition at the region. * Ukrainian military officials, meanwhile, reported progress on the southern front, saying Kyiv's forces had recaptured territories in the region of Tavria and claimed partial success near the key village of Robotyne. * The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian forces had launched six rockets, 36 air raids and fired 32 rocket salvo fire systems at populated areas and Ukrainian troop positions on Saturday. Children were among the dead and wounded, it said. * Russia also claimed progress, saying it had regained control of the village of Urozhaine in Ukraine's easternmost Luhansk region in an overnight counterattack. * In Poland, Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said his country has increased the number of troops protecting its border with Belarus as a deterrent amid "destabilising" actions by its pro-Russian neighbour. These include an incident in which two Belarusian military helicopters entered Poland's airspace last week, a move Warsaw said was a deliberate provocation. Poland is also concerned about the presence in Belarus of Russian-linked mercenaries and about Middle Eastern and African asylum seekers trying to cross into the country from Belarus. Military aid * Germany's Rheinmetall will deliver a Luna New Generation drone system to Ukraine by the end of the year, according to the Bild am Sonntag newspaper. The package consists of a ground control station with several drones, a launch catapult and military trucks, and can be used as a reconnaissance system, provide an LTE network and intercept or jam communications, Bild reported. Economy * Ukraine, which is seeking to establish safe shipping routes in the Black Sea, has started registering ships willing to use a humanitarian corridor it announced last week, according to the Interfax news agency. The corridor is a new test of Russia's de facto blockade since Moscow abandoned a deal last month to let Kyiv export grain. * A top Ukrainian official said the country's grain harvest this year is exceeding expectations and could be 5 percent higher than in 2022, "thanks to good weather and rains in the summer". * On Ukraine's Black Sea coast, the city of Odesa opened up six beaches for swimming for the first time since the Russian invasion began. Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said accessing beaches during air alerts was forbidden. ... (09:56 GMT) Ukrainian forces are trying to pierce Russian lines in the western parts of the Donetsk region, where waves of Ukrainian fighters were used to gain a foothold to the east of the town of Staromaiorske, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official, said. Rogov added that Ukrainian troops were pushing towards parts of Zaporizhia controlled by Russia as they looked to reach the coast on the Sea of Azov. "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement," Rogov said, referring to the same part of the front line. He said Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine, adding that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of a town further south, Staromlynivka. 20230814 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-537 Fighting * Russian shelling killed seven people, including a 23-day-old infant, and wounded at least 22 people in Ukraine's southern region of Kherson, according to officials. * The infant's parents and her 12-year-old brother also died in the Russian attack on the village of Shyroke Balka, according to Ukraine's interior minister * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pledged a response to the attack. He said that by 6pm local time (15:00 GMT) on Sunday, there had been 17 reports of shelling in the Kherson region alone, as well as incidents in the regions of Mykolaiv, Zaporizhia, Donbas, Kharkiv and in border areas in the country's northeast. * In Russia, the defence ministry said air defences shot down at least five Ukrainian drones in the west of the country. These included four over the Belgorod region and another over the Kursk region. * Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced a "state of emergency" in the border region, sharing images of damage to an apartment building he said had been caused by a Ukrainian drone. He said there were no casualties from the attack. * On the front lines in Ukraine's Donetsk region, a Moscow-installed official reported intense fighting south of the Velyka Novosilka area, with Ukrainian troops trying to pierce Russian lines to push down to the coast on the Sea of Azov. * "The enemy managed to enter and gain a foothold in the northern part of Urozhaine after two weeks of the heaviest and bloodiest battles for this settlement," Vladimir Rogov said, referring to a village in Velyka Novosilka. * Rogov added that Russian soldiers still controlled the southern part of Urozhaine and that Ukrainian forces were clearly aiming to take control of a town further south, Staromlynivka. * The United Kingdom's defence ministry, meanwhile, said there was a realistic possibility that Russia no longer funds the activities of the Wagner group. "If the Russian state no longer pays Wagner, the second most plausible paymasters are the Belarusian authorities," it said. Economy * A Russian warship fired warning shots at a cargo ship in the southwestern Black Sea as it made its way northwards, marking the first time Russia has fired on merchant shipping beyond Ukraine since exiting a landmark United Nations-brokered grain deal last month. * A senior adviser to Zelenskyy said the incident was a "clear violation of international law of the sea, an act of piracy and a crime against civilian vessels of a third country in the waters of other states". The adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, added: "Ukraine will draw all the necessary conclusions and choose the best possible response." Diplomacy * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomed a recent Saudi Arabian-led summit on a peace settlement to end the fighting in Ukraine and called for further diplomatic efforts. "It makes sense for us to continue these talks because they increase the pressure on Russia to realise that it has taken the wrong path and that it must withdraw its troops and make peace possible," Scholz told the German broadcaster ZDF. ... (08:02 GMT) Russia is in the process of equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles, the head of Russia's largest shipbuilder told the RIA state news agency as part of the country's efforts to boost its nuclear forces. "Multipurpose nuclear submarines of the Yasen-M project will ... be equipped with the Zircon missile system on a regular basis," Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC), told RIA. Yasen-class submarines, also known as Project 885M, are nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a programme to modernise the army and fleet. The sea-based Zircon hypersonic missiles have a range of 900km and can travel at several times the speed of sound, making it difficult to defend against them. 20230815 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-538 Fighting * Ukraine downed three waves of Russian missiles and drones targeting Odesa, the army said. Fifteen drones and eight Kalibr-type sea-based missiles were involved in the attack. Falling debris from the destroyed weapons damaged a student dormitory and a supermarket in Odesa's city centre, leaving three workers wounded. * Russia said its air defence systems shot down unmanned aerial vehicles over its Belgorod region, the TASS news agency reports. It said there were no casualties or damage. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian weapons were proving their effectiveness in the war against Ukraine and that "much-hyped" Western arms had shown themselves to be "far from perfect". * Ukraine reported fierce fighting along its entire front line and claimed "some success" in pushing back Moscow's troops in the southeast of the country. Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian troops had pushed forward around the village of Staromaiorske, about 97km southwest of Russian-held Donetsk, and were pressing on two fronts in the south. * A Russian spokesperson in Ukraine's Kherson region accused Kyiv's forces of attacking a monastery in the village of Korsunka as well as a school, TASS reported. * Russia is equipping its new nuclear submarines with hypersonic Zircon missiles as part of the country's efforts to boost its nuclear forces, the RIA state news agency reported, quoting Alexei Rakhmanov, chief executive officer of the United Shipbuilding Corporation (USC). Yasen-class submarines, also known as Project 885M, are nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines built to replace Soviet-era nuclear attack submarines as part of a programme to modernise Russia's fleet. Economy * The Russian rouble slid past 100 against the dollar, its lowest level since March 23, 2022. The rouble has shed about 30 percent of its value against the dollar as imports rise and exports decrease since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. On Monday morning, data from the Moscow Exchange showed the rouble trading at 101.01 to the dollar, while against the euro, it fell to a near 17-month low of 110.73. Military aid * The United States will send Ukraine new military assistance worth $200m. The package includes air defence munitions, artillery rounds, anti-armour capabilities and mine-clearing equipment, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked the US for its decision to send Kyiv the assistance package. * Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal thanked Germany's finance minister and government for their support in financial aid and sanctions against Russia. * Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, said the provision of long-range missiles, such as the German Taurus missiles Kyiv has asked for, would reduce Russia's combat capabilities by focusing on "the destruction of rear logistics - warehouses, transportation, fuel". Diplomacy * Chinese Defence Minister Li Shangfu will visit Russia and Belarus this week. "State Councillor and Defence Minister Li Shangfu will go to Russia to attend the 11th Moscow Conference on International Security, and visit Belarus," a Chinese defence ministry spokesperson said. * Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said employees of Russian institutions in Moldova - the embassy, trade mission and Russian Centre of Science and Culture - as well as their family members have returned to Moscow. Last month, Moldova told Russia to reduce its embassy presence in Chisinau, citing concerns about alleged Russian attempts to destabilise the small state, which borders Romania and Ukraine. Politics * US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in her third such visit since his March detention in Russia on espionage charges, which he denies, according to the newspaper. * An ally of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is on trial in Siberia on charges of creating an "extremist organisation", a court spokeswoman told France's AFP news agency. Ksenia Fadeyeva, 31, is a former municipal deputy in the Siberian city of Tomsk and headed Navalny's political office in the city. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/15/at-least-25-killed-in-fire-explosion-at-petrol-station-in-dagestan-russia At least 25 killed in fire and explosion at a petrol station in Dagestan, Russia Ten of some 66 people injured in Dagestan are in a critical condition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagestan ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/15/ukraines-western-region-of-lviv-comes-under-russian-air-raid-attack Air raid sirens were activated across most of Ukraine and explosions have been heard in the western Ukrainian region of Lviv bordering Poland, local officials and media reported. It was not immediately clear whether the explosions were air defence systems engaged in repelling an attack or ground targets being hit by Russian weaponry. 20230816 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-539 Fighting * Russian air attacks killed three people and left many injured in Lutsk, in the Volyn region of northwestern Ukraine, Kyiv said. A wave of Russian overnight attacks also damaged civilian facilities and injured people in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk in western Ukraine, near the border with Poland. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces hit key military-industrial facilities in Ukraine overnight with high-precision missiles, inflicting "significant damage", according to the Interfax news agency. * Russia said its forces had for the first time intercepted a SCALP cruise missile supplied to Ukraine by France. * Ukraine said 16 of at least 28 cruise missiles launched by Russia overnight were destroyed. The 28 included 20 Kh-101/Kh-555 missiles, four Kh-22 and four Kalibr missiles, which were launched from the Russian airfields of Soltsy, Shaykovka, Engels and Olenegorsk as well as from a ship stationed near Yalta in Russian-occupied Crimea. * A Ukrainian drone was destroyed in Russia's Belgorod region, Russia's defence ministry said. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited front-line troops in the southeastern region of Zaporizhia, where he "discussed the most problematic issues of their units together with the brigades and combatants", his office said in a statement. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukraine's ability to fight was "almost exhausted". * Ukraine's national resistance centre said that Moscow is preparing a "provocation" at the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant in western Russia. "Preparations for evacuation from the zone of possible radioactive contamination in the event of an accident at the nuclear power plant are under way in the Kursk region," the resistance centre, which collects intelligence among other functions said, adding that Russia was planning to evacuate between 21,000 and 57,000 people. * Russian armed forces prevented an attempt by a group of Ukrainian saboteurs to cross the border into Russian territory, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region said. * Russian attacks along the eastern front line in Ukraine have decreased as Moscow seeks to replenish its forces, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said. "During the past week and on the first day of this week, we have recorded a quantitative decrease of shellings and attacks in the east," Maliar said according to Ukrainian media reports. "But that does not mean that Russia gave up on its plans." Military aid * Sweden's Defence Minister Pal Johnson said that Stockholm would donate a military aid package including ammunition and spare parts worth about 3.4 billion kronor ($313m) to Ukraine. Economy * Russia's central bank hiked its interest rate to 12 percent from 8.5 percent after the rouble fell to its lowest value since March 2022. The decision was announced after a meeting of the bank's board of directors and comes amid increased military spending and Western sanctions hurting Russia's economy. * Ukraine's energy ministry said that a 330 kV power line that supplied a Chornobyl power station was shut due to damage that occurred in Belarus. "In the Lviv region, almost 290,000 subscribers were short-term without power due to the blackout of the 330 kV line," the ministry said in a statement. Regional security * Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said the possibility of a direct military clash with NATO in the future seemed obvious, according to a report by the Russian state news agency RIA. * Three suspected spies for Russia have been arrested and charged in a major national security investigation in the United Kingdom, according to a BBC report. The suspects, all Bulgarian nationals, allegedly worked for the Russian security service and had been held in custody since February. * Latvia's defence minister ordered the army to help guard the country's border with Russian ally Belarus after a reported 96 attempts by migrants to cross in 24 hours. Border Guard officers were recalled from their holidays to help with patrols of the 214km-long border. * Latvia's state security service said it had found direct and indirect invitations for Latvians to join the Russian mercenary force Wagner, according to a report by Latvian media outlet Delfi. Latvian citizens are prohibited by law from serving in the armed forces or military organisation of a foreign country that poses a risk to Latvia's national security. Politics * Polish President Andrej Duda commemorated the soldiers of the 1917-1921 Ukrainian People's Republic, who died fighting against the Bolsheviks. The republic's leadership allied with the Polish state in 1920 to fight against the Soviet Union's Red Army, with Ukrainian soldiers taking part in the battle of Warsaw alongside Poland. Duda laid a wreath at a monument to the soldiers of the Ukrainian People's Republic in a Warsaw cemetery. * A court in Moscow fined social media site Reddit 2 million roubles ($20,433), for not deleting "banned content" related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, according to Russian state news agency reports. Sanctions * Kyiv will boycott the Olympic Games if Russia and Belarus are allowed to participate, said Kira Rudik, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. Andriy Yermak, head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that Russian athletes should be banned from participating in all international competitions "even under a neutral flag". Yermak's and Rudik's comments came after Russian attacks damaged a sport complex building in Dnipro, Ukraine. (07:28 GMT) The US is pushing Iran to stop selling armed drones to Russia as part of discussions between Washington and Tehran to de-escalate tensions, the Financial Times reports, citing people briefed on the matter. Washington is pressing Tehran to stop selling armed drones to Moscow, which Russia is using in the war in Ukraine, as well as spare parts for the unmanned aircraft, the report said, citing an Iranian official and another person familiar with the talks. The White House and Iran's Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. The news comes as Washington and Iran are trying to ease tensions and revive broader talks over Iran's nuclear programme. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday that he would welcome any Iranian steps to de-escalate its "growing nuclear threat". (11:12 GMT) A Ukrainian presidential adviser says there are three things that need to be done to "accelerate" an end to the war, including sanctions, weapons deliveries and isolating Russia. On X, formally known as Twitter, Mikhail Podolyak wrote, "Three problems that require stronger solutions to accelerate a fair end to the war... "1. Sanctions circumvention and missile production in Russia. The solution: either an official change of Russia's status to a terrorist state or tough secondary sanctions against private intermediaries. "2. Arms supplies to Ukraine. Solution: a mathematical analysis of the size of Russia's defence systems, their storage and logistics capabilities. Transfer of optimal volumes of long-range missiles, munitions, demining systems, and frontline missile defence systems in accordance with the needs. "3. Isolation of Russia's top leadership, which will dramatically reduce the possibilities for diplomatic maneuver and send a signal to neutral countries...Solution: refusal of any direct communications, arrest warrants of various jurisdictions for complicity in crimes." 20230817 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-540 Fighting * Ukraine said Russia carried out a series of drone attacks on grain silos and warehouses at a Danube River port near the border with Romania. * Kyiv said its forces liberated the settlement of Urozhaine in the southeast, but top general Oleksandr Syrskyi warned the situation around Kupiansk on the northeastern front was deteriorating amid Russian counterattacks. * Video obtained by Al Jazeera suggests a controversial unit of Chechen troops has been policing the town of Enerhodar near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said it shot down three Ukrainian drones southwest of Moscow and one over Crimea. * Russia's state-owned TASS news agency reported that the FSB security service, with the defence ministry, thwarted a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group in the Bryansk region. Diplomacy * A cargo ship stuck in Odesa for more than 17 months set sail along a new temporary maritime corridor to and from Black Sea ports established by Ukraine. * The United States said it was working with partners to identify alternative options to ensure Ukrainian grain exports after Moscow quit the Black Sea Grain Initiative allowing the safe export of Ukrainian grain on July 17. Department of State deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel urged Moscow to "immediately return" to the deal. * Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhail Podolyak said three things needed to be done to "accelerate" a "fair" end to the war, including preventing sanctions circumvention, providing more weapons to Ukraine and isolating Russia's top leadership. * Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said he would ask Beijing to take a stronger position on Ukraine. Rasmussen was speaking at the start of a three-day visit to China. * The US imposed sanctions on three entities over alleged weapons deals between North Korea and Russia. The three - Versor, Verus and Defense Engineering - are linked to Slovakian national Ashot Mkrtychev, who was sanctioned in March for attempting to facilitate arms deals between Russia and North Korea. * Belarus criticised Lithuania's decision to close two of its six border crossings with the country amid concern about the presence of Russia's Wagner mercenary group in Belarus. Minsk said the move was "unfriendly". Weapons * The British Ministry of Defence said Russia had started to deploy domestically-produced one-way unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) based on Iranian Shahed drones. The ministry said Russia was probably aiming for "self-sufficiency" in the weapons but remained reliant on Iran for components and entire drones being shipped via the Caspian Sea. * The Financial Times reported the US was pushing Iran to stop selling drones to Russia as part of discussions between Washington and Tehran to de-escalate tensions. ... (10:57 GMT) The German government has announced more military assistance to Ukraine which includes additional artillery, armoured fighting vehicles and funds to support Kyiv's security capacity building. "Funding for the security capacity building initiative amounts to 5.4 billion Euros for 2023 [$5.9bn] and additional authorisations to enter commitments in the following years amounting to 10.5 billion Euros [$11.42bn]," the government said in a statement. (12:16 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed two laws to extend mobilisation and martial law in the country until November 15. Under these laws, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country, with some exceptions, and may be called up to serve in the armed forces. (13:18 GMT) The German government has announced the delivery of two IRIS-T air defence systems and about 4,500 rounds of 155mm ammunition to Ukraine as a part of its new military aid package. The IRIS-T air defence system has a range of up to 40 kilometers. (16:58 GMT) Israel's Defence Ministry says it has secured its largest-ever weapons deal selling a sophisticated missile system to Germany for $3.5bn. The deal could draw the attention of Russia, which Israel has maintained working relations with throughout the war on Ukraine. Israel has repeatedly rebuffed requests to sell arms to Ukraine for fear of antagonising Russia. Germany will buy the advanced defense system coined Arrow 3, which is designed to intercept long-range ballistic missiles. 20230818 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-541 Fighting * Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that Ukraine lost four US-supplied Stryker armoured vehicles in a successful Russian offensive in Ukraine's Donetsk region, according to the RIA Novosti news agency. It was the first time Russia has claimed to hit the US military vehicles. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed two laws to extend military mobilisation and martial law in the country until November 15. Under the laws, Ukrainian men aged between 18 and 60 are not allowed to exit the country, though there are exceptions, and may be called up to serve in the armed forces. * Ukraine's defence ministry launched a new campaign urging military-age citizens to update their data at army enlistment offices and "overcome their fear". Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said that military-age citizens are duty-bound to keep their personal data at draft offices up-to-date. * The Washington Post reported that Russia is making progress towards mass producing an attack drone that can travel more than 1,600km and hit Ukrainian cities. Moscow is working on its version of Iran's Shahed-136 drone, despite sanctions on components that Russia needs from other countries to build the aerial vehicles, according to the newspaper. * A 61-year-old woman was killed and a 60-year-old woman was injured in Russian shelling of the Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, emergency services said. * Ukraine "will likely be successful in ensuring that it will have sufficient fuel reserves during the country's winter period", the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said in an update on the conflict. Military aid * Germany announced the delivery of two IRIS-T air defence systems and some 4,500 rounds of 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine as a part of a new military aid package. The IRIS-T air defence system has a range of up to 40km. * Slovakia's chief of general staff Daniel Zmeko visited the front line in southern Ukraine, Ukrainian military sources said. Ukrainian officials thanked Slovakia for providing "material and technical assistance", Zmeko said on his Facebook page. * Sweden will donate military aid worth 3.25 billion Swedish kronor ($297m) to support Ukraine. The package seeks to strengthen Ukraine's air defence and also support the country's armed forces with spare parts and emergency supplies, Sweden said. * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Russian President Vladimir Putin underestimated the Western military alliance and reiterated that Kyiv would receive support until "it wins the war". Politics * An October 16 performance in the Czech capital by Russian opera singer Anna Netrebko has been cancelled. The announcement came after the Prague government said that all its coalition parties opposed the concert at a time when Russia waged war on Ukraine. * Russian authorities have opened a criminal investigation into Grigory Melkonyants, cochair of Russia's leading election watchdog Golos. Melkonyants was taken in for questioning and police also raided the homes of 14 Golos members in eight different cities, Russian media reported. * Eighty percent of residents in parts of Ukraine's Luhansk region controlled by Moscow-backed separatists have been issued with Russian passports, Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti. Black Sea tension * Turkish authorities issued a warning to Russian counterparts to avoid escalating tension in the Black Sea after an incident involving Russia's navy and a Turkish cargo ship. Russia said on Sunday that its Vasily Bykov patrol ship had fired automatic weapons on the Palau-flagged Sukru Okan vessel after the ship's captain failed to respond to a request to halt for inspection. Regional security * NATO's Stoltenberg said the military alliance had not detected any changes in the stance of Russia's nuclear forces and the Western alliance had seen no reason to reconsider its own corresponding nuclear position. * Russian President Vladimir Putin is not pushing Belarus into joining the war in Ukraine, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an online interview with a pro-Russian Ukrainian journalist. Lukashenko warned that he would respond in the event of external aggression against his country, including through the use of nuclear weapons that Moscow has stationed in Belarus. * Lithuania will temporarily close two of the country's six border crossings with Belarus due to what the government said were "geopolitical circumstances", and amid concerns over the presence of Russia's Wagner mercenaries within Belarusian territory. * China's Defence Minister Li Shangfu visited Belarus and said his country would increase military cooperation with Minsk. * Israel's Defence Ministry said it secured its largest-ever weapons deal selling a sophisticated missile system to Germany for $3.5bn. Israel has rebuffed requests to sell arms to Ukraine for fear of antagonising Russia. * The situation in Ukraine is expected to be on the agenda at a meeting between US President Joe Biden, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland. Diplomacy * Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia joined the Group of Seven's (G7) declaration to support Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. "We will keep helping Ukraine until victory. We will support Ukraine on its path towards NATO and EU membership," Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said on social media. Ukraine will not complete all seven recommendations made by the European Union to join the bloc by October, Ukraine's integration minister Olha Stefanishyna said, according to the Interfax news agency. Stefanishyna said, however, that she expected EU accession talks to begin by the end of the year. * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that Kyiv will deepen its ties with Africa in an effort to loosen "Russia's grip" over the continent. Sanctions * The US imposed sanctions and visa restrictions on four alleged Russian intelligence operatives accused of direct involvement in the 2020 poisoning of Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny. The US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Alexandrovich Alexandrov, Konstantin Kudryavtsev, Ivan Osipov and Vladimir Panyaev. All are operatives of the Federal Security Service, known as the FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB. * Sanctions against Russia should be strengthened as Moscow can still obtain "foreign components" required for aircraft that had attacked Ukraine, said Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. "The two Russian Ka-52 rotorcraft that were shot down today could not fly without foreign components," Yermak said. ... (06:33 GMT) The United States has approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, "It remains critical that Ukraine is able to defend itself against ongoing Russian aggression and violation of its sovereignty." Joe Biden endorsed training programs for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in May. In addition to training in Denmark, a training centre was to be set up in Romania. (09:00 GMT) Ukrainian forces crossed into the Russian-occupied east bank of the Kherson region and took positions there, the region's Russian-installed governor said Friday. He said Ukrainian "sabotage groups" had managed to hide out on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled town of Kozachi Lageri, near the Dnipro river. He added that they were later "cleared out" by Moscow's forces in comments published by the TASS news agency. (15:51 GMT) The number of Ukrainian and Russian troops killed or wounded since the war in Ukraine began in Febeuary 2022 is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed US officials. Russia's military casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injuries, the newspaper said. Ukrainian deaths were close to 70,000, with 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, it added. (18:15 GMT) Ukrainian forces do not appear likely to reach and retake the Russian-occupied strategic southeastern city of Melitopol during their counteroffensive aimed at winning back territory from Moscow's army, according to a US official quoted by the Reuters news agency. The Ukrainian military on Thursday said it had made gains on the southeastern front, pushing forward from a newly liberated village, Urozhaine, in an attempted drive towards the Sea of Azov. Melitopol, which had a pre-war population of about 150,000, has been under Russian control since March 2022 and has roads and railways used by Russian troops to transport supplies to areas they occupy. 20230819 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-542 Fighting * A Ukrainian drone smashed into a building in central Moscow after Russian air defences shot it down, disrupting air traffic at all of the four civilian airports in the Russian capital. * The number of Ukrainian and Russian soldiers killed or wounded in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022 is nearing 500,000, the New York Times reports, citing unnamed United States officials. Russian casualties are approaching 300,000, including as many as 120,000 deaths and 170,000 to 180,000 injuries. Ukrainian deaths were close to 70,000, with 100,000 to 120,000 wounded, the Times reported. * Ukrainian forces crossed to the Russian-occupied east bank of the Kherson region and have taken up positions. Russian-installed regional governor Vladimir Saldo said Ukrainian "sabotage groups" had managed to hide out on the outskirts of the Russian-controlled town of Kozachi Laheri, near the Dnipro river. They were later "cleared out" by Russian forces, he said. * One person was killed and two injured as a result of Russian shelling of a village near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. Four people were also injured after Russia shelled a residential area of Chasiv Yar city, located in the Donetsk region close to Bakhmut. * Ukrainian forces are unlikely to reach and retake the Russian-occupied strategic southeastern city of Melitopol during their counteroffensive, a US official told the Reuters news agency. Melitopol has been under Russian control since March 2022 and has roads and railways used by Russian troops to transport supplies to areas they occupy. * The Ukrainian military said it made gains on the southeastern front, pushing forward from a newly liberated village, Urozhaine, in an attempted drive towards the Sea of Azov. Military aid * The US approved sending F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as pilot training is completed, a US official said. * A public poll has found that more than half of Germans are against delivering Taurus missiles to Ukraine. The poll by public broadcaster ARD found 52 % of the Germans surveyed oppose supplying cruise missiles to Ukraine, fearing they could be used to attack targets in Russia. * The US, Japan and South Korea agreed to continue supporting Kyiv and to maintain strong, coordinated sanctions against Moscow, while also aiming to further curb dependence on Russian energy. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country received new military equipment from its partners but did not specify which countries. "Heavy equipment, artillery, air defence systems are coming in. We continue [to] work on the next packages. News will be coming soon," he said. * China's deputy permanent representative at the UN, Ambassador Geng Shuang, told a UN Security Council briefing that arming Ukraine "cannot win peace" as weapons only win wars. Regional security *Belarus Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said that Minsk is protecting Russia from a possible NATO attack amid the conflict in Ukraine, according to state news agency BelTA. "On its territory, Belarus reliably protects Russia from a NATO strike in Russia's back. It is the most important area of work for us," he said. * Japan's defence ministry scrambled fighter jets after two Russian IL-38 information-gathering aircraft were spotted flying back and forth between the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea. * Lithuania closed two of its six border checkpoints with Belarus in a move announced earlier this month, citing the security risk posed by Russia's Wagner mercenary group. * North Korea's latest Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile - its first ICBM to use solid rocket fuel - has ignited a new debate over a possible Russian role in the nuclear-armed state's dramatic missile development. In a report published by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies, Theodore Postol, professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, argued that the Hwasong-18 ICBM is likely the result of technical cooperation sourced to Russia. Politics * The Sakharov Center, a prominent rights group in Russia, has been permanently closed. The Moscow City Court said it had "decided to dissolve" the Sakharov Center, which launched nearly three decades ago, for illegally hosting conferences and exhibitions. * A new school textbook praising the "so-called special military operation" in Ukraine will be issued in Russian schools in September, the UK Ministry of Defence said. The book reportedly labels Ukraine as an "ultra-terrorist state". Sanctions * Russia banned entry to 54 United Kingdom nationals, including the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, who issued arrest warrants in March for Russian President Vladimir Putin and another official, accusing them of the war crime of illegally deporting Ukrainian children to Russia. * Russian oil tycoon Eugene Shvidler lost an attempt at London's High Court to overturn UK sanctions imposed on him after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Shvidler, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $1.6bn, was sanctioned in March 2022 on the grounds of his association with Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Shvidler's two private jets were also seized. * A senior Moldovan official said Russia's decision to ban several Moldovan officials from entering the country was regrettable. Humanitarian * The US extended its temporary protected status (TPS) for Ukraine and Sudan nationals through to the spring of 2025, citing ongoing conflicts in their countries. The department also announced changes that would enable additional of their nationals to apply for the status. * Ukraine's Shakhtar Donetsk football team will play its home Champions League games in Germany this season at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. Unable to host European games in Ukraine because of the Russian invasion, Shakhtar's home games were held in the Polish capital Warsaw last season. Black Sea tension * The Hong-Kong-flagged Joseph Schulte container ship became the first vessel to break Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea port, after arriving in Turkey's Istanbul. The container ship had been stuck in Ukraine since February 23, 2022. * Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said he hoped 60 percent of Ukrainian grain exports will transit through Romania. The Romanian Black Sea port of Constanta has been highlighted as a potential transit point for Ukrainian grain amid Russia's blockade of Ukraine's Black Sea ports. Diplomacy * President Zelenskyy said he signed a key law needed for Ukraine to open EU accession talks, describing the move as "one step closer to the EU". * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke with Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid al-Zayani and expressed Kyiv's gratitude to the Gulf nation for attending the recent summit in Saudi Arabia where they discussed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plan for peace. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/19/russias-lavrov-says-west-needs-continual-reminder-of-risks-of-nuclear-war Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov says US and NATO risk 'a situation of direct armed confrontation of nuclear powers', and the West needs continual reminder of risks of nuclear war. "We believe such a development should be prevented. That's why we have to remind about the existence of high military and political risks and send sobering signals to our opponents," Lavrov said. ... (15:20 GMT) Ukraine and Sweden have signed an agreement which will see Ukraine begin production of Sweden's CV90 combat vehicle. (17:31 GMT) The Russian army has said it had "eliminated" some 150 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to cross the Dnipro River into Russian-occupied territory a day after Moscow admitted "sabotage" groups were operating around the river. 20230820 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-543 Fighting * A Russian missile attack on the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv killed seven people and wounded 144, according to officials. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the dead included a six-year-old girl and that there were 15 children among the wounded. "Our soldiers will respond to Russia for this terrorist attack - a tangible answer," he pledged. * A United Nations official denounced the raid, which came during the Orthodox holiday of the Transfiguration of the Lord, as "heinous". * The strike hit a theatre in Chernihiv's main square during a gathering of drone manufacturers and aerial reconnaissance training schools, organiser Mariia Berlinska confirmed. Berlinska said the event was officially agreed on in advance with the local authorities and venue. * Ukrainian officials also reported downing more than a dozen Russian drones in an overnight attack. Russian forces "attacked from the north with 'Shahed-136/131' attack UAVs. A total of 17 attack drones were launched from the Kursk region," the Ukrainian Air Force said. * On the battlefield, the Russian army said it "eliminated" 150 Ukrainian troops who tried to cross the Dnipro River into Russian-occupied territory in southern Ukraine. * In Russia, the defence ministry reported a flurry of Ukrainian drone attacks targeting the regions of Moscow, Novgorod and Belgorod. It said the drone targeting the Novgorod region damaged a warplane and caused a fire at a military airfield. * The attempted assault on Moscow led to a temporary closure of Moscow's Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports, the state-run TASS news agency said. * The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, where he listened to reports from Valery Gerasimov, the commander in charge of Moscow's operations in Ukraine. He also met with other top military brass at the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, meanwhile, said in an interview published on Saturday that Moscow's nuclear weapons protect it from security threats and that the Kremlin has to continually remind the West of the risks of a nuclear conflict. Military Aid * Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said training has begun for Ukrainian troops to operate United States F16 fighter jets and added that the process could take at least six months and possibly longer. Diplomacy * Zelenskyy met with Sweden's Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson in Harpsund, west of the Swedish capital, Stockholm, and asked for Gripen air jets to boost Ukraine's air defences. The Ukrainian president and first lady, Olena Zelenska, later met Sweden's King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia at a palace in the area. * Ukraine and Sweden also signed an agreement that will see Kyiv begin production of Sweden's CV90 combat vehicle. 20230821 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-544 * The United Nations condemned a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's northern city of Chernihiv on Saturday morning, which killed seven people and injured dozens. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy promised a "tangible response" from Ukrainian forces to what he called a "heinous strike". * The Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces conducted offensive operations in western parts of the Zaporizhia region and made modest advances. Russian forces continued to launch offensive operations around the city of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region but did not make any confirmed advances, it said. * Kharkiv region's Governor Oleh Syniehubov posted on his Telegram channel that a man in his 40s was seriously injured this morning after Russian forces shelled Kupiansk. * Russia says it thwarted Ukrainian drone attacks on the Moscow region on Sunday, the second such incident in two days. The Kursk, Rostov and Belgorod regions, all of which border Ukraine, also reported drone attacks. The regional governor said five people were injured in Kursk. No injuries were reported elsewhere. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Russia was looking to strengthen its air defence systems in its western regions in light of the recent drone attacks. Diplomacy * South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is hosting this week's BRICS summit, said the country will not side with any global powers. The summit has turned a spotlight on South Africa's ties with the Kremlin, especially as it has refused to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. BRICS, a grouping of major developing countries, includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had spoken to his Senegalese and Guinean counterparts in recent days as part of an effort to strengthen relationships in Africa and counter Russia's influence on the continent. * Hungary struck a deal with Serbia that could bring increased shipments of Russian natural gas through the Balkan country if Ukraine ends a gas transit agreement with Moscow. Hungary gets about 80 percent of its gas from Russia and has fought vigorously against sanctions proposed by the European Union. Weapons * The Dutch and Danish governments will transfer an unspecified number of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine once Kyiv has met certain conditions. The announcement came after Zelenskyy held separate meetings with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte. * Frederiksen said she hoped the first Danish F-16s could be handed over to Ukraine around the New Year. Rutte did not provide a timeframe, saying it depends on how soon Ukrainian crews and infrastructure are ready. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said training on the fighter jets had begun but that it would take at least six months and possibly longer. * Zelenskyy said Ukraine had also begun discussing with Sweden the possibility of receiving Gripen jets to boost its air defences. 20230822 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-545 Fighting * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said fighting in the northeastern Kharkiv region was "difficult" but that the country's armed forces were repelling Russian attacks and had retaken several square kilometres on the eastern front over the past week. The situation was particularly challenging around Kupiansk, she said. * Maliar said Ukrainian forces had also recaptured about 3sq km of territory around the eastern war-battered town of Bakhmut but had made no notable advances on the southern front. "In the south, the situation has not undergone significant changes. Our defenders continue to advance in the Berdyansk and Melitopol sectors," she told state television. * Russia said it foiled several drone attacks, one of which led to the suspension of about 50 flights at Moscow's Vnukovo airport. Two people were also injured when debris from a drone fell on a house near Moscow, according to officials. * Ukraine lined up the burned-out remains of dozens of Russian tanks and other fighting vehicles along Kyiv's main street as Ukrainians prepare to mark their second wartime Independence Day on Thursday. * Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin shared his first video address since leading a brief mutiny in late June, appearing in a clip possibly shot in Africa that was released on Telegram channels affiliated with the Wagner Group. The video showed Prigozhin standing in a desert wearing camouflage and holding a rifle in his hands. Diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a speech outside the Danish parliament that he was "confident" Russia would lose the war in Ukraine, following Denmark and the Netherlands's decision to donate F-16 fighters to the country. "I'm sure that we will win because the truth is on our side," Zelenskyy said. "The main thing is what we prove with our victory, with our cooperation, ... together we prove that life is a value, that people matter. Freedom matters. Europe matters." * The United Arab Emirates (UAE) said it was careful not to violate sanctions imposed by its Western allies on Russia over the war in Ukraine after the Wall Street Journal reported the country was aiding Moscow by providing an outlet for Russian money. A UAE official said the country was not flouting sanctions and had a robust process to deal with blacklisted people and companies. * Denys Marchuk, the deputy head of the Agrarian Council, Ukraine's largest agribusiness group, said Ukraine was considering using its newly-tested Black Sea export corridor for grain shipments after last week's successful delivery. Ukraine announced a "humanitarian corridor" near the western Black Sea coast near Romania and Bulgaria after Russia quit the Black Sea grain export deal in July. * Russia expanded its blacklist of people working in the United Kingdom's media, including journalists and executives at the BBC, the Guardian and The Telegraph. Weapons * Danish Defence Minister Jakob Ellemann-Jensen said Ukraine can use the F-16 fighter jets being donated by Denmark and the Netherlands only within its own territory. (PJB: ha-ha ... ) * Zelenskyy said Greece will take part in training Ukrainian air force pilots on F-16 jets. He did not provide details of the training programme. Officials from a coalition of 11 nations have said F-16 training will take place in Denmark and Romania. * Russia's ambassador to Denmark, Vladimir Barbin, condemned Denmark and the Netherlands's decision to donate F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, saying it would escalate the conflict ... (10:16 GMT) Ukrainian troops have gained footing in the southeastern village of Robotyne, according to General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the deputy commander of the Ukrainian forces in the south. (11:01 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that its forces have destroyed a US-made military speedboat near Snake Island in the Black Sea. "At about 11.00 Moscow time, east of Snake Island, a Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft destroyed a US-made high-speed military boat Willard Sea Force with a landing group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app. (11:33 GMT) After a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the European Commission's President Ursula von der Leyen said that the bloc has paid Kyiv another 1.5 billion euros ($1.63bn), to support its efforts to "keep the state running". "And more will come, this year and beyond," she said in a post on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). (12:15 GMT) Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov says Ukraine will take at least six or seven months to begin operating F-16 fighter jets. (14:19 GMT) Poland's President Andrzej Duda has said that Russia is already in the process of moving tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, according to a report by The Associated Press. Duda warned that this would shift the security architecture in the region and for the whole of NATO. Russia announced its plan to install tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in March. (17:44 GMT) British military intelligence has said a weekend drone attack on an airfield deep inside Russia, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine, is highly likely to have destroyed a nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. Kyiv, which on Monday claimed to have attacked another Russian military airfield, says Russia has used the Tu-22M3 to bomb targets across Ukraine with conventional munitions. Western military experts believe Russia has about 60 of the aircraft. 20230823 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-546 Fighting * General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the deputy commander of Ukrainian forces in the south, said Ukraine's troops had gained a footing in the southeastern village of Robotyne and were organising the evacuation of civilians. * Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Ukraine's Kherson region, said an elderly woman was killed and a 55-year-old man injured in Russian air attacks. * A drone raid was reported in Moscow, forcing a temporary halt to air traffic at Vnukovo, Sheremetyevo and Domodedovo airports. City Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russian air defence systems shot down the two drones west of the capital and blamed Ukraine. * Russia's Air Force said it scrambled two jets against two drones flying near the Crimean Peninsula, which it annexed in 2014. * Russia said it destroyed a United States-made military speedboat involved in reconnaissance near Ukraine's Snake Island. * The United Kingdom's military intelligence said a weekend drone attack on an airfield deep inside Russia, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine, was highly likely to have destroyed a nuclear-capable Tu-22M3 supersonic long-range bomber. * The UK defence ministry also said that Russia's intense bombardment of Mariupol, a key Black Sea port city, early in its invasion involved the use of unguided bombs. Diplomacy * Russia's foreign ministry shared a video on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov being "warmly welcomed" in Johannesburg for the BRICS summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin, wanted under an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, did not travel to South Africa and will instead join the summit virtually. Weapons * Denmark's army said it has begun training eight Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets as well as 65 personnel who will be trained in maintaining and servicing the aircraft. * Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said the United States was ready to help train Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16s if Europe did not have the capacity to do so. Denmark and the Netherlands, which are donating the planes to Ukraine, are training the pilots and support teams. Greece will also be involved. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the first of what is expected to be a number of F-16s had arrived in Ukraine from the Netherlands. * Poland's President Andrzej Duda said Russia was already transferring tactical nuclear weapons to Belarus, warning of the risk to the security of the region and the whole of NATO. * Ukraine is deploying custom-built mini-rocket launchers that use parts taken from a Soviet-era system, but are more precise, as well as an arsenal of Western arms to fight against Russia, Reuters reported. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/23/russias-medvedev-warns-georgian-breakaway-regions-could-be-annexed Russia's Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of the Kremlin's powerful Security Council, has warned that Moscow could annex Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Reuters news agency reported. "The idea of joining Russia is still popular in Abkhazia and South Ossetia," Medvedev, a former Russian president, wrote in an article published by the Argumenty I Fakty newspaper. "It could quite possibly be implemented if there are good reasons for that," he said in the article. ... (06:52 GMT) The United States says it does not encourage or enable attacks inside Russia, as Russian authorities said they downed drones that tried to attack Moscow early on Wednesday. It is up to Ukraine to decide how it chooses to defend itself from the Russian invasion that began in February last year, the State Department spokesperson said, adding that Russia could end the war at any time by withdrawing from Ukraine. (07:35 GMT) The governor of the Russian border region of Belgorod says a Ukrainian drone attack has killed three people in the area. "Three civilians have been killed," Vyacheslav Gladkov said in a social media post. (08:25 GMT) Russia has appointed a new acting chief of its aerospace forces to replace Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon", who disappeared after the Wagner Group's mutiny, the state news agency RIA reports. RIA cited an unnamed source as saying: "Ex-chief of the Russian air and space forces Sergey Surovikin has now been relieved of his post while Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, head of the main staff of the air force, is temporarily acting as commander-in-chief of the air force." According to British military intelligence, Afzalov was previously deputy to Surovikin and has been chief of staff of the air force for at least four years. During the June 23-24 Wagner revolt, Surovikin, who once led Russia's overall war effort in Ukraine, appeared in a video urging the mercenary group's boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, to drop his march on Moscow. Since then, some Russian and foreign news outlets have said Surovikin was being investigated for possible complicity in the revolt and being held under house arrest. (10:16 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has told a summit of the five-nation BRICS group that Moscow wants to end a war that has been "unleashed by the West and its satellites" in Ukraine. Putin spoke by video link to the leaders of Brazil, India, China and South Africa meeting in Johannesburg about a war that Russia started when it invaded its neighbour in February last year. 13:10 GMT) Zelenskyy pledges to end Russia's occupation of the Crimea Peninsula and all other areas that Moscow controls in Ukraine. "Crimea will be de-occupied like all other parts of Ukraine that are unfortunately still under the occupier," he told an international conference attended by more than 60 countries. (15:51 GMT) The Ukrainian intelligence agency claims it destroyed a key Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system in occupied Crimea. On Telegram, the agency said Russia has a "limited number" of the systems and that the loss "is a painful blow." Moscow officials made no immediate comment. The long-range S-400 missiles can strike enemy aircraft and are regarded as one of the best such systems available. (17:01 GMT) Ukraine has said that Russian attacks on its sea and river ports destroyed 270,000 tonnes of grain in one month, as Moscow continues to pound its export infrastructure. (18:17 GMT) Eight bodies were found at the crash site of a private jet on which Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger, Russian state news agency RIA reports, citing the emergency services. According to the agency on Wednesday, search and rescue operations at the crash site are continuing. There was no confirmation that Prigozhin was on board the plane that crashed north of Moscow, although Russia's aviation agency said he was on the passenger list. Earlier, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement that 10 people had been on board the private Embraer Legacy aircraft, travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg. 20230824 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-547 Prigozhin plane crash * Russian aviation authorities said Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Russian mercenary force Wagner, was on the passenger list of an Embraer private jet that crashed on its way from Moscow to St Petersburg. * Top Wagner commander Dmitry Utkin was also on the list of passengers. * The aircraft plunged into a field near the village of Kuzhenkino in the Tver region, some 300km north of Moscow, killing all 10 people on board. Russian state media said all the bodies had been recovered. * The crash took place exactly two months after Prigozhin led a short-lived mutiny by his Wagner group. Under a deal to end the rebellion, Wagner was to relocate to Belarus where Prigozhin was supposed to go into exile. * The Embraer Legacy 600 executive jet had the registration RA-02795 and was the same plane in which Prigozhin flew to Belarus after the mutiny, Reuters reported. Fighting * Russian state news agency RIA reported Sergey Surovikin, nicknamed "General Armageddon", had been removed as head of the country's air and space forces, and replaced with Colonel General Viktor Afzalov. Surovikin has not been seen in public since the Wagner Group mutiny. * Russia's defence ministry said it brought down three drones, thwarting another alleged Ukrainian attack on Moscow. One of the drones collided with a building under construction in the central business district as it fell, and flights at Moscow's airports were suspended temporarily. No casualties were reported. * Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said at least four people were killed and four injured in a Russian attack on a school in the northeastern city of Romny. The four who died all worked at the school and included its director and deputy director. * The Ukrainian military and local authorities said Russia attacked Ukraine's southern Odesa and the Danube river regions, a key area for grain exports, with drones causing fires in the grain facilities. * Ukraine's Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said that Russian attacks on its sea and river ports had destroyed 270,000 tonnes of grain in one month. "Russia is systematically hitting grain tanks and warehouses to stop agricultural exports," Kubrakov said on social media. * Ukrainian forces raised the national flag in the settlement of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhia region. "A historic day! Soldiers of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade set up the flag of Ukraine in the village of Robotyne, in one of the hottest destinations - Melitopol," the brigade said in a post on its Telegram channel. * The Ukrainian intelligence agency said it destroyed a key Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system in occupied Crimea. There was no comment from Moscow. * The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has been evacuating people from the city of Kupiansk, which has been under repeated shelling from Russian forces. Diplomacy * Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said BRICS countries were engaged with Ukrainian and Russian efforts to end the war, which he said had "highlighted the limitations of the UN Security Council". Speaking at the group's summit in Johannesburg, Lula reiterated his country's position of "defending sovereignty, territorial integrity". * Russian President Vladimir Putin, addressing the BRICS summit by video because of an international arrest warrant for alleged war crimes in Ukraine, said Moscow wanted to end the war, which he claimed had been "unleashed by the West and its satellites". Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told an international conference attended by more than 60 countries that Kyiv aimed to end Russia's occupation of the Crimea Peninsula and the other areas of Ukraine it had taken. "Crimea will be de-occupied like all other parts of Ukraine that are unfortunately still under the occupier," Zelenskyy said. Russia annexed Crimea in 2014. ... (07:45 GMT) German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed her disappointment with the effect of the sanctions against Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. "Actually, economic sanctions should have an economic impact. But they don't. Because the logic of democracies does not work in autocracies," she said in an interview with journalist Stephan Lamby for a newly published book. The book "Ernstfall. Regieren in Zeiten des Krieges," which translates as "Emergency. Governing in Times of War," examines the German government's response to the war in Ukraine and will be published on Thursday. "We have seen that this war cannot be ended with rational decisions, rational measures that you take between civilized governments," Baerbock told Lamby. 20230825 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-548 Prigozhin plane crash * Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his condolences over the crash of the plane carrying Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin from Moscow to St Petersburg. Speaking at the Kremlin, Putin described Prigozhin as a "talented businessman" and a man who had "made serious mistakes" but "achieved the right results". He said the investigation into the crash would continue "until the end". * Putin said that the day before the crash, Prigozhin had returned from Africa, where Wagner has extensive operations. *The US Department of Defense said there was currently no information to suggest that a surface-to-air missile had brought down the plane. Some early intelligence reports suggested an explosion caused the crash, which took place two months to the day that Prigozhin launched Wagner's short-lived mutiny. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine was not involved in the crash of the plane. * A makeshift memorial was set up near Wagner's former headquarters in St Petersburg. A few dozen people laid flowers, lit candles and left memorabilia bearing the Wagner group's skull logo. Fighting * Ukraine's military intelligence said Kyiv carried out a "special military operation" in Russian-occupied Crimea, in which armed forces personnel landed on the Crimean peninsula. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Hanna Maliar, Ukraine's deputy defence minister, said the situation on the eastern front lines was "tense and very dynamic", noting active fighting around Bakhmut and Kupyan. "We are gradually advancing even in the face of desperate enemy resistance," she added. * The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said the country's troops had made advances in the directions of Bakhmut and Melitopol as a part of Kyiv's counteroffensive. * At least seven people were injured in a Russian missile attack on Dnipro, with six of them taken to hospital. Residential buildings, water and gas pipes were also damaged, according to Governor Serhiy Lysak. * Ukraine intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said Ukraine destroyed two TU-22 bombers and damaged another two in attacks on Russian airfields earlier in the week. * Russian air defence systems shot down three Ukrainian drones over Russian territory, the defence ministry in Moscow said. There were no initial reports of casualties or damage to property. * Ukraine marked its independence day with President Zelenskyy praising Ukrainians for their courage. "In this fight, everyone counts," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. On social media, the country's Ministry of Defence shared what it said was a "marathon of gratitude" towards Ukraine's allies for their support in the war against Russia. * The United Nations criticised targeted attacks on civilians in the Ukraine conflict. "In recent weeks, dozens of civilians have been killed in attacks," UN Political Affairs Envoy Rosemary DiCarlo told the UN Security Council in New York. * Britain's Ministry of Defence said Putin made "a rare visit to Southern Military District HQ at Rostov-on-Don, approximately 160km from the front line". The visit took place on August 19 and is where Russia runs its war in Ukraine. Diplomacy * A Russian court sentenced Russian blogger and political activist Maxim Katz to eight years in jail after he was accused of spreading "fake news" about the Russian army and the Ukraine war. Katz, who left Russia after Moscow invaded Ukraine, regularly criticises the conflict on his YouTube channel, which has more than 1.8 million subscribers. * A Moscow court extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by three months, according to the Interfax news agency. Gershkovic, 31, is accused of espionage. * The United States imposed new sanctions over what rights organisations have called the forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children. The sanctions apply to 11 Russian individuals, including a number of "children's rights" regional commissioners, as well as the Artek "summer camp" in Russian-annexed Crimea and an alleged re-education camp for children in Chechnya. Weapons * Pat Ryder, a spokesman at the US Department of Defense, said the US military will bring Ukrainian pilots to the United States for F-16 fighter jet training. The pilots will start English classes from next month with flights to begin in October. * Norway has decided to donate F-16 combat aircraft to Ukraine, according to a report from Norwegian broadcaster TV2, in a move welcomed by Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the president of Ukraine * Lithuania's Ministry of National Defence announced a military package for Ukraine worth 41 million euros ($44m) to mark Ukraine's independence day. ,,, (06:11 GMT) Russia's air defence forces destroyed 42 Ukraine-launched drones over the Crimean peninsula and one missile over the Kaluga region, the Russian defence ministry said. The ministry said nine drones were destroyed by air defence forces while 33 were suppressed by electronic warfare and crashed over Crimea without reaching their targets. (14:16 GMT) Russian air defences have thwarted a Ukrainian missile attack in the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow, and several drones have been destroyed off Crimea, Russian authorities say. 20230826 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-549 Fighting * Russian shelling of Kherson city killed one person and injured three, including a child, Kherson's regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Sixteen Russian shells hit the city, including a residential area, he said. * are regrouping in the Moscow-controlled eastern parts of Ukraine in order to conduct an offensive, the commander of the Ukrainian military's ground forces Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said. * s foreign intelligence chief Sergey Naryshkin said the failure of Ukraine's counteroffensive was "obvious". * its air defences thwarted a rare Ukrainian missile attack on the Kaluga region southwest of Moscow. * defence forces downed 42 Ukraine drones over the Crimean peninsula. The defence ministry in Moscow said nine Ukrainian drones were destroyed while 33 drones were suppressed by electronic means and did not reach their targets. * navy said it attacked Ukrainian port infrastructure, the state-owned TASS news agency reported, citing the defence ministry. * the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley said Ukraine is dealing with tough Russian resistance in its slow-moving counteroffensive, including minefields, tank ditches and dragon's teeth antitank obstacles, which Russia had months to prepare. * the head of its State Emergency Service after an internal inspection, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko wrote on Telegram. Klymenko gave no reasons for the dismissal but said it followed an internal inspection of the service. Yevgeny Prigozhin and Wagner fighters * recovered flight recorders and 10 bodies from the scene of the plane crash thought to have killed Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin two days ago. "Molecular genetic analyses" will be carried out to establish the identities of the dead, Russia's Investigative Committee said. * dismissed accusations it ordered the assassination of Prigozhin. "There is a lot of speculation around the plane crash and the tragic death of the passengers, including Yevgeny Prigozhin ... All this is an absolute lie," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. * s foreign ministry blasted US President Joe Biden for saying he was not "surprised" that Prigozhin was presumed dead in a plane crash. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said Biden's remarks were indicative of Washington's disregard for diplomacy. * Alexander Lukashenko said Wagner mercenaries could remain in his country, following the presumed death of their leader, Prigozhin. "Wagner lived, is alive, and will live in Belarus," Lukashenko was cited as saying by the state-run news agency BelTA. * he doubted that Putin was behind the plane crash that reportedly killed Prigozhin, maintaining that it was too "unprofessional" for the Russian president. "He is a calculating, very calm and even a slow person in making decisions on other, less complicated issues, so I can't imagine that Putin did it ... It's too rough," he said. * announced that Russian paramilitary fighters must now swear an oath to the Russian flag. * Peskov said the Wagner group made a "big contribution" to Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, but the force had no formal legal existence after the death of Prigozhin. Regional security * channels linked to Wagner said a leading mercenary was arrested in Finland at Ukraine's request. Yan Petrovsky, who has fought in Ukraine since 2014 as part of Rusich, or the Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group, a Wagner subunit, was arrested a month ago, according to reports. * are investigating the attempted murder of Berlin-based Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko after she was one of three exiled Russian journalists who experienced symptoms consistent with poisoning. Sanctions * been made for the resignation of Estonia's Prime Minister Kaja Kallas after it emerged that a company partly owned by her husband was continuing to operate in Russia. Black Sea grain exports * Volodymyr Zelenskyy met Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Kyiv and discussed the Black Sea grain deal that Russia abandoned last month. * US official said there are viable routes to export Ukrainian grain through Ukraine's territorial waters and overland to neighbouring countries. * s foreign minister Fidan said he saw "no alternative" to the original grain agreement Ukraine struck with Russia, dismissing an alternate route reportedly being considered by the US. Trade * Heineken announced it was pulling out of Russia after selling its operations to the Arnest Group, the largest Russian manufacturer of cosmetics, household goods and metal packaging. * Minister Robert Telus said Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia support extending a European Union ban on Ukrainian grain imports until the end of the year. In May, the EU allowed Ukraine's five neighbours to ban domestic sales of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed and sunflower seeds until September 15. Diplomacy * to convince G20 members to find solutions to geopolitical issues, including the Russia-Ukraine war, Delhi's G20 negotiator Amitabh Kant said ahead of the summit in India next month. * said Putin has no plans to attend the G20 summit in India in September in person. ... (08:47 GMT) Ukrainian forces believe they have broken through the most difficult line of Russian defences in the south and will now be able to advance more quickly, a commander fighting in the south told the news agency Reuters. Ukrainian forces said on Wednesday they had raised the national flag in the settlement of Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, about 10km south of the frontline town of Orikhiv. They also reported successes around the village of Mala Tokmachka. ~/photos/events/20230826_melitopol_robotyne_and_mala_tokmacha.png The commander using the the nom de guerre "Kombat" said "Next we have (the town of) Berdiansk, and then more. I made it clear to my fighters at once: our goal is not Robotyne, our goal is (the Sea of) Azov." "We have passed the main roads that were mined. We are coming to those lines where we can go (forward). I'm sure we'll go faster from here." Kombat said Ukrainian troops had now entered territories where there were only "Russian logistics" groups, and where he made clear he did not expect Russian defences to be as difficult to break through. The UK Ministry of Defence says that Russian forces can be expected to push in the northeast of Ukraine, where they have made some small advances in recent weeks. (09:51 GMT) Russia's Northern Fleet has conducted navy exercises in the Barents Sea this month aimed at preventing the passage of unauthorised and foreign ships, the Interfax news agency reported on Saturday. The drills began on August 10, but Interfax stated no end date. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barents_Sea (11:06 GMT) Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy secretary of the Kremlin's Security Council, claimed Russia's opponents in the West are ignoring signals from Moscow and pushing everyone towards a third world war in an interview with TASS and RT. "Frankly speaking, it would have definitely been better if they had heard them [the signals]. In any case, the world would not have to face the threat of World War III. In fact, this is where our opponents are actively pushing everyone," he is quoted as saying. (16:37 GMT) Three Ukrainian pilots have died after two L-39 trainer aircraft collided in midair in central Ukraine, the country's air force has said. The loss of three pilots will be a blow to Ukraine, which is about to undertake a huge effort to quickly train up its air crews on Western-donated F-16 fighter jets, up to 61 of which have been pledged to Kyiv. (17:40 GMT) GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy is drawing negative feedback about his foreign policy ideas, notably his argument that the US should stop providing arms and funding to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion. Ramaswamy has said that he was trying to protect Ukraine by seeking an ending in which Russia would retain territory it took by force. "I personally think that actually is the best, reasonable outcome for Ukraine. At least it comes out with its sovereignty intact - and saving a lot of Ukrainian lives in the process," he told reporters when asked about the criticism. "That's the best case, realistic scenario for Ukraine." (19:45 GMT) German magazine Der Spiegel has published a lengthy and detailed investigation into the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline. It cites German investigators - who are undertaking "the most important investigation of Germany's postwar history because of its potential political implications" - and reported that "a striking number of clues point to Ukraine". "According to Der Spiegel's sources, investigators are certain that the saboteurs were in Ukraine before and after the attack. Indeed, the overall picture formed by the puzzles pieces of technical information has grown quite clear. And the possible motives also seem clear to international security circles: The aim, they says, was to deprive Moscow of an important source of revenue for financing the war against Ukraine. And at the same time to deprive Putin once and for all of his most important instrument of blackmail against the German government." 20230827 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-550 Fighting * A Ukrainian commander fighting in the south said he believes Ukrainian forces have broken through the most difficult Russian defensive line and will now be able to advance more quickly. "We don't stop here," said the commander, who led some of the troops into the village of Robotyne and uses the nom de guerre "Kombat". "Next we have (the town of) Berdiansk, and then more. I made it clear to my fighters at once: our goal is not Robotyne, our goal is [the Sea of] Azov." * The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said that Ukrainian forces were pushing forward in the Zaporizhia region after taking Robotyne earlier this week. The ISW also cited pro-Kremlin military bloggers expressing concern over a lack of Russian reinforcements and troop locations in the area. * Three Ukrainian pilots were killed after two L-39 trainer aircraft collided in midair in central Ukraine, the country's air force said in a statement. Among the dead was Andrii Pilshchykov, one of the country's most well-known fighter pilots. * Two people were killed and a third wounded when Russian shelling hit a cafe in the village of Podoly in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, according to local governor Oleh Syniehubov. * Russia said air defences brought down a drone over Moscow in an attack that forced authorities to briefly shut down all three major airports serving the capital. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, accused Ukraine of using "cluster munitions" in an attack on the town of Urazovo, about 10km from the border, that injured six people. * Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered fighters from the mercenary Wagner group to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state. The introduction of a mandatory oath for all private military contractors is seen as a clear move to bring such groups under tighter state control. * German magazine Der Spiegel published a lengthy and detailed investigation into the attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines in the weeks following Russia's full-scale invasion, saying that "a striking number of clues point to Ukraine". Diplomacy * Ukraine's foreign ministry condemned as "categorically unacceptable" any continuation of European Union import restrictions on its grain when the current ban expires on September 15. There is particular opposition in Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary towards Ukrainian grain imports due to fears they could undercut local farmers. * Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov reiterated Moscow's intention to maintain ties with Iran, after a report Washington had asked Tehran to stop selling drones to Moscow. "There are no changes and cooperation with Iran will continue," Ryabkov said, according to a report from Russian state news agency RIA. "We are independent states and do not succumb to the dictates of the United States and its satellites." * Finland arrested an alleged member of an extreme right-wing military sub-unit of the Wagner mercenary force on charges of participation in a "terrorist group" following a request from Ukraine, according to Finnish public broadcaster Yle. Finnish police are requesting that the 36-year-old Russian national, identified as Yan Petrovsky, be detained in preparation for his extradition. * German prosecutors said they were investigating whether Russian journalist Elena Kostyuchenko, who is now living in hiding, was the victim of an attempted murder when she became ill last October. Kostyuchenko was one of three Russian independent journalists who were apparently poisoned while abroad in a similar period. * Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appealed against a Russian court's decision to extend his pre-trial detention by three months, according to documents published by a Moscow court. The 31-year-old US citizen was arrested in March on espionage charges, which he has denied. * New Zealand Immigration Minister Andrew Little said the country would offer a new pathway to residency for people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Permanent residency will be available to people who travel to New Zealand on the temporary Special Ukraine Visa before March 15 next year, Little said. 20230828 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-551 Prigozhin plane crash * Russian Investigative Committee spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said genetic testing of the 10 bodies recovered from the site of last week's plane crash confirmed that Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was among the dead. Fighting * Russia launched an overnight cruise missile attack on Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine. While Ukraine's air defence systems intercepted the incoming missiles, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said falling debris damaged a dozen private homes and wounded two people. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces shot down two drones overnight in the Bryansk and Kursk regions bordering Ukraine. The drones, the ministry said, were launched by "the Kyiv regime" in "yet another attempt at terrorist attacks" on Russian soil. * The Ukrainian army said it was continuing to advance after breaking through the Russian defence line near Robotyne, a settlement in the southern Zaporizhia region. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said their next target was the nearby village of Novoprokopivka. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence, in its daily intelligence update, highlighted heightened tension in the Black Sea, where it said there had been skirmishes between maritime and air forces around strategically important oil and gas platforms. * Ukrainian authorities began an investigation into a collision between two warplanes in the west of the country that killed three pilots,x including Andrii Pilshchykov - better known by his call sign "Juice" and an outspoken advocate for Ukraine getting F-16 fighter jets. Ukraine's Air Force spokesperson Yuri Ihnat said it was not immediately clear how long the investigation would take. * Relatives of soldiers captured by Russian forces after the weeks-long siege of the eastern port city of Mariupol held a rally marking 500 days since they were taken. The families demanded that the Ukrainian authorities bring their loved ones home. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he would ask parliament this week to increase penalties for those found guilty of corruption during wartime. His proposals would "equate corruption with high treason in wartime," Zelenskyy said. Diplomacy * Ukraine's reconstruction ministry said a second cargo ship stuck in the port of Odesa had left via a temporary humanitarian corridor set up after Russia pulled out of the United Nations-backed Black Sea grain deal guaranteeing safe passage to vessels carrying Ukrainian exports. * Zelenskyy promised to keep his country on the international agenda, saying he is banking on having a "productive September" that brings in new pledges of military aid and fresh diplomatic offensives to punish Russia. Zelenskyy said he expected to receive more artillery, armoured vehicles, missiles and mine-clearance equipment from Ukraine's Western allies. "Each partner is aware of our needs. We are expecting decisions," he wrote on Telegram. * Zelenskyy said he appreciated the United States's decision to sanction Russian entities suspected of taking part in the deportation of Ukrainian children from Russian-occupied parts of the country, calling it an "important step". The US announced sanctions on 13 people and entities it said were connected with the forced deportations last Thursday. ... (15:12 GMT) The head of the world's nuclear watchdog says Ukraine's offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region has increased the risk to Europe's largest nuclear power plant, Russia's Tass news agency reports. "As you know, there is a counteroffensive going on now, which has been concentrated in the Zaporizhzhia region in recent days. I'm talking about the region, not the station itself. This, of course, increases the likelihood of an attack on the station or damage to it," the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, said at a Swedish Institute of International Affairs event. Grossi said any accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would affect neighbouring countries and Europe as a whole. (17:44 GMT) Russia has scrambled two fighter jets to ward off two US drones flying over the Black Sea near Russia-annexed Crimea, the Russian Ministry of Defence says. It said the drones were conducting intelligence but left the area once the fighter jets were deployed. 20230829 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-events-day-552 Fighting * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the country's armed forces had broken through Russian defences in the southeastern village of Robotyne. "Robotyne has been liberated," she said, adding that troops were trying to push further south in their counteroffensive against Russian forces. * At least three people were killed in an overnight Russian missile strike on Ukraine and two more in shelling, Ukrainian officials said. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said three people were killed and five injured after a factory in the Poltava region was hit with a missile. One person remains unaccounted for. The shelling killed two villagers in settlements in the south and east of the country. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said Russia scrambled two fighter jets to ward off two United States reconnaissance drones flying over the Black Sea near Crimea. Separately, Russian state-run news agency TASS said air defence systems shot down two drones over Crimea. Moscow invaded and later annexed the peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. * Russian air defences destroyed a drone approaching Moscow and two others in a region near the Ukrainian border, according to Russian authorities. The drone coming at Moscow prompted a brief suspension of flights at its Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports. Diplomacy * Russia's FSB security service charged a former employee at the US consulate in Moscow with collecting information on the war in Ukraine and other issues for Washington. The FSB also said it planned to question the Moscow-based US diplomats who worked with Robert Shonov, who is a Russian citizen. * The US State Department said the charges were without merit and that the FSB's plan to question US diplomats breached the Vienna Convention. "We strongly protest the Russian security services' attempts - furthered by Russia's state-controlled media - to intimidate and harass our employees," spokesperson Matthew Miller, said in a statement. * According to the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, a 60-year-old man has been charged for suspected collusion with Russia. The unnamed man, who was detained last November, was charged with one case of gross illegal intelligence activities against Sweden, one case of gross illegal intelligence activities against a foreign power and one point of unlawful intelligence activities. The man, a dual Swedish-Russian national, is suspected of working for the Russians since 2013. * Russian President Vladimir Putin will skip the Group of 20 (G20) summit in India next month and send his foreign minister instead, according to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's office. The two men earlier spoke on the phone, the Kremlin said, discussing issues including trade, energy and space cooperation. * A second cargo ship from Ukraine arrived in Istanbul along a "humanitarian corridor" set up by Ukraine after Russia pulled out of the UN-brokered Black Sea grain deal in July. Since withdrawing from the agreement, Russia has attacked Ukrainian port infrastructure and warned that it may consider any ships in the Black Sea as military targets. The new humanitarian corridor hugs the Black Sea coast of Romania and Bulgaria. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will hold talks in Moscow "in the nearest future", Russia's TASS news agency reported, citing Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova. Turkey is trying to persuade Russia to return to the Black Sea grain deal. * Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski said Warsaw and the Baltic states will close their borders with Belarus entirely if there is a "critical incident" involving Wagner mercenaries. European Union members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland all share a border with Belarus and have been increasingly concerned about security since hundreds of Russian Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko. * European Council President Charles Michel said the EU should get ready to admit new members from Eastern Europe and the Balkans by 2030. Weapons * Russia has probably cancelled this year's military ZAPAD exercise due to a shortage of troops and equipment, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said in its daily intelligence update. The drills, the culmination of the military training year, were scheduled for September. ... (17:30 GMT) US announces new military assistance package for Ukraine US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a new package of military assistance to aid Ukraine. The package includes additional mine clearing equipment, missiles for air defence, ammunition for artillery and high bar systems, and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition, Blinken said in a statement. 20230830 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-553 Prigozhin plane crash * Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin was buried in a cemetery in the northeast of his hometown of St Petersburg after a private funeral, according to his press service. The mercenary group's logistics chief Valery Chekalov was also buried in the northern city. The two were among 10 people killed when Prigozhin's private jet crashed last week. * The United States came close to declaring the Kremlin responsible for Prigozhin's death. "We all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Fighting * The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) said that 9,511 civilians have been killed and 17,206 people injured since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. It added that 2,115 civilians had been recorded as killed in parts of Ukraine occupied by Russian forces but said the actual figure was likely to be considerably higher given access to information has been delayed in some locations where intense hostilities have been going on. * A farmer in the southern Kherson region was killed after he drove his tractor over a Russian landmine, according to the regional administration. "Many fields of the Kherson region are mined," authorities said. * A 45-year-old man in Kupiansk was killed in Russian artillery shelling. A 67-year-old man was also wounded by shrapnel, according to local authorities. * Ukraine bade farewell to legendary fighter pilot Andriy Pilshchykov, known by his call sign "Juice", who was killed with two other pilots during a training flight last week. A Ukrainian flag was draped over 29-year-old Pilshchykov's coffin and his cap placed on top. * Russian forces shot down two Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea, the Russian state RIA news agency reported citing the Ministry of Defence. They also shot down three Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Tula and Belgorod. * The mission of Ukraine's president in Russian-occupied Crimea said that Moscow was preparing to start a new round of mobilisation for the Russian army in the territory. * The United Kingdom's defence ministry said Russia had boosted salaries and benefits for its soldiers making military service "increasingly lucrative". In its daily intelligence update, it said many junior ranks were now earning more than 200,000 roubles ($2,095) a month, more than 2.7 times the national average. Diplomacy * South Korea unveiled a new financial aid package of 520 billion won ($394m) for Ukraine next year, an eightfold increase from this year. The package includes support for reconstruction and humanitarian aid. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida talked on the phone with Tokyo reiterating its support for Kyiv. Zelenskyy invited Kishida to a Global Peace Summit that Kyiv plans to host before the end of the year. * The Kremlin said that a schedule for "bilateral Russian-Chinese contacts" was being worked out after reports Russian President Vladimir Putin would travel to China for October's Belt and Road Forum. Weapons * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a new package of military assistance for Ukraine. The deal includes additional mine-clearing equipment, missiles for air defence, ammunition for artillery and high bar systems, and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition. * Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, said Russia wants to produce 1,300 Shahed drones by the end of 2023, according to a report by Ukraine's national news agency Ukrinform. * The German news magazine Der Spiegel reported German investigators had arrested the boss of a company suspected of selling electronic components used in Russia's Orlan-10 drones, which have enabled Russia's precise aiming at Ukrainian soldiers. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/30/airport-in-western-russia-attacked-by-drones-aircraft-damaged-reports Russian transport aircraft have been reported damaged in a drone attack on an airport in Russia's western city of Pskov - located near the borders of Latvia and Estonia - where explosions, a large blaze and gunfire were reported. TASS, quoting emergency services, said early on Wednesday morning that four Il-76 heavy transport aircraft, which have long been the workhorse of the Russian military, were damaged at the airfield in Pskov, located roughly 800km from the border with Ukraine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pskov originally Pleskov (08:09 GMT) Last night's Ukrainian attack in Western Russia was the "most brazen" one by Kyiv since the start of the so-called special military operation which began last February, according to Al Jazeera's Dorsa Jabbari. (08:11 GMT) According to Al Jazeera's correspondent Dorsa Jabbari, Russia's foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova termed Kyiv's attack in Western Russia "a dead end for the Ukrainian authorities". "The agony of the Kyiv regime of stupid hatred, anger and the absence of any prospects in their own development has led to this terrorist act," Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday. (09:48 GMT) Russia's foreign ministry says a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian territory overnight "will not go unpunished". Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that the drones, some of which struck an airbase in Pskov, 600km from Ukraine, could not have covered such distances without information from Western countries. ... (19:35 GMT) EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has urged member countries to order more ammunition for Ukraine, as figures showed the bloc is a long way from a March target of giving Kyiv a million artillery shells within 12 months. 20230831 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-554 Fighting * Ukrainian officials said at least two people were killed and two injured in a "massive" Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv. Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhail Podolyak, said the targeting of the capital with more than two dozen Russian cruise missiles and 15 drones was a "deliberate attack on the civilian population". * Ukrainian drones swept across western Russia, targeting at least six regions, according to Russian officials. At the military airbase in Pskov, 600km from Ukraine, the state-run TASS news agency said four Il-76 transport aircraft, long the workhorse of the Russian military, were damaged. Two of them "burst into flames", it added. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces destroyed four military boats carrying as many as 50 members of the Ukrainian special forces who were operating in the Black Sea. It did not reveal where the incident took place. * Six members of the Ukrainian armed forces were killed in an incident involving two helicopters while they were on a mission in Russian occupied territory near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, the military said. * The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence said more than 20,000 of its soldiers had been trained in Britain since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion 18 months ago. Diplomacy * Russia's foreign ministry said Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan will discuss a potential alternative to the Black Sea grain deal when they meet for talks on Thursday and Friday. The proposal would allow Moscow to send one million tonnes of grain - at a discounted price - to Turkey, where it would be processed and delivered to the countries most in need. The Black Sea deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey allowed Ukraine to export grain from its southern ports, while a separate agreement minimised the impact of sanctions on the export of Russian food and fertiliser. Russia withdrew from the agreement in July. * European Union countries increased imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia compared with before the Ukraine war. Civil society group Global Witness found that in the first seven months of the year, EU countries imported 40 percent more Russian LNG on tankers than in the same period in 2021 despite the bloc's commitment to ending its reliance on Russian fossil fuels by 2027. * Poland's parliament gave the go-ahead for a "Russian influence" panel to begin work, despite EU and US concerns it could be used against opposition politicians. The conservative majority elected nine members to the panel in a vote boycotted by all opposition parties, which refused to put forward candidates for the posts, calling it "illegal" and "anti-constitutional". No date was given for when the panel would become operational. Poland is one of Ukraine's staunchest allies. * Social media platforms, including TikTok and Twitter, renamed X by owner Elon Musk, failed to effectively tackle Russian disinformation online during the first year of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, according to an independent study for the EU. As well as TikTok and X, the report focused on risks from pro-Kremlin disinformation on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Telegram. "The reach and influence of Kremlin-backed accounts has grown further in the first half of 2023, driven in particular by the dismantling of Twitter's safety standards," the report warned. * Lithuania summoned the Vatican's top diplomat after Pope Francis last week told Russian youths to remember they are the heirs of "the great Russian empire". On Tuesday, the Vatican said Pope Francis did not intend to glorify Russian imperialism in the speech, where he also praised Peter the Great and Catherine II. * The Badminton World Federation said Russian and Belarusian athletes would be allowed to return to international badminton competitions from next February and compete as "neutral" athletes. Weapons * The United States urged Pyongyang not to sell Russia weapons that Moscow can use for its war in Ukraine amid increasing concern about potential arms deals between the two countries. * EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell urged member countries to order more ammunition for Ukraine, as figures showed the bloc is a long way from a March target of giving million artillery shells within 12 months. Prigozhin plane crash * The Kremlin said investigators are considering all causes for the plane crash that killed Wagner mercenary chief and some of his top commanders, including that it may have been "deliberate". ... (05:45 GMT) Air defence forces in Voskresensky district, about 60 kilometres from the capital, "destroyed a drone flying towards Moscow", the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on the Telegram messaging app. (06:58 GMT) The UK Ministry of Defence states that Russian air defences are likely finding it difficult to detect and destroy the UAVs entering Russia's airspace frequently. (07:17 GMT) Germany published an extensive list of equipment and weapons on Wednesday that it would provide to Ukraine. In the statement, the Federal Government said the funding for the security capacity building initiative would amount to 5.4 billion euros ($5.9bn) for 2023 - after 2 billion euros ($2.2bn) for 2022 - and additional authorisations to enter commitments in the following years amounting to 10.5 billion euros ($11.4bn). The list included 20 Leopard battle tanks, patriot missiles and over a hundred surveillance drones. (13:59 GMT) A new Ukrainian-made long-range weapon has successfully reached a target 700km away, the country's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. It is not yet clear when the attack was carried out or what exactly the target was. (14:35 GMT) Sam Newey, 22, a British volunteer who was fighting on the front line in Ukraine, has been killed according to his brother. "I cannot put into words how broken I feel. I also cannot emphasise how proud I am of my little brother. He'd just turned 21 when he decided to answer the call and travel to Ukraine to push back against Russian Imperialism," Dan said in a post on Facebook. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/1/ukrainian-drones-hit-russias-kursk-region-moscow-repels-attack-governors Two Ukrainian drones attacked the Russian town of Kurchatov in the Kursk region, damaging administrative and residential buildings, while a third drone was shot down near Moscow, local officials said. oscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported early on Friday that Russian air defences had shot down a drone that was approaching the capital city. The drone was downed near Lyubertsy, located approximately 20km southeast of central Moscow, he wrote on Telegram. No further details were available.oscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin also reported early on Friday that Russian air defences had shot down a drone that was approaching the capital city. The drone was downed near Lyubertsy, located approximately 20km southeast of central Moscow, he wrote on Telegram. No further details were available. 20230901 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-555 Fighting * A new Ukrainian-made long-range weapon has successfully reached a target 700km away, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said without providing details of the attack or when it was carried out. * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said logistical support to Russia's military personnel continues to deteriorate and food supplies to individual military units in occupied areas of Ukraine have been restricted. * Al Jazeera's defence editor Alex Gatopoulos said that a critical juncture has been reached in Ukraine's months-long counteroffensive. Ukrainian forces have slowly edged south in the Zaporizhia region, taking hamlet after hamlet as Russian forces try to keep them at bay. * Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said that calls to avoid attacks on Russian territory were "strange" and would only "encourage Russia to continue its aggression ... Nevertheless, Ukraine strictly adheres to the obligation not to use the weapons of its partners to strike Russian territory," he said. * Russian air defences destroyed a drone approaching Moscow in Voskresensky district, about 60km from the capital, the city's mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. * Six members of the Ukrainian armed forces were killed in an incident involving two helicopters, which were also destroyed, while on a mission in eastern Ukraine. The circumstances of the incident were not revealed by Ukraine's military. * The governor of Russia's Bryansk region said that two Ukrainian "saboteurs" were killed and five captured during an incursion into the region. Three of those captured were wounded, Governor Alexander Bogomaz, said. * Russian anti-aircraft units destroyed a Ukrainian drone as it flew over the Bryansk region, Russia's defence ministry said. * UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he does not expect peace in Ukraine anytime soon. "I would, of course, be lying if I would say that I believe that we are seeing in the immediate horizon the possibility of peace in Ukraine," he said. * Kyiv's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said 800m hryvnias ($21.7m) would be allocated to build fortifications and other urgent military needs in the Ukrainian capital. * Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov could be replaced, according to a report by local news outlet Ukrainska Pravda which cited local government sources. Rustem Umerov, the chairman of Ukraine's state property fund, could be his replacement. * United Kingdom volunteer fighter in Ukraine Sam Newey, 22, was killed in fighting on the front line, his brother said. "He'd just turned 21 when he decided to answer the call and travel to Ukraine to push back against Russian Imperialism," Dan Newey said in a post on Facebook. * Russia's Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin spoke about threats to his security before his death last week in a plane crash. "For those who are discussing whether I'm alive or not, how I'm doing - right now it's the weekend, second half of August 2023. I'm in Africa," Prigozhin said in a newly surfaced video published by the Grey Zone Telegram channel, which is linked to his Wagner Group. "So for people who like to discuss wiping me out, or my private life, how much I earn or whatever else - everything is OK," he said. * Co-founder and military commander of Wagner Dimitry Utkin was buried near Moscow following his death in a plane crash that also killed his boss Prigozhin. Utkin, 53, whose call sign was "Wagner", gave the private army its name. He was buried in Mytishchi on the outskirts of Moscow. Diplomacy * Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said that the European Union should stop saying it would "support Ukraine for as long as it takes", and replace it with "supporting Ukraine to its victory". * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he met with Spain's Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares and discussed "Ukraine's EU accession talks" and "expanding Spain's much-appreciated military aid to Ukraine". * Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia's Sochi resort on September 4. The two leaders will discuss the fallout from the war in Ukraine as well as the scuttled agreement that had allowed the export of Ukrainian grain via the Black Sea, Reuters news agency reported. Regional security * More than 40 flights were delayed at Moscow's Vnukovo and Domodedovo airports, the Kommersant daily reported, with no reason given for the delays. Moscow airports have in recent weeks suspended flights repeatedly due to reported Ukrainian drone attacks on the capital city. * Russia's defence ministry has said that a Russian MiG-31 fighter jet was deployed after a Norwegian P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft approached Russia's borders from the Barents Sea. "When a Russian fighter aircraft approached, the foreign military aircraft made a U-turn from the state border of the Russian Federation," the defence ministry said. * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said demands that he kick Wagner mercenary forces out of Belarus were "groundless and stupid", state news agency BelTA reported. * Ukraine's Zelenskyy said he met with Charles Woodburn, the CEO of BAE Systems, a UK multinational arms, security and aerospace company, adding that the company "is starting to operate in Ukraine". Military aid * Germany published a new list of weapons and other equipment to be provided to Ukraine, including 20 Leopard battle tanks, patriot missiles and over 100 surveillance drones. Black Sea grain exports * The Kremlin said food shortages in Africa have nothing to do with Russia, which pulled out of an agreement that allowed Ukraine to safely ship its grain across the Black Sea during the war. * Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said reviving the Black Sea grain deal was "critical" for food security during a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. * Russia's Lavrov said Moscow sees no sign it will receive the guarantees it requires before resuming the grain deal. Sanctions * India asked the United States to allow the release of $26m belonging to at least two Indian diamond firms that were frozen due to their alleged trade links with sanctioned Russian diamond mining firm Alrosa, Reuters news agency reported. * The UK government said financial services company Wise Payments has breached Russian sanctions regulations by making funds available to a company owned or controlled by a person on the sanctions list. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/1/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-no-peace-until-regions-freed-zelenskyy Zelenskyy said there could not be "sustainable peace" in Ukraine unless Kyiv regains control of Russian-occupied territories, including Crimea. (08:52 GMT) A Ukrainian drone hit Kurchatov, home to one of Russia's biggest nuclear power stations, but the plant was not damaged. Governor Roman Starovoit said the drone damaged the facade of a building a few kilometres from the Kursk nuclear power station. "There are no casualties," he said. The Soviet-era Kursk nuclear power station has the identical graphite-moderated reactors as the Chornobyl atomic plant. (12:59 GMT) Russia's Ministry of Defence says it has destroyed 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over western Russia. The ministry said, "281 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles were destroyed, including one Tu-141 Strizh, as well as 29 Ukrainian UAVs in the western regions of the Russian Federation." (15:34 GMT) The United States says it has seen notable progress by Ukrainian forces in Zaporizhzhia during the last 72 hours, the White House said "We have noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces ...in that southern line of advance coming out of the Zaporizhzhia area, and they have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defenses," White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. (17:46 GMT) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the annual gathering of world leaders at the United Nations in New York this month and take part in a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on September 20, Albania's UN ambassador, Ferit Hoxha, says. 20230902 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-556 Fighting * The United States says it has seen notable military progress by Ukraine's forces fighting in the Zaporizhia region over the last 72 hours. Ukrainian troops achieved "some success against that second line of Russian defences", White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said. * A recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia's Pskov region was carried out from within Russian territory, Ukraine's intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said. * The Pskov regional governor said Russian air defence units had "neutralised an unidentified object" spotted flying over the region, just days after a wave of Ukrainian drones destroyed military planes parked at an airfield in the region. * A Ukrainian drone hit a building in the Russian town of Kurchatov in the Kursk region, home to one of Russia's biggest nuclear power stations. The plant was not damaged in the attack. * Drone attacks on Russian territory will increase and recent events demonstrate that the war is gradually shifting to Russia, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said it destroyed 281 Ukrainian drones over the past week, including 29 over western Russia. * At least one person was killed and another wounded in Ukraine's Kherson region after Russian shelling. Kherson's governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russia had launched 61 attacks "firing 290 shells from mortars, artillery, tanks, grads, UAVs and aircraft". * Russia hit a private business with a long-range cruise missile in Ukraine's Vinnytsia region, wounding three people. Regional security * Russia's new Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are capable of carrying 10 or more nuclear warheads, had been put on combat duty, the head of Russia's space agency Roscosmos was reported to have said. * Any enterprises producing weapons used against Russian forces will become military targets, the Kremlin said after reports that United Kingdom defence contractor BAE Systems will establish a presence in Ukraine. * Belarus said a Polish military helicopter breached its airspace, a claim quickly denied by Poland. "These are lies and provocations from the Belarusian side. There was definitely no such violation," said Jacek Goryszewski, spokesman for the operational command of Poland's armed forces. * More than 2,000 troops from a Russia-led security alliance have started military exercises in parts of Belarus near the borders of Poland and Lithuania, which are both NATO members. Belarus's defence ministry said the exercises will continue until Wednesday. * Sweden's foreign minister said he remains hopeful that Turkey will ratify his country's NATO membership when Ankara's parliament reconvenes in October. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin said he will meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping soon. * Putin is scheduled to host his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan next week in the Black Sea resort of Sochi. * Russia plans to block the final declaration at the coming G20 summit unless it reflects Moscow's position on Ukraine and other issues, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said. Lavrov is scheduled to represent Russia at the September 9-10 Group of 20 (G20) meeting in New Delhi. * Invitations to ambassadors from Russia and Belarus to attend this year's Nobel Prize awards ceremony have sparked anger in Ukraine and elsewhere. * Sweden's prime minister Ulf Kristersson said he disagreed with the Nobel Foundation inviting the Russian ambassador to this year's Nobel Prize banquet. * Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Denmark's demand that it reduce its Copenhagen embassy's staff was an act of hostility. Denmark has capped the number of Russian diplomats allowed at the Copenhagen embassy to five and administrative staff to 20. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month and also take part in a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine. World leaders will gather in New York on September 18 for the UN General Assembly. Black sea shipping * Two more ships have departed the Russian-blockaded Odesa port on the Black Sea. If the port departures are successful, they would be the third and fourth vessels to do so since Moscow withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal in July. * Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said work has begun on providing free Russian grain to six African countries, amid criticism that Moscow was responsible for global grain shortages due to its blockade of Ukraine's sea ports. The plan is to supply up to 50 thousand tonnes of grain to six of the neediest countries in Africa. Sanctions * The Russian share of European Union trade fell below 2 percent in the second quarter of the year, new data shows. From March to June, Russia's share of EU goods trade was consistently below 2 percent, with Russian imports at 1.7 percent in June and exports at 1.4 percent. From 2002 to 2022 - prior to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions - Russia's share of EU imports was in the range of 7-10 percent, with exports approximately 4-6 percent. * Czech police are looking into a criminal complaint filed against Austria's Raiffeisenbank by a local citizens' rights group that accuses it of financing terrorism with its activities in Russia. Politics * Russia plans to allocate 1.9 trillion roubles ($20bn) over the next two and a half years to the development of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow annexed last year, Putin said. * Russia added respected Russian journalist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Dmitry Muratov to its list of foreign agents. Moscow also branded the nongovernmental organisation Free Buryatia as "undesirable", a label that criminalises the group and puts its staff at risk of prosecution. The organisation was created in March 2022 and focuses on the rights of mobilised Buryats, an ethnic minority in Siberia, and provides them with legal advice. 20230903 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-557 Fighting * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rebuffed Western officials who say Ukrainian troops are gaining ground too slowly in their counteroffensive against Russian forces. "Ukrainian forces are moving forward. Despite everything, and no matter what anyone says, we are advancing, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. * The Russian defence ministry said its forces thwarted an attempt by Ukraine to "launch a terrorist strike" on the Crimean bridge using a "half-loaded unmanned boat". The boat was spotted late on Friday and destroyed off the Black Sea coast, it said. * The ministry reported two other attempted Ukrainian attacks on the bridge early on Saturday morning, saying a "third Ukrainian semi-submersible unmanned boat, sent by the Kyiv regime... was destroyed in the Black Sea". * The ministry also said it shot down two Ukrainian drones over Russia's Belgorod region, while the governor of the neighbouring Kursk region said one woman was wounded after Ukrainian forces shelled her village. * The United Kingdom's defence ministry, in its daily update on the war in Ukraine, said that Russia risks splitting its forces in an attempt to prevent a Ukrainian breakthrough in Ukraine's south. According to UK intelligence, Ukrainian forces continued to take offensive action on the Orikhiv axis in southern Ukraine, with units reaching the first Russian main defensive line. Politics * A Ukrainian court ordered that tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky be held in custody for two months on suspicion of fraud and money laundering. The move comes as Kyiv is trying to signal progress in its wartime crackdown on corruption. * The Nobel Foundation withdrew its invitations to representatives of Russia, Belarus and Iran to attend this year's Nobel Prize awards ceremonies after the decision to invite them provoked widespread criticism. Black Sea grain transport * Zelenskyy said two more ships had passed through a "temporary" Black Sea shipping corridor established since Russia withdrew from a United Nations-backed grain export deal in July. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/3/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-russian-drone-attack-targets-odesa-region (06:28 GMT) Traffic on the Kerch bridge linking the Russian mainland with the Crimean Peninsula has resumed after a brief suspension early in the day, the Russian-installed operator of the bridge says on Telegram. (06:31 GMT) Russia launched a drone attack on the southern parts of the Odesa region, hitting a Danube River port infrastructure and injuring at least two people, according to Kyiv. The attack lasted about three-and-a-half hours, during which Ukraine's air defence system shot down 22 of the 25 Iranian-made Shahed drones that Russia launched on Odesa early in the day, Ukraine's Air Force said on Telegram. (07:21 GMT) Some 280,000 people have signed up so far this year for professional service with Russia's military, the deputy chair of the Russian Security Council, former President Dmitry Medvedev, said. (18:24 GMT) Governor of Russia's Kursk region says a non-residential building in the city of Kurchatov is on fire following a Ukrainian drone attack. In a post on Telegram, Roman Starovoit said there were no casualties and security forces were on the scene. 20230904 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-558 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the dismissal of Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said the ministry needed "new approaches" and that he would seek parliamentary approval this week for Rustem Umerov, head of Ukraine's main privatisation fund, to take over the role. Reznikov has helped secure billions of dollars of Western military aid for Ukraine but has been dogged by allegations of corruption, which he has described as smears. * Ukraine said it destroyed 22 Russian drones in the southern Odesa region, as Moscow said it attacked "fuel storage facilities" in the Danube port of Reni, on the border with Romania. Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched "several waves of attacks" and that at least two people were injured in the Danube area. * Romania's Ministry of National Defence condemned Russia's repeated attacks on Ukraine's Danube port infrastructure along its border. The ministry "reiterates in the strongest terms that these attacks against civilian targets and infrastructure in Ukraine are unjustified and in deep contradiction with the rules of international humanitarian law", it said in a statement. * Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's former president who is now the deputy chair of the country's Security Council, said some 280,000 people had signed up since January 1 for professional service with the Russian military. * The United Kingdom's military intelligence said Moscow was recruiting from at least 6 million migrants from Central Asia and neighbouring countries, who are living in Russia, to fight in Ukraine. "Exploiting foreign nationals allows the Kremlin to acquire additional personnel for its war effort in the face of increasing losses," the UK's defence ministry said in its latest update. Diplomacy * Monday's meeting in the southern Russian city of Sochi between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russia's Vladimir Putin is expected to focus on the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow abandoned in July. Erdogan's chief foreign policy and security adviser Akif Cagatay Kilic told a Turkish TV channel that Turkey wanted to bring Russia back into the deal, which allowed for the safe export of Ukrainian grain from Black Sea ports. Turkey and the United Nations helped broker the original agreement. * Zelenskyy said he discussed with his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron the "functioning" of a sea corridor set up by Kyiv for safe navigation of ships after Moscow pulled out of the Black Sea deal. Ukraine this week said four more ships had gone through its temporary maritime corridor in the Black Sea. * Russian and Belarusian athletes will not compete at the Asian Games in China starting on September 23 after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) concluded that the plan was "not feasible" on technical grounds. Weapons * South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said an inquiry into an allegation from the United States that a Russian ship picked up weapons in South Africa late last year found no evidence the vessel had transported weapons to Russia. "None of the allegations made about the supply of weapons to Russia have been proven to be true," Ramaphosa said in an address to the nation. "No permit was issued for the export of arms and no arms were exported." * Ukraine's Reznikov said drone production will soon increase as the country steps up drone attacks on Russian territory. "I think this autumn, there will be a boom in the production of various Ukrainian drones: flying, floating, crawling, etc., and this will continue to grow in volume," Reznikov told the state-run Ukrinform news agency. ... (06:25 GMT) Russia says it destroyed four Ukrainian military boats carrying troops in the Black Sea. "Naval aviation aircraft of the Black Sea Fleet destroyed 4 'Willard Sea Force' US-made high-speed military boats with landing groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Russia's Defence Ministry said on Telegram. The ministry said the boats were "traveling in the direction of Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast", without providing further details. (09:08 GMT) The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence says malware called "Infamous Chisel" has likely been used by Russia with the aim of stealing sensitive military information from Ukraine. "The malware, referred to as 'Infamous Chisel', has been used by the Russian cyber threat group known as Sandworm. NCSC [National Cyber Security Centre] has previously attributed Sandworm to the Russian General Staff Main Intelligence Directorate's (GRU) Main Centre for Special Technologies (GTsST)," the ministry said in a tweet. "Infamous Chisel enables persistent access to, and the collation and exfiltration of data from, compromised Android devices. This includes targeting applications used by the Ukrainian military," the ministry added. 20230905 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-559 Fighting * Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine's Danube River port of Izmail, leading to widespread damage to infrastructure, according to the region's governor. The attack came hours ahead of talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which were expected to touch on ways to revive the Black Sea grain deal that Moscow abandoned in July. * Ukraine and Romania disagreed over whether the attack on Izmail hit Romanian territory on the other side of the river. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Ukraine had visual evidence of the incident. Romanian Foreign Minister Luminita Odobescu condemned the "cynical" Russian attack on Ukrainian infrastructure but said no Russian drones or debris had fallen on Romanian territory. * Ukraine's Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov submitted his resignation to parliament after President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced he intended to replace Resnikov. * Russia said it destroyed four Ukrainian military boats carrying troops in the Black Sea. The defence ministry said the boats were "travelling in the direction of Cape Tarkhankut on the Crimean coast", without providing further details. Earlier, the ministry said it had repelled a separate Ukrainian drone attack over the Black Sea. * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Ukrainian forces made further territorial gains in the country's eastern Donetsk region around the city of Bakhmut. Maliar said a further 3sq km in the area around Bakhmut was liberated last week. * Putin dismissed Ukraine's counteroffensive to retake land occupied by the Russians since the February 2022 invasion. "It is not that it is stalling. It is a failure," the Russian president told a news conference in Sochi. "At least today, this is what it looks like. Let's see what happens next." * A child was injured during Russian attacks on the southern city of Kherson, according to the region's Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. He added that Russian attacks on Sunday also killed one civilian and injured five. * Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Russia's western Bryansk region, said border guards and security services "thwarted" an attempt by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group that tried to cross into Russia. * Ukraine's Chernihiv District Court convicted a Russian soldier of torturing a Ukrainian civilian and sentenced him to 12 years in prison, according to a report by the regional prosecutor's office. The incident took place in March 2022, during Russia's temporary occupation of the village of Lukashivka. * Ukrainian police indicted a 26-year-old Russian officer for the rape of a girl and a woman in Kherson. "Investigators of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine identified a Russian serviceman who, in May 2022, during the occupation of the Kherson region, raped two local women, one of whom was a minor. The occupier threatened them with firearms and killing family members," police said in a statement. * Ukraine named a Russian helicopter pilot it said had defected over his opposition to Moscow's invasion as 28-year-old Maxim Kuzminov, who served in the "319th separate helicopter regiment" based in Russia's far east region. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Russia had probably used malware called "Infamous Chisel" against Ukraine with the aim of stealing sensitive military information. Diplomacy * Putin and Erdogan held three hours of talks in Sochi and discussed ways to revive the Black Sea Grain deal, enabling the safe passage of Ukrainian grain across the Black Sea. Putin reiterated that Moscow would only return to the United Nations-brokered deal if Western countries met its demands on Russian agricultural exports. * The Wall Street Journal reported officials from the United States, United Kingdom and European Union were planning to jointly press the United Arab Emirates to halt shipments of goods to Russia which could help Moscow in its war on Ukraine. * Sergei Skvortsov, a 60-year-old Russian Swede, went on trial in Stockholm for allegedly passing Western technology to Russia's military. He was arrested in a dawn raid on his home last year. Weapons * The US said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was expected to hold a "leader-level diplomatic engagement" with Putin this month and that arms negotiations were "actively advancing". Talks were likely to place in Russia, National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said. The two men previously met in 2019 in Vladivostok. There was no word from Moscow or Pyongyang ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/5/russia-ukraine-live-news-moscow-targets-ukrainian-port-shoots-down-drones (10:15 GMT) German arms maker Diehl Defence plans to significantly ramp up the production of its IRIS-T missile defence system as demand grows due to Russia's war on Ukraine, Chief Programme Officer Harald Buschek says. Buschek told reporters that in 2025, the company plans to build at least eight systems, up from three to four systems this year. Missile production will also be tripled this year and will be doubled next year with an expected output of about 400 to 500 missiles for 2024. So far, Germany has supplied two IRIS-T units to Ukraine for use against Russian missile attacks. Buschek added that Ukraine has used then to down more than 110 targets, most of those cruise missiles, such as the Kalibr, with a hit rate of almost 100 percent. (13:34 GMT) Russian forces fighting in southern Ukraine have allegedly destroyed a British-supplied Challenger 2 tank for the first time. Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the Zaporizhia region, said on Telegram that a Challenger 2 had been set on fire during fighting near the southeastern village of Robotyne. (15:09 GMT) Russia says Ukraine used Australian drones to attack targets on Russian territory and that Canberra was increasingly drawn into the conflict. "As it turns out, Australian drones are actually used to strike targets in Russia," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said. Zakharova was responding to a question about a report last week that Ukrainians used Australian drones to attack an airfield in Kursk. The spokesperson also accused the Australian government of "enthusiastically contributing to the anti-Russian campaign directed from Washington" while trying to hide from public opinion "the unenviable circumstances indicating that Australia is increasingly being drawn into the conflict in Ukraine". (16:48 GMT) Shoigu's assertion on the war's focus moving to Zaporizhia was corroborated in part by other reports and assessments of Ukraine's three-month-old effort to drive out the Kremlin's troops. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank, citing geolocated footage, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian light infantry has advanced beyond some of the anti-tank ditches and dense minefields that make up Russia's layered defences in Zaporizhia. However, it said it was unable to state that the defence was fully breached, because no Ukrainian heavy armor has been witnessed in the area. 20230906 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-560 Fighting * Russia stepped up claims that Ukraine's months-long counteroffensive had failed with President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu both claiming the effort had not worked. In a call with Russian military leaders, Shoigu claimed that Ukraine had lost more than 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 weapons since the start of the counteroffensive, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Shoigu said the "most tense situation" currently was on the front in the southeastern Zaporizhia region. * Using geolocated footage, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said that Ukrainian light infantry had advanced beyond some of Russia's anti-tank ditches and dense minefields that make up its multi-layered defences in Zaporizhia. However, ISW said it was unable to clarify whether the defence had been completely breached because no Ukrainian heavy armour had been witnessed in the area. * Still in the Zaporizhia region, Vladimir Rogov, a Russian-installed official in the area, said Russian forces allegedly destroyed their first Challenger 2, a tank supplied by the United Kingdom. Rogov said the tank was set on fire during fighting near the southeastern village of Robotyne. * The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC) reported that some 916 people were killed or injured by the weapons in 2022, saying Russia had "extensively" used stocks of old cluster munitions and newly-developed ones. Ukrainian forces had used cluster munitions "to a lesser extent", the CMC said in its report. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said one person was killed and one wounded due to Ukrainian shelling. * Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said that Russian attacks on Danube ports in neighbouring Ukraine had happened "very, very close" to its border. "We had attacks ... which were verified at 800 metres from our border. So very, very close," Iohannis said. The president said while no drones or debris had fallen in Romania, the country remained on alert. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy shared video footage on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, of his visit to front-line troops in Bakhmut where he handed out awards to soldiers. * Lawmaker Yaroslav Zheleznyak said Ukraine's parliament had approved the dismissal of defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov. Crimean Tatar and former lawmaker Rustem Umerov is expected to replace him. * Cuba said it had uncovered a human trafficking ring that coerced Cuban citizens into fighting for Russia in the war in Ukraine and that the island's authorities were working to "neutralise and dismantle" the network. Diplomacy * The United States said arms supply talks between North Korea and Russia were "actively advancing" and that the process was probably "leading to leader-level engagement" between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Putin, perhaps as soon as this month. * The Kremlin said there was "nothing to say" about the reports. * US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan warned that North Korea would "pay a price" if it provided weapons to Russia "for use on the battlefield to attack grain silos and the heating infrastructure of major cities as we head into winter, to try to conquer territory that belongs to another sovereign nation". * Speaking after talks with Putin in the city of Sochi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was confident it would be possible to revive the Black Sea grain deal that enabled the safe export of Ukrainian grain and was abandoned by Russia in July. "As Turkey, we believe that we will reach a solution that will meet the expectations in a short time," Erdogan said. * A senior Ukrainian official rejected a suggestion from Erdogan that Kyiv should soften its stance to revive the grain deal, saying Ukraine would not support a policy of "appeasement". "Let's be realistic after all and stop discussing non-existent options, much less encouraging Russia to commit further crimes," presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency. * Lazare Eloundou Assomo, the head of the World Heritage programme, said Kyiv's Saint Sophia Cathedral and the historical centre of the western Ukrainian city Lviv should join UNESCO's list of World Heritage sites in danger due to the Russian invasion. The World Heritage Committee will meet in Riyadh from September 10. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Dhaka for two days before the G20 meeting in New Delhi as Moscow looks to strengthen bilateral ties with Bangladesh. Weapons * Harald Buschek, the chief programme officer of arms maker Diehl Defence, said the company expects to build at least eight IRIS-T missile defence systems in 2024, compared with three to four this year. Buschek said it also expected to produce as many as 500 missiles next year. So far, Germany has supplied two IRIS-T units to Ukraine for use against Russian missile attacks. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/6/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-one-killed-in-russian-drone-strike-on-odesa (06:46 GMT) The situation along the eastern front line remains difficult and the main task for Ukraine's troops is to ensure reliable defence and prevent the loss of strongholds, Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said. (08:20 GMT) Top US diplomat Antony Blinken has arrived in Kyiv in a gesture of support as Ukraine's counteroffensive against Russian forces grinds into its fourth month with only small gains. During his two-day visit, staying overnight in Ukraine for the first time since before Russia's February 2022 invasion, Blinken will likely announce a new package of US assistance worth more than $1 billion, a senior State Department official said in a briefing for reporters on the trip. 11:26 GMT) Asked about Blinken's visit to Kyiv, the Kremlin says it is clear that Washington plans to keep funding Kyiv's war effort "until the last Ukrainian". (19:01 GMT) The Pentagon has announced a new security assistance package worth up to $175m for Ukraine, including depleted uranium ammunition for US Abrams tanks. 20230907 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-561 Fighting * At least 16 people, some of them children, were killed and several wounded after Russia attacked a market in the eastern city of Kostiantynivka. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the attack "utter inhumanity". * The White House and the European Union condemned the attack. "This brutal attack on innocent people peacefully shopping at a market makes it clear: This Russian war of aggression is an attack on international law, on humanity," Baerbock wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. * Russia continued its attacks on the Izmail port along the Danube in Ukraine's southwestern Odesa region. One person was killed during the three-hour attack. * Ukrainian air defence said it shot down a barrage of Russian missiles fired at targets in the capital Kyiv. * Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said the situation along the eastern front lines remained difficult and the main task for its troops was to ensure reliable defence and prevent the loss of established strongholds. * Yevgeny Balitsky, the top Moscow-installed official in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region, said Russian forces had withdrawn from Robotyne for "tactical reasons", a week after Ukraine announced it had liberated the village. * Romanian Defence Minister Angel Tilvar said parts of what could be a Russian drone fell on its territory and were being analysed. President Klaus Iohannis said previously that no debris had fallen in Romania, lies just across the river from the Izmail port. NATO allies expressed "strong solidarity" with Romania after they were briefed on the incident. * Ukraine's parliament approved Rustem Umerov as Kyiv's new defence minister following the departure of Oleksii Reznikov. Umerov is a member of the Tatar Muslim community of Crimea, the Ukrainian peninsula that was annexed by Russia in 2014. * Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov, who defected to Ukraine in an Mi-8 helicopter, will receive a substantial reward of half a million dollars for changing sides and bringing military equipment with him. * The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said Russia had begun teaching a new curriculum in schools incorporating military skills - including weapons training - and the Kremlin's perspective on the history of Ukraine. Diplomacy * United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Kyiv for a two-day visit to underline US support for Ukraine amid its ongoing counteroffensive. Blinken held talks with Zelenskyy, who warned while a "difficult winter" lay ahead, he was pleased to have the backing of the US and other allies. "We're happy that we're not alone through this winter. We will do it together with our partners" Zelenskyy told Blinken * Zelenskyy welcomed Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to Kyiv. "I am grateful for Denmark's military aid, notably the F-16s," he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. * A US congressional delegation is to meet the International Criminal Court's (ICC) top prosecutor Karim Khan in The Hague on Thursday to discuss allegations of war crimes against Russian President Vladimir Putin. "Thirty thousand children have been taken away * from their families and indoctrinated in Russia," noted Michael McCaul, the Republican chairman of the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, who will lead the delegation. * Officials from the US, UK and EU are visiting the United Arab Emirates to discuss sanctions on Russia amid concerns over the shipment of goods, including computer chips, to Russia, according to a report on CNN. * Britain said it would declare Russia's Wagner mercenary group a "terrorist" organisation because it represented a threat to global security. In response, the Kremlin said Wagner did not legally exist. The UK designation is due to come into force on September 13. Weapons * The Pentagon announced a new military aid package worth up to $175m for Ukraine, including depleted uranium ammunition for US Abrams tanks, HIMARS missile launch systems, Javelin antitank weapons and other weapons systems. * British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps confirmed reports by Russian officials that a British Challenger 2 tank was destroyed in Ukraine. He said the tank was one of 14 donated to Ukraine and the crew survived. * Germany is in negotiations with the Netherlands and Denmark on the joint procurement of ammunition, a defence source has told the Reuters news agency, as Western countries scramble to replenish stocks depleted by donations to Ukraine. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/7/russia-blasts-inhumanity-of-us-sending-depleted-uranium-shells-to-ukraine Russia has denounced Washington's plan to provide the Ukrainian military with ammunition containing depleted uranium as part of a new $1bn assistance package to Kyiv, describing the decision to provide the controversial arms as inhuman. The Pentagon said on Wednesday that depleted uranium ammunition for US-made Abrams tanks would be part of a new military package worth up to $175m, out of more than $1bn in civilian and defence support that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced in Kyiv. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/7/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-drone-attacks-on-izmail-damage-port (06:20) At least five Ukrainian combat drones have been downed over Russian territory as Kyiv continues with a pledge to bring Moscow's war in Ukraine back to Russia. Two drones were shot down on approach to Bryansk city in Russia's southwest, two were shot down over the southern Rostov region, and one was intercepted near the capital, Moscow, Russian officials and state news agencies reported. One person was injured and several vehicles damaged when one drone was shot down and crashed in the city of Rostov-on-Don in the early hours, according to Russia's state-run TASS news agency. (08:08 GMT) NATO says it does not have any indication that drone debris found on Romanian territory was caused by an intentional Russian attack, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told EU lawmakers. 20230908 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-562 Fighting * Russia continued its attacks on Ukraine's Danube ports. Governor Oleh Kiper said Russian drone attacks lasting three hours damaged port infrastructure, a grain silo and administrative buildings in the Izmail district of Ukraine's Odesa region. One person was injured. * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said there were no indications that drone debris found on Romanian territory was caused by a deliberate Russian attack, but that air attacks close to NATO borders posed a risk. Romania lies just across the river from Izmail. * Stoltenberg also said that Ukraine was making progress in its counteroffensive and started to reclaim territory seized by Russia. "They have been able to breach the defensive lines of the Russian forces, and they are moving forward," Stoltenberg told the European Parliament. * At least five Ukrainian combat drones were brought down over Russian territory - two were shot down on approach to Bryansk city in Russia's southwest, two over the southern Rostov region, while one was intercepted near Moscow, according to Russian officials and state news agencies. * United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken praised Ukrainians' "extraordinary resilience" in the face of the Russian invasion during a visit to the Chernihiv region, which was occupied by Moscow for about a month at the beginning of the war. Diplomacy * India proposed that a G20 statement condemning the war in Ukraine also accommodate the views of Russia and China in an attempt to avoid an impasse. The world's 20 biggest economies have been divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and divisions have deepened since last year's summit in Bali. Western countries want a strong condemnation, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who will lead Moscow's delegation, has said Moscow will block the final declaration if it does not reflect its stand. * United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the UN was "actively engaged" in efforts to bring Russia back to the Black Sea grain deal, which it abandoned in July. Guterres said it was necessary to create a system of "mutual guarantee" for Russia and Ukraine. The original deal was brokered by the UN and Turkey in 2022 and allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. * Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said Kyiv had started exporting grain through Croatian seaports because of the blockade of its Black Sea ports. "Although it is a niche trade route, it is already popular," she said in a written statement. Svyrydenko did not say how much Ukrainian grain had been shipped through the new route. * British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he would discuss with G20 leaders the progress towards helping Ukraine circumvent Russia's Black Sea grain blockade. Sunak said the effort would ensure "vulnerable countries can access vital grain shipments". * The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin was not planning to make a video address at the G20. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that "all the work" would be led by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who is leading Russia's delegation to the summit in New Delhi. * Some 20 new staff arrived at the Russian embassy in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang for the first time in four years. North Korea is opening up after closing its borders because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and has been developing closer ties with Moscow. Russia is the second embassy known to be allowed new staff after China's new ambassador entered the country in March. * Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets called for more international pressure on Moscow to help Kyiv bring home thousands of children it says have been taken to Russia. "When Russia feels international pressure, that's when we can bring more Ukrainian children back," Lubinets told the Reuters news agency days after several youngsters were reunited with their parents in western Ukraine. * French President Emmanuel Macron said no Russian flag would fly at next year's Paris Olympics. "Of course, there can be no Russian flag during the Paris Games. I think there is a consensus on that matter. Because Russia, as a country, is not welcome at a time where it has committed war crimes and deported children," Macron told sports daily L'Equipe. * The US and Britain sanctioned more members of a Russian hacking group known as Trickbot, and US officials indicted nine people with ties to the group's malware and Conti ransomware schemes. * Vienna summoned Martin Selmayr, the European Commission's envoy to the country, after he was quoted saying Austria was paying "blood money" for Russian fuel. According to the latest government data, for June, 60 percent of Austria's natural gas imports came from Russia, compared with about 80 percent before the war. Weapons * Russia claimed the US's provision of depleted uranium weapons to Ukraine was a "criminal act". * US Vice President Kamala Harris said it would be a "huge mistake" for North Korea to provide military support to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. "The idea that they would be supplying ammunition to that end ... would be a huge mistake. I also believe very strongly that for both Russia and North Korea, this will further isolate them," Harris said in an interview with CBS News. * Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had detained a group of smugglers trading in military aircraft parts, some of which ended up in Ukraine, according to the state news agency TASS. The FSB said the group purchased and repaired military planes and helicopter parts in Russia to export them to foreign buyers, including those acting on behalf of the Ukrainian military. 20230909 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian air superiority was "stopping" Kyiv's counteroffensive, and he complained of the slow rate of both Western arms deliveries and sanctions on Russia. "If we are not in the sky and Russia is, they stop us from the sky. They stop our counteroffensive," he said. * Elon Musk said he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea's port city of Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia's fleet there. Musk said he feared complicity in a "major" act of war. *The governor of Ukraine's Kherson region said at least three people were killed in a Russian air raid. * Russia said it repelled numerous attacks along the front line and inflicted hundreds of losses on Ukrainian forces. * Russia's FSB security services have arrested a Russian citizen for allegedly plotting to blow up a railway in Crimea. * Two Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defences while allegedly attempting to attack a polling station in the Russia-occupied Kherson region as voting was under way, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions has already begun and concludes Sunday. * A Russian missile hit a police building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing a policeman and injuring several others. * Ukraine's air force shot down 16 out of 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched overnight by Russia in the fifth attack this week on Danube river port facilities in the Odesa region. * Cuban authorities have arrested 17 people on charges related to a human trafficking ring that allegedly lured Cubans to serve in the Russian army's war in Ukraine. Regional security * Russia summoned the ambassador of Armenia over "unfriendly steps" as Yerevan announced military exercises with the US military, the Armenian Prime Minister's wife visited Kyiv, and Yerevan's decision to join the International Criminal Court. Politics * Ukraine's Foreign Ministry slammed "sham elections" in occupied Ukrainian territories, saying they were "worthless" and would have no legal standing. * Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was prepared to organise elections even while the war with Russia was ongoing. * Russia is hoping the upcoming US presidential elections will lower Washington's support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. * British foreign secretary James Cleverly condemned elections being held in Russian-annexed regions of Ukraine. "You can't hold elections in someone else's country," he wrote on social media. Sanctions * Russia is shipping its first crude oil cargo to Brazil, as it seeks to diversify its list of buyers due to US and European Union sanctions. * HSBC will halt commercial payments by business customers to and from Russia and Belarus, the bank has said, as lenders tighten restrictions amid sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * Zelenskyy said that his allies had eased up on sanctions imposed on Russia and called for a renewed drive to impose further punitive measures on Moscow. * Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Ukraine opposes the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive a grain deal between the two countries. * Spain has become more reliant on Russian natural gas even though its overall imports are falling, government data showed. * The Council of the EU announced additional sanctions on six people for serious human rights violations in connection with their actions towards members of ethnic groups in Crimea. The individuals listed include prosecutors and judges active in courts established by Russia's occupying force in Crimea who played a role in handing a prison term to a journalist who belongs to the Crimean Tatar community. Diplomacy * G20 negotiators have been unable to resolve disagreements over the wording of the summit declaration on the war in Ukraine, according to a draft seen by Reuters, leaving any possible breakthrough to bloc leaders during the two-day meeting. * Asked if India could act as a potential mediator on the Ukraine crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the two parties of the conflict have decided to continue the fighting. The UN chief was speaking during a news conference in New Delhi as India hosts the G20 summit this weekend. * UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says it was not his place to tell India what position it should take on the war in Ukraine. * Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. Espionage * The United States Central Intelligence Agency has released a video targeting Moscow officials with an appeal to tell the truth about a system it said is riddled with lying sycophants. The agency, which is trying to recruit spies in Russia, released the video on social media in Russian, entitled: Why I made contact with the CIA - For Myself. Black Sea exports * Romania's government plans to upgrade road infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Constanta, which could help more Ukrainian grain to transit through the country and on to international markets. Anticorruption * Ukraine's anticorruption agencies froze more than $80m in assets belonging to tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky for 48 hours as part of an embezzlement investigation. Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's richest men, was ordered into custody on suspicion of money laundering last week, according to media reports. 20230909 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-563 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russian air superiority was "stopping" Kyiv's counteroffensive, and he complained of the slow rate of both Western arms deliveries and sanctions on Russia. "If we are not in the sky and Russia is, they stop us from the sky. They stop our counteroffensive," he said. * Elon Musk said he refused a Ukrainian request to activate his Starlink satellite network in Crimea's port city of Sevastopol last year to aid an attack on Russia's fleet there. Musk said he feared complicity in a "major" act of war. *The governor of Ukraine's Kherson region said at least three people were killed in a Russian air raid. * Russia said it repelled numerous attacks along the front line and inflicted hundreds of losses on Ukrainian forces. * Russia's FSB security services have arrested a Russian citizen for allegedly plotting to blow up a railway in Crimea. * Two Ukrainian drones were shot down by Russian air defences while allegedly attempting to attack a polling station in the Russia-occupied Kherson region as voting was under way, Russia's TASS news agency reported. The voting for Russian-installed legislatures in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions has already begun and concludes Sunday. * A Russian missile hit a police building in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing a policeman and injuring several others. * Ukraine's air force shot down 16 out of 20 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched overnight by Russia in the fifth attack this week on Danube river port facilities in the Odesa region. * Cuban authorities have arrested 17 people on charges related to a human trafficking ring that allegedly lured Cubans to serve in the Russian army's war in Ukraine. Regional security * Russia summoned the ambassador of Armenia over "unfriendly steps" as Yerevan announced military exercises with the US military, the Armenian Prime Minister's wife visited Kyiv, and Yerevan's decision to join the International Criminal Court. Politics * Ukraine's Foreign Ministry slammed "sham elections" in occupied Ukrainian territories, saying they were "worthless" and would have no legal standing. * Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was prepared to organise elections even while the war with Russia was ongoing. * Russia is hoping the upcoming US presidential elections will lower Washington's support for Kyiv, Zelenskyy said. * British foreign secretary James Cleverly condemned elections being held in Russian-annexed regions of Ukraine. "You can't hold elections in someone else's country," he wrote on social media. Sanctions * Russia is shipping its first crude oil cargo to Brazil, as it seeks to diversify its list of buyers due to US and European Union sanctions. * HSBC will halt commercial payments by business customers to and from Russia and Belarus, the bank has said, as lenders tighten restrictions amid sanctions imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * Zelenskyy said that his allies had eased up on sanctions imposed on Russia and called for a renewed drive to impose further punitive measures on Moscow. * Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleg Nikolenko said Ukraine opposes the idea of easing sanctions on Russia in order to revive a grain deal between the two countries. * Spain has become more reliant on Russian natural gas even though its overall imports are falling, government data showed. * The Council of the EU announced additional sanctions on six people for serious human rights violations in connection with their actions towards members of ethnic groups in Crimea. The individuals listed include prosecutors and judges active in courts established by Russia's occupying force in Crimea who played a role in handing a prison term to a journalist who belongs to the Crimean Tatar community. Diplomacy * G20 negotiators have been unable to resolve disagreements over the wording of the summit declaration on the war in Ukraine, according to a draft seen by Reuters, leaving any possible breakthrough to bloc leaders during the two-day meeting. * Asked if India could act as a potential mediator on the Ukraine crisis, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the two parties of the conflict have decided to continue the fighting. The UN chief was speaking during a news conference in New Delhi as India hosts the G20 summit this weekend. * UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says it was not his place to tell India what position it should take on the war in Ukraine. * Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has called for a peaceful end to the war in Ukraine. Espionage * The United States Central Intelligence Agency has released a video targeting Moscow officials with an appeal to tell the truth about a system it said is riddled with lying sycophants. The agency, which is trying to recruit spies in Russia, released the video on social media in Russian, entitled: Why I made contact with the CIA - For Myself. Black Sea exports * Romania's government plans to upgrade road infrastructure in the Black Sea port of Constanta, which could help more Ukrainian grain to transit through the country and on to international markets. Anticorruption * Ukraine's anticorruption agencies froze more than $80m in assets belonging to tycoon Ihor Kolomoisky for 48 hours as part of an embezzlement investigation. Kolomoisky, one of Ukraine's richest men, was ordered into custody on suspicion of money laundering last week, according to media reports. 20230910 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-564 Fighting * Russian air defence shot down three Ukrainian drones over Crimea, one in the northwest and two in the west of the peninsula, according to a "Moscow-installed" official in the "annexed" region. * On the southern front lines in Ukraine, the United Nations atomic watchdog warned of a potential threat to nuclear safety from a spike in fighting near the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia power plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said its experts at the facility reported hearing numerous explosions over the past week but that there was no damage to the plant. * Ukraine's spy chief Kyrylo Budanov, meanwhile, said Kyiv's counteroffensive against Russian forces will continue through the onset of cold and wet weather later this year, even though it would become harder to fight. "Combat actions will continue in one way or another. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight. Fighting will continue. The counteroffensive will continue," he said at a conference in Kyiv. * In neighbouring Romania, the defence ministry said it found new fragments of a drone similar to those used by the Russian military on Romanian territory. President Klaus Iohannis said that this indicated an unacceptable breach of Romania's air space had occurred. Diplomacy * The Group of 20 adopted a consensus declaration at a summit in New Delhi that avoided condemning Russia for the war in Ukraine but called on all states not to use force to grab territory. "We ... welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace in Ukraine," the declaration said. "The use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible," it added. * Ukraine's foreign ministry said the declaration was "nothing to be proud of", but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said it demonstrated a clear position on Russia's invasion by stating that the territorial integrity of countries cannot be called into question with violence. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Kyiv and agreed to begin discussions on security guarantees and cooperate on reconstructing Ukraine's economy, according to Tokyo. Black Sea grain deal * Russia said it was sticking to its conditions for a return to the Black Sea grain deal which it quit in July. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia needed its state agricultural bank - and not a subsidiary of the bank, as proposed by the UN - to be reconnected to the international SWIFT bank payments system. * At the G20 summit, meanwhile, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida regarding efforts to revive the deal, according to the Reuters news agency. It did not give further details. * The European Union also castigated Russia for pulling out of the Black Sea grain deal, with European Council President Charles Michel condemning Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure and deriding its offer of a million tonnes of grain to African countries as a "parody of generosity". 20230911 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-565 Fighting * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian troops had advanced in their three-month-old counteroffensive against Russian occupying forces in the east and south. "Over the past seven days, we have made an advance in the Tavria [southern] sector," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "There is movement in the Bakhmut sector. Yes, there is movement." The Ukrainian president said the country's forces were also holding their ground on other fronts in the east. * Russia launched 33 drones at Kyiv with debris falling across several districts of the capital during the two-hour-long raid. Officials in Kyiv said 26 of the weapons were destroyed and there was no serious damage. Four people were injured. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces brought down eight Ukraine-launched drones over the Black Sea near Crimea and destroyed three United States-made military speedboats carrying Ukrainian military personnel northeast of Snake Island. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Two humanitarian aid workers - Spaniard Emma Igual and Canadian Anthony Ihnat - were killed in Ukraine when a missile hit the vehicle they were travelling in near Bakhmut. Two other foreign volunteers with the group - Road to Relief - were injured. Diplomacy * Russia wrapped up widely-condemned elections in four regions of Ukraine's south and east that it partly occupies and claimed to have annexed last year, claiming victory for the United Russia party of President Vladimir Putin. The Council of Europe, Europe's leading rights group, called the week-long vote a flagrant violation of international law, with Kyiv and its allies saying it was an illegal attempt to tighten Moscow's grip over the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions that Ukraine is fighting to reclaim. * South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said the country will provide an additional $2bn in aid to Ukraine starting in 2025 over the longer term, in addition to the $300m previously pledged for next year. * Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Putin would not be arrested if he attended the Group of 20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro next year. In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Putin in connection with alleged war crimes. Russia has denied its forces have engaged in war crimes or forcibly taken Ukrainian children. * North Korean leader Kim Jong Un marked the 75th anniversary of the founding of North Korea with a parade of paramilitary forces and a promise to deepen ties with China and Russia. The US has said that Kim plans to hold a summit with Putin as soon as this week and sell arms to Moscow. ... (06:35 GMT) Brazil's leader has withdrawn his personal assurance that Russian President Vladimir Putin would not be arrested if he attends next year's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, saying it would be up to the judiciary to decide. Putin missed this year's gathering in the Indian capital, New Delhi, avoiding possible political opprobrium and any risk of criminal detention under an International Criminal Court (ICC) warrant. Brazil is an ICC member, but President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva raised eyebrows at the weekend when he told Indian news network Firstpost: "If I'm the president of Brazil and if he comes to Brazil, there's no way that he will be arrested." He changed tack on Monday, telling reporters: "I don't know if Brazil's justice will detain him. It's the judiciary that decides, it's not the government." (09:26 GMT) Ukraine's military intelligence authorities have said that Kyiv's forces have regained control from Russia of several offshore drilling platforms close to Crimea, Ukraine's military intelligence said on Monday. In a statement on the Telegram messaging app, authorities said the drilling platforms known as the "Boiko Towers" were recaptured in a "unique operation". "Russia occupied them [Boiko Towers] in 2015, and with the beginning of the full-scale invasion, used them for military purposes. In particular, as helipads and for placing radar equipment." 20230912 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-566 Fighting * Ukraine's military intelligence said the army had regained control of several offshore drilling platforms close to Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2015. Authorities said the drilling platforms known as the Boiko Towers were recaptured from Russia in a "unique operation". * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops had advanced on the southern front in the past week and there had also been movement near the eastern city of Bakhmut. "Over the past seven days, we have made an advance in the Tavria [southern] sector," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. "There is movement in the Bakhmut sector. Yes, there is movement." * Ukraine's Air Force said it brought down 13 Russian drones launched at the Zaporizhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Mykolaiv regions. Missiles had also been fired, it said. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said air defence systems destroyed a drone launched by Ukraine over the Kursk region. Two drones were also brought down over the Belgorod region, according to authorities there. * Ukraine's General Staff said that Russia could soon launch a "mass forced mobilisation" to recruit soldiers from Russia and the parts of Ukraine that it occupies. * The Council of Europe condemned the elections organised by Russia in the parts of eastern Ukraine it claims to have annexed last year. "These sham 'elections' can only be considered as null and void under international law," the council said. Diplomacy * The Kremlin confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Russia in the "coming days". The United States said last week, citing intelligence, that the two men would meet in Vladivostok to discuss the sale of weapons from North Korea to Russia. * North Korea's state media shared photos of Kim boarding his armoured train in Pyongyang to travel to Russia. * US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said the US would "aggressively" enforce existing sanctions and add new ones if Pyongyang provided weapons to Moscow for its war in Ukraine. "I will remind both countries that any transfer of arms from North Korea to Russia would be in violation of multiple United Nations Security Council resolutions," Miller told reporters. * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Western countries to "do their part" to revive the Turkey- and United Nations-brokered Black Sea grain deal that enabled the safe export of Ukrainian grain. Erdogan said the issue would be among the top agenda items at the UN General Assembly. The Kremlin said talks with the Turkish leader, who met the Russian president in early September, would continue. * Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, criticised Russia for withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal as well as its attacks on Ukraine's agricultural facilities, saying Moscow's actions had pushed food prices higher with severe consequences in the Horn of Africa. * Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backtracked on an apparent personal assurance that Putin, who is wanted for alleged war crimes by the International Criminal Court, would not be arrested if he attended next year's G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. Lula said it would be up to the judiciary to decide, hours after telling an Indian media outlet there was "no way" Putin would be arrested. Weapons * German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to Kyiv and held talks with Zelenskyy as well as her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. Securing long-range Taurus missiles from Germany was a key part of the discussions with Baerbock saying Ukraine needed a stronger air defence system to protect its ports amid Russian attacks. ... (10:43 GMT) The Biden administration is close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, according to four U.S. officials, who told Reuters After seeing the success of cluster munitions delivered in 155 mm artillery rounds in recent months, the U.S. is considering shipping either or both Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) that can fly up to 306 km, or Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) missiles with a 72 km range packed with cluster bombs, three U.S. officials said. (11:01 GMT) The Swedish government will ask its armed forces to investigate the potential for sending its Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, according to a report by Swedish public radio (SR). Citing unnamed sources, SR said the government wanted to know, among other things, how a handover would affect Sweden's defence capabilities and how quickly Sweden could get new Gripen fighters. 20230913 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-567 Fighting * Russian attacks in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region killed two people and injured three others, Ukraine reported. * Ukraine carried out an attack using six drones on Enerhodar city near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Russian officials said. Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR) later released footage of the attacks, saying they targeted a building where Russian passports were being issued, two places where up to 12 Russian officers were located and a radio communication point. Enerhodar and the nuclear plant were occupied by Russia soon after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the United Kingdom's secret services of training Ukrainian saboteurs to launch attacks on Russian infrastructure. * Putin said that between 1,000 and 1,500 Russians were signing voluntary contracts to join the military every day. * The UK's defence ministry said that Russia had in recent days recalibrated the posture of its short and medium-range air defences around Moscow to improve its ability to protect the capital from drone attacks. Diplomacy * An armoured train carrying North Korean leader Kim Jong Un arrived in Russia after leaving Pyongyang on Sunday night. Kim is due to meet Putin "in the coming days", according to the Kremlin, with talks expected to focus on arms sales. Some media reports suggested the summit could take place at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in Russia's Amur region. * South Korea said it was "closely monitoring" Kim's activities in Russia, reiterating that any arms deals would breach sanctions imposed on North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. * The Vatican said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, Pope Francis's Ukraine peace envoy, would be in China from Wednesday until Friday. The visit is a "further step in the mission desired by the pope to support humanitarian initiatives and the search for paths that can bring about a just peace", the Vatican said. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the world was not sufficiently united in opposing war crimes committed by Russia in his country. Zelenskyy told students in a video address in The Hague: "They [Russia] want genocide to become something that plays in the background. They want to freeze the war and turn shocking scenes into something common." * Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called on the European Union to extend an embargo on the import of Ukrainian corn, wheat, sunflower and rapeseed. Poland says the ban is necessary to protect its farmers. Weapons * The United States is close to approving the shipment of longer-range missiles packed with cluster bombs to Ukraine, giving Kyiv the ability to cause significant damage deeper within Russian-occupied territory, the Reuters news agency reported citing four United States officials. * Lieutenant General Michael Loh, the director of the US Air National Guard, said the US could have the first Ukrainian pilots trained on F-16 fighter jets before the end of the year, although it would be longer than that before they are flying combat missions. * Putin said that the supply of F-16 jets to Ukraine would not change the war and only "drag out the conflict". * The Swedish government said it would ask its armed forces to investigate whether it would be possible to send its Gripen fighter jets to Ukraine, according to a report by Swedish public radio. * Denmark's defence ministry said it would give Ukraine a further 5.8 billion kroner ($833m), largely to finance air defences, ammunition and tanks. * German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin would encourage its partners to deliver available air defence systems to Ukraine as the weather turns colder. "We need to stretch a winter air defence shield over Ukraine's critical infrastructure," Baerbock told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper. * Russia's defence ministry said an Su-24 bomber crashed during a training mission in the southern Volgograd region. It did not elaborate on what happened to the plane's two-man crew. ... (13:26 GMT) Germany has provided further support for Ukraine by supplying equipment and weapons including 60 infantry fighting Marder vehicles with ammunition, reconnaissance and surveillance equipment, munitions, and other aid in the latest military assistance delivery. (17:11 GMT) A Ukrainian military intelligence agency official has said that a large Russian landing ship and a submarine struck in an overnight attack on the Crimean port of Sevastopol were likely to have been damaged beyond repair. "Those are significant damages. We can now say that with a high probability they are not subject to restoration," Andriy Yusov, the official, said in televised comments. 20230914 Fighting * Ukraine's military struck naval targets and port infrastructure in the port of Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, home to Russia's Black Sea fleet. At least 24 people were injured and two Russian navy vessels were engulfed in flames after the missile attack, Russian authorities said. * Russia continued its attacks on the Reni and Izmail ports in Ukraine's Odesa region, damaging infrastructure and injuring seven people, according to Ukraine's Ministry of Defence. It added that Russia had launched "more than 2,000 Shaheds against Ukraine" in the past year. * Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said more than 100 port infrastructure facilities had been damaged in Russian attacks since July 18. Kubrakov said Ukrainian grain exports had also fallen by almost three million tonnes a month since Russia quit the UN-backed Black Sea grain deal that allowed safe passage to such exports. * Romania, a member of NATO, found new fragments of a drone deemed similar to those used by the Russian army near its border with Ukraine, in the third such finding in a week, defence and NATO officials said. Romania lies just across the river from the Ukrainian grain ports. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Russia was rushing units into action partly because its front-line forces are overstretched. Members of the 25th Combined Arms Army (25 CAA), formed a year ago, had been deployed to Ukraine three months earlier than planned, it said. * A Russian-installed court in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region jailed two Ukrainian soldiers for 29 years each, Russia's Investigative Committee said, accusing them of killing three civilians. The committee said the two were part of the Azov regiment - a branch of the Ukrainian army Russia has labelled "extremist". Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held more than four hours of talks at the Vostochny Cosmodrome in eastern Russia and promised to deepen cooperation. Putin took Kim on a tour of the space centre and the two dined on dishes including crab dumplings and sturgeon. * Putin told reporters that "all issues" would be discussed and there were opportunities for military-technical cooperation. He added that Russia would comply with its international obligations. North Korea is under strict UN sanctions over its banned nuclear weapons programme. * Kim signalled strong backing for the Kremlin's war in Ukraine without explicitly mentioning the conflict. "Russia is currently engaged in a just fight against hegemonic forces to defend its sovereign rights, security and interests. I take this opportunity to affirm that we will always stand with Russia on the anti-imperialist front and the front of independence." * The United States and the United Kingdom expressed concern about the meeting - the first between Putin and Kim in four years - amid suspicion that North Korea may sell arms to Russia for use in Ukraine. The US has threatened tough action, but analysts say there is little it can do to prevent the countries from working together. * Estonia banned all Russian-registered vehicles from entering the country. "They are not welcome here to enjoy privileges freedom has to offer until Ukraine has achieved victory," Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said. Weapons * Germany supplied additional equipment and weapons to Ukraine including 60 infantry fighting Marder vehicles with ammunition. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/14/russia-ukraine-war-live-six-year-old-killed-in-russian-shelling-kyiv-says (06:59 GMT) Ukrainian forces trying to press on with their three-month-old counteroffensive are facing new waves of Russian attacks on key front-line cities in the east, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said on Wednesday. Maliar said the military was now facing fresh Russian assaults on two cities it has been defending for months in the east: the coking centre of Avdiivka and nearby Maryinka. "The Russians have increased their shelling," she said, and have also begun waves of attacks. Ukrainian forces, she said, had achieved "stable success" in their drive to recapture Bakhmut and had achieved some of their goals around Klishchiivka, a village on heights to the south. Further north, near the towns of Lyman and Kupiansk, the heavy fighting of recent weeks has eased, she said. In the south, Maliar said Russian forces dug in after more than a year of occupation "are not simply about to give up". Robotyne, a village secured by Ukraine this month, was firmly under Kyiv's control, although "nearby, very serious fighting is going on. But at the same time, we have made advances."" (07:41 GMT) Russia said the US was guilty of hypocrisy after it criticised President Vladimir Putin's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un because Washington had sown chaos and sent weapons to allies worldwide. "The United States has no right to lecture us on how to live," Russia's ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, said in a statement. The US, Antonov said, had built up a coalition in Asia, expanded military drills near the Korean peninsula and was supplying billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine. "It is time for Washington to throw its economic sanctions into the rubbish dump," Antonov said. "Maintaining the unipolar dominance so beloved by American officials is no longer possible." (07:53 GMT) Ukraine destroyed a Russian air defence system near the town of Yevpatoriya in Crimea in an overnight drone and missile attack conducted by the Security Service of Ukraine and navy on Thursday, a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters. Russia said its air defences had shot down 11 attack drones overnight over Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. 20230915 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-569 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed what he described as Ukraine's destruction of a sophisticated Russian air defence system in the annexed Crimean peninsula. "I thank you for today's triumph," he said in a reference to Russia's "Triumf" air defence system. "The invaders' air defence system was destroyed. Very significant. Well done!" * Ukraine said it also attacked two Russian patrol ships in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. "The [Sergei] Kotov was hit," military intelligence official Andriy Yusov told the Reuters news agency. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed an attack on the ship, but the assault involving five sea drones was repelled. * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said Kyiv's forces were making gains in gruelling battles around three villages south of the eastern city of Bakhmut. Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had repelled eight attacks in the area. * Maliar said Russian forces had sustained "significant losses" on the southern front that had "significantly reduced their ability to defend themselves". Ukraine is aiming to liberate villages from Russian control in a drive towards the Sea of Azov. * Satellite images of the Tsel military southeast of the Belarus capital Minsk appeared to show the dismantling of tents in recent weeks, which may indicate the winding down of the base for Wagner, the Russian mercenary group that played a prominent role in Ukraine until a short-lived mutiny in June. Its chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and his top lieutenants were killed in a plane crash last month * Romania, a NATO member, imposed additional flight restrictions in parts of its airspace along the border with Ukraine, after finding elements of a possible drone. Romania is on the other side of the river to Ukraine's Izmail port, which has been the target of successive Russian attacks. Putin meets Kim Jong Un in Russia * Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office said a six-year-old boy was killed, and four other people, including his 13-year-old brother, were wounded by Russian shelling in the village of Novodmytrivka in the southern Kherson region. * Kursk governor Roman Starovoit said one man was killed after Ukraine shelled the Russian border town of Tyotkino. Diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will visit the United States next week for talks with US President Joe Biden at the White House as he makes the case for ongoing aid. Zelenskyy will also visit the Capitol. * Russian President Vladimir Putin accepted an invitation from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to visit Pyongyang "at a convenient time". North Korean state media said Kim extended the invitation after the leader's first face-to-face meeting in four years, which took place at Russia's Vostochny Cosmodrome. The US and some allies have expressed concern Kim may agree to supply Russia with weapons for use in Ukraine. * South Korea expressed "deep concern and regret" over the Kim-Putin meeting. Lim Soo-suk, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, said cooperation that enabled the development of ballistic and nuclear weapons was in breach of UN Security Council resolutions, and that there would be "very negative impacts" on Moscow's relations with Seoul if it maintained military cooperation with Pyongyang. * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko will hold talks with Putin in Russia on Friday, according to Belarusian state news agency BelTA. The main topics will be the "international agenda and regional issues", it said. * The Vatican said Pope Francis's envoy, Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, had "open and cordial" talks in Beijing with China's special envoy for Eurasian affairs Li Hui on the need to find ways to achieve peace in Ukraine. * Russia expelled two US diplomats from Moscow, accusing them of "illegal activity" in working with Robert Shonov, a Russian national who worked with the US consulate in Vladivostok until 2021. Russia has accused Shonov of espionage. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Washington would respond appropriately. * Slovakia said it expelled a Russian diplomat for breaching the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations and had summoned the Russian ambassador over the issue. Russia said it would give "an appropriate response", according to the state-run RIA news agency. * The International Criminal Court (ICC) opened a field office in Kyiv, as part of efforts to hold Russian forces accountable for alleged war crimes. "Today marks a pivotal stride in our journey towards restoring justice," Ukraine's Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin wrote on social media. Weapons * Ukrainian pilots completed preliminary training on Gripen fighter jets, Sweden said, although it has not yet confirmed whether Stockholm will donate any of the planes to Kyiv. 20230916 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-570 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed his troops have recaptured the village of Andriivka near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. * An overnight Russian drone attack on a military airfield in Ukraine's Khmelnytskyi region - home to the Starokostiantyniv airbase - showed Moscow was searching for warplanes involved in the recent attack on Crimea, Ukraine's air force said. Russia sent 17 "kamikaze" drones to attack the airfield, which has been attacked continually during the war. * A Ukrainian intelligence source said a sea-borne drone damaged the small Russian Samum missile ship near Crimea's Sevastopol Bay entrance, contradicting a Russian account that the attack was repelled. The vessel had to be towed for repairs and was listing to one side after the attack, the source added. * Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of Russia's Security Council, said that Russian forces had "neutralised" hundreds of foreign spies in recent years. Regional security * Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko discussed whether Minsk might join Moscow's efforts to revive an alliance with North Korea, following Kim Jong Un's visit to Russia this week. * Finland will prohibit the entry of vehicles with Russian licence plates as of midnight on Saturday, following Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, which have also recently barred all Russian-registered cars from crossing their borders. * Romania has imposed additional flight restrictions in parts of its air space along the border with Ukraine amid a surge in Russian drone attacks on nearby Ukrainian Danube river ports. * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu inspected repairs and modernisation of the Russian Pacific fleet's nuclear submarines at a key military shipyard. * Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said a man was found guilty of treason and sentenced to 12.5 years in prison for sending Russian missile components to the United States. The FSB said a court in the Tver region had convicted Sergey Kabanov for smuggling components used in Russian air defence missile systems and in radar-based weapons systems. North Korean military support * The Kremlin denied that Russia and North Korea have signed any agreements on military matters or any other security areas during Kim's visit to Russia earlier this week. The US said it had information that talks on North Korea supplying Russia with arms for its war in Ukraine were advancing. * Kim visited a Russian military aviation factory which produces the country's most advanced warplanes. * Putin said Moscow would not breach any agreements concerning South Korea after meeting North Korea's Kim during the week. "[South] Korea is our neighbour, and we must, one way or another, build good neighbourly relations with our neighbours," Putin said. * South Korea and the US said that any military cooperation between North Korea and Russia would be a serious violation of UN sanctions, and there would be "a price to pay" should Moscow and Pyongyang do so. Explainer | How much ammunition can North Korea spare? * The Group of Seven (G7) countries will likely announce a ban on Russian diamonds in the next two to three weeks, a Belgian government official said. Diplomacy * Zelenskyy is expected to visit the White House in Washington, DC, next week during his anticipated visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly. The visit will mark the third time that US President Joe Biden and the Ukrainian leader have met at the White House. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is expecting a visit from the Vatican's Ukraine envoy and is ready to meet him. Black Sea and grain exports * Ukraine exported more grain through Romania's Black Sea port of Constanta to the end of August this year than in 2022, though volumes have fallen as Russia increased attacks on Ukraine's Danube river ports. Kyiv shipped 9.2 million tonnes of grain through Constanta in the first eight months. During the same period in 2022, Ukraine shipped 8.6 million tonnes through Constanta, according to the Reuters news organisation. * Romania plans to double the capacity of Ukrainian grain shipped through its Constanta port in the coming months, the country's Transport Minister Sorin Grindeanu said. * A cargo ship has departed Ukraine's southern city of Odesa amid a Russian naval blockade of the country's ports and threats issued by Moscow against all vessels traversing the Black Sea near Ukraine. * The European Union announced it was ending an import ban on Ukrainian grain in five member states after Kyiv promised to control exports. * Zelenskyy welcomed the EU's decision to end the ban on grain exports from Ukraine, calling it an example of true unity and trust. * Following the EU decision, Hungary imposed a unilateral import ban on 24 Ukrainian agricultural products, including grains, vegetables, several meat products and honey, according to a government decree. Poland said it too would extend an embargo on Ukrainian grain, shortly after the EU decision, as did Slovakia. Economy and trade * Ukraine approved a draft 2024 budget putting the deficit at 1.548 trillion hryvnias ($41.92bn) and increasing defence spending to 1.7 trillion hryvnias ($46bn), a figure which is more than 21 percent of the country's gross domestic product. * Despite the war, house prices in some areas of Ukraine have held their value - and even risen. Though in the east of the country, close to the front line, house prices have dropped. Sport * The Russian Olympic Committee said Moscow will not boycott the 2024 Olympics in Paris, and athletes can choose to participate under a neutral banner. Culture * The UN's World Heritage Committee has placed two major historical sites in Ukraine on its list of endangered sites. The iconic St Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval centre of the western city of Lviv are UNESCO World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine's culture and history. * Thousands of Jewish pilgrims gathered in the Ukrainian city of Uman to mark the Rosh Hashanah religious festival, despite warnings not to travel due to Russia's invasion. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/16/russia-denies-claims-ukraine-retook-village-of-andriivka-near Russia has said its forces remained in control of villages near the shattered city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine, denying a Ukrainian claim that their own troops had liberated the front-line village of Andriivka. On Saturday, Russia dismissed Ukrainian allegations that its forces had been pushed out of Andriivka. This came after the commander of Ukraine's land forces posted a video purporting to show the capture of Andriivka amid a landscape of scorched territory and devastation. 20230917 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-571 Fighting * Russia and Ukraine have disputed control of the devastated village of Andriivka near Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. Russia's defence ministry said its forces were still holding onto Andriivka after Ukraine publicised a video that it said provided evidence its forces were in full control of the village. * Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said the Bakhmut sector was the theatre of "the most active fighting". "Offensive action is continuing south of Bakhmut. Things are hot in Klishchiivka and Kurdiumivka," Maliar said on Telegram, referring to two other villages near the city. "Near Klishchiivka, as a result of offensive action, our defence forces have had successes." * In southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian troops were aiming to push to the Sea of Azov, Maliar said soldiers were "inflicting significant losses on the occupiers in terms of men and equipment". * A Russian-installed official in Ukraine's Donetsk reported intense Ukrainian shelling in the eastern region, saying at least five civilians were killed and one wounded in the attacks. * The Russian defence ministry reported thwarting a coordinated Ukrainian attack on the annexed Crimean Peninsula early on Sunday but did not say whether there was any damage or casualties. * The ministry also said a Ukrainian drone was destroyed in Moscow's Istra district early on Sunday. The incident caused the delay of 24 flights in the capital's airports, according to the state TASS news agency. Military aid * United States Army General Mark Milley told reporters that North Korea may be able to boost Russia's supply of artillery munitions for the war in Ukraine but that it is not likely to make a big difference. Milley, who was travelling to Norway for NATO meetings that began on Saturday, said there is a continued need for more weapons and equipment in Ukraine and that allies and partners will be discussing how to address that. Regional security * Norway's chief of defence said Russian forces stationed in the Arctic near the Scandinavian country were 20 percent or less than the number they were before the Ukraine war. General Erik Kristoffersen said the move suggested that Vladimir Putin knows "very well" that NATO is not a threat to Moscow. * Poland will ban the entry of passenger cars registered in Russia, as part of sanctions imposed on Moscow and its citizens in connection with the war in Ukraine, state media reported, citing Interior Minister Marius Kaminski. * North Macedonia ordered the expulsion of three more Russian diplomats, in the third such move since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * In the Czech Republic, thousands of protesters rallied in Prague to demand the government's resignation over high energy prices as well as its support for Ukraine. Economy * Russian-installed authorities in Crimea said they planned to sell about 100 Ukrainian properties, including one belonging to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The sale contracts amounted to more than 815 million roubles ($8.51m), an official said. * Ukrainian authorities said two cargo vessels have arrived in its Black Sea port of Chernomorsk to load almost 20,000 tonnes of wheat bound for African and Asian markets. The two ships were the first to use a temporary corridor to sail into Ukraine's Black Sea ports after Russia abandoned a deal to let Kyiv export grain. * Farmers in Romania asked their government to unilaterally ban the import of Ukrainian grain and other food products, after the European Union decided to lift restrictions on the goods. Romania is one of five eastern EU countries alongside Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia that saw a surge of Ukrainian grain imports after Russia's invasion, which distorted prices in local markets. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/17/ukraine-russia-war-live-news-drone-attacks-target-crimea-and-moscow (06:36 GMT) A Ukrainian drone damaged an oil depot in southwestern Russia early on Sunday, sparking a fire at a fuel tank that was later extinguished, the regional governor, Andrei Klychkov, said on Telegram. "There are no casualties; all emergency services are working on the territory of the facility," the governor of the Oryol region, Klychkov, said. (06:37 GMT) In the Moscow region, a drone was destroyed over the Istra district and another over the Ramensky district, Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said on Telegram, adding there were no casualties or damage from drone debris. (06:37 GMT) Russia destroyed six Ukrainian drones en route to the Crimea peninsula, Russian officials said. The Defense Ministry said it stopped the drones off the western, northwestern and eastern coasts of Crimea, according to TASS. (07:33 GMT) The UK Ministry of Defence highlights the occupied town of Tokmak (formerly Bolshoy Tokmak) roughly 16km behind the front line, as a key strategic point for Russian forces as they attempt to strengthen their secondary defensive lines. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokmak,_Ukraine (19:37 GMT) The United States' highest-ranking military officer has said that while Ukraine's counteroffensive has not "failed," the country's broader goal of ousting Russian forces from its territory faces a "very high bar." General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on Sunday said that while the current counteroffensive by Ukraine was "slower than the planners had anticipated, it has been steady." "I know there's some commentary out there that somehow this offensive has failed. It hasn't failed," Milley said, adding that Ukraine has "a lot of combat power remaining. The Ukrainians are not a spent force." However, when it comes to the likelihood of achieving more ambitious goals such as reaching the southern coast and recapturing the city of Mariupol, Milley said he didn't want to "make a prediction." He said that the overall strategy of liberating all Ukrainian territory from occupation and managing to "completely kick out all the Russians" is "going to be a very significant effort." "It'll take a considerable length of time to militarily eject all 200,000 or plus Russian troops out of Russian-occupied Ukraine. That's a very high bar. It's going to take a long time to do it." He has defended US weapons assistance being sent to Kyiv, saying Washington is doing its best and cannot just boost Ukraine's battlefield power by sprinkling "magic dust." On Sunday, Milley defended the rate at which the US has been providing weapons and other aid to Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022. Despite criticism - including from inside Ukraine - that the US government is dragging its feet, Milley said some $40bn in weapons and $100bn in overall aid was "extraordinarily generous." The speed of deliveries, however, is governed by logistics and "how fast they can absorb it." 20230918 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-572 Fighting * Ukrainian authorities announced that Kyiv had retaken the eastern village of Klishchiivka, which was occupied by Russia in January. "Klishchiivka was cleared of Russians," Oleksandr Syrsky, the commander of the Ukrainian military's ground forces, said on social media. Klishchiivka is a tactically important town south of the front-line city of Bakhmut. * Addressing the success in his nightly video address on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy praised the country's armed forces. "Today, I would like to particularly commend the soldiers who, step by step, are returning to Ukraine what belongs to it, namely in the area of Bakhmut." * In its daily assessment of the war, the United States-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Ukrainian forces had probably "made a significant tactical breach" along a section of the southern front line. The ISW also said Russian forces continued to fight along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line further north and had reportedly made marginal advances south of the city of Kreminna. * In its latest intelligence update, the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said that Russian forces were reinforcing their secondary defensive line around the occupied town of Tokmak, about 16km behind the front line, amid "Russia's growing concern about Ukrainian tactical penetrations of the first main defensive line to the north". * Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one farm worker was killed and another injured after their tractor hit a mine while ploughing a field. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said earlier this year that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had created the world's largest minefield, covering an area of 250,000 sq km. * Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched six drones and 10 missiles, primarily targeting the Odesa region and damaging an agricultural facility. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces brought down six Ukrainian drones over Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. * Moscow's mayor said Russia shot down two drones near the capital. Thirty flights were delayed and six were cancelled at Moscow's airports as a result. * Ihor Kolykhaiev - the Kherson city mayor who was reportedly captured by Russian forces on June 28, 2022 - has been confirmed as a prisoner of war and is being held in Russia, Kolykhaiev's son told Ukraine's national broadcaster, Suspline. He said he had been informed of his father's status after contacting the Red Cross. * Two cargo ships, using a temporary Black Sea corridor established by Kyiv after Russia withdrew from the previous United Nations-brokered deal to ensure safe passage of Ukrainian grain exports, arrived at the seaport of Chornomorsk in the southern Odesa region. Ukraine's deputy prime minister said the two ships will be delivering some 20,000 tonnes of wheat to countries in Africa and Asia. Diplomacy * White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan met China's top diplomat Wang Yi in Malta for talks that covered a range of issues including the war on Ukraine. * Wang will visit Moscow from September 18-21 for China-Russia Strategic Security Consultations, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced. * Russia and Ukraine will meet at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Monday in a case that centres around Moscow's claims that it invaded Ukraine to prevent genocide. The hearings, set to run until September 27, will not delve into the merits of the case and are instead focused on legal arguments about jurisdiction. Russia wants the case thrown out. * North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was given five "kamikaze" drones, a reconnaissance drone and a bulletproof vest as gifts from a regional governor before he began his journey home to Pyongyang by train. Kim travelled to Russia last week where he held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin and was shown some of the country's most-advanced military equipment and weaponry. * Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed the US was controlling the war in Ukraine and "pursuing a war against us", Russia's state news agency TASS reported. Moscow launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. * Poland began to enforce a European Union ban on the entry of all Russian-registered passenger cars. Weapons * General Mark Milley, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, defended US weapons assistance to Kyiv, saying it was doing the best it could and the speed of deliveries was dependent on logistics. Milley said the US had given some $40bn in weapons and $100bn in overall aid. * Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country will contribute 33 million Canadian dollars ($24.5m) to a UK-led partnership buying air defence equipment for Ukraine. The partnership, which includes the US, the Netherlands and Denmark, aims to buy hundreds of short- and medium-range air defence missiles and associated systems. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/18/georgias-security-services-accuse-ukrainian-official-of-plotting-coup The State Security Service of Georgia (SSG) has accused a senior Ukrainian official of plotting to overthrow the Black Sea nation's government by organising mass unrest in the latest episode of escalating tensions between the ex-Soviet countries. (11:10 GMT) Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser in the Office of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, says it is a big mistake to look at Russia's war in Ukraine only as Kyiv's and Eastern Europe's problem. "Putin's Russia today has become, without a doubt, the problem of humanity - and this problem did not arise yesterday," he said in a statement on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. 20230919 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-573 Fighting * Ukraine dismissed all six of the country's deputy defence ministers - Hanna Maliar, Volodymyr Havrylov, Rostyslav Zamlynskyi, Denys Sharapov, Andriy Shevchenko and Vitalii Deineha - according to local media reports. The announcement follows the September 6 appointment of Rustem Umerov as the new defence minister. * Ukraine said its air defence systems brought down a swarm of Russian attack drones and cruise missiles. "A total of 24 strike UAVs were recorded around the Mykolaiv and Odesa regions. Eighteen attack drones were shot down by air defence units along the tracking route," the Ukrainian Air Force said on social media, adding, "All 17 missiles were shot down." * Ukrainian officials said at least four people were killed in Russian air attacks, two of them in the southern region of Kherson. * Oleh Kiper, Odesa's regional governor, said 11 drones were destroyed in another Russian attack on the Izmail port district on the Danube River that Ukraine uses to export grain. A small fire was extinguished and there were no reports of casualties. * In its latest intelligence update on the fighting, the United Kingdom's defence ministry said Russia appeared to be using airborne units to reinforce under-pressure ground forces on the Zaporizhia front around Orikhiv and Robotyne. * Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said Russia had no information on the health of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov after several social media reports claimed the 46-year-old was unwell. "We have nothing to tell you here," Peskov said. Kadyrov has been an ardent backer of Moscow's "invasion of Ukraine" and his soldiers have fought alongside regular Russian forces. Diplomacy * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Moscow, with Wang hailing the two countries' "strategic cooperation" and shared commitment to a "multipolar world" and a "more just world order". Lavrov said that Russia China cooperation was about "ensuring justice in world affairs" and "for ensuring a balance of interests". Beijing has not condemned Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine but has called for peace. Wang's visit continues until Thursday. * World leaders, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, began arriving in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. * Zelenskyy met injured Ukrainian soldiers receiving medical treatment in New York's Staten Island University Hospital and is due to hold talks with United States President Joe Biden. He will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday in his first speech there since Russia's full-scale invasion. "It's very important that all our words, all our messages will be heard by our partners," Zelenskyy told reporters. "And if in the United Nations still ... there is a place for Russian terrorists, the question not to me I think, it's a question to all the members of the United Nations." * A UN expert said the human rights situation in Russia had significantly deteriorated since it began its "invasion of Ukraine" in February last year. "Russian authorities have severely curtailed the freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression, both online and offline, and have fundamentally undermined the independence of the judiciary and the guarantees of fair trial," the Reuters news agency reported, citing a copy of the report. * Ukraine's Ministry of Economy filed complaints with the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Poland, Slovakia and Hungary over their bans on food imports from Ukraine. It said Ukraine saw such restrictions as a violation of the European Union countries' international obligations. * Poland proposed that new EU sanctions against Russia should include a ban on Russian diamonds and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) and called for sanctions against Belarus to be aligned with those against Moscow, the Reuters news agency reported, citing a proposal it had obtained. The EU is working on its 12th package of sanctions since the war began. * Moscow's foreign ministry condemned EU rules imposed on Russian citizens entering the bloc, saying the rules went "beyond the point of absurdity" and were aimed at "causing harm specifically to ordinary Russians and at making it impossible for Russian citizens to enter the EU". Weapons * Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany would provide Ukraine with additional ammunition, protective vehicles and mine clearance systems as part of a 400 million euro ($427m) aid package. It has yet to make a decision on sending Taurus cruise missiles. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/19/russia-ukraine-war-news-live-moscow-launches-air-attacks-on-lviv (09:15 GMT) A new investigation by The New York Times (NYT) found that an explosion at a market in the Ukrainian city of Kostiantynivka on September 6 was caused by a missile fired by Kyiv. At the time, Ukraine said the blast, which killed at least 16 people, was caused by a Russian missile. "Evidence collected and analysed by The New York Times, including missile fragments, satellite imagery, witness accounts and social media posts, strongly suggests the catastrophic strike was the result of an errant Ukrainian air defence missile fired by a Buk launch system," the newspaper reported on Tuesday. Citing air defence experts, NYT found that missiles like the one that hit Kostiantynivka can go off course for a variety of reasons, including an electronic malfunction. It said security camera footage showed the missile flew into Kostiantynivka from the direction of Ukrainian-held territory, not from behind Russian lines. (11:40 GMT) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukraine will soon receive M1 Abrams tanks as Kyiv's forces steadily advance in their counteroffensive. The tanks are expected to be paired with the controversial 120mm armour-piercing depleted uranium rounds. (12:03 GMT) The Russian TASS news agency reported that Denmark is purchasing 45 tanks to send to Ukraine, citing the Danish agency Ritzau. The new aid package will include 30 Leopard 1 tanks and 15 T-72 tanks. Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark previously jointly bought 100 Leopard 1s - the first 10 tanks arrived in Kyiv in early September after several months of delays. But this is the first time that Copenhagen is donating T-72 tanks. (13:25 GMT) Ukrainian official slams the New York Times investigation as part of a growing "conspiracy theory", after the newspaper found that a missile from Kyiv was responsible for the blast in Kostiantynivka on September 6. (14:39 GMT) Russia says Ukraine was responsible for the blast in Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on September 6 that killed at least 16 people. Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Kyiv had fired a 9M38 missile from a Buk surface-to-air missile system, which hit the busy marketplace. "Even if it was done unintentionally, it is obvious to everyone: the complete demilitarisation of the Kyiv regime is not just a requirement, but a vital necessity," Zakharova said. Earlier on Tuesday, the New York Times reported that evidence suggested a rogue missile fired by Ukraine had caused the explosion. (16:09 GMT) The UK's defence department says it will provide "tens of thousands" more artillery shells to Ukraine this year. 20230920 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-574 Fighting * The New York Times reported that Ukraine was probably responsible for a huge explosion in Kostiantynivka earlier this month that killed at least 16 people in a busy marketplace after a missile went off course. Ukrainian presidential adviser Mikhailo Podolyak condemned the report as feeding "conspiracy theories", but said the circumstances behind the blast were under investigation. "In the meantime, we must not forget: it was Russia that launched the invasion of Ukraine, and it is Russia that is responsible for bringing war to our country," he said. * Russia launched a wave of drone attacks on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing at least one person and igniting a large fire at an industrial warehouse where two people were injured. * At least three people were killed in a Russian attack on the northeastern town of Kupiansk, Kharkiv's governor Oleh Synyehubov said. * Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed 27 out of 30 drones and one ballistic missile that Russia launched on Ukraine's southern, central and western regions, the air force said. Diplomacy * The war in Ukraine was a key topic for many of the world leaders speaking at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York. * At the UN's headquarters for the first time since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged world leaders to show unity in the face of Russia's continued "aggression" in Ukraine, telling delegates that Moscow was "weaponising" food and energy. * US President Joe Biden told the UNGA that the world must remain united in defending Ukraine, asking leaders to stand up to Russia's "naked aggression" to deter other would-be aggressors. "I ask you this: If we abandon the core principles of the United States to appease an aggressor, can any member state in this body feel confident that they are protected?" Biden said in his address. "I'd respectfully suggest the answer is no." * Also addressing the assembly, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country would intensify efforts to end the war in Ukraine. "We will step up our efforts to end the war through diplomacy and dialogue on the basis of Ukraine's independence and territorial integrity." * Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, meanwhile, called for negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, saying that no lasting solution would be found if it was not based on dialogue. "I have reiterated that work needs to be done to create space for negotiations," Lula said. "A lot is invested in weapons and very little in development." * Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to travel to Beijing in October for talks with China's Xi Jinping, in the Russian leader's first trip abroad since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest on alleged war crimes. The two men last met in Moscow in March. Beijing has not condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine but has urged peace talks. * The United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi should push Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and stress to Moscow the importance of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Wang is currently in the Russian capital. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu arrived in Iran to "help strengthen Russian-Iranian military ties", Russia's TASS news agency reported. Weapons * US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin urged his country's allies to "dig deep" and provide more air defence systems for Ukraine. "Air defence is saving lives," Austin said at the opening of a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (UDCG) at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany. * Austin also said Ukraine will "soon" receive M1 Abrams tanks from the US. Washington promised the 31 tanks to Kyiv at the start of the year. * The UK's Defence Minister Grant Shapps said the UK will provide "tens of thousands" more artillery shells to Ukraine this year. Shapps was speaking after the UDCG meeting. 20230921 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-575 Fighting * Ukraine and Russia launched waves of drone attacks overnight with a fire reported at the Kremenchuk oil refinery in Ukraine's Poltava region and four Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) shot down over two regions in Russia's west. The Kremenchuk refinery has been attacked repeatedly by Russia since it invaded Ukraine last year. * Ukraine's General Prosecutor's Office said Russian forces shelled the city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine, killing four people. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said one man was killed and at least two people injured in Ukrainian shelling, which also cut power supplies to three villages. * Russia said it brought down several drones near Sevastopol, the largest city in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine, meanwhile, said its forces mounted a successful attack on a Russian Black Sea fleet command post near Sevastopol. It gave no further details. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said the recent redeployment of Russia's airborne forces from the eastern city of Bakhmut to Zaporizhia in south Ukraine had probably weakened Russia's defences around Bakhmut. Diplomacy * Opening a United Nations Security Council special meeting on the war in Ukraine, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned the war was "aggravating geopolitical tensions and divisions, threatening regional stability, increasing the nuclear threat, and creating deep fissures in our increasingly multipolar world". * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the council that Russia's veto had rendered the world body "ineffective" in responding to the invasion. Russia is one of five permanent members of the council with a veto. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov later defended the veto as an "absolutely legitimate tool" of international relations. * Zelenskyy also told the security council it needed to take "specific actions" to end the war in Ukraine, ensuring Russia's complete withdrawal of troops and proxies from within Ukraine's internationally recognised 1991 borders as well as Ukraine's effective control over its entire state border and exclusive economic zone in the Black and Azov Seas, including the Kerch bridge linking Crimea to Russia. * Also in New York, Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska called on world leaders to help ensure the return of thousands of Ukrainian children forcibly taken by Moscow from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. * Russian President Vladimir Putin formally accepted an invitation to visit China in October, the Kremlin said. It would be Putin's first known trip abroad since the International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant against him for alleged war crimes over the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi is currently in Moscow. * South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, meanwhile, said that if Russia helped North Korea enhance its banned weapons programmes in return for providing weapons for its war in Ukraine, it would be "a direct provocation" that Seoul and its allies would not be able to ignore. * Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called for calm amid rising tension after Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed bans on Ukrainian grain and food imports to protect their own farmers. The appeal came after Warsaw, which has been one of Ukraine's most ardent supporters since the Russian invasion, objected to Zelenskyy's criticism of the bans at the UN, and summoned Kyiv's ambassador. * All 32 states who spoke at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) urged judges to determine that it has jurisdiction in a case brought by Kyiv alleging that Russia abused the Genocide Convention to provide a pretext for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The states asked the ICJ, the highest UN court for disputes between states, to take the case forward to the merits stage. Moscow says the case should be thrown out. Weapons * United States President Joe Biden plans to announce a $325m military aid package for Ukraine on Thursday to coincide with Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, DC, a US official told Reuters on the condition of anonymity. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited an exhibition organised by Iran's aerospace forces and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Tehran. Shoigu "got acquainted with missile weapons, unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs] as well as Iranian-made air defence systems", and said that relations between the two countries were "reaching a new level", the defence ministry said in a statement. * Alice Edwards, the UN rapporteur on torture, wrote to Biden and the US government urging him to reconsider the decision to supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. She said such weapons should not be used because they "indiscriminately and seriously injure civilians both at the time of use and in post-conflict". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/21/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-two-killed-by-air-strikes-on-ukrainian-cities (06:23 GMT) Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki says as tensions are high between Warsaw and Kyiv due to a dispute over grain exports that Poland will no longer supply weapons to Ukraine. (07:39 GMT) Ukraine's security service and navy struck the Saky airbase in Russian-occupied Crimea overnight, inflicting "serious damage", a Ukrainian intelligence source told Reuters news agency. (17:23 GMT) Bulgarian nationalists protest against NATO bases, want government out (18:03 GMT) The president of Serbia has accused the West of hypocrisy, saying its recognition of Kosovo's independence was based on the same justification as Russia's war on Ukraine. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Serbia's Aleksandar Vucic said Western nations cited the principles of sovereignty and human rights when approving Kosovo's status as an independent nation. (18:51 GMT) Al Jazeera's Kimberly Halkett in Washington said the reception Zelenskyy has been met with has been "somewhat cooler than in recent visits". This is especially the case when it comes to "those on the conservative side of the political spectrum, specifically ... the Republicans." "Many are concerned that the United States simply doesn't have the money that it once did to continue to finance the Russian invasion ... and Ukraine's defence," she added. "As a result, they are now asking a number of questions about where the money has gone." (19:11 GMT) The head of the European Investment Bank (EIB) has warned his soon-to-be announced successor that bowing to pressure from some EU capitals to fund weapons for Ukraine would put the bank on the "wrong track". "If we use their [our partners'] money to buy ammunition, we're on the wrong track," Werner Hoyer told Reuters in an interview. "It will be controversial. I don't envy my successor." Hoyer will step down from the EU's powerful lending arm at the end of December after 12 years turning the EIB into one of the world's largest providers of climate finance. 20230922 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-576 Fighting * Ukraine warned that winter could be hard after a barrage of Russian missiles targeted civilian infrastructure. "Difficult months are ahead: Russia will attack energy and critically important facilities," said Oleksiy Kuleba, the deputy head of Kyiv's presidential office. Ukraine's energy operator Ukrenergo said 398 settlements were without power after the attacks. Temperatures can fall as low as 20 degrees below zero Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) in Ukraine during the winter months when it usually snows heavily. * General Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said air defences shot down 36 of 43 missiles launched by Russia. Zaluzhnyi said the missiles were launched in several waves from 10 Russian warplanes. At least two people were killed and 21 wounded. A number of fires were also reported. * Russia said it shot down all Ukrainian missiles fired in an attempted attack on the Saky airbase in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Ukraine's military said its forces had inflicted "serious damage" on equipment struck at the Russian base. * The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, said it appeared Ukrainian forces were operating armoured vehicles beyond Russian anti-tank defences in a key stretch of the front line near Verbove in Zaporizhia in an "important sign of progress in the Ukrainian counteroffensive". * Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said Junior Sergeant Sarah Ashton-Cirillo had been suspended from her duties as the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces pending an investigation. The 45-year-old New Yorker appears to have been removed after saying in a video that "Russian devils [will] pay for their crimes". Diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made his second visit to Washington, DC, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of his country. Zelenksyy, who addressed the Senate and met key officials during his visit, struck a note of gratitude, saying talks in the US capital had been "productive" and "strong" and thanking the US government and people for their support. He also welcomed a new package of military assistance. "It has exactly what our soldiers need now," he said, calling it a "very powerful package". * Zelenskyy's visit to Washington, DC, took place amid increasing scepticism on the right of the Republican party about the US providing continued aid to Ukraine. "Yesterday at a classified briefing over Ukraine, it became clear that America is being asked to fund an indefinite conflict with unlimited resources," Ohio Republican Senator JD Vance wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Enough is enough. To these and future requests, my colleagues and I say: NO." He attached a letter, signed by 28 Republicans, protesting against increased aid. * Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Zelenskyy would visit Ottawa from September 21 - 22, and address the country's parliament. * US President Joe Biden condemned Russia's attempt to secure new weapons supplies from Iran and North Korea. "Russia alone stands in the way of peace. It could end this today. Instead, Russia is seeking more weapons from Iran and North Korea that would violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions that Moscow itself voted to put in place," he said. * Five Bulgarian nationals accused of spying for Russia will appear in court on September 26. The three men and two women, aged between 29 and 45, are accused of "conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy", the Crown Prosecution Service said Weapons * Mateusz Morawiecki, the prime minister of Poland, was quoted saying the country would stop supplying weapons to Ukraine amid a growing dispute over grain exports. Polish President Andrzej Duda said the prime minister's comments had been taken the wrong way. Morawiecki's "words were interpreted in the worst way possible", Duda told TVN24 television, saying the prime minister was speaking about the plan for equipment being bought to modernise Poland's military. Poland has been one of Ukraine's staunchest supporters. * Zelenskyy met US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, General Mark Milley, the chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and other officials at the Pentagon. "We discussed the deliveries of artillery systems and long-range capabilities, as well as strengthening air defence," he wrote on X, as he shared a video of the meeting. * Werner Hoyer, the head of the European Investment Bank (EIB), warned his soon-to-be-announced successor against bowing to pressure from some European Union capitals to fund weapons for Ukraine. "If we use their [our partners'] money to buy ammunition, we're on the wrong track," Hoyer told the Reuters news agency. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/22/russia-ukraine-war-live-one-killed-in-russian-shelling-in-kherson (08:06 GMT) Of the many explosions that have occurred recently behind Russian lines, Kremlin leaders are likely to be most concerned about the explosions at Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow, the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said. Those explosions "are likely to be of most strategic concern to Russian leaders," the MoD said in its daily update on X, formerly known as Twitter. "This is a sensitive location because it hosts specialist military aircraft as well as VIP transport for Russian leaders," the British military said, adding that aircraft at the base are "particularly relevant" because they "undertake missions which include electronic intelligence collection. 20230923 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-577 Fighting * At least one Ukrainian missile hit the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in the port of Sevastopol. Kyiv claimed responsibility for the attack on the fleet's HQ in the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula. * Crimea was also the target of a large-scale attack by computer hackers who targeted the peninsula's internet providers. The cyberattack was described as "unprecedented" by Moscow-appointed officials in the region. * Moscow had two options for the future of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea - voluntary or forced "self-neutralisation", the secretary of Ukraine's Security Council Oleksiy Danilov said. If Moscow does not choose the voluntary option, it "will be sliced up like a salami", Danilov said on social media. * Russian aerial defence system destroyed a Ukrainian missile and two drones flying near the Crimean Peninsula, Russia's Ministry of Defence said. * Ukrainian operations against Crimea demonstrate Kyiv's growing ability to take the fight to Russian positions, Al Jazeera's Zein Basravi said, reporting from Kyiv, amid the attack on the Black Fleet Navy HQ earlier. * One person was killed and 15 injured following a Russian missile attack on the central Ukrainian city of Kremenchuk. Fifteen people, including a child, were also injured, a local official said. * The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a Washington, DC-based think tank, said the Ukrainian army has made progress in its offensive in the south of the country. Ukrainian armoured vehicles have been seen operating for the first time beyond the last Russian defence line near Robotyne in the Zaporizhia region, the ISW said. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said that of the recent drone and missile attacks on Russian territory, the Kremlin will likely be most concerned about explosions at the Chkalovsky military airfield near Moscow. "This is a sensitive location because it hosts specialist military aircraft as well as VIP transport for Russian leaders." * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Canada's parliament that Russia is engaged in "genocide" against his country. * Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Russia has restarted a systemic campaign of aerial attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure ahead of winter, but the country's air defence systems were better prepared compared with last year. * At least one person was killed in Russian shelling in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson. A 25-year-old man was killed and another person wounded when residential districts came under Russian fire in the city, which is close to the front line. Military aid * United States President Joe Biden announced a new military aid package for Ukraine valued at $325m and said the first US-made Abrams tanks will be delivered to Ukraine next week. Washington has promised that 31 of the highly advanced battle tanks will be sent to Kyiv. * Biden also informed Zelenskyy that Washington would send a number of ATACMS long-range missiles to Kyiv, US broadcaster NBC News reported, citing information from four unnamed US officials. * Ukraine and the US agreed to launch joint weapons production in a move that will enable Kyiv to start producing air defence systems, Zelenskyy said. * Visiting Canada after his visit to Washington, Zelenskyy welcomed the announced provision of 650 million Canadian dollars ($482m) in military aid to Ukraine over three years. The aid involved 50 armoured vehicles, including those used for medical evacuation. * Zelenskyy said Canada's military support for Ukraine had saved lives. Human rights * Repression in Russia has soared since last year, reaching levels not seen since Stalinist times, a United Nations expert warned. * Russia handed down a lengthy prison term to a political activist who used social media to post comments critical of Moscow's war on Ukraine. The activist, Richard Rouz, was sentenced to eight years in jail by a military court in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg. Diplomacy * Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki warned Ukraine's Zelenskyy to never again "insult" Polish people. "I ... want to tell President Zelenskyy never to insult Poles again, as he did recently during his speech at the UN," Morawiecki told an election rally. Zelenskyy angered his Polish neighbours when he told the UN General Assembly in New York that Kyiv was working to preserve land routes for its grain exports, but that the "political theatre" around grain imports was only helping Moscow. Poland believes the comment was directed at its decision to extend a ban on Ukrainian grain imports in a bid to protect local farmers. * The Kremlin said it expects the dispute between Ukraine and Poland, sparked by disagreements over grain exports, to escalate. * Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine was a "break with civilization" and a violation of "our common humanity". Regional security * Russia and Belarus started joint military drills on Belarusian territory that will last five days, Belarus's Ministry of Defence said. * North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for strengthening "close contacts" with Moscow following his return from a visit to Russia where he held talks with Putin. Kim's visit "introduced long-term plans for developing DPRK-Russia relations", state media in North Korea reported, using the acronym of the country's official name Economies * Russia plans to spend big on defence in 2024 with a budget allocation of 6 percent of gross domestic product, up from 3.9 percent in 2023 and 2.7 percent in 2021, Bloomberg News has reported. * Starting on Thursday, Russia temporarily banned exports of petrol and diesel to all countries outside a circle of four ex-Soviet states to stabilise the domestic market and tackle a fuel crunch. The export ban will last as long as necessary to ensure market stability, a spokesman for the Kremlin told reporters. * The war in Ukraine reduced Europe's economic growth and "considerably" increased inflation, the Swiss National Bank said in a study. Examining the war's economic impact on the UK, Italy, France and Switzerland, the study found that output would have been between 0.1 percent and 0.7 percent higher in the fourth quarter of 2022 if Russia had not invaded Ukraine. * A leading grain cultivator in Ukraine has harvested 37.4 million metric tonnes of grain and oilseeds during this year's harvest so far, Ukraine's Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food said. * Ukraine's natural gas consumption is expected to fall below 20 billion cubic metres (bcm) this year compared with about 27 billion in 2021 before Russia's invasion, the CEO of the country's biggest oil and gas company Naftogaz said. Sanctions * The owners of Russian assets frozen by Western governments as parts of Ukraine war sanctions may sue relevant authorities in those countries if they decide to impose a windfall tax on them, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the UK's Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt have signalled support for a European Union plan to impose such a tax on profits generated by frozen Russian sovereign assets. The money generated would be used to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. Sport * Moscow said it hopes Russia will become part of the Olympic community once again despite sanctions against Russian athletes. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recommended allowing athletes from Russia and Moscow's ally Belarus to compete as individual neutrals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Black Sea grain * The Kremlin said that no progress had been made on the Black Sea grain issue and that no talks between Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan were scheduled in a bid to revive the deal that allowed Ukraine to export from its Black Sea ports. Russia has quit a Turkish-brokered deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain via the Black Sea and has re-imposed a sea blockade. * Ukraine's deputy prime minister confirmed the departure of another cargo vessel carrying grain from Ukraine's Chornomorsk seaport despite threats of attack on shipping by Russia. The ship, Aroyat, was reported to have been loaded with 17600 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat bound for Egypt ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/23/ukraine-to-get-us-long-range-atacms-missiles-us-media-report United States President Joe Biden has informed his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, that Washington will provide Kyiv with ATACMS long-range missiles, NBC News has reported. Ukraine has repeatedly asked the Biden administration for the long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) to help hit supply lines, airbases and rail networks deep behind Russia's front lines in occupied regions of Ukraine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/15/russia-longer-range-us-missiles-for-kyiv-would-cross-red-line Russia's foreign ministry says if the US sends Ukraine longer-range missiles, then it would become a 'party to conflict'. ... (08:24 GMT) Ukraine says dozens were killed or wounded - including "senior Russian navy commanders" - when it launched a missile barrage at Moscow's Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol on Friday. "The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and the result is dozens of dead and wounded occupants, including senior fleet commanders," the Ukrainian army said. The strike happened when "a meeting of the Russian navy's leadership" was ongoing, it added. No immediate response from Russia to the claims was available. Crimea has served as the key hub supporting Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Sevastopol, the main base of the Black Sea Fleet since the 19th century, has had particular importance for navy operations since the start of the war. (09:12 GMT) A Russian-installed official of Crimea has said that the peninsula's internet services were interrupted during the Ukrainian attack on the Black Sea Navy headquarters. The peninsula was simultaneously hit by an "unprecedented cyberattack" on its internet providers, said Oleg Kryuchkov, an adviser to the Crimea governor. (09:24 GMT) The Russian-installed head of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea has warned of new Ukrainian missile strikes after Russia's Black Sea Fleet headquarters was targeted. "Attention! Missile danger!" Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said on Telegram. "Close your windows properly and stay away from them." He also asked commuters to get out of cars and public transport and seek shelter in a safe place. ... (15:45 GMT) Zein Basravi, reporting from Kyiv, says Ukraine's military intelligence confirmed at least nine dead and 16 wounded following Friday's attack in Sevastopol. At least two senior generals were wounded, while the fate of the head of the Russian Black Sea navy, Viktor Sokolov, remained unknown, Basravi said. The reporter added that residents in Crimea were clamouring for the last spots in air-raid shelters as Ukrainian attacks breached Russia's defences. "Four or five areas in Crimea are being targeted, but the primary target is the [navy's] headquarters," he said. (17:20 GMT) Lavrov has taken aim at the United States during his speech at the UN General Assembly, saying Washington and its allies are "doing everything they can to prevent the formation of a genuine multipolar world order". "The US and its subordinated collective continue to fuel conflicts which artificially divide humanity into hostile blocks and hamper the achievement of overall aims," Lavrov said. "They are trying to force the world to play according to their own self-centred rules." He urged Western leaders to re-read the UN charter, which underscores the "sovereign equality of states large and small irrespective of their form of government". (18:05 GMT) Western powers through their support to Ukraine have effectively entered direct war against Moscow, Lavrov told a news conference at the United Nations. "You can call it anything you want, but they are fighting with us, they are straight-up fighting with us. We call it a hybrid war, but that doesn't change things," he said. 20230924 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-578 Fighting * Ukraine launched another missile attack on Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea, according to officials, a day after an attack on the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea Fleet left a serviceman missing and the main building smouldering. * Ukraine's intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Voice of America that Kyiv's attack on the Russian Black Sea Fleet on Friday killed at least nine people and wounded 16 others. He claimed that Alexander Romanchuk, a Russian general commanding forces along the key southeastern front line, was "in a very serious condition" following the attack. Budanov's claim could not be independently verified. * Elsewhere, Ukraine's military said Russia launched 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones at the front-line Zaporizhia region in the southeast as well as Dnipropetrovsk province farther north. It claimed to have destroyed 14 of the drones. * Separately, the Governor of Zaporizhia Yuri Malashko said that Russia had carried out 86 raids on 27 settlements in the province on Friday. Malashko said that an 82-year-old civilian was killed by artillery fire. * In the neighbouring Kherson region, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said at least one person was killed and three were wounded over the past day because of Russian shelling. * Mykhailo Podolyak, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said Ukrainians had no illusions about the prospects of a long, drawn-out war. "Are the Ukrainian people happy about the prospect of a long war of attrition? Absolutely not. We are following this path only because there is no other way today. That is why our task is to hold out one day longer than the enemy. And we will do it. Because, unlike Russia, we have no choice," he said in a post on X. Military aid * Ukrainian commanders on the front lines of the fighting told Reuters news agency that heavy weapons supplied by the West, including the Polish-made Krab gun and the United States-made M109 self-propelled howitzer, were inflicting a significant toll on enemy lines. "They [the Russians] hate our hardware. That's what we gather from our intercepts. We hear that we keep giving them hell and they keep wondering how much ammunition we have left," a Ukrainian commander identified as Oleksandr told the agency. Diplomacy * Zelenskyy, who was on his way home after addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, said he met Sudan's army chief and de facto ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan during a stopover in Ireland. The two leaders talked of "common security challenges, particularly the activities of illegal armed groups financed by Russia", he said. * The Ukrainian leader also made a stopover in Poland to hand out state awards to two Polish volunteers, but did not meet any officials as relations between the two countries are strained over grain imports. Economy * Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who was also in New York to attend the UN General Assembly, told journalists that the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain initiative were unrealistic. "We explained to the secretary general why his proposals won't work. We don't reject them. They're simply not realistic. They cannot be implemented," he said. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/24/russia-ukraine-war-live-peace-plan-grain-deal-not-realistic-lavrov (08:53 GMT) A Ukrainian drone strike has hit an administrative building in the centre of Russia's southern Kursk city, authorities have said. Kyiv has targeted Russian cities with almost daily attacks in recent months of Moscow's offensive, ongoing for 19 months. Kursk is around 90 kilometres from the border with Ukraine. "In Kursk, a Ukrainian drone attacked an administrative building in the central district," governor Roman Starovoyt said on Telegram. "The roof was slightly damaged. Employees of the emergency services are working at the scene." ... Why is Crimea so important to both Russia and Ukraine? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RPFvhPu-7w 20230925 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-579 Fighting * At least three people were killed and eight injured after Russian shelling and air attacks on the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson. The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia also attacked the Black Sea region of Odesa and other regions in southern Ukraine. * A second shipment of Ukrainian wheat reached Turkey via the Black Sea, according to maritime traffic monitoring sites, despite Russian threats to attack boats heading to or from Ukraine after its July withdrawal from the United Nations-brokered Black Sea Grain Initiative. * Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-installed head of the Russian-annexed Ukrainian region of Donetsk imposed a curfew, from 11pm until 4am from Monday to Friday. The decree outlaws any kind of public assembly or mass event without official military approval and includes "military censorship of postal mail and messages transmitted via telecommunications systems as well as control of telephone conversations". Diplomacy * Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine's proposed peace plan and the latest UN proposals to revive the Black Sea grain deal were "not realistic". * Polish President Andrzej Duda said Poland remained ready to help Ukrainian grain reach countries outside Europe despite an ongoing dispute over access to the Polish market. Duda said special transport corridors could be used to move grain from neighbouring Ukraine to ports. * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met leading US entrepreneurs and financiers during his visit to the United States. Zelenskyy said the businessmen, who included Michael Bloomberg, Larry Fink and Bill Ackman, were prepared to make significant investments in rebuilding Ukraine. * Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza has been transferred to a maximum security prison in Siberia and placed in a tiny "punishment cell", his lawyer said. The 42-year-old was convicted of treason for publicly condemning Russia's war in Ukraine and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Weapons * Pope Francis suggested that some countries were "playing games" with Ukraine by first providing weapons and then considering backing out of their commitments. "A process is starting in which the martyr certainly will be the Ukrainian people and that is an ugly thing," the pope told reporters on his way back from a visit to Marseilles. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/25/russia-ukraine-war-live-overnight-air-attacks-continue-from-both-sides (11:19 GMT) Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov calls Canada's recognition of a Ukrainian man who served in one of Adolf Hitler's Waffen SS units during World War II "outrageous". "Such sloppiness of memory is outrageous," he told reporters. "Many Western countries, including Canada, have raised a young generation that does not know who fought whom or what happened during the Second World War. And they know nothing about the threat of fascism," he added. Peskov made the comments after Canadian Parliament Speaker Anthony Rota introduced Yaroslav Hunka as "a Ukrainian-Canadian war veteran from the Second World War who fought for Ukrainian independence against the Russians" and "a Ukrainian hero and a Canadian hero". Rota has now apologised for praising Hunka. (11:42 GMT) Hungary will not support Ukraine in any issue in international affairs until "Ukraine does not restore the former rights for ethnic Hungarians on its territory", Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has told the parliament. Budapest has clashed with Kyiv over what it says are curbs on the rights of roughly 150,000 ethnic Hungarians to use their native tongue, especially in education, after Ukraine passed a law in 2017 restricting the use of minority languages in schools. (18:32 GMT) Canada's prime minister has said the singling out of a Ukrainian veteran alleged to have fought for the Nazis during World War II for a standing ovation during a visit by Kyiv's leader was "clearly unacceptable". "This is something that is deeply embarrassing to the Parliament of Canada and by extension to all Canadians," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters. 20230926 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-580 Fighting * Ukraine claimed it killed Viktor Sokolov the commander of Russia's Black Sea fleet and dozens of officers in last week's missile attack on Moscow's naval headquarters in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. "Thirty-four officers were killed, including the commander of the Black Sea fleet. Another 105 occupiers were wounded," Ukraine's special forces said. * Russian missile, drone attacks and shelling killed six people in Ukraine and caused "significant damage" to infrastructure at the Black Sea port of Odesa. Oleh Kiper, the Odesa region governor, said storage facilities were hit, which contained almost 1,000 tonnes of grain. * Russia said it repelled more Ukrainian air attacks on Crimea and in the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk. * The Ukrainian military's National Resistance Center said Russian-installed officials in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia were preparing to carry out a military mobilisation in the regions. Diplomacy * Russian occupiers tortured Ukrainians so brutally that some of their victims died and forced families to listen as they raped women next door a United Nations-mandated investigative body said. Erik Mose, the chair of the Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine told the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that his team had collected further evidence that suggested Moscow's use of torture was "widespread and systematic" and that its soldiers "raped and committed sexual violence against women of ages ranging from 19 to 83 years" in occupied parts of Kherson province. * Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban told parliament Budapest would not support Ukraine on any issue in international affairs until Kyiv restored the "former rights for ethnic Hungarians on its territory". There are about 150,000 ethnic Hungarians in the country. * Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said it was "deeply embarrassing" and "clearly unacceptable" that 98-year-old Ukrainian veteran Yaroslav Hunka had been hailed as an independence hero and given a standing ovation during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to parliament. Hunka is alleged to have fought for the Nazis during World War II. Anthony Rota, the speaker of Canada's House of Commons, earlier apologised for the recognition given to Hunka. Weapons * Zelenskyy said United States-made Abrams tanks had arrived in Ukraine and were "being prepared to reinforce our brigades". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/26/russia-ukraine-war-live-several-dead-in-air-strikes-on-odesa (08:08 GMT) The UK's defence ministry has said that "a dynamic, deep strike battle is underway in the Black Sea", after the Russian Black Sea Fleet suffered a series of major attacks in recent weeks. "This is likely forcing Russia into a reactive posture whilst demonstrating that Ukraine's military can undermine the Kremlin's symbolic and strategic power projection from its warm water port in occupied Sevastopol," the ministry said in a statement on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter). (10:17 GMT) Przemyslaw Czarnek, Poland's education minister, has said that he has launched a proposal to extradite Yaroslav Hunka, a Ukrainian man who served in a Nazi unit during World War II, from Canada to Poland. Hunka, 98, had been honoured as a "Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero" by the speaker of the Canadian Parliament on Friday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/26/canada-parliament-speaker-faces-calls-to-step-down-after-honouring-nazi The speaker of Canada's Parliament Anthony Rota resigns in face of mounting pressure after he honoured 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka who served in Nazi World War II unit. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/26/ukraine-says-russian-black-sea-fleet-commander-among-34-officers-killed Viktor Solokov, Moscow's top admiral in Crimea, was shown in a Russian defence ministry video conference after allegedly being killed in a weekend missile attack. 20230927 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-581 Fighting * Russia released a video reportedly showing Viktor Sokolov, commander of Russia's Black Sea Fleet in Crimea, at a meeting with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and other military top brass a day after Ukrainian special forces claimed he was among dozens of officers killed in an attack on the fleet's Sevastopol naval base. Ukraine said it was clarifying information regarding Sokolov. * The United Kingdom's defence ministry said "a dynamic, deep strike battle" was under way in the Black Sea after the Russian Black Sea Fleet suffered a series of major attacks. * Kyiv said its air defences destroyed 26 of 38 Russian drones fired overnight but that some of the drones hit the Danube River port of Izmail, damaging more than 30 vehicles and injuring two drivers during a two-hour attack. The drone barrage also prompted the temporary suspension of ferry services to Romania. * Russia, meanwhile, said it repelled several Ukrainian drone attacks over its Belgorod and Kursk regions. * Russian shelling killed at least two people in a village in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region and injured two others in the southern Kherson region, according to local authorities. * Russia's former President Dmitry Medvedev said he visited troops at a firing range near the front line in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Kremlin's Security Council, said troops showed "excellent combat qualities of will, firmness and a general attitude to victory". Diplomacy and politics * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said sanctions on Russia were not sufficient to halt its "aggression" and promised new Ukrainian action against the "terrorist state". * Anthony Rota, the speaker of Canada's Parliament resigned, days after he honoured a man who fought in a Nazi unit during World War II as Zelenskyy visited the House of Commons. * Alexey Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader, lost his appeal against a 19-year prison term for a raft of charges including alleged "extremist activities" that were added to his existing sentence last month. Proceedings were closed to the media. * Five Bulgarians living in the United Kingdom charged with spying for Russia appeared in court via videolink for an initial hearing. The three men and two women were arrested in February and are accused of "conspiring to collect information intended to be directly or indirectly useful to an enemy", namely Russia, between August 2020 and February this year. They spoke only to confirm their names. Weapons * Washington imposed new sanctions on five Russian and 11 Chinese companies for their role in supplying drone technology components for use in the war. * Estonia joined Germany in a joint procurement programme for ammunition for Ukraine increasing production capacity. Ammunition "is and will remain a crucial factor for Ukraine's resilience", said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. * Zelenskyy said more than 160 companies from 26 countries in North America, Asia, Europe and Australia would attend the country's first defence industries forum later this year. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/27/russia-ukraine-war-live-kyiv-raises-doubts-over-death-of-commander-sokolov (09:22 GMT) Petro Andriushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's exiled mayor, has said that Russia is trying to build a direct railway connection with Mariupol, Volnovakha and Donetsk, its occupied territories. "They started building a railway bridge near the village. Granitne across the Kalmius River. If successful, this will allow the existing branch Mariupol-Aslanov-Kalchik-Volnovakha to be included in a direct connection with Taganrog and Rostov-on-Don," he said on Telegram. "In practice, this is not only a global solution to the issue of military and civilian logistics, but also a drastic reduction in dependence on railway communication via the Crimean Bridge," he added. (14:17 GMT) Russia's defence ministry has said that in total, since the beginning of "the special military operation" in Ukraine, "479 aircraft, 250 helicopters, 7191 unmanned aerial vehicles, 438 anti-aircraft missile systems, 12170 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1155 combat vehicles of multiple launch rocket systems, 6557 field artillery guns and mortars, and also 13,499 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed" by its troops, the ministry said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app and that its military continues to destroy Kyiv's military equipment. (15:01 GMT) Ukraine scored devastating deep strikes against Russian-occupied Crimea in the 83rd week of the war, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy toured Europe and the United States picking up pledges of new long-range weapons and financing. At the same time, Ukrainian and Western sources confirmed that Ukrainian troops had broken through the first and strongest line of Russian defence on the southern front, known as the Surovikin Line after the general who devised it. That success could accelerate their march towards the cities of Tokmak and Melitopol. 20230928 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-582 Fighting * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said "a concerted new Russian offensive [wa]s less likely over the coming weeks" based on its daily assessment of the war in Ukraine. * Ilya Yevlash, spokesperson for the Eastern Group of Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told the RBC-Ukraine outlet that mercenaries from Russia's Wagner Group had returned to the front line in the east. Wagner was instrumental in the Russian capture of Bakhmut earlier this year, but its troops were pulled out after a short-lived mutiny and the death a month later of leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash. Yevlash said that while the mercenaries were among the "most prepared" in the Russian military, they were not a "significant threat, a 'game changer'". * Moscow accused the UK and the United States of involvement in last week's Ukrainian attack on the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol in annexed Crimea. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed Western reconnaissance data, satellites of NATO countries, and spy planes were used. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) said it detained two Kyiv residents for aiding Russia by revealing information about military facilities and the capital's critical infrastructure. The two had been working for Moscow for two months for financial gain, the SBU said in a statement. * Russian Ambassador to Cuba Viktor Koronelli said Moscow and Havana were "in contact" after Cuba arrested 17 people over the alleged trafficking of its citizens to fight for Russia's forces in Ukraine. Diplomacy and politics * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the country will mark October 1 as the "Day of its Defenders" and hold a minute's silence to "honour those who gave their lives in defence of our country and people". * The Ukrainian government named three new deputy defence ministers - Yuriy Dzhyhyr, deputy finance minister between 2018-2020; Natalia Kalmykova, who was most recently executive director of the Ukrainian Veteran Fund; and Kateryna Chernohorenko, head of Ukraine's "Army of Drones" project. * Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau apologised after a man who served in a Nazi unit during World War II was honoured in parliament. "Paying tribute to this individual, without knowing who he was, was a terrible mistake and a violation of the memory of those who cruelly suffered at the hands of the Nazi regime," Trudeau said. Yaroslav Hunka, 98, was given two standing ovations last week during a special session attended by Zelenskyy. * Russia announced it was blacklisting 23 more people in Britain, including senior military and political officials as well as journalists and think tank experts, over the country's "anti-Russia policy" and "all-round support for the neo-Nazi regime in Kyiv". The Foreign Ministry did not publicly name all those sanctioned but said it included Chief of the Defence Staff Antony Radakin, Chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee Madeleine Alessandri, and Cressida Hogg, who chairs defence firm BAE Systems. * At least three pro-war Russian journalists have been sent pig heads, according to The Moscow Times. The three journalists - including state media columnist Timofey Sergeitsev, military expert Konstantin Sivkov and TASS news agency photojournalist Mikhail Tereshchenko - said they had previously received death threats. It was not clear who sent the heads. Weapons * Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces had destroyed thousands of pieces of Ukrainian military equipment since its February 2022 invasion including nearly 13,000 tanks, 250 helicopters and more than 6,500 field artillery guns and mortars. * European-made components were found in Iranian kamikaze drones used by Russia to attack Ukraine in recent weeks, according to a report compiled by Ukraine and obtained by the UK's Guardian newspaper. The 47-page document revealed that 52 electrical components manufactured by Western companies had been found in the Shahed-131 drone and 57 in the Shahed-136 model. The report was submitted by the Ukrainian government to the Group of Seven (G7) countries, the paper said. * Bulgaria's parliament approved the provision of additional military aid to Ukraine including defective surface-to-air missiles for the Russian-made S-300 air defence system and small-calibre automatic weapon ammunition discarded by the Interior Ministry, the state-run BTA news agency reported. Experts said while Bulgaria was not able to repair the missiles, Ukraine had the facilities to do so. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/28/russia-ukraine-war-live-dozens-of-kamikaze-drones-target-ukraine-overnight (07:47 GMT) Russia has lost about 90 fixed-wing aircraft in combat since February 2022, the UK Ministry of Defence says in its daily public intelligence update. (08:04 GMT) Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov launched a scathing attack on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in an interview with TASS. "The IOC is using the situation around Ukraine to grossly and directly violate the Olympic Charter," Lavrov stated. "While barring the majority of our athletes from competing, they make an exception for certain sports and age groups to compete under a neutral status, without a flag or an anthem, seeing this as some big favour to us," he added. (09:40 GMT) Russian state conglomerate Rostec said on Thursday it had restored normal operations at its Leonardo air booking system following what it called a "massive cyberattack from abroad". "The cyberattack has been successfully repelled," Rostec stated. It described the incident as a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attack", in which the attacker floods a server with internet traffic to prevent users from accessing connected online services and sites. Rostec gave no further information. The company controls much of Russia's weapons industry. (17:32 GMT) A missile that killed two people in a Polish village in November belonged to Kyiv's forces, Warsaw has said. Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said on Thursday that an "investigation carried out by Polish prosecutors led to ... an unequivocal opinion... that this missile was Ukrainian". Two workers at a grain drying facility died in the blast in Przewodow, some 6km from the Ukrainian border, raising fears of an escalation in the war between Moscow and Kyiv. 20230929 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-583 Fighting * Russia launched its largest air attack on Ukraine this month, targeting three regions - Mykolaiv and Odesa in the south and Kirovohrad in central Ukraine. The air force said its air defence systems shot down 34 of 44 Shahed drones. Damage on the ground was limited. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukrainian forces were "gradually gaining ground" in their counteroffensive against Russia. Speaking in Kyiv at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Stoltenberg also said Russian troops were fighting for Moscow's "imperial delusions". * Russia is set to increase defence spending by almost 70 percent to almost 10.8 trillion roubles ($111.15bn) in 2024, according to the finance ministry. Under the plan, defence spending will amount to about 6 percent of the gross domestic product. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said elections conducted earlier this month in Russian-occupied parts of eastern Ukraine marked a step towards their full integration into Russia. Kyiv condemned the votes in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions as illegal. * The United Kingdom Ministry of Defence said Russia has lost about 90 fixed-wing aircraft in combat since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. It added that Russia was also using such aircraft far more intensively than during peacetime and that it was highly likely that was "eating into its airframes lifespans far more more quickly than planned". * The Ukrainian energy ministry said Russian shelling damaged a combined heat and power station in southern Ukraine overnight. The station was not in operation at the time of the attack, but a warehouse caught fire. The blaze was eventually put out. * Ukrainian national broadcaster Suspilne reported that Ukrainian pilots were mastering how to fly F-16 fighter jets on combat missions with the help of VR simulators before they go overseas for further training. Diplomacy and politics * The European Union extended protection measures for Ukrainian refugees to March 2025. Spanish Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska, whose country holds the organisation's rotating presidency, said there were more than four million Ukrainians currently in the EU, and they would be supported for "as long as it takes". The measure gives Ukrainians in the EU access to the job market, medical care and education. * Swedish prosecutors have called for a prison sentence of up to five years for Sergei Skvortsov, a Russian-Swedish citizen accused of passing Western technology to Russia's military. Skvortsov was arrested in a dawn raid on his home in November 2022. The court will announce the verdict in his trial on October 26. * Putin met Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, according to state TV presenter Pavel Zarubin. The meeting took place three days after Kadyrov published a video of his teenage son beating up a Ukrainian prisoner accused of burning the Quran and amid speculation about Kadyrov's health. * Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country would not help Russia evade sanctions. The Central Asian country shares a long border with Russia and is home to a large ethnic Russian minority. Tokayev was speaking after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin. Weapons * French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu discussed the possibility of joint weapons production during talks with Zelenskyy in Kyiv. Lecornu and Zelenskyy also discussed bolstering Ukraine's air defences ahead of winter, amid concern Russia will again target energy infrastructure during the coldest months of the year. * United Kingdom Defence Secretary Grant Shapps was also in Kyiv discussing how to bolster Ukraine's air defences with Zelenskyy. Shapps also met Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and was briefed on the situation at the front. "Focus on air defence, artillery, anti-drone systems. Winter is coming, but we are ready. Stronger together," Umerov wrote on X. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/29/russian-power-substation-hit-in-latest-ukrainian-drone-wave-attack A combat drone dropped explosives on an electricity substation in a Russian village near the border with Ukraine, while Russia's Ministry of Defence reported shooting down more than a dozen Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Belgorod, Kursk and Kaluga. In the Russian village of Belaya, located less than 25km from the border, "a Ukrainian drone dropped two explosive devices on a substation", Kursk regional governor Roman Starovoyt said on Telegram early on Friday. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/29/russia-ukraine-war-live-ex-prigozhin-aide-to-oversee-volunteer-fighters (06:58 GMT) Russian President Vladimir Putin has tasked a former aide of late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin to oversee volunteer fighter units in Ukraine. "At the last meeting we talked about you overseeing the formation of volunteer units that can carry out various tasks, first and foremost of course in the zone of the special military operation," Putin was quoted as saying to Andrei Troshev, using Moscow's name for its offensive in Ukraine. The meeting, also attended by Deputy Defence Minister Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, underlined the integration of fighters from the mercenary Wagner Group into Russia's regular military in the wake of Prigozhin's aborted mutiny in June. Troshev, a retired colonel known by the nickname "Sedoi" (Gray-haired), hails from Putin's hometown of St Petersburg and is a decorated veteran of Kremlin campaigns in Afghanistan, Chechnya and Syria. He was one of the leaders of the Wagner Group in Syria, for which the European Union put him on its sanctions list in December 2021. (18:11 GMT) Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis has said his country plans to finance a quarter of the mine clearance operations needed in Ukraine. Switzerland, which has remained true to its law of neutrality amid the Kremlin's war, has not provided weapons for Ukraine, unlike many other European countries. However, Switzerland plans to provide $100m of the $400m Kyiv has said it needs to remove the mines from its territory. (19:15 GMT) Mexico's President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador (AMLO) has condemned US aid for Ukraine and economic sanctions on Venezuela, Cuba and other nations as the first of two high-level US-Mexico meetings got under way in Washington. AMLO said the US should spend some of the money sent to Ukraine on economic development in Latin America. 20230930 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-584 Fighting * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on a visit to Kyiv that Ukrainian forces are "gradually gaining ground" in their counteroffensive against Russian forces. "Every metre that Ukrainian forces regain is a metre that Russia loses," he said at a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * Russia said it destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones overnight in an attack that saw one combat drone drop explosives on a power substation, cutting a local power supply in Russia's Kursk region. * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting out his country's routine autumn conscription campaign, which will see 130,000 people called up for statutory military service. Adult men in Russia are required to do a yearlong military service between the ages of 18 and 27 or equivalent training while pursuing higher education. Arms supplies to Kyiv: NATO pledges additional $2.5b in military aid * Russia's state TASS news agency reported that a new Russian conscription campaign will include the four Moscow-annexed regions of Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. The departure of conscripts from collection points will begin on October 16, and each person will be expected to serve for 12 months, TASS said. * Putin praised Russian prisoners who had died fighting in Ukraine, saying they had "fully redeemed" themselves in death. "Everyone can make some mistakes, as they once did. But they gave their lives for the Motherland, and fully redeemed themselves," Putin said. * Putin has tasked Andrei Troshev, a former aide of late Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, to oversee volunteer fighter units in Ukraine. * The UK Ministry of Defence said that hundreds of fighters formerly associated with the Wagner Group have likely redeployed back to Ukraine. First US-made Abrams Tanks arrive in Ukraine, Zelenskyy Says * Pavel Felgenhauer, a military analyst, said Russia needs former Wagner fighters in Ukraine forces but they likely do not want to operate under the command of Russia's Ministry of Defence. Military aid * NATO's Jens Stoltenberg said he was confident that Poland would find ways to address political disagreements with Ukraine without affecting support for Kyiv's fight against Russia. * Ukraine's Ministry of Defence posted a message on social media expressing solidarity with Poland. The post read: "Ukraine Poland. Together we're invincible", and was accompanied by emojis of the two nations' flags and a handshake, as well as a video. * Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said his country plans to finance a quarter of the mine clearance operations needed in Ukraine. Switzerland plans to provide $100m of the $400m Kyiv has said it needs to remove the mines from its territory. Regional security * Romania will move air defence systems closer to its villages across the Danube river from Ukraine and is adding more military observation posts and patrols to the area. Russian drones have been attacking Ukraine's grain facilities on the Danube opposite Romanian territory on a regular basis with reports of drone debris landing inside Romania. * Seven European Union countries have ordered ammunition under a landmark EU procurement scheme to acquire urgently needed artillery shells for Ukraine and replenish their own depleted stocks. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is "concerned about the attempts of extra-regional players to become more active in the Afghan direction". Diplomacy * The United Kingdom's Foreign Minister James Cleverly said the UK will never recognise Russia's claims to Ukrainian territory. He said Crimea, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson are Ukrainian territory. * Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said "very difficult questions" need to be answered before the EU begins membership talks with Ukraine. The EU is scheduled to decide in December whether to allow Ukraine to begin accession negotiations. Accession talks require the unanimous backing of all 27 members. * The head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said the organisation provided 1.2 billion euros ($1.3bn) so far this year to help finance the rebuilding of Ukraine. Sanctions * The UK imposed asset freezes and travel bans on officials in the annexed Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhia, Kherson, Donetsk and Crimea as part of its broader sanctions against Russia. Russia's emergencies minister, Alexander Kurenkov, and the secretary of the Russian Central Election Commission, Natalya Alekseevna Budarina, were added to the UK's sanctions list. * Switzerland adopted further sanctions related to Iran's drone deliveries to Russia, in line with EU measures. Targeted financial and travel sanctions against people and entities connected with Iran's drone programme are now in place. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the leaders of five Central Asian nations have pledged to cooperate closely on sanctions in a carefully worded statement that did not specifically name Russia. The announcement came after Scholz met with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan in Berlin. * Norway said Russian-registered passenger cars will no longer be allowed to enter its territory starting next week. Norway has a 198km-long border in the Arctic with Russia. Sport * Athletes from Russia and Belarus can compete as neutrals at next year's Paris Paralympics Games. The athletes can compete but without any national symbols, such as emblems, flags and anthems. * German parasport chief Julius Beucher slammed the International Paralympic Committee's (IPC) decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete as neutrals in Paris next year. "This is not a great moment for the IPC's community of values," Beucher said. "There is still a war going on. More terrible than before." Politics * A Russian blogger was jailed for eight and a half years after a court alleged he posted "fake news" about Moscow's offensive in Ukraine. Alexander Nozdrinov, 38, who ran a small YouTube channel, was arrested in March 2022 after investigators accused him of posting a photo of destroyed buildings on social media with the caption: "Ukrainian cities after the arrival of liberators". Economics * Russia's annual budget spending on servicing its state debt will more than double to 3.32 trillion roubles ($34bn) between now and 2026 amid Moscow's war in Ukraine, draft budget documents showed. * Russia may introduce quotas on overseas fuel exports if a complete export ban imposed last week does not bring down persistently high gasoline and diesel prices for Russians, the country's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/9/30/russia-ukraine-live-news-evacuations-ordered-after-russian-strikes (10:30 GMT) President Zelenskyy has announced the establishment of what he called the Defence Industries Alliance to produce weapons in the country. Zelenskyy, who organised a forum for the international defence industry in Kiev, said that the development of a modern defence industry in Ukraine is a top a priority for the country. He said the goal is to make Ukraine one of the world's largest arms producers. 20231001 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-385-3 Fighting * The Ukrainian Air Force shot down 30 of the 40 Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack on Ukraine's central and southern regions. * Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for the Ukraine military's southern command, told Ukrainian TV that Russia continued to attack port infrastructure. Targets included facilities on the Danube River as Moscow attempts to blow up critical infrastructure "to impact the economy", she said. * Romania, which borders Ukraine along the Danube, reported a possible violation of its airspace during Russia's drone attacks. The defence ministry said as drones were detected heading towards Ukrainian territory near the Romanian border, an alert was issued for residents in the Tulcea and Galati municipalities. "The radar surveillance system ... indicated possible unauthorised entry into national airspace, with a signal detected on a route towards the municipality of Galati," the ministry said. * Russia's defence ministry said its air defence shot down nine missiles launched from Ukraine over the western Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region. Officials in Russia's Bryansk region, meanwhile, reported disruptions to power supply following an unspecified attack on the town of Pogar. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and former Wagner Group chief of staff Andrey Troshev suggested Russia would continue to rely on private armies in its war against Ukraine, despite the short-lived Wagner mutiny in June. The update from the UK's military intelligence noted that Troshev had taken up a role with the country's official security forces around the time of the uprising and that Putin had now tasked him with setting up new "volunteer fighting units". * Russia marked a year since it claimed annexation of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson - four Ukrainian regions it partially occupies in Ukraine's east and where a Ukrainian counteroffensive to take back the land is advancing slowly. In an address, Putin claimed the residents of the regions had "made their choice to be with their Fatherland" in a referendum a year ago and in recent elections. He also said the annexation was carried out "in full accordance with international norms". The annexation has been condemned by Ukraine, its allies and at the United Nations. Diplomacy and politics * Ludomir Blaha, the deputy leader of Slovakia's opposition SMER-SSD party, dismissed accusations that if they were to win this weekend's elections they would move the Central European nation closer to Moscow. "It's nonsense that we would be pro-Russian or pro-Putin," Blaha told the dpa news agency in an interview. SMER-SSD has said it will end military aid for neighbouring Ukraine * The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited the Ukrainian port city of Odesa on the Black Sea to see first-hand the effects of the war - including in Odesa's old quarter and the historic Orthodox Cathedral of the Transfiguration, which was badly damaged in July. As he toured the cathedral site, Borrell called the assault on the city "barbaric". Weaponry * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who organised a forum of the international defence industry in Kyiv, announced the establishment of the Defence Industries Alliance to step up domestic weapons production. The foreign ministry said Ukrainian producers signed about 20 agreements with foreign partners for joint manufacture, exchange of technology, or supply of components to make drones, armoured vehicles and ammunition. "It will be a mutually beneficial partnership. I think it is a good time and place to create a large military hub," Zelenskyy said during a meeting with United States, UK, Czech, German, French, Swedish and Turkish arms manufacturers. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg addressed the forum by video and said that Ukraine needed "high quality, high quantity" military capabilities. "Heroism alone cannot intercept missiles," he told delegates, adding: "There is no defence without industry." 20231002 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-586 Fighting * Ukraine said its air defence systems shot down 16 of about 30 drones launched by Russia on Sunday. Authorities said civilian infrastructure and grain storage warehouses were damaged in the Cherkasy region as well as the southern Mykolaiv and eastern Dnipropetrovsk regions. * Russia's defence ministry said its forces' air defences in eastern Ukraine had intercepted five United States-made HIMARS shells, an air-launched JDAM bomb and 37 Ukrainian drones. Kyiv began a counteroffensive in June to retake Ukrainian land occupied by Russia since it launched its invasion of the country in February 2022. * Russia's defence ministry said it shot down six Ukrainian drones over Russian regions and two Ukrainian missiles over Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014. * Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said five more ships were on their way to Ukrainian seaports using a new corridor for agricultural exports after Moscow withdrew from the United Nations and Turkey-brokered Black Sea grain deal that allowed safe passage for Ukraine's grain. * UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak backpedalled on a comment by his defence minister that the United Kingdom could send military instructors to Ukraine. Grant Shapps told the Sunday Telegraph that as well as training Ukrainian troops in the UK, he wanted to deploy British instructors to Ukraine. Hours later, Sunak said there were no such plans. "That's something for the long term, not the here and now. There are no British soldiers that will be sent to fight in the current conflict," he said. * After Shapps's comments were published, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev who is now deputy chairman of the country's Security Council, said any UK soldiers training Ukrainian troops in Ukraine would be seen as legitimate targets for Russian forces. * The UK's Ministry of Defence said leaked Russian defence spending documents suggested Moscow was "preparing for multiple further years of fighting in Ukraine. The documents said defence spending for 2024 was likely to account for 30 percent of total public expenditure. Diplomacy and politics * US President Joe Biden promised aid to Ukraine would keep flowing as he sought to reassure allies of continued support for Kyiv after Congress passed a temporary government funding measure that stripped out assistance for Ukraine. "We cannot under any circumstances allow American support for Ukraine to be interrupted," Biden said. "We have time, not much time and there is an overwhelming sense of urgency." * Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said he had received reassurances about further military assistance in a telephone call with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Writing on X, formerly known as Twitter, Umerov said Austin had assured him US support to Ukraine would "continue" and that Ukrainian "warriors [would] continue to have a strong back-up on the battlefield". * European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell held his first in-person meeting with Umerov during a visit to Kyiv and urged US lawmakers to reconsider their decision to drop Ukraine funding. Borrell told a news conference the EU would continue to support Kyiv and was preparing "long-term security commitments for Ukraine," adding that he hoped member states would reach a decision on increasing aid "before the end of the year". * The EU's commitment to Ukraine could come under pressure after the pro-Russia SMER-SSD party of former Prime Minister Robert Fico emerged as the winner of elections in Slovakia at the weekend. Fico will start coalition talks to form a government that is likely to join Hungary in opposing the bloc's military aid for Ukraine. * Dozens of people in cities around Russia held memorials to mark 40 days since the death of Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, hailing him as a patriotic hero of Russia who had spoken truth to power. Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash in August, two months after leading a short-lived Wagner mutiny. In Eastern Orthodoxy, it is believed that the soul makes its final journey to either heaven or hell on the 40th day after death. 20231003 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-587 Fighting * At least two people were killed and eight injured in Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the attacks hit residential areas, shops, medical facilities and other civilian infrastructure. * Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said the city will build Ukraine's first fully underground school to protect pupils from Russia's frequent bomb and missile attacks. While many schools in front-line regions have been forced to teach online, Kharkiv organised some 60 separate classrooms in its metro system before the school year that started on September 1, creating space for more than 1,000 children to study there. Diplomacy and politics * European Union foreign ministers showed their support for Ukraine at a meeting in Kyiv, their first outside the bloc's borders, after a pro-Russian candidate won an election in Slovakia and the United States Congress left Ukraine war aid out of a temporary spending bill. "The EU remains united in its support to Ukraine. ... I don't see any member state folding on their engagement," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told reporters. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the duration of the war was linked to support from its allies. "Our victory directly depends on our cooperation: the more strong and principled steps we take together, the sooner this war will end," Zelenskyy said in a statement on his website, urging the EU to expand sanctions on Russia and Iran, which has supplied attack drones for Russian forces. He also called for the "acceleration" of work to direct "frozen Russian assets to finance the restoration of war-torn Ukraine". * The US White House said it had been in touch with allies and partners about funding for Ukraine and stressed that there was continued bipartisan support in Congress to continue to support the country. * Moscow said that while it expected Washington to continue its support for Ukraine, the vote in Congress was a sign of increasing divisions in Western countries over the conflict. "According to our forecasts fatigue from this conflict, fatigue from the completely absurd sponsorship of the Kyiv regime will grow in various countries, including the United States," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. Weapons * Germany's economy ministry said exports of military equipment to Ukraine had grown more than fourfold so far this year, to 3.3 billion euros ($3.48bn), making Kyiv the main recipient of German weapons. * Denmark's Ministry of Defence said it will spend 100 million kroner ($14.1m) in a joint European order for ammunition to help Ukraine. On Friday, the European Defence Agency (EDA) said seven EU countries had ordered 155mm artillery rounds for Kyiv and to replenish depleted stocks. Delivery is expected in 2024. * The first batch of Leopard 2 tanks sent for repair in Poland after being damaged on the battlefield have been returned to Ukraine, according to the Polish Armaments Group. Germany and Poland agreed to set up a repair centre for the tanks in July. 20231004 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-588 Fighting * The governor of Russia's Bryansk region accused Ukraine of using cluster munitions against a Russian village near the Ukrainian border. Several houses in the village of Klimovo were damaged, although no casualties were reported. * The Ukrainian Air Force said it destroyed 29 of 31 drones and one cruise missile launched by Russia, mostly towards the regions of Mykolaiv and Dnipropetrovsk, during overnight attacks that lasted more than three hours. * Falling debris from destroyed Russian drones caused fires in Dnipro and in an industrial enterprise in Pavlograd, two cities in Ukraine's eastern Dnipropetrovsk region. Firefighters managed to extinguish both fires and there were not initial reports regarding victims. * At least five settlements suffered power loss in Ukraine's Zaporizhia region following Russian shelling. * Ukraine's military said that Russian forces tried unsuccessfully to regain lost positions near Mala Tokmachka and Verbove in the Zaporizhia region over the previous 24 hours. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy discusses the military situation with commanders in Ukraine's northeast during a visit to troops on the front lines with Russian forces. * Russia's defence ministry said it shot down a Ukrainian "Neptune" missile off the coast of Crimea. * Russian aerial attacks injured three people in the Antonivka area of Ukraine's Kherson region. * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that since the start of 2023, 335,000 people have entered military service by contract with the Russian armed forces or volunteer groups. Some 50,000 people signed up in September alone, Shoigu said. * Draft plans from the Russian government show that defence spending will account for almost one-third of the country's entire budget expenditure in 2024. Spending under the "national defence" section of Russia's budget will total 10.78 trillion roubles ($109bn) next year, or 29.4 percent of total planned expenditure of 36.66 trillion roubles. * Ukraine's intelligence and security service, SBU, announced the arrest of at least 13 people accused of being Russian informants in the southern city of Mykolaiv near Kherson. Regional security * The Kremlin said it had not abandoned a moratorium on nuclear testing and Russia is not preparing one. On Monday, the New York Times published an investigation tracking possible nuclear-launch preparations in Russia Military aid * The United States military is preparing to send Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles armed with cluster munitions to Ukraine once approved by President Joe Biden, according to a news report. With a range of about 300km, ATACMS give Ukraine's forces an advantage in attacking Russian targets behind the front line. * US aid for Ukraine will run out in "a couple of months" if Republican hardliners fail to pass new funds for Kyiv, the White House said. Ukrainian forces are 'gradually gaining ground': Stoltenberg * Biden called on Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy to rush through new aid, saying US support for Kyiv could not be interrupted "under any circumstances". McCarthy was removed as the House speaker in a vote later on Tuesday. * The White House said that Biden spoke with the European Union, military allies and NATO members about continuing support for Ukraine. Biden spoke to the leaders of Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, Romania, the United Kingdom and France, as well as the heads of NATO, the European Commission and the European Council. * UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told G7 and NATO leaders that the UK was prepared to support Ukraine with military, humanitarian and economic assistance "for as long as it takes". Diplomacy * Ukraine must win its war against Russia before joining NATO and the EU, Slovakia's foreign minister said. "This is a necessary precondition", Miroslaw Wachowski said, adding, "So we must do everything we can to help Ukraine win this war and regain its sovereignty and territorial integrity." * The EU may unlock billions of euros for Hungary in a bid to secure Budapest's approval for aid to Ukraine, including a start to EU membership talks for Kyiv. A senior EU official said that to sway Hungary's vote for more Ukraine aid, the bloc expects to look at the status of EU handouts now frozen over concerns that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has restricted the independence of courts, the Reuters news agency reported. Slovakia's populist party opposed to Ukraine aid wins vote * Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it had informed Moldova's ambassador that entry to Russia had been banned for "a number of individuals directly involved in restricting freedom of speech and the rights of Russian journalists in Moldova as well as inciting anti-Russian sentiments". * Moscow criticised the decision by Armenia's parliament to approve the country's move towards joining the International Criminal Court, which has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin. * Japan's government has criticised a visit by a member of the Japanese upper house of parliament to Moscow. Politician Muneo Suzuki, 75, reportedly met Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko during the visit to Moscow. Domestic politics * Putin may soon announce his plan to run in the 2024 presidential polls, which could extend his hold on power until 2030 when he is 77 years old. * Russian prosecutors requested a nine-and-a-half-year jail sentence for a fugitive former Russian state TV journalist. The prosecution made the demand during the trial in absentia of Marina Ovsyannikova, who became famous for bursting onto a news broadcast with a placard that read "Stop the war" and "They're lying to you". She has been accused of distributing "fake news", a term used against those in Russia who question Moscow's official narrative on its invasion of Ukraine. Sanctions and trade * Carlsberg has terminated its licence agreements in Russia after Moscow's decision in July to take control of its breweries. The Danish company said Baltika Breweries, which makes Russian beer, will be able to use existing stock and materials from Carlsberg until April 1. * Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania have agreed on a plan to help expedite Ukrainian grain exports, officials say. * Kyiv has started talks with the World Bank to borrow $700m for emergency support to the agricultural sector this year and next. * Russian energy giant Gazprom said that Europe is short of natural gas and may face challenges in supplying customers. 20231004 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/4/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-drones-attack-belgorod-bryansk-and-kursk (05:35 GMT) Today, Wednesday, Russia's ministry of emergency announced that it will conduct emergency public warning tests at about 07:43 GMT. That's 10:43am Moscow time. The emergency test will last for one minute at the regional and municipal levels across all Russian regions. "The warning system is designed to timely convey a signal to the population in the event of a threat or emergency of a natural or man-made nature," the ministry said. In recent months, Russia's alarm system has been activated more frequently as Ukraine has launched its counteroffensive against the invasion, mainly with drone attacks. (05:55 GMT) Air raid sirens have been reported in several areas of the Ukrainian frontline in the last few minutes, as Ukraine's air force reports threats of missile strikes. In a Telegram message, the air force warned that Cherkasy, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Kirovohrad could be targeted by strikes. Air raid sirens also went off in Odesa in the south, according to another Telegram alert. (06:03 GMT) We are getting reports of explosions following a possible missile strike in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, which is part of Dnipropetrovsk region. Earlier, air raid sirens were activated in several regions of Ukraine, including in Dnipropetrovsk, after the air force warned of incoming missile attacks. (06:13 GMT) Speaking at a conference at Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that Washington has been trying to avoid a direct conflict with Moscow since the start of the conflict. "From day one, President Biden had two 'North Stars' in mind. One was to make sure that we are doing everything we possibly can to support Ukraine and to bring other countries along to the same thing," Blinken said. "But the other is also to avoid being in direct conflict with Russia, because the potential where that conflict could go is not a place that anyone wants to be and not a place that's good for the security of the American people," he added. (06:24 GMT) The weekly British publication, The Economist, is reporting that members of the US House and Senate, who are supporters of Ukraine, are eyeing a vote that would guarantee funding for Kyiv beyond the US presidential election in 2024. With the ouster of the Republican Speaker of the House by his own party members, however, The Economist said that passing such as legislation "could be even trickier than avoiding a shutdown". The Republicans only hold a slim majority in the US House of Representatives. It will only take a few votes from hardliners, who oppose more Ukraine funding, to possibly prevent an aid legislation from even getting to the House floor for a vote. (07:07 GMT) The Russian publication, Kommersant, is reporting that Moscow is considering a move to partially lift its ban on diesel exports. (07:15 GMT) Russia's Gazprom will send 42.3 million cubic metres (mcm) of gas to Europe via Ukraine on Wednesday, the same volume as on Tuesday, according to Reuters. (07:29 GMT) Car sales in Russia jumped by 148.6 percent year on year in September, continuing to rebound from a huge slump in 2022, Reuters news agency reported, citing data from analytical agency Autostat. The report said Chinese brands, such as Haval, Chery and Geely, are expanding their market share in Russia and are helping to boost sales. (07:37 GMT) The Russian defence ministry says its air force has targeted a Ukrainian army warehouse northeast of Kosytantynivka in Donetsk, according to a Telegram message. (08:03 GMT) US President Joe Biden's National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has warned that US aid for Ukraine's fight against Russia will run out in "a couple of months" if Republican hardliners fail to pass new funds for Kyiv. (17:00 GMT) More on the impact internal US politics may have on Ukraine in the next few weeks: Jim Jordan, the only Republican to officially run to replace Kevin McCarthy as House of Representatives speaker, has said that he is against a new aid package for Ukraine. "The most pressing issue on Americans' mind is not Ukraine - it is the border situation, and it is crime on the streets," he told CNN's Manu Raju. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/4/is-global-support-for-ukraine-waning As Slovakia votes for a pro-Russia politician, Poland drops military aid, and the US wavers; Ukraine is likely worried but not yet panicking. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/4/us-sends-1-1-million-rounds-of-seized-iranian-ammunition-to-ukraine The United States has sent Ukraine more than one million rounds of previously seized Iranian ammunition, according to the US military. The US Central Command on Wednesday said the ammunition was confiscated last year from a vessel it accused of shipping weapons from Iran to the Houthi rebel group in Yemen. 20231005 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-589 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Italian television that while there was some "fatigue", Ukraine was pushing ahead with the counteroffensive that began in June. "There is fatigue but we will do everything to win against our enemy, and our counteroffensive goes ahead, even if slowly we do everything to repel the enemy," he told Sky TG24 through a translator. *Ukrainian forces made some headway in their drive southwards, according to military officials. "We have had partial success to the west of Robotyne," a spokesperson for the southern group, Oleksandr Shtupun, told national television, noting that Ukrainian troops were "continuing to reinforce the positions they hold. In certain areas, we are advancing from 100 to 600 metres". The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces also said forces had repelled Russian attacks near Robotyne and nearby Verbove. * In the east, Ukraine said its armed forces were resisting Russian attempts to reverse gains made by Kyiv since the start of the counteroffensive. Russia's Ministry of Defence said Moscow's forces had struck Ukrainian positions close to Andriivka and a nearby village. * Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the Kherson region, said at least one person was killed and 16 others injured in Russian shelling that also damaged several buildings. * Russia said it brought down 31 drones launched by Kyiv over three southern Russian regions and reported no casualties or damage. * A source in Ukraine's Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said Kyiv carried out a drone attack on the western Russian region of Belgorod and hit an S-400 air defence system and its radar. * Russia reportedly launched KAB bombs, also known as "glide bombs", at a target in the Beryslavskyi district of the southern Kherson region. Moscow first used the weapon in March. It is referred to as a "glide bomb" as it has flight controls that allow it to use a gliding flight path onto a more distant target. * Petro Andryushchenko, an adviser to Mariupol's Ukrainian mayor, said that Russia was deepening channels at the city's port to accommodate larger ships. Mariupol, a city in the Donetsk region, has been under Russian occupation since May 2022. Diplomacy and politics * United States President Joe Biden said he was worried that Republican Party infighting could hurt US aid to Ukraine after the sudden removal of Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. Biden said he was confident aid would continue to flow to Ukraine. "I know there are a majority of members of the House and Senate in both parties who have said that they support funding Ukraine," he said. * British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak urged continued support for Ukraine. "I say this to our allies: If we give President Zelenskyy the tools, the Ukrainians will finish the job," Sunak told the annual meeting of his Conservative party. * European Council President Charles Michel said he was in favour of Ukraine joining the European Union by 2030, providing it met certain conditions including fighting corruption. * Ukraine's agriculture ministry said grain exports so far in the 2023/24 season were down by almost a quarter to 6.82 million metric tonnes as a result of a de facto blockade by Russia on Ukrainian grain shipments in the Black Sea. * French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna condemned the eight-year jail term handed down to exiled journalist Marina Ovsyannikova, who held up a placard during an evening news programme in March 2022 protesting against the Russian invasion. Ovsyannikova, 45, who left Russia seven months after the protest, was charged under censorship laws passed shortly after the invasion began, which made it a crime to discredit the military or distribute "deliberately false information" about the armed forces. * Zelenskyy said he had extended an invitation to Pope Francis to visit Ukraine. It was unclear if the pope had agreed to the invitation or when he would make a possible visit. Weapons * The US said it transferred 1.1 million rounds of small arms ammunition seized from Iran to Ukraine. * Admiral Rob Bauer, the head of NATO's Military Committee, said the arms industry needed to step up production because shipments to Ukraine had depleted the alliance's stockpiles. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/5/russia-ukraine-war-live-kyiv-says-24-drones-launched-by-moscow-downed (06:59 GMT) The leader of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia has indicated that Moscow is planning to build a naval base on the Black Sea coast, a development that could ignite more tensions in the region. Russia had recognised Abkhazia and another breakaway region, South Ossetia, as independent states in 2008 after Russian troops repelled a Georgian attempt to retake South Ossetia in a five-day war which ended on August 12, 2008. ~/photos/places/20231005_map_of_georgia_abkhazia_and_south_ossetia.webp (08:32 GMT) Ahead of the summit of European leaders in Granada on Thursday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas has warned against "war fatigue" in Ukraine. In an interview with Zeit news website, she said that "the longer the war against Ukraine lasts, the more difficult it will be to raise support" for it, adding that many Europeans are underestimating the threat from Moscow. (09:04 GMT) The Slovakian-language news website, Dennik N, is reporting that President Zuzana Caputova has expressed her opposition to deploying more military equipment to Ukraine. Caputova made the decision after the parliamentary election, which was dominated by parties that reject such military aid to Ukraine, the report added. (14:59 GMT) Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko says at least 51 people have now died after a wounded person did not survive while receiving aid following the attack in Hroza. In an earlier update, Klymenko said, in preliminary findings, that Russia used an Iskander missile to hit the cafe and supermarket. (10:29 GMT) A new Reuters/Ipsos poll is showing that support is falling among Americans for supplying Ukraine with weapons, a warning sign for Kyiv which relies heavily on US arms to fight Russia. The two-day poll, which closed on Wednesday, showed only 41 percent of respondents agreed with a statement that Washington "should provide weapons to Ukraine", compared to 35 percent who disagreed and the rest unsure. That is down from May, when a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed 46 percent of Americans backed sending arms, 29 percent were opposed and the rest unsure. (16:53 GMT) As Putin speaks at Valdai Discussion Club, here are some key takeaways. * Nuclear weapons: "Theoretically we could revoke ratification" of the international nuclear test ban treaty, but the Russian leader said he was not there yet. * War in Ukraine: "I have said many times that it was not us who started the war in Ukraine. On the contrary, we are trying to end it." * The West: "Adherence to bloc approaches, the desire to drive the world into a situation of constant confrontation between 'us' and 'them' is a vicious legacy of the 20th century ... The West always needs an enemy." * Russia's economy: "We have a stable, sustainable situation. We have overcome all the problems that arose after sanctions were imposed on us, and begun the next stage of development on a new basis." 20231006 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-590 Fighting * At least 51 people were killed and six injured in a Russian missile attack on northeastern Ukraine. Oleh Syniehubov, governor of the Kharkiv region, said a busy cafe and a supermarket in the village of Hroza, about 30km west of the front-line town of Kupiansk were hit. A six-year-old child was among the dead, he said. There was no comment from Russia on the attack, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as "genocidal aggression". * The Ukrainian general staff said 24 of 29 Russian drones launched overnight were brought down over the southern regions of Odesa and Mykolaiv, as well as the central Kirovohrad region. Regional Governor Andriy Raykovych said "critical infrastructure" has been damaged in Kirovohrad as a result of the Russian air raids. * The Russian-appointed mayor of the occupied eastern Ukrainian city of Horlivka said a teenager was killed and three others injured while trying to dismantle cluster munitions. He urged civilians to "not touch or lift" such weapons. * The regional administration in Ukraine's Donetsk said that one person was killed and three others injured in Russian shelling of three villages. Several houses were also damaged. * At least two people were injured after the Beryslav hospital in Ukraine's southern Kherson region was hit as at least five Russian air raids targeted the city. Kherson Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the hospital's fourth floor was "completely destroyed" in the attack. Diplomacy and politics * Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested Russia could return to nuclear weapons testing and might withdraw its ratification of a landmark nuclear test ban treaty. Putin also said that Russia had tested a new nuclear-powered missile delivery system but had not decided whether to resume the testing of explosives. * Putin said traces of hand grenades had been discovered in the remains of those killed when the private plane carrying Wagner mercenary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin crashed on its way from Moscow to St Petersburg in August. * European leaders expressed continued support for Ukraine as Zelenskyy joined them at a meeting in the Spanish city of Granada. * Russia's Izvestiya newspaper said Moscow had signed a deal for a permanent naval base on the Black Sea coast of the breakaway Georgian region of Abkhazia. "We have signed an agreement, and in the near future, there will be a permanent base of the Russian Navy in the Ochamchira district," the paper quoted the leader of the breakaway region, Aslan Bzhania, as saying. * The Ukrainian Interfax news agency said Kyiv has paused its complaints against Poland, Hungary and Slovakia over their bans on Ukrainian grain at the World Trade Organization (WTO) and was working on a "complex solution" to their trade dispute. Weapons * European countries gave a boost to Ukraine's air defence systems. Spain announced it had sent six US-made HAWK launchers to Kyiv and that the Spanish army would train Ukrainian soldiers to use the systems. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz promised another Patriot air defence system to Kyiv. Ukraine received its first Patriot system in April. * The AFP news agency reported that Russia's Wagner group signed a contract with a Chinese firm in November 2022 to acquire two satellites and use their images for intelligence purposes. The contract was signed around the same time that Wagner was pushing Russia to step up its military operation in Ukraine, according to the news agency. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/10/6/russia-ukraine-war-live-drone-attack-damages-grain-silo-near-danube (07:08 GMT) Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson has announced that his country will send Ukraine a new military support package worth 2.2 billion Swedish crowns ($199.44m), consisting mainly of ammunition and spare parts to earlier donated systems. (08:11 GMT) Russia has indicated it was moving swiftly towards revoking ratification for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty after President Putin held out the possibility of resuming nuclear testing. Russia's top lawmaker, Vyacheslav Volodin, said on Friday that the legislature's bosses would swiftly consider the need to revoke Russia's ratification for the treaty. "The situation in the world has changed," Volodin said. "Washington and Brussels have unleashed a war against our country." ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/6/they-miscalculated-ukraine-turns-the-tables-on-russias-black-sea-fleet Satellite imagery shows that at least a dozen Russian vessels, including guided missile frigates, landing ships and submarines, have been hastily relocated from their main base in Sevastopol, a subtropical port in Crimea. Most were moved to the Russian port of Novorossiisk more than 300km east of Sevastopol, or on other, smaller bases or bays in eastern Crimea or along Russia's Black Sea coast. 20231007 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-591 Fighting * Ukrainian air defence shot down 25 out of 33 attacks drones launched by Russia against at least six regions in Ukraine, including Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Cherkasy and Zhytomyr. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv is preparing to protect its power and heating facilities as Russia will likely target the country's electricity grid as winter approaches. * At least a dozen Russian vessels, including guided missile frigates, landing ships and submarines, have been relocated from the Russian Black Sea Fleet's port of Sevastopol in annexed Crimea to the Novorossiysk Sea Port in the Russian Krasnodar Krai region. The move comes amid increased attacks on the peninsula by Ukrainian missiles, drones and raiding parties. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu called for more Su-34 fighter jets to be produced, describing the planes as "real workhorses" of the country's military. * Russian aircraft blew up two vessels carrying "Ukrainian saboteurs" off the Crimean peninsula, killing 13 commandos, the Defence Ministry in Moscow said. * The International Rescue Committee condemned a Russian missile attack on the village of Hroza in the Kharkiv region that killed 52 Ukrainian civilians on Thursday. * At least two people were killed and 26 others wounded in an early morning attack in a busy residential area in the centre of Kharkiv. Russian strikes on Ukraine: At least 52 people killed in Kharkiv region * The Kremlin responded to news that more than 50 civilians had been killed in the attack on Hroza saying the Russian military does not target civilians. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Ukraine could not survive for more than "a week" without Western military and financial aid. Wagner mercenary force * Putin suggested that the plane crash which killed the head of the Wagner mercenary force, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was caused by the detonation of hand grenades inside the aircraft, and implied that alcohol and drug use may have also been a factor in the explosion. * Russian military bloggers quickly poured scorn on Putin's speculation that Prigozhin's plane was downed due to negligence with grenades and intoxication. "So a short summary: The most combat-ready unit in the history of modern Russia was commanded by alcoholics and junkies who, being professional military men, did not know how to handle hand grenades?" one pro-Wagner Telegram channel wrote. Putin offers 'condolences' after presumed death of Yevgeny Prigozhin * Moldovan President Maia Sandu said that Prigozhin had planned to topple her government earlier in the year as part of a plan to destabilise the former Soviet state. "The information that we have is that it was a plan prepared by [Prigozhin's] team," Sandu told the Financial Times. Sandu also said that she had evidence that Russia was seeking to influence upcoming local elections through bribery. Regional security * Russia indicated it is moving towards revoking ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CNTBT). Russian lawmaker Vyacheslav Volodin said the country's legislature will consider the need to revoke Russia's ratification of the treaty. "The situation in the world has changed ... Washington and Brussels have unleashed a war against our country," he said. * A Russian MiG-31 fighter jet was scrambled to intercept a US Navy P-8A Poseidon patrol plane approaching its airspace over the Norwegian Sea. The Russian Defence Ministry said the US plane turned away from the direction of Russia's borders when the MiG-31 intervened. * Ukraine temporarily shut down its border checkpoint with Romania in the Orlivka region for safety reasons, following a Russian attack overnight that left munitions scattered in the area. Military aid * Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said his country will send Ukraine 2.2 billion Swedish crowns ($199.44m) in new military support, consisting mainly of ammunition and spare parts. Black Sea tension * A Turkish-flagged general cargo ship in the Black Sea en route to Ukraine did not sustain damage when a sea mine detonated. The ship continued sailing to its destination to deliver its cargo following checks for damage. Sanctions * A court in Ukraine froze the assets of three Russian businessmen for their alleged support for Russia's war. Assets owned by Mikhail Fridman, Pyotr Aven and Andrey Kosogov have been frozen in Ukraine as the three were considered part of Putin's close circle, the court said. * The US Department of Commerce said it added 42 Chinese companies to a sanctions list for supplying Russian firms linked to Russia's defence sector with US-origin integrated circuits. Economy * Ukraine's parliament approved an estimated $8.28bn increase in defence spending for the rest of 2023, said Roksolana Pidlasa, the head of the parliamentary budget committee. Diplomacy * European Union leaders declared support for adding new members to the bloc but warned candidate countries - including Ukraine - that there would be no shortcuts. * Washington expelled two Russian diplomats in retaliation for Moscow kicking out two US diplomats from Russia last month. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/7/us-disturbed-by-russias-plan-to-reverse-nuclear-test-ban-ratification US 'disturbed' by Russia's plan to reverse nuclear test ban ratification Russia says withdrawal from ratification of nuclear weapons test ban treaty places Moscow on 'equal footing' with US, which has not ratified the pact. see: 20231006 at 08:11 GMT Speaking on Thursday at a forum with foreign affairs experts, Putin noted that the US had signed but not ratified the 1996 nuclear test ban treaty, while Russia had signed and also ratified. Russia might adjust its stance to mirror that of the US, Putin said. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged "all nuclear weapon states to publicly reaffirm their moratoriums against nuclear testing and their commitment to the CTBT", UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said on Friday. Robert Floyd, the executive director of the CTBTO, which monitors compliance with the pact, said in a statement that it would "be concerning and deeply unfortunate if any State Signatory were to reconsider its ratification of the CTBT". 20231009 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-592 Fighting * Russia's defence ministry said it shot down two Ukrainian S-200 anti-aircraft missiles over the Moscow-annexed Crimean Peninsula. The ministry issued two near-identical Telegram posts on Saturday night saying that Kyiv had "attempted a terrorist attack" at 6pm (15:00 GMT) and 10pm (19:00GMT) Moscow time with an S-200 anti-aircraft missile that had been "converted to an attack version". * Another Ukrainian drone was also shot down near Moscow early on Saturday, the Russian TASS news agency reported, adding that it appeared to cause no damage or injuries. * In Russia's Belgorod, local authorities said three Ukrainian Tochka-U missiles were destroyed over the border region and that shelling by Kyiv's forces had killed one person who was on the street at the time of the attack. * In Ukraine, a member of Russia's governing United Russia Party was killed by a car bomb in the Russian-held town of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, according to officials. Vladimir Malov died in hospital, the officials said. * In the Ukrainian town of Hroza in the Kharkiv region, local residents began burying victims of a Russian missile strike that killed some 50 people on Friday. Representatives from the United Nations Monitoring Mission in Ukraine told The Associated Press news agency that conversations with local residents and survivors indicate "that virtually all those killed were civilians and that the target itself, a busy village cafe and store, was also clearly civilian". Politics * Ramzan Kadyrov, the head of Russia's Chechnya region and a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, proposed that a presidential election due next March should either be postponed due to the war in Ukraine or limited to one candidate. "I propose now, while the 'special military operation' is under way, to unanimously decide that we will have one candidate in the elections - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin," Kadyrov was quoted as saying. "Or temporarily call off the elections, because there's no one else who could defend our country today." Regional security * A United States think tank said rail traffic along the North Korea-Russia border spiked this week to the highest in years, suggesting arms supplies by Pyongyang to Moscow after the leaders of the two countries discussed deeper military cooperation. * The Center for Strategic and International Studies said satellite imagery showed an "unprecedented" 73 or so freight cars at Tumangang Rail Station in the North Korean border city of Rason. The traffic was far greater than that observed in the past five years, including pre-pandemic levels. * Denmark's defence ministry said it aims to restart ammunition production after a 55-year gap to ensure its domestic supplies as Russia's war in Ukraine creates increased demand for military hardware across Europe. 20231009 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-593 Fighting * Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat said that Ukraine was expecting a record number of Russian drone attacks this winter. Ihnat told national television that data Russia had already used a "record' number of more than 500 Iranian-made Shahed drones in September, compared with about 1,000 over a six-month period during last winter. * Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson had "another terrible night" as it was targeted in some 59 Russian attacks that left 12 people injured, including a mother and her nine-month-old baby. Several houses and gas pipelines were also damaged. * Four people including a nine-year-old girl were injured in a rocket attack on Konstantinivka, according to the Donetsk regional Governor Ihor Moroz. Several homes and other buildings were also damaged. * The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said the situation on the battlefield in the east and south of the country remained difficult, with troops coming under intense artillery and mortar fire in and around the front line in areas including Bakhmut, Kupiansk and Lyman. The General Staff said Ukrainian forces had inflicted casualties and equipment losses on the Russians. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Ukraine had "almost certainly liberated at least 125 square kilometres of territory" in the Velyka Novosilka area, west of the town of Vuhledar, since Kyiv's counteroffensive began. It added that Russian troops were likely to retain a defensive posture to guard against future Ukrainian offensives. Diplomacy and politics * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and said Ukraine stood with Israel. "I spoke with Netanyahu to affirm Ukraine's solidarity with Israel, which suffers from a brazen large-scale attack, and to express condolences for the multiple victims," Zelenskyy said. * Poland's President Andrzej Duda said the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel would help divert global attention from Russia's aggression in Ukraine and perhaps work in Moscow's favour. 20231011 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-594 Fighting * Ilia Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukraine's eastern group of forces, said troops were making headway in their four-month-old counteroffensive. Yevlash said they had scored "partial success" near Andriivka, which they captured last month along with the nearby locality of Klishhiivka, and were "making headway" in the Bakhmut sector. "We are talking about hundreds of metres at a time that we are liberating from our enemies and strengthening our positions. It is, however, too early to talk about achieving concrete goals," he said. * Ukrainian prosecutors in the Donetsk region said Russian forces shelled areas east of the town of Donetsk, killing one person. Avdiivka, which has resisted Russian advances for months, was also shelled. * Residents of the Ukrainian village of Hroza wept beside coffins as they buried relatives and neighbours who were among more than 50 people killed in a Russian missile attack on a cafe last week - one of the deadliest attacks of the war. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy replaced General Ihor Tantsyura as the commander of Ukraine's Territorial Defence Forces, whose roles include protection of critical facilities, combating sabotage and enemy intelligence forces, and maintaining security. Major General Anatoliy Barhylevych was appointed as the new commander. No reason was given for the decisions. * Ukraine's parliament registered a draft law that would allow a ban on activities of the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which Kyiv has accused of undermining the country's unity and collaborating with Russia. The bill now requires the approval of a parliamentary committee before it can be submitted for consideration by parliament. Politics and diplomacy * The United Nations human rights office voiced "deep concern" over Moscow's "mass conferral" of Russian passports in occupied Ukrainian territory it controls. UN deputy human rights chief Nada Al-Nashif told the Human Rights Council residents who did not take up Russian citizenship were being denied access to essential public services and were at greater risk of arbitrary detention. * Top UN and Russian officials met in Moscow for talks aimed at enabling the "unimpeded access" to global markets for grain and fertiliser from Russia and Ukraine. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "continues in his determination to facilitate the unimpeded access to global markets for food products and fertilisers from both Ukraine and the Russian Federation," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. Russia pulled out of an earlier grain deal in July. * Russian lawmakers have been given 10 days to study how best to revoke Moscow's ratification of a landmark treaty banning nuclear tests. President Vladimir Putin hinted last week Russia could resume nuclear testing, while Russia's envoy to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) said Moscow could revoke its ratification of the agreement. * Zelenskyy said it was in Russia's interests to "inflame war in the Middle East" to weaken global unity. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Russians propagandists were "gloating" at developments and that Iran, which he described as Moscow's ally, was openly supporting those attacking Israel. "All of this poses a much greater threat than the world currently perceives," he said. Weapons * US Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said the US military would need Congress to approve additional funding to ensure the Pentagon's munitions production and acquisition plans can simultaneously meet the needs of Ukraine and Israel. 20231011 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-595 Fighting * Russian forces closed in on Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine as Kyiv warned Moscow was stepping up strikes in an attempt to encircle the front-line town completely. "For over a year, there has been the danger that [Avdiivka] can be occupied, but now the situation has worsened rapidly," Vitaliy Barabash, head of the town's administration, told the AFP news agency, adding that Russian forces were trying to besiege the eastern town using "all means". Avdiivka had a pre-war population of about 31,000 people with an estimated 2,000 residents remaining. * Ukraine's Air Force said its defence systems destroyed 27 of the 36 drones that Russia launched in its latest air raid on the country. The Iran-made Shahed drones were aimed at the Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kherson regions of Ukraine. * Kherson's regional administration said four people were injured and several buildings damaged in 79 instances of Russian shelling using mortars, artillery and drones. * Ukraine's State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) said it was investigating 260 criminal cases involving alleged "violations" at military recruitment offices. The SBI said 21 indictments against 35 individuals had been sent to court and that a further 58 people had been identified as suspects. The heads of regional recruitment centres were fired in August after widespread allegations of criminal abuse and corruption. * The SBI also said it was holding two senior defence ministry officials on suspicion of embezzling $7m that had been earmarked for buying bulletproof vests. It did not name the officials. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for action to ensure Russia did not turn the Black Sea into a "dead zone" for shipping after Moscow's July move to quit a United Nations-Turkey brokered deal allowing safe Ukrainian grain exports. Visiting Romania for the first time since Russia's February 2022 invasion, Zelenskyy held talks with President Klaus Iohannis and said he was told "good news" on artillery and air defence supplies, and that Romania would help train Ukrainian pilots how to fly F-16 jets. * Russia failed in its bid to regain a seat at the UN's top human rights body. In a secret ballot for two seats for Eastern Europe on the Human Rights Council, Bulgaria secured 160 votes and Albania 123. Russia got 83 votes. Russia was removed from the council shortly after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Finland said an undersea gas pipeline and a telecommunications cable connecting it with Estonia had been damaged in a possibly deliberate act. The Balticconnector pipeline, which runs for 77km. beneath the Baltic Sea, was shut on Sunday after a leak was discovered. * A Russian court dismissed a complaint by Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich against his continued pre-trial detention. Gershkovich was detained on March 29 and has been accused of spying. The charges carry a prison term of as long as 20 years. No date has been set for his trial. * Vyachelav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's State Duma or lower house of parliament, said Russians who left the country and showed support for Ukraine should be sent to the far eastern region of Magadan if they ever returned home. For Russians, Magadan is synonymous with the gulag - a network of forced labour camps that were used as slave labour during the iron-fisted rule of Josef Stalin. Weapons * Germany unveiled a new military support package for Ukraine worth about 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) and covering additional Patriot air defence missile system as well as weapons and ground vehicles. "With this new 'winter package', we are further increasing the operational readiness of the Ukrainian armed forces in the coming months," said German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius. * A United Kingdom-led group of European countries will provide Ukraine with a 100 million pound ($122.70 million) military support package including equipment to clear minefields. The UK's defence ministry said Ukraine had become the most mined country on earth, creating an obstacle in the counteroffensive that began in June. * The US decision to step up military support for Israel after the surprise assault by Hamas would not harm Washington's ability to continue arming Ukraine, its NATO envoy Julianne Smith told journalists. 20231012 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-596 Fighting * Russia continued to press ahead with its assault on the key eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Ukrainian military officials said Russia had redirected large numbers of troops and equipment to Avdiivka, while Russian accounts said Moscow's forces had "improved their position in the immediate outskirts around Avdiivka". * At least four people were killed when a Russian missile struck a school in the town of Nikopol in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said two people were injured in the attack, as he shared a video on social media of emergency services digging through the building's ruins. * The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) accused two former residents of Hroza of helping guide the missile strike that killed some 55 people at a soldiers' wake in the village last week. The men, who were brothers, worked for the Russians when Hroza was occupied for several months in 2022, and fled to Russia shortly before Ukraine regained control of the village in September last year, the SBU said. The suspects continued to work for Moscow and built a network of informants in Ukraine, according to the agency. Politics and diplomacy * NATO members assured President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that they would sustain military aid to Ukraine even amid the Israel-Hamas turmoil, as Zelenskyy visited the alliance's Brussels headquarters in Brussels for the first time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was confident that members of the military alliance would continue to support Ukraine as it was in their own security interests. "We have the capability and the strength to address different challenges at the same time," he said. "We don't have the luxury of choosing only one threat and one challenge." * Zelenskyy stressed to NATO members Ukraine's need for more air defence systems, amid expectations that Russia will again attack the country's energy grid through the coldest months of the year. He also said the military needed artillery and ammunition to allow its forces to keep fighting during the winter. "The winter air defence is a significant part of the answer to the question of when this war will end and whether it will end justly for Ukraine," the Ukrainian president said. * More than 30 countries at a donor's conference on demining promised nearly 500 million euros ($531m) to clear ordnance from Ukraine. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that up to a third of Ukrainian territory was contaminated with mines, and as many as six million people are actively at risk. * Belgium's Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said his country supported a ban on Russian diamonds as part of international sanctions on Moscow over its war in Ukraine. Russia exports about $4bn worth of rough diamonds a year, nearly a third of the world's total. Belgium has the biggest interest in the global diamond trade in the European Union. * A spokesperson for De Croo, meanwhile, said the country expected to collect 2.3 billion euros ($2.4bn) in taxes on frozen Russian assets and would use them to help in the reconstruction of Ukraine. Most frozen Russian central bank assets are held in Belgium. * Veteran Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov was convicted and fined for "discrediting" the armed forces after telling a Moscow court that Russia had descended into a totalitarian state resembling George Orwell's 1984 as he defended himself over a November 2022 article in which he said Russia under President Vladimir Putin had descended into fascism. The judge ordered a fine of 150,000 roubles ($1,500), lower than the 250,000 roubles ($2,500) the prosecutors had demanded. Prosecutors did not ask for a jail term for the 70-year-old because of his age. Orlov said he would appeal the ruling. * Vyacheslav Volodin, the speaker of Russia's Duma, said Russians who left the country and criticised the war in Ukraine were traitors who should be sent to the "mines" if they returned home. Volodin, a Putin ally, previously suggested such people should be sent to the far eastern region of Magadan known for its communist-era Gulag labour camps. The Kremlin played down Volodin's comments. Weapons * Speaking at the NATO meeting, United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US would provide Ukraine with a new $200m military assistance package, including air defence and rocket ammunition. Austin repeated assurances that the US would stand with Ukraine "for as long as it takes". * Meanwhile, some US Republican lawmakers said they would resist any funding request from Democratic President Joe Biden that combined military aid for Israel and Ukraine, amid resistance from a small but vocal group of Republicans to providing further assistance for Kyiv. Biden asked Congress in August to approve $24bn for Ukraine and related international needs, but the request has not yet been approved. * The Danish Ministry of Defence said Denmark, the Netherlands and the US would lead an international coalition to help Ukraine establish a future air force based on F-16 fighter jets. The group will build infrastructure around the aircraft, including maintenance facilities. Denmark said earlier it expected to deliver its first F-16s to Ukraine by April 2024. * Turkey's Defence Ministry said Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria had discussed the threat of floating mines in the Black Sea as a result of the war in Ukraine at the NATO meeting in Brussels. The three countries agreed they would work together to tackle the issue, but gave no further details. 20231013 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-597 Fighting * Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the death toll in last week's Russian missile attack on a cafe in the village of Hroza had risen to 59. "All victims are local residents. They were pensioners, medics, farmers, teachers, entrepreneurs. All were civilians. Entire families of several generations died," Klymenko said. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Russia's Belgorod, said three people were killed and two seriously injured when debris from a destroyed Ukrainian drone fell on their homes. A four-year-old girl was among the dead. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian troops were "holding their ground" in the eastern town of Avdiivka, amid intense fighting with Russian forces. * Ukraine's air force said it destroyed 28 of 33 Russian drones launched from the Belgorod region to the north and from the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea to the south. "Enemy UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] were flying in different directions, so air defence was working in at least six regions of Ukraine," the air force said on Telegram. * The commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Ukraine had thwarted an attempt by a group of eight Russian saboteurs to cross its northeastern border in the Sumy region and attack "critical civilian infrastructure". * Romania's defence ministry said it found a "drone crater" near the country's border with Ukraine following Russian attacks on Ukrainian port infrastructure the previous evening. Russia has stepped up attacks on Ukrainian ports and warehouses along the Danube since pulling out of a deal to allow safe grain shipments via the Black Sea in July. The Romanian discovery came as a Ukrainian military spokesperson said a Russian drone attack hit a grain warehouse and other buildings in the southern region of Odesa. Politics and diplomacy * Russia's parliament will vote next week on withdrawing Moscow's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) banning nuclear tests. Leonid Slutsky, head of the Duma's international affairs committee, said the bill's first reading would take place on October 17 with passage expected a couple of days later. All 450 members of the Duma would support it, he added. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the defence alliance would hold its annual nuclear exercises, known as Steadfast Noon, next week. The drills involve fighter jets capable of carrying nuclear warheads but do not involve any live bombs. The training will take place over Italy, Croatia and the Mediterranean Sea. * Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled outside Russia for the first time since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. Putin is attending a summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), an intergovernmental organisation made up of former Soviet republics, in Kyrgyzstan. * The International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) with immediate effect after the ROC recognised regional sport organisations in Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia - four Ukrainian territories that Moscow partly occupies and announced it had annexed last year. Ukraine said the IOC's move was an "important decision". * The United Nations Human Rights Council extended the mandate of Special Rapporteur Mariana Katzarova, an independent expert documenting alleged human rights abuses in Russia, by a year. Katzarova last month said that the human rights situation in Russia had significantly deteriorated since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, describing a "systematic crackdown" on civil society. She said Russia had adopted laws to "muzzle civil society and punish human rights activists and others for their anti-war stance". * The Paris tribunal prosecutor's office said it had opened an investigation into why Marina Ovsyannikova, an exiled Russian journalist who staged a high-profile protest against the war in Ukraine, was suddenly taken ill. Christophe Deloire, director general of Reporters without Borders, said he had met Ovsyannikova, and that while she was feeling better since the incident, the possibility of poisoning could not be ruled out. Weapons * The Czech Defence Ministry said the Czech Republic and Denmark will jointly supply heavy military equipment to Ukraine in the coming months. The first shipment will include nearly 50 infantry fighting vehicles and main battle tanks, 2,500 handguns, 7,000 rifles, 500 light machine guns, 500 sniper rifles and equipment for electronic warfare and intelligence. The supplies will include new and modernised equipment. * Officials from the United States Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) showed member states of the United Nations what they said were pieces of Iranian drones recovered in Ukraine. The US mission to the UN said representatives from more than 40 countries attended the event, where debris, including parts of Iranian Shahed 101, Shahed 131 and Shahed 136 drones, were displayed. 20231015 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-598 Fighting * A battle is continuing in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, with Russia attacking it for a fourth straight day. Vitaliy Barabash, head of the city's military administration, told Ukrainian national television that the city, which is known for its large coking plant, is "completely ablaze" and that its hospital, administrative buildings and volunteer centre are under attack. * Moscow said on Saturday that it has shot down two attack drones over the Black Sea in the southern resort city of Sochi, which had so far largely been spared from Ukraine's months of drone attacks on Russian cities. "Today at about 7:10am in Sochi (04:10 GMT) ... two drones were shot down over the sea," the governor of the southern Krasnodar region Alexei Kopaygorodskiy said on social media, adding there were no casualties or damage to the city. * In Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, where heavy fighting has continued for months, acting regional Governor Ihor Moroz said on Saturday that Russian shelling of civilian settlements has left 22 civilians wounded over the past 24 hours. "The Russians wounded 22 residents of Donetsk region: 21 in Pokrovsk and one in Avdiivka," Moroz said on Telegram. The Ukrainian military has said that its troops have fought 100 close-quarter battles against Russian soldiers in Donetsk, in addition to the Melitopol area of the southern region of Zaporizhia. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin, who recently made his first foreign trip since the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest for alleged war crimes, is expected to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom he has called a "dear friend". Beijing is hosting 130 countries on October 17-18 to mark a decade of its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), but the two world leaders are likely to discuss the war as well. * European Union leaders are expected to meet later this month to demand "decisive progress" on using Russian assets frozen by sanctions to help Ukraine, according to a draft statement. The finance ministers of the G7, who had met on Thursday in Morocco, estimated that $280bn worth of such assets had been frozen. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a joint press conference with Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who was visiting the Black Sea port city of Odesa on Friday. They said that they would work together to improve Ukraine's air defences, and Zelenskyy said he would work to strengthen his country's position in the Black Sea to increase the security of grain exports vital for ensuring Ukraine's budget revenues. * Russia's justice ministry has declared the head of a Russian prisoner advocacy organisation, along with 11 other journalists and activists, as foreign agents. Olga Romanova and her organisation Russia Behind Bars, which itself was listed as a foreign agent in 2018, have covered the recruitment of inmates from prisons and penal colonies for the war in Ukraine since the start of the invasion in February 2022. Weapons * The White House has claimed that North Korea has delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia to be used in the war. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that the US believes North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who travelled to Russia to meet with Putin and visit key military sites last month, is seeking sophisticated Russian weapons technologies in return for the munitions to boost North Korea's military and nuclear programme. 20231016 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-599 Fighting * Two people were killed in Russian attacks on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, officials said, and two others were killed in shelling of Beryslav city in Ukraine's Kherson region. * Russian forces continued their assault on Avdiivka, repeatedly shelling the town and launching ground operations in one of the few offensives by Russian forces in months. * Ukraine's military said it had withstood 15 Russian ground attacks mounted in the vicinity of Avdiivka, Tonenke and Pervomaiske in the Donetsk region. The fierce Russian onslaught around Avdiivka has been described as a new offensive by Moscow. * Ukraine military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun said Avdiivka was now a key objective for Russian forces to take "because it is the only chance to show some kind of victory. They have no other options." * Almost 30 Ukrainian combat drones were shot down by Russian air defences over Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. Two additional drones were shot down over the Black Sea near the southern Russian resort city of Sochi. There were no reports of casualties immediately. * Russia's Black Sea Fleet conducted drills using rocket launchers off the port city of Sevastopol in the Russian-annexed Crimean Peninsula. Regional security * The White House accused North Korea of delivering more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its ongoing war in Ukraine. Washington released images that it said showed the containers being loaded onto a Russian-flagged ship before being moved by train to southwestern Russia. North Korea has previously denied providing weaponry to Moscow. Diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet China's Xi Jinping at the Belt and Road Forum in Beijing on October 17-18. Putin's visit to China is his first international trip since The Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) issued a warrant for his arrest in March for war crimes related to the deportation of children from Ukraine. * Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan ratified the ICC statutes, his office said. * Ukrainian human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said the Foreign Ministry in Kyiv sent a note of protest to Israel after Ukrainian citizens were unable to evacuate from war-torn Gaza. Lubinets said Ukraine could not understand why its citizens, and those of other countries, were not allowed to evacuate from besieged and bombarded Gaza. Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been a vocal supporter of Israel in its war on Gaza. Sanctions * World Athletics President Sebastian Coe said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had made the "only decision left open" in suspending Russia's national Olympic body for violating the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The IOC decision came after Russia's Olympic Committee this week officially recognised regional sporting organisations from four Ukrainian territories annexed by Russia since its invasion of Ukraine began in 2022. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-600 Fighting * Russia's military continued its offensive in the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka as local authorities said two civilians were killed in shelling that was so fierce, that emergency crews were unable to recover the dead from the destroyed buildings. * The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said its forces had repelled 15 Russian attacks near Avdiivka, Tonenke and Pervomaiske in the Donetsk region. * Six people were killed in Russian attacks, including two in the Kherson region, amid relentless shelling. That attack also injured three people, according to Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Two guided bombs later hit key infrastructure in Kherson city, sparking a partial blackout and disruption to the area's water supply. * Meanwhile, Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv region, said a 54-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man were killed after their home was destroyed in a Russian air attack. * Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russian television that the country's forces had bolstered their positions across the entire front line in Ukraine, claiming a Ukrainian counteroffensive that began in June had "failed completely". * The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine launched 27 drones on western Russia. Officials said that 18 drones were shot down over the Kursk region, leading to speculation in the Russian press that the attack could have been targeting the nearby Khalino military airfield. Officials also said two more drones were shot down over the Belgorod region, but did not say what happened to the remaining drones. * Russia said it scrambled a Su-27 fighter jet as a United States Global Hawk reconnaissance drone approached the Russian border above the Black Sea, the Interfax news agency cited the Russian defence ministry as saying. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv was working to evacuate nearly 260 of its citizens from Gaza and to fly other Ukrainians out of Israel. Weapons * White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Joe Biden would hold intensive talks with members of the US Congress this week to push through a new weapons package for Ukraine and Israel, which will be significantly higher than $2bn. Sullivan told CBS's Face the Nation that the package would include "the necessary military equipment to defend freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity in Ukraine". 20231017 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-601 Fighting * General Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, said Russia was aiming to break through Ukrainian defences in the northeastern Kupiansk-Lyman area, adding that fighting there had "significantly escalated". * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told President Vladimir Putin that the Russian army was continuing its military operations in Ukraine in areas where it could improve its position. * Russia launched five missiles and 12 kamikaze drones at Ukraine. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down two of the missiles, which targeted northern and eastern regions, and 11 of the drones, which were launched in several directions but with a particular focus on western Ukraine. * Filip Pronin, the governor of the eastern region of Poltava, said the area had been attacked by drones and missiles and that three civilians were injured and sent to hospital. Artillery shelling and air attacks also hit the Zaporizhia region, damaging several residential buildings and injuring one elderly woman, the governor there said. * A group of about 200 relatives of Ukrainian soldiers missing in action or taken prisoner held a protest in Kyiv's Independence Square, accusing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the country's military leadership of failing to help them. The group of mostly women said they would rather know for sure the fate of their loved ones, even if they had been killed * Sources told the Reuters news agency that a Liberian-flagged oil products tanker hit a mine on Sunday in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania. The ship sustained minor damage and the crew was safe. It was the second vessel this month to have been hit by a floating mine in the Black Sea. Politics and diplomacy * Qatar said its mediators succeeded in securing a Russian agreement for the return of four Ukrainian children to their families in what is hoped to be the first phase of many more repatriations. The children, the youngest just two years old, have been released to Qatari diplomats. Ukraine says up to 20,000 children have been taken by Russia into the country or territory that it occupies. The International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for Putin's arrest for the alleged forced transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. * US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said support for Ukraine remained a "top priority" for the United States and that the administration of President Joe Biden was committed to supporting Ukraine "for as long as it takes". Yellen said officials would fight to ensure a bipartisan majority in the US Congress enacted "robust" and uninterrupted assistance for the country. * German Finance Minister Christian Lindner said the US's role was indispensable in meeting Ukraine's financial needs. "The transatlantic partnership is of paramount importance for Europe as a whole, not only in economic terms, but especially because of our shared values," Lindner said at a meeting in Luxembourg. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov discussed the military conflict in Ukraine and its resolution by "political and diplomatic methods" during bilateral talks in Beijing with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to Russia's TASS news agency. * Moscow said Lavrov will travel to North Korea from October 18-19, amid concern Pyongyang might supply Russia with munitions and military equipment for use against Ukraine. * Vladimir Yermakov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's non-proliferation and arms control department, said the planned withdrawal of its ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) banning nuclear tests does not mean that it intends to conduct such a test. Russia's lower house, the State Duma, is due to vote on Tuesday on a bill to reverse the ratification. Weapons * Finance Minister Anton Siluanov told Russia's parliament that Moscow will spend more than 60 billion roubles ($618m) on a new national drone manufacturing project because most of its existing drones are from China. "The task is that 41 percent of all drones by 2025 should have the label 'Made in Russia'." ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/17/ukraine-uses-atacms-long-range-missiles-zelenskyy-says Volodymyr Zelenskyy has confirmed that Kyiv used US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles on the battlefield against Russian forces. 20231018 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-602 Fighting * Ukrainian forces used United States-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles for the first time, inflicting heavy damage on airfields in eastern Luhansk and southern Berdiansk, which are occupied by Russia. Speaking in his nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the weapons had "proven themselves". * Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told national television that Russia continued to push its week-old assault on the devastated town of Avdiivka in the east, with Ukrainian forces repelling 10 attacks. Shtupun also said Ukrainian forces advancing south towards the Sea of Azov had registered "partial success" west of Verbove, one of a cluster of villages it is trying to capture. * Local officials said "massive" Russian shelling on the southern city of Kherson and the surrounding area injured at least seven people. Kyiv also said it had shot down six Iranian-made Shahed drones that were launched from Moscow-annexed Crimea towards the port city of Odesa. * Russia, meanwhile, said it shot down eight drones over Crimea and three others over its western region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine. * The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southeastern Ukraine in June caused "staggering" loss and damage estimated at $14bn, according to a report by the Ukrainian government and the United Nations. Kyiv accused Russia of blowing up the dam across the Dnipro River, which flooded the surrounding area with landmine-contaminated water and left areas upstream without water. Moscow has denied it was responsible for the breach. * Sweden's civil defence minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin said a Baltic Sea telecom cable between Sweden and Estonia remains operational after it was damaged at roughly the same time this month as a Finnish-Estonian pipeline and cable. Separately, Finnish investigators said they had identified vessels operating in the area where the damage to the pipeline and cable occurred on October 8, naming two of them, a Russian-flagged ship and a Chinese-owned vessel. Poitics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Beijing for the Belt and Road forum and to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping. The two leaders are expected to meet on Wednesday. * Putin said the US and President Joe Biden needed to learn to "respect" Russia after Biden told CBS News that the US and Europe could unite to prevent Putin from causing "the kind of trouble he's been causing". Putin told state television in Beijing: "This is not about me personally. This is about the interests of the country. And it is impossible to suppress the interests of Russia." * Putin and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is also in Beijing for the forum, underlined the strong ties between their two countries, saying that continuing "geopolitical tensions" due to the war in Ukraine did not affect their relationship. * Russia's parliament voted 412 to zero to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty in the first of three readings of the bill. Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, a member of Russia's Security Council, said the aim was to restore parity with the US, which has signed but never ratified the 1996 treaty. * Russian police said they were checking whether Vladislav Surkov, Putin's former chief strategist, had broken the law with an article that suggested that Russia and the West might one day become aligned. In an article published on September 27 entitled "Birth of the North," Surkov suggested that no major powers would get what they wanted out of the Ukraine war and that Russia, the US and Europe would draw closer as a "Great North". Weapons * Multiple news agencies reported that Biden will ask Congress for a $100bn package including defence aid for Ukraine. The White House has not yet confirmed the request. * US Special Representative for North Korea Sung Kim said deepening relations between North Korea and Russia were "very worrying". The White House said last week that Pyongyang recently shipped weapons to Russia, deliveries Kim said were "dangerous" and "destabilising". The US is concerned North Korean weapons could be used in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said such allegations were not based on evidence. 20231019 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-603 Fighting * At least 10 people were killed in Russian attacks, including five who died after a missile hit a residential building in the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia. The other deaths were reported in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk, the southern region of Kherson and the southern city of Mykolaiv. "The evil state continues to use terror and wage war on civilians. Russian terror must be defeated," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. * General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, who leads Ukraine's military operations in the south, said troops from the Tavria, or southern group of forces, were "continuing their offensive" as part of a planned advance towards the Sea of Azov. "They have had partial success to the south of Robotyne," Tarnavskyi wrote on Telegram. * Russian shelling around Avdiivka eased, but authorities said they expected Russia to escalate its assault on the front-line town in the coming days. Russian forces now control territory to the east, north and south of Avdiivka, gradually tightening the noose in a bid to push Ukrainian forces further from eastern Donetsk. * Ukraine's General Staff, in its evening report, said forces had repelled attacks in several areas along the 1,000km (620-mile) front line - including 15 around the long-contested town of Maryinka in Donetsk region and 10 further north near Kupiansk. * Russia shot down two missiles over Crimea, the peninsula it annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Regional governor Mikhail Razvozhayev said one of the missiles was brought down over Sevastopol, home of Russia's Black Sea fleet. He said the missile had detonated in a field, and that there had been no injuries or damage to infrastructure. * Russia's defence ministry said air defence systems intercepted and destroyed 28 Ukrainian drones over its Belgorod and Kursk regions and over the Black Sea. It did not elaborate on these claims. * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said the country was reinforcing its western border in anticipation of F-16 fighter aircraft being supplied to Ukraine in 2024. Politics and diplomacy * Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin held bilateral talks in Beijing. Xi said the "political mutual trust" between their countries was "continuously deepening". Putin, meanwhile, said the growing number of world conflicts and threats would "strengthen" ties between Moscow and Beijing. The two men last met in Moscow in March. * Speaking at a press conference after the talks, Putin said that the United States had made a mistake by providing Kyiv with long-range ATACMS missiles. He said the supply of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) would only "prolong the agony" for Ukraine. "We will, of course, be able to repel these attacks. War is war," Putin said. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov thanked North Korea for its "unwavering and principled support" over the war in Ukraine and pledged Moscow's "complete support and solidarity" for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Russia's foreign ministry said. Lavrov travelled to Pyongyang on Wednesday for a two-day visit. * French President Emmanuel Macron reaffirmed his country's support for Ukraine amid the deepening Israel-Hamas war during a phone call with Zelenskyy. "He assured the Ukrainian president that the proliferation of crises would not weaken French and European support for Ukraine, which will be there for as long as it takes," said Macron's office. * Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said the images of Hungary's prime minister shaking hands with Putin as the two men met in Beijing were "very, very unpleasant" and defied logic given Budapest's past history with Moscow. "How can you shake a criminal's hand, who has waged the war of aggression, especially coming from a country that has a history like Hungary has?" Kallas told the Reuters news agency. An uprising in Hungary in 1956 was crushed by the Soviet Union, killing at least 2,600 Hungarians. Weapons * A bill revoking Russia's ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty had its second and third readings in the lower house Duma and was passed by 415 votes to zero. It will now go to the upper house for approval, and Putin for signing. Ukraine urged the international community to respond to what it described as Moscow's "provocations" in the area of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Robert Floyd, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, said the move was "deeply regrettable". Russia will remain a signatory to the treaty. 20231020 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-604 Fighting * General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine's armed forces, said troops faced a renewed Russian onslaught in the eastern city of Avdiivka. "The enemy is not relenting in attempts to break through our defences and surround [Avdiivka]," Zaluzhniy wrote on Telegram. He said the Russians were bringing in assault units and large amounts of armoured equipment as well as deploying aircraft and artillery. Russian accounts of the fighting said its forces had destroyed a command point near Avdiivka and repelled 11 Ukrainian attacks near Kupiansk. * Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, said Ukrainian troops had advanced 400 metres (a quarter of a mile) to the southwest of the village of Verbove in the southern Zaporizhia region. Verbove is a few kms east of Robotyne, a village recaptured by Ukraine last month in its drive towards the Sea of Azov. * The Washington, DC-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said Ukrainian forces appeared to have broken through on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region. There was no comment from Kyiv on the potential advance. * The Ukrainian military said Russian forces carried out new air attacks in eastern, southern and northern Ukraine using 17 different weapons - including ballistic and cruise missiles and attack drones - on industrial and civilian infrastructure as well as military targets. Ukrainian forces shot down three drones and one cruise missile, it added. * Russia's defence ministry said it scrambled two Su-27 fighter jets to prevent three United Kingdom military planes - a reconnaissance plane accompanied by two fighters - as they approached Russian airspace over the Black Sea. * NATO said it stepped up patrols in the Baltic Sea, including deploying four mine-hunters, following recent damage to undersea infrastructure. * Ukraine's parliament gave its initial approval for the 2024 budget, which will increase funding for the army and national defence. Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko said the government's priorities next year included accumulating funds for defence and security, and securing social payments for the population "to bring Ukraine's victory closer". Politics and diplomacy * United States President Joe Biden "underscored the continued strong bipartisan support in the United States for Ukraine's defence of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and democratic future," the White House said after the US leader spoke on the phone with Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said he wanted to build a "forward-looking" relationship with Russia as he met Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Pyongyang. The US has said North Korea has provided weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. Lavrov, meanwhile, proposed regular security talks with North Korea and China to deal with what he described as increasing US-led regional military threats * The Ukrainian parliament gave initial approval to a law that would ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, which Kyiv has accused of collaborating with Moscow. The church denies the claims. The bill will need to pass its second reading and secure presidential approval to become law. * Russia arrested Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva for failing to register as a "foreign agent" after she travelled to the country for a family emergency. Kurmasheva works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The US State Department said the detention looked like harassment. * Russian President Vladimir Putin lashed out at the International Olympic Committee, accusing it of politicising the Games and "racism", after it banned the Russian Olympic Committee for recognising Olympic sporting bodies in Ukrainian territories annexed by Moscow. Weapons * Biden is expected to ask Congress on Friday for $60bn for Ukraine, with half of that going towards replacing and modernising US weapons stocks, a source familiar with the plan told the Reuters news agency. Biden announced in an Oval Office speech that he would put in the funding request on Friday. He did not elaborate on the size of the package. * Two days after Ukraine confirmed using US-supplied long-range ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) missiles for the first time, Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv expected to receive the weapons on a regular basis. "This is a direct result of the agreement between President Zelenskyy and President Biden, reached in Washington during a personal meeting in late September," Kuleba said in televised comments. 20231021 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-605 Fighting * A man was killed and a woman was left in a critical condition after a Russian missile hit homes in Kryvyi Rih in the central Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk. * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the south of the country where he said his armed forces had repelled a new Russian offensive against the eastern town of Avdiivka and Ukrainian forces were holding their ground. * Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District, located less than 100km from Ukraine's southeastern border. Putin was briefed on the war by the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, the Kremlin said. * The Ukrainian military said fighting was raging along the front line, with about 90 combat clashes in the past 24 hours. That compares with an average of about 60 daily clashes a week ago. * Russian forces have intensified attacks around Avdiivka and Kupiansk. Kyiv said the military aim of the Russian attacks around Avdiivka and Kupiansk was to draw in Ukrainian troops from other front lines and to try to gain ground before winter sets in. * The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based think tank, said Ukrainian forces appeared to have broken through on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river in Kherson. * Kyiv has not commented and Russia's defence ministry said it had thwarted attempts by Ukrainian troops to establish a foothold on the Russian-controlled bank of the Dnipro river. * Russia named a replacement for the former head of the country's Aerospace Forces. State media reported that Colonel General Viktor Afzalov, acting head of the air force, had officially replaced General Sergei Surovikin - who came under suspicion following the revolt by Wagner mercenaries against Moscow's military leaders earlier this year. Politics * Russia ordered Russian American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva to be detained for three additional days, after prosecutors said she had failed to register as a "foreign agent". Kurmasheva, who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty media outlet, was detained by law enforcement officers in the Russian city of Kazan. * Kyiv's iconic Motherland statue representing a female warrior towering over the capital has reopened for public viewing after its Soviet-era hammer and sickle emblem was replaced with the Ukrainian trident. Diplomacy * Biden and European Union leaders delivered a message of support for both Ukraine and Israel. "These conflicts show democracies must stand together," European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said of both countries. Biden said: "We stood together to support the brave people of Ukraine in the face of Putin's aggression. We're standing together now to support Israel in the wake of Hamas's appalling terrorist attack." * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed claims by Ukrainian officials that Moscow has profited from the Israel-Hamas war, which had taken public attention away from Ukraine. Military aid * Biden requested urgent military aid for Ukraine and Israel in a massive $106bn security package, which includes $61bn in military aid for Ukraine and $14bn in military aid for Israel. * North Korea has condemned the US for supplying Ukraine with long-range ATACMS ballistic missiles. Regional security * Russia's defence ministry released a video showing a UK reconnaissance above the Black Sea being intercepted by Russian jets to prevent it from entering Russian airspace. * US intelligence reported that Russia is using its spy network, state-run media and social media platforms to undermine public trust in elections around the world. * The International Criminal Court (ICC) said an "unprecedented" cyberattack it suffered in September was probably "espionage" aimed at undermining its work. The attack comes as Russian investigators have opened criminal cases against the ICC's prosecutor and judges who issued an arrest warrant for Putin for war crimes earlier this year. 20231022 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-606 Fighting * Six Ukrainian postal workers were killed when two missiles hit a postal distribution centre in Ukraine's second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Saturday, regional prosecutors quoted by Ukraine's public broadcaster said. * A man died as Russian forces shelled the Ukrainian-held town of Nikopol from their stronghold at Ukraine's largest nuclear plant, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Saturday. He said emergency services in Nikopol were working to assess the damage. * Russia fired hundreds of shells into Ukrainian-controlled parts of the southern Kherson region on Friday, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. "The Russian military hit residential areas of the region's settlements. As a result of Russian aggression, one person was killed and one more was wounded," he said on Saturday. * A 60-year-old man died on Friday evening when a Russian missile slammed into an industrial facility in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, according to Telegram posts by Mayor Oleksandr Vilkul. The man's wife was hospitalised with serious shrapnel wounds, Vilkul said. * Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and one cruise missile out of nine launched on Ukraine overnight, Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday. Politics * A Russian court is expected to rule on the pre-trial detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva on Monday. Kurmasheva, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), has been held in a temporary detention facility since she was taken into custody on Wednesday. Russia says she failed to register as a "foreign agent" when she travelled to the country in May for a family emergency. Diplomacy * Turkey will join talks aimed at finding ways to end the Ukraine conflict, Zelenskyy said on Saturday after speaking with Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan. "We discussed the next round of negotiations on the Peace Formula, which will take place in Malta. Turkey will participate, adding its authoritative voice and position," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram. Malta announced on Friday it would host the peace talks on October 28-29, after similar meetings in Jeddah and Copenhagen earlier this year. Weapons * Russia's upper house of parliament is expected to consider a bill to withdraw from the nuclear test ban treaty on Wednesday, after which it will go to Russian President Vladimir Putin for signing. The bill last week passed Russia's lower house Duma by 415 votes to zero. Ukraine has urged the international community to respond to what it described as Moscow's "provocations" in the area of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. 20231023 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-607 Fighting * Russian forces kept sustained pressure on Avdiivka in Ukraine's east with the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces saying that Ukraine's troops had repelled nearly 20 Russian attacks around the largely ruined town. Russian air attacks also hit nearby villages, it said. * Speaking in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in Avdiivka and the nearby town of Marinka was "particularly tough. Numerous Russian attacks. But our positions are being held". * Russia's defence ministry said it foiled several attempts by Ukrainian units to cross the Dnipro River in the southern Kherson region. The ministry said Ukrainian "sabotage and reconnaissance" teams were stopped while trying to cross the river near the villages of Pridniprovske, Tiahynka and Krynky. * Also in Kherson, regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said several villages were struck by Russian shelling. Transport and food factories were also hit in Kherson City, he added. * Ukraine's Air Force said air defence systems destroyed six Russia-launched attack drones and a cruise missile overnight. * Vladimir Saldo, the Moscow-installed governor of the occupied areas of Ukraine's Kherson region, said Russia brought down three Ukrainian missiles heading for targets in Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014. Politics and diplomacy * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due in the Iranian capital Tehran on Monday where he is expected to hold talks with regional foreign ministers over issues including the Nagorno-Karabakh region. Russia turned to Iran for military and economic support since it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering a raft of Western sanctions. 20231024 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-608 Fighting * Russian forces kept up pressure in the devastated city of Avdiivka as it sought to cut off its only supply routes. The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said its troops repelled about 10 Russian attacks on Avdiivka, while Vitaliy Barabash, head of Avdiivka's military administration, said there were round-the-clock attacks on Avdiivka's town centre. "A very difficult situation with supplies, with 22km of road constantly under fire, day and night," Barabash told United States-funded Radio Liberty. "This complicates evacuation and delivery of aid. The enemy is trying to cut it off. Any movement is a signal to open fire." * Ukraine said it shot down 14 attack drones and a cruise missile fired by Russia at its south and east, but debris from one of the drones damaged a warehouse at the Black Sea port of Odesa. Governor Oleh Kiper said no one was reported injured. There was no comment from Moscow, which denies targeting civilian infrastructure. * Ukraine's spy service was behind last year's killing of Darya Dugina, and smuggled the parts of the bomb into Russia inside a cat carrier, according to The Washington Post. Dugina, who was 29, was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow in August 2022. Her father, Aleksandr Dugin, is an outspoken advocate for the invasion of Ukraine and a supporter of President Vladimir Putin. Politics and diplomacy * Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan submitted a bill on Sweden's NATO membership to parliament, after raising objections over a range of security concerns. NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said he welcomed the move and was looking forward to a "speedy vote". * A Russian court extended the detention of Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until early December. Kurmasheva, who works with the US government-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague, was arrested on October 18 after returning home for a family emergency. * The US sought the forfeiture of a $300m superyacht of sanctioned Russian oligarch Suleiman Kerimov. Authorities in Fiji seized the 106-metre Amadea in May 2022. Under the court action, the US will seek to secure ownership of the yacht, and then likely auction it off with the proceeds transferred to Ukraine. * Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that while Moscow agreed on the need for a "new world order", the US should not be the country to build it. "... No matter what world order they talk about, they mean an American-centric world order - that is, a world that revolves around the United States. It won't be that way any more," Peskov said. He was responding to a speech in which US President Joe Biden had said Washington needed to "unite the world" to forge a new peace. 20231025 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-609 Fighting * Russia continued to pound the shattered eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka but Ukrainian officials said heavy losses had forced them to switch to air attacks. Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, told national television that Russia "dropped about 40 guided aerial bombs in two nights. But the number of ground assaults has been reduced". Shtupun said about 2,400 Russians had been killed or wounded over the previous five days of fighting in the Donetsk region. * At least eight people were injured in Russian shelling of front-line regions of Ukraine. Ukraine's Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said four people, including a 12-year-old, were wounded by Russian air strikes and artillery fire in the southern Kherson region, and another four were taken to hospital after an attack on the northeast region of Kharkiv. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its naval forces destroyed three unmanned Ukrainian boats in the northern part of the Black Sea off Crimea. Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a security conference in Prague that Kyiv would keep up military pressure on occupied Crimea, having shattered the "illusion" of Russia's domination of Crimea and the Black Sea. Zelenskyy said that the Russian fleet was "no longer capable" of operating in the western part of the Black Sea and was gradually retreating from Crimea. He did not offer evidence for the claim. * More than half the members of Ukraine's newly-formed Siberian Battalion are Russian citizens, the Reuters news agency reported. The Russian recruits to the 50-strong battalion are mainly Siberia's Indigenous people and want to fight "Russian imperialism", Reuters said, citing a Ukrainian military officer who preferred not to be named. The battalion is part of the International Legion within the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Politics and diplomacy * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed Berlin's aid to Ukraine would not be affected by its support for Israel in its conflict with Hamas. Speaking at a German-Ukrainian business forum attended by Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and joined virtually by President Zelenskyy, Scholz said Kyiv would have assistance - from the economy to weapons - for "as long as necessary". * Shmyhal said Ukraine expects Germany to provide it with an additional 1.4 billion euros to enhance its air defences and help it get through a second winter at war with Russia. * Moldova blocked access to more than 20 Russian media websites, including RT, NTV and other prominent outlets, saying they had been used as part of an information war against the country. The Russian foreign ministry branded the move a "hostile step". * The elder sister of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich appealed for his release ahead of his birthday and urged the United States to step up efforts to get him home. The journalist has been detained in Russia since March and accused of spying, charges he and the Journal have denied. Gershkovich will turn 32 on Thursday. * Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia's economy had adapted to mostly Western sanctions imposed over the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and that the prospect of more sanctions did "not scare" the country. Weapons * Ukraine announced a joint venture with German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall to service and repair Western weapons sent to Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion. "The first project will be repairing of German equipment, tanks, heavy armoured vehicles, Panzerhaubitzers and other German equipment," Prime Minister Shmyhal told reporters in Berlin. The venture will also help with the local production of some key equipment made by Rheinmetall, he added. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/25/finland-pipeline-damage-cause Finnish investigators say they have evidence that the anchor of a Chinese container ship was responsible for damaging a Baltic Sea gas pipeline earlier this month. Police previously said the October 8 rupture to the subsea Balticconnector pipeline, as well as two telecoms cables, was caused by external mechanical force and were investigating whether this was a case of sabotage or caused by accident. Whether the pipeline damage was intentional, unintentional or caused by "bad seafaring" is the subject of the next phase in the probe, officials said. 20231026 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-610 Fighting * Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesperson for Ukraine's southern groups of forces, said Russian forces were pressing ahead with their push to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, despite mounting losses. Shtupun told national television that Russian forces were relying on infantry, using small assault groups of between 30 and 40 men. Russia's losses in the last six days were 2,500 dead and wounded, he said * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited a command post near the front lines in eastern Ukraine as fighting in the region intensifies. The ministry posted a video of Shoigu's visit and said he was briefed on preparations for combat in the winter, when temperatures drop well below zero, and the training of drone operators. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian drone raid on the western Khmelnytskyi region probably targeted the area's nuclear power station. The attack shattered windows at the plant and injured 20 people. The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, said blasts from the drone attack did not affect the plant's operations or its connection to the grid. * Earlier, Zelenskyy warned Ukraine would strike back if Moscow embarked on an air campaign aimed at crippling the national power grid during winter. Millions of Ukrainians faced sweeping power cuts in sub-zero temperatures last year after Russia attacked power facilities. "We're preparing for the terrorists to strike energy infrastructure. This year we will not only defend ourselves, but we will also respond," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram messaging app. * Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, said a man was killed after a Russian bomb fell on a residential area of the city of Beryslav early on Wednesday morning. Prokudin said that Russian forces had carried out 35 aerial attacks on the Kherson region in the previous 24 hours. * Russia's military said its air defence forces shot down two long-range US-made ATACM missiles fired by Ukraine at Russian targets. It did not provide further details. * Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chair of Russia's Security Council and a former president, said the armed forces had recruited 385,000 people so far this year. The military has offered huge salaries and welfare programmes to convince people to sign up. "More than 1,600 people are signing a contract with the armed forces every day," Medvedev said in a video on social media. Politics and diplomacy * Lawmakers in Russia's upper house of parliament unanimously approved a bill to revoke the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The legislation now only needs the signature of President Vladimir Putin to come into effect. * Speaking ahead of a meeting of European Union leaders, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Europe "must not make the mistake" of weakening its common support for Ukraine. Thursday's summit in Brussels will be the first in-person meeting of the EU's 27 national leaders since the start of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7. Weapons * The Kremlin said Russia had successfully tested its ability to deliver a massive retaliatory nuclear strike by land, sea and air. The exercise involved the test launch of missiles from a land-based silo, a nuclear submarine and from long-range bomber aircraft. "Practical launches of ballistic and cruise missiles took place during the training," the Kremlin said in a statement on the nuclear drills. * Oleksandr Kamyshin, the minister who oversees Ukraine's defence industry, told a NATO forum in Stockholm, that the country aims to produce tens of thousands of drones every month by year-end. He did not disclose current drone production figures but put the number in the thousands per month. * Arms makers are reporting profits above market expectations as the United States and other Western countries replenish stocks of military equipment sent to Ukraine. Virginia-based General Dynamics said its third-quarter profit rose to $836m on higher demand for artillery and armoured vehicles. California-based Teledyne, which owns drone maker FLIR systems, reported third-quarter earnings of $198.6m and raised its forecast for full-year growth. In Germany, Rheinmetall said ammunition and weapons sales were expected to push third-quarter profit to 191 million euros ($201.89m). It will announce the figures officially on November 9. 20231028 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/10/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-611 Fighting * Eight people were injured and at least 15 buildings were damaged or destroyed after Russia shelled the centre of Ukraine's southern city of Kherson. "In the evening, the entire city trembled," Ukraine's Emergency Services said on Telegram. "The enemy targeted the very centre of Kherson." Ukraine's Suspilne public broadcaster said one person was also injured after Russian forces shelled Beryslav further north. * Speaking in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian casualties had risen sharply across the 1,000-kilometre front lines over the past week. He earlier told United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak that Russia had lost at least a brigade's worth of troops in its assault on Avdiivka."The invaders made several attempts to surround Avdiivka, but each time, our soldiers stopped them and threw them back, causing painful losses. In these cases, the enemy lost at least a brigade," Zelenskyy told Sunak in a phone call. Brigades vary in size and can number between 1,500 and 8000 troops. Battlefield losses are a state secret in Russia and Ukraine * Russian diplomats dismissed a White House claim that Moscow's military was executing its own soldiers if they refused orders in Ukraine. "Whoever came up with these other-worldly lies could only have been a person with an imagination far into overdrive," the Russian embassy in Washington said in comments carried by the RIA Novosti news agency. * Former Ukrainian pro-Moscow lawmaker Oleg Tsaryov was shot and wounded in a late-night attack in Yalta in Russian-annexed Crimea. Russia's top investigative body said it had opened a criminal inquiry, while an nnamed source in the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told the Reuters news agency the shooting was a special operation conducted by the intelligence agency, describing Tsaryov as an "absolutely legal target". * Russia's Defence Ministry said it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack near a nuclear plant in Kurchatov in the country's southern Kursk region. A separate statement from the Kursk nuclear power station said three drones had been involved in the attack, there were no casualties or damage and the plant was operating as normal. * Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the appointment of 55-year-old Colonel-General Viktor Afzalov as commander of the country's aerospace forces, replacing General Sergei Surovikin who was fired in August. Afzalov has been acting head since Surovikin's dismissal. * Ukraine said it had so far exported 1.3 million tonnes of grain and other cargo through a new Black Sea corridor it set up in August after Moscow withdrew from a United Nations-brokered deal that allowed Kyiv to safely export grain to world markets. Politics and diplomacy * Mike Johnson, the newly-elected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, said US funding to support Ukraine and Israel should be handled separately, suggesting he will not back President Joe Biden's $106bn aid package for both countries. * Most of the European Union's 27 leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels backed additional financial support to Ukraine as it fights Russia's invasion, but Hungary and Slovakia voiced reservations. The EU is seeking approval for a spending plan that includes 50 billion euros ($52.8bn) for Kyiv and must be agreed unanimously. * Zelenskyy's top diplomatic adviser said senior national security and foreign ministry officials from as many as 70 nations will meet in Malta on Saturday and Sunday to discuss the Ukrainian president's 10-point blueprint for a peace settlement. Russia will not participate. * North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui said it was the "steadfast will" of Pyongyang to expand ties with Moscow arguing that a closer bilateral relationship would act as a "powerful strategic" element if security in the region was endangered. Japan, South Korea and the United States recently condemned alleged arms deliveries by Pyongyang to Russia. * Russian prosecutors have lodged an appeal against a court decision to fine veteran human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov after he was found guilty of "discrediting" the country's armed forces. Orlov, the 70-year-old co-chair of Russia's Nobel Prize-winning Memorial human rights organisation, was fined 150,000 roubles ($1,600) earlier this month. Prosecutors have filed an appeal calling for a three-year prison term. Weapons * Germany's Defence Ministry said it delivered a third IRIS-T SLM air defence system to Ukraine. The country is stepping up efforts to get air defence systems to Ukraine before the winter sets in to help protect critical infrastructure from Russian attacks. 20231101 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-616 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned against expecting too much too quickly in Ukraine's campaign to reclaim land occupied by the Russians. Speaking in his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said Moscow's forces were gearing up for new attacks in different sections of the 1,000km front line. * The United Nations human rights office said it had found "reasonable grounds" to conclude a missile strike that killed 59 people in a cafe in the Ukrainian village of Hroza was launched by Russia and probably involved an Iskander missile. * Russian investigators in a part of eastern Ukraine occupied by Moscow said they had detained two soldiers on suspicion of killing a family of nine people, including two children, in Volnovakha. The statement said the soldiers were from a region in Russia's far east and claimed the murders appeared to be the result of some kind of personal conflict. * A Russian-installed court in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region sentenced three Ukrainian soldiers captured after last year's siege of the port city of Mariupol to life imprisonment on a range of crimes including murder and the "cruel treatment" of civilians. * The FSB, Russia's federal security agency, arrested a 46-year-old Russian man as an alleged accomplice in the shooting of Moscow-backed separatist leader and former Ukrainian MP Oleg Tsaryov in Crimea, the territory annexed by Russia in 2014. Moscow has accused Ukraine of attempting to kill Tsaryov. Media reports say the former MP had been identified as a potential leader of any Russian "puppet" government in Kyiv. Politics and diplomacy * Ramesh Rajasingham, director of coordination for the UN's humanitarian office, told the Security Council that some 18 million people - 40 % of Ukraine's population - were in need of some form of humanitarian assistance and that the winter, when temperatures fall below freezing, would make the situation worse. He added that the UN was particularly concerned for the 4 million people living in eastern areas controlled by Russia who had been largely cut off from aid. The UN had requested $3.9bn to support humanitarian needs in Ukraine this year but is facing a funding shortfall of about $1.9bn. * Speaking at the Senate Appropriations Committee on the United States President Joe Biden's request for $106bn in funding that includes support for Ukraine, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia would be successful in its invasion unless the US maintained its support for Kyiv. "If we pull the rug out from under them now, Putin will only get stronger and he will be successful in doing what he wants to do," Austin told the hearing. * A Russian court denied an appeal by US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva against her continued detention on charges of allegedly failing to register as a "foreign agent". Kurmasheva, who works for the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was detained in the central city of Kazan earlier this month after she visited family. A court ruled last week she should remain in pre-trial detention until at least December 5. * French prosecutors said they had detained Russian tycoon Alexey Kuzmichev for questioning in France in connection with alleged tax evasion, money laundering and for violating international sanctions. French customs agents last year seized Kuzmichev's 27-metre yacht as part of sanctions by the European Union for his ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin. * A delegation of religious leaders from several faiths in Ukraine arrived in the US to plead for continued support against Russia and to ease concerns about religious freedom as parliament considers legislation to ban the Ukrainian Orthodox Church because of its ties to the Orthodox Patriarch of Moscow, who has strongly supported the Russian invasion. Weapons * The US Department of Homeland Security arrested three Russians in New York for allegedly shipping electronic components for weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine. The three are accused of evading sanctions to dispatch, over the course of a year, "over 300 shipments of restricted items, valued at approximately $10 million, to the Russian battlefield," Special Agent Ivan Arvelo said in a statement. 20231102 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-617 Fighting * Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said 118 settlements in 10 regions of Ukraine's east had come under Russian fire in the previous 24 hours, marking the heaviest day of Russian shelling this year. * Ukraine said the Kremenchuk oil refinery in central Ukraine caught fire after a Russian drone attack that knocked out the power supply in three villages while falling debris from downed drones damaged railway power lines in a nearby region. Officials said the fire was quickly extinguished. Ukraine's air force said air defences shot down 18 of 20 Russian drones and a missile before they reached their targets. * Writing in The Economist newspaper, Ukraine's commander-in-chief General Valery Zaluzhny said the army needed new military capabilities and technological innovation - and air power, in particular - to break out of the current attritional fighting along the front line. * Ukraine's military said more than 260 civilians had been killed after stepping on landmines or other explosives since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Kyiv estimates that about a third of its territory is potentially strewn with mines or dangerous war detritus. * A court in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region sentenced three Ukrainian soldiers to jail after they were taken captive following the fall of Mariupol last year. Moscow's Investigative Committee said the three were found guilty of killing eight civilians, with one soldier sentenced to life and the other two for 30-year terms. * Ukraine said Russian warplanes dropped "explosive objects" into the probable paths of civilian vessels in the Black Sea three times in the previous 24 hours, but that its fledgling shipping lane remained in operation. Kyiv set up the corridor after Moscow abandoned the United Nations-backed Black Sea grain deal in July. * Russian officials declared an air raid alert in the Crimean port city of Sevastopol. Traffic on the Crimean bridge as well as sea transport were suspended. Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Politics and diplomacy * Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni spoke of international fatigue with the conflict in Ukraine after being duped into speaking by two Russians pretending to head the African Union Commission. Asked about the war, Meloni, speaking in English, said: "I see that there is a lot of fatigue, I have to say the truth, from all the sides. We [are] near the moment in which everybody understands that we need a way out. The problem is to find a way out which can be acceptable for both without destroying the international law." The 13-minute call was recorded in September in the run-up to meetings with African leaders at the United Nations General Assembly. * France's financial prosecutor charged Russian billionaire Alexei Kuzmichev, who is linked to Russian President Vladimir Putin and under European Union sanctions, with tax fraud. Kuzmichev also faces charges of concealing work with an organised crime group and money laundering. * Switzerland said it would maintain protection status for Ukrainians fleeing war until at least March 4, 2025. "The situation in Ukraine is not expected to change in the foreseeable future," a statement from the Federal Council said. Weapons * South Korea's intelligence services believe Pyongyang has sent about 10 arms shipments to Russia, with more than one million artillery shells transported by sea, South Korean ruling party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum told reporters following a briefing. The deliveries would probably keep Russian forces in Ukraine supplied for two months, he added. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is due to visit South Korea on November 8 and 9, with North Korea and its deepening relationship with Moscow high on the agenda. * Prosecutors in the United States charged a Russian American and two Russians over an alleged plan to export electronic components for Russian drones, a day after three others were charged over a similar scheme. Nikolay Grigorev was arrested at his home in New York City, while the two other Russia-based defendants remain at large. * A Dutch court sentenced a Russian citizen to 18 months in prison and fined his company 200,000 euros ($211,000) for breaching EU sanctions on Russia imposed over the war in Ukraine by trading microchips and other electronic goods with potential military uses. The 56-year-old man, named Dmitri K by prosecutors, is thought to have fled to Russia after being released from custody pending his trial last year. 20231103 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-618 Fighting * Two people were killed and the power supply was disrupted in Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. "Hell's night in Stanislav. There were more than 40 hits in the village," regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on the Telegram messaging app. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces repelled a new Russian assault near the town of Vuhledar between the eastern and southern front lines in eastern Donetsk. Zelenskyy said the Russians had suffered "heavy losses" with many soldiers killed and wounded. * Oleksandr Shtupun, a spokesman for Ukraine's military command, said Russian forces were trying to regroup and recover their losses near the eastern city of Avdiivka before trying to press ahead with its attempt to encircle the ruined town. * Russia accused Ukraine of risking nuclear disaster after it shot down nine Ukrainian drones near the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, which has been occupied by Russia since early March 2022. The drones were shot down near the Russian-held city of Enerhodar, where many of the plant's workers live. Russia and Ukraine have each accused the other of attacks near the plant. * Russia said its air defences also brought down five Ukrainian drones over Crimea and one over the Black Sea. * Russia jailed two more Ukrainian soldiers who fought in the city of Mariupol to lengthy prison sentences, as it continued to put dozens of prisoners of war on trial. Russia took thousands of Ukrainian soldiers captive after it seized Mariupol last May. Some were sent to Russia while others have been tried by Moscow-backed courts in occupied parts of eastern Ukraine. Under international law, soldiers cannot be prosecuted for having fought for their country. * Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected comments by Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander Valery Zaluzhnyi that the war had become a conflict of attrition and said it was absurd for Kyiv to think it could ever defeat Russia. Politics and diplomacy * The United States imposed sweeping new sanctions on people and firms it said were abetting Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine by helping it procure dual-use goods that can be used in weapons including suicide drones. The latest sanctions involve 130 new targets, including in China, Turkey and the UAE. * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law withdrawing Russia's ratification of the landmark Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Moscow says the move brings it into line with the US and that Russia will not resume nuclear testing unless Washington does. * Ukraine placed Swiss food giant Nestle on a list of "international sponsors of war" because it continued to do business in Russia. "Despite Russian aggression, Nestle continues to operate in Russia, supply goods to the aggressor and expand its Russian production base," Ukraine's national anticorruption agency said. * Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, said Moscow considered Poland, which has backed Ukraine, a "dangerous enemy" and that it could end up losing its statehood if it continued on its current course. Weapons * The United States plans to announce a $425m military aid package for Ukraine on Friday including laser-guided munitions to counter drones, the Reuters news agency reported, citing two US officials and documentation. 20231104 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-619 Fighting * A Ukrainian attack on the Russian-occupied town of Chaplynka in the southern region of Kherson killed nine people and injured another nine, according to the region's Russia-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo. There was no report of the incident from Ukrainian officials or media. * Russia launched its biggest drone attack on Ukraine in weeks, hitting critical infrastructure in 10 of the country's 24 regions, and destroying residential buildings and a school in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. The air force said it shot down 24 of the 38 drones launched by Russia, as well as a cruise missile. Two people were reported injured. * Intense fighting continued around the eastern town of Avdiivka with Ukraine's General Staff saying its forces had repelled 17 attacks on and around the town. Mayor Vitaliy Barabash told national television, the Russians were preparing for a new wave of attacks and were intent on seizing the town's vast coking plant. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Colonel Serhiy Lupanchuk as commander of Ukraine's special forces, a unit known for conducting military operations in Moscow-held territories. Lupanchuk replaces Major-General Viktor Horenko, who said he had not been told why he was being replaced. Politics and diplomacy * Russia dismissed sweeping new US sanctions targeting a drone supply chain and future energy capabilities. "This is a continuation of the policy of inflicting, as they call it, a strategic defeat on us," Maria Zakharova, a spokesperson for the Russian foreign ministry, told Russian state television. "They will have to wait in vain forever before that happens." * The United States sanctioned Russian national Ekaterina Zhdanova for allegedly helping Russian elites to launder and transfer hundreds of millions of dollars using virtual currency in breach of sanctions imposed after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Zelenskyy was weighing the "pros and cons" of holding presidential elections as scheduled early next year, noting that the process would entail "unprecedented" challenges as a result of the war. The country has been under martial law since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. * Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that her chief diplomatic adviser resigned to take responsibility for a prank phone call in which she said there was "international fatigue" over the war in Ukraine. Weapons * The US said it would provide Ukraine with additional arms and equipment worth $425m in a package that would include laser-guided munitions, munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) air defences and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), artillery, and antitank weapons. 20231106 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2023/11/6/russia-ukraine-war-live-news-overnight-attack-injures-eight-in-odesa (15:30 GMT) Was it a historic blunder for Western leaders to keep expanding NATO eastwards even though they knew it would provoke Russia? Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs argues the United States provoked the tragedy in Ukraine and the Biden administration should be working to resolve it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBsSuW2c1pQ (15:34 GMT) Last week, Russia doubled down on a campaign to capture the town of Avdiivka in what appears to be a campaign similar to the one it used to capture nearby Bakhmut, which fell in May. Ukrainian Southern Forces spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun has estimated that 5,000 Russians had been killed or wounded in the effort to capture Avdiivka. In Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Russia has switched from defence to offence. (15:58 GMT) What's happened today * A Ulrainian criminal probe is under way after a Russian missile attack kills 19 Ukrainian soldiers attending a ceremony for military honours on the front line. * The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin has not made any announcements that he will run for another term despite a media report saying he will. * Moscow says it successfully test-launches an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads from one of its submarines. * Russia bombards the Ukrainian grain port of Odesa. 20231107 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-622 Fighting * The 128th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade confirmed that 19 of its soldiers were killed last week in a Russian air attack that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier described as "a tragedy". The soldiers were attacked as they gathered for an awards ceremony at a village near the front line in the southern Zaporizhia region. Ukraine has opened an investigation into the incident. * Andriy Kovalyov, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, told state television that over the past week, Ukrainian forces had repelled Russian attacks near the village of Robotyne in southern Zaporizhia. Kovalyov said "offensive operations" were also under way south of Bakhmut, which Russia captured in May, and that Moscow was continuing its efforts to take Avdiivka. * Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces had destroyed the Askold, a Russian cruise missile carrier, at the Kerch shipyard in annexed Crimea. Kyiv said over the weekend that it had "successfully" carried out attacks in that area. Russia said on Sunday that one ship had been damaged. It did not name the vessel. * At least eight people were hurt after a drone and missile attack on the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa. The Odesa Fine Arts Museum, in one of the city's oldest tsarist-era palaces, was among the buildings damaged in the attack. * Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Ukraine's southern Kherson region, said a Russian missile hit four buildings, injuring a woman. * Major Hennady Chastyakov, an assistant to Ukraine's military commander-in-chief, was killed in an explosion. Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said the blast happened at Chastyakov's home as he was showing his 13-year-old son birthday gifts he had been given by colleagues, including a box of Western-manufactured grenades. Klymenko said an investigation was under way. * Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov said a large contingent of former Wagner Group mercenaries had started training with his Akhmat special forces. He did not say how many Wagner fighters were taking part in the training or whether any would stay on with Chechen forces afterwards. Wagner forces played a key role in Russia's capture of Bakhmut earlier this year. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy said it was "irresponsible" to talk about holding elections in wartime and the country needed to focus on its efforts to push Russian forces out of its territory. "We need to recognise that this is a time for defence, a time for battle, upon which the fate of the state and its people depend... I believe that elections are not appropriate at this time," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. * Ukrainian prosecutors said a former deputy defence minister and his subordinate had been notified they were being investigated for the "embezzlement of state funds and obstruction of the lawful activities of the armed forces of Ukraine". The nearly $28m case surrounds the acquisition of winter uniforms from a Turkish company, which Ukrainian journalists have linked to a member of Zelenskyy's political party. * Radio Free Europe's acting president Jeffrey Gedmin said the broadcaster fears Russia is using its journalist Alsu Kurmasheva as a "hostage" in the hope of a potential prisoner swap with the United States. Kurmasheva, who has Russian and US citizenship, has been in Russian custody since October 18. Weapons * Herman Smetanin, the general director of Ukraine's state arms manufacturer, said Ukroboronprom was developing attack drones similar to the Shahed-136 used by Russia but with a range of 1,000km. * French company Cybergun said it signed a contract worth 36 million euros ($39m) to supply Ukraine with weapons, including hand grenades and assault rifles. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8zvuaQ-I_k Zelensky's Corruption EXPOSED: 'Stealing Like There's NO TOMORROW' in Ukraine Government 20231108 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-623 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had deployed more Western air defence systems in preparation for an expected Russian onslaught on key energy infrastructure during winter when temperatures fall below freezing. "Additional NASAMS systems from partners have been put on combat duty," Zelenskyy said. "Timely reinforcement of our air defence before winter." * Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region, said shelling by Ukrainian forces killed six people and wounded 11 others in the city of Donetsk. * Russia's defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed and intercepted a total of 17 Ukraine-launched drones over the Black Sea and Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It did not mention any casualties. * Vitaly Barabash, the head of the Avdiivka military administration, said Ukraine was bracing for a renewed Russian assault on the eastern city of Avdiivka, which lies just 10km from Donetsk. "The third wave will definitely happen. The enemy is regrouping after a second wave of unsuccessful attacks," Barabash said. * A Moscow-installed court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced four more Ukrainian soldiers captured in last year's battle for Mariupol to lengthy prison terms. Under international law, soldiers cannot be prosecuted for having fought for their country. * A Ukrainian football match in the central city of Dnipro took a record almost five hours after players had to leave the pitch amid repeated air raid warnings. Dnipro-1 emerged the winners beating FC Oleksandriya 1-0. Politics and diplomacy * As foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) prepared to meet in Tokyo, Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa stressed the group's support for Ukraine in its war against Russia would not be affected by the intensifying Middle East conflict. Kamikawa told a press conference the group's "strong support for Ukraine" had "not wavered at all". Meeting Kamikawa, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken later said the G7's "enduring support" for Ukraine was a key item on the agenda for the talks. * The US accused Russia of financing a Latin America-wide disinformation campaign aimed at weakening support for Ukraine and boosting anti-US and anti-NATO sentiments. "The Kremlin's ultimate goal appears to be to launder its propaganda and disinformation through local media in a way that feels organic to Latin American audiences," the State Department said in a statement. * White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said there was no way for the US to stay in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, a key post-Cold War agreement, after Russia formally withdrew. The CFE was signed by 22 countries in 1990 and sets equal limits on the amount of weaponry, including tanks, heavy artillery and combat aircraft, that NATO and the then Soviet-led Warsaw Pact could deploy between the Atlantic Ocean and the Ural mountains. * Russia has issued an arrest warrant for Sergio Gerardo Ugalde Godinez, a judge at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Godinez in March issued a warrant for President Vladimir Putin on war crimes charges related to the alleged forcible transfer of Ukrainian children to Russia. Moscow has already issued warrants for other top officials at the ICC. Weapons * The Netherlands said it sent its first five F-16 fighter jets to Romania for use in the training of Ukrainian pilots. It will be providing as many as 18 warplanes for the training centre and will also deliver F-16s to Ukraine for combat. 20231109 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-624 Fighting * Three people were killed in Russian attacks on the village of Bagatyr, in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine's emergency service said the three bodies were recovered from the rubble of a destroyed house. * A Russian missile damaged a Liberia-flagged civilian vessel as it was entering a Black Sea port in the Odesa region, killing one and injuring four people, Ukrainian officials said. The vessel was supposed to transport iron ore to China, according to Ukraine Infrastructure Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov. * Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Russia had attacked Ukrainian power infrastructure 60 times in the last several weeks. Galushchenko is visiting the United States to discuss ways to protect and strengthen the country's energy network as temperatures drop * Ukraine said it was behind the assassination of Mikhail Filiponenko, a deputy in the Moscow-backed parliament in occupied Luhansk, who was killed in a car bombing in eastern Ukraine. The military intelligence agency said it worked with Luhansk resistance forces in the killing. * Russia is sending Ukrainian prisoners of war to the front lines of their homeland to fight on Moscow's side in the war, according to the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti. The news agency said the soldiers swore allegiance to Russia when they joined the battalion, which entered service last month. Politics and diplomacy * Meeting in Tokyo, the Group of Seven (G7) reiterated its unwavering support for Ukraine. "Our steadfast commitment to supporting Ukraine's fight for its independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity will never waver ... We further call on China not to assist Russia in its war against Ukraine," the foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the US and the European Union, said in a statement. * The European Commission recommended opening formal membership talks with Ukraine, in a major show of support for Kyiv. "Today is a historic day," Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said. "This is a strong and historic step that paves the way to a stronger EU with Ukraine as its member," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on social media. * Russian President Vladimir Putin lauded what he described as important "high-tech" Russian military cooperation with China after meeting top Chinese general Zhang Youxia in Moscow. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu was also at the meeting, his second with Zhang in 10 days. At its meeting on Wednesday, the G7 urged Beijing, which has not condemned Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, "not to assist" in the war. * Russian military courts jailed two more Ukrainian soldiers who were captured in Mariupol in 2022. The two were sentenced to 19 and 20 years in prison for allegedly shooting civilians in separate incidents. Russia took thousands of Ukrainian soldiers captive after the fall of Mariupol, with some sent to Russia and others held in occupied eastern Ukraine. * A Russian state prosecutor is seeking an eight-year jail term for 33-year-old Alexandra Skochilenko, an artist who staged a protest against Moscow's war in Ukraine by replacing supermarket price tags with anti-war messages. Skochilenko is being tried on the charge of knowingly spreading false information about the Russian army. * National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters the US had used 96 percent of the funds it had allocated for Ukraine. Weapons * Ukraine's parliament approved a law to allow funds raised from income tax paid by military personnel to be used to fund arms purchases and production. The finance ministry said the move was expected to raise about 96 billion hryvnias ($2.7bn). * Slovakia's new government carried through on a campaign pledge and rejected a previously drafted plan to send more military aid to Ukraine. The package, prepared by the previous administration, included 140 KUB air defence system rockets, more than 5,000 pieces of 125 mm cannon ammunition and 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition. 20231113 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-628 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned Ukrainians to prepare for Russia to attack the country's energy infrastructure as winter approaches in a repeat of last year's relentless attacks on the power grid that left hundreds of thousands without heating or electricity in the coldest months of the year. "We must be prepared for the possibility that the enemy may increase the number of drone or missile strikes on our infrastructure," Zelenskyy said in his daily address. "All our attention should be focused on defence... The Ukrainian air shield is already stronger than last year." * On Saturday, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital came under air attack for the first time in nearly two months. No major damage or casualties were reported in Kyiv itself, but some buildings were damaged in the Kyiv region. * Ukraine and Russia reported intensified fighting around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which was captured by Russia in May after months of heavy battles. The head of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Moscow's forces were "more active" and "trying to recover lost positions". Russian accounts of the fighting said its forces had repelled five Ukrainian attacks near the ruined city. * Ukrainian military intelligence said an explosion killed at least three Russian servicemen in the Russian-occupied southern town of Melitopol, which it described as an "act of revenge" by resistance groups. * Russian law enforcement said it had begun a "terrorism" investigation after a goods train was derailed by an improvised explosive device in the Ryazan region southwest of Moscow. Some 19 carriages travelling from the town of Rybnoye were thrown from the tracks and 15 were damaged, investigators wrote in a statement on social media. * Moscow accused Ukraine of carrying out a series of attacks in Russia's border regions of Bryansk and Belgorod, damaging five railway carriages and injuring one person in the town of Valuyki 30km from the border. * A Ukrainian special forces commander played a key role in sabotaging the Nord Stream gas pipelines in September last year, according to a joint investigation by Der Spiegel and the Washington Post. Ukraine has denied being behind the attack. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine presidential aide Andriy Yermak said he had arrived in the United States with a delegation headed by Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko for talks on cooperation and support. "I will have meetings in the White House, Congress, think tanks and with representatives of civil society organisations," Yermak said, with discussions being focused on issues including "the President's formula for peace" and strengthening Ukraine's defence. Weapons * The German government has agreed in principle to double the country's military aid for Ukraine next year to 8 billion euros ($8.5 billion), a political source told the Reuters news agency. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, interviewed by broadcaster ARD, referred to the planned doubling of military aid to Ukraine as sending "a strong signal to Ukraine that we will not leave them in the lurch". The plan needs parliamentary approval. 20231116 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-631 Fighting * Russia acknowledged that Ukrainian troops had crossed the Dnipro River to Russian-occupied parts of southern Kherson. Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed governor, said Ukrainian forces were operating in small groups spread over an area from the region's railway bridge to the village of Krynky, a distance of about 20km, and that Russia had deployed more assets to the area. Ukraine said earlier this week that it had secured a foothold on the eastern bank of the Dnipro "against all odds". * Two people were killed and at least three others injured after four Russian missiles hit the town of Selydove, northwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian officials said the missiles hit six apartment buildings as well as a number of private homes. * Two rescue workers were killed and seven people injured amid Russian shelling in the Zaporizhia region. Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said the two members of the State Emergency Service were killed after Russia launched a second attack while they were responding to the first. It was not clear where the incident took place. Earlier, the region's governor Yuriy Malashko said at least one person had been killed and seven injured after Russia fired three rockets. * A Ukrainian civic group said it had confirmed the deaths of nearly 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022 invasion by using open sources. Writing in the Ukrainian journal Tyzhden, historian Yaroslav Tynchenko and volunteer Herman Shapovalenko said Shapovalenko's Book of Memory project had confirmed 24,500 combat and non-combat deaths using open sources. Kyiv treats its losses as a state secret and officials say disclosing the figure could harm its war effort. Politics and diplomacy * European Union diplomats said the European Commission proposed a ban on imports of diamonds and liquid petroleum gas from Russia, and also to tighten implementation of a price cap on Russian oil as part of its 12th package of sanctions against Moscow. The proposal will be discussed on Wednesday. The agreement needs the unanimous backing of all 27 EU states. * Russia's foreign ministry said the sanctions package against Russia was part of a "hybrid war" being waged against it by Western countries led by the United States. Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, said the EU had "become Washington's 'useful idiot'". * Hungary's European affairs minister, Janos Boka said a "period of reflection and a strategic discussion on the policy of the European Union towards Ukraine" was needed, and that Budapest would not support any EU decisions to advance Ukraine's accession process or further aid for Kyiv until that happened. Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close to Moscow, claimed previously that the bloc's strategy of sending money and military aid to Ukraine had failed. * Darya Trepova, a 26-year-old Russian woman accused of killing military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky, went on trial for "terrorism" at a military court in St Petersburg. Prosecutors allege Trepova assassinated the blogger under orders from Ukraine and was working with anti-Kremlin activists. Tatarsky, a fervent supporter of the Russian invasion, was killed in a cafe in April after Trepova presented him with a bust of himself that then exploded. More than 50 other people were injured. * The wife of prominent Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was jailed for 25 years in April for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's war in Ukraine, said she feared for his life in the Siberian penal colony where he is being held. Kara-Murza has a nerve disorder after surviving two poison attacks and needs regular exercise and medicine to control the condition. His wife, Evgenia Kara-Murza, said exercise was now impossible for him in a cell measuring just 3 x 1.5 metres (9.8 x 4.9 feet). "His medical condition will of course deteriorate in the present situation ... They're using these punishment cells as a method of torture," she said during a ceremony at Britain's House of Lords, where she accepted a freedom award on his behalf. Weapons * Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport said it had seen a "serious increase in interest" overseas in its Lancet drone, but would not be exporting the weapon because Russian armed forces' "need for it is high". "[The munition] has proven itself excellent in real combat operations," Rosoboronexport chief Alexander Mikheyev told state news agency TASS. Russia has been deploying the drones on the battlefield in Ukraine. 20231117 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-632 Fighting * Russia stepped up attacks on the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, near the Russian-held regional stronghold of Donetsk. Mayor Vitaliy Barabash told national television the situation was "very hot" and that the Russians were using armoured vehicles, targeting the industrial zone and hitting positions in the town "around the clock" in their attempts to seize it. Avdiivka had a population of about 30,000 people before the war, and just over 1,400 remain. * Two people were killed and at least 12 injured in Russian attacks on different areas of Ukraine's southern Kherson region. Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said one of the dead was a 75-year-old woman who was killed when Russian forces on the eastern bank of the Dnipro river shelled Kherson, the region's biggest town. * Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 18 drones and an unspecified number of missiles with the air force destroying 16 of the drones and one missile. One person was hurt by falling debris in the western Khmelnytskyi region. Food warehouses were also damaged. * Search and rescue teams in the eastern Ukrainian town of Selydove found the bodies of a married couple as they cleared rubble from Wednesday's Russian missile attack in which two people had already been confirmed dead. The Prosecutor's General Office said the couple had moved from another town in the Donetsk region because of the war. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the use of a fleet of naval drones had helped Kyiv "seize the initiative" from Russia in the Black Sea, forcing the Russian navy to limit its activities. * Russia's Defence Ministry said its missile defences had brought down three Ukrainian drones over the Black Sea near Crimea, and two more over the Bryansk region. * A Russian court convicted Ukraine-based Russian far-right activist Denis Kapustin of state treason and terrorism for organising armed incursions into Russia's Bryansk region, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Politics and diplomacy * The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab said in a report that at least 2,442 Ukrainian children had been transferred from Russia-occupied regions of Ukraine to 13 facilities in Belarus, where they have to participate in political and cultural re-education and military training. The report accused Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko of direct involvement in the children's removal. The Yale lab is a partner of The Conflict Observatory, which is funded by the United States State Department. * A St Petersburg court jailed Russian artist Alexandra Skochilenko for seven years after finding her guilty of spreading false information about the Russian military. Skochilenko was arrested after she replaced five supermarket price tags with messages calling for an end to Moscow's war in Ukraine in March 2022. * Newly-appointed British Foreign Secretary David Cameron made a surprise trip to Kyiv where he promised Ukraine the United Kingdom's "moral, diplomatic and military support" for "however long it takes". Cameron also travelled to the Black Sea port city of Odesa. * Switzerland joined an international call to establish a special tribunal to address Russia's crime of "aggression" against Ukraine. "Switzerland is firmly convinced that the aggression against Ukraine must not go unpunished," the foreign minister said in a statement. The tribunal has support from 38 countries, including Canada, France, Guatemala and Japan. * Finland said it would close four of its eight border crossings with Russia on Saturday after a surge in the number of people seeking asylum. Helsinki believes Moscow is encouraging people to go to the Finnish border, where they can apply for asylum, in an effort to destabilise the country. There has been a sharp increase in the number of undocumented people, mainly from Africa and the Middle East, crossing from Russia. * The US imposed sanctions on three United Arab Emirates' shipping firms and their vessels for transporting Russian oil sold above a $60 per barrel price cap agreed by the Group of Seven nations (G7) and Australia. * The Kremlin said the Czech Republic's decision to freeze Russian state-owned properties was illegal and warned it could retaliate against what it called a hostile step. The Czech government announced the freeze on Wednesday in an expansion of sanctions imposed over Moscow's war in Ukraine. Weapons * Zelenskyy said deliveries of key artillery shells to Ukraine had dropped since the Israel-Hamas war began last month. "Our deliveries have decreased," Zelenskyy told reporters, referring specifically to 155-millimetre shells that are widely used on the eastern and southern front lines in Ukraine, saying "they really slowed down" adding that "everyone is fighting for [stockpiles] themselves". 20231120 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-635 Fighting * The Ukrainian army said it has pushed Russian forces back as far as 8km from the banks of Dnipro river in the southern Kherson region. Ukrainian and Russian forces have been entrenched on opposite sides of the Dnipro for more than a year after Russia withdrew its troops from the western bank last November. Ukraine said last week it had made a breakthrough. "Preliminary figures vary from 3 to 8 kilometres, depending on the specifics, geography and landscape of the left bank," army spokeswoman Natalia Gumenyuk told Ukrainian television when asked how much progress Kyiv had made. She added that there remained a "lot of work to do". * The United Kingdom's defence ministry said that there were "few immediate prospects of major changes in the front line," saying neither Russia nor Ukraine had made meaningful progress on the battlefield. In a statement, it said that intense fighting was concentrated near Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region, Avdiivka in the Dontesk region, and on the left bank of the Dnipro River. * Russia launched several waves of drone attacks on Kyiv for the second successive night, triggering air raid warnings. Ukraine's Air Force said its air defence systems destroyed 15 of the 20 Shahed kamikaze drones targeting the Kyiv, Poltava and Cherkasy regions. There were no initial reports of "critical damage" or casualties. On Saturday, Russian drone attacks caused power outages in more than 400 towns and villages in the south, southeast and north of Ukraine. * Five people, including a three-year-old girl who was outside with her grandmother, were injured in Russian artillery shelling of Kherson, according to Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko. One person was killed by shelling in the northeastern Sumy region. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded swift changes in the operations of Ukraine's military as he met Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. Zelenskyy said "priorities were set" noting there was "little time left to wait for results". Zelenskyy said he had also replaced Major-General Tetiana Ostashchenko as commander of the Armed Forces Medical Forces, saying the armed forces needed a "fundamentally new level of medical support". Politics and diplomacy * Bohdan Yermokhin, an orphaned Ukrainian teenager who was taken to Russia from the occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol during the war and prevented from leaving in March, has returned to Ukraine. Yermokhin, now 18, told the Reuters news agency his return was a "very pleasant gift". Ukraine estimates about 20,000 children have been taken illegally by Russia. Zelenskyy welcomed Yermokhin's return and thanked Ukrainian officials, international organisations, and particularly UNICEF, and authorities in Qatar for help in mediation. * Zelenskyy imposed sanctions on 37 Russian groups and 108 people including two former Ukrainian top officials now in Russia for their alleged involvement "in the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children from the occupied territory" and individuals who "in various ways help Russian terror against Ukraine". * Pro-war Russian nationalist Igor Girkin, who is in custody awaiting trial for inciting extremism, said he wanted to run for president. Also known by the alias Igor Strelkov, the former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer has repeatedly said Russia will face a revolution and even a civil war unless President Vladimir Putin's military top brass fight the war in Ukraine more effectively. Girkin helped Russia to annex Crimea in 2014 and then to organise pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine. 20231121 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-636 Fighting * Ukraine said fighting intensified around the Russian-occupied eastern town of Bakhmut. Volodymyr Fityo, a spokesperson for Ukrainian ground forces, said Russia was focusing its attacks on Klishchiivka, a nearby village that was retaken by Ukrainian forces in September. "Eleven attacks have been repelled in the past 24 hours," he said. "The enemy is trying to dislodge our men from defensive positions around Klishchiivka." Russia's defence ministry said it had beaten back more than 30 Ukrainian attacks in and around Bakhmut in the past week. * Ukrainian authorities said three people were killed and one injured in Russian shelling in the southern Kherson and the central Dnipropetrovsk regions. Some power lines and a gas pipeline were also damaged. * Ukrainian police said a soldier and a woman died when a grenade exploded in a Kyiv apartment. The cause of the blast, which injured a second man, was not immediately clear. * The United States State Department said it was barring Russian Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov and Russian Guard Corporal Daniil Frolkin from entering the US over their alleged involvement in human rights violations in the Ukrainian town of Andriivka. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine fired its two top cyber-defence officials - Yury Shchyhol, head of the State Special Communications Service of Ukraine, and his deputy Victor Zhora - amid an ongoing investigation into corruption over software purchases. * Fox Corp Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch travelled to Kyiv where he met President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine said the meeting was a "very important signal" of support at a time when the Israel-Gaza war has diverted global attention from the war in Ukraine. Zelenskyy said Fox News journalist Benjamin Hall, who was badly wounded covering the conflict last year, and Jerome Starkey, a journalist with the United Kingdom tabloid The Sun were also at the meeting. * In an interview with The Sun that was also published in the UK's Times newspaper, which is part of the same media group, Zelenskyy accused Russia of trying to stoke tension from the Balkans to the Middle East. "Ukraine today [is] in the centre of these global risks of this Third World War," Zelenskyy said. Urging Ukraine's allies to maintain their military support, he acknowledged the lack of progress on some parts of the battlefield, but noted successes in the Black Sea. "We really deployed part of the Russian fleet," he told the paper. "We did it." * Russia placed Ukrainian singer Jamala, who won the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest, on its wanted list. The independent Russian news site Mediazona said Jamala, whose real name is Susana Jamaladinova, had been charged under a law that bans spreading fake information about the Russian military and the war in Ukraine. Jamala, a Crimean Tatar, has long been a critic of Russia and told Zelenskyy last year that her priority was to "remind that foreigners came to my house to kill and mutilate life, to destroy and rewrite my culture". She responded to the Russian arrest warrant on Instagram with a facepalm emoji. * A Japanese delegation led by senior industry and foreign ministry officials and including business representatives visited Ukraine for talks ahead of next year's Ukraine Recovery Conference, which will be hosted by Japan. Weapons * US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin made an unannounced visit to Kyiv and unveiled an additional $100m package to provide artillery munitions, interceptors for air defence and anti-tank weaponry. Austin promised Zelenskyy that US support would be for the "long haul". He also met with Defence Minister Rustem Umerov. 20231122 Fighting * Ukraine's military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun said Russia had reduced ground assaults and air strikes on the eastern town of Avdiivka but had not abandoned "their plans to surround" the town. Ukrainian forces repelled eight attacks on Tuesday, he said. The military said there had also been an increase in Russian attacks on nearby Maryinka. The Russian defence ministry's latest update mentioned that its troops were attacking villages south of Avdiivka, but gave few details. * Russia's defence ministry said its marines were "stopping all attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to carry out amphibious landings on the Dnipro islands and the left [eastern] bank of the Dnipro River" in the southern Kherson region. Pro-Russian bloggers said Russian forces had been harrying Ukrainian forces near the village of Krynky, on the eastern bank upriver from the city of Kherson. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed Kyiv had suffered "colossal losses". * At least two people were killed after Russia fired a new barrage of missiles and drones hitting a hospital in the town of Selydove in the eastern Donetsk region, and a mine nearby. The air force said it destroyed nine out of 10 drones and a cruise missile launched by Russia. Moscow also targeted Ukraine with four guided missiles. * Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said no decision had been made about the jobs of two senior military commanders - Joint Forces Commander Serhiy Nayev and Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, chief of the Tavria military command - after local media reported that they might be sacked. The Tavria command spearheaded Ukraine's counteroffensive in the southeast, but has failed to make a significant breakthrough in the face of heavily-defended Russian lines. * Odesa Governor Oleh Kiper said Russia targeted port infrastructure in the Black Sea city of Odesa but no one was injured. The southern military command said Russia used Х-31 missiles and also struck the Belhorod-Dniester district in the region, hitting administrative buildings. * The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said more than 10,000 civilians had been killed since Russia began its full-scale invasion of the country last year. With corroboration work continuing, the actual toll was likely to be "significantly higher", it added. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine marked the 10th anniversary of the pro-Europe Maidan protests, which eventually brought down the Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych. In a statement, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the protests marked the "first victory" in Ukraine's battle against Russia. It was "a victory against indifference. A victory of courage. The victory of the Revolution of Dignity," he said. * European Council President Charles Michel travelled to Kyiv in a gesture of support for Ukraine, which he said had made "remarkable" progress in recent years. At a press conference, Zelenskyy said he hoped the European Union would agree to open formal accession talks at a summit next month. Michel said the discussion was likely to be "difficult" but he would "do everything in my power to convince my colleagues that we need a decision in December". The decision needs the agreement of all 27 member states. * Russia's foreign ministry Ambassador-at-Large Rodion Miroshnik said Russia could not co-exist with the present government in Kyiv. "The current regime (in Kyiv) is absolutely toxic, we do not see any options for co-existence with it at the moment," Miroshnik told reporters in Moscow. * Ukraine's defence ministry said criminal proceedings had begun into the misuse of more than $1m of government funds by a military unit in the northern Chernihiv region. The ministry found that the cost of generators had been inflated and that they had remained in warehouses instead of being delivered to where they were needed. * Ukrainian authorities announced investigations into two lawmakers on suspicion of involvement in attempts to bribe top reconstruction officials. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) said it had caught one of the lawmakers, a member of parliament's anti-corruption committee, allegedly offering the country's first-ever documented bribe in Bitcoin. The other lawmaker is suspected of arranging the handover in a Kyiv supermarket parking lot of $150,000 in cash stuffed inside a Chinese decorative box. NABU did not name the officials. Weapons * German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced Germany will support Ukraine with new military aid worth 1.3 billion euros ($1.42bn) that will include four additional IRIS-T air defence units to guard against Russian missile attacks. The package will also include 155mm artillery shells as well as anti-tank mines, Pistorius told reporters on a trip to Kyiv. Berlin is the second-biggest supplier of military assistance to Kyiv after the United States. 20231124 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-639 Fighting * Vitaliy Barabash, head of the military administration in Avdiivka, said Russian forces had unleashed "the fiercest" attacks on the devastated town. "Everything is very tough," Barabash told Channel 24 television. "As regards the city, there is an average number of eight to 16 to 18 air attacks per day. Sometimes 30. We don't have time to count them." He added that the defence line was holding. Fewer than 1,400 of the 32,000 people who lived in the town before the war remain. Barabash said 102 residents had been evacuated over the past week. * At least six people were killed and five injured in Russian attacks on various parts of Ukraine, including three people in a cluster bomb attack on a suburb of the southern city of Kherson, Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said. Cluster bombs are used by both Russia and Ukraine. Critics say the weapons litter the ground and harm and kill many more civilians than soldiers. * Russian actress Polina Menshikh was killed in a Ukrainian attack while performing to Russian troops in a Russian-controlled area of the Donbas in eastern Ukraine, her theatre said. Military officials on both sides confirmed there had been a Ukrainian attack in the area on November 19. Russia said a school and cultural centre had been hit in the village of Kumachovo, known as Kumachove by Ukrainians, killing one civilian. Ukraine said it struck a Russian military award ceremony, targeting Russia's 810th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade. Robert Brovdi, a Ukrainian military commander, said 25 people had been killed and 100 injured. Russia made no mention of military casualties in the attack. Kumachove is about 60km from the front line. * Russian state television said Rossiya 24 correspondent Boris Maksudov had died from injuries sustained earlier this week in a Ukrainian drone strike on a Russian-occupied part of Zaporizhia. Russia's Defence Ministry announced he had been injured on Wednesday, but said his injuries were not life-threatening. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine's national seed bank, the 10th largest seed collection in the world, has been moved from the northeastern city of Kharkiv to a safer location, said Crop Trust, a nonprofit organisation, without revealing the collection's new location. The genebank includes many endemic seed species, some of which, including wheat and rapeseed, are important for food security. * A Russian military court in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don sentenced Ukrainian Dmitri Golubev to 18 years in prison for trying to blow up buildings in the Moscow-occupied Ukrainian city of Melitopol in August last year. Golubev was found guilty on charges of "international terrorism" for one explosion and two attempted blasts in a plot prosecutors said was orchestrated by Kyiv, Russian state media reported. * Sergey Mironov, a Russian lawmaker and supporter of President Vladimir Putin, denied a BBC report that he adopted a child forcibly taken from a Ukrainian orphanage in Kherson last year. Citing Russian and Ukrainian documents, the BBC reported that Mironov had adopted a child, now two years old, who was taken from an orphanage in the Ukrainian city of Kherson last year by a woman who is now his wife. Without commenting on specific details of the report, Mironov dismissed the investigation as a "hysteric fake", saying it was an "information attack" designed to "discredit" him. * A Russian court fined online search giant Google four million roubles ($44,582) for failing to delete what the court called "fake information" about the course of the war in Ukraine, the RIA news agency reported. 20231126 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/11/26/russia-downs-ukrainian-drones-missiles-day-after-its-attack-on-kyiv Russian air defences have intercepted Ukrainian drones over several regions inside its territory, including Moscow, just a day after Kyiv reported the "largest drone attack" on Ukraine since Moscow invaded the country in February last year. ... https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+mearsheimer+ukraine 20231206 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-651 Fighting * Russia targeted an aid centre, a medical centre and residential buildings in Ukraine's southern and eastern regions, killing three people and injuring at least 11, officials said. The International Rescue Committee confirmed an overnight missile attack hit its humanitarian centre, "I am Kherson", destroying stockpiles of aid. * Ukraine's military said it shot down 10 out of 17 attack drones launched overnight by Russia. The governor of Ukraine's western Lviv region said three drones had struck an unspecified infrastructure target, but there was minimal damage. In the Kharkiv region in the east, authorities said drones hit private homes and residential buildings in at least two different settlements. * Russia's defence ministry said its air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 41 Ukraine-launched drones. Twenty-six were destroyed over Russian territory, and 15 over the Sea of Azov and the Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said in a statement. It did not say whether there was any damage. * Ukraine said the drones hit several "important military facilities in Crimea" including radar systems and an anti-aircraft missile control system. A Ukrainian defence source with knowledge of the operations of the SBU military intelligence services told the AFP news agency the attacks were a "result of a special SBU operation". Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Russia confirmed that Major-General Vladimir Zavadsky, the deputy commander of Russia's 14th Army Corps, had been killed "at a combat post" in Ukraine. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cancelled plans for a video-link appeal for new aid to lawmakers in the United States as some Republicans attempt to link such support to US immigration policy. * Zelenskyy's chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, told a US think tank that the postponement of US assistance for Kyiv would create a "big risk" of Ukraine losing the war with Russia. * Six Ukrainian children will be returned to their immediate families in Ukraine from Russia under a deal brokered by Qatar, and are on their way home via Moscow. Kyiv has accused Russia of taking about 20,000 Ukrainian children to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of their families or guardians. * The US, meanwhile, announced sanctions against Dzmitry Shautsou, the head of the Belarus Red Cross, accusing him of being complicit in the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has suspended the Belarus Red Cross for failing to sack Shautsou. * Russia rejected a "substantial" proposal for the release of businessman and former Marine Paul Whelan as well as journalist Evan Gershkovich, according to the US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller. Miller declined to go into detail on the proposal, which he said had been offered in "recent weeks". Whelan is serving a 16-year jail term for spying, while Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich was arrested in March and accused of espionage. Both men deny the charges. * Dutch Foreign Minister Hanke Bruins Slot sought to reassure Ukraine of continued support from the Netherlands during an unannounced trip to Kyiv following the election victory of Geert Wilders, whose far-right party wants to stop weapons deliveries to Ukraine. "Be assured of our support. Your fight is our fight. Your security is our security," the foreign minister said during a joint press conference with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba. * Washington imposed new Russia-related sanctions, targeting a defence procurement network consisting of nine entities and five people based in Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. Weapons * Ukraine said it was investigating alleged corruption in arms procurement but said there was no "misuse" of the Western weapons sent to the country to fight the Russian invasion. "There are several proceedings related to arms procurement," said Oleksandr Klymenko, the head of the anticorruption prosecutor's office. He added that these included contracts amounting "from 10 to 100 millions of euros", but said he could not disclose details. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-652 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians that Kyiv would defeat Russia and win a fair peace in an unusual early-morning video that showed him walking through Kyiv on his way to pay his respects to fallen soldiers on what Ukraine marks as Armed Forces Day. "It has been difficult, but we have persevered," he said. "No matter how difficult it is, we will get there. To our borders, to our people. To our peace. Fair peace. Free peace. Against all odds." * Russia launched a major drone attack on southern, central and eastern Ukrainian regions, damaging privately owned and commercial buildings as well as key infrastructure. Air defences shot down 41 of 48 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched from Russia's western Kursk region and Crimea, which Moscow seized from Ukraine in 2014. * Russian television broadcast footage of what it said was a US-built Bradley infantry fighting vehicle captured on the front line in Ukraine's Luhansk region. Channel 1 said the Bradley, one of several dozen supplied to Ukraine this year, was immobilised by Russian fire and abandoned by its crew. The broadcaster suggested that its capture would enable Russian forces to identify the vehicle's vulnerabilities. Politics and diplomacy * Leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) countries met virtually with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a show of solidarity and agreed to a new ban on Russian diamonds. The countries will ban non-industrial Russian diamonds by January and those sold by third countries from March, they said in a joint statement. The G7 includes Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. * Legislation to provide $106bn in new security assistance for Ukraine and Israel was blocked in the US Senate as Republicans pressed their demands for tougher measures to control immigration at the US border with Mexico. * Illia Kyva, a former pro-Russian member of Ukraine's parliament sentenced in absentia to 14 years in prison for charges including treason and incitement to violence, was shot dead near Moscow. News agencies, including Reuters and AFP, quoted sources saying Kyva was killed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). * Oleg Popov, a deputy in the pro-Moscow regional parliament in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine, was killed in a car bombing. Ukraine did not immediately comment on Popov's reported death. * The US charged four Russia-affiliated soldiers with war crimes over their treatment of a US citizen kidnapped from his home in the village of Mylove in southern Ukraine in April 2022 and held captive for 10 days. The Justice Department accused the four of beating and torturing the man, who was not named, and staging a mock execution. * Kathmandu District Police Chief Bhupendra Khatri said 10 people had been arrested in connection with the illegal recruitment of young men from Nepal into the Russian army. The country this week told Moscow not to recruit its citizens into the Russian army, and to send home any Nepali soldier in its ranks after six citizens were killed while fighting in Ukraine. * The UK announced 46 new measures against individuals and groups it said were involved in Russia's military supply chains. Those sanctioned included businesses operating in China, Turkey, Serbia, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan, Britain's foreign ministry said. The Chinese embassy in London said it condemned the move and would counter anything that undermined its interests. Weapons * Ukraine's Defence Minister Rustem Umerov met US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at the Pentagon as Austin announced an additional new $175m aid package for Kyiv, including High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, known as HIMARS, and also anti-armour systems and high-speed anti-radiation missiles. The package will be provided through presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, which takes weapons from existing US stockpiles * A joint US-Ukraine defence conference was held behind closed doors in Washington. Zelenskyy told delegates that Kyiv was ramping up domestic military production. "Ukraine does not wish to rely solely on partners. Ukraine aspires to and is capable of becoming a security donor to all of our neighbours once it has ensured its own safety," he said. * At the conference, representatives from the US and Ukrainian governments signed an agreement to ramp up weapons co-production and data sharing. Areas of concentration include "air defence systems, repair and sustainment and production of critical munitions", Jason Israel, the White House National Security Council's Director for Defense Policy and Strategy, told the audience. * The Reuters news agency, citing documents it had seen, said officials from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence also presented a new list of US weapons it says it needs to fight the Russian military. The list included sophisticated air defence systems, F-18 fighter jets, a variety of drones, and Apache and Blackhawk helicopters. 20231208 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-653 Fighting * Russia launched a swarm of Iranian-designed attack drones, damaging port infrastructure in Ukraine's southern Odesa region and killing one civilian. The Ukrainian air force said it destroyed 15 of the 18 Shahed drones. The attack was the first on the Danube ports since November 21. * Ukraine urged residents to save electricity after Russia shelled a thermal power plant near the front line causing serious damage as temperatures plunge below freezing. The energy ministry, which did not name the plant, said two of its power units stopped working, leading to a "temporary shortage of electricity" in the grid. * United Nations officials told the Security Council in New York that intensifying Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy facilities were worsening humanitarian conditions across the country. Assistant Secretary-General Miroslav Jenca said Russia must stop its attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure that are "prohibited under international humanitarian law" while Ramesh Rajasingham, the UN humanitarian coordinator, said "the deaths, injuries and level of destruction of vital civilian infrastructure is staggering". * Russia began using smaller attack groups with the backing of armoured vehicles and air cover in its long-running effort to capture Ukraine's eastern town of Avdiivka, Ukrainian officials said. In its Thursday evening update, Ukraine's General Staff said its forces had rebuffed 15 attacks in Avdiivka and nearby villages, after reporting 34 attacks in its morning bulletin. * Russia's FSB security service said it had arrested a Belarusian man it accused of blowing up two trains in Siberia last month allegedly as part of a sabotage campaign conducted by the Ukrainian intelligence services. Politics and diplomacy * An aid tracker from the Kiel Institute showed Ukraine's allies have drastically scaled back their pledges of new aid to the country, which have fallen to their lowest level since the start of the war. The Germany-based institute said new military, financial and humanitarian aid promised to Ukraine between August and October 2023 fell almost 90 percent from the same period in 2022. * Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia hoped US lawmakers would continue to block White House requests for billions of dollars in aid for Ukraine as Republicans demand immigration concessions be included in the assistance package. Peskov accused US President Joe Biden of "demonising" Russia in his attempts to get Congress's approval for the spending. * Visiting Beijing, top European Union officials urged China to do more to press Russia to end its war in Ukraine. European Council President Charles Michel said the EU would like China, which has not condemned Moscow's full-scale invasion, to "be more assertive" and "be very clear they support the UN Charter and condemn this war caused by Russia against Ukraine". * Speaking to journalists following the summit, a Chinese foreign ministry official insisted that, despite the bloc's calls, Beijing would not be able to sway Moscow. Russia "is a very independent sovereign nation", Wang Lutong, director general of the Chinese foreign ministry's European department, told a press briefing. "President Putin is making his decision based on his own national interest and security," he said. * Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida promised $4.5bn to Ukraine, including funding for generators and other power supplies, as well as measures to clear Russian mines. * British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, on a visit to the US, said there was a strong argument for seizing frozen Russian assets and using them to help rebuild war-ravaged Ukraine. * Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said he wanted to arrange a meeting between Zelenskyy and Hungarian leader Viktor Orban amid Budapest's opposition to a proposal to start talks on EU membership for Kyiv. An EU summit is due to take place next week, and Orban has said leaders could fail to achieve a consensus on Ukraine's membership. Weapons * Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's minister for strategic industries, said Kyiv will work with two firms from the US to jointly manufacture 155mm artillery shells in Ukraine. The shells are vital for the war, but Kamyshin said production was unlikely to start for at least two years because Ukraine had never produced such shells before. * Kyiv said it signed an agreement with the US to help develop weapons production in Ukraine. "The document will facilitate the building of production facilities in our country to provide the armed forces with the necessary weapons, in particular in the areas of air defence, production of critical munitions, and repair and sustainment," the Ukrainian presidency said in a statement. 20231211 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-656 Fighting * One civilian was killed and another wounded after Russian forces dropped an explosive from a drone on the town of Beryslav in the southern region of Kherson. Prosecutors opened a war crimes investigation into the incident, which took place on Saturday morning. Both victims had been walking on the street at the time of the attack, authorities said. Politics and diplomacy * US President Joe Biden will meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Tuesday at the White House where the two will discuss the "urgent needs" facing Ukraine. The meeting comes as Biden tries to reach an agreement with the United States Congress that would provide military aid for Ukraine and Israel. Zelenskyy is also expected to meet senators and hold private talks with House of Reps Speaker Mike Johnson. * Zelenskyy spoke briefly with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban while attending the inauguration of Argentinian President Javier Milei, according to a video published on the Argentinian Senate's YouTube channel. Orban's press chief Bertalan Havasi confirmed the encounter but did not say whether Orban would continue to oppose Ukraine's entry into the European Union. * Ukraine strongly condemned Russian plans to hold presidential elections next March in occupied areas of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson, which Moscow annexed in 2022, declaring the polls "null and void" and promising to prosecute any observers sent to monitor them. * Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine's human rights ombudsman, voiced hope that a coalition of countries formed to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children taken illegally to Russia by Moscow will work out a faster mechanism to bring them home. Some 19,000 children are still believed to be in Russia or separated from their families in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine. * Matviy Bidnyi, Ukraine's minister of youth and sport, said the country must consider whether participating in the 2024 Olympics is in the nation's interests after the International Olympic Committee announced athletes from Belarus and Russia would be able to compete as "neutrals" without flags, emblems or anthems. * Municipal workers in Kyiv dismantled a statue of Mykola Shchors, a Soviet field commander during the Russian Civil War, as part of an ongoing campaign to remove all Soviet-era monuments. Weapons * Bulgaria's parliament approved the provision of additional military aid, including portable anti-aircraft missile systems and surface-to-air missiles, to Ukraine. The state-run BTA news agency said 147 lawmakers in the 240-seat chamber voted in favour of the plan. Ukraine will have to repair the weapons before they can be deployed, or use them for spare parts. 20231212 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-657 Fighting * The Ukrainian military said Russian forces unleashed a huge new offensive on the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka, just northwest of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Military spokesperson Oleksandr Stupun told Ukrainian television that fighting had been intense with 610 artillery shellings reported near Avdiivka over the previous 24 hours. There was no immediate comment from Russia on the fighting in the area. About 1,500 people remain in Avdiivka out of a pre-war population of some 32,000. * Four people were injured after Russia attacked Kyiv with eight long-range ballistic missiles in the early hours of the morning. The missiles were shot down by Ukrainian air defences and people were hurt after being hit by the debris or shards of glass. * In a separate Russian attack, Ukrainian air defences shot down 18 Shahed drones aimed at the south. Politics and diplomacy * Speaking on the first day of his visit to Washington, DC, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that failing to maintain support for Ukraine would play into the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Zelenskyy is due to meet President Joe Biden and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday as Republicans in the US Congress resist additional Ukraine funding. * Zelenskyy also met International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva, hours after the fund's executive board approved a new $900m disbursement for Ukraine. Georgieva and Zelenskyy spoke for nearly an hour at the IMF headquarters in Washington, DC. Zelenskyy thanked the IMF for its support. Georgieva noted that the board, with the exception of one country, was unanimous in its support for Ukraine. * Zelenskyy described his brief chat with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on the sidelines of the inauguration of Argentinian President Javier Milei on Sunday as "frank". Orban has threatened to block more European Union financial support for Kyiv and is opposed to Ukraine joining the group. EU leaders will discuss Ukraine's membership at a summit on Thursday. * Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had arrested 18 "agents and accomplices" of Ukraine's special services it claimed were part of a network of assassins targeting pro-Russian figures in occupied Crimea and eastern parts of Ukraine. Moscow annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * The EU added six people and five entities to their Iran sanctions list over their alleged support for Russia in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The sanctioned include the Shahed drone-maker Shakad Sanat Asmari, its CEO, deputy CEO and chief scientist. Other companies involved in drone manufacturing were also targeted. * Russia's central election commission said March's presidential election would include voting in four regions of Ukraine that it partly occupied and annexed last year. Ukraine, which rejected the annexation along with most members of the United Nations General Assembly, has already said that any Russian vote in the Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions would be null and void, and that it will prosecute any observers sent to monitor voting. Weapons * The United Kingdom said it transferred two minehunters to Ukraine. The move is part of a new Maritime Capability Coalition, led by the UK and Norway, aimed at providing long-term military support to bolster maritime security in the Black Sea. * US national security spokesman John Kirby said Washington was likely to announce additional military aid for Ukraine before the end of the month in the expectation that Russia was likely to target Ukraine's energy facilities as the weather gets colder. 20231213 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-658 Here is the situation on Wednesday, December 13, 2023. Fighting * Yevgeny Balitsky, the Moscow-installed head of the Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhia region, said Russian forces had "advanced significantly forward northeast of Novopokrovka". The village lies some 20km east of Robotyne, which Kyiv said it recaptured in August. Balitsky said Russian forces were "not only holding the line but are gradually moving forward". Ukraine acknowledged battles in the area. "The defence forces repelled three enemy attacks in the areas north of Pryutne and west of Novopokrovka of the Zaporizhia region," the army said in its daily report. * The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down nine of 15 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia at several regions of Ukraine. * One person was killed and four others injured during 24 hours of Russian bombardment of the southern Kherson region, according to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the regional military administration. * Ukraine claimed to have captured a tactically important hill in the eastern Donetsk region. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on social media that his troops had taken the foothold, which provides a vantage point over the front line near Pivdenne, a mining town to the northwest of the Donetsk city of Horlivka. * A major outage at Kyivstar, the operator of Ukraine's biggest mobile network, left 24.3 million people without mobile coverage and potential air raid alerts after what appeared to be the largest cyberattack since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of the country. "War is also happening in cyberspace. Unfortunately, we have been hit as a result of this war," Chief Executive Officer Oleksandr Komarov told national television. Ukraine said it was investigating possible Russian state involvement and Kyivstar said it hoped to restore services by Wednesday. * A declassified US intelligence report assessed that 315,000 Russian troops had been killed and injured in the war in Ukraine - nearly 90 percent of the personnel Moscow had when the conflict began - a source familiar with the intelligence told the Reuters news agency. The report also assessed that Moscow's losses in personnel and armoured vehicles to Ukraine's military had set back its military modernisation by 18 years. Politics and diplomacy * United States President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy met at the White House to discuss the "vital importance" of continued US assistance for Ukraine after US Republicans, who want to link funding for Ukraine to new border security measures, blocked billions of dollars of support. * At a press conference following the meeting, Biden reiterated the need to maintain military aid for Ukraine, saying Republicans who stood in the way would hand a "Christmas gift" to Russian President Vladimir Putin. "If we don't stop Putin ... [he] will keep going," Biden said. * Zelenskyy, meanwhile, said about 600,000 Ukrainians were fighting Russian forces and that the country's troops had been successful in the Black Sea as well as in establishing a new corridor for grain exports. He said the goal in 2024 was to "take away Russia's air superiority". * The Ukrainian president earlier appealed directly to the US Congress over new funding and said that while he had got "positive" signals from the meeting, he would focus on action rather than words. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, did not appear to have been swayed. "What the Biden administration seems to be asking for is billions of additional dollars with no appropriate oversight, no clear strategy to win and with none of the answers that I think the American people are owed," Johnson said. * Earlier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov had said Russia would be closely watching the meeting between the two leaders. Peskov said that further US military aid to Ukraine would be a "fiasco", claiming the billions of dollars in previous aid had not helped Ukraine on the battlefield. * Zelenskyy emphatically rejected as "insane" suggestions that Ukraine should give up some of its territory to secure a peace deal with Russia. "It's a matter of families and their history. We are not going to give up territories to terrorists," Zelenskyy told reporters. * Poland's newly-elected prime minister, Donald Tusk, said Warsaw would demand the "full mobilisation" of the West to help Ukraine. "There is no alternative," he said. * The US announced a wave of new sanctions targeting more than 250 individuals and entities in countries including Turkey, China and the United Arab Emirates, as it tries to further isolate Russia over its full-scale invasion. * Alsu Kurmasheva, a journalist with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) who Russia detained in October, was slapped with additional charges of "spreading false information about the Russian army". RFE/RL's acting president and board member Jeffrey Gedmin said the network "strongly condemned" the move. "It is time for this cruel persecution to end," he said. Weapons * The US announced a new $200m military aid package for Ukraine including ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), high-speed anti-radiation missiles and artillery rounds. It is separate from the package currently stalled in Congress. "Unless Congress take action to pass additional aid, this will be one of the last security assistance packages we will be able to provide Ukraine," the Biden administration said in a statement. 20231214 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-659 Fighting * At least 53 people, including six children, were injured after Russia launched a missile attack on Kyiv, the second in a week. The city's air defences shot down the missiles - Iskander-M and S-400s - but the falling debris blew out windows of apartment blocks as well as a children's hospital and destroyed parked cars. Of the injured, 18 were taken to hospital. * A group of hackers called Solntsepyok claimed responsibility for the cyberattack on Kyivstar, Ukraine's biggest mobile phone network, after millions of people were left without phone access or air raid alerts. Kyiv believes the group is affiliated with Russian military intelligence. Kyivstar began restoring voice services to some people on Wednesday. Politics and diplomacy * With European Union leaders due to meet on Thursday to decide whether to formally open Ukraine membership talks, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was on a visit to Norway after returning to Europe from the United States, said that Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban had no reason to block Kyiv's membership of the 27-member grouping. Zelenskyy said he had been "very direct" when he had a brief chat with Orban in Argentina on Sunday. * Orban, a conservative nationalist who is Russian President Vladimir Putin's closest ally in the EU and is blocking 50 billion euros in financial aid for Kyiv, appeared unmoved. "Our stance is clear. We do not support Ukraine's quick EU entry," Orban posted on Facebook, claiming Ukrainian membership would not serve the interests of Hungary or the EU. * Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Iceland, meanwhile, promised Zelenskyy they would "stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes". The five countries have provided Ukraine with aid worth some 11 billion euros since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022 and said they were ready to continue giving extensive military, economic and humanitarian support. "Russia must end its aggression and withdraw its forces immediately and unconditionally from the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders," they said in a joint statement. * Other EU leaders, including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and French President Emmanuel Macron, reiterated their support for Ukraine, with Scholz suggesting the EU take enlargement decisions by majority vote rather than unanimity. Newly-elected Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he would try to persuade Orban to change course. "Apathy on Ukraine is unacceptable," Tusk said, adding that he will try to convince "some member states". * A German court heard that Russia paid Carsten Linke, a former soldier working for Germany's foreign intelligence agency (BND), at least 450,000 euros in return for information about weaponry with which the West was arming Ukraine. Linke and his accomplice, a Russian-born German diamond trader named Arthur Eller, are charged with high treason. Weapons * Germany's Scholz stressed that the aim of the West's continuing military support for Ukraine was to strengthen Kyiv's defence to such an extent that Russia would "never again dare to attack". 20231215 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-660 Fighting * Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched 42 drones and six missiles, mostly targeting the southern Odesa region. Air defence systems destroyed most of the Iranian-made Shahed drones but 11 people were injured by falling debris, which also damaged buildings and warehouses. * The air force said Ukraine was also attacked by Russian fighter jets dropping Kinzhal hypersonic missiles. One missile was shot down over the Kyiv region, but another two hit the west of the capital where there is an air base. Kyiv regional governor Ruslan Kravchenko said no casualties were reported, or damage to critical and civilian infrastructure. * Speaking at his annual press conference in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his forces were "improving their position on almost the entire line of contact" in Ukraine and that there would be no peace until Russia had achieved its goals. * Russia said it shot down nine Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow. There were no reports of damage. * Romania summoned Russia's ambassador over a "new violation" of its airspace after a drone crashed on its territory leaving a crater 1.5 metres deep near the town of Grindu, which faces the Ukrainian port of Reni on the other side of the River Danube. * Russia added Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence (GUR), to its list of people "wanted" for criminal offences. Moscow, which annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014, accuses Budanov of organising a 2022 attack that partially destroyed the bridge it built linking the peninsula to Russia. Politics and diplomacy * European Union leaders agreed to formally open accession talks with Ukraine, in a decision Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed as a "victory" for Ukraine and Europe. The United States, meanwhile, welcomed the move as "historic". * EU leaders also agreed to impose a 12th round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine. The latest sanctions will target diamond exports and improve enforcement of an oil price cap designed to reduce the amount of money Russia makes by selling crude to non-EU countries. * A Russian court overturned its decision to fine Oleg Orlov, the co-chair of Nobel Prize-winning human rights group Memorial, after finding him guilty of "discrediting Russian forces" after he said Russian soldiers were committing "murder" in Ukraine. The move means Orlov could now be jailed. * A Russian court upheld a decision to keep Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in detention ahead of his trial on alleged charges of espionage that he denies. Asked about the journalist's prolonged detention during his annual press conference, Putin said he hoped for a solution with the US. "There are contacts on this issue and dialogue is ongoing, but it's not straightforward," he said. Gershkovich was arrested in March. *Igor Girkin, a 52-year-old hardline nationalist who is better known by his alias Igor Strelkov, went on trial in Moscow on charges of extremism after criticising the Kremlin's military strategy in Ukraine. Girkin, a 52-year-old hardline nationalist who is better known by his alias Igor Strelkov, was a top commander in the Russian-backed armed groups in eastern Ukraine that began fighting Kyiv in 2014. He was arrested in July. Weapons * Zelenskyy made an unannounced visit to Germany that media reports said would focus on securing armaments for the war. He visited the US military base in Wiesbaden, where he said he was "once again convinced of the excellent quality of US military aid to Ukraine". Ukraine is trying to convince right-wing Republicans in the US to back billions of dollars in additional aid that they have been blocking in Congress. * Ukrainian media said the country had taken delivery of an additional Patriot air defence system as Russia steps up aerial attacks on the country. 20231218 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-663 Fighting * Ukraine's Air Force said it destroyed 20 Russian drones and a missile - nine of them in the southern Odesa region. The falling debris started a fire in a residential home and killed one person. The air force said a second missile "did not reach its goal". On Saturday, Ukraine said its air defence systems shot down 30 Russia-launched drones over 11 regions of the country * Russia's Defence Ministry said its air defence systems destroyed or intercepted a total of 35 Ukraine-launched drones over its Lipetsk, Volgograd and Rostov regions in Russia. It did not say what was targeted or whether there was any damage. The Ukrainska Pravda media outlet later reported that the attack - reportedly a joint operation of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and Ukraine's Armed Forces - was targeting the Morozovsk airfield in the Rostov region. Several Russian military bloggers said that one bomber at the base suffered minor damage. * The Freedom of Russia Legion, a Ukrainian-based paramilitary group of Russians who oppose President Vladimir Putin, said it was behind a cross-border attack inside Russia's Belgorod region. The group said it had destroyed a platoon stronghold of Russian troops near Trebreno village and planted mines, but did not elaborate. Vyacheslav Gladkov, Belgorod's regional governor, said Trebreno was under fire from Ukraine's Armed Forces and that a "shooting battle" was under way on the edge of the village. He said three houses and a power line were damaged. * The Associated Press news agency published drone footage indicating the scale of Russian casualties in the intense battles for control of the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka. The footage showed the bodies of about 150 soldiers - most of them in Russian uniforms - lying on the ground where they died outside Stepove, a village north of Avdiivka, that has been reduced to rubble. The drone unit said it is possible that some of the dead were Ukrainians. * Family and friends of Ukrainian soldiers from the so-called Azov battalion held captive by Russia since the fall of Mariupol held a rally in Kyiv calling for their urgent exchange with Russian prisoners of war. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine's security service said it had launched a criminal investigation after a "technical device" was found in an office that could have been used in the future by Commander-in-Chief Valery Zaluzhnyi. It added that the device - initially characterised as a bug by local media - was considered under preliminary information to be "in a non-operational state", and no means of information storage or remote transmission of audio recordings were found. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine and the European Commission would soon assess Kyiv's progress on aligning its legislation with that of the European Union. A framework for negotiations on Ukraine's EU accession is also expected in the coming months, he added in his nightly video address. * Putin dismissed as "complete nonsense" remarks by United States President Joe Biden that Russia would be emboldened to attack a NATO country if it was successful in its invasion of Ukraine. Putin said Russia had no interest in fighting the NATO military alliance. Biden stressed the threat posed by Moscow in an appeal to Republican lawmakers resisting new support for Kyiv. * A senior US congressional negotiator working over the weekend to craft a deal that would be acceptable to its critics said he was "very optimistic" about a solution. The Republicans have demanded the aid to Ukraine and Israel be linked to new measures at the US's southern border. "I'm very encouraged. I'm very optimistic they're moving in a very positive way," Joe Manchin, a Democrat, told CNN's State of the Union program. * Police in Finland are seeking a court order to imprison a Russian man accused of committing war crimes against wounded or surrendered soldiers in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015. Yan Petrovsky, who had been living in Finland under the name Voislav Torden, is already in Finnish custody but authorities are asking that he be formally jailed while they conduct an investigation into his alleged crimes. 20231219 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-664 Fighting * Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said the situation on the front line was not at a stalemate, after suggesting last month that it was a possibility. He declined to comment on the coming counteroffensive operations. "This is a war. I can't say what I plan, what we should do. Otherwise, it will be a show, not a war," Ukraine's RBC media quoted him as saying. * Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, a senior army general who has led counteroffensives against the Russians, told the Reuters news agency that front-line troops faced shortages of artillery shells - particularly Soviet-era 122mm and 152mm ammunition - and had scaled back some military operations because of a shortfall of foreign assistance. * Zaluzhnyi criticised the president's decision to fire regional military draft office chiefs. "These were professionals, they knew how to do this, and they are gone," Interfax Ukraine cited him as saying. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired the country's regional military recruitment heads in August in a corruption crackdown. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy said new sanctions imposed on Moscow by the European Union would "truly reduce" Russia's ability to finance its invasion of Ukraine. Russia's diplomatic mission to the EU said the latest action showed previous efforts had failed. The 12th package of sanctions includes a ban on Russian-origin diamonds, additional import and export bans, and a tightening of the rules to close loopholes and combat sanctions circumvention, the EU said. * The Russian government added the prominent writer Grigory Chkhartishvili - known by his pen name Boris Akunin - to a register of "terrorists and extremists" after he criticised the invasion of Ukraine. The 67-year-old is known for his historical detective novels and his longstanding criticism of President Vladimir Putin. Weapons * United States President Joe Biden said he was planning one more military aid package for Ukraine this month and that further assistance would require agreement in Congress. * The Alphen Group, made up of more than 40 former top US and NATO diplomats and defence officials, urged the US Congress to approve new aid for Ukraine, warning that if Ukraine failed to win, it would not only be disastrous for Ukraine but also threaten the security of the US and its allies. Republicans earlier this month blocked an emergency spending bill including billions of dollars of aid for Ukraine, demanding tougher steps to control immigration at the US-Mexico border. * Denmark set aside 1.8 billion Danish crowns ($264m) to help finance a Swedish initiative to donate CV90 armoured combat vehicles to Ukraine, the Danish Defence Ministry said in a statement. 20231220 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-665 Fighting * Ukraine's military said Russia launched its fifth air attack this month on the capital, with air defence systems destroying all weapons on their approach to Kyiv. "According to preliminary information, there were no casualties or destruction in the capital," Serhiy Popko, the head of Kyiv's military administration, said on the Telegram messaging app. * Russia's Defence Ministry said it brought down a Ukrainian drone near the capital that led to restrictions on flights at Moscow's main airports. No casualties were reported. * Ukraine said its military was holding the line in the eastern Kharkiv region, despite being outgunned by Russian forces trying to take control of the town of Kupiansk. "The situation is complicated. We have to fight in conditions of superiority of the enemy both in weapons and in the number of personnel," said Oleksandr Syrsky, the head of Ukraine's ground forces. Russia's Defence Ministry said it had repelled eight Ukrainian attacks around Kupiansk with artillery. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the military had asked for the mobilisation of 500,000 more people in the fight to remove Russian forces from its territory and urged the United States and Kyiv's other Western allies to maintain their support for his country. He said he also hoped prisoner swaps, which he said had been delayed as a result of unspecified "reasons" on the Russian side, would soon resume. The last exchange took place in early August. * Russian President Vladimir Putin told defence and military chiefs that Moscow had the momentum in its war in Ukraine and was well-positioned to reach its goals, claiming that attempts to defeat it had failed. Putin also said Moscow was upgrading its nuclear arsenal and maintaining the military at its highest level of readiness. * Italy's cabinet passed a decree allowing it to supply "means, materials and equipment" to Ukraine in its fight against Russia until the end of 2024. Supplies will include not only weapons but also power generators and "everything needed to support military operations in defence of unarmed civilians", a Defence Ministry statement said. * Volker Turk, the United Nations's human rights chief, said there were indications Russia had committed war crimes in Ukraine, including 142 cases of "summary executions" of civilians as well we enforced disappearances, torture and ill-treatment such as sexual violence against detainees. * A court in Poland convicted 14 citizens of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine for being part of a spy ring preparing acts of sabotage on behalf of Moscow. They were given jail terms ranging from 13 months to six years. * A former Russian soldier sought asylum in the Netherlands and said he wanted to testify at the International Criminal Court (ICC) about Russian war crimes he witnessed while fighting in Ukraine. A Dutch legal source told the Reuters news agency the man had been a member of Russian-backed separatist forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014 and had also worked as an instructor for the Wagner mercenary group there. * Chuck Schumer, the majority leader in the US Senate, said the upper house aimed to pass an agreement to provide additional aid to Ukraine and bolster US border security as soon as it returns to Washington, DC in January after the Christmas and New Year holidays. Weapons * Sergei Shoigu, Russia's defence minister, said that since the country began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it had increased production of tanks by 5.6 times, drones by 16.8 times and artillery shells by 17.5 times. Speaking during Putin's meeting with military chiefs, Shoigu said Russian forces had also laid 7,000sq km of minefields in Ukraine - some of them as much as 600 metres wide - along with 1.5 million anti-tank barriers and 2,000km of anti-tank ditches. * Zelenskyy said Ukraine planned to manufacture some 1 million drones next year for use on the battlefield. Ukraine and Russia use drones to scope out enemy positions, drop explosives and launch attacks on the enemy. * The US charged Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian, and Gary Lam, a Chinese national, with allegedly supplying dual-use US-manufactured microelectronics to Iran's drone programme. "These very components have been found in use by Iran's allies in current conflicts, including in Ukraine," special agent Michael Krol said. Both men remain at large. * The US Treasury Department, meanwhile, announced that it was imposing sanctions on a network of 10 Ardakani-linked entities as well as four individuals based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Indonesia, for circumventing export bans to procure US components for Iranian-made attack drones. 20231221 Fighting * Nine people, including four children, were injured in Russian shelling of the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, as Russia also targeted the capital Kyiv, the second-largest city of Kharkiv and other regions with drones and missiles. Ukraine's Air Force said air defence systems destroyed 18 out of 19 Russian attack drones and that Russia fired two surface-to-air guided missiles at Kharkiv. No casualties were reported. * Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun acknowledged that Russian forces were gaining ground around the industrial city of Avdiivka. Sthupun told Ukrainian television the Russians had "advanced by one and a half to two kilometres in some places" since October 10, but it had "cost them a lot". * The evening update from the Ukrainian General Staff reported 89 incidents of Russian ground attacks on seven sections of a front line that extends for about 1,000km. There were 31 attacks near Avdiivka. * Ukraine's Armed Forces are taking up a more defensive posture after a months-long counteroffensive failed to achieve a significant breakthrough, the United Kingdom's Defence Ministry said in its latest assessment of the war. It said Ukraine was improving field fortifications along the front line. Politics and diplomacy * The Kremlin said there was no current basis for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine and that Kyiv's proposed peace plan was absurd because it excluded Russia. "We really consider that the topic of negotiations is not relevant right now," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in Moscow. * Russian President Vladimir Putin called for a "severe" response to foreign agents who try to help Ukraine by engaging in sabotage in Russia. * Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich lost his attempt at the European Union's top court to overturn the sanctions the EU imposed on him after Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * German federal prosecutors said they aim to seize more than 720 million euros ($789 million) from an unnamed Russian bank it suspects of trying to violate Western sanctions. * Ukraine's biggest mobile operator Kyivstar said it had fully restored its services in the country and overseas following a huge cyberattack last damaged IT infrastructure and affected air raid alert systems. More than half of Ukraine's population are Kyivstar subscribers. * A Russian court fined Google 4.6 billion roubles ($50.84m) for failing to delete so-called "fake" information about the war in Ukraine and other topics, according to the state TASS news agency. * Yekaterina Duntsova, a 40-year-old former broadcast journalist, put her name forward to stand in Russia's presidential election on a platform "for peace and democratic processes". Duntsova has previously called for an end to the war in Ukraine and the release of political prisoners including opposition leader Alexey Navalny. The 40-year-old needs 300,000 signatures from across Russia by January 31 to support her candidacy. Vladimir Putin is expected to win in a landslide. Weapons * Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's minister for strategic industries, said Kyiv plans to manufacture 1 million reconnaissance and attack drones as well as more than 11,000 medium- and long-range attack drones next year. The figure includes at least 1,000 drones with a range of more than 1,000km, he said. * Japan is considering allowing Patriot missile transfers to Ukraine, according to a report in Nikkei. 20231226 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-671 Fighting * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed Russian troops had gained full control of the eastern Ukrainian town of Marinka in what would be their first major breakthrough since the capture of Bakhmut back in May. Ukrainian military spokesperson Oleksandr Shtupun denied the Russian claims. "It's not correct to talk about seizing Marinka," he told national television. "Our forces are within the city." * Five people were killed after Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern city of Kherson and towns elsewhere in the region hit an apartment block and residential homes. Nine other people, including a 15-year-old, were wounded while gas and water supplies were partially cut off in the attacks. * Russian-installed authorities, meanwhile, said one person had been killed and six wounded in Ukrainian shelling of the Russian-occupied eastern town of Horlivka. * Ukraine said it shot down 28 of 31 drones launched by Russia overnight as well as two missiles mostly targeting the south of the country. * Russian and Ukrainian military officials both reported bringing down enemy aircraft in different areas of the 1,000km-long (621-mile) front line. Mykola Oleshchuk, the commander of Ukraine's Air Force, said Ukrainian anti-aircraft units had hit a Russian Su-34 fighter bomber near the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Russia's Defence Ministry, meanwhile, said its air defence systems shot down four Ukrainian military aircraft over the previous 24 hours. * Ukraine is proposing lowering the age of those who can be mobilised for combat duty from 27 to 25, according to the draft text of a new law on conscription. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine celebrated Christmas on December 25 for the first time in part of an ongoing effort to distance itself from Russian influence. Russia marks the holiday in January. * Ukraine received $1.34bn in funds from the World Bank. The money will be used to support non-security related financial and economic stability, Ukraine's Ministry of Finance said. * Hundreds of supporters of Igor Girkin, a jailed former commander of Russian-backed fighters in Ukraine who is better known by his alias Igor Strelkov, rallied in Moscow to back his bid to stand for president. Girkin was a key leader of fighters in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and has criticised Russia's military strategy in Ukraine for being "too kind". He was detained in July. Weapons * Denis Manturov, the Russian deputy prime minister who oversees arms production, told the RIA news agency that Russia had the upper hand in weapons production over Western countries and intended to grow its arms industry. Manturov said that the volume of state defence orders in 2023 had doubled compared with the previous year, with production of "certain weapons" rising ten-fold. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/26/ukraine-claims-to-have-destroyed-russian-ship-in-crimea-attack Russia has acknowledged a Ukrainian attack has damaged a warship in the occupied Crimean port of Feodosia in what Ukraine and its Western allies call a major setback for the Russian navy. Feodosia, which has a population of about 69,000 people, lies on the southern coast of the Crimean Peninsula. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu informed "about the damage to our large landing ship" to President Vladimir Putin in "a very detailed report", the president's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on Tuesday. Ukraine's air force said it attacked the Russian navy ship at a base in Russian-occupied Crimea, which Kyiv claimed was carrying drones for use in Moscow's war. The Novocherkassk, a large landing ship, was "destroyed" in its air attack, Ukraine's air force said on the Telegram messaging platform on Tuesday. 20231227 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-672 Here is the situation on Wednesday, December 27, 2023. Fighting * Ukraine said it destroyed the Novocherkassk landing ship in an attack on a naval base in Russian-occupied Crimea. Russia acknowledged the ship had been damaged and that the attack started a fire which was brought under control. One person was killed and four injured. * Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander of Ukraine's Armed Forces, said his troops remained on the northern edge of Marinka after Russia's defence minister said Moscow was in control of the now-ruined town, a short drive from the Russian-occupied regional centre of Donetsk. Zaluzhnyi said Marinka "no longer existed" due to the destruction wreaked upon it. * Ukraine said at least one person was killed and four others injured in a Russian attack on a railway station in the southern city of Kherson, where about 140 people were preparing for an evacuation. * Ukraine's Air Force said its air defence systems destroyed 13 of the 19 drones Russia launched against Ukraine during the night. Politics and diplomacy * Taiwan announced an expansion to its list of sanctioned goods for Russia and its ally Belarus over Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in a move the Economy Ministry said was necessary to prevent Taiwanese high-tech goods from being used for military purposes. The list includes equipment for making semiconductors as well as certain chemicals and medicines, the ministry said in a statement. 20231228 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-673 Fighting * Two people were killed and four others injured in the southern Odesa region after Russian forces sent dozens of attack drones over Ukraine in a nighttime air raid. * The Ukraine air force said it shot down 32 of the 46 Iranian-made drones that Russia had launched with the others mostly hitting near the front line, mainly in the southern Kherson region. Regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said the attack on the Kherson region and its capital hit residential areas and a mall as well as striking the power grid, leaving about 70 percent of households in Kherson city without electricity. * The Institute for the Study of War said that Russia's claimed capture this week of Maryinka in eastern Ukraine would not provide it with a springboard for major battlefield gains. But it noted that "localised Russian offensive operations are still placing pressure on Ukrainian forces in many places along the front in eastern Ukraine". * Ukraine opened a war crimes investigation into the alleged execution by Russian forces of three Ukrainian prisoners of war earlier this month near the village of Robotyne in the southeastern Zaporizhia region, the general prosecutor's office said. Politics and diplomacy * India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said relations between the countries were progressing even amid turbulent times. Jaishankar, who is on a five-day visit to Moscow, also met his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who said they discussed "the prospects for military-technical cooperation, including the joint production of modern types of weapons". * Russia condemned sanctions imposed by the United States against the Arctic LNG 2 project as an "unacceptable" move that would undermine global energy security. The sanctions are part of an attempt to limit Moscow's financial ability to continue its war in Ukraine. * Russia charged six Danes for joining the Russia-Ukraine war as "foreign mercenaries" on Ukraine's side, the Russian embassy in Denmark said in a statement. The six face as many as 15 years in prison if they are found guilty. The embassy said 20 Danes had been identified as mercenaries and some had been killed. Weapons * The US announced a $250m military aid package for Ukraine that officials say could be the last unless a $61b funding bill currently held up by Republicans in Congress is passed. The latest aid includes air defence munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems, artillery ammunition, anti-armour munitions and more than 15 million rounds of ammunition. * Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine's minister of strategic industries, told a briefing that the defence sector would increase production of weapons and military equipment significantly next year and that output was three times higher in 2023 than in the previous year. Kamyshin said Ukraine was now producing six Bohdana self-propelled artillery units per month. Bohdanas are the only Ukrainian-made self-propelled gun using NATO-standard 155mm rounds instead of the 152mm rounds used by artillery based on Soviet technology. * Russia warned Japan that its plan to provide Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine would have "grave consequences" for Russia - Japan ties. * Sergei Chemezov, the head of the Rostec state defence company, said Russia would soon deploy its newest howitzers against Ukrainian forces. Chemezov told the RIA news agency that testing of the new Coalition-SV self-propelled artillery units had been completed and mass production was under way. ... (05:04 GMT) It's just after 7am (05:00 GMT) in the occupied Palestinian territories and Israel. * War monitors say Palestinian fighters' use of a "thermobaric rocket" and portable missiles to target Israeli helicopters shows increasing sophistication of weapons used in Gaza. * One Palestinian has been reported killed and 15 injured in a large-scale raid by the Israeli military on occupied West Bank's Ramallah city. * The Australian government confirms two of its citizens were killed in an Israeli air strike on home in southern Lebanon. * WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN Security Council resolution to increase aid, pause hostilities in Gaza needs to become "reality". * Three more Israeli soldiers have been reported killed and three seriously wounded in fighting in central and southern Gaza. It was not known if the three latest deaths were included in the total death toll reported by the UN. 20231229 ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-674 Fighting * Ukraine's general prosecutor said two fishermen were killed after Russia shelled a village on the banks of the Dnipro river along southern Ukraine's front line. Five people were also injured in the attack. * Ukraine's southern military command said a Panama-flagged bulk carrier that was heading to one of the country's River Danube ports to load grain hit a Russian mine in the Black Sea causing it to lose speed and control and starting a fire. Two members of the 18-strong crew were injured, and one of them, an Egyptian, was taken to hospital. The captain intentionally ran the ship aground to stop it from sinking and Ukraine will use tugs to take it into port. * Ukraine's air force said air defence systems shot down seven out of eight Shahed drones launched by Moscow during the night overnight, the country's air force said on Thursday. The drones came down in three central and southern regions, the air force added. * Odesa regional governor, Oleh Kiper, said a fire broke out at a multistorey building in the Black Sea port city that was hit by a downed drone. Kiper said information about casualties was being verified and urged residents to stay in shelters amid an ongoing drone attack. * The Russian Defence Ministry said it thwarted a Ukrainian drone attack over Crimea, which Russia seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Politics and diplomacy * The United States proposed that the Group of Seven (G7) countries explore ways to seize $300bn in frozen Russian assets, according to Britain's Financial Times. Washington, backed by the United Kingdom, Japan and Canada, has proposed that options be ready for G7 leaders to consider at a potential meeting around February 24, the report said. * A Moscow court jailed two men for taking part in a poetry recital critical of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Poet Artyom Kamardin, 33, was sentenced to seven years for reciting the poem, while Yegor Shtovba, 23, got five and a half years for attending the anti-mobilisation protest. Supporters shouted "Shame!" after the sentences were announced and some people were later detained by police, according to the AFP news agency. * Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko attended a government-organised event for a new group of children brought from Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine, amid international outrage over his country's involvement in Moscow's forced deportation of Ukrainian children. Officials did not say how many Ukrainian children were in the latest group. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he discussed Ukraine's peace formula in a call with Pope Francis, noting that more than 80 countries were "already involved" in the process. Zelenskyy has said the framework will next be discussed in Davos, Switzerland. The formula requires Russia to withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory, including regions it has been occupying since 2014, before talks can begin. * Andriy Yermak, Zelenskyy's chief of staff, said he had a "productive phone call" with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto to discuss a meeting between Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the "near future". Earlier this month, all European Union states except Hungary agreed to start accession talks with Ukraine, and Budapest blocked a new EU budget providing aid to Ukraine. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/program/newsfeed/2023/12/29/russia-lauches-most-massive-aerial-attack-since-start-of-war-in-ukraine An overnight barrage of Russian missiles and drones ripped across Ukraine, killing at least 30 people and injuring many more. Officials said the hours-long bombardment involved 122 missiles and dozens of drones. 20231230 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/30/russia-says-two-children-killed-in-ukrainian-strike-on-belgorod Russia says 21 people killed in Ukrainian attack on Belgorod Moscow says it shot down 32 Ukrainian drones, a day after Russia launched one of its deadliest attacks since it began its invasion in 2022. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/12/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-675 Fighting and human impact * Ukrainian officials have said that at least 30 people have been killed and more than 140 wounded after Russia targeted cities across the war-torn country with a massive salvo of missiles and drones in one of the largest aerial assaults of the war. * Russia's defence ministry has said its forces downed 32 Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk, Oryol, Kursk and Moscow regions overnight. * Polish military authorities have said that a Russian missile briefly passed through the country's airspace on Friday, prompting concern from the country that borders Ukraine. Diplomacy * The United Nations Security Council has criticised Russia for carrying out a massive air assault on Ukraine at a meeting on Friday. But Russia's ambassador to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, said that Moscow had "exclusively only targeted military infrastructure in Ukraine". * The Polish Foreign Ministry has summoned Russian charge d'affaires Andrei Ordasz after a Russian missile entered Polish airspace during the morning attack against Ukraine. 20240101 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-677 Fighting * Russia launched a new wave of drone and missile attacks across Ukraine, with at least 28 people injured after six missiles hit the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Russia said the attack on Ukraine's second biggest city was "retaliation" for a deadly Ukrainian air raid on the Russian city of Belgorod not far from the border. Moscow targeted a hotel housing military commanders and "foreign mercenaries" as well as the headquarters of the Ukrainian Security Service for the region. Kharkiv city officials said the missiles struck residential buildings, hotels and medical facilities, while drones hit residential buildings. * Ukraine's Air Force said it had destroyed 21 of 49 Iranian-made Shahed drones Russia fired in its latest attack. Most were aimed at the front line and parts of the Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Zaporizhia regions, it said. * Separately, Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said that three people were killed when Russian forces shelled a village near the front line. * In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, meanwhile, Russian shelling killed a 14-year-old boy and left a 9-year-old boy in hospital in critical condition, according to regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy struck an optimistic note as he sought to rally the country in his New Year address. The 20-minute video message from his Kyiv office made almost no direct reference to the situation on the 1,000km (600-mile) front line or the limited success of a counteroffensive launched in June. Nor did it refer to the political and diplomatic challenges facing Kyiv as it seeks to secure continued military and other aid from its allies. Instead, Zelenskyy stressed the strength and unity of the Ukrainian people in the face of Russia's aggression and referenced successes against the Russian Navy in the Black Sea. He promised that Ukraine would wreak "wrath" on Russian forces in 2024. * In his New Year's address, Russian President Vladimir Putin made only passing reference to the invasion, praising Russia's soldiers on the front line as "heroes" in a fight for "truth and justice". He also called for unity among Russians in the face of "difficult tasks" and lauded Russian citizens' "solidarity, mercy and fortitude." The four-minute pre-recorded video was aired just before midnight in each of Russia's 11 time zones. 20240102 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-678 Fighting * Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to intensify strikes on Ukraine after the death toll rose to 25 in Saturday's unprecedented raid on the Russian city of Belgorod, not far from the border. Moscow has blamed Kyiv for the Belgorod attack, which came a day after Russia launched some 158 missiles and drones on Ukrainian cities killing 30 people in Kyiv and elsewhere. * Ukraine held a day of mourning for Friday's attack, the deadliest on the capital since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, as five more bodies were recovered from the rubble in Kyiv. * Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed 87 of 90 drones launched on the country by Russia, some of which targeted port infrastructure in Odesa. Oleh Kiper, the head of the region's military administration, said a 15-year-old boy was killed and seven people injured after falling debris from one of the drones hit a residential building in the southern city. * Drone strikes and artillery fire also killed three people in Ukraine's Kherson, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, according to officials. * Four people were killed by artillery fire in the Russian-occupied eastern city of Donetsk, according to Denis Pushilin, the Russian-installed head of the broader Donetsk region, adding that 14 people had been injured. * One person was also killed and another wounded in shelling on the Russian border town of Shebekino, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. 20240103 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-679 Fighting * Russia targeted Ukraine's biggest cities with a barrage of drones, rockets and missiles, killing at least four people in Kyiv and one in Kharkiv. The State Emergency Service said 119 people have been injured. The bombardment, which also disrupted water and power supplies, came after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would intensify attacks on Ukraine. * Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian military, said air defences shot down all 10 of the Kinzhal hypersonic missiles fired at Ukraine by Russia. The consequences of the weapons hitting their targets would have been "catastrophic", he added. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov accused Russia of "deliberately targeting critical infrastructure and residential neighbourhoods" in its attacks on Tuesday. The Russian defence ministry claimed the raids hit Ukrainian military-industrial facilities, as well as weapons storage facilities. "The goal of the strike has been achieved, all the targets have been hit," it said. * Poland mobilised two pairs of F-16 fighter jets and an air tanker to safeguard its airspace during Russia's assault on Ukraine. Polish military authorities last week said a Russian missile briefly flew through the country's airspace, prompting concern. * Moscow said its air defences destroyed 17 Ukrainian Olkha rockets over Russia's Belgorod, not far from the Ukrainian border. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Belgorod, said that one person was killed and five injured in the raids. * Russia opened an investigation after one of its missiles accidentally hit the Russian border village of Petropavlovka, 40km from northeastern Ukraine, damaging several homes. No one was injured. Politics and diplomacy * The Russian attacks drew condemnation from across Europe. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, reiterated the European Union's support for Ukraine, saying Russia's air attacks showed Moscow was not interested in peace talks. Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics, meanwhile, said the attacks were "Russian terrorism" and called on the West to provide more help to Ukraine. Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock promised Berlin's continuing support, saying the latest attacks showed Moscow wanted to "annihilate" Ukraine. * United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk called for the immediate de-escalation of fighting, measures to protect civilians and respect for international law following the recent "alarming escalation of hostilities". * Ukraine's foreign minister urged Western allies to step up sanctions on Russia and deliver more advanced weaponry, including air defence systems and ammunition, combat drones and long-range missiles. In the US, a proposed $60bn aid package for Kyiv is being held up by Republicans in Congress, while Hungary has blocked $55bn in EU assistance for Ukraine. * Mariana Katzarova, the UN's special rapporteur for human rights in the Russian Federation, called on Moscow to immediately release two poets jailed for reading work criticising the war in Ukraine. A Moscow court last week sentenced Artyom Kamardin to seven years in prison and Yegor Shtovba to five-and-a-half years after they participated in a public poetry reading in Moscow in September 2022. Weapons * Turkey said it would block two Royal Navy minehunter ships promised to Ukraine from travelling through its waters on their way to the Black Sea because it would breach an international pact that regulates maritime traffic through the straits that connect the Mediterranean to the Black Sea. * Norway said it would allow the direct sale of weapons to Ukraine. "In the extraordinary security situation resulting from Russia's war of aggression, it is crucial that we continue to support Ukraine," Norway's Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said in a press statement. 20240104 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-680 Fighting * Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war in the biggest single release of captives since Russia began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Ukrainian officials said that 230 of its prisoners were released while Russia said 248 of its soldiers were returned following mediation by the United Arab Emirates. * Russia said Ukraine launched attacks on its Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as the Crimean Peninsula that Moscow invaded and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the situation remained "tense" after 12 missiles were shot down over the region. Some 25 people were killed in an air attack on Belgorod on Saturday. There were no reports of casualties from Wednesday's attacks. * Two people were killed and one injured after 134 Russian strikes hit the Zaporizhia region over the 24 hours to Wednesday, according to Yuriy Malashko, the head of Ukraine's regional military administration. * One person was killed in heavy Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern Kherson region including its main city. * One person was killed and one injured after Russia launched four missiles on the eastern town of Avdiivka, Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram message. The town, not far from Donetsk, which is occupied by the Russians has been the scene of intense fighting for weeks. * The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence said Russia's military might have changed its strike strategy in Ukraine to target the country's defence industry rather than energy infrastructure as it did last winter. "Russian planners almost certainly recognise the growing importance of relative defence industrial capacity as they prepare for a long war," the ministry said in its latest intelligence update. * Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander of the Ukrainian army's ground forces, said Russian forces were continuing their offensives in Bakhmut and Kupyan on the eastern front with fighting in Bakhmut particularly intense. Syrskyi said Russian forces had suffered losses in Lyman and were regrouping in preparation for a new offensive. * Russia said four people were injured after its aircraft accidentally bombed the village of Petropavlovka in southwest Russia on Tuesday. There was also damage to houses, a school and some administrative buildings as well as to vehicles. Politics and diplomacy * The European Union imposed sanctions on Alrosa, the world's biggest diamond miner, to further squeeze Russian sources of revenue. The company's CEO, Pavel Alekseevich Marinychev, was also sanctioned. Alrosa accounts for more than 90 percent of all Russian diamond production, according to the EU. * Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country will need more than $37bn in foreign funding this year, and that Kyiv was counting on "stable and timely assistance" from its international partners to help keep its economy going. * Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said inspectors had been denied access to parts of Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station for two weeks and had yet to receive 2024 maintenance plans for the facility. Weapons * Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Western countries should tighten sanctions against Russia and provide Kyiv with long-range missiles that will enable it to target "launch sites and command centres". * Norway will send two F-16 fighter jets to Denmark so Ukrainian pilots can train to use the US-made aircraft. Ten Norwegian instructors have already been sent to Denmark to help train the pilots. 20240107 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-683 Fighting * At least 11 people, including five children, were killed by a Russian missile attack in and around the Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk. Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor of Ukraine's partially-occupied eastern Donetsk region, said eight people were injured in the attack. * Ukraine's military said it carried out a successful attack on the Saky military airbase in the west of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. "Saki airfield! All targets were hit!" Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk wrote on Telegram. He also published a photo appearing to show the airfield. * Russia said earlier that its air defence units brought down Ukrainian missiles and drones targeting Crimea and the western part of the Black Sea. Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Local officials in Belgorod - a Russian city some 40km from the border with Ukraine - said that an "air target" was shot down on approach to the city. As Russians prepared to celebrate Orthodox Christmas, Christmas Eve masses in Belgorod were cancelled due to the "operational situation", Mayor Valentin Demidov said. Politics and diplomacy * Speaking on the eve of the Russian Orthodox Christmas as he met families of soldiers killed in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin promised more support for soldiers who "with arms in hands" were defending Russia's interests. * In a rare public protest, about 15 Russian women whose husbands have been sent to fight in the Russian full-scale invasion symbolically laid flowers at the flame of the unknown soldier beneath the walls of the Kremlin in Moscow and demanded the men's return from the front. About 244,000 Russians have been mobilised to fight in Ukraine out of a total force of about 617,000 troops. * Shalanda Young, United States President Joe Biden's top budget official, warned about the rapidly diminishing amount of time for lawmakers in Congress to replenish US aid for Ukraine. The funding has been blocked by Republicans demanding the $106bn plan, which also includes support for Israel, be linked to immigration measures at the US-Mexico border. Young said the situation was "dire". Weapons * Ukraine provided further evidence that Russia attacked Ukraine with missiles supplied by North Korea, as the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office showed the media fragments of a weapon that hit the northeastern city on January 2. Spokesman Dmytro Chubenko said the missile was slightly bigger in diameter than the Russian Iskander missile, while its nozzle, internal electrical windings and rear parts were also different. * Russia aims to produce more than 32,000 drones each year by 2030 and for domestic producers to account for 70 percent of the market, the state TASS news agency reported, citing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belousov. 20240108 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-684 Fighting * Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 21 out of 28 Russian drones aimed at the south and east of the country. Russia also launched three cruise missiles, the Air Force added, without offering further details. * Dnipropetrovsk regional authorities said 12 people were injured in a Russian drone attack on the city of Dnipro. * Local officials said two people were killed in the city of Kherson after Russian forces occupying the opposite bank of the Dnipro River hit the city with numerous shelling attacks. Roman Mrochko, the head of the Kherson city administration, said several people were also injured. * In the northeast, the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office said one man was killed and two other civilians, including a child, injured in Russian shelling of Kupiansk. * Russia's Defence Ministry said soldiers fighting on the front line in Ukraine marked Orthodox Christmas with military priests leading prayer services. Politics and diplomacy * Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, on an unannounced trip to Kyiv, promised $37m to NATO to help Ukraine avert Russian drone strikes. She also said Japan would donate five mobile gas turbine generators and seven transformers to maintain power supplies. Kamikawa was forced to hold her press conference with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba underground after an air raid alert. "Japan is determined to continue to support Ukraine so that peace can return," she said. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told a security conference in Sweden that the situation on the battlefield remained relatively stable and that Russia could be defeated. * Speaking at the same event, Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said the primary task of Sweden's foreign policy in the coming years would be to support Ukraine. Weapons * Zelenskyy said the war in Ukraine had shown the need for Europe to develop joint weapons production to ensure it can "preserve itself" and defend its freedoms. 20240109 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-685 Fighting * Four people were killed and at least 45 injured as Russia continued its barrage of drone and missile attacks on Ukraine. One person was killed after missiles hit a shopping centre and residential buildings in President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown of Kryvyi Rih in the southeast, while two people were killed in a separate missile attack on the western region of Khmelnytsky. At least one person was also killed in northeastern Kharkiv after four missiles hit the city. * Kherson regional Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said Russian troops carried out 131 artillery attacks on the southern region, killing two people and injuring five. * Ukraine's military said Russia had launched "a large number of ballistic missiles" and it was able to bring down 18 of the 51 that were fired. Air Force spokesman Yuri Ignat said air defences achieved "a good result", with all eight drones destroyed and some Russian missiles missing their targets. * The Russian Defence Ministry said in its daily briefing it had used sea and air-launched long-range missiles, including Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, to strike what it called "facilities of Ukraine's military-industrial complex". * Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said 300 people had been evacuated from Russia's Belgorod because of Ukrainian attacks. Russian forces destroyed 10 Ukrainian rockets over the region in the evening, Moscow's Defence Ministry said. Two drones were also destroyed over the Russian border region of Bryansk, it added. * The Ukrainian military said Russian forces made unsuccessful efforts to advance in several areas along the front line, including around Lyman in the Kharkiv region as well as in the Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions. * Leonid Pasechnik, the Moscow-installed head of Ukraine's occupied Luhansk region, said a Russian warplane accidentally released a bomb, an FAB-250 which carries a high-explosive warhead, on the occupied Ukrainian town of Rubizhne. No one was injured, he said. Politics and diplomacy * A Ukrainian lawmaker said controversial new draft legislation on military mobilisation will not conscript women or introduce a lottery. "There will be no unconstitutional positions," Yehor Chernev, the deputy chairman of the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence, told Ukraine's public broadcaster. * Pope Francis, addressing conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine in his yearly address to diplomats, said "indiscriminately striking" civilians was a war crime because it breached international humanitarian law. Weapons * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged European Union countries to provide more military assistance to Ukraine, saying most countries were not doing enough to give Ukraine the weapons it needed to battle the Russian invasion. * United States White House officials met about a dozen executives from the technology and defence industries as part of an effort to support Ukraine's access to cutting-edge US equipment. Companies like Palantir Technologies and Skydio joined the talks that focused on drones and demining. 20240110 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-686 Fighting * Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow would do everything it could to halt Ukrainian attacks on Belgorod as Russia's Defence Ministry said it had brought down 10 rockets fired at the Russian border city in an attack that injured three. Hundreds of people have been evacuated from Belgorod since an attack last month that killed more than 20 civilians. * One person was killed in Ukrainian shelling of Russia's Kursk region near the border, while three people were injured after drones struck a fuel facility in the neighbouring region of Oryol, according to the governors of the two regions. * One person was killed in Ukrainian shelling of Horlivka in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Donetsk region, according to the town's Russian-installed mayor. * At least 520 children have been killed and nearly 1,200 injured since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year, according to the office of Ukraine's Prosecutor General. * A body was found in the ruins of a Kyiv warehouse destroyed in Russia's December 29 missile attack on the Ukrainian capital, bringing the number of deaths in the bombardment to 33. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu assured security officials that his forces were in control along the roughly 1,500km (930-mile) front line, which has been largely static over the past year despite fierce fighting. "We retain the strategic initiative along the entire line of contact," Shoigu said, accusing the United States of pressuring Ukraine to keep fighting against Russia. He claimed that Ukraine lost 215,000 soldiers in the fighting last year. Politics and diplomacy * A secret meeting took place last month in Saudi Arabia between Ukraine, its Group of Seven (G7) allies and a small group of Global South countries to build support for Kyiv's peace plan, according to Bloomberg News. The report, citing people familiar with the situation, said China chose not to attend and Russia was not invited. * Russia's Interior Ministry put exiled Russian tycoon and opposition leader Mikhail Khodorkovsky on its wanted list, accusing him of spreading false information about the Russian army, according to Russian state news agency TASS. London-based Khodorkovsky has been a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine * The Italian city of Modena blocked the use of a public hall to host a private event on the reconstruction of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which is under Russian occupation, saying it appeared to openly support Russia's invasion. The event was organised by the Russia Emilia-Romagna cultural association and panellists included the Russian consul general in Milan, Dmitry Shtodin, according to the organisers' website. Weapons * A group of 48 countries, including Argentina, Australia and the US condemned "in the strongest possible terms the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's (DPRK) export and Russia's procurement of DPRK ballistic missiles, as well as Russia's use of these missiles against Ukraine on December 30, 2023, and January 2, 2024". Such transfers breached United Nations Security Council resolutions on North Korea, they added in a joint statement. The Kremlin's Peskov declined to comment on the US and Ukrainian allegations. * Ukraine's Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat told national television that Russia's recent escalation of missile and drone attacks was stretching Ukraine's air defence resources, leaving the country vulnerable unless it could secure further weapons supplies. Russia fired more than 500 drones and missiles between December 29 and January 2, according to officials in Kyiv. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said an internal audit of the ministry had so far uncovered corruption schemes estimated at more than $262m, including over the purchase of ammunition. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said there were "clear signs of a slowdown" in the activities of Russia's defence industry and called for further action to eliminate loopholes in sanctions against Moscow. Zelenskyy did not provide evidence for his claim. 20240111 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-687 Fighting * Two Russian S-300 missiles struck a hotel in the centre of northeastern Kharkiv injuring 11 people, including journalists, according to Mayor Ihor Terekhov. Several other buildings, including two apartment blocks, were also damaged. * At least one person was killed in a Russian-guided bomb attack on the village of Olkhovatka in the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region, according to Oleg Sinegubov, the head of the regional military administration. At least 10 private homes, a shop and a school were damaged, he added. * Authorities in Belgorod evacuated some 392 children from the Russian border city after weeks of shelling from Ukrainian forces. Some 300 residents have already left the city, one of the biggest civilian evacuations on Russian soil since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. * Russia and Ukraine reported intense battles along the front line in the south and east around Avdiivka, Mariinsky, Kupiansk and Kherson. Russia claimed Ukraine had lost at least 450 soldiers in the confrontations, while Ukraine claimed it had killed 800 Russian troops. * Ukraine announced a new online service which will allow Russians whose relatives are soldiers missing in Ukraine to find out whether they have been confirmed killed or are being held as POWs. Politics and diplomacy * Speaking in Lithuania, at the start of an unannounced visit to the three Baltic states, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that Western hesitation on aid was emboldening Russia and that Ukraine needed to strengthen its air defences and replenish its supplies of ammunition. "He [Russian President Vladimir Putin] won't finish this [war] until we all finish him together," Zelenskyy said after talks with his Lithuanian counterpart Gitanas Nauseda. "Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova may be next." * United Nations agencies will next week ask for $3.1bn to finance humanitarian assistance for Ukraine in 2024. Edem Wosornu, director of the Operations and Advocacy Division for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told the UN Security Council that the war had driven "high levels of humanitarian need" and that financial support had to be sustained. * Pope Francis expressed concern that international attention was shifting away from Ukraine. In a letter to the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Francis said he was sorry that "in an increasingly tragic international situation, the war in Ukraine risks becoming a forgotten one". Weapons * NATO allies said they would continue to provide Ukraine with major military, economic and humanitarian aid and outlined plans to provide "billions of euros of further capabilities" in 2024 to Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance strongly condemned Russia's attacks and would boost Ukraine's air defences. * The UN Security Council discussed Russia's alleged use of North Korean weapons in Ukraine. Russia's UN ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said Western states had called the session an exercise in "anti-Russian propaganda" but stopped short of making an unequivocal denial that Moscow had fired North Korean missiles at Ukraine. South Korea's UN envoy Hwang Joon-kook said Russia's use of North Korean missiles gave Pyongyang "valuable technical and military insights" and enabled North Korea to use Ukraine as a "test site of its nuclear-capable missiles". * Lithuania approved a package of long-term military assistance to Ukraine, totalling 200 million euros (nearly $220m). President Nauseda said the country would send ammunition, generators and detonation systems this month, and M577 armoured personnel carriers in February. * NATO members Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania are expected to sign on Thursday a preliminary agreement on demining the Black Sea, the AFP news agency reported, citing officials. The Russian navy mined Ukraine's Black Sea coast in the early stages of its invasion. * The UK's Sky News, citing security sources, said Iran had developed a new attack drone for Russia to use in Ukraine and appears close to providing Moscow with surface-to-surface missiles. 20240115 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-691 Fighting * The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said fierce fighting continued on the front line with 86 attacks reported on Sunday. * The Washington, DC-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said, "Russian forces will likely try to sustain or intensify localised offensive operations throughout eastern Ukraine in an attempt to seize and retain the initiative regardless of weather conditions". But it added that they were unlikely to make any significant breakthroughs. * Oleg Gumenyuk, the former mayor of the far eastern Russian city of Vladivostok who was jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of corruption, is fighting on the front line in Ukraine after signing up for the military, Russian media reported. Gumenyuk reported for duty on December 22. * The governor of Russia's Kursk region said one man was injured after an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Tetkino, which is located on the border with Ukraine's Sumy region. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will travel to Switzerland on Monday as Ukraine tries to shore up support from its allies. Zelenskyy will "meet the heads of both houses of parliament, party leaders and the President of Switzerland, and participate in the World Economic Forum" (WEF) in Davos, according to a statement from Zelenskyy's office. * Ukraine's presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said China needs to be involved in talks to end the war with Russia. Speaking after a high-level diplomatic meeting on Kyiv's 10-point peace formula ahead of the WEF, Yermak said it was important that Beijing was at the table when Kyiv convenes further meetings on the plan. National security advisers from 83 countries attended the latest talks. * France and Germany reaffirmed their support for Ukraine. "We are in full agreement... that we must support the Ukrainians for as long as necessary," newly-appointed French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne told a press conference alongside his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock. Baerbock said they would remain "on the side of Ukraine as long as necessary, until Russia has withdrawn" from Ukrainian territory. * North Korea's Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui is in Moscow from January 15 to 17 at the invitation of Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The United States and others have accused Pyongyang of transferring weapons to Moscow for use in Ukraine. * Pope Francis said war was "a crime against humanity" as he reiterated a call for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East. "Let us not forget this... People need peace, the world needs peace," the pope said after his weekly Angelus prayer. * Aleksiy Uminsky, a prominent liberal priest, faces expulsion from the Russian Orthodox Church for refusing to read out a prayer asking God to guide Russia to victory over Ukraine. A church court said Uminsky should be "expelled from holy orders" for violating his priestly oath. The decision was forwarded for approval to Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church who strongly backs President Vladimir Putin. * Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, a key figure of the Soviet underground literary scene who signed an open letter condemning the invasion of Ukraine as a "criminal war" and accusing the Kremlin of "lies", died days after being hit by a car in Moscow, his daughter said. Rubinstein was run over as he crossed the street on January 8. He was 76. * Yampil, a 12-year-old Asiatic black bear rescued from a bombed-out zoo in the city of Lyman, has found a new home in a zoo outside the Scottish capital Edinburgh. Weapons * The Swedish Defence Materiel Administration said it signed an agreement with the Nordic Ammunition Company to increase the production and delivery of 155mm artillery ammunition to support Ukraine. 20240116 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/16/ukraine-says-shot-down-two-russian-command-aircraft-in-blow-to-moscow Ukraine has said it shot down an A-50 Russian reconnaissance plane and an Il-22 airborne command post in a potentially significant blow to the Kremlin's forces. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-692 Fighting * Ukraine said it shot down a Russian A-50 spy plane and an Il-22 command post aircraft in the area of the Sea of Azov. Army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi praised Ukraine's Air Force saying it had "perfectly planned and executed" the operation. Natalia Humeniuk, the spokesperson for Ukraine's southern military command, told a briefing that Russia had used the plane extensively to prepare for and conduct long-range missile strikes on Ukraine. "We expect such a strike [on the A-50] to be fairly painful and, at least, to delay powerful missile strikes," she said. * Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's number two military commander, said the country's troops were on "active defence" against the Russians who were pressing in multiple directions along the eastern front with the aim of wresting full control of the industrial Donbas region despite heavy losses in men and supplies. Russia was also hoping to claw back ground it lost in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhia regions, he added. "Our goals remain unchanged: holding our positions... exhausting the enemy by inflicting maximum losses," Syrskyi told the Reuters news agency in an interview. * Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence systems destroyed three Ukraine-launched Tochka-U missiles over southwest Russia's Kursk region. There were no reports of damage. The Tochka-U is a short-range ballistic missile. Politics and diplomacy * Switzerland said it would host a summit on Ukraine's 10-point peace formula at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who was in the country on Monday to meet Swiss officials and world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Measures in Zelenskyy's formula include the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, the end of hostilities and the release of all prisoners and detainees. Zelenskyy said it was important that China attend the discussions. * The Kremlin dismissed weekend talks on the proposals held by officials from 83 countries, saying there could be no progress on peace without Russia's involvement. Russia currently occupies about a fifth of Ukraine's territory. * The United Nations appealed for $4.2bn from donors on Monday to support war-ravaged communities in Ukraine as well as Ukrainian refugees in 2024. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says more than 14.6 million people, or 40 percent of Ukraine's population, will need humanitarian assistance this year as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion. More than 6.3 million people have fled overseas. Four million people, including nearly 1 million children, remain displaced within the country, according to OCHA. * Russia said it sentenced more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war to lengthy sentences, with some getting life in prison. Alexander Bastrykin, the head of Russia's Investigative Committee, told state news outlet RIA Novosti that the POWs had committed "murder of civilians and mistreating prisoners [of war]" and that prosecutions would continue. * Russia jailed a 20-year-old student for five years for allegedly working with Ukrainian special services and planning sabotage attacks on military bases. FSB security services in the central Russian city of Kurgan said the man had earlier been detained on suspicion of working with a foreign state. * Russia said it aimed to deepen ties with North Korea and build on discussions between President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at the Vostochny Cosmodrome last year, as the two countries' foreign ministers prepared to meet in Moscow. The United States and others have accused Pyongyang of sending weapons to Russia for use in its war in Ukraine. * Putin spoke on the phone with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, discussing Ukraine, with the two wishing each other well in upcoming elections, according to the Kremlin. * Yuriy Nikolov, a prominent Ukrainian investigative journalist who has frequently criticised senior government officials, said unidentified men tried to break down his door and demand that he join the army. Nikolov, who was not at home at the time, said he did not know who was responsible. 20240117 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-693 Fighting * At least 17 people were injured, two of them seriously, after two Russian missiles struck a residential area in the centre of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. Rescue teams were sifting through piles of rubble to establish whether more people had been hurt after what the city's mayor described as two "powerful explosions". * Officials in the southern Russian city of Voronezh declared a "state of emergency" after air defences shot down five alleged Ukrainian drones. Two children were injured. There were no other reports of casualties or damage. The city of more than 1 million people lies some 250km from the border with Ukraine and hosts a military air base. * Authorities in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv urged more than 3,000 residents of more than two dozen villages near the front line to evacuate because of Russian attacks in the area. Politics and diplomacy * In an emotional speech to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged his country's allies to tighten sanctions against Russia and step up their support for Kyiv to ensure that Russian President Vladimir Putin did not succeed in his war. Zelenskyy said Western hesitation was costing time and lives and could prolong the fighting by years. * United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised sustained US support for Ukraine in a meeting with Zelenskyy, despite right-wing Republicans in the US Congress blocking new funding in a dispute over US border policy. * European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stressed the need for continued European Union backing for Ukraine. "Ukraine can prevail in this war but we must continue to empower their resistance," she told the Davos conference. EU leaders are due to meet on February 1 to try and salvage a 50 billion euro ($54 billion) aid package for Kyiv that was blocked by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close with Putin * Following bilateral talks in Budapest, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico said he agreed with Orban that the EU should not finance the aid package from the bloc's common budget. Fico also echoed Orban's claim that the war would not be resolved through military means. * Putin dismissed Ukraine's peace plan and said Russia would never give up the territory it had occupied in Ukraine. The current pattern of the war would lead to an "irreparable blow" to Ukrainian statehood, he insisted in televised comments. Putin said Ukraine's "so-called peace formulas" entailed "prohibitive demands". Zelenskyy's 10-point peace formula, set to be discussed at the WEF, includes an immediate end to fighting, the withdrawal of all Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. * Putin held a meeting in Moscow with visiting North Korea's top diplomat Choe Son Hui. The meeting was reported on state television but the Kremlin released no further details. Choe, who also held talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, lauded the "comradely ties" between the two countries. The US and others have accused North Korea of providing weapons for Russia to use in its war against Ukraine. * A Russian court sentenced Colonel Sergei Volkov, a former senior officer in the National Guard, to six years in a prison colony after he was found guilty of buying two ineffective radar-based air defence systems. The equipment was supposed to protect the Kerch bridge that links southern Russia to Crimea, which Moscow annexed from Ukraine in 2014, by bringing down Ukrainian attack drones, but a court said it needed upgrading to work properly. * Estonia's internal security service said it was investigating University of Tartu academic Vyacheslav Morozov on suspicion of spying for Russia. The 53-year-old Russian national, a professor of international politics, has been in detention since January 3. The university said his contract had been terminated. Weapons * French President Emmanuel Macron said he would head to Ukraine next month to finalise a bilateral security guarantee deal. Macron said France will send Ukraine 40 SCALP long-range missiles, which have a range of about 250km, and several hundred bombs in the coming weeks It has already delivered about 50 SCALP missiles to Ukraine. 20240121 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-697 Here is the situation on Sunday, January 21, 2024. Fighting * A fire broke out at a natural gas terminal in the Russian Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, the regional governor said early on Sunday. A high alert regime has been introduced in the Kingiseppsky district, which includes the port, and no casualties have been reported, according to the AFP news agency. * Russia's parliament will consider a law allowing for the confiscation of money, valuables, and other property from those deemed to spread "deliberately false information" about Moscow's military actions, a senior lawmaker said on Saturday. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that he expected a number of new Western defence packages for Ukraine to be signed this and next month. "We are preparing new agreements with partners - strong bilateral agreements," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address. * The wife of a Russian soldier delivered an emotional appeal for his return from Ukraine on Saturday at the election headquarters of President Vladimir Putin, a defiant gesture in a country where open criticism of the war is banned. * The Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom stated on Saturday that Ukraine sustains a military presence along the left bank of the Dnipro River and persists in fending off Russian assaults despite logistical challenges. * Russia has lost 375,270 soldiers in Ukraine since the beginning of the war, including 750 over the past day, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed on Saturday. The number has not been independently verified. Diplomacy and politics * Zelenskyy said in an interview aired on Friday that he was worried at the prospect of Donald Trump returning to the White House, branding the former US president's claim that he could stop Ukraine's war with Russia in 24 hours as "very dangerous". * Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico told public broadcaster RTVS on Saturday that neighbouring Ukraine was not a sovereign nation but was under the absolute control of the United States. * North Korea said on Sunday it has agreed to further strategic and tactical cooperation with Russia to establish a "new multi-polarised international order" as the two countries work to build a united front in the face of their separate, intensifying tensions with the US. * Putin may visit Pyongyang soon, North Korea's state media KCNA reported on Sunday. * The scale of NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024 exercises mark an "irrevocable return" of the alliance to Cold War schemes, Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told the state news agency RIA in remarks published on Sunday. 20240122 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-698 Fighting * Twenty-seven people were killed and 25 injured after shelling hit a market on the outskirts of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, according to Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed head of the Donetsk region. Pushilin blamed Ukraine for the attack on the suburb of Tekstilshchik and said Monday would be a day of mourning. Ukraine's forces in the Tavria, or southern zone, said in a Facebook post that its soldiers were not responsible. "Donetsk is Ukraine!" it said. "Russia will have to answer for taking lives of Ukrainians." Donetsk is one of four regions in Ukraine that Russia annexed illegally in 2022. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not address the attack in his Sunday night video but said that in a single day, Russia had shelled more than 100 cities, towns and villages in nine regions of Ukraine and that the attacks in Donetsk had been "particularly severe". At least two people were killed in Ukrainian-controlled villages west of Donetsk, according to Ukrainian officials. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces took control of the village of Krokhmalne in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. Volodymyr Fityo, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ground Forces Command, told reporters that Kyiv had withdrawn its soldiers and that Russia taking the village of "five houses" was of "no strategic importance". Fit said Ukrainian forces were still holding the front line. * A fire broke out at a chemical transport terminal at Russia's Ust-Luga Port following two explosions, regional officials said. Local media said the Baltic Sea port, 165km southwest of St Petersburg, had been attacked by Ukrainian drones, causing a gas tank to explode. No casualties were reported. Politics and diplomacy * Choe Son Hui, North Korea's top diplomat, said her country was "ready to greet" Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to state media. Choe was in Moscow last week where she met the Russian president. Putin expressed "his willingness to visit the DPRK at an early date", the statement said, using the acronym for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. Putin last travelled to Pyongyang in 2000. * Ukrainian tennis player Marta Kostyuk said it was important for the country's players to keep winning at the Australian Open to remind people of the continuing conflict. The 21-year-old thrashed Russian qualifier Maria Timofeeva 6-2, 6-1 and refused to shake her hand afterwards. Kostyuk will meet US Open champion Coco Gauff in the quarter-final. * Sunday marked 100 years since the death of Lenin, the founder of the Soviet Union whose body remains on display at his mausoleum on Moscow's Red Square. Shortly before launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin publicly chided Lenin for his supposed role in dividing the Russian Empire into nation-states like Ukraine. 20240123 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-699 Fighting * Russia said it would take all "necessary measures" to defend its citizens and key infrastructure from Ukrainian attacks. On Sunday, two alleged Ukrainian drones hit a major Baltic Sea terminal starting a fire. Towns near the border, including Belgorod, have also come under fire with at least 21 people killed in an attack at the end of last year. * Kyiv said it shot down eight Russian attack drones launched against southern and central regions of the country. Politics and diplomacy * Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov clashed with the United States and Ukraine at a United Nations Security Council meeting where Moscow ruled out any peace plan backed by Kyiv and its Western allies, and China warned that further global chaos could impact the slowing global economy. Lavrov dismissed Kyiv's peace plan as a "road to nowhere". * On a visit to Kyiv, Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk promised to keep supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion, which he described as a battle between "good and evil". He also said he wanted to resolve differences over grain shipments and trucking that had recently soured ties between the neighbours. * The website for Russian politician Boris Nadezhdin, who has criticised the invasion of Ukraine as a "fatal mistake", said he had so far secured some 85,000 signatures backing him as a candidate in the March presidential election. Under Russian electoral law, Nadezhdin needs 100,000 signatures by the end of January to be allowed to run. * Russia's parliament began considering a bill that would allow the state to seize the property of those convicted of defamation of the security forces, including by criticising the war in Ukraine. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainians abroad for their support during Russia's invasion and proposed changing the constitution to allow for dual citizenship. Weapons * The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), a leading think tank, said the war in Ukraine had undermined Russia's confidence in its conventional forces and increased the importance of non-strategic nuclear weapons (NSNWs) as a means of deterring and defeating NATO in any potential future conflict. NSNWs include all nuclear weapons with a range of up to 5,500km. IISS said the logic of using such weapons would be to escalate a conflict in a controlled fashion, "either to prevent the US and NATO from engaging, or to coerce them into war termination on Russian terms". 20240124 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-700 Fighting * At least 18 people were killed and more than 130 injured after Russia targeted Ukraine's major cities in a wave of missile strikes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Russia launched nearly 40 missiles of different types in "another combined strike to try to circumvent our air defence system", he said in a sombre evening address warning the death toll could rise. Eight people were killed in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, which was hit by three waves of attacks. Dozens of Kyiv residents were also injured after Russian missiles hit apartment blocks in the capital. * Celeste Wallander, an assistant secretary of defence at the United States Pentagon, said the Russian missile and drone attacks were part of an attempt by Moscow to find weaknesses in Ukraine's military while additional US funding for security assistance is tied up in Congress. * Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its air assault on Ukraine targeted companies producing weapons, missiles and ammunition and had been successful. Asked by reporters about the raids and civilian casualties, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military "does not hit social facilities and residential neighbourhoods and does not hit civilians". Politics and diplomacy * Turkey's parliament voted 287-55 to ratify Sweden's NATO membership after more than a year of delays that frustrated Western efforts to show resolve in the face of Russia's war on Ukraine. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed the Turkish move and said he was counting on Hungary to "complete its national ratification as soon as possible". Hungary's populist Prime Minister Viktor Orban said earlier he had invited his Swedish counterpart Ulf Kristersson to Budapest to "negotiate" the accession deal. * Russia rejected allegations that it had forcibly deported Ukrainian children to Russia. Ukraine has said that 20,000 children have been forced to move to Russia since the war erupted in February 2022. The International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's commissioner over the transfers. * The US Central Intelligence Agency released a Russian-language video to try and persuade Russian intelligence employees to switch sides and work as double agents for Washington, amid perceived disaffection over the war in Ukraine. * The documentary 20 Days in Mariupol was nominated for an Oscar. The film recounts the Russian siege and brutal capture of the Ukrainian port city in 2022. Weapons * NATO signed a 1.1 billion euro ($1.2bn) deal to buy 220,000 rounds of 155mm artillery shells for Ukraine. The shells are not expected to arrive in the country for two to three years. * Coordinated raids in five European countries led to the arrest of three people in the Netherlands suspected of breaking sanctions to export technological and lab equipment to Russia that could have military uses, EU judicial agency Eurojust said. * US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin opened a monthly meeting of about 50 nations that coordinate support for Ukraine against Russia, but did not announce any new US aid for Kyiv. Funding has been blocked by Republicans who want more action on US border issues. Austin joined the meeting from home where he is recovering from surgery for prostate cancer. 20240125 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-701 Fighting * A Russian military transport plane carrying 74 people crashed in the Belgorod region of southern Russia not far from the Ukrainian border. Russia said there were 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war on board who were part of a planned prisoner swap, and accused Ukraine of shooting down the plane. * Ukraine did not confirm it had shot down the plane, or that Ukrainian POWs were passengers. The Ukrainian military said it would continue to target military transport aircraft it believed were carrying missiles for Russia's war on Ukraine, and air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk accused Russia of trying to discredit Ukraine over the aircraft crash. "Ukraine has the right to defend itself and destroy the means of the aggressors' aerial attack," he said. * Ukraine's military intelligence service said Kyiv had not been asked to ensure air space security on Wednesday around the Belgorod area as had been the case during previous prisoner-of-war swaps with Moscow. It said it had no reliable information on who was on board the crashed plane. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for full clarity on the circumstances of the crash and accused Moscow of "playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners of war". The RBC Ukraine news outlet said he cancelled a planned regional trip as well as events linked to his birthday to deal with the crash. * Two people were killed and eight injured in the town of Hirnyk, close to the front line in the east, after a Russian missile attack hit a residential area, Donetsk regional governor Vadym Filashkin said. Hirnyk lies to the northwest of Maryinka, a town still held by Ukraine but all but destroyed after many months of fighting with Russian forces. * Regional governor Oleh Kiper said one person was injured in a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's Black Sea port of Odesa, that hit residential homes and started a fire. * Avdiivka mayor Vitaliy Barabash said Russian forces entered the war-battered town for the first time but were pushed back. "Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups entered the southern part of the city of Avdiivka, but they were dislodged," Barabash told the AFP news agency but declined to say when the Russians entered the town or how long they were there. About 32,000 people lived in Avdiivka before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Politics and diplomacy * Filippo Grandi, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, said he was worried that the war in Ukraine had been forgotten amid crises in other parts of the world. Speaking at the end of a week-long visit to Kyiv, Grandi told the Associated Press news agency that it was important to remind the international community that Ukrainians continued to live through a brutal war and that he was concerned humanitarian aid was being held up by political wrangling. * Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico met Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in the western Ukrainian town of Uzhhorod where he reaffirmed support for Ukraine's bid to join the European Union, but said policy differences remained on issues including NATO accession. Fico, elected after tapping into pro-Russian sentiments, said he did not believe there was a military solution to the war, and welcomed a peace plan proposed by Ukraine's president, although he called it unrealistic. * In the first of three required readings, Russia's State Duma passed a bill to confiscate the property, money and valuables of anyone convicted of spreading criticism of the Russian army. * A US Senate committee approved 20 to 1 in favour of the "Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity [REPO)] for Ukrainians Act", which would help set the stage for the US to confiscate Russian assets and hand them over to Ukraine for post-war reconstruction. The bill has broad bipartisan support but needs to pass both houses of Congress before it can be signed by the president and become law. The EU, the US, Japan and Canada froze some $300bn of Russian central bank assets in 2022 when Russia launched its full-scale invasion nearly two years ago. * Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska became the first women's qualifier to reach the semifinals of the Australian Open in 45 years. After her latest victory, and wearing blue and yellow to match Ukraine's flag, she said she was "proud" of those fighting for their country. Weapons * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said European nations had to "do more" to provide the weapons for Ukraine to defend itself from Russia's onslaught. "The contributions that European nations have earmarked for 2024 so far are not big enough," Scholz told Die Zeit weekly in an interview. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/24/drones-strike-deep-in-russia-as-medvedev-threatens-ukraines-existence Ukraine's Western allies continued to pledge weapons and ammunition, forecasting a third year of war, as defiant Russian rhetoric left little hope of negotiations any time soon. "The existence of Ukraine is mortally dangerous for Ukrainians," wrote Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's powerful Security Council, on the Telegram messaging app. "The presence of an independent state on historical Russian territories will now be a constant reason for the resumption of hostilities," he said, elucidating an irredentist policy towards all of Ukraine. "There is a 100 percent probability of a new conflict," Medvedev said, even if Ukraine entered the EU and NATO. "This could happen in ten or fifty years." 20240126 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-702 Ilyushin-76 plane crash * Russia and Ukraine traded accusations on the circumstances surrounding the crash of a Russian military transport plane over the southern region of Belgorod. * Russia claimed Ukraine shot down the Ilyushin-76, which it said was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) as well as nine Russians, and Kyiv had been given 15 minutes' notice of the flight. * Russia's Investigative Committee, which opened a "terrorism" investigation, said it had recovered the plane's flight recorders and released a 39-second video of the scene that mainly showed aerial shots of a large blackened stretch in a snow-covered field with some damaged trees. The video also showed one block of twisted metal and wires, a hand and an arm. * Ukraine said there had been no Russian request for secure airspace in the area where the plane crashed. * Ukraine's human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said that a list of the supposed POWs on board being circulated in Russian media included discrepancies and soldiers who returned home in earlier exchanges. He demanded that international experts from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) be given access to the site. * Kyiv opened a criminal investigation into the crash. * The UN Security Council met at Russia's request to discuss the crash. UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo told the council the UN was not in a position to verify the circumstances of what had happened. "What is clear is that the incident took place in the context of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and ongoing war," she said. "To avoid further escalation, we urge all concerned to refrain from actions, rhetoric or allegations that could further fuel the already dangerous conflict." Fighting * Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 14 attack drones and five missiles on the southern Black Sea regions with air defence systems destroying 11 of the drones. The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine said six people were injured in the historic city of Odesa and residential buildings and a warehouse were damaged. * Ukrainian security sources said they orchestrated a drone attack on an oil refinery in the southern Russian town of Tuapse, about 240 kilometres southeast of the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula. The attack caused a major fire, but there were no reports of casualties. * Nepal's Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud told the Associated Press news agency that Nepal had asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepali nationals who had been recruited to fight against Ukraine and repatriate the bodies of those who had died in the conflict. The Russian army is estimated to have recruited more than 200 Nepali nationals to fight in Ukraine and at least 14 have died there, Saud said. * Ukraine's National Resistance Centre said it had seen "mercenaries from Malaysia, accompanied by a translator" at Russian military training camps in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region. It warned that anyone fighting alongside the Russians against Ukraine was a "military target". Malaysia did not respond to requests for more information on the alleged presence of Malaysian nationals. * Several major Ukrainian state organisations, including the state-run energy firm Naftogaz, the post office and transport safety agency, reported major cyber attacks that a source close to the government blamed on Russian intelligence. Politics and diplomacy * A court in St Petersburg jailed antiwar activist Darya Trepova for 27 years after finding her guilty of "terrorism" in the killing of a prominent ultra-nationalist blogger Vladlen Tatarsky last year that Russia said was orchestrated by Ukraine. Trepova told the court she thought the package she gave Tatarsky, whose real name was Maxim Fomin, contained a covert listening device and did not realise it was rigged with explosives. * A Moscow court jailed prominent nationalist and former rebel commander Igor Girkin for four years for "inciting extremism". Girkin, also known as Igor Strelkov, has repeatedly criticised the Kremlin for its war strategy in Ukraine. * Paris-based press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was concerned that Ukrainian journalists investigating corruption were coming under increasing pressure, noting recent acts of intimidation against Yuriy Nikolov, Iryna Hryb and the staff of Bihus.info. Weapons * The White House urged senators in the United States to reach a deal linking vital military assistance for Ukraine to US border security, after reports that former President Donald Trump, who is seeking reelection, was trying to torpedo any agreement in an attempt to deprive US President Joe Biden, who is seeking a second term, of a political victory. 20240129 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-704 Fighting * The Ukrainian Air Force said Russia launched drone and missile attacks across the country hitting both civilian and critical infrastructure. The air force said Moscow attacked the central Poltava region with two Iskander missiles. It also launched three S-300 surface-to-air missiles over the Donetsk region in the east. Air defence systems destroyed four of eight Russia-launched drones overnight, the air force said. Three civilians were injured in the attacks. * Ukraine said Russia must provide proof that an Ilyushin-76 military transport plane that crashed in the Belgorod region last week was carrying dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war, as Moscow claims. Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence, said Kyiv had no verifiable information about who was on the plane. Ukraine's Coordination Staff for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said relatives of POWs on a list of names provided by Moscow were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos provided by Russian authorities. Politics and diplomacy * The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had charged five people for corruption in weapons procurement. The SBU accuses the five of conspiring with Ministry of Defence officials to embezzle almost $40m earmarked to buy 100,000 mortar shells for the war. If found guilty, the group faces up to 12 years in prison. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy declared his income publicly for the first time, as part of his drive to promote transparency and root out corruption. Zelenskyy said that in 2021, the year before Russia began its full-scale invasion, he and his family had an income of 10.8 million hryvnias ($286,168). In 2022, the family's income dropped to 3.7 million hryvnias ($98,535) as the war cut the family's rental income from property. * Russian officials in Ukrainian regions occupied by Moscow's forces said the Ukrainian language had been stripped of any official status, effectively banning it from public use. * The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said chief Rafael Grossi will visit Ukraine, including its capital and the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the week after next. Weapons * Zelenskyy warned that a drop in military aid from the United States to Ukraine would send a "bad signal", as right-wing Republicans in the US block additional support unless it is linked to changes in US border policy. "Passivity from the United States or the lack of support would be a bad signal," Zelenskyy told German national broadcaster ARD. * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who began a visit to the US on Sunday, said continued US military funding for Ukraine had a key deterrent message for China. US President Joe Biden has asked Congress to approve $61bn in new aid to Ukraine. Stoltenberg said it was a "good deal", noting that while the aid was a fraction of the Pentagon's overall budget, it had enabled Ukrainian forces to "destroy and degrade" the Russian military. Stoltenberg is due to meet members of Congress on Tuesday. 20240130 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-705 Fighting * Russia claimed to have taken control of Tabaivka, a tiny village on the front line in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. Ukraine denied the claim and said fighting continued. * Alexei Kulemzin, the Russian-installed mayor of the occupied Ukrainian city of Donetsk, blamed Ukraine for a rocket attack that killed at least three people and injured three more. Politics and diplomacy * Hungary signalled its readiness to compromise on a proposed 50 billion euro ($54bn) European Union aid package for Ukraine. Balazs Orban, a top aide to Prime Minister Victor Orban, said Budapest had sent a proposal to Brussels on Saturday showing it was open to using the EU budget for the aid package and issuing common EU debt to finance it, provided other "caveats" were added. The EU is due to hold an emergency summit on the budget on Thursday. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said they prepared the ground for a meeting of their leaders during talks in western Ukraine, and also agreed to work together on the divisive issue of Hungarian minority rights in Ukraine. * United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that all advances in Ukraine would be "in jeopardy" if Congress failed to approve new aid for Kyiv. Republicans are blocking a $61bn assistance package and want it linked to tougher immigration policies. * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg met top officials in the US, including Blinken, Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Stoltenberg is in Washington, DC to rally support for a Ukraine deal and is due to meet members of Congress involved in the aid debate on Tuesday. * United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron called on Moscow to reveal the whereabouts of Vladimir Kara-Murza, after his wife said he had been moved from a Siberian penal colony to an unknown location. Kara-Murza, who has Russian and UK citizenship, was jailed for 25 years last April for treason and spreading "false information" about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Members of the Russian rock group Bi-2, who have condemned the war in Ukraine, face deportation to Russia after they were arrested in Thailand for working without a permit. Russian authorities labelled the band's lead singer, Igor Bortnick, a "foreign agent" after he criticised President Vladimir Putin online. * A Russian court jailed a 72-year-old woman to five and half years in prison after she shared two posts online about Russian military casualties in Ukraine. Rights groups said Yevgeniya Maiboroda from the southern Rostov region was charged with spreading "false information" about the armed forces. Weapons * Sales of US military equipment to foreign governments rose 16 percent in 2023 to a record $238bn, according to the US State Department, as countries sought to replenish arsenals sent to Ukraine and prepare for major conflicts. Sales during the year included National Advanced Surface to Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to Ukraine, as well as weapons for Poland and Germany. 20240131 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-707 Fighting * Four people in two villages in Ukraine's northern Sumy region near the Russian border were killed in Russian shelling, while a woman died in a new assault on the devastated eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka, according to local officials. * Three people were also reported injured after Russian drones hit Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, according to local officials. The attack also started a fire and caused damage to apartment blocks and infrastructure. * Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched a total of 35 attack drones and two guided missiles targeting energy and military infrastructure near the front line and other Ukrainian regions, with air defence systems destroying 15 of the 35 drones. * Russia said it brought down 11 drones launched by Ukraine over Crimea, which it occupied and annexed in 2014 in a move that was not recognised internationally. Ukraine's military said it hit a Russian air defence radar station on the peninsula. Russian news agencies said several alleged Ukraine-launched drones were also shot down over Belgorod, Bryansk, Kaluga and Tula - all regions in Russia. * Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, said he expected Russia's offensive on the eastern front to fizzle out by early spring. In recent months, Russia has stepped up its attacks in the area, attempting to encircle towns such as Avdiivka. Budanov said they had only achieved "a few advances across some fields". * The Ukrainian government submitted an amended version of its controversial military mobilisation bill to parliament, including a new provision that would allow certain people to serve in the armed forces despite being convicted of a crime. The bill aims to lower the age of conscription to 25 from 27. * Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, said Russia showed "no readiness" to return the bodies of 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war Moscow claims were killed in the crash of a military transport plane last week. * Ukraine said it temporarily disrupted communications for military units in a cyberattack that knocked out a server used by Russia's Defence Ministry. Politics and diplomacy * Writing on the website of the journal Foreign Affairs, the director of the United States's Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Bill Burns, said Ukraine was likely to face a tough year fighting Russia in 2024, and that a US move to cut off aid to Kyiv would be an "own goal of historic proportions". A huge assistance package for Ukraine is currently held up in Congress because some Republicans want to link it to changes in US border policies. * Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza wrote in a letter to his lawyer that he was in four months of solitary confinement after being transferred to a new Siberian penal colony. In the letter, published by his wife, he said the move was punishment for not standing up when a guard commanded him to "rise", which he said the authorities had deemed a "malicious violation". Kara-Murza, a critic of President Vladimir Putin and his invasion of Ukraine, was jailed for 25 years last April after being found guilty of treason. * Russian investigators charged two 17-year-olds with carrying out sabotage for Ukraine after they set fire to a rail-side equipment box in Moscow. The two have been remanded in custody and face as long as 20 years in prison if found guilty. Weapons * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Russia had more than doubled production of air defence missiles and aimed to further increase production but that there were "questions" over engine and launcher production that needed to be addressed, * Ukraine is expected to receive its first batch of the Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), a new long-range precision bomb developed by Boeing, as soon as Wednesday, according to Politico. The new bomb can travel about 145km and will give Ukraine "a deeper strike capability they haven't had", a US official told the magazine. 20240201 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-708 Fighting * A Russian bomb hit a hospital in northeastern Ukraine, forcing the evacuation of dozens of patients, smashing windows and damaging equipment. Volodymyr Tymoshko, head of the Kharkiv regional branch of the national police, said the bomb made a direct hit on the hospital in the town of Velykyi Burluk, northeast of Kharkiv, and a second bomb landed nearby. Four people were slightly injured. * Ukraine's air defences shot down 14 out of 20 drones launched by Russia in an overnight attack that injured one person and damaged commercial buildings. The air force said the Iranian-made Shahed drones and three Iskander missiles targeted five Ukrainian regions in the south and the east. * Russia said it destroyed 20 missiles launched by Ukraine over the Black Sea and the Crimean peninsula, which Moscow invaded in 2014 and then annexed. * Ukraine's air force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said its forces struck the Belbek military airfield in Crimea. He did not go into detail. Politics and diplomacy * Russia and Ukraine exchanged hundreds of prisoners of war. Russia's Defence Ministry said 195 of its soldiers were freed, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 207 people, including some civilians, had been returned to Ukraine. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told his country's parliament that he would rally European partners to deliver support for Ukraine that was "so huge" it would weigh on Russian President Vladimir Putin. His comments came ahead of a key European Union summit on 50 billion euros ($54bn) of funding for Ukraine that is being blocked by Hungary. * Victoria Nuland, the United States acting deputy secretary of state, visited Kyiv and said she was encouraged by Ukraine's strengthening defences and that Moscow should expect some "surprises" on the battlefield. A US military aid package for Ukraine is being held up in Congress by Republicans who want to link it to policy changes at the US border. Nuland said she was confident it would be adopted. * The International Court of Justice (ICJ) rejected much of a case filed by Ukraine that accused Russia of bankrolling separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine a decade ago, saying only that Moscow had failed to investigate alleged breaches. * Boris Nadezhdin submitted his bid to run for the Russian presidency in March's election after delivering 105,000 signatures backing his campaign to the Central Election Commission (CEC). The 60-year-old has emerged as a prominent critic of the Kremlin and promised to end the war in Ukraine. Weapons * The EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell admitted that the EU's promise to supply Ukraine with one million artillery shells by March would fall short, with just over half that number expected to be delivered by that deadline. The remaining 155-mm artillery shells are likely to be delivered by the end of the year, Borrell said. 20240202 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-709 Fighting * Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, said two French volunteer aid workers were killed after a Russian drone attack on the town of Beryslav. Four people were injured, three of them foreigners. * One person was killed and two injured in Russian shelling and rocket attacks on villages in the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian presidential office said. * Ukraine said four people were injured in a Russian missile attack on a medical facility in the eastern Kharkiv region, near the front line town of Kupiansk. * Ukraine's military intelligence agency GUR, said it attacked and sank the Russian corvette Ivanovets in the Black Sea using undersea drones. The private security firm Ambrey said Ukraine used up to six sea drones in the attack. There was no official word from Russia on the alleged sinking. * In an opinion piece published by CNN, Ukraine's army chief, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi called the development of unmanned weapons systems "a central driver" of the war. Zaluzhnyi also laid out key issues for Ukraine including mobilisation and arms production. * Russia's Investigative Committee, the country's main state criminal investigation agency, said evidence from missile fragments suggested two Patriot missiles brought down the Russian Il-76 military transport plane that crashed near the border with Ukraine last month. Kyiv has neither confirmed nor denied a role in the crash. * Russia's Defence Ministry said air defences shot down 11 Ukrainian drones over the Russian regions of Belgorod, Kursk and Voronezh. Politics and diplomacy * European Union leaders overcame objections from Hungary to approve a 50 billion euro ($54bn) aid package to support Ukraine over the next four years. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hailed the approval, saying it was "critically important" for Ukraine's stability and a "clear signal" both to Russia and the United States, where a massive assistance package remains held up in Congress. * China demanded that Ukraine immediately remove some 14 Chinese companies from Kyiv's list of firms designated as "international sponsors of war", the Reuters news agency reported. * A Russian court extended the pretrial detention of journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. The dual US-Russian citizen, who works for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), was jailed in October and accused of failing to register as a "foreign agent" and spreading "false information" about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * Thailand deported members of Bi-2, a dissident Russian-Belarusian rock band critical of Moscow's war in Ukraine, to Israel after they were arrested for performing without a permit. Human rights groups warned the group would face persecution for their criticism of the war if they were sent to Russia. * Latvia's parliament voted to ban its national teams from playing any national teams of Russia and Belarus regardless of what flag they may compete under, as a gesture of solidarity with Ukraine. Weapons * Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's military intelligence, called on the US to supply A-10 attack jets to Ukraine, arguing they would significantly strengthen Ukraine's frontline capabilities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairchild_Republic_A-10_Thunderbolt_II 20240202 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/2/ukraine-says-destroyed-russian-ship-in-underwater-drone-attack-off-crimea The GUR said the attack had been carried out by its Group 13 unit while the Ivanovets was on patrol on Lake Donuzlav in western Crimea. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX7NJpTffZM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDMe_8DmUZc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAx3F8vdeU8 20240203 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFBivaigrWE Uk rainian attack near Moscow disrupts production of Russia's best drone ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-710 Politics and diplomacy * The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that parts of Ukraine's case against Russia, arguing that Moscow baselessly accused Kyiv of genocide to justify the 2022 invasion, can move forward. * Two French volunteer aid workers were killed in a Russian drone attack in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, French Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said, confirming reports from the regional governor and other officials. * Andrii Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine's military intelligence, reiterated Kyiv's call for an international investigation into the crash over the Russian region of Belgorod to determine whether the cargo plane carried weapons or passengers along with the crew. * Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov suspended a senior official while authorities investigate suspected corruption in the procurement of weapons, his ministry said. * The Ukrainian government informed the White House that it plans to fire Valerii Zaluzhny, the country's top military commander overseeing the war against Russia, two sources told the Reuters news agency. Fighting * The General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces said its troops had repelled 19 attacks around the town in the eastern Donetsk region and a further 10 in nearby areas. * Two Ukrainian drones struck a primary oil processing facility at the Volgograd oil refinery in southern Russia on Saturday in an operation conducted by the SBU security service, a Ukrainian source told Reuters. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the arrival of two new air defence systems that he said could "shoot down anything". 20240205 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-712 Fighting * At least 28 people, including a child, were killed in the Russian-occupied eastern city of Lysychansk after a restaurant and bakery were hit by shelling. Russia accused Ukraine of the attack. Ukraine did not comment on the incident. Only about a tenth of Lysychansk's pre-war population of 110,000 remains in the city, according to Ukrainian officials. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Ukrainian soldiers under relentless attack from Russian forces on the front line in the village of Robotyne in the southeastern Zaporizhia region. Zelenskyy met troops from the 65th Mechanised Brigade and handed out medals. * During his visit to the front, Zelenskyy also named Ivan Federov the new head of the Zaporizhia regional state administration. Federov was abducted in March 2022 by Russian soldiers as they entered the city of Melitopol, where he was then mayor, after refusing to cooperate with Moscow. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy told Italian state broadcaster RAI that he was considering a "reset" to replace several senior officials. When asked about his plans for army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, he said any changes did "not concern a single person, but the direction of the country's leadership". * US senators released the text of a much-anticipated bipartisan deal that would unlock $60bn in new aid for Ukraine while tightening US border laws. US President Joe Biden said he "strongly supported" the bill and urged Congress to back it. The first vote on it is expected on Wednesday. * Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan would discuss a new mechanism to allow Ukrainian grain exports through the Black Sea when Russian President Vladimir Putin visits Turkey. The date has not been confirmed but local media have said it will take place on February 12. * Police in Moscow detained some 20 journalists for several hours at a rally where the wives of Russian soldiers in Ukraine called for their husbands to be returned home. * Serbian actor Milos Bikovic was dropped from the cast of the popular television show The White Lotus, an HBO spokesperson said, after the Serbian native's ties to Russia drew a sharp rebuke from Ukraine. Weapons * South Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Byung-won expressed Seoul's "grave position" on Russia's growing military cooperation with Pyongyang as Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko visited Seoul. Chung urged Russia to take "responsible actions", a statement from South Korea's Foreign Ministry said. Seoul and Washington have said North Korea is sending weapons to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine. 20240206 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-713 Fighting * Four people were killed and at least one injured after Russia shelled the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, local officials said. * France summoned Alexey Meshkov, the Russian ambassador to France, after two French aid workers were killed in Russian artillery fire near Kherson last Thursday. Three more French citizens were also injured in the attack that Paris described as an act of "barbarism". * Russia's FSB security service said three Russian citizens had been detained on suspicion of attempting to assassinate a high-ranking Crimean official with a car bomb. The FSB claimed Ukraine's security service was behind the attempted attack and said the three had been charged with "terrorist" offences. It did not name the official who was allegedly the target. Politics and diplomacy * The Kremlin warned Western countries that any attempt to use frozen Russian assets as collateral to raise funds for Ukraine would be illegal and lead to a Russian legal challenge. The United States and its allies banned transactions with Russia's central bank and the Ministry of Finance, after President Vladimir Putin began his full-scale invasion of Ukraine two years ago, freezing an estimated $300bn of sovereign Russian assets. * The presidential bid of antiwar candidate Boris Nadezhdin is hanging in the balance. Nadezhdin said Russia's Central Election Commission (CEC) had informed him that 15 percent of the signatures he submitted to access the electoral race were invalid. The CEC could now block his bid to enter the election. * Lawmakers from Hungary's ruling party boycotted an emergency parliament session in which a vote on Sweden's bid to join NATO was on the agenda. Hungary is the only member of the 31-member security alliance not to have backed Sweden's bid. The US said it was disappointed at the move. Weapons * Kajsa Ollongren, the Dutch defence minister, said The Netherlands would deliver six more F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, taking the total number pledged to 24. "Ukraine's aerial superiority is essential for countering Russian aggression," Ollongren said. * Georgia said it seized a clandestine shipment of explosives bound for the Russian city of Voronezh from the Ukrainian port of Odesa. It said the explosives, hidden in a cargo of car batteries, arrived in Georgia in a Ukrainian-owned minivan and were to be transported to Voronezh, about 180km from the Ukrainian frontier. It did not say what for. 20240207 ttps://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-714 Fighting * Vadym Filashkin, the governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, said Russia was firing between 1,500 and 2,500 shells and rockets at the area every day and targeting critical infrastructure. Filashkin told the Reuters news agency that Russia had dropped 200 guided aerial bombs on the front-line town of Avdiivka over the past month and was "totally destroying it". * Separately, Vitalii Barabash, the head of Avdiivka's military administration, said the situation there was "very difficult and in some places, critical". About 32,000 people lived in the town, the site of Europe's largest coking plant, before the war. Fewer than 1,000 remain, according to officials. * A two-month-old baby boy was killed and his mother injured after two Russian S-300 missiles hit Zolochiv in northeastern Ukraine, according to Kharkiv regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov. The village is 20km from Ukraine's border with Russia. Two other people were injured in the attack, which also damaged dozens of buildings. * Ukraine said a special forces unit blew up a drilling platform in the Black Sea that Russia was using to enhance the range of its drones. Equipment on the platform was used for drones involved in attacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure and to control the northwestern part of the sea. * Russia's Defence Ministry said it thwarted an alleged attack by seven Ukrainian drones on the Belgorod region. There were no reports of casualties. Vyacheslav Gladkov, the region's governor, said four homes were damaged. Politics and diplomacy * The United States and Russia traded accusations at a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting on Ukraine called by Moscow. The US accused Russia of firing at least nine North Korean-supplied missiles at Ukraine and urged UNSC members to hold the two countries accountable for breaching UN sanctions on Pyongyang. Moscow, meanwhile, accused Washington of being a "direct accomplice" in last month's crash of a Russian military transport plane in the Belgorod region. Moscow has claimed Kyiv shot down the plane. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement and has called for an international investigation. * US President Joe Biden said Congress would play into the Kremlin's hands if it failed to pass a $118bn bill tying Ukraine aid to immigration curbs demanded by right-wing Republicans. Biden said the "clock is ticking" for Ukraine and criticised former President and likely 2024 rival Donald Trump for discouraging lawmakers from passing the legislation. * European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell visited Kyiv on a trip to underline the EU's "unwavering support" for Ukraine. * Rafael Grossi, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) met Ukrainian Energy Minister Herman Halushchenko and other officials in Kyiv ahead of his visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on Wednesday. Grossi noted that the number of staff at the plant had dropped from 12,000 to as few as 2,000. * A Moscow court ordered the arrest of bestselling Russian language writer Boris Akunin for allegedly spreading "disinformation" about the Russian army. The 67-year-old was charged in December last year after he expressed support for Kyiv in a phone call with Russian pranksters posing as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Akunin has lived overseas since 2014. * Ukraine said it had arrested five former and current intelligence officers it said were secretly working for Russia. The SBU said the suspects were caught passing information to Russia's FSB security service about Ukrainian military sites, its defensive fortifications, personal data and strategic energy facilities. * Norway rejected an asylum application from Andrei Medvedev who claimed to have deserted the Russian mercenary group Wagner after fighting in Ukraine for four months. The 27-year-old sought asylum after fleeing to Norway in January 2023. * A senior official with Ukraine's intelligence agency was fired after revelations that investigative journalists including at outlet Bihus.info, had been wiretapped, a source at the agency told AFP. Weapons * Zelenskyy ordered the creation of a separate branch of Ukraine's Armed Forces devoted to drone warfare. In December, he said Ukraine would produce a million drones in 2024. * Turkish defence company Baykar has started building a factory near Kyiv to make either its TB2 or TB3 drone models, chief executive Haluk Bayraktar told the Reuters news agency. 20240208 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-715 Fighting * At least five people were killed and 50 injured, after Russia fired a wave of missiles and Shahed-type drones at six regions of Ukraine, including the capital Kyiv. The Ukrainian military said it intercepted 44 of the 64 drones and missiles that Russia launched. About 20,000 homes were left without power in Kyiv. Moscow claimed it was targeting Ukrainian weapons factories. * A preliminary assessment of the Russian attacks concluded that two of the five missiles that targeted Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine were made in North Korea, said Serhii Bolvinov, head of the National Police's investigation unit in the region. * Russia said its air defence systems intercepted two separate Ukrainian air attacks, destroying 12 rockets and drones over the southwestern region of Belgorod. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were injured. * The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine said civilian casualties in the war have begun mounting again after falling last year. Last month, it documented 158 civilian deaths and 483 wounded, up 37 percent from last November. So far, the conflict has killed more than 10,000 civilians and wounded nearly 20,000 others, according to the UN. * Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, visited the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine. He welcomed the reduction in shelling around Zaporizhzhia but said security remained fragile. Politics and diplomacy * Sweden dropped its investigation into the 2022 explosions that crippled the Nord Stream gas pipelines transporting Russian gas to Germany beneath the Baltic Sea. Russia, Ukraine and Western countries have blamed each other for the incident. Sweden said it had passed the evidence it had gathered to Germany. * An amended bill to lower the age of the military draft and make service harder to avoid passed its first reading in Ukraine's parliament. Further revisions are expected and it is not expected to become law for weeks. * Swiss Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said he hoped China would "give us a hand" in Ukraine peace talks it agreed to host after a request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Ukraine has said it invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to participate in the summit of world leaders. A date and venue have yet to be set. * Russian courts jailed two Russians in separate cases for treason over their support for Ukraine, according to state-run news agencies. * After a brief discussion, the upper house of Russia's parliament unanimously backed a bill allowing the authorities to confiscate money, valuables and other assets from people convicted of spreading "deliberately false information" about the country's military. * The Ukrainian Olympic Committee asked the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to investigate the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the Paris Olympics following alleged breaches of neutrality. * The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin had granted an interview to right-wing US television host Tucker Carlson who used to work for Fox News. Weapons * Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's Western allies to speed up and increase their delivery of artillery shells as he offered his condolences to the families of the victims of Wednesday's Russian attack. Zelenskyy earlier met visiting European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell to discuss weapons deliveries and other aid. Borell said the EU needed to provide Ukraine with "whatever it takes" to defeat Russia. * US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States "can and will" deliver further military aid to Ukraine, as NATO chief Jen Stoltenberg stressed such support was "vital". The two men made the comments after a meeting at NATO headquarters in Brussels. 20240209 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-716 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appointed Oleksandr Syrsky, who has led Ukraine's ground forces since 2019, as the new head of Ukraine's armed forces, after he dismissed General Valerii Zaluzhnyi in the biggest military shake-up since Russia began its full-scale invasion. Zaluzhnyi conceded that military strategy "must change". * Mayor Vitaly Barabash told state media that large numbers of Russian forces were "storming" Avdiivka, which has been under sustained Russian assault since mid-October and lies about 20km east of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. Dmytro Lykhovyy, a Ukrainian military spokesperson, told national television that Russian and Ukrainian forces were engaged in fighting "within the town". * Russia and Ukraine exchanged 100 prisoners of war each with the United Arab Emirates acting as an intermediary, both countries said. Zelenskyy said most of those brought home had been captured in the three-month defence of Mariupol, which fell in May 2022. * In one of the only independent assessments of the death toll from the brutal battle for Mariupol, Human Rights Watch said at least 8,000 people were killed by fighting or war-related causes, and named Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu among 10 people with "command responsibility" it said should be the focus of possible war crimes investigations. * Ukraine's air force said 11 of 17 Russia-launched drones targeting four regions of the country were shot down. No casualties were reported. * Russia's Defence Ministry said it destroyed a dozen Ukrainian missiles headed for the border city of Belgorod. Politics and diplomacy * The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child urged Russia to "put an end to the forcible transfer or deportation of children from occupied Ukrainian territory" and return those taken to their families. Kyiv alleges some 20,000 children have been taken from Ukraine to Russia without the consent of their families or guardians. The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's commissioner over the deportations. * The Kremlin said Putin spoke on the phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping for an hour and that the two leaders rejected the "US policy of interfering in the internal affairs of other states". Putin and Xi also saw eye-to-eye on the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin added without elaborating. Beijing has not condemned Russia's invasion and claims neutrality in the conflict. * Presidential hopeful and prominent Ukraine war critic, Boris Nadezhdin said the elections commission had blocked his bid to challenge Putin in March's elections and that he would challenge the decision in the country's highest court. * Russian President Vladimir Putin told right-wing US journalist Tucker Carlson that Western countries needed to understand that it was "impossible" to defeat Russia in Ukraine. He also said Russia would fight for its interests, but had no interest in expanding its war into other countries such as Poland and Latvia. Putin and Carlson spoke for more than two hours in an interview that was dubbed into English and uploaded to Carlson's website. * Putin also told Carlson, who asked few tough questions and mostly just listened, that he thought "an agreement could be reached" in the case of jailed Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich who has been detained since March last year accused of spying. Gershkovich and the Journal have rejected the charges. * A court in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don jailed a Ukrainian woman for 10 years for spying, after she was accused of providing information about Russian air defence and military equipment to Ukraine's armed forces. Weapons * A bill that includes $61b in aid for Ukraine moved forward in the US Senate after the failure of a broader bill including border control measures demanded by right-wing Republicans failed. It was not clear when the Senate would consider final passage, and the bill is likely to face hostility in the Republican-led House of Representatives. # https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volgograd # https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTLaaNT44XA # Putin in shock! Ukraine has DESTROYED Russia's Volgograd oil refinery # base with 'US HIMARS' near Moscow ( sounds like crude US propaganda :-( ) 20240212 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-719 Fighting * Seven people were killed, including three small children, after a Russian drone attack on the northeastern city of Kharkiv on Saturday hit a petrol station burning half the street to the ground. * Russia launched drone attacks on Kyiv and southern Ukraine, injuring at least one civilian and damaging a gas pipeline and residential buildings in the river and seaport of Mykolaiv, Ukraine's military said on Sunday. The Air Force said air defence systems destroyed 40 out of the 45 Russian-launched Shahed drones. * Ukrainian intelligence said it had evidence Russian forces were using Elon Musk's satellite internet service Starlink on the battlefield in occupied areas in the east of the country. Musk said the system was not being sold to Russia. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced five senior military appointments after naming Colonel General Oleksandr Syrsky as the new Armed Forces chief earlier in the week. Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi would take charge of uncrewed systems and the development of the use of drones by soldiers, while Colonel Andriy Lebedenko would focus on technological innovation of army and combat systems as deputy chiefs of staff to Syrsky, Zelenskyy said. Three brigadier generals were named deputies of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine - Volodymyr Horbatyuk, who would run operations and management, Oleksiy Shevchenko, in charge of logistics, and Mykhailo Drapatyi on training. Politics and diplomacy * A narrowly divided United States Senate moved closer to passing a $61bn aid package for Ukraine, despite mounting opposition from Republican hardliners and former US President Donald Trump who is running for election in November. * Trump told a campaign rally that if elected president, he would not protect NATO members who had not met their financial obligations and would "encourage" Russia to attack them. The White House said the comments were "appalling and unhinged". European Council President Charles Michel said the comments were "reckless", while NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg warned against talk that "undermines security". * Alexander Stubb was elected Finland's new president. The centre-right, pro-European Stubb is a strong supporter of Ukraine and has taken a tough stance towards Russia. * Russian state news agency TASS said the registration of candidates for the March presidential election had closed, with the final list including President Vladimir Putin and three politicians who all support Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. Antiwar candidate Boris Nadezhdin was not on the list. * Human rights group Memorial said 71-year-old Ukrainian Viktor Demchenko had died in a Russian prison while on trial for espionage. Demchenko had been accused of spying, participation in a terrorist group and the illegal possession of weapons. TASS later reported that Demchenko died on December 31 as the result of a stroke several days earlier. Weapons * In an interview with German media, NATO's Stoltenberg called on Europe to increase its arms production to support Ukraine and prevent "potentially decades of confrontation" with Moscow. 20240213 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-720 Fighting * Norway's intelligence service warned Russia was "gaining the advantage" in the war in Ukraine owing to a greater number of troops and materiel supplied by Iran, China, North Korea and Belarus. Nils Andreas Stensones, the head of the military intelligence unit, said Kyiv would need "extensive" Western military assistance to turn the situation around. * Researchers in Kyiv said a preliminary analysis concluded that Russia hit the Ukrainian capital last week with a hypersonic Zircon missile, marking the weapon's first use in the war. The Zircon has a range of 1,000km and travels at nine times the speed of sound, according to Russia. * Ukraine's Air Force said air defence systems destroyed 14 out of 17 drones that Russia launched overnight and one Kh-59 cruise missile. Some buildings were damaged, including in the central city of Dnipro, but there were no reports of casualties. * The Kremlin denied Ukraine's claim that its troops were using Elon Musk's Starlink satellite internet system for military communications in parts of Ukraine it occupies. Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the system was neither certified for use in, nor officially supplied to, Russia, and therefore could not be used. Politics and diplomacy * The European Union adopted a law to set aside windfall profits made on frozen Russian central bank assets, in the first concrete step towards the bloc's aim of using the money to finance the reconstruction of Ukraine. Some 300 billion euros ($323 billion) of Russian central bank assets were frozen after the country launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly two years ago. * Kristina Puzyreva, a Canadian-Russian woman, pleaded guilty in a United States court to money laundering conspiracy for her role in a multimillion-dollar scheme to send drone and missile components to Russia for military use against Ukraine, the US Justice Department said. She faces a maximum of 20 years in prison * Russia imposed sanctions on 18 UK citizens including officials, historians and Russia experts accusing them of trying to demonise Russia. Moscow also claimed that the United Kingdom's strategy in Ukraine had led to further escalation and loss of life in the war. * France's Viginum agency, which works to defend against foreign online threats, said it had discovered a "structured and coordinated" network of Russian websites designed to spread Kremlin propaganda in Europe and the US. * A court in Moscow ordered the arrest of Meta spokesperson Andy Stone for two months pending trial on a number of terrorism-related counts. Meta's main social platforms - Facebook and Instagram - were banned soon after Russia invaded Ukraine, and Meta was subsequently found guilty of "extremist activities" in Russia. Stone is not in Moscow Weapons * Ukraine's Digital Minister Mykhailo Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine would produce thousands of long-range drones capable of deep strikes into Russia in 2024, and already had as many as 10 companies making drones with the ability to reach Moscow and St Petersburg. * Authorities in Moldova said they destroyed some 50kg of explosives discovered in part of a Russian-launched Shahed drone that crashed on its territory near the southern town of Etulia, close to the border with Ukraine. 20240214 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-722 Fighting * At least 10 people were killed in Russian drone and shelling attacks across eastern, central and northern parts of Ukraine, including three who were at a market in the northeastern region of Kharkiv. * A missile and drone attack on the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro damaged a power plant, making authorities close schools and evacuate a hospital. Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 16 of 23 drones. * The UN's educational, scientific and cultural organisation UNESCO said the invasion of Ukraine has caused damage estimated at about $3.5bn to the country's heritage and cultural sites, with some 5,000 destroyed Politics and diplomacy * Mike Johnson, the Republican Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, blocked war aid for Ukraine, ignoring President Joe Biden's plea that passing the bill was vital to stand up to "Russian dictator" Vladimir Putin. Johnson, who is close to presidential candidate Donald Trump, told reporters he had no intention even of allowing a vote on the bill, which had been passed in the Senate. * Russia added Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas and two of the country's top officials to its wanted list over the "destruction" of Soviet-era war memorials and alleged hostility towards Russia, hours after intelligence services in the Baltic state warned that Russia was gearing up for a war against NATO in the coming decade. Kallas is one of Ukraine's most vocal supporters. * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had spoken this week of Paul Whelan, a former Marine jailed in Russia on espionage charges, as he promised sustained efforts to free Whelan as well as journalist Evan Gershkovich who has been detained pending trial on spying charges. The men and the US government have rejected the spying claims. The US classified Whelan and Gershkovich as "wrongfully detained". * A Russian military appeal court overturned a fine to jail left-wing academic Boris Kagarlitsky for five years after he criticised Moscow's war in Ukraine, his lawyer said. Weapons * Global defence spending jumped by 9 percent to a record $2.2 trillion last year, the London-based think tank the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said in its annual report The Military Balance, and was likely to rise further in 2024. * The report said Russia had lost some 3,000 main battle tanks during the fighting in Ukraine, or roughly as many as it had in its active inventory before it began its full-scale invasion two years ago. It is now refitting older tanks for use, it added. 20240215 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-723 Fighting * Ukraine said it critically damaged the Caesar Kunikov, a Russian landing warship, off occupied Crimea, in a drone attack, the latest blow to the Russian navy's Black Sea Fleet. Ukraine said the ship, one of Russia's newest vessels, had a crew of 87 and had taken part in wars in Georgia and Syria as well as Ukraine. There was no official comment from Russia on the attack. * Newly-appointed Ukrainian armed forces chief Oleksandr Syrskyii visited troops fighting around the key flashpoint of Avdiivka on the eastern front line, and described the situation as "extremely complex and stressful". Syrskyii, who was accompanied by Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, said Russian forces had "a numerical advantage in personnel". * At least three people, including a child, were killed and a dozen injured in a wave of Russian missile attacks on the town of Selydove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Officials said a hospital and several apartments were damaged. * At least two people were killed and four injured after a Russian S-300 missile hit an apartment block in a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region, police said. * One woman was injured after a Ukrainian drone attack on Russia's Belgorod and Voronezh regions and over the Black Sea. Russia's Ministry of Defence said air defence systems destroyed nine drones, six of them over the Black Sea. Politics and diplomacy * US President Joe Biden and top officials urged Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson for a vote on a bill that would provide $61bn in crucial assistance to Ukraine but is opposed by Donald Trump, the likely Republican candidate in November's election in the United States. The Senate backed the bill, which also includes assistance for Israel and Taiwan, earlier this week. * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg also urged US lawmakers to pass the bill. "This is not charity. This is an investment in our own security," Stoltenberg said. * British Foreign Secretary David Cameron also urged members of the US Congress to "do the right thing" and approve a Ukraine aid package. * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing authorities to confiscate the assets of people convicted of spreading "deliberately false information" about the military. * A Russian military court sentenced Zhumagul Kurbanova, a woman in her 60s, to 10 years in a penal colony after finding her guilty of setting fire to a military recruitment centre in St Petersburg in August 2023. * Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania issued diplomatic protests to Moscow after Russian police put leading Baltic politicians, including Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, on a wanted list over the destruction of Soviet-era monuments. The three Baltic states were once part of the Soviet Union but are now members of the European Union and NATO. Weapons * Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren told the Reuters news agency the Netherlands was joining a military coalition with allies including the United Kingdom to supply Ukraine with advanced drone technology and bolster its offensive capabilities. * Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said Canada would donate $44m to Ukraine to help in its war with Russia. 20240217 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/17/ukraine-troops-withdraw-from-frontline-city-of-avdiivka-army-chief-says Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the front-line city of Avdiivka, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avdiivka the new army chief announced, after months of heavy fighting and little progress in repelling Russian forces in the country's eastern front. "I decided to withdraw our units from the town and move to defence from more favourable lines in order to avoid encirclement and preserve the lives and health of servicemen," Oleksandr Syrskii said on Saturday, days after taking the helm of the Ukrainian military in a major shake-up. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horlivka is also known as Gorlovka 20240224 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-731 Second anniversary of the war * On this day two years ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, triggering a brutal war with no end in sight. * To mark the anniversary, the United States issued sanctions against more than 500 Russian-linked targets and imposed new export restrictions on nearly 100 entities for providing support to Russia in the largest single tranche of penalties since the start of the conflict. * The European Union announced its 13th package of sanctions against Russia, banning nearly 200 additional entities and individuals accused of involvement in the two-year war. * The United Kingdom also imposed sanctions on six officials overseeing the penal colony where Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny died in mysterious circumstances last week. * The prime ministers of Italy, Canada and Belgium, Giorgia Meloni, Justin Trudeau and Alexander De Croo, and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, travelled to the Ukrainian capital together by train from neighbouring Poland in a show of solidarity. * Von der Leyen has praised Ukraine's "extraordinary resistance" as she arrived in Kyiv. * Meloni and Trudeau are expected to sign security pacts with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in line with deals recently agreed to with France and Germany that are worth billions of dollars. * Joe Biden is due to take part in a video conference call of fellow leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) major democracies, which will be chaired by Meloni, with Zelenskyy invited to join the discussion. Italy holds the rotating G7 presidency and organised the call. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for Germany and Europe to make a bigger effort when it comes to defence. "Russia is not only attacking Ukraine, it is also destroying peace in Europe," Scholz said, adding that Ukraine would be supported in its self-defence "for as long as necessary". * During the two years since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 14 million people - nearly one-third of Ukraine's population - have fled their homes, according to the International Organization for Migration. * The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine says at least 10,582 civilians have been killed and nearly 20,000 have been wounded since the start of the war. * Switzerland has told the United Nations that it intends to organise a high-level Ukraine peace conference "by the summer". Fighhting, weapons * Putin has claimed that 95 percent of Russia's strategic nuclear forces had been modernised and that the Air Force had just taken delivery of four new supersonic nuclear-capable bombers. * The Ukrainian Air Force says it downed a rare Russian spy plane, an A-50, over the Azov Sea, its chief Mykola Oleshchuk said. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited Moscow's forces in occupied Ukraine where he was briefed that Russian forces were on the offensive after taking full control of the industrial hub of Avdiivka, according to an army statement. * Russian forces launched 28 attacks on Ukraine's northeastern Sumy province targeting five communities, the Kyiv Independent newspaper has reported citing local authorities. * At least one man was killed in a Russian drone attack in the southern city of Odesa, regional governor Oleh Kiper wrote on social media, adding that three other people were wounded. * Russian strikes also killed one civilian in the town of Myrnohrad, in the Donetsk province, and two others in the southeastern city of Dnipro, local officials say. * Biden has renewed calls for lawmakers in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives to unblock a $60bn aid package for Ukraine, warning that "history is waiting" and "failure to support Ukraine at this critical moment will not be forgotten". 20240301 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/2/29/putin-warns-risk-of-nuclear-war-if-west-sends-troops-to-ukraine Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned of a "real" risk of nuclear war if the Western countries sent troops to fight in Ukraine during an annual address to the nation two weeks ahead of the presidential election. "There has been talk about the possibility of sending NATO military contingents to Ukraine. But we remember the fate of those who once sent their contingents to our country's territory. But now the consequences for possible interventionists will be far more tragic," Putin said addressing parliament and other senior elites. "They must realise that we also have weapons that can hit targets on their territory. All this really threatens a conflict with the use of nuclear weapons and the destruction of civilisation. Don't they get that?" Putin has previously spoken of the dangers of a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia, but his nuclear weapon warning on Thursday was one of his most explicit. Putin's warning comes in the wake of French President Emmanuel Macron's proposal on Monday of European NATO members sending ground troops to Ukraine. The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom and some other members rejected the suggestion. But Putin suggested that Western leaders remember the fate of those like Germany's Adolf Hitler and France's Napoleon Bonaparte, who unsuccessfully tried to invade his country in the past. 20240308 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-744 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has signed a decree authorising the demobilisation of conscripts who joined the army before Russia's invasion and whose service has come to an end. * At least two people were killed in Russian rocket attacks on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and another man was killed further west in Chernihiv region, local officials said. * Ihor Zhovkva, a top diplomatic adviser for Ukraine, told broadcaster CNN he could not exclude the possibility that a Russian missile had deliberately targeted the delegations of Zelenskyy and the visiting prime minister of Greece when they visited Odesa earlier this week. Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council and a staunch ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, denied the accusation. Politics and diplomacy * Sweden became the 32nd member of NATO, abandoning its long-held neutrality in a process that started as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China sees itself as a "force for peace" in the world, but would continue to deepen its ties with Russia. "In the face of complex turmoil in the international environment, China will persist in being a force for peace, a force for stability, and a force for progress in the world," Wang told reporters. * Ukraine named Valerii Zaluzhnyi its new envoy to the United Kingdom a month after he was removed from his position as the country's military commander-in-chief. * Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit Turkey on Friday for a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The two are likely to discuss the ongoing war, the Black Sea grain deal and bilateral relations. * Speaking in Prague, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Ukraine's allies not to be "cowards", after being criticised for his proposal to send Western soldiers to fight on the ground in Ukraine. * A new poll conducted by the Associated Press showed few Americans want the country to take a more active role in solving the world's problems, including in Ukraine where the latest round of funding is tied up in Congress. The poll showed only about a quarter think the US should take a more active role. About one-third say its current role is about right Weapons * Olha Stefanishyna, Ukraine's deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, said it was critical to US credibility to provide US military aid to Ukraine, and if the US withdrew from its leadership role, it would take time to develop European capacity to fill the gap. * The UK said it would provide 10,000 drones to arm Ukraine, the weaponry will include 1,000 one-way attack - or kamikaze - drones and models that target ships. 20240310 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-745 Fighting * Russia said it destroyed 47 Ukrainian drones over its southern regions overnight, mostly in the Rostov area bordering Ukraine which is a hub for the Russian army to plan its military operations in Ukraine. * Russian drones killed three people in Ukraine's south and north on Friday, local authorities said. * Safety at the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine is worsening daily, Ukraine's Energy Minister German Galushchenko said, pledging to keep pressuring Russia at the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN nuclear watchdog, to withdraw from the site. Politics and diplomacy * Turkey is ready to host a summit between Ukraine and Russia to end the war, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, after talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Istanbul. * Zelenskyy said any peace negotiations must align with a 10-point plan he has previously suggested, which includes food security, the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the withdrawal of Russian troops, release of all prisoners, a tribunal for those responsible for the aggression, and security guarantees for his country * Zelenskyy said Russia would not be invited to the first peace summit due to be held in Switzerland. * German local councils are calling on the government to provide more money to help them protect civilians in the event of war, including more bunkers. * The call by the Association of Towns and Municipalities comes a day after Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said the country must provide greater protection for its civilian population. Weapons * Following a meeting with the foreign ministers of France and the Baltic republics in Vilnius, Lithuania, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba issued an urgent appeal to the country's Western allies to supply arms of all kinds without restrictions. "What is required is an unrestricted and timely supply of all types of weapons and ammunition to ensure that Ukraine beats Russia and the war in Europe does not spill over," he said. * Ukraine will receive 6 billion euros ($6.6bn) from the European Union via its four-year Ukraine facility in the next two months, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said. * The Czech-led initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine has raised enough so far to purchase a first batch of 300,000 artillery shells, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said on X. * France is planning to have some of its arms manufacturers produce much-needed military equipment directly on Ukrainian soil to help the country in its war against Russia, Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. 20240311 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-747 Fighting * Three people were killed in Russian shelling and drone attacks on towns in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, while at least a dozen people were injured in a Russian missile attack in the early hours of Sunday morning on the town of Myrnohrad, about 40km from the front line in Donetsk. * Kyiv said Russia launched 39 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones across central and southern regions, including the Kyiv region. The Air Force said 35 were shot down over 10 regions. It did not say whether there was any damage. * St Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport was closed briefly after a Ukrainian drone was detected in the neighbouring Leningrad region. The Russian Defence Ministry said the drone was shot down. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine rejected Pope Francis's call to "raise the white flag" and hold negotiations with Russia saying that Kyiv will "never" surrender. "Our flag is a yellow and blue one. This is the flag by which we live, die, and prevail. We shall never raise any other flags," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba wrote on social media. * Ukraine's chief prosecutor Andriy Kostin told the AFP news agency that his office had logged about 123,000 alleged war crimes by Russia since it began its invasion in February 2022, and identified 511 suspects. Kostin said Russia must answer the accusations in court. "Russia must be defeated on the battlefield and in the courtroom," he said. * A Moscow court sentenced a Moscow State University student to 10 days in prison after he renamed his WiFi network "Slava Ukraini" (Glory to Ukraine). The court found him guilty of a "public demonstration of Nazi symbolics... or symbols of extremist organisations," Ria-Novosti reported. Weapons * European states imported almost double the amount of arms in 2019 to 2023 compared with 2014 to 2018, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a leading conflict think tank, as Ukraine emerged as Europe's largest arms importer. SPRI said European imports grew by 94 percent between 2019 and 2023 compared with 2014 to 2018, while Ukraine became the fourth largest importer in the world between 2019 to 2023. 20240312 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-748 Fighting * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the situation along the front line in the east was "much better" and that Ukraine had "recovered" its strategic position with Russian troops no longer advancing after their capture last month of the eastern city Avdiivka. * The Kremlin declined to comment on Russian media reports that it had sacked Admiral Nikolai Yevmenov, the commander-in-chief of its navy, after losing a string of warships to Ukrainian attacks in the Black Sea. Several news outlets including the pro-Kremlin Izvestia newspaper reported over the weekend that Yevmenov had been replaced by Northern Fleet commander Alexander Moiseyev. * Ukraine said its air defences shot down 15 out of 25 Russian drones launched in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region but an infrastructure facility and some commercial buildings were hit. Ten of the Shahed drones were destroyed in the skies above the Black Sea port of Odesa. * The United Nations educational, scientific and cultural organisation (UNESCO) said more than 1,400 buildings belonging to scientific institutions in Ukraine had been damaged in Russia's invasion and their restoration would cost $1.26bn. Politics and diplomacy * Pope Francis's call for Ukraine to "show the courage of the white flag" and begin talks to end the war continued to create ructions. Russia, which began its full-scale invasion in February 2022, said the call was "quite understandable" while NATO, a Ukraine ally, said it was not the time to talk about "surrender". Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, meanwhile, summoned the Vatican ambassador, known as the papal nuncio. * Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who is close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said that former US President Donald Trump had told him he would "not give a penny" to the war in Ukraine. Orban met Trump, who is running to become US president again, in Florida. He added it was "hard not to agree with" Trump's position. * 20 Days in Mariupol took home the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Associated Press journalist Mstyslav Chernov captured the brutal siege and fight for the Black Sea city in the early days of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hailing the win, the first ever for Ukraine, Zelenskyy said the documentary showed "the truth about Russian terrorism". * Russian lawmakers submitted a draft bill to the State Duma that would rewrite a chapter of history by nullifying the 1954 Soviet decision to transfer Crimea from Russia to Ukraine. The draft describes the handover as arbitrary and illegal. Weapons * The US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines urged lawmakers to approve more military assistance for Ukraine, telling a key Senate committee it was "hard to imagine how Ukraine" could hold territory it has recaptured from Russia without more assistance from Washington. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-749 Fighting * At least three people were killed and 38 injured, 10 of them children, after a Russian missile hit two apartment buildings in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih. * Groups of pro-Ukraine Russian volunteer fighters opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin said they carried out cross-border raids from Ukraine into Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions. Russia's Defence Ministry said it thwarted seven attacks and that some 234 fighters were killed. ~/photos/events/20221116_ukraine_map.jpg * Moscow said it brought down 25 Ukrainian drones over eight regions that were part of a sweeping attack on energy facilities including Russia's second-biggest oil refinery. * Russia claimed to have taken control of the village of Nevelske in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Ukraine's general staff said Russian attacks in the area had been repelled. * Ukraine's SBU intelligence agency said it uncovered 15 members of a network it alleged was engaged in pro-Russian "informational sabotage". The SBU said it had detained four of them, including a cleric at the Moscow-linked Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC). The SBU said the network was linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB). Politics and diplomacy * Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk visited the United States where he urged Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson to quickly pass a bill that would provide Ukraine with $60bn in new military assistance. Tusk said Johnson's failure to act would cost "thousands of lives". * Tusk's appeal came as Democrats and a small group of centrist Republicans launched separate long-shot efforts to force a vote on the aid package, which has been stalled for months amid opposition from hardline conservatives. * French lawmakers voted in favour of a 10-year Ukraine security accord that includes a commitment to send up to 3 billion euros ($3.2bn) in military aid to Kyiv in 2024. * Thousands of people took to the streets of Slovakia's capital Bratislava to protest against the government and to show their support for Ukraine. Since taking power last October, the government of Prime Minister Robert Fico has criticised Europe's military aid to Ukraine and pushed to renew ties with Russia Weapons * The White House announced it would be able to send new military aid to Ukraine worth $300m after "unanticipated" cost savings from Pentagon contracts. The funds will be used for artillery rounds and munitions for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). * Ukraine's Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov spoke on the phone with US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin on weapons deliveries. Syrskyi said ammunition and air defence were key priorities. * Denmark's Defence Ministry said it would provide a new military aid package including Caesar artillery systems and ammunition to Ukraine worth about 2.3 billion Danish crowns ($336.6m). * European Union countries appeared set to agree on a deal on the European Peace Facility, a military aid fund for Ukraine, as soon as Wednesday. 20240314 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-750 Fighting * At least four people were killed and eight injured after a Russian drone and bomb attack on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Sumy regions hit residential buildings. * Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii, Ukraine's army chief, said the situation on the eastern front was "difficult" and that Russian forces continued to conduct offensive operations. He said Russian activity on the southern front had "decreased significantly". * Ukraine targeted oil refineries in Russia's Rostov and Ryazan regions in a second day of heavy drone attacks, causing a fire at Rosneft's biggest refinery and temporarily halting production. A Ukrainian source told the Reuters news agency the attacks were the work of the SBU security services. * Ukraine-based anti-Putin Russian paramilitaries supporting Kyiv urged civilians to flee Belgorod and Kursk, threatening large-scale attacks on military targets in the Russian border cities. Politics and diplomacy * Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo warned that Russia was gearing up for a "long conflict with the West" and urged European countries to step up spending and coordination on defence. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would send more troops to Russia's border with Finland, which joined NATO in 2023 after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Leonid Volkov, an exiled Russian activist and one-time senior aide to Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died in an Arctic penal colony last month, was attacked with a hammer and tear gas near his home in Lithuania's capital, Vilnius. Lithuania accused Russia of being behind the attack, which left Volkov in hospital. * The leaders of France, Germany and Poland said they would hold urgent talks in Berlin on Friday to boost support for Ukraine. * Andriy Yermak, chief of staff to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, met the Chinese ambassador to Kyiv for further discussions on a visit last week by China's special envoy and preparations for a peace summit to be held in Switzerland. Russia said it had no intention of joining the summit, even if invited. * Austria ordered two diplomats from Russia's embassy in Vienna to leave the country. The Foreign Ministry said the two had "engaged in acts incompatible with their diplomatic status". It did not elaborate. Weapons * After months of wrangling, European Union countries agreed to provide five billion euros ($5.48bn) for military aid to Ukraine as part of a revamp of an EU-run assistance fund. * Czech National Security Adviser Tomas Pojar said the first deliveries of artillery ammunition under a Czech-led plan to boost Ukraine's supplies should reach the country by June at the latest. 20240315 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/14/ukraine-holds-out-despite-stalled-us-aid-fears-deep-advances-by-russia Ukraine holds out despite stalled US aid, fears ‘deep advances’ by Russia Kyiv's forces manage to largely halt a four-week advance as pro-Ukrainian Russian forces launch cross-border attacks. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-751 Fighting * One person was killed and three injured after a Russian drone struck a residential building in the southwestern Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. * Russia attacked several Ukrainian regions with 36 drones, hitting civilian infrastructure and knocking out television and radio signals in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Air defences destroyed 22 of the drones. Five were shot down over the southern Mykolaiv and southeastern Dnipropetrovsk regions, local officials said. * Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for the GUR intelligence directorate, said armed groups of Russians opposed to the Kremlin were pressing an incursion into Russian territory and had turned the Kursk and Belgorod border regions into "active combat zones". Russia's National Guard (Rosgvardia) said it was repelling attacks by pro-Ukrainian armed groups near the village of Tyotkino in the Kursk region. * Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said two people were killed and nine injured in Ukrainian air attacks on villages in the region. Politics and diplomacy * Visiting the United States, the EU's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the coming months of the war would be "decisive", and urged US lawmakers to quickly approve new aid for Ukraine. "Many analysts expect a major Russian offensive this summer, and Ukraine cannot wait until the result of the next US elections," he said. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy that Kyiv's international partners would cooperate closely on military support. Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk are due to meet in Berlin on Friday to discuss aid for Ukraine. * Russians go to the polls on Friday in a presidential election that is expected to see Vladimir Putin returned to power for a fifth term. Kyiv said voting in the partly Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson as well as Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014, was "illegal and void". * Russia's FSB security service said it arrested four alleged members of a pro-Ukraine paramilitary group in Saint Petersburg who were preparing attacks on Russian territory, including poisoning Russian soldiers. * US ambassador to Hungary, David Pressman, said NATO members have warned Hungary of the dangers of its "close and expanding" relationship with Russia. * Lithuanian counter-intelligence said this week's hammer attack in Vilnius on Leonid Volkov, an exiled top aide to late Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, was the work of Russian special services. * Russia banned 227 US citizens from entering the country, including State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller and former US ambassador to Russia John Sullivan. Weapons * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Ukraine was running out of ammunition, and NATO members were not doing enough to help Kyiv replenish its supplies. "Ukraine needs even more support, and they need it now," he told reporters in Brussels. * German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall said it plans to set up at least four factories in Ukraine to produce shells, military vehicles, gunpowder and anti-aircraft weapons, as it targets a record 10 billion euros ($10.9bn) in sales this year. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-752 Fighting * Ukraine's President Volodymr Zelenskyy has condemned a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa in which at least 21 people were killed and 75 wounded. * Zelenskyy said Russia would receive a "fair response" from Ukrainian forces for what he called a "vile" strike on a city that has been attacked by Russian drones or missiles almost every day this month. * Ukrainian authorities have begun mass evacuations of communities in the northern Sumy region, close to the Russian border, after extended periods of intense shelling of the area, local officials said. * Ukrainian drones struck two oil refineries belonging to Russian state-owned oil giant Rosneft in Samara region, Governor Dmitry Azarov said on Telegram. * There were no casualties but the Volga river region's Syzran refinery was on fire, he said, while an attack on the Novokuibyshevsk refinery was thwarted. * Russia's President Vladimir Putin promised to punish Ukraine for what he said was election day shelling that struck civilian targets on Russian territory. Russians are voting in elections that end on Sunday, with Putin widely expected to win a fifth term. Politics and diplomacy * Sergiy Kyslytsya, Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, said elections in the Russian-occupied regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed in 2014, were "illegitimate". * "Holding elections in another UN member state's territory without its consent is in manifest disregard for the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. Such elections have no validity under international law," Kyslytsya said in a joint statement with European Union countries, the US, the United Kingdom and other nations. * A UN commission of inquiry on Ukraine said it had gathered more evidence that Russia has systematically tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war, through rape threats and the use of electric shocks on genitals. Some Ukrainian prisoners were so hungry in Russian detention centres that they resorted to eating soap, worms and leftover dog food. * The Group of Seven (G7) countries warned Iran against providing ballistic missiles to Russia to use in its war against Ukraine and said it would "respond swiftly" with new sanctions, including possibly banning Iran Air from Europe. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hosted French President Emmanuel Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Berlin for urgent discussions on how best to support Ukraine, which is short on the military resources needed to definitively halt Russia's invasion. 20240318 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-753 Fighting * One person was killed and another injured in the Velykopysarivska community of Ukraine's Sumy region, which borders Russia, according to the region's military administration. * The attack was one of 60 reported shelling incidents of border territories and settlements, which damaged buildings including a hospital, kindergarten, library and a gas pipeline, Sumy officials said. * Earlier on Sunday, one man was killed and at least eight people were wounded in a Russian missile attack on the Black Sea port city of Mykolaiv, Ukrainian officials said, after an overnight strike on the port city of Odesa. * Russia's President Vladimir Putin said his armed forces in Ukraine were "just tearing them - the enemy - apart right now", after Russia claimed to have captured a string of towns and villages in the east of Ukraine. * Ukrainian shelling in the southern Russian city of Belgorod killed two people and injured eleven others, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on the Telegram messaging app. * Five people were also wounded when a Ukrainian drone hit a car in the village of Glotovo, some 2km from the Ukrainian border, Gladkov said. * The attack on Belgorod was one of many over several days of Ukrainian strikes that Moscow described as election sabotage. * A Ukrainian drone attack caused a fire at a Russian oil refinery on Saturday, which burned for hours before it was brought under control. Politics and diplomacy * President Putin has claimed victory after early election results in Russia showed he was heading for another six-year term with some 87 percent of the vote. * Responding to the results, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Putin a "dictator", "sick from power" and "doing everything he can to rule forever". * Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny, who died in a Russian prison colony last month, said, "Obviously I wrote Navalny's name" on the ballot, after she voted in the Russian Embassy in Berlin. * Rights group Amnesty International has decried Russia's attempts "to alter the ethnic makeup" of Crimea by suppressing Ukrainian and Crimean Tatar identities. "These policies appear to be a blueprint for Russia's designs on other areas of Ukraine it occupies," Amnesty said. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. 20240319 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-754 Fighting * Ukrainian air defence systems shot down 17 out of 22 Russian Shahed drones that targeted nine Ukrainian regions. The attack triggered a fire in a residential building in the central city of Kryvyi Rih, but emergency services were able to evacuate residents and disable the drone's payload before it blew up. Russia also fired seven missiles at northeastern Ukraine, including the Sumy region. * Authorities said the intensity of ground and air attacks on the Sumy region had increased since the start of the year. The regional government said the area had been struck more than 3,000 times, compared with a total of some 8,000 strikes in 2023. The number of aerial bomb attacks had tripled and Russian saboteurs were highly active, officials said. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said four people were killed after Ukrainian shelling hit a house in the village of Nikolskoye. * Ukrainian Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak told the Reuters news agency that Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to escalate the war after the Russian leader suggested a "security zone" be established in Ukraine's Kharkiv region to "protect" Russian territory. Politics and diplomacy * China, India and North Korea congratulated Putin on securing a further six-year term after the Kremlin said the long-time leader got 87 percent of the vote. The election, which was also organised in four Ukrainian territories that Russia partly occupies and claims to have annexed, was condemned by Ukraine and its European allies as "illegal" and "undemocratic". * Russian President Vladimir Putin at an event in Red Square. His face is also on massive screens alongside the stage. Some of the crowd are waving Russian flags. The Kremlin is in the background. * Putin appeared briefly in front of a flag-waving crowd at an open-air concert on Red Square to mark the 10th anniversary of Russia's annexat ion of Crimea from Ukraine. The annexation of the Black Sea peninsula has been condemned as illegal by most countries at the United Nations. * Russia's state news agency TASS reported the Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a 24-year-old Russian woman in Crimea who was allegedly attempting to sabotage rail infrastructure bringing military equipment to the front line in Ukraine. * US Senator Lindsey Graham visited Kyiv and met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. The two discussed the $60bn military aid package for Ukraine that is being held up by Republicans in the United States Congress. Zelenskyy said the package's approval was "critically important". Graham suggested that aid in the form of a no-interest loan might get more support. Weapons * South Korea's Defence Minister Shin Won-sik told reporters that North Korea had shipped about 7,000 containers of weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine since the transfers began last July. Some had been sent by sea and others by rail as a result of UN sanctions on both countries, Shin added. * The Council of the European Union ratified an agreement to increase the EU's support for Ukraine's Armed Forces by 5 billion euros ($5.44 billion) through a dedicated assistance fund. * During a visit to Warsaw, Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany and Poland planned to work jointly on producing more ammunition for Ukraine. He did not go into detail. 20240320 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-755 Fighting * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appealed to Kyiv's allies to supply more air defences, saying Russia had launched 130 missiles, more than 320 attack drones and almost 900 guided bombs on the country so far this month. * Russia named Admiral Alexander Moiseyev as acting commander-in-chief of its navy. Moscow fired his predecessor Nikolai Yevmenov amid repeated Ukrainian attacks on the Black Sea Fleet. Ukrainian forces claim to have destroyed more than two dozen Russian ships since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. * The Russian Defence Ministry claimed its forces had captured the village of Orlivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, 9.5km from Avdiivka, which Russian troops seized last month. The Ukrainian General Staff said earlier that its forces had repelled nine Russian army attacks in the vicinity of Orlivka. * Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Russia planned to evacuate about 9,000 children from the border region because of Ukraine shelling. Separately, Russia's Defence Ministry said air defence units had intercepted 10 projectiles and one missile over the region. Politics and diplomacy * US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin warned that Ukraine's survival was in danger as he sought to convince allies at the monthly Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) that the United States was committed to supporting Kyiv even as Republicans hold up a $60bn funding package. * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv was working to secure "a strong and far-reaching step" towards membership of NATO at the military alliance's Washington summit in July. * Russian President Vladimir Putin told the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, to help Russian companies beat Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine invasion. * Putin will travel to China in May for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Reuters news agency reported. * The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said Russians and Belarusians would not join the parade of athletes at the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympics in July. The athletes are competing as independents without their flags and anthems as a result of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * German prosecutors charged an officer in the military procurement agency with attempting to pass secret information to Russia. Identified only as Thomas H, he has been in custody since August. Weapons * Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said drones were the key that would give Kyiv an advantage over "numerically superior" Russian forces. * German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius announced a 500 million euro ($542.6 million) aid package for Ukraine, including 10,000 rounds of ammunition. * Canada's Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would give more than 40 million Canadian dollars ($29.4 million) to a Czech-led initiative aimed at buying 800,000 artillery shells from third nations for Ukraine. * Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said the country hoped to have enough ammunition to repel Russian troops on the battlefield starting from April. * EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell proposed the European Union take 90 percent of revenues from Russian assets frozen in Europe and transfer them to an EU-run fund to finance weapons for Ukraine. 20240321 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-756 Fighting * At least five people were killed and eight injured after a Russian missile hit an industrial area in Kharkiv. Ihor Terekhov, the mayor of the northern Ukrainian city, said five others were missing after the strike, which also started a massive fire in a printing house. * Two people were killed outside Ukraine's southern city of Kherson in Russian shelling, while another was killed in the northeastern Sumy region on the border with Russia. * Three people were killed and four injured in Ukrainian shelling and rocket attacks on the Russian border region of Belgorod, according to Regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu told senior generals that the country's soldiers "continue to squeeze the enemy out of their positions" in eastern Ukraine. Shoigu said Moscow would bolster its military by adding two new armies and 30 new formations, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades, by the end of this year. * A Ukrainian intelligence source told the Reuters news agency that Ukrainian drones attacked the Engels airbase - home to Russia's long-range strategic bomber fleet - about 730km southeast of Moscow. The governor of the region around the base said Ukrainian drones had been brought down. There were no reports of damage. Politics and diplomacy * The United Nations' Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) accused Russia of creating a "climate of fear" in the territory of Ukraine it occupies. The report said many people in the occupied territory "endured intimidation and repression, facing a constant threat of violence, detention, and punishment". It also accused Moscow of trying to suppress Ukrainian identity. Russia occupies just over 17 percent of Ukrainian territory. It denies committing atrocities against civilians. * Visiting Kyiv, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan insisted that a major US aid package that Republicans have been blocking for months would "get to Ukraine". * Sullivan, who held talks with presidential aide Andriy Yermak, stressed Washington's support for Kyiv would continue. Yermak said discussions covered Ukraine's current battlefield needs, the NATO military alliance's summit in Washington in July and a peace summit in Switzerland that Kyiv wants to happen in the coming weeks. Yermak said there was "cautious hope" that China would participate. * Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held separate phone calls with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin and discussed strengthening ties with both, in advance of a visit next week by the Ukrainian foreign minister to New Delhi to build support for Ukraine's peace initiative. * A court in Saint Petersburg jailed Russian filmmaker Vsevolod Korolyov for three years for posting criticism of the Kremlin's war in Ukraine on social media. Korolyov, 36, had been in custody since July 2022. * A separate Saint Petersburg court sentenced a woman to eight days in prison for writing "no to war" on a ballot paper during last week's presidential election. Weapons * Speaking after a two-day visit to Kyiv, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren said the country would provide Ukraine with 350 million euros ($382.7m) for F-16 fighter jet ammunition and advanced reconnaissance drones. The Netherlands has pledged two billion euros ($2.19bn) in military aid for Ukraine in 2024. 20240322 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-757 * At least 17 people were injured after Russia launched a wave of missiles, including two Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, on Kyiv. It was the first such attack on the capital in 44 days. Ukraine said its air defences brought down all 31 missiles. * At least one person was killed and four injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv. * Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its forces captured the village of Tonenke about 8.5km west of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian Army General Staff said it repelled 14 Russian army attacks near six villages in the eastern Donetsk region, including Tonenke. * Three Ukrainian-backed paramilitary groups that say they are made up of Russians opposed to the Kremlin said they were continuing their cross-border attacks on the Russian regions of Belgorod and Kursk. Politics and diplomacy * Russia handed over six Ukrainian children to Ukraine following mediation by Qatar. * The US embassy said Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich remained "strong and resilient" in a Moscow prison, nearly a year after he was arrested and accused of spying. Gershkovich, the Journal and the US government have all rejected the allegation. * Russia's FSB security service said it had arrested four people for plotting separate "terrorist attacks" against military sites or supporting Ukraine. Two people were arrested in the Moscow-occupied southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, and the others in the Belgorod region and Urals city of Yekaterinburg. * Alexander Byvshev, a Russian poet who criticised his country's invasion of Ukraine in a four-line poem, has been jailed for seven years, the OVD-Info rights group said. The poem was posted on his Facebook page in March 2022. * A court in southwestern Russia jailed two students to a combined 14 years in prison after they were found guilty of "attempted sabotage" on the railway network. * Investigators in Kyiv detained a senior Ukrainian army official accused of embezzling some 58 million hryvnia ($1.5m) of funds meant to buy food for the country's soldiers. Weapons * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russia's production of artillery shells had risen by nearly 2.5 times in the past year, while artillery component production had soared by a factor of 22. Shoigu indicated there were more ambitious targets for this year, but did not elaborate. * The country's Defence Ministry said it had also begun the mass production of FAB-3000 high-explosive aerial bombs in February. * Leading the first official visit to Kyiv by a NATO military delegation since February 2022, NATO Military Committee Chief Rob Bauer called for important aid to be delivered quickly. Bauer met President Zelenskyy as well as army chief Oleksandr Syrskii for talks on the current combat situation, and the urgent need for ammunition and air defences. * Hungary's Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the country would not join a Czech-led plan to procure and deliver ammunition to Ukraine. Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Warsaw would contribute "financially and logistically" to the initiative. * Australia said it would join an international drone coalition led by the United Kingdom and Latvia to aid Ukraine's war effort. More details are expected to be released in the coming week. 20240323 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-758 Fighting * At least five people were killed and more than one million were left without power after Russia launched a wave of drone and missile strikes on Ukraine, targeting the country's energy infrastructure. * Eight of the Russian missiles hit Dnipro Hydroelectric Station, Ukraine's largest hydroelectric power plant, causing "significant damage" to the facility, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general said * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had hit Ukraine with 90 missiles and 60 Iranian-made drones in a "war with people's everyday lives", and repeated his urgent appeal for Kyiv's allies to supply air defence systems. * The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, warned Russia was building a group of more than 100,000 soldiers ahead of a possible major summer offensive. Politics and diplomacy * The Kremlin said for the first time that Russia regards itself to be "in a state of war" with Ukraine. When it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it said it was a "special military operation". * Russia's FSB security service said it arrested seven Moscow residents linked to a pro-Ukraine militia accused of raiding Russia's border regions, according to state news agencies. * Li Hui, China's special envoy for Ukraine, said there remained a "significant gap" between Moscow and Kyiv on peace talks to end the war, although both agreed negotiations were the best way to resolve the crisis. * The European Commission said it would impose "prohibitive tariffs" on cheap imports of grain from Russia and Belarus. The move is also designed to limit Russia's ability to fund its war in Ukraine and sell grain stolen from Ukraine, the commission said. ... https://tass.com/military-operation-in-ukraine According to Yevgeny Primakov, humanity is now facing the consequences of the fact that NATO "considered itself unpunished and omnipotent" 20240325 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-760 Fighting * Russia's Defence Ministry said on Monday that its forces destroyed 11 Ukraine-launched drones over the southwestern Russian Rostov region. * Separately, the Ukrainian military said it hit two large Russian landing ships in overnight attacks on the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula as well as other infrastructure used by the Russian navy in the Black Sea. * An underground gas storage site in Ukraine was attacked on Sunday in the latest wave of Russian missile strikes on power facilities, while Ukrainian officials restored power in cities, ordered imports and imposed rolling blackouts to deal with shortfalls. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said efforts to restore power supplies were under way in various regions, with the greatest difficulties in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. * He said more than 200,000 residents of Kharkiv, a frequent target of Russian attacks, were without reliable power. The network had been restored elsewhere, he said. * The country's energy ministry and distributors said Ukraine ramped up imports of electricity and halted exports after the recent series of Russian attacks, in which top energy producer DTEK lost 50 percent of its capacity. * Volodymyr Kudrytskyi, head of Ukrenergo, which operates Ukraine's transmission lines, said the latest wave of strikes had caused damage of at least 90 million euros ($97 million). * Russia attacked Ukrainian generating and transmission facilities on Friday, causing significant blackouts in many regions, and energy facilities in three Ukrainian regions were also attacked early Sunday. Politics and diplomacy * Poland demanded an explanation from Russia after a Russian missile strayed briefly into Polish airspace during a major attack on Ukraine, prompting the NATO member to activate F-16 fighter jets. * The Polish Foreign Ministry intends to summon the Russian ambassador over the airspace violation, Deputy Foreign Minister Andrzej Szejna told private broadcaster Polsat News. * Following the ISIL-claimed attack at a Moscow music hall, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the gunmen were captured while fleeing to Ukraine. Putin did not mention ISIL in his speech to the nation and Kyiv accused him and other Russian politicians of falsely linking Ukraine to the assault to stoke fervour for Russia's war in Ukraine, which recently entered its third year. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-761 Fighting * Ten people, including a teenage girl, were injured after Russia hit Kyiv with missiles in the third bombardment in five days. Air defence shot down the missiles but people were hurt when the debris crashed to the ground in several central districts. * Almost a dozen people were injured after Russia attacked the southern region of Mykolaiv and Odesa with drones. The authorities said eight of nine drones were shot down but that a fire at a plant in Odesa forced an emergency power shutdown. * Authorities in the northeastern Kharkiv region said a 65-year-old man was killed in the courtyard of his home during Russian shelling. * Oleg Kalashnikov, a press officer for Ukraine's 26th Artillery Brigade, said the eastern city of Chasiv Yar was facing a "difficult and tense" situation, with Russian forces trying to "push through" Ukrainian defences. Kalashnikov said Moscow was dropping powerful guided bombs "on populated areas and on our fortified positions". * A fire broke out at a major Russian power plant in the southwestern Rostov region after a Ukrainian drone attack. Two power units at the Novocherkassk power station, one of the largest in the region, were shut down while the blaze was brought under control. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin said "radical Islamists" were behind Friday night's attack on the Crocus City Hall but added, without evidence, that Ukraine had a role. The Afghan branch of ISIL, also known as the Islamic State in Khorasan Province or ISKP, has said it was responsible for the attack, which killed 139 people and injured 182. * Speaking in his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy again dismissed Putin's claim. Ukraine has denied any role in the attack and Zelenskyy has accused Putin of seeking to divert blame. * Poland's Foreign Ministry said that Sergey Andreev, the Russian ambassador in Warsaw, failed to show up for a diplomatic summons issued after a Russian missile breached Polish airspace over the weekend. * The wife of jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza said she was in favour of prisoner exchanges to rescue him and other political detainees in Russia. Kara-Murza, who also has UK citizenship, was jailed for 25 years last year after saying Russia had committed "war crimes" against Ukraine. * Russia's Foreign Ministry summoned Australia's chargé d'affaires in Moscow to complain about a social media post that said Russia's staging of presidential elections in occupied parts of Ukraine, which Moscow claims to have annexed, was a "flagrant violation of international law". Weapons * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba reiterated his call for international allies to supply more air defences, particularly Patriot systems and missiles, after Russia's latest attack on Kyiv. 20240327 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-762 Fighting * Ukraine's navy said it damaged four Russian naval ships in a weekend missile attack on Crimea. Among those hit was the Konstantin Olshanskya large landing warship that Moscow captured from Kyiv when it annexed the peninsula in 2014. Ukraine also struck the Ivan Khurs, a Russian naval reconnaissance vessel. There was no comment from Moscow. * Ukraine's navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk told the Associated Press news agency that Ukrainian forces had sunk or disabled a third of all Russian warships in the Black Sea. * Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said five people, including two firefighters, were injured in Ukrainian shelling of two villages in the border region. Russia's Ministry of Defence said air defence systems shot down 13 Ukrainian rockets. * Ukraine shot down 12 Iranian-made Russian attack drones over the southern Mykolaiv and eastern Kharkiv regions. No injuries or damage were reported. * The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it arrested two people suspected of acting on behalf of Russia as they tried to blow up a railway line used to supply weapons to the east of the country. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named 51-year-old Oleksandr Lytvynenko to head the National Security and Defence Council. Lytvynenko takes over from Oleksiy Danilov who had been in the job since October 2019. * A Russian court extended the pre-trial detention of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich by a further three months. The 32-year-old US journalist was arrested and accused of espionage nearly a year ago. Gershkovich, the Journal and the United States government deny he is a spy. * Ukraine beat Iceland 2-1 to qualify for the Euro 2024 finals starting in June, their fourth successive appearance in Europe's top international football tournament. Weapons * French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said France will soon be able to deliver 78 Caesar howitzers to Ukraine and will boost its supply of shells to meet Kyiv's urgent needs for ammunition. * Lecornu also said he was prepared to use his powers to requisition industrial capacities or order manufacturers to prioritise military over civilian orders to speed up the production of arms and shells needed on the battlefield in Ukraine and elsewhere. 20240328 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/28/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-763 Fighting * At least one person was killed and 19 injured after Russia attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, with what officials said could have been a new type of guided bomb. * Other parts of the country also came under Russian attack with a further three deaths reported from shelling and drone attacks in the south and northeast, among them a 12-year-old boy. A ballistic missile strike on the coastal territory of Mykolaiv injured eight people. * Ukraine's air force chief Mykola Oleshchuk said Russia launched 13 Iranian-designed Shahed drones, 10 of which were brought down in Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops in the northeastern Sumy region bordering Russia, where he met soldiers recovering from injuries and visited newly built defence lines, including trenches, dugouts, firing and command and observation posts. Politics and diplomacy * A Russian court sentenced Lyusya Shtein, a member of Pussy Riot and a former municipal deputy in Moscow, to six years in prison in absentia after she criticised the invasion of Ukraine on social media. * A military court in Russia's northern Komi region jailed 35-year-old Nikolai Farafonov to six years in prison after he was found guilty of "public incitement to commit terrorist acts" for publishing "videos and messages" calling for the burning of military recruitment offices. * Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to use his influence with Russia to bring about peace in Ukraine. Rutte, on a visit to Beijing, said Moscow could not be allowed to win the war in Ukraine because it would be dangerous for the rest of Europe and also for China. * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba will begin a two-day visit to India on Thursday to discuss "global issues". Kuleba will meet Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar in New Delhi and also hold talks with India's deputy national security adviser, India's foreign ministry said. Like China, India has not explicitly condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * Ukraine's SBU security service said it had detained two agents from Russia's FSB intelligence agency in Kyiv and Odesa, accusing them of passing on information on the location of sensitive military targets. Weapons * Zelenskyy urged Ukraine's allies to speed up deliveries of warplanes and air defence systems following Wednesday's Russian attacks. "Bolstering Ukraine's air defence and expediting the delivery of F-16s to Ukraine are vital tasks," he said in a statement on social media. * Russian President Vladimir Putin told a group of military pilots that plans by Ukraine's allies to send Kyiv F-16 fighter jets would not alter the situation on the battlefield. He said the F-16s would be legitimate targets, wherever they might be. * Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Poland would double its contribution to a Czech-led plan to buy ammunition for Ukraine. Sikorski declined to say how much Poland was contributing. 20240329 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-764 Fighting * At least three people were killed in Russian shelling and aerial attacks. One of the dead was a taxi driver in southern Kherson whose car was hit by a missile. His two passengers were injured and taken to hospital. * Two people were injured by falling debris in southern Zaporizhzhia after Russia launched drone attacks on eastern, southern and southeastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said it shot down 26 of the 28 Iranian-designed attack drones. * Serhiy Popko, head of Kyiv's military administration, said security measures in the Ukrainian capital would be tightened, particularly around large gatherings, after a spate of Russian ballistic missile attacks and threats of escalation. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the phone with Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, telling him it was "vital" for the United States Congress to pass a $60bn military aid package for Kyiv that has been held up for months. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba arrived in New Delhi for talks on Kyiv's 10-point peace formula ahead of a proposed summit in Switzerland. The plan demands the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Moscow has dismissed the initiative as a non-starter. * Matthew Axelrod, a senior official in the US Commerce Department, said the US was asking American companies to stop shipping goods to more than 600 foreign parties over fears the items could be diverted to Russia for use in Ukraine. * Russian human rights group Memorial warned the health of Oleg Orlov, its 70-year-old leader, was deteriorating, and accused prison authorities of subjecting him to inhumane treatment. Orlov was jailed last month for two and a half years over his criticisms of the war in Ukraine. He has filed an appeal. * A court in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad jailed journalist Mikhail Feldman for two years for criticism of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. * A Russian military court in Yekaterinburg jailed 31-year-old self-described anarchist Azat Miftakhov for four years on charges of "justifying terrorism" over comments made to inmates while serving a six-year sentence for breaking a window at a local office of President Vladimir Putin's political party. Prosecutors said Miftakhov had told other prisoners he would "avenge" a friend who died fighting for Ukraine and expressed support for the bombing of a regional office of Russia's FSB security service in 2018. * The French Defence Ministry said authorities took down a fake website recruiting volunteers to fight for Ukraine against the Russian invasion. The site had claimed that 200,000 French people were invited to "enlist in Ukraine", with immigrants given priority. Weapons * Ukraine's defence minister asked allies for more air defences at an extraordinary meeting of the NATO-Ukraine Council and said some 97 percent of Russian missile, drone and guided bomb attacks so far this year had been on civilian infrastructure. * Sergey Naryshkin, the head of Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), visited Pyongyang this week to deepen bilateral cooperation between Moscow and Pyongyang. North Korea has been accused of sending weapons to Russia for use in Ukraine. 20240330 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-765 Fighting * At least one person has been killed and two were injured after a drone crashed into an apartment building in Russia's Belgorod region. Authorities there said they evacuated more than 3,500 children following a spate of Ukrainian attacks. * Russia targeted Ukraine's key energy infrastructure in escalated shelling, firing dozens of drones and missiles and injuring at least six people, according to Ukrainian officials. Ukraine's Air Force said 99 missiles and drones were fired, but 84 of them were intercepted. * Ukraine introduced emergency blackouts in three regions - Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhia and Kirovograd - because of the attacks, and the authorities urged consumers in other regions to limit electricity consumption. * The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office says the country's law enforcement agencies have uncovered 280 cases of sexual violence committed by Russian troops in the war-torn country, including 101 cases concerning violence against men. * Vladimir Tsimlyansky, the deputy head of the Russian General Staff's main organisational and mobilisation department, said 130,000 conscripts were called up in its army draft late last year, according to state news agency TASS. * Tajikistan's state security service detained nine people for suspected contact with the perpetrators of last week's attack by gunmen on a suburban Moscow concert hall that killed 144 people, according to Russian state media. Russia has insisted Ukraine was involved in the attack, although Kyiv has denied the allegations. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba spoke with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar on Kyiv's 10-point peace formula ahead of a proposed summit in Switzerland. The plan demands the complete withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine's territorial integrity. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called it "pointless". * Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk warned of the "real" threat of conflict in Europe, saying that for the first time since the end of World War II, the continent has entered a "pre-war era". Tusk, whose country has been one of the staunchest supporters of neighbouring Ukraine, said that if Kyiv lost, "no one" in Europe would feel safe. * French authorities are "seriously" studying the option of building a plant to convert and enrich reprocessed uranium to cut reliance on Russia. The only plant in the world that currently converts reprocessed uranium for use in nuclear power plants is located in Russia and France is majorly dependent on nuclear energy. * Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said Kyiv received a $1.5bn tranche of funding under a World Bank programme - $984m from Japan and $516m from the United Kingdom. The funds are set to cover budget spending for social and humanitarian needs and reconstruction in the country. * President Joe Biden said the United States will "impose costs" for Russia's "appalling attempts" to use US citizens as "bargaining chips", on the anniversary of the jailing of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. Weapons * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said if his country does not get promised US military aid blocked by disputes in Congress, then its forces will have to "retreat, step by step, in small steps". * US authorities asked American companies to stop shipping goods to more than 600 foreign parties over fears the items could be diverted to Russia for use in its invasion of Ukraine. The US Department of Commerce sent letters to at least 20 companies that make and sell products found in missiles and drones recovered inside Ukraine. 20240401 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-766 Fighting * A Russian cruise missile strike on infrastructure in Ukraine's western Lviv region killed one man, while another died in an attack in the country's northeast, officials said. * The Ukrainian Air Force said it shot down nine of the 11 Shahed-type drones launched by Russia overnight, as well as nine out of 14 cruise missiles. * The head of Ukraine's largest private energy firm, DTEK, said five of its six plants had been damaged or destroyed, with 80 percent of its generating capacity lost after two weeks of Russian attacks and that repairs could take up to 18 months. * Hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's Odesa region were left without power after debris from a downed Russian drone caused a blaze at an energy facility, Governor Oleh Kiper said. * In Russia, 10 Czech-made Vampire rockets landed in the border region of Belgorod, the Ministry of Defence said. One woman was injured when a fire broke out following the attack, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed orders heralding the start of the country's annual spring recruitment season, officially drafting 150,000 conscripts. Weapons * France will deliver hundreds of old armoured vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine in its war against Russia, French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-767 * At least three people were killed in Russian shelling in different regions of eastern Ukraine while in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said a 19-year-old man was killed after a projectile hit a petrol station. * Over the border in Russia's Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a woman was killed when a border village came under attack. * Two more people were killed after Russian cruise missiles hit infrastructure in Ukraine's western Lviv region, far from the front lines. * Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands in Ukraine's Odesa region were left without power after debris from a downed Russian drone caused a fire at an energy facility, Governor Oleh Kiper said. * Russia also said it conducted a strike on objects of energy infrastructure and the gas industry in Ukraine, the Russian Ministry of Defence said it used "high-precision long-range air-based weapons" and drones. * "We defend ourselves, we endure, our spirit does not give up and knows that it is possible to avert death," Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday following Russian strikes. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree, setting out the routine spring conscription campaign, calling up 150,000 citizens for military service. All men in Russia are required to do a yearlong military service, or equivalent training during higher education, from the age of 18. * Moscow demanded that Kyiv hand over all people connected with alleged "terrorist acts" committed in Russia, including the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). The SBU said such requests were "pointless". Weapons * France said it would deliver hundreds of old armoured vehicles and new surface-to-air missiles to Ukraine. * "The Ukrainian army needs to defend a very long front line, which requires armoured vehicles; this is absolutely crucial for troop mobility and is part of the Ukrainian requests," French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu said. 20240402 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-768 Fighting * Authorities in Kyiv said Russia had used five of its new hypersonic Zircon missiles to attack the Ukrainian capital since the start of the year. The attacks were among more than 180 Russian missile and drone attacks on Kyiv in the first three months of the year, the city administration added. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's border region of Belgorod, said 10 people were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the region. He added that defence units had brought down 19 airborne targets. * Valery Chaika, a Moscow-appointed official in Ukraine's Russian-occupied Luhansk region, was killed in what authorities said was a car bomb attack. Politics and diplomacy * Speaking on a visit to China, France's Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said China should send "clear messages" to Russia over its war in Ukraine. Beijing "plays a key role in... the respect of international law, including on Ukraine's sovereignty", Sejourne said. China maintains it is neutral in the conflict but has not condemned Moscow for its full-scale invasion. * Foreign diplomats joined Ukrainian officials and members of the armed forces at a memorial service for the victims of the 33-day Russian occupation of Bucha northwest of Kyiv. Russian troops left the bodies of civilians lying in the streets as they retreated. * A court in the Russian city of Kazan extended the pre-trial detention of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty journalist Alsu Kurmasheva until June 5. Kurmasheva, who is a dual Russian-US citizen, is accused of violating a law on "foreign agents". She denies the charges. Weapons * Illya Yevlash, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Air Force, said Ukrainian forces brought down a Russian Forpost reconnaissance drone, which is capable of conducting surveillance at an altitude of 5km over a period of 16 hours. * Natalia Humeniuk, a spokesperson for Ukraine's southern group of forces, said Russia was using Forpost drones more frequently after losing at least two of its A-50 surveillance aircraft. "In the past 24 hours, we observed more than 200 reconnaissance drones in our area of responsibility from Odesa to Zaporizhia," she told national television. 20240403 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-769 Fighting * Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Russian forces had captured 403 sq km of territory since the start of the year and last month, secured control over five towns and villages in eastern Ukraine. * Ukraine rejected Shoigu's claims, saying its troops continued to defend Tonenke and Nevelske, which Shoigu mentioned among the settlements taken by Russia. * At least 18 people, including five children, were injured after a Russian missile attack damaged a college and a kindergarten in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro. * About a dozen people were injured after Ukrainian drones struck several industrial sites in the Russian region of Tatarstan, about 1,300km from the front lines, including Russia's third-largest oil refinery and a factory producing Shahed drones. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a bill lowering the mobilisation age for combat duty from 27 to 25 years old. * Russia named Sergei Pinchuk as the new commander of the Black Sea Fleet after a spate of Ukrainian attacks on its military ships. Politics and diplomacy * Andriy Kostin, Ukraine's top prosecutor, told the Reuters news agency that there were "hallmarks of genocide" in Russian crimes across Ukraine, including the mass killings of civilians in Bucha outside Kyiv in 2022. Kostin said such crimes should be tried domestically and by the International Criminal Court. * A Moscow court sentenced Pyotr Verzilov, a Russian-Canadian activist and independent news site founder, to eight years and four months in prison for social media posts criticising the Ukraine war. Verzilov, 36, rose to prominence as the unofficial spokesperson of the feminist opposition group Pussy Riot and left Russia in 2020. Weapons * NATO foreign ministers will meet on Wednesday to discuss a proposal for a 100 billion euro ($107bn) five-year fund to provide aid for Kyiv that would give the security alliance a more direct role in coordinating the supply of arms, ammunition and equipment to Ukraine. * Germany's Defence Ministry said Berlin will provide Ukraine with 180,000 rounds of artillery shells through a Czech-led plan to buy ammunition for Ukraine. * Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said it had seized 70 kilos of home-made explosives and explosive devices "hidden in icons and ready for use" following a cargo inspection near the Latvian border. It alleged the explosives had been sent from Ukraine through multiple European Union countries. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-770 * Kharkiv regional governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said three emergency workers were killed in a Russian attack on Ukraine's second-largest city. The three had gone to help after a Russian drone struck some residential buildings and were caught in a second Russian attack. Syniehubov said a total of four strikes had hit the city. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia fired more than 3,000 guided aerial bombs, 600 drones and 400 missiles at Ukraine in March, as it stepped up its long-range air strike campaign on the country's energy infrastructure. * Ukraine's air force said it shot down all four drones Russia used in an attack on the central regions of Kirovohrad, Cherkasy, Khmelnytskyi and Zhytomyr. The attack caused a fire in Kirovohrad, but no other damage or injuries were reported. * Zelenskyy said he believed Russia was "preparing to mobilise 300,000 military personnel by June 1", but provided no evidence. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the claim was untrue. * Russia's Defence Ministry said more than 100,000 people had enlisted for military service in the Russian armed forces so far this year, 16,000 of them in the 10 days after the attack on the Crocus City Hall. ISIL (ISIS) has claimed responsibility for the March 22 attack. Politics and diplomacy * France denied Russian claims that it expressed willingness to hold dialogue on Ukraine or discuss possible peace negotiations when the two countries' defence ministers spoke on Wednesday. * Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said his country's support for Ukraine was unwavering during a phone call with Zelenskyy. * Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Moscow viewed South Korea's decision to impose sanctions on Russian individuals and entities as "unfriendly" and will respond. South Korea imposed sanctions against two Russian ships it says were carrying military cargo to North Korea. It has also sanctioned those it says have links to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programmes. * Germany said it detained the Atlantic Navigator II, a cargo ship sailing from Russia, that made an unscheduled stop at the German port of Rostock. Customs said it was investigating the vessel, carrying 251 containers of birch wood, on suspicion of breaching European Union sanctions against Russia. Weapons * Visiting Kyiv, Finland's President Alexander Stubb signed a 10-year security deal with Ukraine. Stubb said Finland would also send 188 million euros ($203m) in additional military aid, including air defences and heavy-calibre ammunition. * NATO foreign ministers, meeting for a two-day summit in Brussels, agreed to start planning military support for Ukraine on a long-term basis. A proposal to establish a $107bn, five-year fund, drew mixed responses. * Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the country's Western allies were not providing enough air defence for Ukraine to protect itself against Russian aerial attacks. Kuleba said he would press NATO members for 5-7 Patriot systems during the Brussels summit. 20240405 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/5/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-771 Fighting * The death toll in a Russian drone attack on Kharkiv rose to four, including three rescue workers who were killed in a second strike after they'd gone to provide assistance following the initial attack. Governor Oleh Synehubov said 12 people were injured, with three in serious condition. The attack also cut power to about 350,000 people. * In separate incidents, four people were killed in Russian artillery fire and aerial bomb attacks in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv and Sumy, according to local officials. * Moscow-installed officials in Russian occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine said a total of six civilians were killed in Ukrainian drone and shelling attacks. * Vasily Golubev, the governor of Russia's Rostov-on-Don region bordering Ukraine, said air defence destroyed more than 40 airborne targets. An electricity substation in Morozovsk district was hit and work was under way to restore power supplies, he added. * Border police in Moldova said they found what appeared to be fragments of an Iranian-made Russian drone about 500 metres from the border with Ukraine. The area was cordoned off. Politics and diplomacy * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said China's 12-point peace plan, released on the first anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was "reasonable" because it was "based on an analysis of the reasons for what is happening and the need to eliminate these root causes." Critics have called the plan vague. * An investigation by Monitor magazine and shown on public broadcaster ARD said two German construction companies were involved in rebuilding the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, which Russia seized two years ago after a weeks-long siege that killed thousands and left the city in ruins. * Ukraine said it sentenced a resident of the eastern city of Kramatorsk to life in prison after he was found guilty of high treason for helping Russia target a missile strike on a pizzeria last June killing 13 people and injuring dozens more. * Switzerland's population grew last year at its fastest rate in 60 years, pushed by record immigration including thousands of people from Ukraine, according to preliminary figures from the Federal Statistics Office. Weapons * Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said Prague will donate tens of millions of euros to an initiative it is leading to buy hundreds of thousands of artillery ammunition rounds for Ukraine. The first deliveries are expected by June. * NATO members agreed to scour their arsenals to provide more air defence systems to help Ukraine protect itself from Russian ballistic missile attacks, but provided no specific targets or pledges. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/5/russia-downs-dozens-of-drones-as-kremlin-warns-nato-over-ukraine Russia has downed 53 Ukrainian drones, the majority of which targeted the southern Rostov region, the Ministry of Defence said, as the Kremlin warned that Russia and NATO are now in "direct confrontation" over Ukraine. The ministry said that "terrorist attacks with aerial drones" overnight and on Friday morning were foiled, adding that 44 of them were downed or intercepted in Rostov, where Russia's Ukraine campaign headquarters is located. 20240406 Fighting * The Ukrainian military launched a swarm of drones at the Morozovsk airbase, which it claimed destroyed six Russian warplanes, significantly damaged eight other jets, along with killing or injuring 20 members of the Russian military base. Russia said its air defences downed 53 Ukrainian drones - the majority of which targeted the southern Rostov region - and only a power substation was damaged. * An overnight Russian drone strike on Kharkiv killed six people and wounded 11 others, according to officials in Ukraine's second largest city. Ukraine said Iranian-made Russian drones carried out the attack, hitting multiple high-rise buildings, dormitories and a petrol station. * Pro-Russian separatists in Moldova claimed that an explosive drone hit a military base under their control close to the Ukrainian border, targeting a radar station that suffered minor damage. They did not directly blame Ukraine. * The Russian Ministry of Defence claimed that its troops managed to take control of the settlement of Vodiane in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Russian state media also said soldiers entered the suburbs of Chasiv Yar near Bakhmut. * At least three people were killed and 13 wounded after Russia fired five missiles on Ukraine's southern city of Zaporizhzhia, the regional governor said. Diplomacy * US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of "significant consequences" for China if its companies provide material support for Russia in its war against Ukraine. * The Kremlin slammed a claim by French President Emmanuel Macron that Russia is attempting to sabotage the Paris Olympics through a disinformation campaign, calling it "wholly unfounded". * British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is expected to visit the United States next week in order to persuade Republican politicians to approve a $60bn package of aid for Ukraine that they have delayed in the US Congress for months. * Japan is adding 164 new industrial products to the list of items that it is banning from being exported to Russia. The items include lithium-ion batteries, vehicle engine oil, gas pipes and optical equipment. * Russia's Investigative Committee has claimed that images on the phone of one of the suspects of the deadly attack on a concert hall near Moscow earlier this month contain pro-Ukraine data, including individuals in Ukrainian military attire. Weapons * Lithuania's Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte said the Baltic state would spend two million euros ($2.16m) to buy about 3,000 Lithuanian-made quadcopter drones for Ukraine, and would also help set up three recovery centres for Ukrainian soldiers. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-773 Fighting * Russian missile strikes on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, killed eight people and injured at least 10 others, regional officials said. * Three civilians were killed in a Russian attack on the front-line village of Guliaipole in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhia region, the local governor said. * "Two men and a woman died under the rubble of their own house, which was hit by a Russian shell," Ivan Fedorov said on the Telegram messaging app. * Ukraine's forces destroyed all 17 attack drones launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian military said. * In the eastern region of Donetsk, artillery shelling killed four people in the village of Kurakhivka, including a 38-year-old woman, her 16-year-old daughter, and a 25-year-old man in Krasnohorivka village was killed. * Ukraine could run out of air defence missiles if Russia keeps up its intense long-range bombing campaign, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned. * "If they keep hitting [Ukraine] every day the way they have for the last month, we might run out of missiles, and the partners know it," he said in an interview aired on Ukrainian television. Diplomacy * Zelenskyy said he hoped Swiss President Viola Amherd and he would set a date within days for a world peace summit in Switzerland with 80 to 100 countries. * The Ukrainian president has said his country would agree to a US aid package in the form of a loan. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/7/russia-says-ukraine-attack-hits-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant Russia, which occupies the site of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station in southern Ukraine, has accused Kyiv of attacking a dome above one of the plant's shutdown reactors. Ukraine has rejected the claim, and it was not immediately clear what weapon was used in the attack on the nuclear plant, which was seized by Russian forces shortly after their full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Radiation levels were normal and there was no serious damage, according to the plant's officials. But Rosatom later said that three people had been wounded, in the attack which struck near the site's canteen. 20240408 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-774 Fighting * Ukraine's military said that fighting around the front line city of Chasiv Yar was "difficult" and "tense" but that its forces were resisting Russian air and infantry attacks. * Ivan Fedorov, the head of Ukraine's southern Zaporizhia region, said three people died in the town of Huliaipole after their house was hit by a Russian shell. * A woman was killed in a Russian attack that hit an apartment block in Kupiansk, in the northeastern Kharkiv region. * In Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, five people were injured in a Russian attack. * In Russia, meanwhile, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said one woman was killed after shrapnel from a shot-down Ukrainian drone hit a car. Authorities said they brought down 12 drones in the Belgorod region and three over Bryansk. * Russia accused Ukraine of a drone attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Ukraine denied the claim. Russia seized the facility shortly after launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Politics and diplomacy * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Beijing on Monday and Tuesday, and hold talks with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The Foreign Ministry said the "Ukrainian crisis" would be discussed. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine would lose to Russia and other countries would be at risk of attack if the United States Congress did not approve a $60b military aid package that Republicans have blocked for months. 20240409 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-775 Fighting * At least three people were killed and eight injured in the southern city of Zaporizhzia after a Russian missile hit several apartment blocks an industrial building as well as medical and educational facilities. * One woman was killed and three others injured after Russia attacked the town of Bilopillia in the northern Sumy region with guided bombs. The attack struck the centre of the town of 15,000 people, damaging shops and a city council building. * One person was killed and five injured, including three children, after Russian shelling triggered a fire and the collapse of a building roof, officials said. * Officials in Zvyahel in Ukraine's central Zhytomyr region urged people to stay indoors amid fears of "air pollution" after a Russian drone attack hit infrastructure. No casualties were reported. Russia launched 24 drones on targets across Ukraine, authorities said, with 17 brought down. * Moscow requested an emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s 35-nation Board of Governors over alleged Ukrainian attacks on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Kyiv has denied attacking the plant, accusing Russia of spreading disinformation. * Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said Russia had struck as much as 80 percent of Ukraine's conventional power plants and half its hydroelectric plants in recent weeks in the heaviest attacks since Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Politics and diplomacy * United Kingdom Foreign Minister David Cameron will meet US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday during a trip to the United States where he will urge Congress to pass a $60b aid package for Ukraine that has been blocked by Republicans. * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov held talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova posted a photo on Telegram showing Lavrov meeting Wang but gave no information on the content of their discussions. 20240410 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-776 Fighting * The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission said it verified at least 604 civilians killed or injured in Ukraine in March, a 20 percent increase from February. The toll included at least 57 children killed or injured, double the number from February, it said. * Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, said a woman and a child were killed when Ukrainian shelling hit the village of Klimovo, about 10km from Russia's border with Ukraine. Bogomaz said three people were injured. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy inspected fortifications and trenches in the northeastern Kharkiv region and issued a new appeal for military support to protect the country's second-largest city from Russian attacks. Russia fired a guided bomb at the city just as Zelenskyy announced his visit, injuring at least three people. * Ukrainian Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed 20 attack drones launched by Russia overnight aimed at critical infrastructure and power facilities in seven Ukrainian regions. Damage was reported in Lviv, Odesa and Poltava. * Russia and Ukraine continued to trade accusations over attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhizhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station. Moscow claimed Kyiv struck the site with a drone for a third day. Kyiv reiterated that it does not take any military action against nuclear facilities. * The International Atomic Energy Agency's Board of Governors will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday at the request of both Ukraine and Russia to discuss the Zaporizhzhia plant. The atomic watchdog earlier said the situation was "extremely serious". Politics and diplomacy * Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wrapped up a two-day visit to Beijing where he met China's President Xi Jinping and top diplomat Wang Yi. Lavrov and Wang said the two countries aimed to deepen security cooperation. China and Russia declared a "no-limits" partnership just before Moscow invaded Ukraine and have deepened their relationship since. Beijing says it is neutral in relation to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron met United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken and urged members of the US Congress to pass a $60bn aid package for Ukraine, which has been blocked by right-wing Republicans. He also travelled to Florida for talks with presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump. Trump's office said the two discussed "ending the killing in Ukraine" among other issues. Weapons * The US military said it transferred weapons to Ukraine, including more than 5,000 AK-47 assault rifles, machine guns, sniper rifles and rocket-propelled grenades, as well as more than 500,000 rounds of ammunition that were seized as they were being shipped by Iran to Houthi forces in Yemen. * The US State Department approved $138m to provide critical repairs and spare parts for Kyiv's HAWK air defence missile systems. 20240411 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-777 Fighting # Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv early on Thursday morning as it came under Russian missile attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov wrote on the Telegram messaging app. # Separately, Zaporizhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said blasts were heard in the southern Ukrainian region, and Ukrainian media reported a cruise missile attack was under way. # Russian forces also launched deadly attacks in the south and north of Ukraine, in Kharkiv and Odesa regions, killing seven people and injuring many more, officials said on Wednesday. # President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the civilian deaths in his nightly video address saying, "Russian terror persists day and night at our border and in front-line areas." # Ukrainian politicians sparked anger by scrapping a clause in a draft law that would have allowed soldiers who had spent long periods on the front lines a chance to return home. With Ukraine's army outnumbered by Russia on the battlefield, military leaders pressured politicians to ditch a draft amendment that would have given soldiers serving for more than 36 months the possibility of being discharged. Politics and diplomacy # Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs again criticised plans for a Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland. Moscow claimed the talks were a futile initiative of the US Democratic Party ahead of the November presidential election. The high-level conference is to be held in Switzerland on June 15-16 and Swiss media have said US President Joe Biden is expected to attend. # Russian businessmen Mikhail Fridman and Petr Aven won a court case on Wednesday over a European Union decision to sanction them for their alleged role in Russia's war against Ukraine. The court said a lack of evidence justified their removal from a list of people who faced restrictive measures between February 2022 and March 2023. Weapons # Ukraine and the United Kingdom signed a framework agreement to cooperate in defence and arms production, part of a wartime effort to build up Ukraine's domestic weapons industry by working with allies. The document was signed at a military industry conference in Kyiv that was attended by about 30 British defence companies. # The top general for US forces in Europe told Congress that Ukraine risked being outgunned 10 to one by Russia within a matter of weeks if they did not quickly find a way to approve sending more ammunition and weapons. # Ukraine said it had been rationing munitions because of the prolonged delay in passing the $60bn package, which has been blocked by right-wing Republicans. 20240412 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-778 Fighting * Russian missiles and drones destroyed a large electricity plant near Kyiv and hit power facilities in several regions of Ukraine. The attack completely destroyed the Trypilska coal-powered thermal power plant near the capital, a senior official at the company that runs the facility told the Reuters news agency. * In Ukraine, parliament passed a controversial new law on mobilisation as it seeks to replenish the military's ranks. The law - which was watered down from its original draft - will make it easier to identify every draft-eligible man in the country, where many have dodged conscription by avoiding contact with authorities. Politics and diplomacy * International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that drone attacks on the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine must stop because of the risk of opening "a new and gravely dangerous" stage in the war. Grossi was speaking at a special meeting of his agency's 35-nation Board of Governors to discuss the attacks. * Ukraine needs military aid and air defence systems in the face of Russia's intensifying attacks, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as he criticised his country's allies for engaging in "lengthy discussions" and "turning a blind eye". * The president travelled to Lithuania to participate in a regional security summit, saying that "Russian evil is a threat not only to Ukraine but to every nation bordering Russia and to everyone who values international law". * Ukraine risks collapsing under Russia's onslaught without US support, a disaster that could embolden China and prompt a new crisis in East Asia, Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida told US lawmakers during a state visit to Washington, DC, urging them to overcome "self-doubt" about the country's role on the world stage. Weapons * Ukraine and Latvia signed a 10-year security agreement envisaging annual Latvian military support for Ukraine at 0.25 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), Zelenskyy said. "Latvia also made a 10-year commitment to assist Ukraine with cyber defence, demining, and unmanned technologies, as well as support for Ukraine's EU and NATO accession," he wrote on X. 20240415 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-781 Fighting * Ukraine's army chief, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskii, said on Sunday that Russian forces aimed to capture the city of Chasiv Yar by May 9, setting the stage for an important battle for control of high ground in the east where Russia is focusing its assaults. * The fall of Chasiv Yar, west of the shattered city of Bakhmut, by the date Moscow marks the Soviet victory in World War II would indicate growing Russian battlefield momentum as Kyiv faces a slowdown in Western military aid. * Rob Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a think tank in Philadelphia, said on X that Chasiv Yar would likely prove an important battle. "Chasiv Yar is located on defensible high ground. If Russia takes the [town], they could potentially increase the rate of advance deeper into Donetsk [region] as part of an expected summer offensive," he said. * Separately, fragments from a downed Russian missile fell on a settlement outside the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Sunday, injuring 12 people, the regional governor Serhiy Lysak said. * Lysak also said Russian forces used artillery in 11 attacks on the town of Nikopol, a frequent target opposite the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. He said four people had been injured. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Ukrainians in his nightly address on Sunday: "The situation at the front during such a hot war is always difficult. But these days - and especially on the Donetsk front - it's getting harder." Politics and diplomacy * President Zelenskyy on Sunday condemned Iran's drone and missile attack on Israel and said his country needed help from its allies to fend off threats from the air, just as Israel did. * Zelenskyy again called on the United States Congress to approve a vital aid package that has been blocked for months by political wrangling. * US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday he would try to pass aid to Israel this week but did not say whether the legislation would also include assistance for Ukraine and other US allies. * According to an exclusive by the Reuters news agency, Russian Copper Company (RCC) and Chinese firms have avoided taxes and skirted the impact of Western sanctions by trading in new copper wire rods disguised as scrap. Weapons * Germany will deliver a US-made Patriot air defence system and air defence missiles to Ukraine at a "critical time", Zelenskyy said. * "I am grateful to the chancellor for the decision to supply another, additional Patriot system to Ukraine, as well as missiles for the existing air defence systems," the president said after speaking by telephone with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. * Ukraine's leader said last week that the country needed 25 US-made Patriot air defence systems to protect the country from Russian attacks. 20240416 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-782 Fighting * At least two people were killed after a Russian guided aerial bomb hit an education centre in the village of Lukiantsi in the northeastern Kharkiv region. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a new plea to Ukraine's allies for air defences to protect against Russian strikes on cities and infrastructure and noted that Ukraine's forces were facing difficult situations along the eastern front line in Chasiv Yar, west of the destroyed Russian-held town of Bakhmut, and in Pokrovsk and Kupiansk, further west and north. Politics and diplomacy * International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi told the United Nations Security Council that "reckless attacks" on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power plant in Ukraine had put the world "dangerously close to a nuclear accident". Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the incidents over the last week but Grossi said it was "impossible" at the moment to prove who was behind them. * Senior officials in the United States accused China of supporting Russia's war effort in Ukraine by providing drone and missile technology, satellite imagery and machine tools. The Chinese Embassy in the US said it has not provided weaponry to any party and that it was "not a producer of or party involved in the Ukraine crisis". * US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House of Representatives would consider aid to Ukraine and Israel as separate pieces of legislation this week. Some $60bn in assistance to Ukraine, which was passed by the Senate as a single bill alongside aid for Israel and Taiwan, has been blocked by Republicans for weeks. * A Russian military court jailed a 29-year-old man for 14 years after he was found guilty of cooperating with a foreign state and "justifying terrorism". Vladlen Menshikov was initially accused of attempting to sabotage railway lines carrying military equipment near his hometown of Rezh, a small village near the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. * The US imposed sanctions on 12 Belarus entities and 10 individuals over what it said was their support for Russia's war on Ukraine. * A ballet performance in South Korea featuring principal dancers from Russia's Bolshoi Ballet was cancelled a day before opening night, the organiser said. The last-minute cancellation came after Seoul performances of a ballet starring Svetlana Zakharova, a Ukrainian-born Russian prima ballerina and vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin, were called off in March. Weapons * Colonel Vadym Sukharevskyi, the commander of Ukraine's drone forces, said Ukraine had delivered three times more drones to its army so far this year than in the whole of 2023. * Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba appealed for "extraordinary and bold steps" to supply air defences to help Ukraine defend itself against waves of Russian air strikes. "We urgently require additional Patriot and other modern air defence systems, weapons and ammunition," Kuleba told a Black Sea security conference via videolink. 20240417 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-783 Fighting * Ukraine's Air Force said air defence systems destroyed nine Russian drones launched over several eastern and southern regions. * The Institute for the Study of War, a United States-based think tank, said Russian troops on the front line were "breaking out of positional warfare and beginning to restore maneuver to the battlefield" because of US delays in providing military assistance to Ukraine. The think tank warned Ukrainian troops would not be able to hold their current lines "without the rapid resumption of US assistance, particularly air defense and artillery". * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed into law a new mobilisation bill to address severe troop shortages. The new law includes measures to toughen penalties on draft dodgers and incentivise conscription but no plan to demobilise long-serving soldiers on the front line. The changes come into effect in one month. * Ukraine's Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said almost 37,000 people, including military personnel, were unaccounted for since Russia's full-scale invasion of his country began in February 2022, warning the actual figure may be much higher. Ukraine and the Red Cross had also identified about 1,700 people "illegally detained" by Russia, Lubinets said. Politics and diplomacy * On a visit to Beijing, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz asked Chinese President Xi Jinping "to exert pressure on Russia so that [President Vladimir] Putin finally calls off his insane campaign, withdraws his troops and ends this terrible war". Xi did not appear supportive of a Ukrainian-led peace summit to be held in June, however, saying any peace conference needed to be recognised by both sides and have equal participation. * A Ukrainian man who says he was detained at work and tortured by Russian occupying forces filed a war crimes case in Argentina, the Reuters news agency reported. In the filing, the man accuses one named person, two identified by their call signs or military insignia, and others who are unnamed, of using electrocution and unlawful imprisonment as forms of torture in mid-to-late 2022. Russia denies committing war crimes in Ukraine. * Russia's FSB security service said it detained a man it accused of trying to kill a former officer in Ukraine's main security service (SBU) who lives in exile in Moscow. The FSB alleged Kyiv had ordered the man to kill Vasily Prozorov, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the SBU, who told Russian news agencies he had passed sensitive information to Russia's intelligence services since 2014. Prozorov's car exploded in a suspected car bombing in Moscow last week. Weapons * Zelenskyy said Ukraine "ran out" of defensive weapons to defend the Trypilska thermal power plant (TTPP), one of the biggest electricity suppliers to the Kyiv region, which allowed it to be destroyed by Russian missiles on April 11. * Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala said 20 countries had pledged enough to buy 500,000 artillery shells for Ukraine under a Czech-led international fundraising drive to buy ammunition for the Ukrainian army. 20240418 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-784 Fighting * At least 17 people were killed in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv after it was struck by three Russian missiles. Emergency services said 60 people, including three children, were injured. About 250,000 people live in Chernihiv, which is about 150km north of the capital, Kyiv. * One woman was injured by falling debris after Russian forces brought down a done over the Voronezh region. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said air defence also destroyed 14 airborne targets over the southern Belgorod region. No injuries were reported. * The BBC reported the number of Russian soldiers killed in the war in Ukraine had topped 50,000. The data was compiled by BBC Russian, independent media group Mediazona and volunteers. * Colonel Serhii Pakhomov, acting head of the Ukrainian military's atomic, biological and chemical defence forces, told the Reuters news agency that Kyiv had recorded about 900 uses of riot control agents on the front line by Russia in the past six months. The gases, banned for use on the battlefield by the international Chemical Weapons Convention, are being used to try and clear trenches, Pakhomov said. Some 500 troops had required medical help after exposure to toxic substances on the battlefield and at least one soldier died after suffocating on tear gas, he added. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the Ukrainian military attacked a large Russian airfield at Dzhankoi in the north of occupied Crimea. A series of explosions were reported at the base. There were no reports of damage. Politics and diplomacy * US House Speaker Mike Johnson said the House would hold a long-delayed vote on a $60bn aid package for Ukraine on Saturday. The bill, passed by the Senate in February, has been held up amid objections from far-right members of Johnson's Republican party. * Writing in the Wall Street Journal, US President Joe Biden urged Congress to approve the package saying the conflict was at a "pivotal moment". * China said that "a lot of work" would need to be done before a planned peace conference on the Ukraine war could take place in Switzerland. It did not say whether it would attend the meeting, which is expected to take place in June. * Russia's FSB security service arrested four people, accusing them of sending money to Ukrainian armed forces and planning to join the country's military. * France appointed investigating magistrates to run a war crimes investigation into the death of Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, a dual French-Irish national, who was killed covering the war in Ukraine in March 2022. Producer Oleksandra Kuvshynova was also killed when the news team's vehicle came under fire in Horenka near Kyiv. Correspondent Benjamin Hall was badly injured. * Cybersecurity firm Mandiant warned a cyber group known as Sandworm, with links to Russian military intelligence, is emerging as a significant global threat after playing an increasingly critical role in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Sandworm "is actively engaged in the full spectrum of espionage, attack, and influence operations", Mandiant said. Weapons * President Zelenskyy, addressing the European Council by videolink hours after the Chernihiv attack, pleaded for more defence systems. Zelenskyy said Ukraine should enjoy the same cover from aerial attacks as Israel, which was able to intercept a barrage of drones and missiles fired by Iran last weekend. "Our Ukrainian sky, the sky of our neighbours deserves the same level of defence," he said. "All lives are equally valuable." * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and other senior German officials pressed fellow European Union members to take action as soon as possible to boost Ukraine's air defences. On Saturday, Germany announced it was sending an additional Patriot air defence system to Ukraine. * NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the NATO-Ukraine Council will meet on Friday to discuss ways on how to provide more air defence systems for Kyiv. * A crowdfunding initiative launched by a Slovak group on Monday has so far raised 750,000 euros ($798,000) from members of the public. The group, Peace for Ukraine, hopes to raise one million euros ($1.07 million) for the Czech Republic's initiative to buy ammunition for Ukraine. Slovakia's government has refused to send military aid to Kyiv. 20240410 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-785 Fighting * Two people were killed and two injured by Russian shelling in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region near the front line. Russian shelling in the southern Kherson region, meanwhile, injured at least 16 people, officials said. * Two people were injured after a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region. * The death toll from a Russian attack on Chernihiv in northern Ukraine rose to 18. A further 78 people were injured after three missiles struck the city centre on Wednesday. * Ukraine's military spy agency said its attack on Wednesday on Russia's Dzhankoi airfield in occupied Crimea seriously damaged four missile launchers, three radar stations and other equipment. It said it was still assessing damage to aircraft. Russia has not commented on the attack. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said air defences brought down what it described as five Ukrainian balloons - three over the Voronezh region and two over the Belgorod region. According to Russian news reports, the balloons are equipped with a GPS module and carry explosives. * The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that officials at Ukraine's Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant reported a new attempted drone attack on the facility's training centre. IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said that no damage or injuries were reported. Politics and diplomacy * Polish prosecutors said they arrested a man on suspicion of working with Russia's military intelligence on an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * Germany arrested two men on suspicion that they were working with Russia to plot sabotage attacks on United States military sites in Germany as a way to undermine support for the war in Ukraine. The men are both dual nationals of Germany and Russia. * China's Eurasian Affairs envoy Li Hui held talks on the Ukraine war and bilateral relations with the Ukrainian ambassador to China, Pavlo Riabikin, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. It did not elaborate. Weapons * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told a meeting of G7 foreign ministers that Ukraine had an "urgent, critical need for more air defence", as Kyiv's foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, pressed allies for more Patriot systems. * Valdis Dombrovskis, executive vice president of the European Commission, said the European Union sees signs that China is supplying dual-use components to Russia that could be used to make weapons. 20240420 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-786 Fighting * Russia's Ministry of Defence reported Ukrainian drone strikes overnight and into Saturday. It said 26 drones were detected over the Belgorod region, 10 over Bryansk, and eight over Kursk, among several other regions. * The strikes killed two people in Russia's Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Saturday. The governors of Kursk, Kaluga and Bryansk, all in western Russia, reported strikes in their regions as well. * Ukraine's air force said it shot down a Russian strategic bomber with antiaircraft missiles for the first time since the war began in 2022. * The warplane was downed in Russian airspace, 300km from Ukraine's border, on Friday after it took part in a long-range air strike in the central region of Dnipropetrovsk. * The Russian attack killed at least nine people in the eastern city of Dnipro and surrounding region and injured at least 28 others, regional officials said. * Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the site of the strike in Dnipro and called on his country's allies to rush in more air defences. * Zelenskyy said Russian missiles also struck the Black Sea port of Pivdennyi in the southern Odesa region, destroying grain storage facilities and the food inside. Politics and diplomacy * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he believed the war in Ukraine could drag on for several more years and on Friday defended Germany's military support for Ukraine. * Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) countries expressed "strong concern" about the transfer of materials and weapons components from Chinese businesses to Russia for its military offensive in Ukraine. * At their meeting on the Italian island of Capri on Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said this was heightening "the biggest threat to European security since the end of the Cold War". Weapons * The United States House of Representatives is scheduled to vote later on Saturday to approve $95bn in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and other US allies. The package includes $61bn for Ukraine. * Ukraine's Zelenskyy on Friday told a gathering of NATO defence ministers via videolink that the alliance must decide if it is Ukraine's ally, urging member states to step up arms deliveries to his struggling forces. * "Our sky must become safe again," he said, telling the minister that Ukraine could not defend itself without Western support. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/20/us-house-approves-aid-package-worth-billions-for-ukraine-israel The United States House of Representatives with broad bipartisan support has passed a $95bn legislative package providing security assistance to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, despite bitter objections from Republican hardliners. The legislation proceeded on Saturday to the Democratic-majority Senate, which passed a similar measure more than two months ago. 20240422 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/22/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-788 Fighting * One person was killed and four others were injured in Russian shelling in the town of Ukrainsk, according to the prosecutor's office in the partially-occupied Donetsk region. In the Odesa region, four people were injured in a Russian missile attack, Governor Oleh Kiper said. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces had taken control of the settlement of Bohdanivka in the Donetsk region. Bohdanivka is located just to the west of the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. * The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces, in its evening report, mentioned Bohdanivka as one of a series of villages where it said Ukrainian forces repelled 13 enemy attacks. It gave no specific details. * Ukraine's Navy spokesperson Dmytro Pletenchuk said the navy had struck and damaged the Kommuna, a Russian rescue vessel, in Sevastopol in Russian-occupied Crimea. The Moscow-installed governor of Sevastopol said Russian forces had repelled an antiship missile attack on one of its vessels in the port, and that there was a small fire. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the US House of Representatives' passage of a long-delayed bill to provide $61bn in foreign aid for Ukraine and urged the United States to quickly turn the bill into law and start the transfer of weapons. * European Union foreign ministers will meet in Luxembourg on Monday to discuss bolstering Ukraine's air defences. * Global military spending rose by 6.8 percent to an all-time high of $2.4 trillion, driven by conflicts in Ukraine and elsewhere, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). Russia boosted spending by 24 percent, reaching $109bn in 2023, according to SIPRI's estimates. Ukraine's military spending rose by 51 percent, reaching $64.8bn, while it also received $35bn in military aid from its allies, mostly the US. 20240423 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/23/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-789 Fighting * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a Russian missile attack that destroyed Kharkiv's 240-metre (787-foot) television tower was part of a deliberate effort by Moscow to make Ukraine's second-largest city uninhabitable. * Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for Ukraine's eastern military command, described the situation around Chasiv Yar and surrounding villages as "difficult" but "controllable" as a Russian force of about 20,000-25,000 troops tries to storm the eastern Ukrainian town, which lies on strategic high ground in the partially-occupied Donetsk region. * Ukraine denied Russian claims that it had taken control of Novomykhailivka in eastern Ukraine, saying its forces were still in control of the village, some 40km southwest of the Ukrainian city of Donetsk. Politics and diplomacy * A court in Moscow sentenced a 39-year-old Russian man to five years' forced labour for spreading "deliberately false information" about the army after talking about the war in Ukraine in an impromptu street interview with journalists from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which is funded by the United States government. * A military court in Moscow sentenced Meta Communications Director Andy Stone to six years in prison for "publicly defending terrorism", a verdict handed down in absentia, the RIA news agency reported. Meta is designated an extremist organisation in Russia and its social media platforms Facebook and Instagram have been banned since 2022 when Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Weapons * Zelenskyy spoke on the phone with US President Joe Biden and said that Kyiv and Washington had started talks on a bilateral security cooperation agreement, and finalised plans for more ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) long-range missiles to be sent to Ukraine. * European Union ministers said they were looking urgently at how to provide more air defences to Ukraine but stopped short of making concrete pledges to provide the Patriot systems that Kyiv has said it needs most. * United Kingdom Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will visit Poland on Tuesday and announce a 500 million pound ($617m) boost in military support for Ukraine, warning that Russia must be defeated to prevent its troops from pressing further into Europe. The UK will also send to Ukraine what it described as its largest-ever single package of military equipment, including 60 boats, more than 1,600 strike and air defence missiles and nearly 4 million rounds of small arms ammunition. 20240424 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-790 Fighting * Oleksandr Pivnenko, the commander of Ukraine's National Guard, said Russia was preparing "unpleasant surprises" and could try to advance on the northeastern city of Kharkiv, the second-biggest in the country, in the coming months. Pivnenko said Kyiv's forces were prepared to thwart any assault. * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said Moscow would "increase the intensity of attacks on logistics centres and storage bases for Western weapons" in Ukraine, as he claimed advances on the front line in Pervomaiske, Bohdanivka and Novomykhailivka this month. * At least nine people were injured after a Russian drone attack on the Black Sea port of Odesa, which damaged more than a dozen residential apartments. Four children, including two babies, were among the injured and were taken to hospital. * Ukraine's Air Force said Russia launched a total of 16 attack drones and two short-range Iskander ballistic missiles in the attack, which was also aimed at Kyiv, but all were shot down. One person was injured by falling drone debris in the Mykolaiv region. * A Russian rocket attack on the Dnipropetrovsk region left four people in hospital, Governor Serhiy Lysak said in a post on Telegram. * Emergency services in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's Zaporizhia region said four people travelling in a car north of the town of Melitopol were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack. * Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-installed governor of occupied parts of the Kherson region, said five people were injured in Ukrainian shelling that hit a market in the town of Kakhovka. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said the country would suspend consular services for military-age men overseas unless they are returning home, as it tries to mobilise more men to fight on the front lines. * Ukraine announced a corruption investigation into Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskyi in connection with the illegal acquisition of state-owned land in 2017 and 2018. Solskyi has denied the allegations and promised his full cooperation. * Russia's Investigative Committee said it had detained Timur Ivanov, one of the country's 12 deputy defence ministers, on suspicion of taking bribes. Ivanov, 48, oversaw property management, housing and medical support for the military, as well as the construction and reconstruction of facilities. According to Forbes magazine, Ivanov is one of the wealthiest men in Russia's security apparatus. * China condemned as "groundless accusations" United States claims that Beijing is fuelling the Ukraine war by supplying dual-use components to Russia. Beijing says it is a neutral party in the Ukraine conflict but has been criticised for refusing to condemn Moscow for its full-scale invasion. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is visiting Beijing this week. * A Russian court rejected the latest appeal by Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich against his pre-trial detention on spying charges. Gershkovich, the Journal and the US government have rejected the accusations. Weapons * The United States is preparing a $1b military aid package for Ukraine, which will be the first from the long-delayed Ukraine-Israel bill that is soon set to become law. The aid package includes Stinger air defence munitions, additional ammunition for high-mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), artillery ammunition, and other weapons that can be put to immediate use on the battlefield, US officials told the Reuters and Associated Press news agencies on condition of anonymity. 20240425 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/25/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-791 Fighting * At least six people were injured after Russia launched a missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Officials said the S-300 missiles caused damage to residential buildings, offices, a gas pipeline through the city centre and dozens of cars. Russia claimed to have struck a military dormitory. * Ukrainian intelligence sources told the Reuters news agency its drones had struck two Rosneft-owned oil depots in Russia's Smolensk region, west of Moscow, as well as a major steel factory in the southern Lipetsk region. Russian regional officials said fires had broken out at the oil facilities following the attack, while a drone had come down in an industrial zone in the Lipetsk region. They did not say whether there was any damage. Politics and diplomacy * The United States Congress passed a long-delayed $61bn aid package for Ukraine that was quickly signed into law by President Joe Biden. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed the approval and said Ukraine would do its best to "make up" for the past six months as it has struggled to fend off better-equipped Russian forces. Zelenskyy said he was working closely with US officials to work out an incoming $1bn military package containing "exactly the weapons that our soldiers need". He specifically mentioned Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), artillery, antitank weapons, high mobility artillery rocket system (HIMARS) and air defence. * Zelenskyy said 16 Ukrainian children previously "deported to Russia" had been reunited with their families after mediation talks organised by Qatar. Kyiv has accused Russia of the forcible deportation of thousands of children from Ukrainian territories it has occupied. * A court in Moscow ordered Timur Ivanov, one of Russia's 12 deputy defence ministers, to be held in custody pending trial on charges of bribery. Ivanov was in charge of military construction projects and was known for his lavish lifestyle. The 48-year-old, who wore his military uniform in court, faces up to 15 years in prison if found guilty. * Ukraine's SBU security service said it suspected Metropolitan Arseniy, a high-ranking cleric and head of the main Orthodox monastery in eastern Ukraine, of having "tipped off" Russian forces about Ukrainian army positions in the Kramatorsk district and promoted "pro-Kremlin narratives". The priest faces as many as eight years in prison if convicted. * Ukraine stopped issuing new passports to some military-aged men overseas, according to amended legislation. The exact scope and period of the measure were unclear. Ukraine is expanding conscription to boost the number of troops on the battlefield. * Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy will sign an agreement next month with Ukraine and the United Nations' cultural agency UNESCO to rebuild the city of Odesa and its cathedral, which was badly damaged by a Russian attack last July. Weapons * White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan confirmed that the US had sent a "significant number" of long-range ATACMS to Ukraine and would "send more". Sullivan was responding to reports in the US media that the missiles had been sent, and used twice. The long-range ATACMS has a range of 300km. ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/25/us-secretly-sent-long-range-atacms-weapons-to-ukraine The United States quietly sent long-range ballistic missiles to Ukraine as part of a package of military support in March, and Ukraine has used the weapons twice, according to US officials. The longer-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) can hit targets as far as 300km away, nearly double the range of the mid-range ATACMS that the US began sending towards the end of last year. 20240426 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-792 Fighting * At least three people were killed and four injured in Russian shelling in the village of Udachne, west of the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk. * Another three people were killed in Russian attacks on Kurakhivka, further south. * A Moscow-appointed official in the Russian-occupied southern region of Zaporizhia said two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack that hit a car. * Two people were also killed in Ukrainian artillery fire in the Russian-occupied part of the southern Kherson region, according to Moscow-appointed officials there. * At least 10 people were injured after a Russian missile struck a railway station in Balakliya in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the injured were in a passenger train that was standing about 15 metres (50ft) from where the missile hit. * At least six people were injured after Russia struck critical infrastructure in Ukraine's central Cherkasy region. * Ukraine has sidelined Abrams M1A1 battle tanks provided by the United States partly because Russian drone warfare has made it too difficult for them to operate without detection or coming under attack, two US military officials told The Associated Press. Politics and diplomacy * NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said China must stop supporting Russia's war in Ukraine if it wants to enjoy better relations with the West. Beijing says it is neutral in the war. Stoltenberg, however, said it was helping prop up Moscow's war, noting that Russia imported 90 percent of its microelectronics from China, which were then used in the production of missiles, tanks and aircraft. "China says it wants good relations with the West. At the same time, Beijing continues to fuel the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II. They cannot have it both ways," he said. * Russian President Vladimir Putin said he planned to visit China in May. He did not give a date. Chinese President Xi Jinping travelled to Moscow a year ago to meet Putin, and the two men met again on the sidelines of a Beijing forum last October when Xi said the "political mutual trust" between their countries was "continuously deepening". * Mykola Solsky, Ukraine's agriculture minister, resigned amid a corruption investigation into his alleged involvement in the illegal acquisition of state-owned land worth $7m. A court is set to decide on Friday whether Solsky should be taken into custody. * Leading Russian human rights group Memorial warned that the health of Oleg Orlov, its jailed 71-year-old head, was deteriorating. Orlov was sentenced in February to two and a half years in prison for "discrediting the armed forces" after he took part in antiwar demonstrations and published an article in which he said Russia had descended into fascism. Orlov had been due in court on Thursday, but the hearing was cancelled. * The Security Services of Ukraine (SBU) said a husband and wife, who had been found guilty of treason for providing information to Russia that allowed its forces to launch a rocket strike on a hospital in the southern Kherson region, had been sentenced to 15 years. * The SBU said it had also detained a former soldier whom it accused of helping Russia plot attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The suspect, who faces up to eight years in prison, had tried to flee to Russian-held territory, it added. * Russia jailed a 26-year-old Siberian man for 10 years on charges of state treason and "terrorism" over plans to join Russian units fighting for Ukraine. The man was detained as he was making his way to Ukraine, according to state news agency TASS. * US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said a US proposal to use the interest derived from $300bn in frozen Russian assets to aid Ukraine was building support among Group of Seven (G7) countries wary about an outright asset seizure. Moscow said it might downgrade diplomatic ties with the United States if its frozen assets were seized. * Poland and Lithuania could help return Ukrainians of military age back to Ukraine, the countries' defence ministers said. * Russian celebrity blogger and TV presenter Anastasia Ivleeva, whose "almost naked" party in Moscow caused outrage, was fined 50,000 roubles ($540) for "discrediting" the country's armed forces by calling for peace in a social media post. * Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that the risk of military incidents along his country's border with Ukraine was quite high. Lukashenko also said that "several dozen" Russian tactical nuclear weapons had been deployed in Belarus. Weapons * US media outlet Politico reported the US could announce as soon as Friday a new $6bn weapons package for Ukraine. Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the package was likely to include Patriot air defence systems, artillery ammunition, drones, counter-drone weapons and air-to-air missiles for fighter planes. * Russia brushed off the potential impact of Ukraine's new long-range weaponry on the battlefield. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov insisted such weapons would "not change the outcome of the special military operation", as Russia terms its invasion, and would "cause more problems for Ukraine itself". * Denmark's government said it was adding 4.4 billion kroner ($630m) to its Ukraine military aid fund. The country is the fourth-largest donor of military aid to Ukraine since the start of Russia's 2022 invasion, according to the German-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy. 20240429 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-795 Fighting * Ukraine's top commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii said Kyiv's troops fell back to new positions west of three villages on the eastern front, as the situation on the front line worsened. Syrskii said the "most difficult" areas were west of Russian-occupied Maryinka and northwest of Avdiivka, the town captured by Russian forces in February. * Syrskii also said his forces were closely monitoring an increase in the number of Russian troops in the area of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and just 30km from the Russian border. "In the most threatening directions, our troops have been reinforced by artillery and tank units," he said. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its troops had captured the village of Novobakhmutivka in the Donetsk region, about 10km north of Avdiivka. * Moscow-appointed officials in Russian-occupied parts of eastern and southern Ukraine said three people were killed in Ukrainian shelling. * A Russian drone attack hit a hotel in Ukraine's southern city of Mykolaiv, causing a fire, which was quickly extinguished. No casualties were reported. * Russia said its air defences destroyed 17 Ukrainian drones over its border regions. No damage or casualties were reported. Politics and diplomacy * Konstantin Gabov and Sergey Karelin, both Russian journalists, were arrested and held in custody on charges of "extremism" for allegedly working for a group founded by the Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, who died suddenly in an Arctic prison in February. Karelin is a dual Russian-Israeli citizen and had been working with the Associated Press news agency, which said it was "very concerned" at his detention. The two men deny the charges. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy issued a new plea to the international community to deliver more air defences. Speaking in his evening video address, Zelenskyy said he had spoken on the phone with Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the Democrats in the United States House of Representatives, and stressed the need for Patriot anti-missile systems to be sent "as soon as possible". * North Korea criticised the US for supplying long-range missiles to Ukraine, according to a report in the state-run KCNA. The US and others have accused Pyongyang, which is under strict United Nations sanctions over its nuclear weapons programme, of supplying arms to Moscow for use in its war in Ukraine. 20240430 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-796 Fighting * At least four people were killed and 32 more injured after a Russian missile attack on the Ukrainian port city of Odesa, which struck a law academy in a popular seafront park. Governor Oleh Kiper said seven of the injured, including a four-year-old child, were in serious condition. * One person was injured by shrapnel in the blast of a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. * Russia said it captured the village of Semenivka northwest of the strategic town of Avdiivka, as Ukraine's army said its troops had repelled enemy attacks near the settlement. The announcement came a day after Moscow claimed the nearby village of Novobakhmutivka, with Kyiv saying the situation for its front line forces was worsening. Politics and diplomacy * German prosecutors said they were not ruling out a political motive as they investigated a 57-year-old Russian citizen arrested on suspicion of stabbing to death two convalescing Ukrainian soldiers over the weekend. The soldiers - who had been recuperating in southern Germany - were found with serious stab wounds outside a shopping centre in the Bavarian town of Murnau am See on Saturday evening. * A 54-year-old German former soldier named only as Thomas H admitted he had spied for Russia as he went on trial for espionage in the western city of Duesseldorf. The trial is expected to continue until late June. * Chinese President Xi Jinping will make a state visit to France on May 6 and 7 with the war in Ukraine high on the agenda. French President Emmanuel Macron has been trying to dissuade China from supporting Russia's offensive. * Polish farmers ended their protest over cheap food imports at the last border crossing with Ukraine after months of diplomacy between Kyiv and Warsaw as well as and Poland's decision to pay subsidies to farmers as compensation for lower grain prices. Weapons * Visiting Kyiv, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg acknowledged months-long delays in US military aid to Ukraine had had "serious consequences on the battlefield", but promised members were now working hard to meet Ukraine's "urgent needs". * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, speaking alongside Stoltenberg at a press conference, said while weapons had begun to arrive in Ukraine in "small amounts", the process needed to be accelerated. * The debris from a missile that struck Kharkiv on January 2 was from a North Korean Hwasong-11 series ballistic missile, United Nations sanctions monitors told a UN Security Council committee in a report seen by the Reuters news agency. 20240501 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-797 Fighting * At least three people were killed and three injured after a Russian missile struck the Ukrainian port city of Odesa early on Wednesday. * At least one man was killed and nine injured in the northeastern city of Kharkiv after Russia struck a railway line with a guided bomb damaging nearby residential buildings in the latest attack on Ukraine's second-biggest city. Ukraine's railway company said the 24-year-old victim was one of its employees. * One woman was killed and three people injured in Ukrainian shelling along the border in Russia's Kursk region, according to the regional governor there. * Moscow said Ukraine had attacked Crimea, which Russia invaded and annexed from Ukraine in 2014, with Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS). The Russian Ministry of Defence said six of the missiles were shot down, along with 10 drones and two guided bombs. It did not say where the weapons were brought down or whether there was any damage. Ukraine did not comment. * The spokesman for Ukraine's border service told the Ukrinform news agency that about 30 Ukrainian men had died trying to cross Ukraine's borders illegally in an attempt to avoid fighting in the war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Under Ukrainian law, men between the ages of 18 and 60 are not allowed to leave the country as they may be mobilised to fight. * Ukrainian soldiers discovered Lidya Stepanovna, a 97-year-old Ukrainian woman, who said she had walked 10km under shelling to escape Ocheretyne in Donetsk, now occupied by Russia, and reach areas controlled by Kyiv. Stepanovna is now in a shelter for evacuees. Politics and diplomacy * Andrzej Szejna, the Polish deputy foreign minister, said Poland would not "protect" Ukrainian men on its soil who had escaped the draft. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian men of military age are living in the country, according to UN figures. * The OVD-Info rights group said Stanislav Netesov, a man who went to a Moscow police station after he was attacked at a bus stop, was instead accused of "discrediting" the Russian army because his hair was dyed in the blue and yellow colours of the Ukrainian flag. Netesov, whose hair is dyed blue, yellow and green, was also given a notice for a draft enlistment centre, OVD-Info said. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine needed "a significant acceleration" in deliveries of weaponry from its partners, particularly the United States, to enable its troops to face advancing Russian forces along several sectors of the front line. Top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskii has said the Russians are intent on seizing the town of Chasiv Yar to coincide with the commemoration on May 9 of the Soviet victory in World War II. * Norway said it would increase its aid to Ukraine this year by 7 billion Norwegian crowns ($633m). Some 6 billion crowns ($540m) will go to air defence and ammunition. "It's a matter of life and death for the people of Ukraine," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store told a news conference. * US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said Washington had been encouraging countries with Patriot missile systems to donate them to Ukraine. Austin did not name the countries but Spain, Greece, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Sweden are among the European nations that have Patriots. 20240502 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/2/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-798 Fighting * Odesa Regional Governor Oleh Kiper said at least 14 people were injured after Russia struck a postal depot with a ballistic missile triggering a large fire. It was the third missile attack on the Black Sea port city in as many days. * At least two people were killed and six injured after a Russian rocket attack on the town of Hirnyk, just over 12km from the front line in Maryinka in the eastern Donetsk region. * At last two people were killed and 13 injured after Russia launched two guided bombs on the town of Zolochiv, in the northeastern Kharkiv region, about 15km from the Russian border. * Oleh Shyriaiev, commander of Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Battalion, which is among forces defending the strategic eastern stronghold of Chasiv Yar, told the Reuters news agency his unit was badly in need of ammunition, particularly artillery shells, as they face near constant attack from Russian drones. * New drone footage obtained by The Associated Press news agency showed how months of relentless Russian artillery pounding has devastated Chasiv Yar. The town was once home to 12,000 people, but the footage reveals it is now almost deserted and barely a building remains intact. * The United States accused Russia of breaking the international ban on chemical weapons by using the choking agent chloropicrin against Ukrainian troops. Chloropicrin is listed as a banned agent by the Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The US said Moscow was also deploying riot control agents "as a method of warfare" in Ukraine. * Russia said Ukrainian drone attacks caused power cuts in villages in the central Oryol and southern Kursk regions. A Ukrainian drone also hit a Russian oil refinery in Ryazan, about 190km southeast of Moscow. Politics and diplomacy * The United States announced new sanctions on nearly 300 companies over Russia's war in Ukraine, targeting Moscow's circumvention of existing restrictions, including through China. Sanctions were imposed on 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong, including one that allegedly exported items used in the production of drones. Weapons * Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered an increase in weapons production for the war in Ukraine and said deliveries also needed to accelerate. * Moscow mounted a display of Western tanks and military hardware captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, saying the exhibition 'Trophies of the Russian Army', showed Western assistance would not stop Russia from succeeding in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 20240503 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-799 Fighting * At least eight children were injured in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region when Russian guided bombs struck a site close to the sports centre where they were training. * Human Rights Watch said Russia should be investigated for war crimes over evidence allegations that its forces executed at least 21 Ukrainian soldiers as they attempted to surrender or had already surrendered between December 2023 and February 2024. * Russia claimed to have captured the village of Berdychi in eastern Ukraine, about 12km northwest of the Moscow-occupied town of Avdiivka. Kyiv said its forces had retreated from the settlement over the weekend. * The Kremlin rejected US allegations that it had used chloropicrin on the battlefield in Ukraine. The use of the chemical, which causes severe irritation to the eyes, skin and lungs, is banned in war. Politics and diplomacy * The United States' Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, the country's top spy, said the war in Ukraine was unlikely to end soon, although Russian President Vladimir Putin was likely to press on with aggressive tactics because he believed domestic and international developments were trending in his favour. * French President Emmanuel Macron told the Economist newspaper that he had not ruled out sending ground troops to Ukraine if Russia broke through Ukrainian front lines and the government in Kyiv requested assistance. * Ukraine has consistently demanded more air defence equipment from its Western allies as its outnumbered and outgunned forces struggle to fend off Russia during the war, now in its third year. * Russia repeated its view that there was no point in the peace conference being planned by Switzerland in mid-June. * The Swiss government said it had extended invitations to more than 160 delegations to the talks but "at this stage" Russia was not among them because it had repeatedly stressed it had no interest in attending. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia used more than 300 missiles, about 300 Shahed-type drones and more than 3,200 guided bombs in April attacks on Ukraine. * United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Cameron visited Kyiv and said the UK would gather Ukraine's backers next month to raise more funds for its under-pressure forces. Meeting Zelenskyy and other senior Ukrainian officials, Cameron detailed Britain's "unequivocal support" for the country in the form of precision-guided bombs, and air defence missiles and equipment for 100 mobile air defence teams. 20240504 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/4/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-800 Fighting * France estimates that 150,000 Russian soldiers have been killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, Foreign Minister Stephane Sejourne said in an interview. * Russia says it downed four US-made long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), recently supplied by the United States to Ukraine, over the occupied Crimean peninsula. *Two people have been killed in a Russian attack on the city of Kurakhove, located in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Two other people were also reported wounded. * Russia has launched an overnight drone attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv and Dnipro regions, injuring at least six people, including three women and a child, and hitting critical infrastructure, commercial and residential buildings. * The Ukrainian Air Force says Russian forces launched 13 Iran-made Shahed drones targeting the regions in the northeast and centre of the country, but its air defence units downed all of them. * At least one person was severely injured and private houses and infrastructure facilities were damaged in Ukraine's central Kirovohrad region as a result of a Russian missile attack, according to a local official. * Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) says it has killed a man allegedly recruited by Ukraine to blow up military buildings and energy sites in the country, state media reported. The purported plans included the targeting of "defence ministry facilities in the Moscow region and against members of a volunteer battalion and a volunteer centre in Saint Petersburg". Politics * The Kremlin has called British Foreign Secretary David Cameron's statement that Ukraine could use British weapons against targets inside Russia if it wanted to, as a direct and dangerous escalation of tensions around the conflict. * Cameron has promised 3 billion pounds ($3.7bn) of annual military aid for Ukraine for "as long as it takes". * Russia has slammed new comments by French President Emmanuel Macron in which he repeated that the possibility of sending ground troops to Ukraine should not be ruled out. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the statement "is very important and very dangerous". * Russia has accused the US of using the threat of secondary sanctions against Chinese businesses engaging with it as a "pretext" to try and contain China. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Maria Zakharova says China's economy "irritates the US to an extreme degree", so it is using the sanctions "to hold onto [its] economic leadership". * A Russian military court has extended the detentions of a theatre director and a playwright by six months in a case that has shaken the already diminished theatre community. Director Yevgeniya Berkovich and writer Svetlana Petriychuk were arrested a year ago, accused of "justifying terrorism" in an award-winning play performed several years ago. Economy * Ukraine's central bank has introduced its largest wartime currency liberalisation measures aimed at easing restrictions for businesses, more than two years after Russia's invasion prompted the imposition of tough restrictions. * Most of the new provisions, which will take effect on May 14, include the lifting of currency restrictions on imports of goods and services, as well as the easing of restrictions on transferring foreign currency from representative offices to parent companies. * Central bank governor Andriy Pyshnyi, writing on Facebook, described the moves as a "very tangible step" that would provide businesses with "opportunities to enter new markets or bring in investments". * Ukraine's economy, bolstered by financial aid from its Western partners, posted 5.3 percent growth last year and is forecast to expand by 3 percent this year, a reversal from 2022 when the economy shrank by about a third in the first year of the war. 20240505 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/5/chk_russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-801 Fighting * At least two people died after Russia launched attacks several attacks on Kharkiv, including a 49-year-old civilian in Slobozhanske, a village just northeast of the city. * Four others were wounded in the Kharkiv attack, including a 13-year-old hurt by falling debris. A two-storey civilian building was damaged and set ablaze, officials say. * In the Black Sea port of Odesa, three people were wounded after Russia launched rocket attacks on "civil infrastructure", officials say. * Ukraine, meanwhile, said it downed 13 Shahed drones targeting Dnipro and Kharkiv, as well as a Russian Su-25 fighter-bomber over the eastern Donetsk region. An electrical substation in Dnipro was damaged in the drone attacks. * Russia launched eight missiles and nearly 70 guided aerial bombs in total, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * Russian state agency RIA Novosti claimed troops struck a drone warehouse in Kharkiv that had been used by Ukrainian troops overnight. * A big fire engulfed a warehouse on the outskirts of the Russian-annexed Crimean city of Simferopol, Russian officials say. It is unclear what was stored at the warehouse but several emergency crews were dispatched to put it out. * Five people were wounded and hospitalised in Russia's Belgorod after a strong blast on Saturday, officials say. About 30 residential buildings were damaged. It is unclear what caused the explosions. Russian journalists on Telegram channels speculated a bomb meant to be launched on Ukraine exploded by mistake. Politics * Russia is opening a criminal case against Zelenskyy and has put him on a wanted list, officials say. Ukraine officials responding to the move called the decision "meaningless" and reminded Moscow that Russian President Vladimir Putin is on a wanted list by the International Criminal Court (ICC). * A spokesperson for Moscow separately said Russia will respond with "asymmetric measures" to the "hostile line" the Baltic countries of Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia have drawn, which has led to them cutting off ties with Russia, which once enjoyed considerable influence over them. * Just last week, Estonia accused Russia of violating international airspace regulations by interfering with GPS signals. NATO officials also said last week that Baltic countries are among those that are "deeply concerned" about activities they called "Russian espionage" on their soil. Economy * New measures from Ukraine's central bank meant to ease tough restrictions for businesses imposed after Russia's invasion will take effect from May 14. Restrictions on imports of goods and services and foreign currency transfers will be among those to be softened. 20240506 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-802 Fighting * At least one person was killed and 24 injured in Russian drone and bomb attacks on Ukraine's northeastern city of Kharkiv and the surrounding region. Power cuts were also reported. * Ukraine's Air Force said that Russia had launched 24 Shahed attack drones and 23 were shot down. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces had captured the village of Ocheretyne, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The village had a population of about 3,000 people before Russia began its full-scale invasion. There was no comment from Ukrainian officials and no mention of Ocheretyne in the evening report of the Armed Forces General Staff. * Drone footage obtained by The Associated Press news agency showed the village battered by fighting and not a single person in the street. No building in Ocheretyne appeared to have been left untouched by the fighting. Politics and diplomacy * Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived in France for a state visit during which French President Emmanuel Macron is expected to press him over the war in Ukraine. * In a video to mark Orthodox Easter, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on his fellow Ukrainians to unite in prayer for each other and the country's soldiers on the front line. God, he said, has a "Ukrainian flag on his shoulder" and with "such an ally... life will definitely win over death". ... https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/6/russia-announces-nuclear-weapon-drills-after-provocative-western-threats Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after provocative Western threats Military exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons to be held after top European leaders indicated deepening backing for Ukraine. a Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground in Russia A Russian Iskander-K missile launched during a military exercise at a training ground in Russia. The country has announced it will hold tactical nuclear weapons drills 'in the near future' [File: Russian Ministry of Defence via AP] 20240507 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-803 Fighting * Russia claimed to have taken control of two more Ukrainian settlements - Soloviove in the eastern Donetsk region and Kotliarivka further north in the Kharkiv region. Ukraine's military made no mention of either area in its evening report. * About 400,000 households in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region were left without power after Russian drones struck high-voltage distribution lines. Officials said power was later restored to most homes but warned of "urgent challenges" in maintaining the grid. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine, said six people were killed and 35 injured after Ukrainian drones struck two buses taking people to work at a meat factory. * The Ukrainian Weightlifting Federation (UWF) announced Olympian and two-time European champion Oleksandr Pielieshenko had been killed on the front lines of the war in Ukraine at the age of 30. The Ukrainian Olympic Committee said Pielieshenko had signed up in the early days of the war. Politics and diplomacy * Russia said it would hold tactical nuclear weapons drills after some Western European countries voiced stronger military support for Ukraine. Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. * Russia warned the United Kingdom that if UK weapons were used by Ukraine to attack Russian territory, then Moscow could hit back at UK military installations and equipment inside Ukraine and elsewhere. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said last week that Ukraine had the right to strike Russia with UK weapons. * Chinese President Xi Jinping began his tour of Europe meeting French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Paris. Von der Leyen said the EU hoped Xi would help persuade Russia to end its "war of aggression against Ukraine". * Following the talks, Xi said he backed Macron's proposal for a truce during the Olympics, which are scheduled to start in Paris on July 26. He said China had been working "vigorously" to facilitate peace talks for Ukraine. * Germany recalled its ambassador to Russia over alleged cyberattacks linked to Russia's GRU military intelligence agency on its defence and aerospace firms. The ambassador, (Otto) Graf Lambsdorff will remain in Berlin for a week before returning to Moscow. * Russia's FSB security services said it had charged a Russian man in his mid-40s with terrorism. The man was detained near a railway station in the central city of Tambov and accused of attempting to blow up two court buildings on behalf of Ukraine. * Poland said it was financing the operation of 20,000 Starlink internet devices in Ukraine, an essential network for the country's military communications. Weapons * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz backed a proposal for about 90 percent of the revenues generated from frozen Russian assets to be channelled into arms purchases for Ukraine. 20240508 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/8/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-804 Fighting * One person was killed and four injured by Russian artillery fire in the eastern border region of Sumy, which has come under increasing aerial bombardment in recent weeks. Ukrainian police said Moscow's forces had fired on the territory 224 times over the previous 24 hours. * Five people were injured after Ukraine hit an oil storage depot in the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk triggering a large fire. Politics and diplomacy * The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said it uncovered a Russian plot to assassinate Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other senior officials. The SBU said Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had set up a network of agents to carry out the plan and two colonels in the State Guard of Ukraine, which provides protection to top officials, had been arrested on suspicion of treason. * Vladimir Putin was sworn in for a fifth term as Russian president in a Kremlin ceremony boycotted by the United States, the United Kingdom and several European Union countries. In a speech to mark the occasion, Putin said the country would emerge victorious and stronger from a "difficult" period. * Several dozen protesters gathered outside The Hague's Peace Palace to protest against Putin's inauguration, calling for him to stand trial. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Putin and Russian Children's Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova on war crime charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children in March 2023. * Chinese President Xi Jinping left France after a two-day trip during which he offered no major concessions on foreign policy, even as President Emmanuel Macron urged him to use his influence on Russia to help end the war in Ukraine. * Zelenskyy said the island state of Cape Verde had become the first African country to agree to attend next month's "peace summit" in Switzerland. Bern has invited 160 delegations to the event which is scheduled for June 15-16. * Russia banned the US-based non-profit Freedom House, labelling it an "undesirable" organisation in Russia. In its 2024 Freedom in the World report, Freedom House assessed Russia as "not free", noting restrictions on political rights and civil liberties had tightened since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Weapons * Ukrainian state prosecutors told the Reuters news agency they had examined debris from 21 of about 50 North Korean ballistic missiles launched by Russia between late December and late February, as they work to assess the threat from Moscow's cooperation with Pyongyang. The prosecutors' office said evidence so far suggested a high failure rate. * Speaking during a visit to the US, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said he was open to discussions on sending a Patriot missile system to Ukraine. Romania signed a $4bn deal to procure Patriots in 2017, with the first shipment delivered in 2020. * The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said Russia and Ukraine each accused the other of using banned toxins on the battlefield in meetings in The Hague. The OPCW said the accusations were "insufficiently substantiated" but the situation remained "volatile and extremely concerning regarding the possible re-emergence of use of toxic chemicals as weapons". 20240509 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-805 Fighting * Three people were injured after Russia launched more than 70 missiles and drones at power stations and energy infrastructure in Kyiv and six other cities. The attack, one of the biggest in weeks, also led to power cuts in nine Ukrainian regions. * At least four children and three adults were injured after a Russian air attack hit a school stadium in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said two of the injured - two teenagers - were in serious condition in hospital. * Russia's Defence Ministry said its forces made additional advances along the 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) front, taking control of the village of Kyslivka in Ukraine's Kharkiv region and the village of Novokalynove in the Donetsk region. * Ukraine's parliament passed a law that would allow some convicts to enlist in the army in return for a chance at parole, as part of an effort to get more men to the front and relieve exhausted troops. * Indian police said they had arrested four people on suspicion of luring young men to Russia with the promise of lucrative jobs or university places only to force them to fight in Ukraine. About 35 Indian men were duped in this manner, India's Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said in March. Politics and diplomacy * European Union nations reached a tentative breakthrough deal to provide Ukraine with billions in additional funds for arms and ammunition using the windfall profits from frozen Russian central bank assets held in the 27-member bloc. Ministers still need to approve the legal text that will see 90 percent of the proceeds channelled into an EU-run military aid fund for Ukraine, with the remainder supporting Kyiv in other ways, four EU diplomatic sources told the Reuters news agency. * British Home Minister James Cleverly said the United Kingdom would expel Russia's defence attache, remove diplomatic status from some properties and impose new restrictions on Russian diplomatic visas and visits in response to what he described as Moscow's "malign activity". Cleverly said the attache was an "undeclared military intelligence officer". Britain has introduced several waves of sanctions on Russian companies and individuals since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. * Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Russia would make an "appropriate response" to Britain's move. * The Kremlin said it had no comment on Ukrainian claims that it had uncovered a plot by Russian agents to assassinate President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * Polish border guards said they had detained a Russian defector, who illegally crossed into Poland from Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow. Border guard spokeswoman Katarzyna Zdanowicz told the AFP news agency that the man "had his military papers on him". Weapons * Herman Smetanin, head of Ukraine's state arms manufacturer, told the Defence Ministry's media outlet, ArmyInform, that Ukraine was now producing the same number of long-range attack drones as Russia. He provided no figures. * Hungary reiterated that it would not participate in a NATO plan to provide long-term military assistance to Ukraine through a fund worth 100 billion euros ($107bn). Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the plan was a "crazy mission". 20240510 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-806 Fighting * Two people were killed in Russian shelling of Ukraine's southern city of Nikopol, while Ukraine's air force said air defence systems destroyed 17 out of 20 Russian attack drones targeting the southern Odesa region. No casualties were reported from those attacks. * Eight people were injured and dozens of buildings damaged in a Ukrainian air attack on Russia's Belgorod, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's army was facing "a really difficult situation" against Russian forces on the eastern front, but that the US's $61bn military aid package was coming and would turn the tide. * Ukraine's state energy company Ukrhydroenergo said two hydropower plants were no longer operating after Russian attacks earlier this week caused "devastating damage". * Unnamed intelligence sources in Kyiv told the Reuters and AFP news agencies that a Ukrainian drone struck a major oil refinery in Russia's Bashkortostan region on Thursday from some 1,500km away in the longest-range attack since the start of Moscow's full-scale invasion. * Russia's emergency services said a building at Gazprom's Neftekhim Salavat oil processing, petrochemical and fertiliser complex in Bashkortostan was damaged, the RIA state news agency reported. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Zelenskyy fired the head of the state guards, the unit that provides protection to top officials, after the intelligence services said two of its members were involved in a Russian plot to assassinate him. * Zelenskyy appointed Brigadier General Oleksandr Trepak as the commander of Ukraine's special forces replacing Colonel Serhiy Lupanchuk. It is the second time in six months that the president has changed the head of the unit that operates in Russia-occupied territories. No reason was given. * Ukraine's popular former army chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, who led Ukraine's defence in the first two years of Moscow's full-scale invasion, was named Kyiv's ambassador to the United Kingdom. The previous ambassador was fired in July 2023 after criticising the president. * Ukraine's parliament backed a bill to crack down on voted-on draft dodgers. The legislation includes raising fines for anyone caught trying to avoid the call-up and allowing authorities to detain draft dodgers for up to three days. * Speaking at Russia's Victory Day military parade, President Vladimir Putin accused "arrogant" Western elites of forgetting the decisive role played by the Soviet Union in defeating Nazi Germany in World War II, and of stoking conflicts across the world. Putin ordered Russia's full-scale invasion of neighbouring Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow currently occupies about 18 percent of the country. * South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Seoul would maintain strong ties with Ukraine and a "smooth" relationship with Russia but ruled out direct weapon shipments to Kyiv. Weapons * German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius said Ukraine's Western allies would deliver three more High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS). The system can launch multiple guided missiles in quick succession. 20240511 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/11/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-807 Fighting * Ukrainian strikes have killed three people and caused a large fire at an oil storage depot in Luhansk, the region's Russia-installed governor, Leonid Pasechnik, has said in a Telegram message. Eight people were hospitalised. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he will quash a new major Russian ground assault in the northeastern Kharkiv region, as he acknowledged the latest "heavy battles along the entire front line", and appealed to Western allies to deliver more military aid. *krainian reinforcements have headed to Kharkiv, launched artillery and drone counterstrikes in response to the latest Russian offensive, while the authorities told civilians to flee the heavy fighting. * General Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, has played down the significance of possibly losing the eastern town of Chasiv Yar, which is described as a gateway to other cities that Russia is targeting, like Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. * Hundreds of people in Ukraine's city of Vinnytsia have bid their final farewell to Nazary Gryntsevych, a member of the Azov Brigade who had become a national hero and symbol of bravery after fighting Russian forces despite the fall of Mariupol. Diplomacy and politics * White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby has said the United States expects Russia to intensify its new offensive and commit additional troops, with the aim of establishing a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border. * "It is possible that Russia will make further advances in the coming weeks, but we do not anticipate any major breakthroughs," Kirby said. "And over time, the influx of US assistance will enable Ukraine to withstand these attacks over the course of 2024." * The US has announced a new $400m military aid package - including armoured vehicles, surface-to-air missiles and rockets - for Ukraine amid the Russian assault in the northeast of the country. It is the third package for Ukraine in less than three weeks, following two in late April valued at a total of $7bn. * Poland's central bank governor, Adam Glapinski, has warned that his country faces further economic risks if the war in Ukraine comes closer to its borders. * Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair has announced a $76m Canadian dollar ($56m) financial package that would allow Germany to ramp up its air defence aid for Ukraine. * Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has declared that the aim of nuclear exercises planned by Russia is to work out the response to any attacks on Russian soil. Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of Russia's security council, warns the West that Russia could attack not only Ukraine in response to such attacks. 20240512 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/12/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-808 Fighting * A missile attack on a restaurant in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, killed three people and wounded eight, Denis Pushilin, the head of the region's Russian-backed administration, said, adding that there were two strikes by US HIMARS precision rocket launchers. * One woman was killed, 29 people wounded and hundreds of buildings, including a school and a hospital, were damaged after Ukraine attacked Russia's Belgorod region over the weekend, according to regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. * Gladkov said Belgorod city, the region's administrative centre, faced further risk of Ukrainian attack, with the entire region under air raid alerts on Sunday. * The Russian Ministry of Defence says its air defence forces destroyed two Soviet-era conventional ballistic missiles launched overnight by Ukrainian forces over Belgorod. * Fierce fighting raged overnight on the fringes of Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region as Moscow claimed it had captured five villages and was advancing in the Donetsk region. However, Kyiv said it was repulsing the attacks and battling for control of the settlements. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted in his nightly video address that battles were going on around seven border villages in Kharkiv and called the situation in the southern Donetsk region "extremely difficult". * Kharkiv regional Governor Oleg Synegubov said more than 4,000 people evacuated from areas near the Russian border, as Moscow launched the surprise ground offensive in the region. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was giving extra duties to two key government officials overseeing the defence industry and energy sectors, as the Kremlin chief girds the world's second-largest oil exporter for a longer war in Ukraine. * Incumbent Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, and his closest opponent, Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte, promise to stand up to Russian threat at home, as the country heads to the polls on Sunday. Voters in the Baltic state are worried that the country could be a target of Russian aggression. * Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Ukrainians with a residence permit and work in Germany could stay even as Ukraine seeks to recruit nationals living abroad to serve in the war against Russia. 20240513 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-809 Fighting * Ukraine's military chief Oleksandr Syrskii said his forces were facing a "difficult situation" in the northeastern Kharkiv region, where thousands more people have fled their homes amid an advance by Russian forces. * Ukraine's General Staff said fighting was raging around Vovchansk, a town about 4km from the border and 45km from Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city and the capital of the Kharkiv region. The Ukrainian military said Russia had deployed "significant forces for its attack on the town" but "taking no account of their own losses", with at least 100 soldiers reported dead. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said "defensive battles" were taking place along large sections of the border near Kharkiv and that fighting was "no less acute" in some areas of the Donetsk region further to the east. Zelenskyy said 30 armed clashes had occurred in the past 24 hours in the Pokrovsk sector, northwest of the Russian-held town of Avdiivka, and there was also fighting in sectors including Lyman, Kupiansk and Kramatorsk. * Ukrainian prosecutors said at least four civilians had been killed in the Kharkiv region since Russia began its ground offensive on Friday. Some 6,000 people have been evacuated as a result of the fighting. * At least 13 people were confirmed dead and 20 injured after an apartment building collapsed in the Russian border town of Belgorod. Russia said the building was struck by fragments from a Ukraine-launched Soviet-era missile that was shot down by air defence. Politics and diplomacy * The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to remove Sergei Shoigu as defence minister as part of a cabinet reshuffle and replace him with Andrei Belousov, a former deputy prime minister who specialises in economics. * Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda appeared on track to secure a second term in office after Sunday's election, following a campaign dominated by security concerns about Russia after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. * Ukraine's First Lady Olena Zelenska and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba began a tour to Serbia - the first by a top Ukrainian delegation since Russia launched its full-scale invasion. 20240514 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-810 Fighting * Russia has widened its ground assault on Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, attacking new areas to try and expand the front and "stretch" Ukraine's forces, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. He said about 5,700 people had been evacuated from in and around Vovchansk and urged the town's remaining residents, about 300 people, to leave. The DeepState Telegram channel, which is close to the Ukrainian army, said Russia had taken territory of about 100sq km. * Ukraine's Security Council chief Oleksandr Lytvynenko told the AFP news agency that there was no imminent risk of a ground assault on Kharkiv, the country's second-biggest city, despite the latest Russian offensive. Lytvynenko said there were "a lot" of Russians at the border and "more than 30,000" involved in the current attack, which began on Friday. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its army had improved its tactical position near four settlements in the Kharkiv region - Vesele, Neskuchne, Vovchansk and Lyptsi. * Russia said its air defence systems destroyed 16 missiles and 31 drones that Ukraine launched at Russian territory, including 12 missiles over the border region of Belgorod. Five houses were damaged in Belgorod, but there were no injuries, according to Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. Politics and diplomacy * Serbian Prime Minister Milos Vucevic expressed support for Ukraine in its war against Russia after meeting visiting Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, but stopped short of committing to sanctions against Moscow. * Ukraine said it thwarted a Russian plan to carry out bomb attacks on May 9 in the capital Kyiv and in the western city of Lviv. It said two Russian military agents had been detained on suspicion of involvement in the alleged plot, and 19 explosive devices had been seized. * A Russian-installed court on Ukraine's annexed Crimean peninsula jailed five Ukrainian citizens for between 11 and 16 years after they were found guilty of sharing military intelligence with Kyiv. The men were charged with treason and espionage. Weapons * US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the United States was doing "everything" possible to rush weapons to Ukraine, and that some weapons were already on the battlefield. A new arms package would be announced "in the coming days", he added. * Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskii and Defence Minister Rustem Umerov had discussions with Sullivan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "We spoke about the situation at the front, as well the assistance that Ukraine needs on the battlefield," Syrskii wrote on Telegram. 20240515 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/15/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-811 Fighting * At least 20 people were injured in northeastern Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, after Russia struck residential areas, including a high-rise apartment block, with guided bombs and artillery shells. * The United Nations said at least eight civilians had been killed and 35 injured since Russia began a new offensive in the northeastern region on Friday. It called on Russia to "immediately cease its armed attack against Ukraine - in line with the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly" - and withdraw to the internationally recognised borders. * Ukraine's military said its forces pulled back to new positions in two areas of the Kharkiv region and warned of a Russian force buildup to the north near its Sumy region. Russia said it had made further inroads and taken a 10th border village, Buhruvatka. * Ukraine's Air Force said defence systems destroyed all 18 attack drones that Russia launched over several regions, including the Kyiv region and the front line. * Russian officials said one person was injured and several buildings damaged in a Ukrainian air attack on the border city of Belgorod, with Russia's air defence destroying 25 missiles over the broader Belgorod region. * Russian media said a Ukrainian drone attack derailed a cargo train and led to a fire in a diesel tank in the southern Russian region of Volgograd, mangling several hundred metres of track. Russian Railways said the incident was the result of "interference by unauthorised persons". Politics and diplomacy * United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a surprise visit to Kyiv, promised Ukraine that military assistance that would make "a real difference" on the battlefield was on its way. * Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit China from May 16-17 for talks with President Xi Jinping. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hua Chunying said the two will discuss "bilateral ties, cooperation in various fields, and international and regional issues of common interest". * South Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol confirmed Seoul's participation in a Ukraine peace summit that will be held in Switzerland in June, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X. * Russia's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Vladimir Kara-Murza, a dual Russia-United Kingdom national and prominent Kremlin and war critic, against a 25-year jail sentence on treason and other charges. UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the decision was an "outrage" and that Kara-Murza was a political prisoner. * International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Karim Khan said he would not be intimidated by threats as his office investigates possible war crimes in Ukraine. Russia put Khan on its wanted list after the ICC issued an arrest warrant against Putin and Russia's children's commissioner for their role in the alleged deportation of Ukrainian children from occupied territories to Russia. * Ireland said it would slash a weekly payment for all Ukrainian refugees in state accommodation from 220 euros ($238) to just 38.80 euros ($41.96) from August. Just more than 100,000 Ukrainians have fled to Ireland since Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022. Nearly half are living in state-provided accommodation. Weapons * Minister of Defence Sebastien Lecornu said France would send more Aster surface-to-air missiles for the Franco-Italian SAMP/T-MAMBA air defence system defending Kyiv. * Russia said its submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile had been put into service, a key element in the modernisation of its nuclear arsenal. 20240516 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-812 Fighting * Intense fighting raged in Vovchansk in the northeastern Kharkiv region about 5km from the border with Russia. Oleksiy Kharkivskyi, the town's police chief, said the situation was "extremely difficult", while Ukraine's General Staff said Ukrainian troops managed to "partially" push back some Russian infantry groups but "defensive actions" were ongoing on the town's northern and northwestern fringes. * Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed Russian forces had taken control of the settlements of Hlyboke and Lukyantsi in the northeastern Kharkiv egion, and Robotyne in the southern Zaporizhia region. * Regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said a Russian air attack on Ukraine's city of Dnipro killed two people and injured several more. * At least 25 people were injured, three of them seriously, after Russian missiles and guided bombs struck Ukraine's southern cities of Kherson and Mykolaiv. The attack also damaged apartment blocks, homes, schools and a medical facility, local officials said. * At least two people were injured in Russian shelling of a central district of Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city. Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the injured were being treated in hospital. * The Russian Defence Ministry said its air force destroyed 10 long-range Ukrainian missiles launched at Sevastopol in Crimea, which Moscow invaded and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. It did not say whether there was any damage. * Sri Lanka said at least 16 of its citizens had been killed fighting as mercenaries in the war in Ukraine, mostly on the Russian side. Politics and diplomacy * Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cancelled visits to Spain and Portugal that were scheduled to take place this week. * Swiss President Viola Amherd said delegations from more than 50 countries, including in South America, Africa and the Middle East, had so far signed up for next month's Ukraine peace summit. Switzerland is trying to persuade more countries to join, including China. * Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Thursday for a two-day visit where he will hold talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping. In an interview with Chinese state news agency Xinhua ahead of the visit, he backed China's peace proposals for Ukraine. * European Union ambassadors agreed to expand sanctions on Russian media to four more outlets, accusing them of publishing propaganda. EU Commissioner for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova said Voice of Europe, RIA Novosti, Izvestija and Rossiyskaya Gazeta would be added to the list, which already includes Sputnik and RT. Jourova said Russian funding of EU media, nongovernmental organisations and political parties would also be banned. * Nadezhda Buyanova, a 68-year-old Moscow paediatrician, went on trial for spreading "fake" information on the army after the ex-wife of a soldier killed in Ukraine lodged a complaint about an alleged comment Buyanova made during a consultation. Weapons * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced $2bn in additional military aid for Ukraine and said Washington was rushing ammunition, armoured vehicles, missiles and air defences to the country to ensure their speedy delivery to the front line. * Putin said Russia's total defence and security spending may reach a little more than 8.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) in 2024 20240517 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-813 Fighting * Visiting Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the northeast was "extremely difficult" but "under control" after the military partially halted a Russian advance, most notably thwarting an invasion of Vovchansk, 5km from the border with Russia. * Sergiy Bolvinov, the head of police investigations in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region, accused Russia of taking "30 to 40" civilians captive in Vovchansk to use as "human shields" near their command centre. * General Christopher Cavoli, NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, said he did not believe Russia's military had the troop numbers to make a strategic breakthrough in the Kharkiv region and he was confident Ukrainian forces would hold their lines there. * Ukraine's General Staff said Russia was directing its most intense assaults on the front line near the cities of Pokrovsk and Kramatorsk in the eastern Donetsk region, where Russia's offensive has been unrelenting for months. * An air raid alert in the northeastern Kharkiv region remained in place for more than 16 and a half hours amid Russian drone and missile attacks. Officials said five drones hit parts of the city of Kharkiv, starting a fire. There were no reports of casualties. The alert was lifted in the early hours of Friday. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said a woman and her four-year-old son were killed when their car was hit by a Ukrainian drone. Two other people in the vehicle were injured. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin met Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing. The two held talks, walked in a park and drank tea. Xi said the two countries' deepening relationship was a "stabilising force" in the world and that he hoped the war in Ukraine could be resolved peacefully. China has not condemned Moscow's full-scale invasion. Putin said he was grateful for China's efforts to resolve the crisis. * Russia expelled Adrian Coghill, the United Kingdom's defence attache, from Moscow a week after Britain ordered Russia's defence attache to leave London for being an "undeclared military intelligence officer". UK Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said Moscow's move was because Coghill "personified the UK's unwavering support for Ukraine". * Sri Lanka said it would send a high-level delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of nationals reportedly fighting in the war in Ukraine. The Defence Ministry said social media campaigns via WhatsApp have targeted ex-military personnel with promises of lucrative salaries and citizenship in Russia, warning its nationals not to be duped. Weapons * The United States announced sanctions on two Russian nationals and three Russian companies for facilitating arms transfers between Russia and North Korea, including ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said Russia had already used at least 40 North Korean-produced ballistic missiles against Ukraine. * Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, denied Pyongyang was selling weapons to Russia, saying it was a "most absurd theory", according to state media. UN monitors have found debris from North Korean missiles in Ukraine. * Denmark said it would send Ukraine a new military aid package, mostly of air defence and artillery, worth about 5.6 billion Danish crowns ($815.47m). 20240518 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-814 Fighting * At least two people have been killed and 19 were wounded in the Russian bombing of Kharkiv, regional chief Oleh Syniehubov said on the Telegram app. Four of the wounded were in a critical condition. * A Ukrainian drone attack killed one person and injured another in southern Russia's Belgorod region, according to the regional governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov. He said the drone hit the village of Novaya Naumovka, where the two residents were tending a garden. * Ukrainian authorities say about 8,000 civilians from the recent flashpoint town of Vovchansk, 5km from the Russian border, have been evacuated. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast, as he warned in an interview with the AFP news agency that Ukraine only has 25 percent of the air defences it needs to hold the front line. * Zelenskyy also conceded that Russian troops have advanced between five to 10km along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces, adding that the region could be the "first wave" in a wider offensive. * The commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii, has said Russia's new offensive has "expanded the zone of active hostilities" by almost 70km to attempt to force Ukraine to spread its forces and use reserve troops. * Zelenskyy said the situation in Kharkiv has been "controlled" but "not stabilised", adding that Ukraine needs "120 to 130" F-16 fighter jets or other advanced aircraft to achieve air "parity" with Russia. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy has signed two laws allowing prisoners to join the army and increasing fines for draft dodgers fivefold. The controversial mobilisation law goes into effect on Saturday. * The Ukrainian leader has urged China to attend a peace summit in Switzerland after President Xi Jinping hosted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing. * Putin criticised next month's peace conference and called it a vain attempt to enforce terms of a peaceful settlement on Russia. * The Russian leader said any prospective peace talks should be based on a draft deal negotiated by Russia and Ukraine during their talks in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2022. * During his visit to China, Putin claimed that Russia's offensive in Kharkiv was aimed at creating a buffer zone and there were no plans to capture the city. * White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the Biden administration does not encourage or enable attacks with US-supplied weapons inside Russia. 20240519 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/19/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-815 Fighting * Slavyansk oil refinery in Russia's southern Krasnodar region halted operations following a Ukrainian drone attack overnight, Interfax news agency reported. The refinery is a private plant with a capacity of 4 million metric tonnes of oil per year, about one million barrels per day. * Ukraine's air force claimed it destroyed all 37 Shahed attack drones launched by Russia overnight. The regions targeted by the drones include Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Kherson. * The governor of Kharkiv said nearly 10,000 people had been forced to leave their homes since Russian forces launched a surprise ground attack on May 10. Russia claimed its military took control of another village, Staritsya, in the Kharkiv region near the Russian border. * Ukrainian prosecutors said Russian shelling killed a 60-year-old woman and injured three other civilians in the northeast city of Vovchansk, 5km from the Russian border. A 59-year-old man was also injured in the village of Ukrainske. * Russia said its forces shot down nine US ATACMS missiles over Crimea and at least 60 drones over Russian sovereign territory. Its forces also shot down a Tochka-U missile fired by Ukraine in Russia's Belgorod region. * Belgorod regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a Ukrainian drone attack injured a woman and a man in the village of Petrovka. The two were treated for shrapnel injuries. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged issues with staffing and "morale" within the country's troops as he signed a mobilisation law that came into force on Saturday. Kyiv has lowered the age at which men can be drafted from 27 to 25 and tightened punishments for those who avoid the call-up. * Ukrainian prosecutors said they were investigating as a potential war crime a Russian air attack on a residential area of the regional capital, Kharkiv, in which six civilians were wounded, including a 13-year-old girl, 16-year-old male and an eight-year-old. * Ukrainian officials accuse Russian soldiers in Vovchansk of using dozens of captured civilians as "human shields" to defend their command headquarters. * Moscow denied deliberately targeting civilians even as thousands have been killed and injured since its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. * Poland announced it would spend $2.5bn to fortify its eastern border, which includes Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. 20240520 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-816 Fighting * At least 11 people were killed and dozens injured after Russia bombed a busy lakeside resort on the edge of Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv and attacked villages in the surrounding area. * At least 13 people were injured after the Ukrainian military shelled areas of Russia's southern Belgorod region, according to Belgorod's regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. * The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said Russian attacks in the Kharkiv area "slowed down a bit" but that forces "continue their attempts to break through our defences near Vovchansk, Starytsya and Lyptsi". Russia's Ministry of Defence, which claimed earlier to have seized Starytsya, said its units "continued to advance into the depth of the enemy's defences". * Officials said Russia shot down at least 103 Ukrainian drones, including 62 over Russian regions, as well as missiles that targeted Crimea, which Moscow seized and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. An oil refinery in southern Russia's Krasnodar region was forced to halt operations after six drones crashed into the site. * Ukraine's military said its forces sank the Russian minesweeper Kovrovets in the attack on Crimea. * Ukraine's Air Force chief said air defences brought down all 37 Shahed attack drones launched by Russia. The weapons were shot down in the Kyiv, Odesa, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Cherkasy and Kherson regions. There were no reports of damage or casualties. Politics and diplomacy * A court in Saint Petersburg ordered the seizure of assets of Germany's Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank in Russia in response to a lawsuit over a planned liquefied natural gas terminal in the Baltic Sea, which was cancelled when sanctions were imposed over Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Oleksandr Usyk beat Tyson Fury to win the world's first undisputed heavyweight championship in 25 years. The Ukrainian won the 12-round fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, by a split decision. Weapons * Following the latest Russian attack on Kharkiv, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of using its weapons to "terrorise our cities and communities, to kill ordinary people". He said Ukraine needed "two Patriots for Kharkiv, [which] will fundamentally change the situation", referring to the sophisticated US-made air defence system. 20240521 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-817 Fighting * Russia claimed to have taken full control of the settlement of Bilohorivka in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. Ukraine's General Staff said fighting was continuing in the area and it was "holding back the onslaught of the enemy". * Roman Semenukha, the deputy governor of the northeastern Kharkiv region, told national television that Ukrainian troops remained in control of about 60 percent of Vovchansk and were fighting house-to-house to defend the border town from Russian attacks. Also speaking on national television, regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said the Vovcha river, which cuts through the town, marked the front line. * Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down all 29 Russian drones that targeted various parts of the country on Monday. Two people in the southern Kherson and Zaporizhia regions were killed, while 16 of the drones were shot down over the southern region of Mykolaiv where the debris damaged a private home and caused a fire. Politics and diplomacy * A court in the Russian city of Novosibirsk has jailed 24-year-old Ilya Baburin for 25 years after finding him guilty of plotting an arson attack on a military recruitment office in Siberia in 2022. Prosecutors claimed he was working on instructions from Kyiv and accused him of treason. * Russian playwright Svetlana Petriychuk and theatre director Yevgeniya Berkovich went on trial in Moscow accused of "justifying terrorism" in an award-winning play about Russian women lured to marry ISIL (ISIS) fighters in Syria and jailed on their return. The two were arrested in May last year. Berkovich has also written poems criticising Russia's invasion of Ukraine. * Stanislav Netesov, a 25-year-old Russian man who dyed his hair blue, green and yellow was fined 50,000 roubles ($553) by a court for "discrediting" the Russian army. In court, Netesov denied his hair colour was meant as a statement of protest, saying that he does not support either Ukraine, whose flag is blue and yellow, or the Russian army. * Karolina Lindholm Billing, the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR)'s representative in Geneva, told the AFP news agency that humanitarian aid to Ukraine was falling back even as the country's needs were rising. The UN's 2024 humanitarian plan for Ukraine amounts to $3.1bn this year, including $599m for the UNHCR. Lindholm Billing said the appeals were only about 15 percent funded in the first quarter of the year. * United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said the US was continuing to provide evidence to the International Criminal Court about war crimes committed in Ukraine. Weapons * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the Reuters news agency in an interview that Western allies were taking too long to make key decisions on military support for Ukraine, and that he was pushing partners to get more directly involved in the war by helping to intercept Russian missiles over Ukraine and allowing Kyiv to use Western weapons against enemy military equipment amassing near the border. * General Charles Q Brown, the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff and the country's top general, said the US had no plans to send military trainers into Ukraine. 20240524 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/24/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-819 Fighting * At least seven people were killed and dozens more injured in a Russian missile attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city and home to about one million people. * Nearly 11,000 people have been forced to leave their homes in the Kharkiv region since Russian forces began a cross-border ground offensive there on May 10, Governor Oleh Syniehubov said. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said one woman was killed after a destroyed Ukrainian drone fell on her house. The Russian Ministry of Defence said 35 Ukrainian rockets and three drones had been shot down over the Belgorod region, which lies across the border from Kharkiv. * Russia's Defence Ministry claimed its forces had recaptured the small village of Andriivka in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The Ukrainian General Staff said later that its troops were repelling three Russian assaults in the area of Andriivka and nearby Novyi. Andriivka was liberated by Ukrainian soldiers in an offensive last September. * Sergei Aksyonov, the head of the Russia-annexed Crimea peninsula, said two people were killed in a Ukrainian missile attack near Simferopol, the peninsula's main administrative centre. Ukraine has not commented on the alleged attack. Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. * Russia said it brought down a Ukrainian drone in its central Tatarstan region, hundreds of kilometres from the two countries' border. Politics and diplomacy * Russia arrested Lieutenant-General Vadim Shamarin, deputy head of Russia's General Staff, and a high-ranking defence official on corruption and "abuse of power" charges in a widening crackdown on corruption in military contracts. The two are being held in custody pending trial. * Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in Belarus, Moscow's closest ally, for talks with President Alexander Lukashenko that are expected to focus on security and military exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons. * Putin signed a decree allowing the confiscation of assets inside Russia belonging to the United States, its citizens and companies, to use as compensation over Western sanctions against Moscow. * Russia jailed 36-year-old barman Vladimir Malina for 25 years for joining a unit of Russians fighting for Ukraine and carrying out sabotage of railway equipment. * Russia jailed 20-year-old student Vladimir Belkovich, from Siberia's Irkutsk region, to 13 years in prison for treason after he agreed to post leaflets on behalf of a pro-Ukraine partisan group. * Thirteen Ukrainian children returned home from Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine with the cooperation of Qatar, officials in Kyiv said. Ukraine says about 20,000 Ukrainian children have been sent to Russia without the consent of their families or guardians. * OVD-Info, a leading Russian rights group and protest monitoring network, said it had received a notice from YouTube threatening to block access in Russia to one of its video channels featuring news on the war in Ukraine. Weapons * Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again called on the country's Western allies to send seven Patriot air defence systems. "They are needed now, not tomorrow," he said. * The US is preparing a new $275m military aid package for Ukraine, which will include high mobility artillery rocket systems (HIMARS), as well as 155mm and 105mm high-demand artillery rounds, Javelin and AT-4 antitank systems, antitank mines, tactical vehicles and small arms. * Russian jamming has prevented many of Ukraine's relatively new long-range glide bombs from hitting their intended targets, Reuters reported, citing three people familiar with the challenges. 20240526 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/26/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-821 Fighting * The death toll in a Russian attack on a hardware superstore in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv has risen to 11, says the regional governor, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemning the attack as "vile". * Kharkiv region's Governor Oleg Synegubov reported on Telegram that as many as 40 people were wounded and 16 missing after two guided Russian bombs hit the store. * Another strike hit the centre of Kharkiv, wounding 14 in an area with a post office, a hairdresser and a cafe, city's Mayor Igor Terekhov said. * Ukraine's air force on Sunday said it destroyed 12 missiles and all 31 drones launched by Russia during its latest overnight air attack. It said the missiles and drones had been shot down over parts of southern, central, western and northern Ukraine. Two hypersonic Kinzhal missiles remained unaccounted for. * In the eastern Donetsk region, shelling killed a 40-year-old woman and wounded four other people, according to the regional governor, Vadym Filashkin. * Ukraine said Russia also shelled the village of Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, a railway hub in the region of Kharkiv, wounding five, the regional prosecutor's office said. Two vehicles came under fire: a car with two passengers and an ambulance with a driver, a paramedic and a 64-year-old patient. * Prosecutors reported that a factory and residential buildings were damaged in separate Russian air attacks on the Kupiansk district. * Moscow accused Ukraine of shelling a small town in the Belgorod region, killing two people and wounding 10. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin will be on an official visit to Uzbekistan, where he will meet President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and other top officials. * The war in Ukraine will be on the agenda as French President Emmanuel Macron travels to Germany on Sunday for a three-day state visit, followed by a bilateral cabinet meeting between the European Union's two biggest powers. * France, which has nuclear weapons, has pushed for a more self-reliant Europe on defence matters and has been aggrieved by Germany's decision to buy mostly US gear for its European Sky Shield Initiative air defence umbrella. * Germany says there is no credible alternative to the US military umbrella and that Europe does not have time to wait for a home-grown defence industry to be prepared for threats such as Russian hostility. * Lithuania holds presidential elections on Sunday, with incumbent Gitanas Nauseda anticipated to win after a campaign dominated by security concerns in the post-Soviet state. The Baltic nation of 2.8 million people has been a staunch ally of Ukraine since Russia's 2022 invasion. Like other countries in the region, the NATO and EU member worries it could be Moscow's next target. * Ukraine's Zelenskyy is set to travel to Portugal on Tuesday, after his planned visit to Spain, according to news reports, as Kyiv seeks to reinforce support from Europe amid a more aggressive military push by Russia. * The Group of Seven will explore ways to use the future income from frozen Russian assets to boost funding for war-torn Ukraine, finance chiefs from the G7 industrial democracies said, but offered no details of how to do so. The G7 and its allies froze between $300bn and $350bn of Russian financial assets, such as major currencies and government bonds shortly after Moscow invaded Ukraine. * President Joe Biden reiterated his position that he does not intend to send troops to Ukraine, praising the US leadership in an address to the graduating class of the prestigious West Point Military Academy. 20240527 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/27/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-822 Fighting * The death toll in Russia's weekend attack on a hardware hypermarket in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second biggest city, rose to 16, with dozens more injured, according to regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov. * Ukrainian prosecutors said Russian shelling killed three people in three different towns in the eastern Donetsk region. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Russia was preparing to intensify its offensive along Ukraine's northern border. He did not go into detail but Ukrainian officials have expressed strong concern about the Sumy region. Both Kharkiv city and Sumy with about 250,000 people are within about 25km (15 miles) of the Russian border. * Russia claimed to have captured the village of Berestove in Ukraine's Kharkiv region, located on the eastern front line close to the Luhansk region. * Ukraine's General Staff said Russian forces were carrying out offensive attacks across the 1,000-kilometre front line, with pitched battles in the Chasiv Yar direction of the Donetsk region, where "the intensity of the hostilities is quite high" according to a statement from Ukraine's General Staff. * Ukraine's Air Force said it shot down 12 missiles and all 31 drones launched by Russia over southern, central, western and northern Ukraine. The air force said Russia launched a total of 14 missiles and 36 drones. It did not say what had happened to those that were not shot down or whether they caused any damage. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy appealed to United States President Joe Biden and Chinese leader Xi Jinping to personally attend a June 15-16 Ukraine peace summit being convened in Switzerland. Bern has said 160 delegations have been invited, but that Russia will not attend. * Zelenskyy will meet Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in Spain at noon (10:00 GMT) on Monday. It is Zelenskyy's first official visit to Spain since he was elected in 2019, and comes as he tries to rally Ukraine's allies to send more military aid to his country. * Russian President Vladimir Putin, making his third foreign trip since he secured a fifth term in March, arrived in Uzbekistan where he was met by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev ahead of the start of formal talks. Uzbekistan was part of the Soviet Union before the country broke up. * Lithuania's President Gitanas Nauseda was returned for a second term in an election marked by security concerns over neighbouring Russia. Nauseda established himself as a staunch supporter of Ukraine in his first term. Weapons * Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reiterated her opposition to Ukraine using Western-supplied weapons supplied on targets in Russia, after the NATO chief suggested in an interview last week with the United Kingdom's Economist newspaper that Kyiv should be allowed to strike targets beyond its border. 20240528 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/28/israels-war-on-gaza-live-intense-israeli-artillery-shelling-across-rafah (00:04 GMT) * The death toll from Israel's bombing of a tent camp for displaced people in a designated safe zone in Rafah is now 45, most of them women and children. * The attack has led to protests and drawn international outcry, including from Algeria, which has requested an urgent UN Security Council meeting to discuss the situation in Rafah. * Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the deadly attack a "tragic incident" which his government is "investigating". * The Kuwaiti Hospital in Rafah has been rendered non-operational, according to its director, due to intentional attacks by Israeli forces on staff and the surrounding area. * An investigation is under way after an Egyptian soldier was killed following a "shooting incident" at the Rafah crossing, news agencies report. (05:00 GMT) * Israeli forces continued attacks across the Gaza Strip, including in southern Rafah, despite growing international outrage over a missile strike on a tent camp for displaced people that killed at least 45 Palestinians. * Israeli air raids and artillery attacks killed at least seven people in Rafah's Tal as-Sultan and seven in al-Hashashin areas. The Indonesian Field Hospital in Tal as-Sultan was also hit in an Israeli attack overnight. * Hundreds of Palestinians receiving treatment at the al-Aqsa Hospital in central Gaza are at risk of dying with the facility facing imminent shutdown after Israeli forces blocked the facility's supply of fuel. This comes as the Kuwait Specialty Hospital in Rafah shut down following an Israeli attack on the building's entranceway that killed two of its medical staff. * Protesters took to the streets of cities across the world, including Barcelona, Istanbul, Paris, New York City and Tunis, to denounce Israel's deadly attack on the Rafah tent camp and call for an immediate ceasefire. * UN aid chief Martin Griffiths hit back at Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that the Rafah attack was a "tragic mistake", saying the incident was the "latest - and possibly most cruel - abomination". 20240528 Fighting * Three people were killed and six injured in a Russian missile attack on the town of Snihurivka in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region, according to the emergency services and the local governor. * The Kharkiv regional prosecutor's office said at least one woman was killed and 11 injured in a Russian guided bomb attack that struck a sweet factory in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian forces had dropped about 3,200 guided aerial bombs on Ukraine this month and that Kyiv did not have enough air defence missiles to stop attacks on such a scale. * Russia's Ministry of Defence said its forces captured two villages - Ivanivka in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region and Netailove in eastern Donetsk. There was no comment from Ukraine on the claims. * Ukraine launched two attacks on the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk in its east, triggering a fire, according to Russian-appointed officials. Ukraine made no official comment on either incident. Ukrainian news outlets said the target of the second strike was an airfield. * Russia and Belarus will hold joint air force and air defence ministry drills from May 27-31, the Belarusian Ministry of Defence said. Politics and diplomacy * Zelenskyy excluded Russia's participation in next month's peace summit in Switzerland. "We do not see Russia there, because Russia will block everything. It's clear," he said, adding that Moscow "does not benefit from peace. It wants to destroy Ukraine and move on." * The European Union imposed sanctions on the media outlet Voice of Europe, its funder Viktor Medvedchuk and "covert head" Artem Marchevskyi, extending penalties imposed by the Czech Republic, which says the Prague-based platform is a Russian influence operation "to undermine the territorial integrity, sovereignty and freedom of Ukraine". Medvedchuk is a pro-Kremlin oligarch and former Ukrainian lawmaker who was sent to Russia in 2022 in exchange for Ukrainian prisoners of war and stripped of his Ukrainian citizenship. * A German court jailed Thomas H, a former army captain who was stationed at a military procurement office in Koblenz, for three and a half years after finding him guilty of spying for Russia. Judges found the 54-year-old had handed over internal documents to Russia's consulate in Bonn last May and offered to provide more material in future. Weapons * Spain pledged 1 billion euros ($1.1bn) in military aid, including Patriot missiles and Leopard tanks, to Ukraine as Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Zelenskyy signed a security deal in Madrid. Sanchez said the agreement would boost Ukraine's capabilities including much-needed air defence. * Zelenskyy will visit Belgium on Tuesday and sign a security pact with Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, the Belgian government said. The agreements, signed with several European allies, promise long-term security assistance in the form of arms supplies and training for Kyiv's forces. * Ukraine's top commander Oleksandr Syrskii said he had signed paperwork that would allow French military instructors to visit Ukrainian training centres soon, and said he hoped others would join what he described as an "ambitious project". Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said later that discussions on the use of foreign instructors were continuing with France and other countries. 20240530 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/30/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-825 Fighting * Ukraine reported that nine people were killed in Russian attacks in five regions of the country, including two in Nikopol in southern Ukraine. One of the dead was an ambulance driver whose vehicle was hit by a Russian drone. The man's wife, who was travelling with him, was injured. Nikopol is located just across the river from the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. * Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said search and recovery efforts at a Kharkiv hardware superstore hit by Russian bombs last weekend had ended. The death toll rose to 19 after a man who was severely burned in the attack died in hospital. * US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that weapons provided by the United States were helping Ukraine stabilise the front line amid intensifying Russian attacks and that Washington would "adapt and adjust" its approach to military support in line with battlefield developments. Politics and diplomacy * US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell accused China of supporting Russia's war in Ukraine. Campbell said Chinese assistance was helping Moscow reconstitute elements of its military, including long-range missile, artillery and drone capabilities, and its ability to track battlefield movements. European and NATO countries needed "to send a collective message of concern to China about its actions, which we view are destabilising in the heart of Europe", he said. Beijing says it is neutral in the war but has deepened its relationship with Russia since the country launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. * Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the US Treasury, met Ukrainian officials in Kyiv to discuss US financial support, enforcing sanctions on Russia and using frozen Russian assets for Ukraine's benefit in its war against Moscow. * Dmitry Suslov, a senior researcher at the Council for Foreign and Defence Policy, a Russian think tank that is close to the Kremlin, said Moscow should consider a "demonstrative" nuclear explosion to cow the West into refusing to allow Ukraine to use its arms against targets inside Russia. * Belarus's President Alexander Lukashenko joined Moscow in suspending the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) that limits the number of tanks, combat aircraft and other military equipment that can be deployed in Europe. Belarus borders Ukraine and Russia and hosted Russian soldiers before Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. * Polish security services arrested a man suspected of trying to obtain photos of military vehicles crossing the border into Ukraine, as well as three men, two of them Belarusian citizens, accused of committing arson on the orders of Russian intelligence. * Prominent Russian nationalist and former militia commander Igor Girkin lost his appeal against a four-year jail term over his criticism of the conduct of the war in Ukraine, the RIA Novosti state news agency reported. Weapons * Sweden said it would donate 13 billion kronor ($1.23bn) in military assistance to Ukraine. Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch said the package would include Surveillance planes and "equipment that is at the top of Ukraine's priority list" such as air defence and artillery ammunition. 20240531 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/31/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-826 Fighting * At least three people were killed and 16 injured after Russia struck three sites, including a five-storey apartment building, in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, at about midnight local time (21:00 GMT). Regional Governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least two children were among the injured. Earlier in the day, at least four people were injured in Russian shelling of the city. * Ukraine's top military commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskii said Russia was continuing to send additional regiments and brigades from other areas and training grounds to boost its forces along two main lines of attack in the north of the Kharkiv region, where Moscow launched an offensive earlier this month. * United States officials, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issues, told multiple media outlets that President Joe Biden had decided to allow Kyiv to use US-supplied weapons at targets inside Russia but only on the border with the northeastern Kharkiv region. * Ukraine's GUR military intelligence service said its forces destroyed two Russian patrol boats using naval drones off Crimea, which Russia occupied and annexed from Ukraine in 2014. Moscow said earlier it had destroyed two naval drones "heading for Crimea". * Russia fired a total of 51 missiles and drones at "military facilities and critical infrastructure", across Ukraine, the air force said. Air defences destroyed seven missiles and 32 drones, it added. Politics and diplomacy * The 27 members of the European Union agreed to impose "prohibitive" tariffs on grain imports from Russia and Belarus in a bid to cut off Moscow's funding for its war on Ukraine. Grain in transit to other parts of the world through Europe will not be affected by the tariffs. * Ukrainian lawmakers and journalists called for an investigation into political pressure on the country's state news agency Ukrinform. Oleksiy Matsuka, the agency's head, stepped down this week after being accused of leading an editorial policy exclusively backing the presidential administration. He was replaced by a former army spokesman, Serhiy Cherevaty, deepening concerns about official censorship. * Tharaka Balasuriya, Sri Lanka's junior foreign minister, said Colombo would start talks with Moscow to secure the release of hundreds of citizens, mostly former soldiers, who it believes were duped into joining Russian forces in Ukraine. It is also seeking the release of about a dozen men being held as prisoners of war in Ukraine. At least 16 men have been killed in the fighting. * Russia's FSB security service said it detained four people in Crimea who were allegedly involved in a series of sabotage attacks planned by Ukrainian special services to destroy railway lines in the occupied peninsula. A fifth man, reported to be the group's leader by Russian news agencies, was killed when the FSB tried to capture him. Weapons * German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius made an unannounced visit to Ukraine's southern city of Odesa where he held talks with Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov and promised Ukraine a new package of military aid worth 500 million euros ($540m), a spokesperson for the ministry told the AFP news agency. The package includes "artillery, air defence [and] drones", he added. * a Czech official said Ukraine would receive between 50,000 and 100,000 shells in June under a Czech-led ammunition supply initiative. 20240603 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/3/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-829 Fighting * Ukraine imposed emergency power shutdowns in all but three regions of the country a day after Russia unleashed large-scale attacks on energy facilities, which also injured 19 people. * Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed that its armed forces had taken over Umanske in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. The tiny village had fewer than 180 residents before Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and lies about 25km (15 miles) to the northwest of Donetsk, which is the main city of the region and under Russian occupation. * Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said six people were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the region, just across the border from Kharkiv. A local official also died when some ammunition detonated, he said. * Almost 1,000 people gathered in central Kyiv to remember Iryna Tsybukh, known as Cheka, a 25-year-old high-profile journalist and volunteer paramedic who was killed in action in the northeastern Kharkiv region last week. Politics and diplomacy * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told defence and security leaders in Singapore that the Switzerland peace summit scheduled for later this month was the best way to end the "cruel war" in Ukraine and that he was disappointed China would not be attending. He said he had not been able to meet the Chinese delegation in Singapore. China's foreign affairs minister, Wang Yi, said on Friday that China, which claims to be neutral in the war but has deepened ties with Moscow, would not be taking part. * Zelenskyy and his defence minister, Rustem Umerov, held talks with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin for more than an hour on Sunday. He also met Indonesia's President-elect Prabowo Subianto and the president of East Timor, Jose Ramos-Horta. * German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said NATO's recent move to strengthen defences in the Baltic states was aimed at deterring Russia, and a signal that the security alliance would "defend every square inch of NATO territory against attacks". * Russia's TASS news agency said former world chess champion Garry Kasparov, who fled the country a decade ago for fear of persecution, could be targeted for allegedly violating the Kremlin's "foreign agent" law. Moscow added Kasparov, a prominent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, to its list of individuals supposedly acting as foreign agents soon after it began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Weapons * White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby confirmed that US President Joe Biden had agreed to allow Ukraine to use some weapons provided by the US to strike inside Russia. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/2/ukraine-can-now-use-western-arms-to-strike-inside-russia Ukraine can now use Western arms to strike inside Russia - is it too late? The US and other nations have greenlit more weapons for use on Russian soil. But many in Ukraine believe this should have been done much earlier. 20240606 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/6/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-832 Fighting * One person was killed and four injured in Russian bombardments near the town of Toretsk in the frontline eastern Donetsk region, while one more civilian was injured in a Russian aerial attack on the town of Selydove, Ukrainian officials said. * One person was injured in Ukraine's Poltava region as Russia launched a wave of Shahed attack drones across southern, central and northern regions of the country. The air force said it destroyed 22 of the 27 drones. Some buildings were damaged, but there were no other reports of casualties. * Ukrenergo, Ukraine's power grid operator, ordered immediate power cuts in 12 regions across the country because it was "catastrophically short of electricity". Russia has been targeting Ukraine's energy infrastructure in recent attacks. * Officials said Ukrainian men aged 18-60 who have permanent residency in other countries would no longer be allowed to leave Ukraine if they visited as Kyiv tries to boost its military ranks Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin repeated that Moscow would not rule out using nuclear weapons if it felt Russia's sovereignty or territory was threatened. In his first news conference with senior editors from international news agencies, including Reuters and The Associated Press, since launching his full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Putin also warned of the risks to Ukraine's Western allies in providing weapons to help Kyiv defend itself. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Qatar and thanked Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for Qatar's role in bringing home Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia and supporting Ukraine's "sovereignty and territorial integrity". * United States President Joe Biden is expected to hold talks with Zelenskyy as they join Western leaders in Normandy on Thursday to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. * French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed he would attend the June 15-16 peace summit for Ukraine that is taking place in Switzerland. * Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine's first deputy foreign minister, visited China and urged it to send a delegation to the peace summit. Beijing said last week that it would not attend the event, and made no mention of the request in its statement on Sybiha's visit. * A Moscow court sentenced Russian blogger Anna Bazhutova to five and a half years in prison for spreading "false" information after she livestreamed witness testimony about alleged Russian atrocities during its occupation of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv * Yuri Malev, a US-Russian man, was jailed for three and a half years for mocking a patriotic ribbon associated with the Russian army, the Saint Petersburg court service said. Malev was arrested in December over two social media posts shared in June 2022 and May 2023. * Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin, a close ally of the late opposition leader Alexey Navalny and imprisoned for criticising the war in Ukraine, lost a court appeal against being designated as a "foreign agent", Russian news outlets reported. The 40-year-old was jailed in December 2022 for eight and a half years on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian army. * Russia's Supreme Court rejected an appeal by sociologist and activist Boris Kagarlitsky against his five-year prison sentence for "justifying terrorism", the TASS state news agency reported. Kagarlitsky, 65, is a longtime political dissident and has spoken out repeatedly against the Ukraine war on his YouTube channel and in a magazine he edited. Weapons * The US is expected to announce a new $225m weapons package for Ukraine this week, Reuters reported, citing sources it did not name. 20240607 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/7/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-833 Fighting * Vadym Filashkin, the governor of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, said one woman was killed and three people injured in Chasiv Yar, which is under assault from Russian forces. Filashkin also ordered the evacuation of children and their guardians from several towns and villages in the region as a result of the "constantly deteriorating" security situation. * The Ukrainian air force said it shot down 17 out of 18 Shahed-type drones in a Russian attack targeting four regions of the country. A shot-down drone triggered a fire at an infrastructure facility in the Khmelnytskyi region, but there were no reports of casualties or other damage. * Russia launched two Iskander-M ballistic missiles on Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region, the military said. There were no reports of damage. * Ukraine's GUR military intelligence agency said it destroyed a Russian tugboat off the coast of Russian-occupied Crimea. * Russia's TASS news agency, citing the Ministry of Defence, said Russian forces had captured a Colombian national who was fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers. It published a video of the man in which he urged other Colombians not to join the war. * Sergiy Zhadan, one of Ukraine's most celebrated writers and poets, announced he had joined the country's military. The 49-year-old said he was undergoing training. Politics and diplomacy * United States President Joe Biden made an impassioned call for the defence of freedom and democracy as he joined European leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings. Biden said it was "simply unthinkable" to surrender to Russian aggression, and he promised no letup in support for Ukraine. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also attended the ceremonies in Normandy, from where tens of thousands of allied soldiers began an offensive in 1944 to defeat Nazi Germany. He also drew parallels with today's situation in Europe and Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. "Allies defended Europe's freedom then, and Ukrainians do so now. Unity prevailed then, and true unity can prevail today," he wrote on social media platform X. * Separately, Zelenskyy said he had spoken to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory and urged India to participate in the June 15-16 Ukraine peace conference in Switzerland. * Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Hungary would attend the peace summit, which aims to build support for Zelenskyy's peace proposals, which include the full withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine. Hungary has maintained close ties with Russia even as other members of the European Union have sought to distance themselves since Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. * Visiting Beijing, Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga urged the Chinese state and private companies to "take a more active part in helping Ukraine" and boost trade and investment. * Ukraine's hydroelectric company Ukrhydroenergo said it had initiated international arbitration seeking damages over Russia's alleged destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and power station a year ago. The state-run company said damage was estimated at 2.5 billion euros ($2.72bn). * Ukrainian prosecutors in northeastern Kharkiv said a former Ukrainian soldier who sent the location of sensitive military targets to Russia had been jailed for five years. They did not name the man. Weapons * President Macron said France will transfer Mirage-2000 fighter jets to Ukraine and train their Ukrainian pilots as part of a new military cooperation with Kyiv. Macron did not specify the number of planes or when they would be sent, but said the pilot training was likely to take place in the coming weeks. * The French president also said that Ukraine has asked its Western allies to send military instructors to train its forces on its soil. Macron said France and Ukraine's other partners would decide on their next steps together. * The US will send about $225m in military aid to Ukraine, including munitions for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as well as mortar systems and a variety of artillery rounds, several officials told The Associated Press news agency on condition of anonymity. 20240610 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/9/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-835 Diplomacy * Leaders of the United States and France have reaffirmed support for Ukraine in its battle against Russia's invasion during a meeting in Paris, with President Joe Biden warning that Vladimir Putin would "not stop" at Ukraine. * While in the French capital, Biden also apologised to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for previous delays in Washington's aid to Kyiv, stressing that the US is "not going to walk away" from supporting Ukraine. * A US congressional aid source told Foreign Policy that NATO is considering establishing a permanent envoy position in the Ukrainian capital as part of its long-term commitment to Ukraine. Fighting * Ukrainian forces killed at least 22 people and wounded 15 in the Russia-held Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, head of the occupation authorities, wrote on his Telegram channel. * At least 59 explosions were reported in Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast over the past 24 hours, striking 11 communities, the regional administration said. * Russian forces struck the city of Nikopol in the southeastern region of Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on social media. The town was hit with kamikaze drones and shelled with artillery, damaging five houses and a power line, the official said, adding that no casualties were reported. * The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine's Ministry of Defence said a Russian Su-57 aircraft - among its most modern fighter jets - was hit for the first time in the Akhtubinsk airfield in southern Russia's Astrakhan region. * Nearly a third of Ukraine's land, about 174,000sq km (67,182sq miles), has been mined since the start of the war, Ukrainian officials said, according to the Kyiv Independent. * Russian forces in May installed eight barges on the southern side of the Kerch Bridge in an attempt "to defend the bridge and shipping channel, reducing the angles of approach for Ukrainian Unmanned Surface," the British Ministry of Defence said in its latest intelligence bulletin. 20240610 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/10/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-836 Fighting * Ukraine said its forces hit an ultramodern Russian warplane stationed on an airbase nearly 600km (370 miles) from the front lines. If confirmed, it would mark Ukraine's first-known successful strike on a twin-engine Su-57 stealth aircraft, lauded as Moscow's most advanced fighter jet. * On the front line, reports from both sides suggested Russian forces were making headway towards their longstanding goal of capturing the strategic town of Chasiv Yar. The town stands on high ground about 20km (12 miles) west of Bakhmut, which was seized by the Russians a year ago. It is seen by both sides as a potential staging point for Russia to advance on the key cities of Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. * President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his nightly video address, made no mention of Chasiv Yar, but said the area around the town of Pokrovsk, to the southwest, remained the most difficult sector to defend. "This is the toughest area along the entire front line, the one where pressure from the occupiers is the greatest," he explained. * Ukraine's grid operator Ukrenergo said it would impose hourlong power cuts throughout the country on Monday evening amid supply constraints. Ukrenergo said the rolling cuts would apply to domestic and industrial customers from 4pm to 10pm (13:00-19:00 GMT). Politics and diplomacy * Far-right parties, which are more opposed to supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion, advanced in the latest elections to the European Parliament. The surge in support for the National Rally (RN) party of Marine Le Pen dealt such a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron, a key supporter of Ukraine, that he called snap national legislative elections for June 30. Weapons * Russia's Su-57 fleet has been largely absent from the skies over Ukraine and has instead been used to fire long-range missiles across the border. * The UK Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence briefing last year that Russia is likely trying to avoid "reputational damage, reduced export prospects, and the compromise of sensitive technology" that would come from losing any Su-57 jets in enemy territory. 20240613 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/13/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-839 Fighting * At least nine people were killed and 29 injured, including five children, after Russian missiles hit an apartment block in Kryvyi Rih, the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. * Ukraine's air force said it shot down more than two dozen air targets, including cruise missiles, a Kinzhal ballistic missile and Shahed drones that Russia launched across Ukraine. The governor of the Dnipropetrovsk region said the attack injured three people and damaged nine private homes, while the governor of the Kyiv region said more than 100 people were working to extinguish a fire started by the attack. * Ukraine's military said it struck three Russian surface-to-air missile systems in Russian-occupied Crimea near Belbek and Sevastopol. The Russian-installed governor of Sevastopol said air defences repelled the missile attack and that no damage had been done. * The Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Defence Minister Andrei Belousov, the chief of the military's General Staff, General Valery Gerasimov, and the commanders of Russia's five military districts, who presented him with "plans to continue the hostilities". Politics and diplomacy * The United States dramatically expanded sanctions on Russia, targeting more than 300 individuals and entities in Russia and beyond, including in Asia, Europe and Africa, along with China-based companies allegedly selling semiconductors to Moscow. The US Treasury said it was also raising "the risk of secondary sanctions for foreign financial institutions that deal with Russia's war economy", effectively threatening them with losing access to the US financial system. * National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said US President Joe Biden and Zelenskyy would sign a bilateral security agreement between the US and Ukraine when they meet on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Italy on Thursday. * British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will announce up to 242 million pounds ($309.7m) in bilateral assistance to Ukraine at the summit to support Ukraine's immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs, his office said. * Zelenskyy made an unscheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, where he said he had "productive and energetic" talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman focusing on preparations for the June 15-16 peace summit in Switzerland as well as bilateral ties. Zelenskyy said he was grateful for Saudi Arabia's support but did not say whether the crown prince would attend the summit. Some 90 delegations are expected. * Ukrainian lawmakers announced a bill that would allow businesses to exempt their employees from military service by paying $500 a month for each exempted worker. Weapons * Hungary agreed not to block NATO financial and military support for Ukraine but said it would not participate either. Earlier this year, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the security alliance wanted to guarantee long-term weapon deliveries to Kyiv and establish a 100-billion-euro ($108bn) fund for arms. The Hungary agreement opens the way for an agreement on the package at next month's NATO summit in Washington. * Russia said soldiers and sailors from its northern Leningrad military district bordering NATO members Norway, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania joined drills to deploy tactical nuclear weapons that started with Belarus this week. The move appears to broaden the disclosed geography of the exercises to include soldiers from military districts along almost all of Russia's European border, which stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea. 20240614 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/14/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-840 Fighting * The Ukrainian military said its forces were fighting fierce battles near Chasiv Yar, a strategic hilltop settlement in Donetsk, and the situation was "tense". A civilian was killed further south on the front line near Pokrovsk, while another man was killed by Russian fire in the southern Kherson region. * Russian journalist Valery Kozhin, who worked for Russia's state-run NTV television channel, was killed in Ukrainian shelling of a Russian-occupied village in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, Russian news agencies reported, quoting the mayor of the town of Horlivka near where the incident took place. NTV reported earlier that three of its staff, including Kozhin, had been injured and taken to hospital. * US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Russia's advance in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region was slowing and the front line was stabilising after some allies lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of donated weapons inside Russian territory. Politics and diplomacy * Group of Seven (G7) nations meeting in Italy agreed to provide financial support of $50bn to Ukraine by the end of the year, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said. The deal will be funded from profits on frozen Russian assets. * United States' President Joe Biden and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a 10-year bilateral security agreement aimed at bolstering Ukraine's defence against Russia's invasion and moving Ukraine closer to NATO membership. * Ukraine also signed a 10-year security agreement with Japan. "In 2024, Japan will provide Ukraine with $4.5 billion and will continue to support us throughout the agreement's entire 10-year term," Zelenskyy said on X. The deal, he added, envisages security and defence assistance, humanitarian aid, technical and financial cooperation. * The United Nations' refugee agency UNHCR said in an annual report that about 750,000 people became newly displaced inside Ukraine last year as a result of Russia's full-scale invasion, with a total of 3.7 million internally displaced people registered by the end of 2023. The number of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers increased by more than 275,000 to six million, it said. * Human rights organisation Global Rights Compliance said in a report that Russian forces deliberately used starvation of civilians as a military tactic during the 85-day siege of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in 2022. The report found Russian forces "systematically attacked objects indispensable to the survival of the civilian population" such as food, water, energy and access to healthcare, and also cut off evacuation routes and blocked humanitarian aid from coming in. * Russian prosecutors said they would send Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in March 2023, for trial, accusing the 32-year-old of collecting information for the US CIA about a Russian tank factory. Gershkovich, who is being held in custody, has denied wrongdoing. His employer said the charge was "false and baseless" and built on lies. Biden called his detention "totally illegal". Prosecutors did not say when the trial would start. * The judge in the trial of director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk, two leading figures in Russian theatre, agreed to a prosecution request to close the trial to the public and the media over unspecified "threats" to witnesses. The two were arrested in May last year and accused of "justifying terrorism" over their production of an award-winning play about Russian women who married Islamic State fighters. The women have pleaded not guilty and say the play was about preventing terrorism. * German Moyzhes, a 39-year-old lawyer with dual Russian-German citizenship, was detained in Saint Petersburg with some Russian independent media reporting that he was suspected of treason. The German Federal Foreign Office told the Reuters news agency that its embassy in Moscow was in contact with Moyzhes's family. There was no official word from Russia on the detention. * Russia's Admiral Gorshkov frigate and the nuclear-powered submarine Kazan, accompanied by a tug boat and a fuel ship, arrived in Cuba for a five-day visit seen as a show of force by Moscow amid rising tension over its invasion of Ukraine. Weaponry * Zelenskyy told a news conference in Italy that Chinese President Xi Jinping had given him his assurance in a phone call that China would not sell weapons to Russia. Speaking in English, Zelenskyy said Xi had told him that "he will not sell any weapon to Russia". Zelenskyy did not say when the conversation took place. The last publicly known phone call between Zelenskyy and Xi was in April 2023. * The Dutch Ministry of Defence said Kyiv's allies will send Ukraine about 350 million euros ($376.74m) worth of 152mm shells. * Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said the country would start sending a total of about 2,000 surplus unarmed rockets to Ukraine as well as a selection of other weapons. 20240616 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-842 Politics and diplomacy * World leaders are gathering in Switzerland for the second day of a major peace conference to pursue a consensus on condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and underscoring concerns about the war's human cost. * Zelenskyy has voiced hope of garnering international agreement around a proposal to end the war that he could present to Moscow. * The circle of countries participating in the process of working towards a peace plan for Ukraine should be widened, French President Emmanuel Macron said during the opening of the peace summit. * Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described as "propaganda" Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand that Ukraine effectively surrender before any peace talks. * United States Vice President Kamamala Harris announced another $1.5bn in assistance to Ukraine, as she pledged the US's full support in backing Kyiv's efforts to achieve "a just and lasting peace" in the face of the war with Russia. * A draft of the final summit declaration reportedly refers to Russia's invasion as a "war" - a label Moscow rejects - and calls for Ukraine's control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and its Azov Sea ports to be restored, the Reuters news agency reported. * White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Qatar had helped to mediate the return from Russia of 30 or more Ukrainian children to their families. Kyiv claims that as many as 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since the war began. * More than 90 countries are taking part in the summit, but China said it would boycott the event after Russia was frozen out of the process. Fighting * The peace summit comes at a perilous moment for Ukraine on the battlefield, with Russian forces advancing against outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian units. * Near Ukraine's embattled eastern front, hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough are nearly nil. "I'd like to hope that it will bring some changes in the future. But, as experience shows, nothing comes of it," Maksym, a tank commander in the Donetsk region, told the AFP news agency. * Outside the peace summit venue in Switzerland, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier captured by Russia said she hoped the leaders could agree to "some exchange process for the prisoners of war". "I want to see my husband," Hanna, who fled her home in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol and now lives in Sweden, told AFP. * Meanwhile, a Russian journalist has been killed in a drone attack in eastern Ukraine, his news organisation, News.RU, announced on Telegram, two days after the death of another correspondent near the front line. The company said Nikita Tsitsagi was killed during an attack near the Saint-Nicolas monastery in the town of Vugledar. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this month that "at least 30" Russian journalists had been killed since the start of the conflict, but the number could not be independently verified. * Elsewhere, Russian army defectors live in fear of reprisal from Moscow after abandoning their posts in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Many also feel abandoned by the West, as they do not have the necessary passports and only have documents allowing them to reach neighbouring Kazakhstan or Armenia. 20240616 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/16/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-842 Politics and diplomacy * World leaders are gathering in Switzerland for the second day of a major peace conference to pursue a consensus on condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and underscoring concerns about the war's human cost * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has voiced hope of garnering international agreement around a proposal to end the war that he could present to Moscow. * Russian President Vladimir Putin is not ruling out talks with Ukraine, but guarantees will be needed to ensure the credibility of any negotiations, Russian news agencies cited Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying. Russia was not invited to the talks in Switzerland. * Norway has announced that it would provide 1.1 billion kroner ($103 million) to Ukraine to help repair its energy infrastructure and secure the country's electricity supply before next winter. In a statement, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store accused Russia of carrying out "massive, systematic attacks to paralyse the power grid" of Ukraine. * The circle of countries participating in the process of working towards a peace plan for Ukraine should be widened, French President Emmanuel Macron said during the opening of the peace summit. * Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni described as "propaganda" Russian President Vladimir Putin's demand that Ukraine effectively surrender before any peace talks. * United States Vice President Kamala Harris announced another $1.5bn in assistance to Ukraine, as she pledged the US's full support in backing Kyiv's efforts to achieve "a just and lasting peace" in the face of the war with Russia. * A draft of the final summit declaration reportedly refers to Russia's invasion as a "war" - a label Moscow rejects - and calls for Ukraine's control over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and its Azov Sea ports to be restored, the Reuters news agency reported. * White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters that Qatar had helped to mediate the return from Russia of 30 or more Ukrainian children to their families. Kyiv claims that as many as 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since the war began. * More than 90 countries are taking part in the summit, but China said it would boycott the event after Russia was frozen out of the process. Fighting * The peace summit comes at a perilous moment for Ukraine on the battlefield, with Russian forces advancing against outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian units. * Russian forces have taken control of the village of Zahirne in Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region, the Interfax news agency cited Russia's defence ministry as saying on Sunday. * Near Ukraine's embattled eastern front, hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough are nearly nil. "I'd like to hope that it will bring some changes in the future. But, as experience shows, nothing comes of it," Maksym, a tank commander in the Donetsk region, told the AFP news agency * Outside the peace summit venue in Switzerland, the wife of a Ukrainian soldier captured by Russia said she hoped the leaders could agree to "some exchange process for the prisoners of war". "I want to see my husband," Hanna, who fled her home in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol and now lives in Sweden, told AFP. * Meanwhile, a Russian journalist has been killed in a drone attack in eastern Ukraine, his news organisation, News.RU, announced on Telegram, two days after the death of another correspondent near the front line. The company said Nikita Tsitsagi was killed during an attack near the Saint-Nicolas monastery in the town of Vugledar. President Putin said earlier this month that "at least 30" Russian journalists had been killed since the start of the conflict, but the number could not be independently verified. * Elsewhere, Russian army defectors live in fear of reprisal from Moscow after abandoning their posts in the ongoing war with Ukraine. Many also feel abandoned by the West, as they do not have the necessary passports and only have documents allowing them to reach neighbouring Kazakhstan or Armenia. 20240617 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/17/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-843 Fighting * Seven people, including two young boys, were injured in a Russian attack on the village of Nova Poltavka village in the eastern Donetsk region, according to the regional prosecutor's office. Politics and diplomacy * Dozens of countries backed Ukraine's territorial integrity within its internationally recognised borders and urged dialogue for a lasting settlement after a two-day peacebuilding summit in Switzerland. Saudi Arabia, India, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates did not sign off on the statement. Switzerland said it was prepared to host a follow-up summit. * The final communique also included a call for the full exchange of prisoners of war, and the return of Ukrainian children deported to Russia. Kyiv says as many as 20,000 children have been taken to Russia or Russian-occupied territory without the consent of family or guardians since Moscow began its full-scale invasion in February 2022. * At a news conference after the summit, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said China should communicate its peace proposals on ending the war to Ukraine directly, instead of doing so via media outlets. Beijing did not send a representative to the summit. * The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warned in its annual yearbook that diplomatic efforts to control nuclear arms had suffered major setbacks amid strained international relations over the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, noting that Moscow had suspended its participation in the New START treaty, and staged tactical nuclear drills. * About 500 people gathered in Kyiv under heavy police guard for the Ukrainian capital's first Pride march since Russia's invasion. Weapons * Zelenskyy said the current level of Western military aid being sent to Ukraine was not enough to ensure Kyiv's victory against Russian forces. 20240618 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/18/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-844 Fighting * At least 22 people, including three children, were injured in a Russian missile attack on Ukraine's east-central Poltava region. Poltava Governor Filip Pronin posted footage of himself at the scene of the attack, which he said caused major damage to residential buildings and cut power supplies to thousands of people. * Regional authorities in the southern region of Kherson, which is partially occupied by Russia, said a 50-year-old civilian was killed in a Russian drone attack. * Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv's forces were pushing Russian troops out of the northeastern Kharkiv region where Moscow seized several villages near the border last month. Vitaly Ganchev, a Russia-appointed official in occupied areas of the Kharkiv region, said Ukraine's military was pouring men and equipment into the area and that the "fiercest clashes" were in Vovchansk, 5km (three miles) inside the border, and near Lyptsy. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin will arrive in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a two-day visit as the two countries deepen their relationship. In a letter published in North Korea's ruling Workers' Party's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, Putin thanked the country for supporting the war in Ukraine and promised support for Pyongyang's efforts to defend its interests despite what he called "US pressure, blackmail and military threats". * US Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will go on trial on June 26 in the city of Yekaterinburg. The Sverdlovsk Regional Court said the trial will be held "behind closed doors". Gershkovich, who has been jailed since his arrest in March last year, is accused of spying. He and the Wall Street Journal deny the charges. Washington has designated the reporter as "arbitrarily detained". The Kremlin said that contacts had taken place with the United States over a possible prisoner exchange involving Gershkovich. * NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg accused China of "fuelling the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II" even as it seeks to maintain good relations with the West, arguing that the security alliance needed to impose costs on China over its support for Russia. The US last week imposed sanctions on several Chinese companies it said were involved in the sale of dual-use technologies to Russia. Beijing says it is neutral in the war, but has not condemned Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. * Putin sacked four deputy defence ministers in a continuing reshuffle that began last month when he unexpectedly removed longstanding defence minister Sergei Shoigu. Anna Tsivileva, the daughter of Putin's late cousin, was among those appointed to replace them. Her responsibilities will include improving social and housing support for military personnel. She previously headed a state fund to support those involved in the war in Ukraine. * A fleet of Russian vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana's port after a five-day visit to Cuba following military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. Their next destination was unclear, although US officials have said that they could possibly also stop in Venezuela. * Putin sacked four deputy defence ministers in a continuing reshuffle that began last month when he unexpectedly removed longstanding defence minister Sergei Shoigu. Anna Tsivileva, the daughter of Putin's late cousin, was among those appointed to replace them. Her responsibilities will include improving social and housing support for military personnel. She previously headed a state fund to support those involved in the war in Ukraine. * A fleet of Russian vessels, including a nuclear-powered submarine, left Havana's port after a five-day visit to Cuba following military drills in the Atlantic Ocean. Their next destination was unclear, although US officials have said that they could possibly also stop in Venezuela. Weapons * One soldier was killed and eight other people injured in an explosion at a Czech military base where Ukrainian troops have been training since late 2022. Military police spokeswoman Katerina Mlynkova told the AFP news agency the soldiers involved "were not foreigners". 20240620 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/20/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-846 Fighting * At least two people were injured and residential buildings were damaged in Ukraine's western region of Lviv after a wave of Russian drone attacks targeting energy infrastructure over six regions of the country. The air force said it destroyed 19 out of 21 drones launched by Russia. * Ukraine's military said Russian forces had "intensified" their assaults near Toretsk on the front line in the eastern Donetsk region and "launched five assault operations at once", targeting surrounding towns and villages. The Russian Ministry of Defence said its forces had "improved" their positions around Toretsk, which had a population of about 32,000 people before the war. * Rostov regional governor Vasily Golubev said a fire caused by a Ukrainian drone strike on an oil terminal in southern Russia continued into a second day despite firefighters' efforts to extinguish the flames. The facility was struck on Tuesday. * Viktoriia Litvinova, Ukraine's deputy prosecutor general, said the country had created a national registry to document cases of sexual violence allegedly committed by Russian forces. Litvinova told The Associated Press news agency that 303 cases of conflict-related sexual violence had been registered since Russia began its full-scale invasion, with 191 cases involving women and 112 involving men. Politics and diplomacy * Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed on a new comprehensive strategic partnership treaty during Putin's first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years. Putin thanked Kim for his "unwavering" support in Ukraine, while Kim promised "full support and solidarity" for the Russian invasion. * Putin then travelled on to Vietnam. In an opinion piece to coincide with the visit, Putin applauded Hanoi for supporting "a pragmatic way to solve the crisis" in Ukraine. Vietnam has not condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine, but has built alliances with the United States, its biggest export market, and the European Union. * French far-right leader Jordan Bardella said that he backed Ukraine's right to defend itself against Russia, but if elected prime minister at polls on June 30 and July 7, he would not provide Kyiv with missiles that would allow it to strike Russian territory. Bardella also said he would stand by France's commitments to the NATO military alliance if he became prime minister. * The security service of Ukraine (SBU) said it had arrested a Kharkiv resident allegedly recruited by Russian agents on an online dating platform, saying he had tried to provide Moscow with sensitive information on Ukrainian military facilities and equipment. The man faces as many as eight years in prison if convicted. * Separately, the SBU said a man arrested in March last year on suspicion of being an agent of Russia's Federal Security Service had been jailed for 15 years after being found guilty of helping Russia identify targets for strikes in the southern Odesa region. Weapons * Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Ukrainian presidential aide, said North Korea was "actively cooperating" with Russia militarily, and called for greater international isolation of both countries. "There is no doubt that North Korea ... deliberately provides resources for the mass murder of Ukrainians," he told the AFP news agency. United Nations sanctions monitors, in their last report before Russia blocked the renewal of their mandate, said North Korean missile fragments had been found in Kharkiv. 20240621 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/21/russia-ukraine-war-list-of-key-events-day-847 Fighting * Three people were killed and four others injured, including a 14-year-old boy, after Russia attacked the village of Rozkishne, about 25km from the front line, in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region. Prosecutors said Russia used a Smerch system to launch cluster munitions * Seven workers were injured and power supplies cut off to more than 218,000 people after Russia launched a barrage of missiles and drones across four regions of Ukraine causing "significant" damage to a thermal power plant, officials said. * Ukraine's rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said 10 Ukrainian children and their families had been returned after being forced to live in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine's Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhia regions. * Russian officials reported fires at two fuel depots in the Russian regions of Tambov and Adygea after Ukraine's SBU security agency said it carried out drone attacks in the area. Politics and diplomacy * A Russian military court jailed 27-year-old teacher Daniil Kliuka for 20 years after finding him guilty of "high treason" for sending money to Ukraine. Kliuka was arrested in February 2023 in the Lipetsk region, south of Moscow. He said the money was for relatives in Russian-occupied parts of the country. * Ksenia Karelina, a Russian-American woman, went on trial behind closed doors for alleged treason after authorities accused her of donating money to Ukraine. Karelina was arrested in January while visiting her parents in Yekaterinburg and could face a life sentence if found guilty. * The lawyer for Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin, who was jailed in December 2022 for condemning Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, told the AFP news agency that Yashin had been moved to a punishment cell. Yashin is serving an eight-and-a-half-year sentence. * Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, a staunch supporter of Ukraine, was set to become the next secretary-general of NATO after Romania's president withdrew his own candidacy Weapons * South Korea said it might provide weapons to Ukraine - reversing a longstanding policy that bars it from selling weapons into active conflict zones - after Russia and North Korea announced a new mutual defence pact where each would provide military assistance to the other if they were the target of armed aggression. * Russian President Vladimir Putin, who made his first visit to Pyongyang in 24 years, said Seoul would be making a "big mistake" if it supplied arms to Ukraine, and said Moscow was prepared to send weapons to North Korea. * Romania said it would send one of its two operational Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine. * The White House said it would prioritise deliveries of anti-air missiles to Kyiv, sending the weapons to Ukraine ahead of other countries that have placed orders. * Pentagon spokesperson Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder said Ukraine was authorised to use US-supplied weapons to hit Russian forces anywhere across the border into Russia and not just in the area around the northeastern Kharkiv region. "The ability to be able to fire back when fired upon is really what this policy is focused on," Ryder said.